Spicy Hot Sauerkraut

We’ve been making Sauerkraut for a few years now and this one is a new favorite. Lots of garlic and jalapeno peppers, almost like a kimchi. Goes great with everything!

Ingredients

3 – 4 pounds organic red cabbage, (shredded)

3 – 4 cloves organic garlic, (minced)

3 – 4 medium organic jalapeno peppers, (sliced thin)

1 – 2 tablespoons sea salt

Instructions

Put all ingredients into a large bowl and mix together by hand. Wear gloves for both slicing the peppers and mixing because they’re hot. You can kneed or press it for a bit to get the juices out of the cabbage as the salt sinks in, but I usually just make extra brine to pour on top.

Put in any type of fermentation crock you like. We have one like the one linked below. Pack your veggies in crock and put the stones on top. I usually make extra brine if needed so that the brine goes above the stones.

Start tasting after a week until it’s to your liking. I take ours out after a week to ten days and put it in mason jars in the fridge. Yummy and so easy to make!

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Pear Apple Crumble – gluten free

We got 20 pounds of local, organic apples and pears and I wanted to use some for making desserts for the family. Found a number of recipes I played around with until I came up with this. It’s delicious and was a big hit with everyone.

Ingredients:

Filling:

2 large organic pears – I had bosc, so I peeled them and cut into little chunks

2 large organic apples – left the skin on and just sliced to match the size of the pears.

Organic lemon juice – squeezed half of a lemon

2 Tablespoons Swerve, or erythritol or organic sugar

Topping:

1 cup organic almond flour

¼ cup organic gluten free oats

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup organic walnuts, chopped

¼ cup Swerve or erythritol or organic sugar

4 Tablespoons organic butter, melted

Pinch Celtic sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

I used a 8×8 casserole with a glass lid.

Put the chopped fruit in the casserole and squeeze lemon juice over the fruit and sprinkle sweetener on top – mix it up with a spoon.

For the topping, mix all the dry ingredients, then pour the melted butter on them and mix until they’re all mixed up and make a crumbly topping. Crumble the topping over the fruit as evenly as you can.

350° oven for 30 minutes until lightly browned on top – Then I put the lid on and cooked for 20 minutes longer to make sure the fruit is nice and soft. 50 minute total cooking time. Cool and enjoy with some cream poured on top, or a bit of whipped cream or ice cream. Yum!

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If You Eat Food, Read This Book!

This is a very informative and well written book about Genetically Modified Organism, also known as GMO’s. GMO’s were pretty much sneaked into our food supply in the almost thirty years ago. These plants either make their own pesticides (they are pesticides and we eat them) or they are resistant to pesticides, like Round-up – which can be poured all over them and they won’t die.

GMO’s take away our seed sovereignty and our farmers, who for generations saved their seed, have to buy new ones every year when they use this technology. There have been no human safety studies for any of these foods and there is growing evidence that they are causing a host of new illnesses like severe allergies and immune issues.

The author, starts out by telling her personal story of how she had a debilitating illness and how her very young son had terrible eczema.  After seeing many doctors, having all the tests and still not finding any relief she went to a very prestigious allergist who diagnosed a chronic allergic response to GMO corn. She took herself and her family off all GMO corn (corn, corn syrup, citric acid, baking soda, vitamins – corn is in SO much of our food) and over time of eating real food, cooked from scratch and avoiding GMOs, both the author and her son healed.

This book has a lot of great information but it’s written as a story of the author health and her travels to visit farmers, scientist, activists and more to learn about GMOs.

This is a brilliant book with information that’s so important. A must read and highly recommended.

You can buy the book at Amazon:

Great video about farmers who are doing it right. Revolutions start from the bottom!

Unbroken Ground from Patagonia Provisions on Vimeo.

Our food choices are deeply connected to climate change. Food will play a critical role in the next frontier of our efforts to solve the environmental crisis.
Join us to celebrate the release of Unbroken Ground, a compelling new film by Chris Malloy that explores four areas of agriculture that aim to change our relationship to the land and oceans. Following the 25 minute film, hear from a panel of speakers and taste Patagonia Provisions’ organic food sourced from our partners featured in the film.

You can see this film subtitled in Japanese, Korean or Spanish – simply click on the ‘CC’ button in the video player controls above.

Homemade Mounds Bars

I had some coconut cream that needed using up and I found a few recipes making homemade Mounds type bars. They were easy and very delicious. You can adjust the sweetener to taste, if you like them more or less sweet.

