tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56258147372898619402024-03-13T23:46:04.701-05:00The Quest For a Sustainable FamilyThis blog is about a mum trying to make her family healthier, sustainable, fairer and safer without losing her mind.Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-85476948916123445692011-02-04T14:33:00.001-06:002011-02-04T16:08:36.592-06:00"Organic" Tostitos?
The other day I asked my husband to buy some chips to go with a chili I had made. In an attempt to please me he bought a bag of Tostitos that were labeled as "made with certified organic corn", but didn't have the USDA organic official label on. This made me suspicious so I went to read the ingredients listed : organic blue corn, expeller pressed sunflower oil and sea salt. So no preservatives Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-31692683365832972022011-02-04T13:34:00.000-06:002011-02-04T13:34:36.031-06:00New Recipe BlogI have decided to move my recipes to a different blog from now on. I just thought it would be better organized this way, so this blog is going to be the place where I talk about organic food and sustainable eating but you will be able to find my recipes (organic and non) on my other blog called "What is Gabi Cooking Today". So if you are following this blog for the recipes, I recommend you Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-84936548601229956662011-02-04T13:31:00.001-06:002011-02-04T15:40:00.364-06:00Door to door organicsSince our CSA subscription ended in October we have been getting our organic veggies and fruit through a new service called Door to Door Organics. They are based in Chicago and their product are not necessarily local ( for obvious reasons) but they have multiple advantages:
they deliver right to your doorstep ( which in this weather is a huge plus for me).
you can choose many different box sizesGabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-39510281563742683362011-01-18T11:15:00.000-06:002011-01-18T11:15:56.493-06:00Italy and the QuestItalian food is very good. This much everybody knows, even people who have never been to Italy and have only tasted the american rendition of it can tell you as much. Sometimes though, they say, it can be a little too heavy and eating Italian food all the time would make you super fat. WRONG. American Italian food would make you super fat, sure. American Italian food was created by Italian Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-80975743644051689682010-08-31T15:18:00.001-05:002011-02-04T16:09:11.019-06:00Book Review: Food IncThis book is called "a participant guide" to the movie Food Inc. and it is a collection of essays on the topics that the movie addresses. The essays are from a variety of authors and organizations and the topics go from food safety to the exploitation of farmers workers, from the effects of pesticide poisoning to a study of the ethanol policy of the government. What I liked the most about it is Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-67039499064597083272010-08-31T15:08:00.001-05:002011-02-04T16:09:39.887-06:00Our CSA experience - fifth box
This week from the CSA:
- Fennel
- parsley
- Lots of tomatoes
- fresh onion
- Italian beans
I haven't tried the beans yet, I wonder why they call them Italian anyway. We are very happy of the abundance of tomatoes and zucchini. I am canning as much sauce as I can but we alway end up eating most of it fresh, it is just too good! The fennel is still disappointingly small.Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-73617728587842806402010-08-31T15:04:00.000-05:002010-08-31T15:04:20.827-05:00Our CSA experience -fourth boxThis week from the CSA
- fennel
- onion
- kohlrabi ( we always get one!)
- basil
- arugula
- 7 tomatoes
- cucumber
I have to admit I was pretty disappointed by the fennel. I am used to nice big bulbs, which is the edible part, while these fennels seemed to have only leaves and very small bulbs, thus occupying most of our box while giving us close to nothing to eat. I know I could have used the Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-78414889818784845372010-08-31T14:56:00.000-05:002010-08-31T14:56:57.012-05:00Our CSA experience - third box
In our third box from the CSA farm we got:
- beets
- our first tomatoes!
