Summertime Means Fresh Organic Produce - Chock Full of Anti-Oxidants

Summertime is a great time to increase your consumption of local, organic fruits and vegetables. Here in the arid southwest, it can be a challenge, but with just a bit of water and generous shade, lettuce, tomatoes, basil, oregano, mint, eggplant and a few other favorites will grow and produce the most local of local produce. So, while you're busy enjoying the fruits (or veggies, as it were) of your labor, you can also know you're eating the healthiest food available. So here's a question for you - do you know which foods are the highest in anti-oxidants? Take this little quiz...

1. True or false: Anti-oxidants protect us from the evils of free radicals.

2. True or false: Some anti-oxidants are made in our bodies.

3. True or false: Organic farming methods can increase anti-oxidant levels in foods.

4. True or false: Commercial, pasteurized juice has 20% more anti-oxidants than an equal amount of fresh fruit.

And the answers? Virtual drumroll please...
1. T
2. T
3. T
4. F - commercial pasteurized juice has about 20% less anti-oxidants than most organic juice or homemade juice.

Here's a list of foods with the highest anti-oxidant power and many of them are in season now. Boost your immune system, aid your overall health and add 3 or 4 servings of these anti-oxidant heavy hitters to your diet.

Blueberries
Cranberries
Blackberries (noticing the theme, berries berries berries!)
Raspberries
Strawberries
Red grapes
Apples
Plums

What the full list? Read this great article from the Organic Center. (PDF format)
Read more!

Going Green At Home - Part 5

If you've been following the progress of my home gardening project, you'll see that things started to sprout nicely about a month ago. (If you haven't been following and want to start at the beginning, start here). Since then, Tucson's had some unseasonably warm (ok, it's been hot) weather, and the "winter" plants I put in were not happy. I kept them watered and hoped they could hold on until the hot spell broke - which is finally did.

The tomato plant was purchased as a starter, just about everything else came up from seed. There is one mysterious square toward the front, center of the box that has been planted twice but nothing has sprouted - kind of funny given that the rest of
the plants are growing so well.

These plants are grown in this organic soil and I've used nothing else but water. I can't wait until I can harvest the first whatever from this garden - I'm guessing I might have kale or chard soon.

With that in mind, I thought I'd share two winter recipes using vegetables I'm growing would be a great way to get us thinking about ways we can use winter produce.

Kale, by the way, is a delicious winter crop but for those of you who have never used it, here are a couple of tips. First, use your kale quickly. If you harvest it from the garden, use it the same day. If you purchase it at the store, use it within a couple of days otherwise it can get spongy and bitter. Also, cut the center stalk out and toss it (into your compost pile or your trash, but not into your soup). Use only the leaves from your kale.

First up, simple easy delicious kale chips. Skips the potato chips this football season and try kale chips. Even folks who think they don't like kale will love these.

KALE CHIPS
1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
2. Wash and remove the stem from a bunch of kale, pat dry.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Lightly coat kale in olive oil and arrange on parchment.
5. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. (I use velvet salt, it's great on popcorn too and you can use far less than traditional salt due to the fine texture).
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Remove from oven, adjust salt (and pepper, if desired) to taste.


Here's a quick and simple recipe for kale and cauliflower soup. It's a great meal by itself or a perfect side to a grilled cheese sandwich on a fall day. Give this one a try from your organic garden vegetables.

QUICK AND EASY KALE AND CAULIFLOWER SOUP
1/2 cup diced onion
2 TBS minced garlic
3 tsp organic olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups of organic vegetable stock or organic chicken broth
1 head of organic, fresh from your garden cauliflower, cored and chopped
1 (lightly packed) cup organic, fresh from your garden kale, thinly sliced
2 tsp salt
1 tsp organic lemon pepper
1 TBS organic honey (the lemon gives it extra depth of flavor)

In a large pan over medium low heat, saute the the onions and garlic in olive oil. (Hint: don't overcook the garlic when it gets too brown, it gets bitter). After a few minutes, the onions should be translucent. At that point, add the wine and continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.

