Wednesday Night at the Fulton Street Farmer's Market

Kohlrabi, a member of the cabbage family in the likeness of something, perhaps in a Harry Potter movie (when not cleaned up).

Open on Wednesday Evenings

The Fulton Street Farmer's Market has new evening hours on Wednesday night, which I love.  I visited the market on their opening Wednesday evening last week.  I was pleased with the variety of vendors who showed up.  It was also much less crowded, somewhat empty, in fact.  Here's a little pictorial preview of what I found. 

Raw Honey, and a sweet vendor who doesn't say too much.

Organically grown (but not certified) herbs from PawPrint Farms

Organically Grown But Not Certified

I'm fascinated by farmers who are taking steps to grow organically, even though they do not opt for certification, and I love to chat with them about their practices.  Organic Certification is a very important standard for our food for many reasons - including the testing for and elimination of GMOs.  But this does not mean that we can't find fantastic, responsibily grown,  non-certified products from our local farmers that follow the same (or similar) standards. It's tough to receive organic certification and it's very expensive.  I often find the farmers who grow organically to be just as knowledgeable as those who are able to reach for that coveted seal.  Farmers who grow organically, certified or not, have to work with their neighboring farms to keep their neighbors' pesticides from wafting onto their crops.  That waft of chemicals can be significant and so can the waft of GMOs from farm to farm.   Corn farmers, for instance, need their neighbors who also grow corn to plant non-GMO seeds.  Otherwise their crops can cross polinate with the non-GMO crops that farmers have fought so hard to plant.  Get the picture? 

A little flower power

According to the USDA Economic Research Service, 90% of soy crops produced in the United States, 86% of corn and 93% of cotton are genetically modified.  About 80% of our processed foods contain GMOs (think soy lecithin, sugar from GM sugar beets, and high fructose corn syrup).  Much of this is due to cross-pollination.

It's more important than ever to support our local farmers, especially those who are working toward becoming organically grown.

Paw Print Farms grow some lovely herbs.  Picked up this one that is new to me.  It is supposed to taste like cucumber.  Do you know what it is?

Picked up this herb from PawPrint Farms. It's supposed to taste like cucumber.

 I found some great kale and greens from Sole Powered Farms.  The freshest kale I think I've ever tasted.

A new organically grown farm at the market. Sole Powered Farms.Dognip. Natural treats for your pet. Wish I had a dog to buy them for!

I love the grass fed ground lamb from Crane Dance Farms.   They also have lamb chops.  Try this recipe for lamb chops with rosemary.   Grass fed lamb has 50% of the Omega 3's as salmon (that's alot) and is higher (than grain fed lamb) in Vitamins B12 and B3, tryptophan, and thyroid and immune system-loving selenium.  According to our participating docs, grass fed meat also digests more easily.

I also picked up some terrific eggs.  Beautiful and tasty.

These cloth hats and bowls are fun.

So will I see you at the Market on Wednesday nights?  Stop me if you see me, would love to chat.

More Posts from Elisabeth

Make Me Over Gluten-Free (Review: Mineral Fusion Make Up)

Interview with Alessio Fasano, M.D. (Part I):  Should Anyone Eat Gluten?

10 Steps to Living Allergen-Free and Doing It Well

The Gifts of "No"

My Chat with Crave & The First Gluten-Free Winner of Cupcake Wars!

About Elisabeth

Writer, owner of Blue Pearl Strategies, and lover of all culinary delights, Elisabeth is a Tender Foodie. She started The Tender Palate, a website for foodies with food allergies where she consults with experts from every area of the Tender Foodie life. She believes that everyone should live deliciously and have a healthy seat at the table. Find her at www.tenderpalate.com.

My Trip through Elder & Sage (and Adrenal Health) with Burdock & Rose

Lisa Rose Starner of Burdock & RoseI've always loved herbs.  I've grown them for nearly half of my life (the other half was spent trying not to kill them in my New York City apartments).  A calm, a wisdom, a connectedness arrives when you clip your own herbs from pots or garden, then use them in any simple culinary creation of that day.  Food feels more personal.  Teas are a thoughtful process rather than a box, a bag and a cup.  Though I've become well-acquainted with herbs throughout these years, my knowledge is broad not deep.  Incidental and whimsical, not learned. I read about and experience herbs. Then I forget the details.

