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Notes from a new farmer: Q&A with Michael Gallagher, Square Roots Farm
In every school, there is a legendary former student -- the one whose academic prowess knew no bounds. "Brilliant," people marvel about this student, even decades later. "That kid was brilliant." (Or, here in New England, you might hear: "Wicked smaaaaaht.") At my daughter's school, that individual is Michael Gallagher. A dozen years after he left
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Fish tale: Walmart’s sustainable seafood pledge has a long way to go
When big corporations make pledges to improve their sourcing practices, it's important to hold them accountable. After all, it's easy to hold a press conference pledging a new green policy; it's not so easy to fulfill the
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Grow vacancies: Gene Fredericks is thinking inside the city’s big box
They're the bane of urban and suburban areas alike: the vacant, boarded-up K-Marts and Home Depot Expos, squatting like concrete cowpies amidst a landscape of weedy parking lots. But where most people
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Math lessons for Budiansky: Industrial concentration vs. local choice
On Friday, New York Times op-ed contributor Steven Budiansky challenged local food advocates to rethink their math, mainly about food miles. As it happens, I was already doing some food calculations that day -- but not of the sort
Neophobia 101: When picky eaters confound Ethicureanish intentions
My four-year old ate a vegetable frittata the other day. Mind you, this hardly ranks among the most staggering of childhood achievements. It's not exactly up there with the 2-year-old
Cooking outside the zone: Agretti, paired with fregola
At last week's farmers market, one of my outside the zone choices (made in honor of National Farmers Market Week) was agretti (Salsola soda) from La
Cooking outside the comfort zone: green tomatoes
In the world of science, there's something called "publication bias," which recognizes that studies with positive results are more likely to be published than studies with negative ones. I suspect there is a similar bias
Cooking outside my comfort zone, Part 2: Fresh chickpeas
Last week, I vowed to escape my farmers market rut and cook outside my comfort zone in honor of National
Cooking outside my comfort zone, pt. 1: A remembrance of squash blossoms past
In honor of Farmers Market Week next week, I vowed here to get out of my market rut and cook outside my comfort zone. That's how I came
Cook outside your comfort zone in honor of National Farmers Market Week
It's the height of summer, and the tables of farmers markets around the country are overflowing with firm-fleshed, scarlet tomatoes; bunches of fragrant basil; and -- depending on where you live -- juicy stone fruits, avocados,
Want to grow food on City of Oakland land? Here’s how
By Stephanie Paige Ogburn We’ve all seen it: the vacant lot down the street that gets full sun, or the underused city park choked over with weeds. And many of us have thought: I bet that would be a great community garden space, if some enterprising growers
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U-Pick, u-pack, u-preserve cherry madness
By Mat Rogers Recently my wife and I took a day trip to the cherry and apricot orchards of Enos Family Farms in Brentwood, California, which offers pick-your-own-fruit
Yes we icon: SOLE food movement needs images
To mark the opening of "Water, Rivers and People (Agua, Ríos y Pueblos)," a photography exhibition about people's relationship with rivers and their struggle to protect them from destructive dams, mining projects, and other threats, International Rivers
Contain your enthusiasm: Review of “From Container To Kitchen”
As an apartment-dweller, I know the frustration of not having enough soil to call my own for a garden. (Why do you think
Getting Lodi’d: It’s raining apples!
When nature calls on the farm, we listen. Meaning, when a fruit with a short shelf life becomes suddenly ripe, there's no choice but to drop everything else. Did you know there are 7,500
