Local Buzz: Beekind Opens Shop at the Ferry Building
The latest buzz at the Ferry Building is the opening of Beekind, an outpost of the Sebastopol-based honey operation that sells natural, raw and pesticide-free products. Officially open today, the stand offers a selection of honey sourced locally from eco-conscious beekeepers throughout California – from locales such as Point Reyes, San Francisco and Greenbrae– as well as a few exotic regions including New Zealand.
Beekind Stand at the San Francisco Ferry Building
Throughout the year, 52 different seasonal varieties of honey line the shelves of Beekind, so you can sample the nuances of sage, eucalyptus or sunflower nectar to see which fits your cup of tea. Prices are average (I paid $11 for 16 oz of California Sage honey), but it’s the knowledge of the Beekind staff that definitely gives additional value to your purchase. Whether you need to know the ideal honey for drizzling on oatmeal or the best immunity booster, their recommendations on the “nectar of the gods” are spot on.
Golden California Sunflower Honey at Beekind
The California Sage honey I purchased is delicious. Full-bodied but slightly drier than sweeter varieties, it pairs well with both my afternoon green tea and blueberry-topped yogurt (and tastes great by the spoonful, too!). So the next time you find yourself in need of the sweet stuff, head to the Ferry Building for this local treat and be kind to your health, the environment and the busy bees working hard to bring you quality California honey.
For more information and to make online purchases, visit www.beekind.com. The stand at the Ferry Building is located at One Ferry Building, Suite 21B (415.307.8682) and sells honey and beeswax candles. If you’re interested in beekeeping or want to go on a bee farm tour, head out of town and visit the Sebastopol location for additional bee-related activities and fun.
Add comment July 15, 2010
How To Homestead
For a slice of the homemade life, check out the short documentary films on How to Homestead – a rural-cum-urban project run by Melinda Stone, co-founder of StoneLake Farm and associate professor in the media studies department at the University of San Francisco. Offering a series of how-to-videos ranging from the intriguing, such as concocting the Elixir of Life (honey and yeast added to apple cider for fermentation), to the squeamish (composting your own excrement), the activities help wanna-be homesteaders cultivate self-sufficiency whether home is a tiny studio apartment or 50-acre ranch.
You can start off small by making calendula tea or jump right in and slaughter your own chicken for dinner. The simple videos are meant to inspire both beginners and those more experienced in the art of homesteading to dabble in whatever piques their interest.
For city folk looking to meet like-minded individuals, How to Homestead holds various get-togethers throughout San Francisco, complete with food from homegrown businesses, a raffle and local entertainment from groups such as the Sk8 Sisters.
I was able to attend the Hayes Valley Farm fundraising event a few months back sponsored by How to Homestead. For $13, I scored an entry ticket, popcorn (covered in homemade maple bacon or chocolate-spiked butter), cup of authentic lemonade (you could detect hints of the rind, if you know what I mean) and chair seating for the night’s movie showing of “Dirt!” Those who opted out of chair seating spread picnic blankets on the paved parking lot ground.
The evening had a folksy, free-spirit vibe reminiscent of an impromptu community get-together – no pretentiousness and no rigid schedule. How to Homestead is currently on hiatus for the summer, but I’m regularly checking their schedule of events to get a glimpse of the fall lineup. Until then, I plan to ease into my novice homesteading skills with a simple herb garden and homemade strawberry jam.
**Check out this quirky video on making your own Elixir of Life and start brewing!
Add comment July 7, 2010
Eco Book Review: “Hot, Rich & Green” – A Greenista’s Guide to Business
Don’t let the title fool you –Hot, Rich & Green is a serious business guide for the green-minded gal. Written by Rebecca Harrell Tickell, producer of the award-winning biodiesel film “FUEL” and chair of her husband Josh Tickell’s The Veggie Van Organization, the book celebrates the power of and need for femininity in the business world.
In Hot, Rich & Green you’ll find 10 basic steps to discovering your passion and creating a viable business model to compete in the new green economy – i.e. “Get A Mentor” and “Create a Powerful Relationship with Money.” Filled with case studies and advice from successful businesswomen that represent a wide array of career paths – from chefs, bloggers and scientists to actors, non-profit workers and vice presidents of alternative fuel companies – the book pairs inspiration with insight in a way that speaks directly to women looking to cultivate fulfilling, earth-friendly work while turning a profit.
I found the layout of Hot, Rich & Green particularly effective. The chapters have opening and closing summaries that neatly tie together the relevant lessons and wisdom shared from the featured women and companies in each step. Though the guide has a self-published look and doesn’t include a section on helpful Web sites or references for further reading, I still recommend it as a great quick read and introduction to successful women in the green biz.
