For the bread enthusiast looking to cut back on plastic and paper bags, Berkeley-based Bamboo-bag is manufacturing a smartly designed alternative. Run by three friends, these sustainable bamboo cloth bread bags come in two sizes - the baguette quiver ($16) can hold up to three long loaves, the loaf pouch ($16) can manage two one-pound loaves or a single challah. We love the diagonal strap which keeps your hands free to squeeze avocados or pick through citrus at the market.

Related Links:
- Bamboo-bag.com
- How to fold your Bamboo-bag
- Bamboo bags on Studio-707

Comments (0) | February 13 - 2:36 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen, Gift Ideas, New Products

Have a look at the Food Map Container, it's a new growing container perfect for that edible container garden you were going to plant this year. The self contained unit is conveniently built on wheels to make moving from sun to shade easy if necessary. The container is made from nontoxic materials that wont rust, and with minimal care the it won't lose its color or warp over time. The Food Map Container is manufactured in Los Angeles, is 100% recyclable, comes in two sizes, and is priced around $250.

Comments (2) | February 6 - 8:54 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen, New Products

Zesty-fresh content presented through a squeaky clean design is part of what makes Green-Lemonade such a nice read - but it isn't the only reason we're fans of this blog. Without being heavy-handed, the site encourages us to be aware of what we put in our bodies and what impact we leave on the environment. In Liz and Rhaya's own words,"it’s about sustainability, but not just for the earth - for our bodies too." A scan of recent posts spans from Twist-brand sponges to fermented oatmeal, Smart cars to agave nectar. The site is (relatively) new to the scene - we certainly look forward to what this citrus-charged duo has in store for us.

Green-Lemonade
(check out the great sites on their blogroll as well)

Comments (0) | February 2 - 7:24 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen

While it might be early in the year to break ground on an edible garden, spring isn't too far off on the horizon - and hey, there's no harm in a little planning or daydreaming. Have a look at these precious matchstick garden kits - each cute, petite matchbook opens to reveal ten matches, each containing seeds in their tips. Simply nestle each match tip-first into soil (warm, sunny place), and you're in business. For those of you lacking confidence, directions are inside the cover. You can even plant them indoors if you can't wait for a springtime thaw.

At $5 they make good party favors, or simply thoughtful treats for friends with green thumbs. They'll be thanking you down then line when they're able to snip fresh chives, basil, parsley, and thyme from their own tiny plot.

Matchstick Garden
matchstickgarden.com
$5 (on Perpetual Kid)

Comments (2) | January 13 - 11:53 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen, Gift Ideas, New Products

This wonderful article by Barbara Damrosch about edible canopy gardens last year inspired us with vivid visions of rustic meals playing out beneath rambling grape vines, tiny squash and scarlet runner blossoms. She sums it up perfectly...

"...It's the perfect fantasy of the foodie gardener, and this year it is finally turning to reality. The crop of grandchildren was slow in coming, and the grapes we planted have taken their time to ascend the arbor -- a fine structure built from rebar by our neighbor -- but this year there is finally some leafy shade. "Peasant splendor" about describes the lifestyle to which we aspire, and this grape ceiling is splendid indeed.

If a canopy garden is on your wish list, even better, an edible canopy garden, here are a few links and resources.

Garden and Hearth writes about trellising organic peas. Renee's garden on edible nasturtiums and how to run them up a trellis in a canopy garden. An fantastically informative discussion board thread on Gardenweb. More on peas over at the Inadvertent Gardner. And a list of climbers for pergolas at the Telegraph.

There are some nice examples of pergola structures here.

If you have a nice canopy garden, post a link to your photos (flickr, etc) so we can admire.

Comments (1) | June 12 - 6:42 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen

Back in February I wrote about an inspiring Victory Garden lecture I attended at the SFMoMA. Blair Randall was nice enough to volunteer some of his time to share the Victory Gardens 2007+ story with the attendees last month at the Taste3 Conference in Napa - the video has recently been uploaded to You Tube. Victory Gardens were commonplace in the United States during World War I & World War II. The Victory Gardens 2007+ project that Blair is speaking about re-imagines these gardens present day. A few statistics:

- In 1943, 20 million Victory Gardens were producing up to 41 percent of all the vegetable produce that was consumed in the nation.

- There are roughly 1822 acres of possible food production land in backyards, public lots, and undeveloped areas in San Francisco alone.

If you have a few spare minutes, have a look at the video. The archival photos Blair shows are remarkable.

Comments (1) | June 12 - 5:15 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen, Events

For those of you with your hearts set on planting tomatoes this year, consider sourcing organic heirloom tomato seeds.

Abundant Life Seed Company offers many varieties of 100% certified organic vegetable seeds including a nice selection of certified organic heirloom tomato seeds. Use the left-hand list to easily browse through the photos and tomato descriptions.

Two Wings Farm will ship organic heirloom tomato seeds to Canadian readers. They have many wonderfully rare heirlooms available. The site provides nice descriptions of the different tomatoes, so you know what to expect at harvest time. Have a look at the deliciously rustic (endangered) Purple Calabash.

