Heirlooms (Tomatoes and Otherwise)

Hand-made. Home-grown. Timeless. Lasting. Sentimental. Simple. Treasured.I used to be the type of person who loved trinkets, doo-dads, and held on to random stuff with blatant disregard for space constraints (my dear husband might argue I'm still a little like that, but I've gotten much better). I'd make thoughtless purchases because items were cheap and they fit into my current craze. My life held a lot of meaningless clutter.Oh, am I so glad I've grown up.Read More...These days, I seek out hand-crafted objects, and put thought into the things I buy and bring into our home. Is it something we...

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The 3-Egg Quiche

Today marks the beginning of Lent, and for the second year in a row I've tried to become vegan for 40 days, focusing only on the most basic, healthful foods to feed my mind, body, and spirit.And though my intentions are totally noble, it's only 12:15 on the first day and I've failed. Breakfast came close—a smoothie of garden spinach, frozen blueberries and mango, almond milk, and a banana. And then only one tablespoon of milk in my coffee. (Can I get a medal?)But you see, last Sunday evening, I made myself two quiches and—wouldn't you know—I'm still enjoying those leftovers. So lunch on Day 1...

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Garden Tour

We have a lot growing in our backyard gardens right now. I'm telling you, winter gardening in Texas is remarkably rewarding. The bugs are at bay, the squirrels and birds have been entranced by our bird feeder, and the rain just keeps falling. Here's a little garden tour of our corner gardens. We just moved both the troughs here yesterday, and are quite happy with that decision. Garden Tour: click to zoom.We have another raised bed on the other side of the yard which houses all of our greens (collards, chard, spinach, and kale). But you've seen it before... so here are some close-ups...

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Freshworthy: Willie Nelson, Whole Foods, and European Organics, Oh My!

Image: Chipotle/YouTube (screenshot). View the ad here.Chipotle Ad Promotes Sustainable FarmingNYTimes.comLet me start by saying that Chipotle is one of the few fast-food restaurants I enjoy eating at, and do so in a care-free manner. We shun the others; I haven't been in a McDonald's or Taco Bell in nearly a decade. I respect Chipotle's food policies, even if it means that only 1 out of every 3 beans I ingest is actually organic. They have made a promise to customers to provide "more natural" products, as the NYT article puts it. The uplifting and cheery ad, which aired during the Grammy's last...

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Working Lunch

During the work week, I bring my lunch four out of five days—a habit I'm really proud of, actually. Brushes off shoulders, buffs nails, leans back self-adoringly.... Since I commute by bus, I often am found in the kitchen at work artfully producing my lunch out of my adorable, highly compartmental, Laptop bento box. "What a tidy lunch you have!"It's light-weight, thin, BPA-free, made in the USA, dishwasher-safe, and (frankly) it just makes me happy.Seriously, it's one of the best purchases I have ever made. I opted for the greatest configuration of mini boxes, which totaled about $45, so...

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Freshworthy: Drugs, Sugar, and Pink Slime

I didn't mean for this Freshworthy to be quite so icky, but it turns out there's plenty of that kind of food news out there this week.First up, pink slime. Mmmm.Image: Flickr member pointnshoot, licensed under Creative Commons.McDonald's Burgers: Now Without Pink Slime?The WeekI mentioned having watched and been inspired by Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, and here's another newsworthy story that comes straight from the pressure Jamie Oliver put on the food industry and the awareness he has raised. To tell you the truth, I can't remember the last time I ate at McDonald's. But back in the day,...

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Wordless Wednesday: Good Morning from the Garden

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