Green Options » tomatillos

My Farm Grows From San Francisco Backyards

Keith Rockmael — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:15:04 +0000

If Old MacDonald had his farm in San Francisco and wanted to be more sustainable he would definitely be interested in My Farm. This highly spirited group sprang from the good SF soil on a few months ago but already has people talking (and eating).

The San Francisco-based My Farm combines the local CSA produce with landscaping and gardening skills. San Franciscans (such as one of Green Zebra owners) pay a initial installation fee (usually in the $600-$2000 range) to have a crew set up irrigation, soil content and what ever else they deem necessary to start a backyard victory garden. From that point, they install a variety of vegetables, fruits, and even edible flowers (such as borage which benefits bees). And we have to be especially nice to the fast disappearing bees. We would love to salad-up in the Green Zebra garden with Jerusalem artichokes, tree collards, escorale, tomatillos, kohlrabi, corn and radishes.

The service costs about $35 per week but depending on the yard size and the bounty it produces that amount can be less. The more food that a yard produces the less the yard owner pays for the CSA box. The fee includes landscaping, gardening and a weekly CSA box. Such a deal. In this city it costs more for just a gardener to cut a lawn.

The workers utilize permaculture principles (or permanent culture) which to us looks like a serving of practical, functional and sustainable methods.

The My Farm model has spread to Marin and the East Bay faster than wild mushrooms and may soon come to an urban jungle near you.

Black Bean Tacos for Cinco de Mayo!

Sharon Troy — Tue, 06 May 2008 03:38:41 +0000

When it comes to the commercialization of holidays, people tend to point most of their angst towards Christmas. And who can blame them, when it’s not just a day, but a whole season of consumption? I have a similar knee-jerk reaction when it comes to Cinco de Mayo.

A day that’s supposed to celebrate Mexican patriotism, instead conjures up images of frat boys in factory-made sombreros, red, white, and green beads, drinking out of plastic margarita cups. All of this festive decor will find itself in the dumpster tomorrow. (And we had just finished getting rid of all the plastic Easter eggs and St. Patrick’s Day streamers.)

This year instead of wallowing in holiday cynicism, I decided to let it inspire me to create a great meal. Luckily, my neighborhood has dozens of small Mexican shops and produce stands, where the veggies are a steal. (I bought my supplies for this entire meal for under $10!)

I decided, rather than serving up some seitan, or veggie crumbles, which are taco staples in my vegan household, to go with something a bit more authentic and light: black bean tacos with mango salsa. Here’s my recipe:

A Beefy (yet Beefless) Burger with Black Beans

Sharon Troy — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:08:55 +0000

Ah yes, the veggie burger. If you’ve ever gone meat-free for a substantial amount of time, chances are you came to rely on this tried and true staple. It’s gotten me through many a company barbecue and airport layover. It turns out though, that most big name veggie burger brands are not actually vegan — most use eggs as binding.

Furthermore, let’s take a look at the three leading producers of veggie burgers. Boca Foods, makers of the Boca Burger is a subsidiary of Kraft Foods. Morningstar Farms is owned by Kellogs, as is Gardenburger. While it is possible to find small independently run veggie burger producers (Dr. Praeger’s comes to mind), these three dominate the market. There’s nothing particularly eco-friendly about the packaging. None of the brands I checked use recycled materials, and the patties come individually wrapped in plastic.

So what’s an earth-conscious herbivore to do? Make your own, of course!