So when person after person said, "Do you know LIsa Rose Starner? ", I looked forward to actually speaking to her face to face. We've been in the same room doing downward dog at From The Heart Yoga studio, but had never "really" met.   Lisa, owner of the wonderful web site Burdock & Rose, has shaped plants and their energetic and medicinal uses into her life's work.  And passion.  She is an urban farmer.  As a city girl, I understand that term well, but "forager" and "wildcrafter" were the stuff of 18th Centruy novels, not modern chicks up town. 

The Elder & Sage Herb RackThankfully, my mind was unlocked.  Along wtih a few other interested herb-o-phites, I met Lisa, sans Facebook, and I got to hear some wisdom from one of today's modern wildcrafters.  We met at a fairly new little herb shop called Elder & Sage where you can find hyper-local, organically grown herbs.

Here is a synopsis of my experience, and a list of herbs from Lisa to help with adrenal stress.

Respect Your Adrenals

Burdock in BloomLisa began her talk with a personal story of 70 hour work weeks, and a type-A driven, self-imposed gun to her own head.  I think many of us can relate to this.  A healing crisis brought her to her knees, and her herbal life began. She offered a very important piece of introductory wisdom (I'm paraphrasing): 

Herbs can help us arrive at a healing solution, and will support us as we heal.  There is no subsitute for fundamentals like sleep, exercise and finding joy in life. An herb cannot correct any never-ending abuse of our emotional and physical limits.  Herbs do, however, serve to help us make changes, and support us when our bodies get out of balance and when life throws a nasty curve or three.

The lesson here is to use herbs to help calm the mind and get a good night's snooze, but face the internal or external circumstances that are keeping you up at night.  It could be a simple as turning off the Twitter Feed at 6pm or being with family and friends.  Or it could be something deeper (physically, medically, or emotionally) that needs professional intervention.

A Note on Food Allergies & Anxiety

Lisa didn't get to this in her talk, but I should mention that a key symptom in many food allergic reactions can be anxiety.  Heart racing, can't sleep, don't-know-why-I'm-nervous-all-the-time-because-this-isn't-me-at-all anxiety.  This symptom can range from the subtle to a crazy, out-of-the-blue personality change.  So make sure to look into this possibility if anxiety is something that has entered your life -- especially if you can't find another cause. 

Modern Day Bears

Lisa gave a great example of what stress does to your bod.   If a bear is chasing you in the forest, your body puts all energy into helping you get away from that bear.  Your digestion shuts down.  Fuel is redirected to your muscles, heart and lungs so you can run.  Your adrenal glands 'n such start pumping out stress hormones to inspire super human strength.  If all of this happens to quickly, we freeze and can do nothing.  This is the classic fight or flight response.  However, our "modern day bears" are not usually physical predators from which we can run or hit on the head to solve the problem.  When modern day bears threaten, we must keep "control" to remain socially adept.  Not so good to punch out your boss after he/she bad mouths you at a meeting.  Probably wouldn't help you to "de-friend" or flee willy nilly from healthy relationships because of politics, a difference of opinion, or whatever stresses you out... (you have my permission to defriend and run from truly scary, or abusive peops, though.  Or maybe start the search to find another boss).  

Fight or flight is meant to be temporary.  If we remain in that fight or flight response indefinately, it takes a great toll on our adrenal glands, our bodies, and our minds.  Ilness comes more quickly.  Researchers say that in this state, everyone is seen as a threat to our very survival.  Sometimes even ourselves.  The slightest disagreement causes harsh or even violent responses.  We are easily irritated because we look for danger in every comment, action and overature.  Kinda tough to have a positive outlook on life or see the good, honest intentions of your spouse, friend, or colleague when the threat of bears keeps preparing us for the "worst".  Right?

Here is a great resource to learn more about modern day bears, plus a rather entertaining educational video or two on the subject.

Adrenal Supporting Herbs - Advice from Lisa Rose Starner

Burdock Root - freshly dug from the groundIf your adrenals are in need of some love, what herbs are best?  I found it fascinating that Lisa discussed their physical, medicinal, and energetic qualites.   I asked her to list her favorites by condition.

