sustainable

If you're a huge fan of farmers markets and you love the experience of dining out, it's time to check out a farm-to-table restaurant. These eateries are associated with the local food movement, a social campaign concerned with connecting people to what they eat and, more importantly, the farmers who grow it. Farm-to-table chefs seek out the very best ingredients from the best local farmers and dream up gorgeous recipes on the fly, before they grace your plate with all of that goodness. Sound like this is up your alley? Here are five reasons to try the farm-to-table experience.

1. It's local and sustainable. Everything on the menu at a farm-to-table restaurant will be locally sourced when possible. Instead of cooking for a recipe, these restaurants cook for the ingredients. Much like the practices of a CSA box, you have to be creative with what you're working with. Farm-to-table restaurants are up for the task.
2. It supports a community. Farm-to-table spots strive to connect the customer to the source of the food, a practice that's unheard of in the majority of restaurants worldwide. Less than one percent of the population in the US is made up farmers. Restaurants with locally sourced food gives these farmers a chance to create a quality product and thrive in the local economy. Instead of falling victim to conventional farming methods that go against ancient tradition, the people who are creating your food are treated with dignity and respect. And all that love pours out onto the plate.
3. It provides inspiration in your home kitchen. One of the most amazing things about eating in a farm-to-table restaurant is that you see ingredients that you may never have considered tasting, or using, before. You can pick up the same produce from your local farmers market and re-create a dish at home with the same ingredients. Or you can get creative and think up new ways to use what's in season.
4. It's an adventure. You never know what you're going to get on a given day. With many farm-to-table restaurants, the menu changes weekly, or even daily. Farmers harvest depending on what looked perfectly ripe on a specific day, not for whatever a big company needs. The mantra of many of these farmers? Grow for flavor.
5. It tastes better. Really. It's true. You can't imagine the decadent flavor until you've tasted freshly picked produce straight from the farm. Your taste buds will sing your praises! At these restaurants, the chefs don't need to cover up or mask anything on the plate. The ingredients speak volumes for themselves.

Have you ever eaten at a farm-to-table restaurant? What was your experience like?

Source: Flickr User healthmankirkland

For the most environmentally conscious of foodies, compostable silverware just isn't enough. Case in point? In.gredients, soon to be the country's first-ever zero-waste, no-packaging supermarket.

In.gredients, which is slated to open this Fall in Austin, TX, plans to specialize in fresh produce, dairy, beverages, dry bulk goods, and household toiletries and cleaners. Shoppers will not only be required to bring tote bags to take home groceries with, but they'll also need to bring reusable containers to purchase foods such as grains, nuts, spices, and coffee from the store's bulk inventory. For more details on the store concept, keep reading.

Yesterday was a rough day for children's products at Walmart, but thankfully the corporation's food department is doing much better. In the afternoon, the world's biggest retailer announced its ambitious plans to double the sales of locally sourced produce in the US by the end of the year 2015. "Our size and scale have been big tools for change . . . There is an opportunity to lead in this area of sustainable agriculture," said CEO Mike Duke.

Walmart will focus more on working with small- and medium-sized farms and reducing farms' carbon footprint on the environment. Although meeting its lofty goals means local product makes up only nine percent of the chain's produce, nearly half of Walmart's $405 billion in annual revenue comes from food.

While I'm certain that other factors aside from altruism (like brand management and supply chain efficiency) come into play in these decisions, I'm still enthused that a corporate behemoth such as Walmart is setting an example and influencing the market for other grocers to follow. What do you think? Would you buy local produce from Walmart?

Source: Flickr User mjb84

Being a professional in the food industry, I'm often asked the same questions over and over again. What's your favorite restaurant? What was the most memorable meal you've eaten all year? When people ask me that one, I tell this story.

I'm crazy about lamb, and one of my best friends happens to live on a farm. They not only have chickens, but her boyfriend and his brother, The Fry Bros., are up-and-coming sheep ranchers. So when I invited them to spend a weekend at my parents' vacation house in the mountains, they promised to bring an organic, sustainably raised leg of lamb.

I don't know if it's because I knew the farmers, or the fact that I was dining in the company of all my favorite people with a beautiful backdrop, or it could have been the wonderful marinade recipe (which I found in Bon Appétit), but it was the most memorable meal I've eaten all year. I can't re-create the experience for you, but I can share the recipe. Seek out a locally raised piece of lamb and host your own special dinner! You'll need the recipe: here it is.

If you're not sure what to do for Earth Day, raise a fork to Mother Earth today with a brand-new book title, Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods ($20), written by Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian, the two founders of Edible Communities. Edible is an organization that publishes magazines throughout various regions of North America that focus on the local food industry; its just-published eponymous book gives readers a glimpse of communities across the United States. Is it worth buying? Decide when you read more.

Some legislation, like healthcare reform, might take a little more work for the White House to push through, but other initiatives, like the White House farmers market, are happening virtually overnight. Less than a month ago President Obama revealed that he and the first lady were looking into holding a farmers market outside the White House — and the plan's already come to fruition. At the opening of the FreshFarm market yesterday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Washington DC mayor Adrian Fenty spoke to a crowd of about 300 shoppers about the importance of eating healthy, local food.

The visitor that drew the most attention was Michelle Obama, who encouraged Americans to get to know the farmers that grow the market's food, and stressed the importance of fresh markets, particularly in urban deserts.

Located at 810 Vermont Avenue, just blocks from the White House, the market runs Thursday afternoons through the end of October, and accepts food stamps. It sells pasture-raised meats, artisan cheeses, milk, yogurt, fresh fruits and vegetables, breads, flowers, and preserves. DCers, have you had a chance to visit?

In March, Alice Waters and other supporters of the local food movement thought they'd finally gotten what they wanted when the Obamas announced the planting of an organic garden in the White House. But yesterday reformers were pleasantly shocked when President Obama announced his hopes to set up a farmers market at the White House. At the Organizing for America National Health Care Forum on Thursday, Barack Obama revealed that he and the first lady are looking into the idea of a farmers market outside the White House that would sell food from the White House garden or other local farmers:

"One of the things that we’re trying to do now is to figure out, can we get a little farmers’ market — outside of the White House . . . that is a win-win situation. It gives suddenly D.C. more access to good, fresh food, but it also is this enormous potential revenue-maker for local farmers in the area."

He also discussed the importance of connecting local farmers to school districts, in an effort to improve the federal school lunch program. I wholeheartedly applaud the idea — if established, it would be the first-ever White House farmers market, setting a landmark precedent for Americans to start shopping more frequently at farmers markets across the nation. Do you think President Obama will follow through on this idea?

I'm crazy about Summer for many reasons, a major one being the season's amazing selection of stone fruits and berries. So I was beyond excited when a close friend surprised me with a new cookbook that takes advantage of my love for fruit: Chez Panisse Desserts ($20.70). This book, which is over 20 years old, is one in a series of seven cookbooks from the kitchen of Chez Panisse, the legendary Alice Waters restaurant that's known as the birthplace of California cuisine. It's authored by Lindsey Shere, who was the pastry chef at the restaurant for more than two decades. Did its seasonal dessert recipes make for a compelling cookbook? Find out when you read more