Ingredients for center:

2 cups organic unsweetened, shredded coconut

1/4 cup sweetener of choice – I use swerve

1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

1 cup organic coconut cream (this is different then milk or oil)

Ingredients for the topping

¼ cup organic unsweetened cocoa powder

4 oz. organic cocoa butter

¼ cup sweetener of choice – I use confectioners swerve

Instructions

Mix shredded coconut with coconut cream, vanilla extract and sweetener with a spatula or a spoon

I made little squares and put them in the brownie tray, linked below.

Place in the freezer for 2 hours, until frozen soli

Prepare the chocolate coating, I melt the cocoa butter in a double boiler until melted. You could also microwave it for a minute at a time until melted.

Add cocoa powder and sweetener and mix until everything is blended.

Let cool to room temperature, but still liquid

Now dip the bars in the cocoa mixture, and turn to all sides to coat evenly. It helps if the bars are frozen solid, I use a spoon and dip then on all sides.

I put the finished bars on a plate with wax paper on the bottom and between any layers. Once done and cooled you can store them out, but as it’s summer I store them in the fridge.

Enjoy!

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GMO’s in the news

Here’s some recent GMO news. Lots going on and we are making progress!

Mom

GMO Inside Blog

Big News from Dannon on Sustainability, GMOs and Transparency

By Michael • April 27, 2016 • Blog • Leave a comment

Dannon made waves in the food industry by announcing several big steps forward on sustainability, including a broad non-GMO commitment that encompasses non-GMO feed for the dairy cows that supply its milk, and voluntary labeling of GMOs no matter what legislation Congress passes on labeling this year. The yogurt giant also stated it will move away from synthetic additives.

Green America congratulates Dannon on its food industry leadership towards greater social and environmental sustainability. By transitioning towards sustainable agricultural practices, and moving away from synthetic additives, Dannon is setting a high bar for the conventional dairy products industry.

Dannon’s adoption of sustainable agricultural practices will help encourage soil health, carbon sequestration and water quality, while ensuring good environmental livestock production practices. Working with family farms, these practices will help increase animal welfare and reduce the environmental impact of dairy production.

Additionally, Dannon is making a commitment to clean and natural products. By transitioning away from the use of synthetic hormones and routine non-therapeutic antibiotics, Dannon is making great strides toward healthy products sourced from ethically treated animals.

In line with committing to clean and natural products Dannon has committed to transitioning away from all genetically modified ingredients (GMOs) including animal feed. This is an unprecedented step that will reduce the negative impacts of GMOs, and encourage more farmers and producers to transition away from GMOs. Since the majority of all crops in the U.S. are grown for animal feed, improving the sustainability of feed crops is essential for a healthier food system.

Prior to transitioning away from all GMOs, Dannon will disclose any GMO ingredients on package by December 2017, breaking from the Grocery Manufacturers Association that has been fighting against clear GMO labeling. This agreement will provide consumers with the transparency they demand from the food system.

Overwhelmingly, Americans want to know what they are eating.  In fact, 90% of Americans want foods made with GMOs to be labeled. Thanks to the actions of hundreds of thousands of individuals across the country over the past few years, companies like Dannon are now listening to consumers, labeling and transitioning away from GMOs.

This is what leadership looks like. We encourage consumers to give a shout out to Dannon on the Dannon Facebook page and share this big news on social media.

Read the rest here: http://gmoinside.org/big-news-from-dannon-on-sustainability-gmos-and-transparency/

Understanding Glyphosate Toxicity: An Interview with Genetic Engineer Thierry Vrain

As genetically modified organisms (GMOs) continue to enter the food chain, it’s important for consumers to learn about Roundup Ready crops — and how the glyphosate sprayed on them may be toxic to our health.

Interview by Hannah Kincaid
June/July 2016

A high-clearance sprayer applies Roundup herbicide on glyphosate-resistant marestail in a Mississippi no-till cotton field. The application failed and the weeds survived.

Monsanto’s Roundup Ready crops are engineered to be herbicide tolerant, specifically when sprayed with Roundup. Now that the World Health Organization’s cancer research arm has designated Roundup’s active ingredient, glyphosate, as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” consumers need to fully understand how the chemical works on plants and, in turn, impacts human health. For in-depth answers about glyphosate’s toxicity and more, we turned to molecular biologist and retired genetic engineer Thierry Vrain.

MOTHER: When and why did you start researching glyphosate?

