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A mindset of green gratitude emphasizes positive abundance, relishing the glass half full perspective.  An important concept to keep on the front burner, especially as tanking economies fuel table conversations that tend to serve up sentiments of fear, scarcity and deprivation.

Add a dash of green reflection and gratitude to your Thanksgiving table by throwing these three questions on eating and drinking better into the conversation mix:

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Fall salads are as bright and colorful as the falling leaves outside now. I hope you’ll try this easy fresh beet, apple and yam salad with cranberry dressing.

The recipe is simple. First boil and roast the beets and yams. Then let cool, slice some organic apples and the golden beets together with the yams or sweet potatoes. Cranberry vinaigrette adds a delightful tang to this side dish.

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Trail mix is a favorite fall time snack of mine. Fun to take on hikes and picnics, it always hits the spot. Try mixing some seasonal seeds in your favorite nut mix to stay healthy this season. Here is a simple recipe with remarkable immune boosting powers.

Sunflower Seeds: Rich in vitamin E, magnesium and selenium, sunflower seeds are high in phytosterols which are known cholesterol reducers.

Pumpkin Seeds: Carve that cute Halloween pumpkin and, save those seeds to roast for snacks! Pumpkin seeds are abundant in proteins and vitamins. They contain L-tryptophan, a compound that prevents and treats depression. Nutrient rich pumpkin seeds contain zinc, magnesium, boron phytosterols, carotenoids, omega-3 fats, manganese, phosphorus, iron, and copper. They are also proven to be anti-inflammatory.

Raisins: Raisins are amazingly good for you, especially if they’re organic raisins. Raisins are rich in calcium, vitamin C, iron, b-vitamins, oleanolic acid, and catechin, a phenolic antioxidant effective for prevention of tumors and colon cancer. Raisins are also a known high fiber snack. The healthiest raisins are sulphite-free and organic.

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Long roots include carrots, parsnips, burdock and daikon radish. Some of these are excellent blood purifiers and can help improve circulation in the body and increase mental clarity. Round roots include turnips, radishes, beets and rutabagas. Round roots are nourishing to the stomach, spleen, pancreas and reproductive organs and can help regulate blood sugar, moods, and alleviate cravings.

Read more for a delicious Meatless Monday Vegan Roasted Root Vegetable recipe.

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So, what’s next?  How can we channel this White House garden victory into a bigger, broader message that continues to plant seeds of self-reliance and sustainability and healthy food access for all?

Look to our country’s historic roots for inspiration and declare your food independence by signing a petition encouraging our country’s governors to join you in eating local this July 4th.    An effort of Kitchen Gardeners International in partnership with the IATP Food and Society Fellows, this petition champions the connection between food and our nation’s independence, further propelling the momentum of interest in eating fresh, local and healthy.

With your support, we can build upon the White House garden triumph by challenging each of our state’s first families to savor the abundance of local flavors this Fourth of July holiday. In today’s challenging economic times, our country’s governors need to showcase the importance of food independence in their own state, inspiring us all to make the connection between what we eat and the health of our nation.

And here’s the hidden gem behind supporting food independence:  once folks start making conscious decisions about their food sources, this sustainability screen naturally filters to all other areas of their lives.  People buy fruit at their farmer’s market or plant peas in their garden and they move to start changing light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs or hanging laundry out to air-dry.  As my husband, John Ivanko, and I write about in Rural Renaissance, food can serve as our daily reminder of how all our choices have an effect on the world around us.

“The concept of food independence, being able to feed ourselves and cultivate a spirit of self-sufficiency, roots back over two hundred years to the time of that first Fourth of July and the founding of this nation,” adds Rose Hayden-Smith, a garden historian and national advocate for the Victory Garden revival. “By signing the Food Independence petition, we are aligning ourselves with our Founding Father’s and Mother’s vision of patriotism, a self-reliant country that can take care of its own.”

Make a statement this summer by declaring your Food Independence by calling on your elected state governors to do the same, encouraging them to share their meal plan for the Fourth of July. Check back for updates and, hopefully, your governor’s potato salad recipe using local spuds.

I used a simple organic cake mix and tried organic applesauce instead of oil and the results were delightful and fluffy. On other occasions I’ve used Ghee in the mix for a richer texture and taste. The frosting is organic powdered sugar with a dash of water for the right texture. The flowers easily stick to the icing once spread.

These scrumptious edible flowers are easy to find, grow yourself, and share. I prefer violas and pansies because of the rainbow of colorful blooms they provide.

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I certaintly hope our great nation follows in their foot steps.  In the meantime, I will continue making our goodies in order to avoid over-processed, chemical laden foods.

Today we made sugar cookies for Easter.  We used naturally derived food colors (yellow from turmeric and orange from annatto), India Tree Nature’s colors decorating sugars and Lets Do Sprinkelz chocolate toppings.

This recipe (oh, so tasty) is gluten free, dairy free and vegan from Karen over at Only Sometimes Clever (we use an egg replacer like Ener-G or flax gel and Earth Balance shortening). I especially enjoy the combination of whole grain flours (even better if you grind them fresh!).

