Alison Grantham is in my kitchen today, sharing her insights from testing organic and chemical agriculture, and her surprising chocolate-and-vegetable guilty pleasure. Alison currently directs all aspects of the Rodale Institute’s soil-focused organic agriculture research program. Previously, Alison completed a thesis in soil ecology in which she developed a calorespirometric method to quantify changes in […]
Organic Living
Can Chemicals Be Washed Off Your Fruits and Vegetables?
I often get asked if you need to buy those produce washes to clean off your fruits and veggies, especially if they are not organic. My gut instinct has told me two things: One, a little bit of soap and water works just as well, and doesn’t cost much. And two, I have always suspected […]
Bronx Green-Up Wants New Yorkers to Make Friends with Worms
By guest blogger Annie Spiegelman, a.k.a. the Dirt Diva. Last month I had the privilege of signing copies of my new book, Talking Dirt, (Penguin Group, 2010) at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Am I shamelessly promoting my book here? Of course I am! But mostly, I want to tell the world […]
My Favorite Organic Baked Beans
My favorite picnic dish just got better. It was late. I was starving for baked beans and could have sworn I had my favorite nonorganic brand in my pantry. In fact, I thought I had a couple of cans. I searched. I cursed. But I couldn’t find them anywhere. That’s when I spotted the organic […]
National Mustard Day! (My Top 5 Uses for Mustard)
Tomorrow, August 7, is National Mustard Day. Now, that’s something to celebrate in these hot days of summer. I like mustard. I especially like yellow mustard, but the stone-ground kind has its uses, too. I am thrilled that I can finally get all my favorite mustards in organic versions that taste just as good, if […]
A Visit to My Kitchen: Cynthia Lair
Certified Health and Nutrition Counselor and author Cynthia Lair is in my kitchen today, chatting about cooking curiosity and ditching the all-white diet. Cynthia on the faculty of Bastyr University’s School of Nutrition and Exercise Science, and is culinary curriculum director for its new BS in Nutrition and Culinary Arts degree program. She’s a contributing […]
Don’t Frack Organic Food!
By Leah Zerbe, online editor for Rodale.com, a daily health and environmental news site. A leading fuel life-cycle analysis expert says turning to hydraulic fracturing for natural gas as a major national energy source would be “disastrous.” As certified organic farmer Greg Swartz spoke to me on the phone last week from his front porch […]
The Dressing Room, a Rave Review
I’ve been meaning to get to Michel Nischan‘s restaurant The Dressing Room in Westport, Connecticut, for years. I first met him when he was the chef at Heartbeat, one of the very first farm-to-table restaurants in Manhattan (at the W Hotel on 49th Street). He was really nice back then, and, guess what, he’s still […]
Scratch
Raised on America’s first organic farm, Scratch author Maria Rodale learned how to make everyday favorites from, yes, scratch — the way you remember them; the way they turn out best.
Order NowOrganic Manifesto
Drawing on findings from leading health researchers as well as conversations with both chemical and organic farmers from coast to coast, Maria Rodale irrefutably outlines the unacceptably high cost of chemical farming on our health and our environment.
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