The whole row of flowers was buzzing with bees today!
I just happened to be at the Ferry Plaza during their Tuesday farmers market, so I browsed a little and ended up getting raw honey. I actually had been searching for raw honey with pollen. Honey has been revered in Eastern cultures for thousands of years. In Ayurveda, honey is used for many ailments and preventive measures. Raw honey with pollen is prescribed to those suffering from allergies to scrape mucus and to build resistance and immunity. Of course, thousands of years ago, there wasn’t a concept of industrial farms, adulterating food with additives and fillers,or pesticides. Also, honey was never radiated or cooked. Actually, all of this only happened in the last 150 years. Unfortunately, there is now the issue of Colony Collapse Disorder where worker bees are mysteriously disappearing from their hives. The issue of CCD goes beyond just consuming honey. Bees pollinate other many other food (apples, lemons, chestnuts) and are very vital to our food supply ecosystem.
There is a significant difference between honey produced on large industrial farms and honey produced on small, local family farms. Sadly, bees are treated like livestock on industrial farms. They are forcefully fed corn syrup, not nectar from wildflowers. Shocking. The honey found in most grocery stores comes from China and is adulterated with other substances. In other words, most of the time you are not getting pure honey. That is a huge reason why honey from large, industrial beekeepers is so cheap. The benefit of buying local honey is that you can trace it back to the beekeeper and know that the honey is pure. Pure, raw honey is full of antioxidants and enzymes that are good for your health. You can ask questions about beekeeping and honey cultivation. Also, most small beekeepers take care of their bees, do not use deadly pesticides or treatments and let their bees swarm and drink nectar. In the end, you get pure honey.
Sure, honey produced on small farms that use sustainable and ethical practices will be much more expensive. But then again, how much honey do you really need to consume? An 8 ounce jar of honey lasts us for a full year, if not more.
Snyders Honey at the Ferry Plaza Tuesday’s market. Their hives are located at Crystal Springs Reservoir south of San Francisco. Super local.
Gina and I at the Fort Mason Farmers Market. Gina sells Snyders Honey along with her family’s olives and olive oils.
For more information about bees and CCD check out the film Vanishing of the Bees. You can also sign a petition to tell the EPA to get to the bottom of CCD.
Club Dine In! is on Twitter and Facebook. Follow @clubdinein for daily health, fitness, and social news, recipes and delicious tips! Join the Club Dine In! community on Facebook to connect with like-minded individuals and find out about exclusive Club Dine! events. Be sure to sign-up to receive posts and updates straight into your inbox!
Posted in Farmer's Market, Food News, Super Toxic Foods, The Sugar Series
Tagged Beekeeper, Colony Collapse Disorder, Honey, Pollen, raw honey
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If there is anything more than desserts that I love photographing, it’s flowers. And flowers are everywhere. I really wasn’t expecting to find a flower stall at the FM today, but there it was, all bright and pretty. It was the most crowded booth also. “Mommy, I want the purple ones.” “Oh, these will be great for dinner tonight.” “I am going to buy myself flowers.” Everyone was buzzing around the flowers like bees. I actually had to step away and come back when it was a little less crowded and I could snap a few pictures without getting in someone’s way. Then I bought myself a bunch of pretty yellow ranunculus with hints of purple in it.
These flowers are organic and local, which is especially important for all of the same reasons organic, local produce is. Non-organic flowers are laden with harmful pesticides, which you do not want to bring into your environment. Also, pesticides from floral agriculture has as much negative impact on the land and farm workers as non-organic produce does.
My 11th grade English teacher asked us to look for the “color purple” in nature after reading the book “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker. At that time, all of us concluded that the color purple is a rare find. Ever since that assignment, I have always kept an eye out for the color purple. In the last year, I’ve changed my mind about it being rare. Purple flowers, radishes, carrots, lettuce, fruit, asparagus, artichokes it’s all over the market!
I didn’t notice a whole lot of change or new additions at the market this week. I did get two bunches of asparagus from the Fort Mason Farmer’s Market for winning an asparagus recipe contest on their Facebook page. Asparagus are one of my favorite vegetables. I didn’t grow up eating them, because they are not part of the normal Indian diet. Also, due to asparagus’ high Vata quality, it wasn’t suitable to my parent’s Doshas. Anyway, I love eating asparagus with eggs, in salads, with quinoa, and in almost anyway possible. The simplest way is of course by just grilling them, sprinkled with sea salt and black pepper, with a drizzle of really good extra-virgin olive oil.