- fresh basil
- chard
- red cabbage
- salad
- walla walla onions
- kohlrabi
- eggs
- 1 zucchini
I tried roasting the beets, as many people had told me that was the best way to have them, and even though I have to say they were good, it seemed like way too much work and heat for a few beets, maybe if I had roasted them with Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-85953960625126345942010-08-31T14:45:00.000-05:002010-08-31T14:45:43.546-05:00Our CSA experience - visit to the farm
Freedom Organix - vegetable patch
A couple of weeks ago we visited our CSA farm, FreedomOrganix. The farm is located right out of Harvard, so for us it is about a 40 minutes drive from home. Harvard is still a very rural town where farming is the biggest source of income. Judging by the look of the downtown it probably saw better days and the recession must be hitting it pretty hard. It is alsoGabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-51265791062751820602010-08-07T17:00:00.001-05:002010-08-07T17:01:24.755-05:00Nature's Cornucopia in Mchenry,ILI visited this store because of the large sign on the window that says "health food store" and because many websites related to organic products would direct me to it as a place that would be stocked with a variety of organic products. I was initially a little disappointed because most of the store seems to be actually dedicated to vitamins, herbs and other forms of holistic cures, which is Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-2509074881785647122010-08-06T15:14:00.001-05:002010-08-06T15:18:29.025-05:00Product Review: Organic Chicken from R-Family farm
Normally sized Chicken Breasts from R-family farm
Last week we bought a whole cut-up chicken from R-Family farm at the Woodstock Farmers'market. They had just killed them the day before the market, so you definitely cannot go any fresher than that! It has to be said that at 4.50 a pound it is much more expensive than any chicken you will buy at the store, but we are trying to reduce the amount Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-30141268188380863582010-08-06T15:01:00.001-05:002010-08-06T15:01:56.180-05:00Do Journalists Know What Organic Really Means? ABC7 newsToday I was watching ABC7 and they were doing a section on food with Steve Dolinsky called the Hungry Hound that reviews local restaurants and food of the Chicago area. As they were closing in, Steve Dolinsky mentioned something about organic pork being used more and more in Chicago restaurants, and one of the hosts of the program ( I did not catch her name unfortunately ) thought it was very Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-28453505909206957682010-08-06T14:33:00.001-05:002010-08-06T14:36:20.987-05:00The Bread Quest - Second Attempt
My lovely husband last week decided to try making bread again and this time he did a Ciabatta bread! He took the recipe from Epicurious but substituted part of the flour with whole wheat upon my request. Probably for this reason the bread didn't rise as much as it should have, but it was still pretty good! Kudos to my husband! Right away out of the oven it seemed a little to yeasty, but Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-73195164717130550802010-08-06T14:02:00.000-05:002010-08-06T14:02:26.751-05:00Our CSA experience - second box
Here is week 2 of our CSA experience with Freedomorganix:
- 12 eggs- 1 melon ( not sure what it is called, it is orange inside but it is not a Cantaloupe)- 1 small pale yellow squash- 1 large onion- 1 bunch of fresh onion- 1 kohlrabi- 1 big bag of salad- 1 big bag of arugula- 2 jalapeno peppers
Last week the quantity was pretty good for us in the end. With the arugula, that was particularly Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-82537564609831883262010-08-02T15:05:00.001-05:002010-08-02T15:05:37.586-05:00Cheap Food And Farm Workers Rights
As I was reading the book "Food inc." I came across an article by Arturo Rodriguez, the president of the United Farm Workers, a union which tries to fight for the rights of farm workers across the nation. From what he says, the conditions under which farm workers are forced to work are appalling. Not only the workers are paid much under the level of poverty (the official poverty level is 21.000Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-65198327153190304982010-08-01T11:04:00.001-05:002010-08-01T11:09:53.076-05:00The Quest for Eating Out: Duke's Alehouse and KitchenI have to admit that since we started the quest we pretty much stopped eating out. It is simply impossible to know where your food is from in a restaurant. Most of the restaurants have to try and keep costs down as much as possible, and buying organic ingredients is definitely not a good low-price policy. Chain restaurants buy in bulk from big producers, who are also usually the ones using the Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-41628929049887211062010-07-30T14:31:00.001-05:002010-07-30T14:32:53.196-05:00Sweetened drinks: an American addictionIn my quest I had no problem at all cutting on soda and any other