Last year I read Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and found it incredible inspiring! If you haven't read it, I would highly recommend it as an informative and engaging read. It is probably one of the books that has had the most impact on my life.
After reading it, I began...
- Planning menus with local, in-season produce in mind. I am so much more aware now of what's growing (and what's not!).
- Participating in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). We support a farm financially before the growing season begins and receive a box of produce once a week all summer long. We are excited to connect with a new farm this year and visit it each week when we pick up our produce!
- Buying local milk. Last week we received our first delivery from the milkman at the local dairy. The dairy also offers eggs, butter, and cheeses. Mmm!
- Clarifying my values about meat. I was raised vegetarian and became a very lax vegetarian in college (meaning that I started eating a little meat). After reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle I decided to learn more about where my meat comes from and took a closer look at factory farming. Now I eat meat, but not often and only if I know where it comes from.
- Gardening! When we lived in our condo, I had trouble growing anything successfully in pots on our sun-beaten, concrete patio. But then we discovered Earth Boxes! We are still enjoying pesto made from our bumper crop of Earth Box basil last summer! This year I am excited to expand our vegetable gardening to a small plot in our back yard!