Add the chopped cauliflower and your stock (vegetable or chicken). Bring to a boil then reduce your heat to medium low and simmer until the cauliflower is soft - about 20 minutes or so. Add the kale and continue to cook for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat off, put your ingredients into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. If you have a sprig or two of tarragon or rosemary, you may want to drop that in your soup for the final simmer for added flavor, but the soup stands on its own without that, too.

For a more rustic texture, you can use anything to mash the mixture leaving smaller pieces in tact. (This is also handy if you don't have a blender or food processor or don't want to drag them out of the pantry).

Return to pan and simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a dollop of non fat organic yogurt or sour cream and some rustic whole grain or cracked grain bread - smear the bread with a bit of olive oil and put under the broiler for a couple of minute to brown.

Have a recipe you want to share? Post it here.

As always, shopOrganic.com is your trusted online source for organic food and natural products. We have a wide selection of hard-to-find, unique, gourmet and everyday foods for your culinary pleasure. See you there! Now, go out there and enjoy your day.
Read more!

Going Green At Home - Part 4

If you haven't read previous posts on this topic, you might want to jump back and start with Part 1 to follow the progress of my amazingly easy green-my-home raised bed garden project.

I don't have a lot of time to monkey around, so I needed this garden project to be easy, fast and successful. As you can see from previous photos, the box, soil and grid went in quickly. We did this over the course of a few weekends, but total time spent on this was probably three or four hours total.Though we did want to start most of our plants from seed, I wanted some instant hits of color for the porch and some basil (since my bird friends have decimated my back porch potted basil plants). I love making my own organic pizza from a rustic crust, simple tomato sauce, organic mozzarella and yes, basil galore. So, basil will be a starter plant.


I chose marigolds for their color and natural pest deterrent properties and salvia for a bit of height and gorgeous purple flowers. The basil also went in along with starter greek oregano and cilantro.

Next up, we planted seeds for several varieties of greens including black seed simpson lettuce and rocket (aka arugula). Broccoli went in - just a couple of seeds in the middle of one square and four days later, I had a green sprout.

Last night I sparingly harvested a few leaves of basil for a pasta dish because, well, I needed that splash of green, that deliciously licorice-y basil flavor to give the dish depth. Perfect, my first harvest.

Stay tuned for what we planted next.

Until next time, go out there and green your home. Take "eat at home" literally! Read more!

Going Green At Home - Part 3

In Part 1 of Going Green At Home, I talked about deciding to use a front patio space for a raised bed garden. We left off at having put the 8 x 5 x 1 frame in place. Now, let's get down and dirty - let's talk soil.

First, you need to do your math to figure out how many cubic feet of soil you need. Next, you need to decide on the mix. In Tucson, where's it's pretty dry most of the time, a soil that holds moisture is vital to success.

You can go to any garden center and buy a soil mix, usually they carry something appropriate to your area. However, you can also mix your own. In our case, we did the math and figured out we could save about $60 on soil by creating our own mixture - and the added benefit was we could control exactly what went into that mix.

We chose to add a lot of vermiculite - (make sure the vermiculite you choose is asbestos free). Vermiculite holds moisture and acts like a sponge, releasing moisture slowly. Of course, we added organic compost and other soil components to develop a nutrient rich soil mix.

The trick in mixing your own is that you have to deal with bags that are different sizes - some come in 1 cubic ft., 2.2 cubit ft. and so on. Once you decide that you want a soil mixture of say, 30% vermiculite, you need to calculate how many cubic feet that is and then how many bags you'll need. (All I can say is, do your math a couple of times to be sure you're correct and save your receipt).

If you're going to mix your own, make sure you either mix it in place (which is a bit tricky) or have a tarp of some sort. We found that by mixing our soil in three batches and rolling it back and forth in the tarp, we got a good distribution of the various components and had a beautiful soil mixture. We dumped it into the raised bed and repeated two more times until the bed was full. If you find your bed is full after two rounds, just return the unused (and unopened) bags (which is why I highly recommend you save your receipt).

