Veggie Notes and Shopping

If I haven't mentioned it lately, we are still receiving our weekly Riverdog Organic Veggie Box and still feel like it is a great value. We've been introduced to a world of new things to try, and it saves us wandering around the grocery store with the same old broccoli or green beans. We know it's always in season, comes from somewhere close, and supports farming we believe in. Tastes better a lot of the time, too, because it's fresh-picked, and the sugars in the carrots and other vegetables have not yet converted to starches. Our new Whole Foods has recently opened in Napa, and they also have Riverdog Veggies, among, of course, a world of others.

I wanted to be sure to note that although I don't specifically say it in my recipes, when I say turnips, I mean organic turnips. When I say canned kidney beans, I mean organic canned kidney beans. When I say ground beef, I mean the best organic or grass fed natural you can get, from as close as you can get it. If you don't have access to anything else, try your best to change your meat and dairy to organic.

There is tons of information out there, and too much stuff to try to remember at the grocery store sometimes. Once you zero in on your brands, though, it's not too hard to remember. In canned food, dairy and eggs, I look for organic first, and if there are two brands, I pick the one that has the closest source or distribution center. Organic canned kidney beans, for example, can come from Ohio, or they can come from Sacramento. I pick Sacramento. Sometimes there is no substitute for what I want or need. I still (sorry!) buy the non-organic Greek style yogurt that comes all the way from Greece, because all of the American mediterranean style yogurts I have tried are too sour. But I'm honing in on a better choice, and I think the Trader Joe's organic mediterranean style is going to work.

I realize that I'm speaking from a position of relative freedom of choice in terms of availability, variety and ability to purchase these items. The more we support organic farming, the easier it will become for these items to be distributed and more farmers hopefully will get on the band wagon, bringing prices down so that more people can have access to food that is good for them and for the planet. Don't you think?