Thierry Vrain: I went to graduate school in North Carolina in the 1970s, where I was trained as a soil biologist — a nematologist, to be precise. Nematodes are microscopic worms in the soil that feed on the roots of plants and cause considerable yield loss for many types of crops. In school, I learned about agriculture and the damage caused by all sorts of pests and pathogens, such as nematodes, insects, and fungal diseases. I learned to deal with those pests by sterilizing soil or spraying pesticides. Halfway through my career, it became obvious that perhaps we could intervene at the molecular level to make crops naturally resistant to pests, so I learned molecular biology and became a genetic engineer. When I became head of a molecular biology department, I took it as my responsibility to educate people and try to assuage their fears about genetic engineering.

I retired 12 years ago and started gardening as a serious hobby. After gaining that hands-on experience, I realized how much damage pesticides cause to the living environment of the soil. I learned all sorts of things that I wasn’t taught in graduate school. For example, I learned that not only pesticides, but also regular fertilizers damage communities of microorganisms in soil. I became “organic,” so to speak.

At this point, I started reading scientific research showing a problem with genetic engineering. Rats and mice fed genetically engineered, Roundup Ready grain were getting sick. At first I couldn’t figure it out. My knowledge of the engineering technology made it clear to me that this should be safe. As I explain in my TEDx talk, “The Gene Revolution, the Future of Agriculture,” I couldn’t understand why adding a gene from one species to another could be toxic because this DNA technology is used every day in many research labs around the world to create a variety of transgenic animals and plants, to study their biology, and to advance various fields of knowledge. Only two years ago did I realize that the problem lies not with genetic engineering technology itself, but with the herbicide that’s sprayed on all Roundup Ready crops. Again, I took it as my responsibility to educate people.

Read more here: http://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-health/glyphosate-toxicity-interview-with-thierry-vrain-zm0z16jjzkin.aspx

How the National Academy of Sciences misled the public over GMO food safety

Published: 26 May 2016

The NAS report on GM crops and foods ‘disappears’ findings of harm and potential toxicity in animal feeding studies with GM crops and elevates flawed reviews claiming safety, writes Claire Robinson

“GM food safe to eat, say world’s leading scientists”, ran the headline in The Times in the wake of the publication of the US National Academy of Sciences report on GM crops. In almost all the mainstream media the story was the same, from Nature World News trumpeting, “Scientists declare GM food safe”, to The Guardian’s “GM food generally safe for humans”.

In reality, the part of the report that deals with animal feeding studies on GM crops is a subtly treacherous mix. Scattered among some sound statements and useful recommendations are a plethora of strategic omissions, gobsmackingly unscientific assertions, wishful thinking, pulled punches, and outright lies. Below I consider just a few.

The NAS ‘disappears’ ill effects on GM-fed animals

The report’s most outrageous deception is the obliteration of the many findings of harm or risk in animal feeding studies on GM crops.

The report says, “The research that has been conducted in studies with animals and on chemical composition of GE food reveals no differences that would implicate a higher risk to human health from eating GE foods than from eating their non-GE counterparts.” That message was translated by the NAS’s press release as “no substantiated evidence of a difference in risks to human health between current commercially available genetically engineered (GE) crops and conventionally bred crops”.

That’s where the media got the message that GM crops are safe. It wasn’t (just) dumb or lazy reporting. It came straight from the NAS itself.

But both statements are at best misleading and at worst lies, as anyone knows who has seen any of the long list of animal feeding studies showing risks and harms from GM crops. Ill effects in GM-fed animals include liver and kidney damage, changes in blood biochemistry, and immune responses.

Some might argue that animal studies are not necessarily applicable to humans and thus the NAS’s careful wording of risks to “human health” is defensible. But experiments on animals, especially rodents and pigs, are mandated by regulators worldwide to test and assess the potential human health impacts of pesticides and other chemicals, as well as (in some countries) GM crops. As a society, we’ve agreed on this system, and so we must take seriously the findings of animal studies.

The GMO industry and its allies are well aware of this and fight hard to try to persuade regulators not to require animal feeding studies with GM foods and their associated pesticides – and shoot down those that are carried out and that find problems.

And for whatever reason, the NAS also seems to have felt it necessary to ‘neutralize’ the animal feeding studies that have shown problems with GMOs.

How do the NAS do that? By avoiding directly addressing the findings of harm or signs of possible toxicity in the relevant studies. As far as the NAS is concerned, these studies may as well not exist. Instead they elevate to a position of authority two misleading reviews, written by conflicted-out authors, which claim to find no evidence of harm in GM-fed animals.

Read the rest here: http://gmwatch.org/news/latest-news/16976

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Good video from Jeffrey Smith!

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting

I was looking for a really good chocolate cake recipe to make for my sons birthday. I tried and lot and finally came upon this one, which I changed up a bit. Added a chocolate buttercream frosting and it was SO good. Got raves all around.

