Organic and Fresh Taste Better!

So we've received our second box of veges from our Full Circle Farm CSA, and I thought I'd share the bounty of our box!

Our attention was immediately grabbed by the sweetness of our vegetables and fruits. This time of year the produce available in the grocery store often tastes bland, watery, or bitter. Not these vegetables!

A few surprising things:
1. At first the portions seemed a bit tiny, but when I got around to cooking them, it turns out they are perfect for two people. Enough for two servings at dinner and some leftovers for the next day. We are just used to buying one large bag of something to save money, and not having any variety. The variety is wonderful!

2. Some of our fruit came from South America??? I thought it was a local Co-op, but after emailing CSA, they replied that they 'strive to provide a nutritionally complete set of vegetables and fruit each week' so they must bring in some fruit and some vegetables from South America. They personally verify that the farms are organic, fair trade, and use fair labor practices. My mango from Peru is from a 40 farm agricultural co-op, that raises organic fruit for a premium price. Hmmm....so still not local, but I guess if I want a mango in February in Alaska, that's where you have to go. I'm still thinking about this. In the future I may swap out the mangos for local produce. That mango was delicious though.... Tough decisions!

3. We're trying new vegetables! We ate garnet yams and bok choy for the first time last week (both delicious by the way), and new this week is kale and sunchokes. Can't wait to see what they taste like!

Also nice is the small amount of waste - one large plastic bag (that I used to wrap the veges in within my refrigerator), two small paper bags, one small plastic bag from the salad greens, and two small plastic net bags. That's it. The box it comes in gets flattened and re-used.

Before

After

No, this isn't the vegetable box, but it was so cute I couldn't resist. Our Quentin Cat is just so adorable sometimes!


Love to all, hope everyone out there is staying safe, and yes mom, we're being careful on these slick roads.

Vegetables!

We've been buying local produce for a long time. But living in Alaska it is tough during the winter to find a variety of locally grown foods. Many of the fruits, vegetables, and herbs are obviously flown in from warmer climates.

I always buy potatoes and carrots locally, and in season tomatoes, zucchini and of course, I pick blueberries and freeze rhubarb.

But how to avoid fruit flown from Chile, where who knows what pesticides and working conditions are used? Well, a friend has convinced me to try a community subscription service (CSA) from a farming cooperative out of Washington State. (Full Circle Farm if you’re interested) It’s still flying in produce, and not local, but they guarantee all member farms are organic, in the northwest, and use fully legal labor to harvest their produce. For $38 per box I get 12-14 different kinds of vegetables, fruits and herbs. I chose to receive a box every other week right here in Eagle River, and for the comfortable price of $76 per month for almost all my fresh veggies – I’m pretty happy. It fits in my budget, is supporting good farms in the US, and gives us the variety we’re craving.

I can’t wait for my first box full of tangello's, leeks, yams, basil, spinach and apples!

PS If you're in Anchorage and want to do this too - just go to their website and sign up. There is no minimum order and you can start and stop at any time. Also, if you list us as your referral, we get a free box :)

Going Green...Slowly

Going Green…Slowly

Hello friends and family!

Inspired by my friend in Scotland who is transforming her farm into an organic operation, I’ve decided to document my steps to be a little greener. Hopefully you will read this and be inspired. We made all of these changes slowly, and really, every change has been a good one.

1. Carpooling: Rich and I take one vehicle into Anchorage during the week. This caused some schedule problems originally because I only work 37.5 hours per week, and Rich often works 40+. However, after a frank discussion with my supervisor I was able to adjust my schedule to better match Richards…and I have the benefit of having Friday afternoons off to do the town chores like bulk shopping and visiting the good library.
2. Cleaners: I have stopped purchasing toxic cleaners. It’s better for Rich and I, and for our pets, and eventually, for our children (and the planet, but when your skin turns red and rashy if you use the wrong laundry soap…you tend to focus on your personal benefit). I am already sensitive to many chemicals, including fragrances and dyes. I’ve been using up our existing cleaners and then replacing them with greener versions. My favorites so far: Dr. Bronner’s soaps (Rich’s mom Sandy showed me a great store here in Anchorage to get these), Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Dish Soap that smells like geraniums, Seventh Generation dishwashing liquid, All free and Clear laundry soap, with Bounce dye and scent free dryer sheets, and good ‘ol baking soda, white vinegar and hot water for the rest.
3. Recycling: In Anchorage we’re lucky enough to have recycling facilities. Having been unused to this in Fairbanks it has taken us awhile to shift over (nobody’s perfect!) but we now have a dedicated place for recycled glass. In the future I’m hopeful to have it setup for #2 plastics, plastic bags, and mixed paper. We re-use a good quantity of our plastic bags for cleaning up after our dogs…but the bags still seem to build up. We don’t generate a lot of aluminum or batteries, so I bring what we do have into work which has a large set-up for this.
4. Grocery Bags: Now that I’m getting more organized with the shopping, I’ve stashed re-usable grocery bags in my truck, so that when I go, they are all ready to go too.
5. Locally grown and produced: We buy the local milk (as long as it’s around, the fate of the dairy is still undecided), local veges (so far only potatos and carrots, and some tomatoes and zucchini’s during the summer), and for the rest we try to get it from the Northwest at least. Again, we’re not perfect, but we’re reading labels and trying to make better choices.
6. Organic! We’ve changed to buying organic products when and where we can. Rich is very allergic to the skins of soft fruits like apples and peaches, and I can’t help but wonder if the pesticides they use on these types of fruits are the culprit. We’ve also switched to whole grains and lower sugar. After a visit to my friend Liz, whose dad has diabetes, I’m looking to cut out high fructose corn syrup too. That stuff is in EVERYTHING!

What’s in the future?

Well, next year we plan on getting a more fuel efficient car (2008 Jetta Diesel) and use that for commuting instead of Rich’s big truck. His truck does surprisingly well on gas mileage – 20+ mpg, but the Jetta would get 40+ mpg – much better and cheaper.

Replacing our windows and major appliances with energy star rated ones. They all need replacing, that’s for sure. This may be over the next few years.

Replacing our thermostats with smarter digital ones, that can lower the heat during the day and raise it up while we’re at home.

I hate energy efficient bulb lighting…and in the dark of winter I hate them even more. So our compromise is to use the lights more efficiently, and to replace the lights we don't need the high quality white light from So fare we've changed over the garage lights, and have plans to change our hallway lights, but elsewhere give me an old fashioned bright glow to read by.

Increase our purchasing of locally grown foods. We already harvest our own salmon and game meat, but buying a side of beef from Palmer would be a good idea for next year. Stocking up during the summer at the Farmer’s Markets is something I hope to start next season. I’ll finally get to use the canning lessons and Rich’s fine pressure cooker!

Next summer we’re converting 20 square feet or so of our back yard into a vegetable garden. I love veges, and this is an easy way to have them on hand and know exactly what went onto or into them. We will have to build a fenced enclosure to keep the dogs out, but I think overall it will look nice and be a valuable addition to our yard. I’m considering a strawberry planter for the front yard. I think the neighborhood kids would love it, and we could grow enough to share.

Use less Plastic: This is a goal I’ve had in the back of my mind for awhile now…but I’m trying to use less plastic to wrap and transport things. Someday I’d like to completely get rid of the ziplock bag, and use aluminum foil or wax paper, which we can recycle. We have to use plastic though to wrap our salmon so that it lasts all year though…anyways, something I’m struggling with.

That’s all for now – any other green ideas you all think Rich and I could implement?