More Encouragement to Get Gardening

The ever-eloquent Michael Pollan strikes again. Check out the interview with him on Yale Environment 360: “Michael Pollan on What’s Wrong With Environmentalism.” There are a lot of good take-home messages here, including more encouragement to get out in the garden:
I don’t know exactly what percentage of greenhouse gas we would reduce if everybody planted [...]

Rotini with Swiss Chard & Sausage Ragu (Sara Foster’s Casual Cooking)

Rotini with Swiss Chard and Sausage, originally uploaded by shannon_turlington.
Please forgive me for posting this rich, hearty, warming pasta recipe in the middle of summer. Yes, this is truly a wintry dish, but it was so good that I couldn’t wait to share it with you.
This is the first recipe that I have tried from [...]

Good News: Americans Return to the Garden

We’ve been having a lot of fun in our garden this year, which occupies two vegetable boxes in our side front yard and a large herb circle in our front yard. We have gotten all our plants either at the farmers market or our local nursery, since this year we are boycotting Home Depot. Why? [...]

Fight Indoor Air Pollution! Air Out Your House

Here’s another thing to add to our list of things to worry about: indoor air pollution. Apparently, all sorts of things emit dangerous fumes called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including paint, cleaners, vinyl shower curtains and materials used in building wood furniture. You can recognize VOCs by their smell — that chemically “new car” smell. [...]

Glazing Vegetables

Glazing vegetables is an extremely useful technique for punching up an otherwise boring vegetable side dish. I used to avoid recipes that used this technique, because I associated glazed vegetables — specifically, carrots — with a sugary, syrupy sweet dish. If I wanted to eat dessert, I’d have ice cream.
But I was wrong. The traditional [...]

More Foods to Avoid and How to Do It

Only a couple of weeks after I wrote about fish and shellfish I’m no longer eating, I find this compelling op-ed in the New York Times (via CookThink) about why we should add salmon to that list. It seems that only wild Alaskan salmon is not endangered this season, but since it’s selling at record [...]

Caprese Salad

Melon Caprese Salad, originally uploaded by shannon_turlington.
A classic insalata caprese hardly needs a recipe. Just layer tomato slices, fresh mozzarella slices and basil leaves, and drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. For me, this simple Italian salad is one of the best ways to enjoy the goodness of summer.
But what about when the tomatoes aren’t [...]

Everything You Do Is Bad for You, Your Kids & the Planet

As I read around the Interwebs, it seems I discover more and more aspects of everyday modern American life that we think is necessary and good for us but actually is unhealthy for us and hurting our environment. It all seems to tie into the disconnect we have created from the simplest and most natural [...]

Slept Through the Night!

IMG_2284.JPG, originally uploaded by dylan555.
We interrupt this blog for an exciting announcement. Sean slept through the night for the first time last night, 10:30-7:30! Mommy and Daddy are so proud, but more importantly, they’re well rested.

Raspberry Sherbet (The Perfect Scoop)

I bought David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop last summer, but for some reason, I didn’t make any ice creams out of it last year. I don’t know why — the book is gorgeous, filled with tempting color photographs of Lebovitz’s unique ice cream recipes.
I have decided that this year I am not going to be [...]