Pre-eclampsia figured out ?

Pre-eclampsia has sometimes been linked to genetics, but a new clue comes from a study that finds that it might be related to eating unpasteurized dairy products infected with a fungus such as a particular type of mold. I don't know whether they mean something like Camembert or what, but, maybe more information will come out.

Greenbelt Farmer's Market - Opening Day!

Today was the opening day for the 2009 Greenbelt Farmer's Market.  It is in its second year, and is bigger and better then last years, dispite today's soggy weather.  In addition to fruits and veggies, vendors were selling honey, jelly, bread, plants, soap, ice cream, cheese, meats, eggs, coffee and crafts.   Everything is produced within 100 miles of Greenbelt, Maryland.  The Farmer's market is located in the Roosevelt Center parking lot and is open from 10am-2pm on Sundays, except for Labor Day weekend.

Super Rooster

At Chickstock Lynnis sold a lot of chickens and also bought a Rhode Island Red super rooster to give to Soren for his birthday. Soren and Chrissy's flock is also comprised of RIRs so it was appropriate. Super rooster was on the job very quickly yesterday. Today he was proudly herding his harem of 18 hens with plenty of crows to warn off any other (nonexistent) roosters. He looks a bit tired, but, hey, it is all in a day's work for an ambitious chicken daddy.

Locavore Update - Green Tomatoes

Our growing season is officially over. Last weekend, Guy picked our basil, hot peppers and green tomatoes, and composted the plants. In previous years, I have not had much luck ripening the tomatoes inside, so tonight we tried out two green tomato recipes. We were not impressed with the fried green tomatoes (too sour), and the feta-topped green tomatoes were a bit better (feta, white wine vinegar, and oregano do a lot to help the taste) but I don't really want to eat that many of them. Does anyone have any ideas, aside from compost? Only 1 of the 11 tomatoes we have left, shows signs of ripening.

We have a two gallons of chopped broccoli in the freezer, keeping our gallon of green beans and gallon of corn company. Guy strung up our hot peppers and basil to dry. There is only one more week for the farmer's market. We plan to stock up on apples and potatoes, we already have enough honey, soap and pumpkins to last a while. There is still a lot of food available, but I can't think of much more that I want to store or preserve, any suggestions?

Locavore update

Well, it is not much for winter food storage, and it is stored in plastic, but it is a start. The farmer's market was today and we got a dozen ears of corn and 2 quarts of green beans to cut up and freeze for the winter. Now we have something to look at in the freezer. We also got pumpkins, broccoli, honey, soap, coffee (locally roasted), potatos, apples, apple cider, tomatos and onions. Still left over from last week, are a tomato, a few peppers, onions and leeks. I ment to buy celery and eggs but they were sold out. The farmer's market closes for the year, in three weeks.

Locavore

Locavore was the 2007 word of the year for the Oxford American Dictionary. A locavore is someone who eats food grown or produced in his or her local economy. After reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Guy and I have been making efforts to change our eating habits.

The globalization of our food supply now means that that the average distance our food travels is 1,500 miles. Precious fuel is used in transporting, refrigerating and processing these foods. If every citizen in the U.S. were to eat one local meal per week, we would reduce our oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels per week.

Food grown elsewhere means that the money spent on it leaves our community. Food bought locally triples the income for our local economy. Not to mention the longer the food travels, the more flavor is lost. Tomatoes in January are just disgusting. Eat foods that are in season, eliminate prepared and processed foods, and embrace slow foods, made exactly to your own personal preferences.

Greenbelt has a fabulous new farmer’s market that we visit every week, before doing any of our regular grocery shopping. Everything is grown or produced within 100 miles of Greenbelt. They even have ice cream! No farmer’s market near you? Get a CSA subscription, or if in Maryland, check out our new virtual farmer’s market at http://foodtrader.org/.

Inspired by the book, we started making our own cheese. We found that at the local chain, MOM’s, we can buy organic milk that is produced in nearby Pennsylvania and is not ultra-pasteurized (the ultra-pasteurized milk usually found at the grocery store can no longer be used to make cheese). So far we have just been making mozzarella, but we hope to expand soon. We have a new bread recipe that uses some of the leftover whey. The bread is light, tasty and firm, it is excellent for our regular sliced bread needs. We do our best to drink our own homebrewed beer, though we are going to have to look into local ingredients. We did just get a hand-me-down grain mill!

In previous years, we have hauled away our leaves and garden waste to the city’s composting facility where it is shredded and composted. In the spring we haul it back for mulch. It is not a very efficient process. We have started composting, and we are planning a larger garden for next year. We are considering buying local, in season produce and preserving it for the winter by drying, freezing or canning. When I buy prepared foods like salsa or spaghetti sauce, I select based on the closest factory. So far, we have been buying Linnea locally grown peaches or tomatoes to eat instead of the bananas we used to feed her. I can’t bring myself to give up chocolate, yet.

Obviously living off our land is not going to happen, since we only have about 10x10 feet of partial sun, and not much more shade, but every bit makes a difference. Whole Foods and even Walmart have made efforts to provide their consumers with local produce. So far, we like the movement. Our locavore efforts have improved the quality of our diet, reduced our carbon footprint and strengthened our neighborhood economy.