cook well-eat well-live well

why green, why organic?

"It is vitally important that we can continue to say.

with absolute conviction, that organic farming

delivers the highest quality, best-tasting food,

produced without artificial chemicals or genetic

modification. and with respect for animal welfare and

the environment, while helping to maintain the

landscape and rural communities."-Prince Charles

Never have the topicS of green, organic, and sustainable

agriculture been more popular in the modern Wester world

than they are now. With the realities of global warming and

the stark depletion of the earth's resources, such as water,

coal, oil, and natural gas, people are beginning to realize that

we must make a change; our planet's survival depends on it.

We must not only educate ourselves about what it means to

live sustainably, but also expand our awareness of the

consequences of our current course. Consider, for instance,

that almost every other species would benefi from the

extinction of ours. Can we humans release ourselves from our

narcissistic assumption that we are more important than all

other life forms, so that we might see ourselves as one species

among many? Ought we not to at least try to exchange some

of our control over nature and recognize our interdependence

with it?

Don't worry, I'm not going tojump up on an (organic)

apple crate and go off on some kind of eco-maniacal rant.

None of us responds well to lectures, however well intended

they may be. But it seems rather obvious that so many of us

have lost our connection to the food we put into our bodies.

Many of us are unaware of where it comes from and how it is

grown and processed before it even reaches us. This

disconnect is a symptom of our more fundamental separation

from nature itself.

These days our food and everything else we buy isjust

one click away. Sometimes I catch myself looking at my

daughter, wondering what kind of world she will inherit and

how she will relate to it. She is four years old and already

perceives a cell phone as an integral part of her everyday life experience, merely because her parents give it so much

attention. Does she think trees are as important? Or insects?

For that reason and others, we spend time with her in the

garden observing the bees, planting herbs, or watching a

spider. She helps make dinner sometimes and we ask her to

take the kitchen scraps to the composter so that she'll

recognize some part of the cycle of life. I have high hopes

and aspirations for her, but more than anything I would like

for her to have respect for Mother Earth and her many gifts.

I would love to snap my fingers and magically find

myself on an organic farm, growing my own fruits and

vegetables and raising my chickens for eggs, and then snap

my fingers again and be back in the city fulfilling my

responsibilities here. Perhaps one day finding the best of both

worlds will not entail magic and teleportation. In the

meantime, I can make micro changes to my city life that I

know will help improve the environment. I do the obvious

green things, like recycling, buying locally grown and

seasonal foods from local farmers' markets, composting,

turning offlights in empty rooms, using cloth bags when I

shop. and growing an organic herb garden. But the question I

ask every day is, �What is one more small thing I can do in

order to make a bigger difference?" I've learned that it need

not be drastic. Every step, I believe, matters.

I am oft en asked, �How do I make the switch, it seems so

intimidating?" or �Does organic realy make a difference to

my family's health?" and "Does my lifestyle really affect the

environment?" You may be asking yourself these very

questions right now. This book will provide some answers to

those questions and at the very least, help you take a step in

the right direction.

Going green and organic is easier than you think; it's

about taking small steps that are manageable for you and fit

into your everyday life. And, undoubtedly, green and organic

habits go hand-in-hand; you really can't have one without the

other. If one is making the conscious choice to eat organic

food. one is making a green choice. If you choose to drive a

greener car, you will probably find it rather difficult to drive

that hybrid while continuing to eat foods that are laden with

chemicals and strain natural resources.

"Green," "organic," and "sustainable" are now part of our

everyday lexicon, and it's only a matter of time before they

describe the way we all live. Being green is not just for

hippies and New Agers, and going organic is no longer only

for the privileged. Before the invention of refrigerated freight

cars and cargo holds, everyone ate organic locally grown

food. Let's do our best to get back to that way of life.

The kitchen is a great place to start. It is the hub of our

homes, where the action takes place. It is where most

products enter our homes, and where the largest amounts of

waste leave them. Let the kitchen be the springboard for this

green and organic path we will be following in this book, one

step at a time.  

Contents 

• introduction: why green, why organic?
• chapter 1 greening your kitchen
• chapter 2 starters
• chapter 3 soups page
• chapter 4 salads
• chapter 5 main dishes
• chapter 6 side dishes
• chapter 7 desserts and sweets
• menu suggestions
• organic califoria wines

cook well-eat well-live well