High Mowing Organic Seeds is another 100% certified organic seed catalog including a couple organic heirloom tomato seed types. The Ceylon tomato is a stunner, likewise for Pruden's Purple Tomato.

Turtle Tree Seed - Bio-dynamic, open-pollinated flower, vegetable and herb seeds. They offer a nice selection of heirloom tomato seeds, but it's bit frustrating because there are no corresponding photos.

Do you have a favorite organic heirloom tomato seed source?

Comments (2) | June 11 - 5:25 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen, Lists

Some of the best meals in life are those enjoyed between soil and sky. Such is the case at an Outstanding in the Field dinner. Just under ten years ago chef Jim Denevan began producing dinners at organic farms near Santa Cruz, California. The idea: dine at the source of amazing ingredients, in the presence of the farmers who nourished the crops.

The OITF team has since taken the show on the road and staged dinners from coast to coast. If you are lucky enough to have a dinner scheduled near you, don't miss out. The price of the dinners range from $150 to $200 per person, which includes a five course meal with wine pairings, all gratuities, producer discussions, and a tour of the farm. Prices are determined based on location remoteness, the chef’s menu, producers’ needs, necessary staffing, and total size of the event.

What about vegetarians? Good news. Each dinner features a range of local food artisan as well as ingredients. Everything is served family-style and vegetarians can be easily accommodated.

OUTSTANDING IN THE FIELD 2007 SCHEDULE

June 9th: Live Earth Farm, Santa Cruz CA -- SOLD OUT
June 24th: Devils Gulch Ranch, Marin, CA-- SOLD OUT
July 1st: Route 1 Farm Santa Cruz, CA
July 22nd: Coleman Farm, Santa Barbara, CA
August 5th: Secret Seacove, Half Moon Bay,CA
August 19th: U.B.C. Farm, Vancouver, British Columbia
August 25th: Kinnikinnick Farm, Chicago, Illinois
August 28th: Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
September 2nd: New York City Farm Country Dinner
Sept 9th: La Plaza Cultural Community Garden, NY, NY
Sept 16th: Louisville, KY
Sept 23rd: Hollywood Community Garden, Hollywood, CA
September 30th: Andante Dairy, Sonoma County, CA
October 13th: Everett Family Farm, Santa Cruz, CA
Dec 2nd: Santa Cruz Mountain Forage, Santa Cruz, CA

Outstanding in the Field schedule & reservations page

Comments (2) | June 7 - 11:19 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen, Interviews/Profiles

Heather Flores is proposing a radical idea. Tear out your lawns and good things will happen. She has written a book about how to turn your yard into a garden and your neighborhood into a community, Food Not Lawns.

Turning our yards back into utilitarian spaces may be one of the most important things we do to combat the industrial food machine. It is the very best example of eating locally and has a positive impact on us by cutting down food miles and educating people (most importantly youth!) about the origins of ingredients. An excerpt from the book:

"...Today, 58 million Americans spend approximately $30 billion every year to maintain over 23 million acres of lawn. That’s an average of over a third of an acre and $517 each. The same size plot of land could still have a small lawn for recreation, plus produce all of the vegetables needed to feed a family of six. The lawns in the United States consume around 270 billion gallons of water a week—enough to water 81 million acres of organic vegetables, all summer long.

Lawns use ten times as many chemicals per acre as industrial farmland. These pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides run off into our groundwater and evaporate into our air, causing widespread pollution and global warming, and greatly increasing our risk of cancer, heart disease, and birth defects. In addition, the pollution emitted from a power mower in just one hour is equal to the amount from a car being driven 350 miles. In fact, lawns use more equipment, labor, fuel, and agricultural toxins than industrial farming, making lawns the largest agricultural sector in the United States..."

Related:
- Redefining American Beauty, by the Yard (New York Times)

- Don't be Wasted on Grass

- How to Organize a Seed Swap

Comments (0) | October 25 - 10:09 AM

category: Eco-Kitchen, Studies + Trends

Another segment for the Michael Nischan fans out there. Theme: living off the land in the village in Kerala, Southern India. Check out the technique she uses on the masala spice blend. You can almost smell the garlic and ginger right through the screen. (link)

Comments (0) | October 19 - 3:00 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen

We love hearing about young people trying to make a positive impact. Case in point - Nest. A clever, design-savvy non-profit started by 24-year old Rebecca Kousky. It is a nonprofit that funds micro-credit loans to women in developing countries to begin or maintain art- or craft- based businesses. The funds for these loans are produced through the products on the buildanest.com website. Check out the cute kitchenware, we love the signature Nest pottery and the swallow tea cup.

Comments (2) | October 3 - 3:13 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen, Gift Ideas

Every house or apartment can use a little freshening up now and then, and nothing breathes new life into tired kitchen like a fresh coat of paint. Check out YOLO's line of environmentally responsible paints - YOLO Colorhouse. The line comes in colors grouped by family: air, grain, leaf, water, stone, petal and clay. They've also one-upped the paint-chip (finally) - you can order poster-sized color swatches to get a feel for the paint before you commit.

