The Importance of being Organic

Just Wash & Toss - Hungry?

The term Organic is used very loosely these days since it looks like it is in vogue and has started appearing in regular business conversations that are not remotely related to growing food (Wiki Organic_Growth and you will know what I am referring to).

I am not easily gullible and with so much advertising and scientists correcting themselves at the start of every decade on their prior research that was widely adopted- Who knows what to believe. I don't blame you if you don't buy organic food. There is so much to absorb with several uprisings in the organic world, in the local food world, green movement and going vegan. What should you believe? 

Have you been to the supermarket and wondered whether to pick the Organic or the Conventional produce. Did you end up picking the Conventional produce because it was half the cost of the Organic produce or you didn't care about the difference. I like this easy to read article from Mayoclinic that demarcates conventional vs. organic foods and provides an unbiased perspective.

Organic Foods: Are they safer? More nutritious?

Whatever you choose, a safety practice is to wash and scrub your veggies and fruits thoroughly before you use them. Soak your raw vegetables & fruits in a big bowl and fill it with cold water, swirl it around a few times and use a vegetable scrubber when you can to scrub the dirt and any residues.

I try to buy organic when I can to support the environment-friendly practices in soil and water conservation. I also tend to choose antibiotic-free products to avoid unnecessary growth hormone residues in my food and cage-free dairy products to support the habitat.

What is your take on organic foods? Would love to hear from you...

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Vertical Garden: Can herbs grow up your wall?

Cilantro, Rosemary, Basil, Sage, Parsley - If I have boys, will they disown me if I name them after ...

For the love of fresh herbs in my food and the aesthetic appeal for plants indoors, I decided to not only grow herbs in my apartment but grow them vertically.

The Living Roof at the Caltech Academy of Sciences and the concept of the Living Wall at Google headquarters in Palo Alto inspired me to grow a herb garden in an apartment setting which would not only save space but will be so aesthetically and environmentally appealing.

My research suggested that the concept of vertical gardens is fairly common in cities in Europe, Australia and Dubai. Even Saks Fifth Avenue of Palm Beach, FL has a beautiful living vertical wall!!
Saks Fifth Avenue - Living Wall @ Palm Beach, FL

My search started on how to easily grow a vertical herb garden in my living space -
Video #1: Grow plants without soil that water themselves!!

Of course there is hydroponics and timers involved.

This shows a DIY tutorial on growing a self-sustaining vertical garden using a hydroponic watering system and a soil-less "Rockwool" growing medium.

Video #2: DIY using Woolly Wally!
An easier DIY solution is provided via a company that manufactures breathable pockets that can be easily installed on your walls that enable vertical farming. They have some amazing vertical garden art on their site. They even grow vertical gardens on shipping containers! Absolutely ridiculously amazing!
Living Wall Art - Woolly Wally

I am growing my vertical garden and will post pictures when ready.

If you have experience in vertical gardening and would like to share information, do send pictures or thoughts.
Or have experience on growing plants indoors with minimal sunlight? I would love to hear from you.

Video # 1

Video # 2

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What's wrong with our food system - from TED talks

My husband recently installed our new Apple TV and we watched the loaded podcasts. Here is one of them that I found particularly interesting - 11-Year Old Birke Baehr talks about "What's wrong with our food system". He talks about how the advertising industry entice young buyers into buying their products that may not always be good for them. He also encourages the green, organic and local food production and consumption.

Online link to watch the full podcast - 
http://www.ted.com/talks/birke_baehr_what_s_wrong_with_our_food_system.html

Video embedded -

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Sweet "Superhero" Potatoes

You would think sweet and superhero don't pair well? Superheroes may be sexy, acrobatic, enigmatic but NOT sweet. Friends, this will change your belief as it did to mine. The super-duper sweet potato acts as a superhero by fighting disease villains and boosting our system with the anti-oxidants.

Superfood : Sweet Potato

While on the red-eye back from San Francisco, I was skimming the Men's health magazine left behind by another traveler when the article on "40 Foods with Superpower" caught my eye. One of the super food listed was the unpretentious sweet potato. For less than a dollar a pound, the half-moon shaped potato cannot be judged by its cover. The article calls it one of the healthiest food on the planet with many disease-preventive qualities and full of antioxidants.

Who knew that "a sweet potato a day will keep the doctor away"

I found this article online for your read:

Men's Health: 40 Foods with Superpower

Sweet Potatoes are not Yams. WHAT!?

Did you know that they are often mixed with yams but yams are not sweet potatoes. According to Everyday Mysteries published by the Library of Congress,

"In the United States, firm varieties of sweet potatoes were produced before soft varieties. When soft varieties were first grown commercially, there was a need to differentiate between the two. African slaves had already been calling the ‘soft’ sweet potatoes ‘yams’ because they resembled the yams in Africa. Thus, ‘soft’ sweet potatoes were referred to as ‘yams’ to distinguish them from the ‘firm’ varieties.

Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires labels with the term ‘yam’ to be accompanied by the term ‘sweet potato.’ Unless you specifically search for yams, which are usually found in an international market, you are probably eating sweet potatoes!"

Here is the full article :

Library of Congress: What is the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?

Quick and Easy Recipe from Delhi Streets

Inspired by the article, I bought 4 sweet potatoes - 2 of the red variety and the other 2 of the brown variety. I am yet to see the purple variety.

Anyway, i tried to replicate the experience of eating sweet potatoes slow-broiled on charcoal in the midst of delhi winters.

I scrubbed the potatoes under a flowing tap and then broiled the sweet potatoes (525F) in my apartment oven for about 40 minutes. I could tell that they are done by holding them on my palm and feeling the soft mush and taking in the sweet aroma with every breath. Careful missy, the potatoes are real hot out of the oven. They crack open under the broiler and I tore the skins slightly only to sprinkle sea salt, cracked peppercorns and squeeze a quarter of a lemon wedge.

Then I take my serrated steel spoon to dig in (spoon that I originally bought for baking grapefruit brulee - another story for another time), place a spoonful of potato in my mouth as it melts and let myself travel twenty years back feeling the small plastic spoon in my mouth riding a rickshaw with my mom.

That was my story and recipe. Do you have any sweet potato recipes or experiences to share?

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