Food trailers are all the rage along with food trucks, which have been popular since the 50’s. From Portland to Los Angeles to Austin to Kansas City to Chicago, having a food truck or trailer is a great way for small business owners to get their delicious, inexpensive meals to the people without breaking their own bank. If you are a mobile food truck you have to be social…
Now that 100 degree weather is here I’m doing my very best not to turn on the oven. I’m also doing a soy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free cleanse with a group of friends and fans over at my Facebook page. These treats hit the spot and qualify for the SGS Cleanse. Dates are used to lightly sweeten the truffles and make them stick together. Dates are a dried fruit and are full…
Happy Earth week!! Today I’d like to feature what I personally consider to be the Best of the Best Green Restaurants for their efforts in bringing healthy organic vegetarian/vegan food to their customers and doing their part to tread lightly on the planet. I prefer to support restaurants who use local produce, offer seasonal specials, and use biodegradable to-go packaging whenever possible. For me everyday is Earth Day. I do…
Yeah, yeah everyone is talking about how to be green. Turn off your lights, bring grocery bags to the store, don’t waste water, etc. I personally try to do all those things and they are very important and easy to do. But what about greening your diet? Make a few simple changes in the way you eat and you’ll get your green badge quicker than ever (or at least I…
Gourmet vegan chocolate is practically my favorite food in the world. So you can imagine the heavenly joy I felt when my husband brought me a large bag of chocolate assortments from different gourmet chocolatiers that had recently participated as exhibitors at the Natural Food Products Expo in Anaheim, California. For those who don’t know about it, the Natural Foods Expo is a convention that brings together all the manufacturers and distributors of natural, organic, vegetarian, vegan,…
“We hope that our simple method of making this valuable cultured soy food will lead to both an increased demand for organically grown soybeans and more local and regional food production. This will result in healthier people and a healthier planet.” – Betsy Shipley and Gunter Pfaff Tempeh, or tempe in Indonesian, is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into cake form. It is unique…
I was doing research on genetically modified organisms (GMO) and found an article in the recent winter edition of California Alumni Magazine titled Dinner by Design. It is an interesting read. In the article, the author presents arguments on both sides of the GMO debate ultimately siding with the argument for GMOs as he believes GMOs are best at “beating pests to extending shelf life to creating prettier apples.” He…
In early May, Rio Gozo Farm owner Steve Sprinkel announced the expansion of his Ojai Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program “down river” to residents in Ventura. CSA is a relatively new movement in the United States starting in the mid-80’s. It is a farm program offering subscribers a weekly box of seasonal, fresh produce and a chance to have a direct connection to the food put on their table. Four…
Earth trine. Two separate words when combined have a special meaning. Earth is self explanatory. But what is trine? The man behind the successful Earthtrine Farm, Robert “BD” Dautch, explained that trine refers to an aspect in astrology. As applied to one of the Ojai Valley’s most successful organic farms, it is the conjunction of the astrological signs for BD, his wife and his son. All three have “earth” signs.…
Ojai Center for Regenerative Agriculture by Randy Graham How do David White (Farmer Dave) and Katy Overstreet (Farmer Katy) have fun on Wednesday mornings? This is not a trick question. If you know anything about the Ojai Center for Regenerative Agriculture (CRA) you know it is educating children at Rio Gozo Organic Farm in Ojai. The CRA was formed as a California Nonprofit Corporation in 2002 by David White and…
Why Garden Organically By: John Ross, Rivenrock Rocks, http://www.rivenrock.com There are many people who garden organically for many different reasons. Chief among these are the various philosophical reasons such as a desire to live in harmony with the Earth. Living within one’s means so to speak, and attaining a balance in the garden. I garden organically because of these reasons, and also because to me it seems easier ultimately. I…