Here's my fave short list of herbs that I mentioned on Wednesday (and a few I didn't even get to) that I use and love to have on hand to manage stress in our lives.  I use mainly herbs that grow in my immediate area and only a few non-local plants. I try to choose plants, too, that are not on an endangered list and if I don't harvest them myself, I procure them from reputable sources. _Lisa Rose Starner

NERVINE TONICS: Herbs that can actually restore tone to the central nervous system used over time include Milky Oats (Avena Sativa), Nettle, Passionflower, Skullcap.

AROMATICS: Rose, Geranium, Mints, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Bee Balm, Oregano, Basil -- all these herbs have aromatic oils that can be uplifting and can provide clarity in times of stress. They can be sought out as teas to sip (the ritual of making tea in and of itself is calming) or as essential oils to vaporize in a room (or cupped in your hand) or added into a carrier oil for massage (remember those foot baths!).

RELAXANTS & CALMATIVES for anxiety, restlessness: Think Chamomile (also aromatic), Lemon Balm, Raspberry leaf, Spearmint, Catnip, Rose, Blue Vervain, Passionflower, Skullcap, St. John's Wort.  All can be used as tea, or tincture, and some can be used extracted into oils for massage... Experiment a bit! Circular thinking -- Passionflower, Wood Betony, Blue Vervain.  

SEDATIVES: Hops, Kava Kava (gives me the giggles), Valerian (feels like a heavy Xray blanket like they use at the dentist, but can sure calm spasm, quell anxiety and induce sleep).

BITTERS & DIGESTION:  Bitters are a MUST for helping stagnant digestion that is symptomatic of excess stress.  BItters ~should~ be had as food and a main staple in our diets (think dandelion leaf, Romaine lettuce, fennel, Chamomile) but they can also be integrated into our diets as classic digestifs (such as commercial Campari or Angostura) or tinctured bitters (I hand make my own bitters with a variety of herbs such as Orange Peel, Cinnamon, Aspen Bark, Fennel, etc). If there extreme digestive deficiency and there is ulcer, etc., more must be done with diet and herbs that can support the mucosa to heal should be introduced (marshmallow, slippery elm, etc).  

NettleNOURISH: I've attached the recipe for the nourishing infusion of Nettle, Red Clover & Oatstraw (all good for nourishing adrenals for general wellness and in times of stress) and how to use other nourishing foods like Burdock, Astragalus and mushrooms to also help strengthen adrenals and core immunity.  Things to avoid or reduce consumption -- alcohol, coffee. Both can seriously disrupt sleep patterns and can exacerbate adrenal fatigue.

AND MOVE!!!!: Remember that a key factor to managing stress isn't just to nourish the body, but the body also needs to MOVE to manage cortisol levels that spike when under stress.  Excercise need not mean a gym membership -- it can mean gentle walking, stretching, dancing -- anything just to keep the body lithe and circulation flowing.

BE STRONG, YOU ARE SUPPORTED: Herbs are our allies to help us move toward a life of making choices that serve us to lead brighter lives. The herbs ~cannot~ be a substitute for making those choices. That is our responsibility and we all have the power to do what needs to be done -- they are here to support that.

Also remember that everyone's path (and constitutions) are different, so herbs that work for one may not be suited for another.  If you would like to talk more about your personal questions, I am available to help discuss what might be right for you and your life in this moment.  _Lisa Rose Starner

Adrenal & Immune-Building Recipes

My thanks to Lisa for this great information.  Here are a few immune building recipes to try. The first two are from Lisa, and are vegan: 

Castle Defense Nourishing Broth

Nourishing Burdock Stew

Immune-Building Bone Broth Recipes. 

Slow Cooker, Nutrient-Rich Beef Bone Broth

RECIPE: Nourishing Burdock Stew (Vegan, GF)

I asked Lisa Rose Starner of Burdock & Rose to divulge this heavenly, vegan recipe after she served it at her 2011 talk on herbs and adrenal health.  To find out more about the medicinal properties of the herbs used in this recipe, visit this summary of her mini-seminar. If you are in Grand Rapids, you can find many of the herbs at Elder & Sage.