Check out the following exclusive video to hear from the ladies featured in the book, including Rory Freedman (author of Skinny Bitch), Anna Getty (author and founder of PureStyle Living), Mariel Hemingway (actress and founder of Mariel’s Kitchen) and Rachelle Carson Begley (actress, activist and wife of Ed Begley) on what makes them hot, rich and green. For additional reviews, see the recent article on The Huffington Post.
**Hot, Rich & Green is published by Living Well Publishing and is available for purchase online.
Add comment June 1, 2010
Call of the Wild: ForageSF Supper Club
Only in San Francisco could the secretive allure of a speakeasy be applied to…foraged food? You bet. Though whispered passwords and member-only keys have been replaced by an email list, the ambience of discretion and diverting from the mainstream makes The Wild Kitchen Dinner a thrilling experience.
Run by Iso Rabins, founder of ForageSF.com and the SF Underground Market, the alternative dining experience serves up an eight-course meal made with local ingredients that either come from Bay Area businesses, personal harvests or have been collected from the wild (or in some cases, “gleaned”; which I eventually was told is a fancy word for “stolen”).
On the day of the event, an email is sent out with the supper location, which can be anywhere from an old warehouse to a swanky apartment building. The dinner I attended last Friday was in a nondescript loft in the Mission. Dozens of candles illuminated two long communal tables that were set with eclectic, mismatched dinnerware and decorated with lovely foraged arrangements by SabineFlowers. The made-from-scratch meal was prepared with ingredients such as miners lettuce from McLaren Park and lemons from Santa Cruz, in addition to various course components provided by local food startups and chefs, i.e. flatbread from Sour Flour and homemade mozzarella from Jordan Grosser of Alembic.
From beginning to end, the entire meal was incredible. Each course was fresh, distinct and creatively incorporated a local, foraged ingredient – candy cap mushroom ice cream with gleaned orange preserve, anyone? As the evening wore on, conversations with perfect strangers became increasingly relaxed and enjoyable. Though the dinner did run a little off schedule – it ended two hours late due to stove issues – breaking bread in such an unconventional way was so much fun, it’s made this SF secret quite hard to keep.
To buy tickets, you must be a ForageSF.com member (signups are available on the site). The eight-course dinner is $75 per ticket and drinks are BYOB. Make sure you come hungry, as portions are sizeable.
A sampling of ForageSF courses to feast your eyes upon…
Soup of Crisp Wild Onion and Local Wild Nettle
Wild Nettle Flatbread by "Sour Flour" with Homemade Mozzarella by Jordan Grosser of Alembic
Nasturtium Flower Pesto over Fresh Potato Gnocchi
Chorizo Stewed Mussels with Foraged Citrus and Wild Onion Flowers
Wild Rosemary Marinated Marin Sun Farm Beef Tenderloin with a Balsamic & Black Trumpet Mushroom Reduction and Pan Fried Wild Radish Greens and Mashed Heirloom Potatoes
2 comments May 13, 2010
Eco Date: Save $$ and the Planet
In the hopes that April showers have truly turned to May flowers, it’s time to take your dating life outdoors. Trying the latest vegetarian joint or bonding over a biodynamic glass of wine is fine and dandy, but why not get creative and get to know each other in a more natural setting?
In my opinion, one of the best green dates in the City is renting a paddle boat at Stow Lake and powering your way around the island. Besides the appeal of enjoying a true oasis away from the hustle and bustle of city life, there’s a Huckleberry Finn adventure spirit about the place. Make your way past the exotic dragon-red Pagoda, listen to the watery echoes under the old stone bridge, or spy on turtles sunning themselves on floating logs.
Each boat is available for one hour, so a quick lunch onboard is always a nice touch. You can pick something up from the Lake House – which serves organic beverages, vegan cookies and veggie hotdogs along with its offering of candy corn and regular burgers – or pack your own picnic. For a homemade luncheon, I find it’s easy to pack fruit and pasta salads into my Tiffin To Go Ware container and take it on the boat.
After paddling around Stow Lake, walk off your sea legs by taking a stroll around the inner island, accessible by the two bridges on either side of the lake. Jump across the stones bordering the waterfall or hike up to the top for panoramic views of Golden Gate Park. With all the island birds singing and the flowers blooming, there just might be love in the air.