Once you've got your soil in, you can start watering (to hydrate the soil to it doesn't suck the moisture out of your seeds or starer plants). However, we decided that putting a grid in would help - most container gardening books recommend it so you can remember where you planted what - so we used lath to demarcate the sectors. You can make them whatever size you want, we stuck with the standard 12" x 12". The result was an organized grid system that we can track what's been planted where and when.

Next up - planting, growing, marveling.
Read more!

Going Green At Home - Part 2

Before we go further down the garden path...(yes, pun intended), I thought it might be useful to provide you with a few resources. If this project sounds like it's up your alley and you want to try your hand at growing some of your own produce in a small space, you're in luck.

You can do this on your own, but having a personal guide makes the journey a bit more certain. We picked up a copy of the All New Square Foot Gardening book (see the link here to buy your own). It's full of step-by-step instructions, sound advice and great how-to pictures.

The author, Mel Bartholomew, seems to favor planting starters, but I wanted to try my hand at starting from seed. Looking for natural and organic seeds? You're in luck. shopOrganic.com carries seeds for vegetables and flowers.

Whether you buy starters or start from seed, you'll need to plant the kinds of plants that thrive in your climate zone and you'll need to figure out your local growing season. You can extend it in the fall by covering your raised bed - but now's a great time for cool weather growing in most locations (ok, it's still in the 100's here in the Southwest, but we know cooler weather is just around the corner).


Get your green thumb going today and literally put food on your own table. Stay tuned for Part 3 soon!








And here is the rest of it. Read more!

Going Green At Home - Part 1

I am fortunate to live in the beautiful Sonoran Desert, here in sunny southern Arizona. The downside is that it's not usually described as verdant - more like a dusty brown most of the time. My home is a charming one story burnt adobe building that reflects the very essence of the Southwest. When I bought it years back, there was a large fountain on the front porch area surrounded by some scraggly boxwood bushes. Fairly quickly, I turned off the fountain - it seemed a waste of precious water. The boxwoods were pretty much left to their own devices.

Fast forward to this summer.

I guess I've been watching too much home and garden television. I kept looking at that front patio space wondering what I could do with it. After a couple of iterations, I realized it was a perfect spot for a raised bed garden. It's got morning sun and was protected from the harsh afternoon sun and it was the perfect size. Thus began the project that has started to green my home.

We started by clearing the space. We gave away the fountain to a really nice family who came and got it one Saturday morning. We made new friends in the deal, so we were thrilled. Next, we cleared the boxwoods out and prepped the space.

Next, we measured and calculated what we'd need in the way of raised bed materials (wood and a few screws), headed to the home improvement store, came home and built the box. We decided to add bird netting over the top since we have so many birds in the area and, well, they'd already chowed down an entire basil plant leaving me bare stubs and a dead plant.

The box itself was pretty simple to build and it didn't take a skilled carpenter to cut and assemble the wood. We assembled it in the garage and carried it to it's final location - the result is a beautiful 8 x 5 foot 12" deep raised bed garden.

(And yes, that is the Border of Border & Black Ventures, aka Jackie Brown, border collie extraordinare).

This is what I call a triple bottom line - I get fresh organic produce from my own garden; I get to see the lush green of the plants as they grow; and I get to spend some time getting my hands dirty in a really good way. It's low maintenance, but I can putter around it if I want to just unwind - or just sit on the patio and marvel at this little desert oasis.

I've never grown much before - especially not the garden variety - I've never found the idea appealing until Lisa (shopOrganic co-founder) suggested a raised bed garden. The small, manageable scale was instantly appealing and the thought of actually having fresh produce on my front porch was what sealed the deal.

Stay tuned for more posts showing what comes next, where you can find information on how to grow your own and see photos of what's starting to sprout!

We're looking forward to a beautiful, bountiful front porch this fall and hope you'll check back often to see our progress.

And, of course, for all those things you can't grow yourself, green your home with organic and eco-friendly products from shopOrganic.com

Read more!