I bought Pink Cara Cara Oranges (Hamadas Farms), Broccoli (Swank Farms), Cauliflower and Fingerling Potatoes (Rio de Parros Organics), and 1 bunch organic ranunculus (Thomas Farms) Total= $16
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The first time I attempted to bake cookies from scratch was when I was 10 years old. My two girlfriends (pictured above on the header) were my guinea pigs. They were really nice to me, but honestly the cookies were more like bricks. Since then, Rajita and Nafisah have endured many of my failed cookie attempts until I got it just right. Though, by the time I got it just right, I didn’t care about baking anymore. I found more satisfaction and restraint in just buying one serving size at a cafe and not worrying about over indulging.
Then, during this past holiday season, I got the baking itch. That may be because I have been hanging out (online and offline) with more food bloggers and bakers. Social influence. So at the 18 Reason’s DIY Desserts: Holiday Cookie Swap I baked cookies for the first time in over a decade. I was nervous and intimidated. I also didn’t have any of the fancy baking equipment, like a Kitchen Aid mixer. There were a ton of cookie recipes out there, too, which was overwhelming. I also wanted to make something healthy-ish and couldn’t find anything uncomplicated. So after anxiously debating if I really wanted to bake (the strong Vata in me), I remembered baking a cake using only almond flour years ago and it turned out fantastic. So I applied the same methodology and attempted to make cookies out of the pistachio flour I already had on hand. I was pleasantly surprised that the cookies turned out pretty good. I took them to the cookie swap, and everyone seemed to really like them too. Also, my husband, who thinks he is an Iron Chef judge, told me he really liked them. So, I did the natural thing, and baked these cookies for every holiday party we had to go to for rest of the season.
Last Saturday I participated in Bakesale for Japan, which meant I spent Friday night baking. I had overambitious plans to make a multitude of desserts, but then when it came down to the wire, I only had the bandwidth and courage to make two types of cookies. My baked goods were going to be placed right next to professionals and pro-bakers like Tartine Bakery, Eat The Love, and Desserts First. So I baked my now infamous pistachio cookies and adapted a recipe from 101 Cookbooks. I accidentally came across the recipe and it looked so simple to make. Plus, I love and trust everything on 101 Cookbooks. I hope to post my adaptation of the recipe here soon enough.
It was really fun spending the evening baking. I opened a bottle of wine, that I randomly picked up from Whole Foods for $10, which turned out to be excellent. So with a glass of vino rojo in one hand and whisk in the other, I was baking away. Also, I would intermittently go on Twitter and follow the hashtag #bakesale4japan to chat with other bloggers who were doing the same thing I was (but probably without the bottle of wine). I felt like I was apart of something really BIG. A few weeks ago, I felt so small and helpless when I was following the Twitter stream during the earthquakes and Fukushima meltdown. Though, after seven dozen cookies had cooled and seeing a tweet about someone’s cute packaging, I went into panic mode. I hadn’t even thought about the packaging! Normally, I am on top of these things and have been coined the name Martha Stewart amongst my friends, but with all that has been going on, I just forgot about cute labels and packaging. And, I hate a missing an opportunity for DIY creative packaging. Then, the creative side kicked in, and managed to come up with something really unique and chic. I used leftover silk favor bags from my wedding to put the cookies in and used my adorable Moo business cards for the labeling. I didn’t even make the connection until I saw a few Japanese people really enamored by my cookies (err packaging). The silk bags were red and had gold flowers on them that looked like cherry blossoms. In the end, it always works out.
The turnout at the bakesale was incredible! I got to the Bi-Rite Market location right at starting time, and managed to squeeze in my cookies on the very crowded table. That table was a sweet-lovers dream come true. I was tempted to buy everything. There were so many baked goods, graciously made by the blogging community, home-bakers, and professionals, that boxes had to be dispersed to a multitude of locations. At last count, together, we raised $120,254.38. The money will benefit Peace Winds Japan.
Since the community really came through at the Bi-Rite location of the bakesale, a lot of the baked goods had to be dispersed to other locations in San Francisco, Oakland, Marin, and San Jose.
Around the corner, 18 Reasons hosted an art sale where people made origami cranes.
Irvin (Eat the Love) and Anita (Desserts First) at 18 Reasons.
Someone bought my cookies!
I also stopped by the SPQR location in Pacific Heights to say hello to a few friends.
SPQR closed down the restaurant to host the bake sale. They also made paninis and crostini for the bakesale. Blue Bottle and Blue Bottle Sweets were also on site, serving their delicious coffee drinks and pastries. Nearby restaurants, Citizen Cake, Jane, and Out the Door, also pitched in with delicious desserts.
The clever ladies, Annelies and Laiko, dished out deals throughout the bakesale. I got there just in time for the 2-for-1 deal, and snatched up cupcakes to share with friends that afternoon. Let’s just say, I didn’t pay attention to my sugar intake that day.
I promise to post the recipe for the cardamon-rose pistachio cookies soon!
Club Dine In! is on Twitter and Facebook. Follow @clubdinein for daily health, fitness, and social news, recipes and delicious tips! Join the Club Dine In! community on Facebook to connect with like-minded individuals and find out about exclusive Club Dine! events. Be sure to sign-up to receive posts and updates straight into your inbox!