Stow Lake is located at 50 Stow Lake Drive in the Inner Sunset district of San Francisco. Parking is free. Paddle boat rentals are $19 an hour and can seat four. While booking your boat, be sure to sign the Stow Lake Boathouse petition to preserve the historic site and refuse the building of a commercial restaurant!
Add comment May 10, 2010
To Get A Head Full of Gorgeous Hair, Be Plum
Bad hair days don’t stand a chance at The Plum Organic Beauty Salon in upper Hayes Valley. Owned by recent San Francisco transplant Danica Winters, the intimate space tucked away on a residential block near the Panhandle is definitely a hidden eco treasure.
As soon as you walk through the doors, a feeling of calm sets in. Holding a mug of hot tea, you can settle in on the comfortable couch or take a peek at the various bottles and items displayed on the vintage and earthy furniture. Everything from the hair products and dyes (free of toxins and ammonia) to the bamboo towels used to dry your hair is organic and eco-conscious.
As with many sustainable enterprises, a certain culture or set of beliefs needs to be sewn into the fabric of the company to fully thrive. For Danica, this is embodied by her “Be Plum” philosophy, which is to create a fully holistic beauty environment “where your truest beauty is encouraged from within and treated organically from without.” Her friendliness puts you at ease instantly, and her knowledge and passion for all things natural is, well, natural. There is nothing forced about this eco beauty business. She cares about her customers’ health as much as she cares about her own, which is the reason she decided to divert from the path of the typical chemical-filled salon in the first place.
The Plum’s services include haircut, color and style, as well as holistic health counseling options (pantry cleanse, grocery store trip, etc) since Danica is currently enrolled at the Integrative Institute of Nutrition. I got a great haircut for $75 and am looking forward to making The Plum my salon-on-speed-dial.
They say a good hair stylist is like a therapist, helping bring order from a mop of messy hair and creating happiness and confidence by wielding a pair of scissors and restoring shine and bounce to lackluster strands. For any woman looking to rock some brilliant highlights or get rid of unsightly split ends, it’s time to take a breath of chemical-free air and Be Plum.
The Plum Organic Beauty Salon is located at 1921 Hayes Street, San Francisco 94117. The salon is open Mon-Fri by appointment. For the working girl (or guy), night appointments are available but fill up quickly. A haircut is $75 and color runs anywhere from $80 (single process) to $155 (for full highlights). The fastest way to book an appointment is via email.
Add comment May 6, 2010
America’s Lunchtime Lesson: Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
Image Courtesy of JamieOliver.com
Who would’ve thought that fighting a revolution could mean picking up a fork and knife? One Brit has set out to do just that. Jamie Oliver, known as The Naked Chef (or Savior of the School Lunch – whichever suits your fancy), has made it his personal mission to investigate and change the food system in public schools across America while educating teachers, parents and children about what really lies on their colorful plastic trays come noontime.
After seeing initial success in the English town of Rotherham, teaching everyone from hairdressers to bricklayers how to cook a healthy proper meal, Jamie made his way across the pond to the small town of Huntington, West Virginia (aka the place with the highest obesity and weight-related deaths in the country). “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” show, which aired in March, has since wrapped, but full episodes are still available on ABC.com and I highly recommend watching them. From butting heads with Southern school cook Alice to showing kids what actually goes into a chicken nugget, the show pointed out the disturbing flaws in our synthetic food system and offered solutions that can be implemented in schools and homes to create healthy and lasting change.
Image Courtesy of Amazon.com
While watching Jamie whip up tasty meals for the kids, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on “Jamie’s Food Revolution” cookbook. The book provides simple and classic recipes that are healthy and quite easy for anyone to make, along with a challenge to all readers who choose to partake in the Food Revolution: pass it on. As in, pass on a few recipes in the book to at least four people. That’s it. So below are the recipes for two of Jamie’s yummy dishes (the Spicy Moroccan Stewed Fish w/Couscous from the book and the Asparagus and Pesto Risotto from his iPhone app Jamie Oliver) that I would like to pass along. Let’s honor his movement to spread healthy eating by getting back into our kitchens and rediscovering the simple pleasure of a home cooked meal (while incorporating as many local, organic ingredients as possible)!
**For more information on this eating movement, consider joining Slow Food USA, see the latest about the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, or read about third graders writing to senators asking for meals that aren’t packaged and frozen. And be sure to sign Jamie’s petition on www.JamieOliver.com!
