Sandy Spring CSA

July 1, 2009: This week’s featured fruits and vegetables are: lettuce, salad mix, potatoes, carrots, Swiss chard, zucchini, cherries, beans and herb.

Don’t forget that Farmer Pam could still use some help with weeds! If you’re interested, please contact her via email.

Recipes: Chard Meets Grill

Swiss chard! Hooray for this week’s box and the return of another one of my faves!Chard pairs well with eggs: witness this recipe for Two Cheese Chard Parsley Quiche, or this one for Chard-Zucchini Frittata. Or, because we’re coming up on the 4th of July, try this terrific grilling recipe, Swiss Chard Wraps, a summertime favorite at our house.

Speaking of grilling: the zucchini in our boxes this week comes just in time for grilling! Try this recipe for Grilled Zucchini, or just make up your own. For a complete grill meal, try Grilled Tilapia Packets With Mushrooms, Zucchini, and Potatoes - sounds heavenly!

One more 4th of July thought: we took these Sesame Tempura Green Beans to a cookout a few years ago and they were a hit! We had to leave early, and the company was willing to part with us - but not with our green beans, which they made us leave behind to be devoured.

Happy 4th-of-July eating!

Food for Thought: Organic Bytes on Food and Health

In chewing through the June 24th issue of the Organic Consumers Association’s e-newsletter, Organic Bytes, I found some fun features on food and health to share with everyone:

Pin Down Pesticides

Those who liked last week’s web tool for tracking nutrients in food may be interested in a new web-based search tool that shows what pesticides are on your food. These toolmakers have included a lot of data in very digestible forms, including graphed comparisons of pesticide levels on conventional vs. organic food. Definitely worth a look.

AMA Links Sustainable Food to Preventative Care

The American Medical Association has just passed a resolution supporting the sustainable food system, saying among other things that it is not easy to separate the health of food from how healthfully that food is produced. With health care reform on everyone’s lips these days, it’s nice to see specific notice paid to the part that food plays in health. Check it out.

Foot-Dragging by the ADA

In marked contrast to the above pesticide data and AMA endorsement, the American Dietetic Association seems to be dragging its feet with regard to organics, despite the data of one of its own practice groups. The site has the fuller story, including links to some past ADA powerpoint presentations that show contrasting viewpoints within the agency. For those who want to take action, the site also helps interested readers get started on letters to the editor.