Citizens Co-op Produce | Gainesville Food Photography

For Thanksgiving last week, Citizens Co-op set up a special online ordering system so you could get fresh food for the holiday.  I ordered two packs of local tempeh from Jose's tempeh and a bag of produce from Swallowtail Farms.  Both have been excellent so far!  The tempeh was cooked in onion and spices and has a very autumnal taste to it.  The produce came in a wonderful bag.  There were all kinds of goodies in there: turnips, sweet potatoes, salad greens, kale, arugula, fresh rosemary, purple bok choi, and so on.  I used the turnips, sweet potatoes, and some of the rosemary in a lovely roasted root vegetable dish with some beets, onions, and carrots.  I cooked down the greens for a veg version of southern greens, and I'm going to attack those salad greens for lunch today.


Swallowtail does run a CSA, so if you are interested in joining, please check them out at swallowtailcsa.com.  CSA stands for community supported agriculture.  If you join a CSA, you pay a flat fee directly to a farm, and they provide you with a box of a variety of fresh produce every week.  Joining a CSA is a great way to support local foods and farmers, as well as a sure way to always have healthy, fresh produce on hand.


For more information on Citizens Co-op, you can visit their website at citizensco-op.com.

 

Jamie Oliver's TED Talk

I am a fan of TED Talks.  I admit it.  They give people with something important to say the chance to say it, to proverbially shout their message from the rooftops.  Jamie Oliver (you know, The Naked Chef... crazy British cook with his own little show on Food Network?) gave a TED Talk just recently about the role that school food and food prepared outside the home plays in child obesity.  


Interestingly enough, I also received this email this week:

Dear "Food Inc." Fan, Thank you for going to see Food Inc. and for signing the Hungry for Change petition. As official partners of the film, Slow Food USA is thrilled to see the food movement gaining so much momentum. We invite you to continue building that momentum by helping America's schools serve healthier food for lunch. More than 31 million children participate in the National School Lunch Program.  Helping schools serve more fruits and vegetables and fewer processed foods may be the most promising way to end child obesity and teach good health -- but it simply can't happen unless Congress passes a strong Child Nutrition Act later this month.. Since you signed the Food Inc. petition and chose to receive information from the film's partners, we'll keep you updated on ways to get involved with our Time for Lunch campaign and Slow Food USA.  You can also opt out of future emails by clicking the unsubscribe link below. We appreciate your support. Thank you, Slow Food USA and the Time for Lunch campaign team

I have to say that I'm pretty excited that all this is taking place... that there are a few people shouting from the rooftops.  I know I'm not the only one listening and doing a little happy dance because someone is actually up there and carrying on about this issue.  The thought that someday I might have kids that will be sent off to school and be faced with seriously unhealthy cafeteria food is a little frightening to me.  My hope is that movements like this will really begin to take hold and make a difference, not just for my own theoretical children that might exists someday, but for the rest of the folks out there too.  


Anyway, enough words... here's the talk.  Enjoy.


http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html