Mixed Greens Blog

Cut and Baste: Refashion your Clothes

Even after designing clothes for many years, my favorite way to design is with a pair of scissors in hand. Find a pair of pants that have gotten too short and cut them off to make a pair of shorts. Anybody remember the blue jean skirts made from an pair of jeans cut open and [...]

Eco-Chic: Wear Recycled Clothing

If you are in your 20’s, 30’s or an oh-so-hip-middle-ager, you may already be into wearing recycled clothing. I’ve been resistant due to growing up as 4th of 5 children and having my wardrobe consist of hand-me-downs, most of which were far from the latest styles. Also, something about the smell of thrift shops….what is [...]

Tomato Grazing All Year Long

As usual we’ve planted a lot of tomatoes. I always wonder if maybe this year, maybe finally we’ve gone too far, too many tomatoes. But that’s never the case.

I heard the other day that eight tomato plants per person was the guide for previous generations who preserved everything possible, including tomatoes, for winter consumption. [...]

Hard-Working White Vegetables

I’ll have to admit that I’ve had a thing for baby turnips after my southern friend, Cissy, sung their praises several years ago. Sliced and sauteed in butter, they can be a simple treat…. If they are slightly larger, you can cut them in half or quarter — enough so the greens don’t get over cooked while waiting for the turnips.

Seafood Watch, Sustainable Seafood Choices

Oceans, their fish and shellfish, are in trouble.

Every week there’s a new story, most recently one about how the current level of seawater acidity is as high as it was predicted to be decades from now – we’re ahead of schedule. Such events seem ambiguous, there’s a disconnect between what we read and what we [...]

The Organic Valley Story

Organic Valley, their label, logo and array of dairy products have become familiar. We see them in the dairy section of mainstream grocery stores everywhere now, but their business concept is anything but mainstream. Recognized as a model to aspire to in the sustainability movement, Organic Valley is a unique cooperative venture that is [...]

Please Pinch Your Herbs

My garden seems to have sprung into action with the heat last weekend. The herbs are practically begging to be picked and eaten. A few years ago I heard a lecture by Eaglesong, an herbalist who runs Ravencroft Garden and at that time was chief gardener at the Herbfarm. One of the things she said [...]

Relishing Radishes

Talk about a childhood food memory, bread and butter in one hand, a radish in the other, a bite of each, another bite and then some more when that’s gone. … You can be fancy and slice the radish very thinly across the top of a buttered piece of bread – it’s both a mouthful and an irresistible eyeful and shows off the glorious design embedded in each slice.

Paint it Green

Spring is the time when everyone starts thinking about painting projects that have been on hold — waiting for inspiration and better weather. I’ve always loved color and think it is important because we live in such a grey environment. One of my businesses is color consulting — helping people choose what colors to paint [...]

Reclaiming Agricultural Roots

_r=1&th=&emc=th&pagewanted=all “It’s as if we have lost track of the fact that food is linked to agriculture, which is linked to human survival.” … There are several organizations to be aware of regarding the politics of agriculture these days if you’re interested So, I visited my Farmers Market this weekend with these things on my mind, thinking about the naivete which surrounds our habits of food here in relation to the rest of the world.