sweetened drink. This is because I am Italian and I grew up considering water a drink, and everything else a snack or some kind of guilty pleasure to be enjoyed only in seldom special occasions. We did not buy Coke in my house, and not because my mum was some kind of health nut, it simply was not normal for us to spend money on Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-62548298440396131162010-07-30T14:02:00.003-05:002010-07-30T14:13:27.535-05:00The Quest for the Reusable BagSince I started the quest I have also finally adopted reusable bags. I have 3 bags that I keep in my car, when I come home I immediately put them near the entrance to the garage to remind me to put them back in the car as soon as I get out. So far I have been pretty good at remembering to take them with me, but I have to say I did have some concerns about putting produce in the bags with no kind Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-57646025230284883022010-07-30T09:33:00.001-05:002010-07-30T14:12:25.211-05:00Our CSA experience - first box
Our first box from the CSA
Yesterday we got our first box from the CSA. We got:
12 eggs
4 ears of sweetcorn
1 large zucchini
1 large summer squash
1 red cabbage
1 kohlrabi
1 bunch of parsley
I will be honest, I was hoping for more zucchini. I think probably the sweetcorn ears took up a lot of the space. I like sweetcorn but there isn't as much you can do with it except eating it boiled or Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-9352873832283420802010-07-29T15:40:00.002-05:002010-07-30T14:13:00.864-05:00The Bread Quest - First AttemptIdeally, we would like to start making our own bread for a variety of reasons:
One is that the bread that we buy at the store is not entirely to our satisfaction anyway. I am from Italy and I miss the crusty bread that lasts fresh and tasty for more than one day that I ate everyday at home, and I don't even consider "toast" bread a real bread to be eaten with a meal.
I also noticed Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-78768290950969420672010-07-29T15:21:00.001-05:002010-07-30T14:12:40.567-05:00Why It Is a Good Idea to Join a CSA ( Community Supported Agriculture)We just joined a CSA farm, which is a farm that sells shares of its crops at the beginning of the season and then gives a share of its crops weekly to its members during harvest season. The farm we joined is called Freedom Organix and is located in Harvard, which is not too far from us. We joined when the season had already begun, but we are still going to enjoy 12 weeks of organic andGabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-17064244990484998262010-07-27T13:34:00.001-05:002010-07-27T13:34:37.867-05:00Product Review : Organic Pork Chops from R-family farmLast Saturday we bought pork chops from R-Family Farm at the Farmers' market in Woodstock, IL. They raise their own Berkshire pigs that are free to graze and pasture while also fed the organic feed that they make on their farm. The meat is slightly darker than the one you would find at the store and it's obviously more expensive, since we bought 4 pork chops for 15.00 $.
I cooked the chops in theGabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-71917794077774383142010-07-27T13:11:00.002-05:002010-07-30T14:13:13.628-05:00VICTORY! USDA Sets Clear Pasture Standards for Organic DairyOn the website of the Organic Consumers Association I finally found further information on the issue of pasture access for organic cows. Apparently new regulations are on their way of being approved ( as I understand from the official document they started having effect on June 2010 but the producers have 1 year of time to comply). Cows will have to be pastured for at least 120 days of the year, Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-88297930511129034342010-07-26T09:19:00.001-05:002010-07-30T14:14:38.997-05:00My Diet to fight the daily symptoms of Multiple SclerosisI asked my sister to contribute with her personal experience on the relationship between food and her health. As I say in the page How the Quest Began she was one of the reasons why I started my quest to eat a better and more conscious diet. Here is the translation of her post.
My experience:
My Diet to fight the daily symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis
A few words on MS
Not everybodyGabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5625814737289861940.post-73324577490883073952010-07-26T08:20:00.001-05:002010-07-30T14:14:50.692-05:00La dieta per contrastare la sintomatologia quotidiana della Sclerosi Multipla. ( Italian Article )I asked my sister to contribute with her personal experience of the relationship between food and her health. As I say in the page How the Quest Began she was one of the reasons why I started my quest to eat a better and more conscious diet. I will post her post here in Italian and I will immediately start translating it so I can post it in English too.
La mia esperienza:
La dieta per Gabriella Vagnolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772600387274981409noreply@blogger.com0