Castle Defense Nourishing Broth (Vegan)

Herbal Infusion Mixture

Herbal Infusion Mixture:  Red clover, Nettle, Oatstraw (read why oatstraw & oats must be gluten-free), Astragalus (2 sticks) -- approx. 2 cups dry herb total. In case of Gluten Intolerance, remove Oatstraw*, then increase Nettle and Red Clover.

1 cup dry mushroom of choice -- Chaga, Reishi, Maitake or 1 TBSP powered mushroom (MushroomHarvest online offers great mushroom blends)

Simmer herbal mixture and mushrooms SLOWLY in 6 qts of water for 20 minutes. Again, simmer, no boil.

Strained Herbal Broth

Let sit overnite (on the counter or in the refrigerator) for 12 hours. Long cooking/extraction time is needed to extract minerals. Let the broth come to room temperature, then strain & store in Ball Jars or containers and refrigerate if you aren't making soup right away. Freezes well. Can also be sipped at room temperature as a nourishing infusion.  

*Many folks allergic to gluten are also allergic to oats (see this post explaining this).  If you are not allergic to oats, be sure to source gluten-free oat straw.

Nourishing Burdock Stew (Vegan, GF if made w/o Oatstraw)

Domesticated Burdock with Carrot, Shallot, Garlic to go into soup with stewed Tomatoes & mushroom power

• Nourishing Broth as prepared above
• 1 cup brown rice -- cooked, optional
• 1 cup adzuki bean -- cooked, optional
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 6 cloves garlic (minced)
• 3 reg sized Burdock root (sliced or diced)
• 3 carrots (chopped)
• Salt, pepper to taste, or even minced Parsley, Thyme, Sage or Rosemary.

Sautee onion and garlic, sweat the Burdock & Carrots until the carrots are soft enough to pierce with a fork, then stir in cooked rice & beans (optional).

Cover with prepared herbal broth.  Simmer again for 20 minutes to meld flavors.

Eat and savor this nourishing, nutrient dense soup.

***To prepare soup with the added immunity builder of bone broth (highly recommended for persons with significantly compromised immunity and also as general immunity builder during winter months)

Immune-Building Bone Broth (non-Vegan, GF, DF)

Maitake mushroom wild from Michigan forests.
Decoct herbal mixture and mushrooms as directed. In separate pot, sear soup bones (beef or chicken from healthy animals) in the pot to brown, along with the onion.

Pour the prepared broth (herbs and all) over the searing bones.  Bring pot to simmer. Add 2 TBSP of vinegar  then do a slow extraction of 12 hours or so, by simmering the broth and bones on low heat. Add some water as needed as the broth reduces down. THEN strain.  This will be your bone broth.  

Finish recipe by sautéing your vegetables, adding in rice, beans.  Simmer for additional 20 minutes for flavors to meld, serve. 

You Buy Organic. But What About Your Lawn?

Organic produce and meat are becoming popluar dietary choices for many of us.   Some folks have even put in organic gardens, hoping to save money and grow the organic veggies they love the most.  We, the crunchy, the green, and the health-aware, are a group of people who have become conscious about what we put into our bodies and on our gardens.  But what about our lawns? 

I've heard for years about how pesticides and commercial fertilizers have been seeping into our water supply, are being found in high quantities in fish and other animals, and are directly making people sick.  I've even met a few sad folks who have been poisoned from something as "harmless" and ant spray.  So I was intrigued to find two articles recently that help explain how our obsession with pesticides is turning against us.   And what we can do about it.

The Dark Side of the Perfect Lawn

The first article, The Dark Side of Lawns, helps us understand why and how our everyday lawn care practices affect our health and the health of our planet.  Now don't get all "Oh, you are such a left-wing environmentalist" on me because I said the word, "planet".  These are really interesting and well-researched articles.   Super smart people from Harvard and the National Cancer Institute have been studying the use of pesticides and their resulting data is really clarifying.   According to the former, garden pesticides "can increase the risk of childhood leukemia seven-fold."  According to researchers at Harvard School of Public Health, "frequent exposure to pesticides increased the incidence of Parkinson's disease by 70 percent."  There is nothing political or partisan about those facts.  Even if you have the liver of a Superman, most of us cannot process all of the chemicals and toxins that we pump into our bodies via the earth.  It's not just the big companies that are doing it.  It's us, the little people, too.