Posted in Events, Holiday Meals, Recipes
Tagged 101 Cookbooks, bake sale, bakesale, baking, charity, chocolate, Cookie, fundraiser, gluten-free, Iron Chef, pistachio, Tartine Bakery, Twitter
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This weeks farmer’s market was definite evidence that Spring has arrived. Aside from all of the great new fruit and produce, everyone was out! The last couple of weekends were a stormy nightmare. It was cold, wet, and gray. It seemed like Spring would never arrive. It was making me depressed. I even contemplated moving back to Santa Monica (only being dramatic). Then all of the sudden we had a mini heat-wave. The ladies dusted off their bright dresses, the guys got out their aviators, and with an extra bounce in each step, everyone was out and about. I love seeing people all dressed up, strolling on streets lined with shops and cafes, or lingering over brunch. Also, the active ones were out on Crissy Field, jogging, playing soccer, walking their dogs, or going for a bicycle ride across the Golden Gate Bridge. This morning, I put on my gym shorts and ran to the market, only stopping to take a couple of pictures. It felt so great to take in the fresh Spring air.
I’m grateful to call this my backyard!
Red and Green Lettuce from Rio de Parros Organics. Continue reading
Posted in Farmer's Market
Tagged farmer's market, fava greens, Golden Gate Bridge, grass-fed, snow peas, Spring, strawberries, vegetarian
I’ve mentioned in my tweets, Facebook, and here that I am participating in a Bakesale for Japan organized by Samin Nosrat. What was going to be a bakesale held at a few locations in the Bay Area blew up into a national event! Bakesale for Japan is happening this Saturday, April 2nd from 10am to 2pm in nearly 45 cities nationwide!
Go to the location nearest to you and buy a few goodies (hey, it’s for a good cause). I will be at the Bi Rite Market location for sometime. I am also making gluten-free pistachio cookies, chocolate-puddle cookies, and maybe gulab jamun.
Club Dine In! is on Twitter and Facebook. Follow @clubdinein for daily health, fitness, and social news, recipes and delicious tips! Join the Club Dine In! community on Facebook to connect with like-minded individuals and find out about exclusive Club Dine! events. Be sure to sign-up to receive posts and updates straight into your inbox!
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Last year, I excitedly started using FourSquare. I thought it was cool to check-in to places and share it with my social network. There was a lot, a lot of hype surrounding geo-location apps. And living in San Francisco, it’s hard to not get caught up in it. Though, after awhile, I got the check-in fatigue. Not all of my friends were using FourSquare and then Facebook Places rolled out, and I didn’t know which service would reap the highest rewards in the long-run. Also, coverage in SF often times really sucks so checking in isn’t a smooth, quick process. Then I heard from a trusted source that mostly only guys check-in and noticed that most of the pending friend requests on FourSquare were from guys I don’t know. Naturally, I was creeped out and decided checking in wasn’t so cool anymore. Also, I am not a fan of re-creating a new social network on every site, platform, and app.
It was expected that the geo-location apps would roll out new location based services that made sense of all the check-ins, so the places I check-in into now are the gym and places related to my start-up or Club Dine In.
One of my new year’s resolutions was to workout four times a week, and checking into the gym or Marina Greens helps me keep track of that goal. Also, it makes me a little more motivated to actually leave my apartment and workout. (The gym is too far from my apartment for me to fake a check-in). I have tried becoming the mayor of the gym, but a personal trainer of the gym is holding onto that mayorship. IMHO, employees should have a different mayorship for working there and checking in. It’s annoying.
Anyway, I am really liking Foursquare 3.0, because now all of those check-ins make sense and are going to result in real-life rewards like personal recommendations. Though, until I am assured that checking in is leveled by both males and females and enough of my real friends join in on checking-in, I will keep my check-ins reserved for Glamour Games and Club Dine In purposes (which includes fitness and eating well).
Do you use FourSquare, Facebook Places, or any other geo-location apps?
Club Dine In! is on Twitter and Facebook. Follow @clubdinein for daily health, fitness, and social news, recipes and delicious tips! Join the Club Dine In! community on Facebook to connect with like-minded individuals and find out about exclusive Club Dine! events. Be sure to sign-up to receive posts and updates straight into your inbox!
Posted in Fitness, The Work Out
Tagged apps, badges, Facebook, Facebook Places, Fitness, FourSquare, geolocation, Health, location based service, tech, Twitter, workout
Being healthy is not only about what you eat or how much you workout, but also about keeping the environment around you healthy. This could mean going completely green, simply reducing your use of plastic, walking/cycling to the post office, or using water-based nail polish. My focus is to increase awareness about current food and fitness trends and environmental health issues.
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