real food

By Samantha Cronin A few weeks ago, as I was reflecting and brainstorming while munching on an apple in the sustainable living library at the Upper Valley Food Co-op in White River Junction, Vermont, I came across a children’s book called The Story of Johnny Appleseed, written and illustrated by Aliki. Since my five-month-old daughter was with me, I was delighted to find such a gem and decided to read it to her. As I recited the story aloud, the memories started to flow as I remembered when my Grandmother and Mother had read the story to me. I recalled how Jonathan “Johnny Appleseed” Chapman was a peacemaker. He lived a simple life, spreading seeds of love. He cherished food and...

"I want to make a pumpkin pie," said my oldest daughter Sophia. "No problem," I thought, "I've made hundreds of pumpkin pies over the years." "With real pumpkin, Daddy!" Oh, schnikes, we're going to have to make a pumpkin pie from scratch. Should I complain that my child recognizes pumpkins as a food and not just a festive decoration? Is this not what we want? Children who know where food comes from and what its original, unprocessed form looks like. So why am I panicked? "Penny and I are both gonna help," she added. Now I'll have to juggle two creaky stools, a motivated 4-year-old, a feisty 2-year-old, and a fresh pumpkin. I was fortunate that my mother and father cooked with us throughout...

To celebrate Cider Week 2012, we are pleased to share with you an excerpt from Taste, Memory, a brand new book (to be released on October 11) that describes the rediscovery of forgotten foods and the process of bringing them back to our tables.  In Taste, Memory, author David Buchanan explores questions fundamental to the future of food and farming. How can we strike a balance between preserving the past, maintaining valuable agricultural and culinary traditions, and looking ahead to breed new plants? What place does a cantankerous old pear or too-delicate strawberry deserve in our gardens, farms, and markets? To what extent should growers value efficiency and uniformity over...

Below is the first of two excerpts from The Seed Underground by Janisse Ray, which offers a fascinating look at the critical role that seed saving plays in our food sovereignty. As part of a new partnership with Chelsea Green Publishing, FarmPlate will be promoting some of Chelsea Green's great food and farming books, offering discounts and other promotions. My saying this may seem crazy when you think about the bounty of the farmers market or the availability of boxes and bottles at the supermarket, but we are, in fact, losing food. Thousands of distinct varieties worldwide, especially ancient breeds, are threatened; fewer and fewer farmers are growing them—and in many cases, no farmers...

For the last few years, the Green page on the Huffington Post has put out a ranking of the ten best cities for local food. It’s a good list, but there's no real criteria given for how they decided on which cities to include. More than that, how do you find great farm-to-table restaurants, farmers' markets, and other local fare once you get to one of these bastions of the local and artisanal? That’s where FarmPlate, the largest directory of sustainable food businesses on the Web, comes in. We decided to make it easy for you to find great local food in all of the top 10 cities by giving you a great place to start—check out the list below of great restaurants—then letting you loose to explore...

Founded in Boston in 1790, King Arthur Flour is America’s oldest flour company and has gradually become a pantry mainstay in many parts of the country. And while baking flour and progressive business practices may not seem like obvious bedfellows, King Arthur has been working hard to change that. In 1984, then-owners Frank and Brinna Sands moved the company from Massachusetts to Norwich, Vermont, where King Arthur is headquartered today. With the physical move came other significant changes at the company.  Among the changes, the company's prodigious growth is probably the most apparent. King Arthur has morphed from a small mail-order business with five employees in 1990 to a...

Originally posted on The Seed Hopper, High Mowing Organic Seeds' blog. Whether you are breaking new ground or you are an experienced gardener, making a detailed plan can help you to make the best use of your space, prioritize your crops, and maximize your harvests. While I love my wheel cultivator and swan neck hoe, my most precious garden tools are my planting map and calendar. Without them, I would be lost. There are a bunch of different websites that have interactive garden planning tools, such as GrowVeg, but for the “DIY” kind of person, the following tips will guide you through the garden planning process. Mapping Your Garden If this is your first season in the garden, you may want...