Because the FDA does not require it, Commercial fertilizers also do not include specifics on their label about non-active ingredients.  Non-active ingredients can include high amounts of heavy metals.  We don't want those in our water either.  This article is a must read, so please read more....

An Organic Lawn:  First Step - Think Differently

I really love it when web sites and information sources not only tell you what NOT to do, but also give you a plan that will help you make a change.  The second article, Your 6-Step Organic Lawn Plan, will probably take seven steps because as they say in their introductory paragrah, thinking organically demands a change of mind. As I learned from the experts that helped me save my organic garden from blight, healthy plants require the immune system in their soil to be healthy, too, just like humans do. That takes nuture, not control.

As a Tender Foodie, I've had to change my habits and my way of thinking many times.  With each new mysterious symptom, with the realization that many of these symptoms could be cured with food and lifestyle changes, and with each new kind of food that crosses my path, a whole fresh world has slowly opened up to me.  With a few exceptions, my food is more delicious and more nutritious.  My body likes that and responds in kind.  As a result, I have become concerned with "why" so many people have food allergies and other health problems in the first place.  I also wonder why people with food allergies have multiple food allergies, many of them life-threatening.  The number of people with food allergies has risen so sharply in the last decade or so, that this is concerning researchers, too.  And it isn't just because more people are being diagnosed.  There is actually a change in our environment and our food.  Research Says So.  At least, it is beginning to.

For people with food allergies, "you are what you eat" takes on a whole new meaning.  So does, "know where your food comes from."  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 80 million U.S. households dump nearly 90 million pounds of herbicides and pesticides on lawns in a year.  The grass doesn't use very much of that.  So the rest gets into our ground water, rivers and lakes.  Our crops use that water.  Cows, fish, chickens, and sheep ingest that water.  We drink that water, eat those crops and ingest cows, chickens, fish and sheep.  I think this subject is worth a little change of mind.  A change of heart.  And a change in practice.  Don't you?

Garden Organic: The Battle of the Blight

In the Beginning

It started last year with little black spots on my oregano.  I was surprised.  Maybe this plant (whose oils are usually powerful enough to resist anything) wasn’t getting enough sun.  But I was quite sure that Adam and Eve had never seen little black spots in their garden.  Then the spots spread to my precious mint and tarragon.   I did what the Internet told me to do and cleared out all of the infected leaves, bagged them and trashed them.  I started spraying every leaf with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water every single evening.  It seemed to work.  But after a week of heavy rain and strong wind, the blight spores waved their little victory flag and left that discriminating corner of herbs.   It attacked the zucchini (dead quickly) and then spread to my prized tomatoes.  Those flippin' spots soon felled so many leaves that the tomato plants looked like their proverbial loin clothes had been ripped off – love apples exposed.  My rosemary and cucumbers even got it (and I’m not saying anything proverbial about the cucumbers).  

The spots didn’t affect any of the vegetables directly until late in the season.  But without leaf cover, the produce throughout the summer was thin at best.  My plants were prematurely balding and not in a sexy, high-testosterone kinda way. 

And my greens.  Oh my 10 different varieties of health-giving greens that were so bountiful in the past provided no garden-to-table salad last summer.  

Lessons Learned:  Tenderly Nurture

The Fulton Street Farmers' Market in Grand Rapids, MI
In past seasons, I’ve learned that if you plant a seed, it comes up miraculously bringing joy and love to all with appetites.  I have also learned that 25 zucchini plants can fuel a small restaurant for 3 months.  

This summer, I thought my lesson was about control because infuriating stuff happens that interferes with the miracle of food and sends you to the grocery store instead of the dirt behind your house.  But my lesson is really about nurture.  A little knowledge from the experts can help keep the love coming from backyard to table.  

I found my first lead at the Fulton Street Farmers Market in Grand Rapids, MI.

UnPesticidal Advice:  How to Control Leaf Spot

I had contacted several experts throughout the year and no one wanted to touch this one.  I almost gave up, dumped a bunch of manure on the land and left it for a year.  Or maybe forever.  But the gardening bug bit again this spring and I was so excited to play in the dirt that I simply I had to try.  

