Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Michelle Kuhns" <MKuhns@communityfoodbank.com>]

I agree, Paul.  Fortunately, the Simply in Season cookbook (also one of
my favorites along with More-with-Less, Nancy!) provides tips for food
preservation to sort of extend the edible season for crops you purchase
or grow locally.  The focus of both cookbooks is sustainability and
learning to restructure our diets to support that goal.  Depending where
you live, you may have to adjust the labels used for when each crop is
in season, but it's nice to pick up a recipe where someone has already
thought of what things should be available locally at the same time of
year.  

I'm certainly not on any kind of commission for this cookbook! (though
my mother does work for the non-profit that developed and is selling the
book), but I think a lot of people on list might be interested so here's
a link where you can purchase it:
http://secure.mcc.org/mccstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2
 

michelle

>>> tradingpost@riseup.net 10/1/2006 8:42 PM >>>

Good work. Those suggestions always welcome, Nancy. One item caught my
eye,
the one about local growers offering things you can't find in the
supermarket. We got some Sugar Loaf Delicata squash up the road, and
then
looked for it while out grocery shopping today. Trader Joe's didn't
have
any, nor Sunflower Market that had a very wide range of produce.
http://www.sfmarkets.com/ and of course the major chains aren't even
worth
checking. 

That said, we might question what is and is not seasonal. We realize
that
shipping fresh fruit 2,000 miles for Xmas is a real stretch -
inherently
unsustainable. But when we put up preserves or store winter squash for
January, is that wrong because it's eaten out of season? Surely not.
I'd
argue that locally grown and preserved produce is always in season.
Likewise, the bolita beans we just got from the farm up the road will
be in
season as long as it takes to go through the bag. I don't think
seasonal
means having to eat stuff only when it's naturally harvested in the
locality. Properly understood, seasonal eating shouldn't be so hard to
learn.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net 

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 10/1/2006 at 3:35 PM Nancy Babbitt wrote:

>Ah, yes.  Eat local & in season.  It's one thing to know that we  
>SHOULD eat this way, and quite another to learn how.  Not until more 

>people know how, will they actually be able to do it.
>
>I purchased a new cookbook, Simply in Season is the title.
>
>Simply in Season features eating and using local, seasonal foods like 

>our grandparents did in wholesome, delicious dishes. Today most  
>people make no connection with the time of year and season to place  
>or location of food. And, unfortunately, if they wanted to, most  
>wouldn't know how. Through stories and simple whole food recipes,  
>Simply in Season, helps to make these connections.
>
>Six reasons to eat simply in season
>
>Freshness - Locally grown fruits and vegetables are usually harvested 

>the same day as they are purchased. Produce from across the country  
>can't be that fresh.
>
>Taste - Produce picked and eaten at the height of freshness has more 

>flavor. Taste the difference.
>
>Nutrition - Fresh, fully ripe produce contains more nutrients than  
>food that is past its peak of freshness or was harvested before it  
>ripened fully.
>
>Variety - Farmers selling locally are not limited to the few  
>varieties that are bred for long distance shipping, high yields, and 

>shelf life. Often they raise and sell wonderful unusual varieties you 

>will never find on supermarket shelves.
>
>Environment - The environmental impacts of growing and shipping  
>produce, sometimes halfway around the world, are enormous.
>
>Local Health - Buying seasonal produce from your farmers' market or  
>from neighborhood farms supports your local economy, increasing the  
>local quality of life for everyone.
>
>I'd love to know of other such books.  Another favorite cookbook of  
>mine is More With Less cookbook.  It has many recipes from scratch,  
>from simple ingredients - a skill that many young people do not have, 

>and could benefit from.  We'd all benefit.
>
>Simply in Season is a cookbook that, in my opinion, all small farmers 

>should offer for sale to their customers along with their produce.   
>The Weston A Price Foundation (westonaprice.org) promotes  a  
>Traditional diet, which includes the concept of eating locally and in-

>season.  Some might be interested in this organization.
>
>Forgive me, if these suggestions have already been posted, I do not  
>have enough free time to read all posts that come through.
>
>Nancy