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Rare, Single Bean Origins, Even Rarer Ethics

Askinosie is a small chocolate company out of Springfield, Missouri. It’s not exactly tip of the tongue for foodie locations, but to Midwesterners, it’s as local as chocolate can get. The Askinosie bars are all single bean origin, and unique origins at that. Their Soconuso bar is the first chocolate bar consumed outside Mexico in over 100 years that contains beans from this region. Other origins include San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador and Davao, Phillipines.

Perhaps best of all is that owner Shawn Askinosie not only pays the farmers better than fair trade prices, he shares directly with them 10 percent of the net profits from chocolate made from their farms. Askinosie also works directly with the farmers, no middlemen, to make sure the beans are produced to exacting standards.

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Though the foods may vary, New Years day has a number of good luck food traditions throughout the world. Some foods are said to bring luck or money; others safety and a good life. And some are just tasty.

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So you have to develop a sense of humor as a Midwestern farmer to ride out the winter each year, latching on to whatever gets you through the bleak season. Cocktails, anyone? There’s something about frozen, fruity blender drinks – sipped slowly around the glow of the fiery woodstove – that for a brief, granted illusionary moment, transport us farming cheeseheads to another warmer place and time.

If you’re looking for something special to sip on tonight – a drink that reminds you of warm summer breezes and local June flavors gone by – look to your freezer for stockpiled strawberries and whip out the blender for Frozen Strawberry Daiquiris.

June of 2008 gifted our farm with a bumper crop of strawberries. So much so that we eventually maxed out on eating fresh and started freezing those little red gems. We “tray freeze” the berries – lining up clean, hulled berries on a flat cookie sheet, placing the tray in our chest freezer and packing them in freezer bags once hardened. While some strawberries eventually made their way into sauces and jams, the bulk of these frozen babies end up in cocktail glasses this time of year, as the snow piles and wind blows outside.

Here’s our house recipe – but feel free to adapt with ingredients you have around. Think about using some local spirits, when possible.

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So, to satisfy my need for sinful sweets sans the fat and calories, I embarked on a journey to create a healthy yet decadent delight that is as easy to make as it is on the waistline.  It’s also no accident that it has a striking similarity in texture and taste to buttery cake batter.  You’re welcome.

I also managed to resuscitate the vastly under used flavor of butterscotch in the process, which interestingly, contains neither butter nor scotch. Does anyone else find that puzzling?

You can ponder quandries like that while shoveling heaping spoonfuls of butterscotch goodness into your mouth but given the endorphin overload that will likely result from this delectable dietary dessert, you may only be able to muster mono-syllabic “Mmmm”s.

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Are you someone who simply must have real Champagne on New Year’s Eve? Champagne is the name of a district of France which has ideal soil and climate conditions for the production of this very famous sparkling wine. Here are some wines made according to organic methods of the National Union of Independent Agrobiologists, (a French organic certifier) ~

• Serge Faust Champagne (Organic)
• NV (Non Vintage) Pascal Doquet Premier Cru Rosé (Organic)
• NV Pierre Brigandat Brut Réserve (Biodynamic)
• NV Larmandier-Bernier Premier Cru Vertus (Biodynamic)
• ’97 Vilmart Coeur de Cuvée (Biodynamic)

These are all examples of recommendations Treehugger made years back for organic and biodynamic Champagne, and they are still in style today. If you are not as picky about your bubbly being real and organic/biodynamic and prefer to buy local/domestic for the holidays then we also have several great sparkling wines to share.

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The holidays are starting to wind down, but there’s still that mad dash to New Year’s Eve, the lavishly fun and festive foray into the next chapter of your life.  If you’re a diehard foodie like me, your new year’s resolution probably consists of things like wanting to learn how to cook gourmet meals or master the art of entertaining — all while saving money and being as eco-conscious as possible in the process.  It wouldn’t hurt to look fabulous while doing it, either! 

Who are these women who arise looking airbrush perfect, whisk the kids off to school, work a full day and manage a perfectly prepared home cooked meal for dinner anyway?!

With the help of Behind the Burner, I have put together a cheat sheet for navigating the new year in style.

Before we delve into becoming a master chef and entertainer extraordinaire, let’s look like one.  Thanks to Shannon Reed, kitchen couture is as stylish as designer label clothing.  From jackets to aprons, she creates unique chef attire that is anything but uniform, and her selections will shroud you in the confidence you need to take on the task of cooking like a pro.

But what to make?  Recipes in gourmet food magazines are either overly simplified and lacking in the artistry of the craft or too complex, resulting in a dilapidated dish that looks nowhere near as perfect as the glossy photo that accompanies it.  

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Okay. This recipe may not be the healthiest most sustainable, seasonal, vegan dessert or even what most people would consider traditional holiday fare. However, it has become a regular christmas staple in our household and like most traditions, it has a story attached to it.

Nothing dramatic really, but about 15 years ago, I was experiencing one of those ‘blue’ christmases that Elvis sang about - all lonely and weepy and not much fun. My friends took turns trying to keep me from total despair and I found myself slumped on a stool in my dear friend Roberta’s kitchen a couple of days before christmas. I was a bit like a dry sack of flour so she put me to work as she was busily preparing her family’s favorite holiday dessert, strawberry squares.

Keep reading to get this delicious recipe . . .

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