First Expert: Trillium Haven Farms

When I went to the Fulton Street Farmers’ Market a couple of weekends ago, I hesitantly picked up heirloom tomato and pepper plants.  Then I spoke to Trillium Haven Farm owners Anja Mast and Michael Vanderbrug.  We had a very interesting conversation and were kind enough to answer a few of my questions.

Rainy Day Advice From Michael VerBrug from Trillium Haven FarmsTheir Advice:  Build up the immune system of your soil.  Soil is like your own immune system and 75% of yours lies in your intestines.  Your intestines, like the soil, need a healthy balance of vitamins and minerals to absorb into your body.  Your intestines also need the right balance of friendly bacteria in order to digest those nutrients so they can be absorbed.  Maintain this delicate balance and you thrive.  

Plants need this kind of harmony in their soil’s immune system as well.  In my gardening life, I’ve learned that not all plants need the same mix of nutrients.  Some plants need more acidic soil where there is a lot of iron (like azaleas).  Some plants need more of an alkaline soil.  According to the National Gardening Association, tomatoes need a pH between 6.0 and 6.8. 

As Michael pointed out, if your plants don’t get enough of the specific nutrients they need, they simply can’t fight disease.

This is a concept that hits home for me, and for anyone whose own immune system has issues -- food allergy-related or otherwise.  Anja and I discussed plainly that we are what we eat – but not only because of the fruit or vegetables we put into our mouths.   We can truly benefit or suffer because of health of the soil from which our foodstuffs arise.  

So, good information, but how do you organically change the pH and nutritional content of your soil?

Second Expert:  Morgan Composting

Since you don’t know what you are going to get in your compost or aged manure from traditional companies, Michael recommended that I give Morgan Composting a call.  They sell completely organic, aged cow poo, worm casings… all kinds of earthy stuff for your garden.  They balance their products to enrich and maintain the health of your soil no matter what.  

I emailed Morgan’s and Alyson wrote me back.  Here is what she said:

First, our DairyDoo compost is a great start.  It will definitely get some good beneficial organisms in your soil to counteract the bad bugs...blight. I would apply it this year at a rate of 1/2 inch, over the entire garden.  This will ensure that the blight doesn't get into the walkways, and repopulate. If you did this, you will need about 2 yards (a pickup truck full).

Second, I would recommend using a summer foliar of fish Hydrosolate.  We use MultiBloom, which is real easy, and convenient to hook up to your hose. You can spray this once a week throughout the summer.   It is a fertilizer, but you would get more benefit from the essential oils, and also the minerals that fish has to offer.  It is also a systemic, and will go to work right away.  We sell those bottles for $12.95ea.

You can find these products at any of our fine local retailers, which are located on our website, www.dairydoo.com.

Third Expert:  Friends and Friends of Friends

I had also spoken to a coOrganic Heirloom Tomato and Pepper Plants from Trillium Havenuple of friends about their battles with blight.  Many gardeners are having this problem.  One person suggested lime (from limestone).  I asked Alysson about this at Morgan’s Composting.  She said that this might be helpful, as calcium can help in the battle of the blight, but the nutrients in the compost and oils in the fish Hydosolate will be the key.  She suggested getting a bag of high calcium (not dolomite, or high magnesium) lime.  The calcium content needs to be higher than the magnesium, because too much magnesium can cause a fruit rot in tomatoes.  So I picked up a 40 lb bag and spread half of it on the entire garden today.  If that goes well, we’ll do the other half.  It is supposed to be "non-toxic", and my dear father found me a pelleted version, so the dust was less annoying.  I didn’t wear a mask, but I would recommend doing so anyway.  Blagh.

Another friend of a friend battles blight in wet weather by dusting her tomato plants with powdered milk.  How interesting is that?  Since I have dairy allergies, I’ll stick with the lime.  This weekend, I’m hoping to start step two - building the immune system.  That is if I can get to the nearest Morgan’s retailer which will be a bit of a drive.   I bet it will be worth it.

Wish me luck!  Now go get your poo, then let me know about your gardening adventures and your battle with the blight.