The Beautiful Gulf Coast

Some of you may be surprised that we are 74 days into the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, and I haven’t yet written about it. I’ve wanted to. I’ve even sat down and begun to write several times. But then my emotions take over and I find myself unable to articulate my thoughts in any rational manner—I’m furious! And fury often paralyzes me. This is the worst environmental disaster in our (certainly my) lifetime! BP continues to lie, hide and obstruct the American public about what is happening; barring the media, continuing to use a toxic chemical dispersant that hasn’t been approved by the EPA—who knows what the long-term impact of that will be on sea and shore life; fish, fowl and human—not protecting the safety of clean-up workers, and threatening workers with termination if they speak out about what’s going on. I’m flabbergasted! This is America; those fuckers are in our waters. How dare they act like they don’t have to account to us! See, my emotions take over and all I can do is rant.

Every time I see a photo of a pelican, sea turtle, dolphin, or other wild life endangered by this leak (I’m so sick of it being called a “spill”, it’s a LEAK, with no end in sight), I feel powerless. I grew up on the Gulf Coast of Florida and spent a many a summer day at the beach. Even after moving to Atlanta, we pack the car every summer for a week long respite in the sun and beautiful water of St. George Island. The first thing I do when we arrive, before we unload the car or buy groceries or use the bathroom, is walk to the edge of the water and close my eyes, feeling the wind on my skin, the sound of the surf in my ears, and, taking a deep breath, the smell of salt and sea. I open my eyes and take in the majesty of the ocean and I am in awe… I’m home. The gulf is part of my soul and I am heartbroken. Even though I no longer live on the gulf, I still feel its powerful pull, and I ache for those who do live there, whose livelihood and way of life are damaged, perhaps beyond repair, and who must look out each day and see the destruction that has been done to all they hold dear, and I know they too are heartbroken.

And for what?

Eat What You Sow

Wanting to use several vegetables from the garden yesterday, I decided to stuff a pork tenderloin for dinner, but didn’t know how to butterfly the tenderloin. So, like millions of people everywhere, I googled it, and low and behold, there was a video! I ran out to the garden and picked some swiss chard, sage, squash and green beans. I sautéed the chard with garlic, pine nuts, sage, bread crumbs, and roasted tomatoes (unfortunately I’m still a week or so away from using tomatoes from my garden).

I followed the directions for butterflying the tenderloin, and added the stuffing on top along with a little salt and pepper, and rolled it up. Googling how to tie up the tenderloin, I was again rewarded with a video. This went into a 400º oven for 20 minutes, while I sautéed the squash and green beans (which I had blanched earlier) with a little garlic and salt.

I let the tenderloin rest for about 15 minutes before slicing. A very simple and delicious meal from the garden.

Micro-Farming

Two days away and life on our little micro-farm goes on. We returned home to a broody hen (poor thing, the other hens have really been abusing her; she is missing several wing feathers and walks around puffed up to protect herself from attack) and the collards pretty much decimated from cabbage worms. Although I diligently sprayed every single leaf with a homemade organic concoction—a head of pureed garlic and Cheyenne pepper—it didn’t work. I took great pleasure in picking them off and feeding them to the hens. Guess I’ll just have to continue this morning ritual if I’m to have any hope at all of eating collards from my garden this fall.


We also returned to small green tomatoes, green beans, tiny little eggplants, out-of-control zucchini, onions practically bursting from the soil, and a few pickling cucumbers.

Contaminated Fruits and Vegetables in the Produce Aisle

On my way back from Florida I picked up a “Natural Awakenings” magazine and found a great article by Barbara Sowa of Wren Song Farm entitled “Poisons in the Produce Aisle?”about the most (and least) contaminated fruits and vegetables at the grocery store and thought I would share. If you can’t afford to buy organic all the time, please at least buy organic (or grow your own) when you eat any of the following. These fruits and vegetables are sprayed with pesticides that CANNOT be washed or peeled off and which contain chemicals that can seriously affect your health.

Most Contaminated Fruits and Vegetables*

1. Peaches (found to be the most toxic fruit)
2. Apples
3. Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Grapes (imported)
11. Carrots
12. Pears

According to the article, those fruits and vegetables that are safe to eat non-organic are:

1. Onions
2. Avocado
3. Sweet corn (frozen)
4. Pineapple
5. Mango
6. Asparagus
7. Sweet peas (frozen)
8. Kiwi
9. Cabbage
10. Eggplant
11. Papaya
12. Watermelon

*Both lists courtesy of the Environmental Working Group.