The Audacity of Going Organic - Year One

My dear friend Gary sent an email over the weekend about some group that is up in arms because Michelle Obama planted an organic garden. The problem, it seems, is that this flies in the face of established convention. I find it puzzling (and a bit sad) that a garden planted and grown without chemical fertilizers or insecticides is seen as a bad thing [click here to read more on this topic], but enough about that crazy world, let's look at the world around us....

Last year, our small team started shopOrganic. Leveraging the experience and expertise of our tiny team, we boldly launched the site on May 8, 2008. At the time we launched, we had begun to see the softening of the real estate market and we assumed that the worst of it would be falling housing prices for a bit. Little did we know at the time that the coming year would be among the worst years (financially) in decades. We didn't see the banking crisis coming, we certainly didn't see the meltdown on Wall Street coming but BAM! there they were.

There were times in the past year that we thought the economy would collapse and take our little company with it. It's been quite a challenge - both professionally and personally. Having put all our time and a lot of our money into this company, there were many sleepless nights worrying that the company would not survive the cold economic winter. We worried that those seeds planted were locked in some frozen economic tundra never to be seen again.

Like Michelle Obama, we too rolled up our sleeves on a cold spring day... and planted the seeds of a new beginning. Like Michelle Obama, we may have planted our seeds a bit too soon - the cold days of early Spring can be harsh and can delay the appearance of those vibrant green shoots that indicate that winter is over and spring is in progress.

We've hung in there this year - sometimes by the barest of margins - because we believe powerfully in what we're doing. We believe that a world in which everyone has enough clean food and clean water is just the baseline, the barest minimum of an acceptable reality for us all. As we have said from the beginning, what we want for ourselves, we want for everyone - it's pretty simple.

We started shopOrganic because we believe in organic principles of sustainability and stewardship. We wanted to create a company that reflected our values of quality, honesty, integrity, cooperation and well, fun.

We have found building relationships with the small vendors we work with to be immensely rewarding. We have gotten to know the other small (sometimes tiny) business owners that are dedicated to the same sustainable and organic principles. As we have worked with them to help them find a market for their great products, we have benefited from being able to provide our customers with a wonderful variety of amazing new, small vendor products that you can't find anyplace else. We have had a great time sampling, testing and trying out products of all kinds.

We have enjoyed getting to know our customers, exchanging emails and phone calls. Perhaps more than anything, we have enjoyed providing the best customer service you'll ever receive. It may sound a bit dopey, but it really gives us immense pleasure to know that when a customer has a problem and it's within our power to resolve it, we just do.

People are often amazed that we answer emails within an hour or two (sometimes within minutes, even at night and on weekends) with a real response. People are often amazed that we take their word for it when they report a problem and we just fix it. People are often amazed when they place an order as a gift that we print out a small gift card with their message on it and pop it in the box - without being asked. We are often amazed that these simple acts amaze people. We love to delight our customers and sometimes just getting an order shipped out the same day it is placed is enough to make someone's day.

We hit a few important milestones in this past year in terms of sales and number of customers and number of orders - but the most important milestone we hit was that we are still here. We have survived to this point and we will be around to celebrate our first anniversary.

We are seeing those tender green shoots start to push through the damp earth. We are not yet fully formed but we are full of optimism and hope for the future. We have managed, somehow, through rolling up our sleeves and working hard, to plant our own organic garden and it is starting to grow.

We have been honored to be part of this new world that is emerging and we are honored to be a part of the lives of each of our customers. We thank you for your support over the past year and we look forward to growing bigger and stronger this year with your support and our hard work.

We took a leap of faith when we planted the seeds of this business last year and we're seeing that faith (and all that hard work) start to take hold. Join us on this adventure and let's see where this next year will take us!

Stop by and see us - shop with us if you're a new customer or a returning one - and see what a difference a small committed group of people can make - join us!

www.shopOrganic.com - For The Greater Goods

Now go out there and enjoy your day!

Read more!