Spicy Moroccan Stewed Fish with Couscous
Serves 2
20 minutes
Found in “Jamie’s Food Revolution” cookbook (Pg. 26)
Ingredients
1 cup quick-cook couscous
olive oil
2 lemons
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves of garlic
1 fresh red chile
a bunch of fresh basil
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 X 6-oz white fish fillets (*Used tilapia with the skin and bones removed)
½ pound large shrimp, raw peeled (*Substituted more Tilapia as I’m allergic to shellfish)
1 X 14-oz can of diced tomatoes
2 handfuls of fresh or frozen peas, fava beans or green beans (or use a mixture)
Directions
Put the couscous into a bowl and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Halve the lemons and squeeze in the juice from two of the halves. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour in just enough boiling water to cover the couscous, then cover the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap. Let the couscous soak up the water for 10 minutes.
Put a large saucepan on medium heat. Peel and finely slice your garlic. Finely slice your chile. Pick the basil leaves off the stalks. Put the smaller ones to one side and roughly chop the larger ones. Add a couple of lugs of olive oil to the hot pan. Add the garlic, chile, basil, cumin seeds and cinnamon. Give it all a stir and put the fish fillets on top. Scatter over the shrimp. Add the canned tomatoes and the peas and beans. Squeeze in the juice from the two remaining lemon halves (**Note: I found that two lemon halves are bordering on overwhelming, so I recommend just using one half). Put a lid on the pan. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 8 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
By the time the fish is cooked, the couscous should have sucked up all the water and be ready to serve. Spoon the couscous into a large serving bowl and give it a stir with a fork to help it fluff up. Top with the fish, vegetables and juices from the pan, sprinkle with the reserved basil leaves, and tuck in!
Asparagus and Pesto Risotto
Serves 2
40 minutes
Found on the iPhone Jamie Oliver App under the “Simple Risottos” Tab
Ingredients
1 medium bunch of asparagus (*Bought fresh and organic from my local farmers’ market)
2 heaping tsp good-quality pesto
1 small red onion
1 stick celery
2 pats butter
5 oz risotto rice
1 ¾ cups vegetable broth (*Used closer to 2 ¼ cups)
1 oz Parmesan cheese
½ cup white wine
1 lemon (*Used just half the lemon)
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
Directions
Preheat your oven to the lowest setting and place your plates in the oven to warm. Place a large saucepan on low to medium heat. Peel the onion and trim the celery stick, then finely chop or coarsely grate them.
Add 1 pat of butter to the hot pan with the onion, celery and a splash of olive oil and a splash of water. Cook over a low heat for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft. Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan, then turn the heat down to low.
Snap the woody bases off the asparagus spears and add them to the saucepan of broth. Slice the remaining tender stalks right up to the tip then leave the tip whole. Put to one side.
Finely grate the Parmesan cheese. Once your vegetables are very soft (but not browned) add the rice to the pan. Stir and fry the rice for a minute until translucent. Then add the wine and keep stirring until all the wine has been absorbed by the rice.
Turn the heat under the rice up to medium, then add a ladleful of hot broth, avoiding the asparagus stalks (they are there for flavor only). Stir constantly and continue adding broth, one ladle at a time waiting for the rice to soak it all up before adding more. Continue until you’ve used two thirds of the broth.
Once two thirds of the broth has been added, stir the sliced asparagus and tips into the rice. Keep adding the broth until the rice is just cooked and the risotto has a nice oozy consistency. If you run out of broth, use boiling water.
Take the pan of risotto off the heat and stir in the remaining pat of butter, 1 heaping teaspoon of pesto and half the Parmesan. Cut your lemon in half them squeeze in a little juice.
Taste the risotto and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cover the pan with a lid and serve onto warmed plates when ready. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over the risotto and top with pesto.
**For more recipes, visit www.jamieoliver.com
Add comment May 4, 2010
Eco Grub: Lunch at Kitchenette SF
Foodies in this town thrive on the unexpected. Whether they are of the more daring San Francisco Food Adventure Club elk or get their thrills eating crème brulee from a street cart in the Mission, the City doesn’t disappoint when it comes to satisfying (and testing) a diverse selection of palate thresholds.
A new player on the novel-eating scene is Kitchenette SF, a small restaurant hidden among industrial warehouses in the Dogpatch area that bills itself as “spontaneous organic covert nourishment.” Its spontaneity is demonstrated by the fact that a small number of organic dishes are prepared each day based on the creativity and cravings of the staff. And as for covert, just try to find it behind rows of parked cars and loading docks, with just a small store sign to tip you off that you’ve reached the spot.
