Quote of the Day

I realized I wanted to save the world. Then I realized I couldn’t save the world, but I could change my own garden.

Then I though that maybe, just maybe, my neighbors and all their friends might take up the cause. Maybe, just maybe, we could weave together a network of poison-free, bio diverse, nature-friendly gardens that would, in the end, make a difference.

And this has become my quest.

-Liz Primeau (Front Yard Gardens: Growing more than Grass)

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Rainy Days

We finally got some rain yesterday after many many days without. It was so dry here even my drought resistant plants were wilting & getting crispy. Thanks to what was left of a hurricane we got a full day of soaking rain yesterday.

My rain barrels collected a respectable amount of water, so I’m ready for the next dry spell!
Did you get some much-needed rain from this system?

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I Couldn’t have Said it Better Myself

Kim Carlson wrote a great article on Slow Food Nation about eating locally. This is exactly why Mr. Chiots and I do it.

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Colorful Local Meals

When it comes to eating locally, summers are easy here in the north. Our lunch the other day was just abut 100% local and super healthy (as well as delicious), check out all the different colors.

So what is this meal made of? Local sweet corn with a little homemade butter (made with cream from a local dairy farm), braised red cabbage (cabbage, onions, and apples from the farmer’s market), tomato (sliced heirloom tomato from the local farmer’s market) and whole grain seeded sourdough (made with freshly ground local organic wheat). The only non-local ingredients were the flax, sesame & oats in the bread (even the yeast was local since it’s my own sourdough starter).

What are you eating that’s local and in season this week?

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An Apple a Day

The other day while on our way home, Mr Chiots and I spotted an apple tree beside the road with a bunch of apples on it. There is a small orchard down the road, so probably years ago someone bought an apple, ate it and threw the core out the window.

We stopped the car and picked one and tasted it. They were delicious, so picked as many as we could reach (it looked like someone else had been picking them as well).

So what are my plans for these apples? I’m thinking of cooking them down with some transparent apples I bought at the farmer’s market to make some apple butter.

Have you ever picked fruit from the side of the road?

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