For the cake:

8 organic pastured eggs

1 cup swerve, erythritol, or organic sugar

1 1/4 cups organic almond milk or coconut milk for dairy free

2 cups organic almond flour (I make my own, it’s easy)

3/4 cup organic coconut flour, sifted

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

7 Tb. organic cocoa powder

1 stick unsalted organic butter, melted or coconut oil, melted for dairy free

2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions for the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°

Grease a 9″x13″ baking pan.

Dough may be mixed with a spoon, with a hand-held mixer, or a standing mixer. You’ll get a smoother batter using a mixer, although I’ve made it both ways.

Beat eggs, in a bowl large enough to hold all of the ingredients. Add sweetener and milk and combine. Add all of the other ingredients and combine well.

Pour batter into pan, it’s a fairly stiff dough so I usually smooth the top.

Bake at 350° for about 30-40 minutes. Cook until cake is just set.

Do not overbake. Slightly underbaking is better than overbaking.

Oven temperatures and cooking times vary. The best way to test for doneness is by lightly touching the center of the cake. The cake should feel just set.

Let cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) organic butter, softened, OR 7 tablespoons non-hydrogenated shortening

1/4 cup confectioners swerve, erythritol or powdered organic sugar

5 tablespoons organic unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons half and half OR coconut milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt

Optional addition for a glossy finish:

1 fresh organic egg yolk

Directions:

Cream the butter in a small bowl until fluffy. I use a mixer with the regular paddle.

Stir sweetener into butter with a spatula, then beat until smooth.

Slowly blend in the cocoa powder, vanilla, and sea salt.

Beat in the half and half and egg yolk, if using.

Then frost your cake and enjoy!

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GMO’s in the News

Lots going on this month, including the news that Zika is caused by a Monsanto larvicide. Very sad, but not surprising… We are gaining ground though – Hershey’s is getting rid of GMO sugar beets and the more we boycott GM foods, the manufacturers will listen. Vote with your food dollars!

Love,

Mom

Argentine and Brazilian doctors name larvicide as potential cause of microcephaly

Are the Zika virus – and GM mosquitoes – being wrongly blamed? Report by Claire Robinson

A report from the Argentine doctors’ organisation, Physicians in the Crop-Sprayed Towns,[1] challenges the theory that the Zika virus epidemic in Brazil is the cause of the increase in the birth defect microcephaly among newborns.

The increase in this birth defect, in which the baby is born with an abnormally small head and often has brain damage, was quickly linked to the Zika virus by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. However, according to the Physicians in the Crop-Sprayed Towns, the Ministry failed to recognise that in the area where most sick people live, a chemical larvicide that produces malformations in mosquitoes was introduced into the drinking water supply in 2014. This poison, Pyriproxyfen, is used in a State-controlled programme aimed at eradicating disease-carrying mosquitoes.

The Physicians added that the Pyriproxyfen is manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical, a Japanese “strategic partner” of Monsanto. Pyriproxyfen is a growth inhibitor of mosquito larvae, which alters the development process from larva to pupa to adult, thus generating malformations in developing mosquitoes and killing or disabling them. It acts as an insect juvenile hormone or juvenoid, and has the effect of inhibiting the development of adult insect characteristics (for example, wings and mature external genitalia) and reproductive development. It is an endocrine disruptor and is teratogenic (causes birth defects), according to the Physicians.

The Physicians commented: “Malformations detected in thousands of children from pregnant women living in areas where the Brazilian state added Pyriproxyfen to drinking water are not a coincidence, even though the Ministry of Health places a direct blame on the Zika virus for this damage.”

They also noted that Zika has traditionally been held to be a relatively benign disease that has never before been associated with birth defects, even in areas where it infects 75% of the population.

Read the rest here:

http://gmwatch.org/news/latest-news/16706-argentine-and-brazilian-doctors-name-larvicide-as-potential-cause-of-microcephaly

New Study Shows Organic Farming To Best Feed An Overpopulated Planet

It turns out that these crops hold up better during harsh growing conditions such as droughts, which are predicted to increase in the changing face of climate change.

By Diana Erney February 10, 2016

With the world’s population predicted to peak around 9.6 billion people by the year 2050, one of the big unknowns about our collective future is how we can possibly feed all of those people.  A new study from Washington State University predicts that organic farming will lead the way.

