Wine into Bread

A new product from Canada, called Vinifera, has turned grape skins and seeds into a flour.

The product is obtained using a patent-pending drying process, applied to the grape pomace – or what is left of the fruit after it has been crushed for wine-making. Primarily made up of grape skins, together with a small amount of seeds, this by-product is dried, sifted and ground into a flour. Read more…

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thought for food: TIME’s Eating Smart Special

natural The June 12 issue of TIME magazine has hit cyberspace already. This is some essential reading for those of us juggling the constant flood of information on how America does food.

The foremost expert on the subject, Marion Nestle, weighs in with Decoding the Grocery Store, her newest book What to Eat is a 600-page investigation of exactly that. She answers such simple mysteries such as Why don’t more Americans eat more fruits and vegetables?

They don’t always taste good, and people don’t know what to do with them. Look, there are seven kinds of apples here, but there’s no one to give you a sliver so you know which one you’ll like. Also fruits and vegetables are perceived as expensive. But a USDA report found you could eat five servings a day for under a dollar. I didn’t believe it until I tried it.

Other highlights: The Grass-Fed Revolution, How Sweet It Isn’t, The Menu Magician, The Lure of the 100-Mile Diet, and Get To Know Giada

In other news, Michael Pollan looks at the mixed blessing of Wal-Mart’s shift to organic in the New York Times Magazine

Technorati tags: food, nutrition

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Happy Earth Day! The Bees and the Blueberries

From the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign:

• Worldwide, approximately 1,000 plants grown for food, beverages, fibers, spices, and medicines need to be pollinated by animals in order to produce the goods on which we depend.
• Foods and beverages produced with the help of pollinators include: apples, bananas, blueberries, chocolate, coffee, melons, peaches, potatoes, pumpkins, vanilla, almonds, and tequila.

What you can do to encourage pollinators to flourish:

• Plant a pollinator garden. Pollinator gardening is fun!
• Reduce chemical misuse. Practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to reduce damage to your plants and to protect pollinators by using less chemicals. You could intersperse food plants, like tomatoes, with inedible plants like marigolds. Marigolds are known to attract pest insects away from food plants. Learn more about IPM and gardening here.
• Reduce your area of lawn grass. Grass lawns offer little food or shelter for most wildlife, including pollinators. You can replace grass with a wild meadow or prairie plants. For a neater look, make a perennial border with native plants. Plants native to your area are adapted to your soil type, climate, precipitation, and local pollinators! You can get a list of plants native to your area here.
• Provide water. All wildlife, including pollinators, need water. Some butterfly species sip water from muddy puddles to quench their thirst and get important minerals. You can provide water in a birdbath or even a shallow dish placed on the ground.

Whole Foods is celebrating Earth Day by offering a $50 gift card to those who sign up at Renewable Choice Energy and tasty spring recipes like Barley Salad with Fresh Mint.

Now, let’s all turn off our computers and go outside to the farmer’s market!

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