Albert's Antipasto

How pretty are the cold cuts designed?  Oops, I did not capture the full essence of this appetizer... Italian Bread off to the right, more cheeses to the left...not in photo!

The Giant Food Industry behind "Organic"

Howard, Philip H. 2009. Organic Industry Structure. Media-N: Journal of the New Media Caucus

I'm disenchanted by truth, media, and real food - organic meets large scale farming -  "the lessor evil" ?
- yes, but I try to shop local and small whenever possible and my wallet permits.  For me, this is a large contribution to aid in the pursuit of the American Dream and stay healthy at the same time - a win win!

Making Honey

"Antioxidants are found in fresh fruits and vegetables and also raw, dark honey such as that derived from buckwheat blossoms. " honey is also an anti inflammatory, is absorbed more slowly than sugar helps boost the brain function, inhibits the growth of certain bacteria in the stomach, and it is a probiotic.

Spoon Sweets: Cyprus

fava beans - sooo good delicious fresh picked

fava beans evoke memories if growing up Italian American. the fresh picked beans picked, shelled, and eaten out of hand. ...introduced to us by our father whose gardening know how was passed on to his children along with his love of fava beans.

Nutrition Profile
good source of vitamin B1, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, fiber, folate, and manganese.

How to eat
I like them eaten raw freshly picked with thinly shaved pecorino and chilled white or rose wine

Cold Buttermilk Fava Bean Soup

Combine in a food processor

1 to 2 large garlic cloves ,Salt and pepper to taste ,fava beans, shelled and skinned ,3 cups buttermilk, finely minced fresh mint or dill, minced chives

chill until ready to serve.

Chocosol

This company is beyond dynamic - founder Michael Sacco appears in many youtube videos - not the one featured here which is about their packaging choices - something we have focused on ourselves for our products at Ambrosia Farms. He started a bean to bar factory in Toronto, Canada and appears to sell mostly through farmers markets and direct from the factory and still encourages customers to bring their own containers to purchase unwrapped chocolate and receive a discount - brilliant again! Especially for those repeat customers that previously read the ingredient list.   I encourage you to learn more via youtube search about these young folks doing good work and let them speak for themselves.

 I will have another blog post about the co- opting of dark chocolate - a increasingly popular beneficial food that is loaded with unhealthy additives by comercial companies and still marketed as healthy - once again by large commercial corporations- and even small ones nowadays - with misleading labels! 

This company is one of the REAL deal...
AUTHENTIC TRUE GOOD FOOD SOURCES FROM FARMER TO TABLE!
Chocosol 6 St Joseph St Toronto, ON M4Y 1J7, Canada
https://www.facebook.com/ChocoSolTraders
Phone: (416) 923-6675 photo from EAT PRAY BAKE blog

Mostaccioli

Small Batch: Ice Pops Paleta

here is a more recent video of their fundraising activities from kickstarter to refinance losses from Hurricane Sandy

Recipe: Curried Celery Root

Asian Sauce for Pork

Asian Sauce
5 tablespoons Homemade Chicken Stock
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons tapioca starch
2 teaspoons ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
Pinch freshly ground white pepper
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
3/4 cup Asian Barbecued Pork
1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or gin
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

the cycle of life and sustainable agriculture

Ecosystems represent the "cycle of life" to read more about this see the "Millennium Ecosystem Assessment" published in partnership with the United Nations.

Many people want to know about the growing methods of our farmers, and rightfully so. We are sustainable and natural. We are authentic and local.

Perhaps the author of "The Garden Primer" best sums it up on her website:

"Authentic" is meant to be the flexible term "organic" once was. It identifies fresh foods produced by local growers who want to focus on what they are doing, instead of what they aren't doing. (The word authentic derives from the Greek authentes: one who does things for him or herself.) All foods are produced by the growers who sell them.

Fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs and meat products are produced within a 50-mile radius of their place of their final sale.

The seed and storage crops (grains, beans, nuts, potatoes, etc.) are produced within a 300-mile radius of their final sale.

The farmers frozen foods are sourced within a short distance from our "lil' veggie factories" so they can be processed and frozen with optimum nutrients for wintertime.

Processed foods such as cheese, wine, bread and lactofermented products must be made with, "Authentic ingredients."

The growers' fields, barns and greenhouses are open by appointment, so customers, themselves, can be the certifiers of their food.