Looking at studies from the past 40 years, researchers compared conventional agriculture with organic systems relative to production, economics, the environment, and social wellbeing. Although organic farms were found to be less productive than conventional overall, with yields averaging 8 to 25 percent lower depending upon the crop, the study found that organic crops hold up better during harsh growing conditions such as droughts, which are predicted to increase in the changing face of climate change. (Not to mention The Effects Climate Change Can Have On Our Health.) Enhancements in management methods and improved plant varieties may also help to close the production gap.

Read the rest here: http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/new-study-shows-organic-farming-to-best-feed-an-overpopulated-planet

And I don’t usually post political posts, but we have ONE candidate for President who supports GMO labeling. He’s a long time Independent, although he is running on the Democratic side. Time to vote out the corporate hacks and bring back politicians that will represent us!

Bernie Sanders: The Only US Presidential Candidate Supporting GMO Labeling

Bernie Sanders is the only U.S. Presidential candidate who has come out strongly in support of GMO labeling. For this reason Sustainable Pulse has collected a few of his quotes:

Bernie Sanders Quotes on GMO Labeling

“Unlike people in the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Brazil, China, Russia, New Zealand and other countries where labels are required, Americans don’t know if the food they eat has been genetically modified. People have a right to know what they are eating…”

“I think all over this country, people want to know the quality of the food they’re eating and what they’re giving to their kids is good quality. We just don’t know all that much about genetically modified food. . .”

“Monsanto and other companies are saying states can’t do it [label GMOs]. It is a federal prerogative. My amendment said if California, Vermont, Connecticut, other states want to go forward, they should have that right.”

“An overwhelming majority of Americans favor GMO labeling but virtually all of the major biotech and food corporations in the country oppose it…The people of Vermont and the people of America have a right to know what’s in the food that they eat.”

Bernie Sanders on Agriculture:

Source: berniesanders.com/issues/improving-the-rural-economy/

As someone who has represented a rural state for more than 24 years, improving the lives of rural Americans is a top priority for Senator Sanders.

Family farms and ranches are the backbone of rural America and the U.S. economy.  Farmers are also among our nation’s foremost stewards of our lands and water.

Throughout his career, Senator Sanders has successfully fought for innovative rural economic development initiatives, including investments in farm-to-school and farm-to-table initiatives; agri-tourism programs; school gardens; large scale bio-mass fired electric plants; shared agricultural processing and storage facilities; and anaerobic digesters to process cow manure into methane gas.

Senator Sanders understands that agriculture programs need to be counter-cyclical to assure market-derived commodity income at levels that advance and sustain family-scale farming.

Senator Sanders will fight for farm policies that will foster the entry of a new generation of owner-operators.  He will not back away from land stewardship standards that include the commonwealth of clean water for all.

As president, Senator Sanders will adopt policies that will:

• Make sure that family farmers and rural economies thrive;
• Expand support for young and beginning farmers;
• Produce an abundant and nutritious food supply;
• Establish an on-going regeneration of our soils; and
• Enlist farmers as partners in promoting conservation and stewardship to keep our air and water clean and to combat climate change.

FAMILY FARMS INSTEAD OF FACTORY FARMS

Senator Sanders believes that we need more family farms, not more factory farms.

It is unacceptable that just four corporations control 82% of the nation’s beef cattle market, 85% of soybean processing, and 63% of pork processing.  It is unacceptable that there are over 300,000 fewer farmers than there were 20 years ago.

It is unacceptable that the top 10% of farms collect 75% of farm subsidies, while the bottom 62% do not receive any subsidies.  We have to adopt policies that will turn this around.

SUPPORTING AGRICULTURE

In 1966, farmers received 40 cents for every dollar Americans spent on food. Today, they only receive 16 cents on the dollar.

As President, Senator Sanders will reverse this trend by:

1. Fighting for America’s small and mid-sized farms. Abraham Lincoln called the United States Department of Agriculture the “People’s Department” and Senator Sanders will ensure that the agency lives up to this name by expanding its services for new and underserved farmers.
2. Encouraging the growth of regional food systems. Farmers throughout the country are boosting their bottom line and reinvigorating their communities by selling directly to local consumers, institutions, and restaurants. Senator Sanders will invest in this movement, helping Americans support local farms.
3. Reversing trade policies like NAFTA that have flooded the American market with agricultural goods produced in countries with less stringent environmental, labor, and safety regulations.
4. Enforcing our country’s antitrust laws against large agribusiness and food corporations. A few large companies dominate many agricultural industries, allowing them to force unfair prices on farmers. Senator Sanders will stand up to these corporations and fight to ensure that farmers receive fair prices.

Read more here: http://sustainablepulse.com/2016/02/11/bernie-sanders-the-only-us-presidential-candidate-supporting-gmo-labeling/#.VsNhOCkmvft

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