mipmup.

food finds at la's farmers' markets.

i'm always more than a little pleased when farmers' markets in my area (other than the grand dame, santa monica) are given some warm fuzzies by the mainstream press. this article by la times food writers russ parsons and betty hallock offers a nice rundown of some local eats found at our markets. my recs from their list include the aebleskivers in torrance on saturdays and the ubiquitous, and still delicious, corn maiden tamales.

image credit: jamie rector.

cute addition to your desk (and cats will thank you).

my cats love cat grass, especially when i don't kill it. however, i don't like the plastic container it comes in and i can never find the right spot for it anyway. since charlie is allergic to pretty much everything, i can't leave it out where he can get to it. therefore, i was happy to find these little critters called nyokki pets today in my inbox. i think they would be fantastic on my desk, where the cats like to hang out anyway. and since "nyokki" means grow in japanese, maybe they can help with my black thumb, too.
$23, set of two with seeds.

image credit: wrapables.com.

a whole city goes veggie.

to balance yesterday's beef-centric post, here's a story about an entire city of 200,000 in belgium that's going veg every thursday. every restaurant in the town will guarantee to have  a vegetarian dish on their menus and schools will make a veggie meal the "default" option on thursdays. why?

"the organisers cite un data arguing that meat production and consumption are to blame for 18% of greenhouse gases – more than cars. 'if everyone in flanders does not eat meat one day a week, we will save as much co2 in a year as taking half a million cars off the road,' said the ethical vegetarian association.
tom balthazar, the labour party councillor pushing the scheme, said: 'there's nothing compulsory. we just want to be a city that promotes sustainable and healthy living.'"

more information on going vegetarian.

image credit: bárbara porto.

support small farms: buy a share of grassfed beef.

this may be odd coming from a vegan, but i'm more than just a person who doesn't eat meat or dairy. i'm concerned with the very scary way our food is produced and processed, especially our beef and especially so because 95% of my friends and family are omnivores. heritage foods, originally founded as the sales and marketing arm for slow food usa, is testing a new business model with the goal of selling 50 head of grassfed beef by memorial day. this model will support small beef farmers trying to survive in the industrialized food world.

each share includes around 40 pounds of meat:
two 12-oz bone in filet mignon
two 18-oz bone-in ribeye
two 15-oz new york strip
two 12-oz top sirloin
two 16-oz flat iron (chuck)
one 22-oz london broil
one 32-oz fajita strip
two 32-oz pkgs. premium kabob meat
ten 32-oz pkgs. ground beef (frozen)

and either:
one 28-oz sirloin tip
one 16-oz round
one 22-oz flank or one 22-oz tri tip
or
two 16-oz round
one 29-oz skirt

share delivered outside california, with overnight shipping included, $360
share delivered within california, with overnight shipping included, $320

this seems like a great deal economically as well, so won't you give them your support? since we have an itty-bitty freezer that is normally overloaded due to my addiction to chewing ice cubes, we'll split our order with family members.

about heritage foods
heritage foods exists to promote independent family farms, humane production, genetic diversity and traceability.

image credit: heritage foods.