YOLO Colorhouse paints are certified by Green Seal which is an independent non-profit that sets standard for environmentally responsible products. (via ecofabulous)

Comments (0) | August 15 - 8:08 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen, New Products

The CSPI has a site that lets you score your diet against their "green" paramaters - health, environment, and animal welfare are all considerations. I ended up with a score of 121 (you end up losing lots of points for meat consumption), and made up 96 points for putting away five servings a day of vegetables. I lost 44 points by eating cheese and dairy. I wonder if I charted out exactly what I eat in a week (instead of winging it) if this score would change much? (What's your score?)

Comments (0) | July 29 - 6:35 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen

In the fruit world ugly is the new pretty.

Waitrose is to launch a range of "ugly" fruit at a discounted prices...Farming and environmental groups have often criticised supermarkets for rejecting fruit and vegetables for minor blemishes or being mis-shapen. Via BBC

More from Treehugger: The hidden story behind that perfect fruit is the large volume of second grade fruits and vegetables diverted directly to juice makers, with little profit to the farmers, and the plant products industry which farmers must rely on to grow acceptable produce.

Comments (0) | July 21 - 6:44 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen, Studies + Trends

Jeff Yang seeks refuge at the Blossoming Lotus after a week indulging in typical Hawaiian fare:

It's not what I'm eating that's the problem -- it's what I'm not eating. The standard local meal consists of starch with fried meat on it, and gravy on the meat, with another starch on the side (often liberally doused with mayonnaise). Given that they live in a tropical paradise, it's surprising how little fresh greenery Hawaiians consume. Three days into the trip, even a committed carny like me is jonesing for veggies. And by the time we take the short hop from Oahu to Kauai for the second part of our trip, I'm ready to gnaw on Honolulu International Airport's neatly landscaped shrubbery. (Read more at SFGate)

Comments (2) | July 10 - 2:55 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen, Vegan / Veg

It's described as a beer mug, but we imagine ourselves drinking tea from this stone and porcelin Sakamoto piece. No two are identical. Cheers.

Comments (0) | June 19 - 12:54 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen, Gift Ideas, New Products

We've been worried about the health considerations related to Teflon use for some time now. Read Marian Burros' article on cutting the cord with your Teflon before the New York Times puts it behind the subscriber wall.

"...DuPont, the manufacturer of Teflon, says that its pans are safe and that their surfaces won't decompose, possibly releasing the gas, until the pan's temperature reaches 680 degrees. Some scientists say that an empty pan left on a burner set on high reaches 700 degrees in as little as three minutes. All pans with nonstick coatings are subject to the same problems, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental research and advocacy organization." (read more)

Comments (0) | June 13 - 6:24 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen, Studies + Trends

Grow your own heirloom produce this summer. The Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit organization of gardeners dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds. For over thirty years this collective has played a vital role in the dissemination and propagation of rare seeds. Check out these tomatillos with stunning purple skins, the Moon & Star watermelons, and the rare flame lettuce. Seeds and surprises for every size garden.

( thanks to Jocelyn for the link )

Comments (0) | February 19 - 11:13 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen, Superfoods, Vegan / Veg

Built on the site of a retired, classic, New York City neighborhood bakery is a new project...codename: Birdbath. In this eco-friendly establishment the baking flours are organic, the floors are recycled cork, and the walls are slathered in Atomic Red milk paint made up of 99% food grade ingredients. Other walls are made from wheat board and sunflower seeds husks - hence the codename. It's open, and there are cookies to be had. No official name...but it's open - 223 First Avenue, NYC.

Comments (1) | January 16 - 11:16 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen, Studies + Trends

Looking for a way to phase out plastic knives and forks? Treehugger does a round up of Eco-friendly disposable cutlery. ( Read more )

Comments (0) | December 26 - 11:14 AM

category: Eco-Kitchen, New Products

One of our favorite sites reviews the Mrs. Meyer's line of eco-friendly cleaning products. Inspired by a real-life Iowa mother of nine who is no stranger to a tough stain, the Mrs. Meyer line is cruelty-free, made from bio-degradable ingredients, and is packaged in smart retro-mod packaging that is easy on the eyes. How does it stand up to dirt and grime? The Treehugger posse takes it to task.

We let a pasta sauce spill dry overnight, dripped some coffee and "forgot" to clean it up for a couple days, and smeared some toothpaste near the sink in the bathroom and left it to dry... ( Read More )

Comments (1) | December 12 - 10:40 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen

The premier issue of Greenlight Magazine profiles three eco-friendly kitchens. The article also offers up ten ways to make your kitchen more earth-savvy - although it's up to you to make it earth-sassy.

A few favorites:

5. Start composting kitchen refuse, such as fruit and vegetable parings. According to the EPA, up to 23 percent of the waste headed for U.S. landfills is compostable.

9. Use nontoxic or natural cleaning products, even homemade mixtures such as vinegar or baking soda and water. Green building materials are often best cleaned this way.

10. Install a gas stove with an electric ignition system, which uses 40 percent less gas than a pilot light.

( Read the whole article here ).

Comments (0) | December 7 - 11:11 PM

category: Eco-Kitchen