The local and made-from-scratch menu reflects the availability of fresh ingredients and the culinary tastes of the Kitchenette SF chefs, whose combined resume includes stints at top-notch eateries like Chez Panisse, Incanto, Zuni Cafe, Eccolo, Ad Hoc and Fog City Diner. The selections change daily and include sustainable and quirky options such as the Fatted Calf Fennel Sausage sandwich (w/house-fermented sauerkraut and whole-grain mustard) or the California Ranch Chicken sandwich (w/slow smoked pork belly, avocado, pickled mustard seed ranch dressing, smoked onions and arugula).
My lunch order included the crispy Spring Vegetable Pan Bagnat, which was made with grilled asparagus, bellwether farm fromage blanc, peas, knoll farm fava greens and shaved fennel olivada that I washed down with a refreshing glass of Kitchenette SF’s housemade lemonade. The prices are average (roughly $7.50 an item) and the food is definitely worth trying for a welcome change to the typical grab-and-go lunchtime experience. So employ your sleuth skills and seek out this tasty, kitschy eatery.
Kitchenette SF is located at 958 Illinois Street in the American Industrial Center. Food is served from 11:30am – 1:30pm Monday thru Friday. This is a cash-only restaurant, but there is an ATM machine at the Sundance coffee shop around the corner if you find yourself out of $$.
Add comment April 6, 2010
Water Wars: Tap vs. Bottled Water
After opening our eyes to the brainwashing behind the manufactured demand of mass consumerism in her debut video “The Story of Stuff,” Annie Leonard dives under the surface of the bottled water industry to expose a system that cons citizens into paying top dollar for inferior water that simply comes in a pretty plastic bottle, along with the pretense of being a “purer product.”
“The Story of Bottled Water” is insightful, thought-provoking and easy to grasp. By showing the high cost behind purchasing bottled water (both for the planet and your wallet), Leonard proves that there is a need for consumers to band together and prioritize the need for clean tap water, eliminating the truly dirty industry of bottled water.
So take a few minutes, watch this video and commit to making a change in how you hydrate yourself. Celebrate World Water Day by investing in a Brita filter (if you’re still uncomfortable drinking directly from the tap or if your region has poor water quality) and a stylish reusable water bottle (I personally love the designs from Earthlust). Because it looks like the bottled water industry has sprung a leak.
1 comment March 23, 2010
A Breath of Fresh Air: Natural Cure for Pesky Seasonal Allergies
For the San Francisco girl, springtime brings sunnier skies, outdoor dinner dates, gorgeous blooms in Golden Gate Park…and the unfortunate arrival of seasonal allergies. If the idea of escaping from the winter flu only to encounter a daily stuffy nose or sinus congestion is enough to drive you back indoors, it’s time to look for a healthy solution that lets you embrace Mother Nature.
Instead of popping a pill, why not try an all-natural, centuries-old approach to curing your pollen woes? While perusing the aisles of my favorite alternative drugstore Pharmaca in Cole Valley, I came across the Baraka Sinus Care Kit. The set came complete with a Neti Pot, French Atlantic Sea Salt and Sinus Rejuvenating Oil, and has successfully buffered me against the severe allergy symptoms I typically battle during this time of year.
Image Courtesy of SinusSupport.com
Neti pots, which have been used for thousands of years by practitioners of Ayurveda and yoga, are teapot-like devices used to run a saline solution through the nasal passages. This practice, according to Baraka and alternative medicine practitioners, rinses out undesirable dust, pollen, mucous and other matter from the nose to maintain optimal, healthy breathing conditions. My soothing blue, ceramic Baraka Neti pot is made in the United States and is lead-free. In addition, the company, which is a small, U.S., woman-owned business, gets all of its salts and essential oils from sustainable sources – definitely a green biz model to support!
The whole nasal-rinsing process seemed intimidating at first, but now that I’ve gotten the hang of it and experienced the benefits firsthand (it has even helped with my minor sleep apnea), I’ve incorporated the Neti pot into my normal routine. I use it every other day (experiment to see what works best for you) and use the invigorating sinus oil daily whenever I feel an allergy-induced headache or nasal stuffiness coming on.
There are plenty of great videos online that make mastering the Neti pot easy (see Body+Soul’s demonstration), as well as a selection of Neti products favored by top green gurus such as Sophie Uliano. So treat yourself to a breath of fresh air this spring by splurging on a Neti pot of your choice!
**Additional tips: Make sure the water is warm (not hot!) and that you are using purified, distilled water, such as water from your Brita. High-quality salt from your local supermarket can be used, but I personally prefer Baraka’s French Atlantic Sea Salt, which is filled with minerals.
Add comment March 17, 2010
