The joys of gardening…
Mar 04
Yesterday was my birthday, and this photo is what I saw as I left our house for work. The flower has been in the works for a couple weeks but it chose my birthday to open up. It’s like it bloomed just for...
Day 93 : Done
Nov 01So our three months are officially done, but don’t you think that’s the end of us! We have embraced this new way of eating, this new way of living in fact, and it’s not going anywhere! We are going to start integrating sustainable fish into our diet to boot. I must say this have been a fun and enlightening experience, and I am glad we started it. For those of you inspired by our...
Day 89
Oct 28
It’s hard to believe we have 3 days left after today. It’s been an interesting three months for sure. We have found ways to eat pretty much whatever we want, by finding products from happy animals. But I will say that Monday John and I have big plans… John has been craving doughnuts and guava pastillitos and I have a weakness for Little Debbie Cakes. Since these things are...
I’ve got WORMS!
Oct 15
In doing our research for this blog, many of the resources talk not only about making better choices when it comes to sustainable food but making better choices that impact the environment in general. This helped prompt me to start a bigger better garden, to recycle and reuse a bit more and generally be a bit greener. Which makes sense, if I am going to make choices to positively impact the...
Day 65: Our Patio
Oct 04
It doesn't look like much, but our patio is full of life and currently growing at an alarming rate. Without any arable land (or non-arable land, for that matter), we have started a garden using an army of containers, mostly pots with a couple of plastic storage bins thrown in to add some variety. Please click on the image and view it full-size to read all the labels and bask in the glory of my amateur-professional panoramic photo.
Day 63: World Farm Animal Day
Oct 02
Today is World Farm Animal Day (WFAD). I was trying to figure out what the greeting on this day should be, Happy World Farm Animal Day? Merry World Farm Animal Day? Except that it isn’t really a good thing to be celebrating so maybe “A very unhappy World Farm Animal Day to you!” would be more appropriate? It started in 1983 as a way to promote awareness of the cruelty to farmed...
Evening on the Farm
Sep 25
Last Saturday night, John and I drove out to Lake Meadows Naturals, for the Slow Food event, an Evening on the Farm. We had been really excited to finally make it out to Lake Meadows, since that’s where the eggs we buy through Big Wheel Provisions come from. And we were not disappointed by the farm at all. It for one, it’s gorgeous. Green and lush, with a acres of fields full of happy...
Day 53: Is Meat Manly? (Review of Founding Farmers restaurant)
Sep 22
We have not had a "meat meal" (where meat is the main course) for a couple weeks now. Frankly, I find that I'm not really craving a big hunk of meat the way I thought I would. The last time I had a "meat meal" was at Founding Farmers in Washington, DC. They believe that every person has the right to enjoy a "green 'meal away from home' and strive to buy ingredients that are sustainable over ingredients that are local or organic. Read on for a full review!
Day 45: Oefs en Meurette
Sep 14
Inconvenient circumstances today led me to buy a tuna sandwich for lunch. The tuna is fine, of course, but it was drowning in mayonnaise, which I was not happy about. The good part? It was only $1.95 for an 8-inch sub on good bread. Aside from these cirumstantial slips, though, our diet is great. We feel better and more confident about what we eat. So far, I can’t say we feel healthier,...
Day 45
Sep 14Sorry (again) for the lack of posts, we are watching my nephew this week, a little 9 month future foodie, and he takes up a lot of time! John and I bought tickets for a bash on Saturday night, the annual Slow Food Dinner hosted by Lake Meadow Naturals (the farm where we love to get our eggs.) At the dinner we will “Tour the farm and enjoy culinary treats masterfully created by Central...
Day 43
Sep 12
Before we went away on vacation, I started some seeds inside to plant for the second spring season. Central Florida, because of our warm, wet climate, has the luxury of a second spring growing for about 100 days after summer but before the cold weather really starts, so we can grow spring veggies twice in one year. So this morning I made it outside to the patio to rip out the old dead plants and...
Day 39: Another Successful Vacation
Sep 08
Have you noticed an eerie silence here at With Respect For Food? Has it seemed like the Black Hole of the Blogosphere? Well, that’s because Laura and I have been in Washington, D.C., since Saturday, September 4, and we’re excited to share our food experiences with you! Although we’ve had a great time changing our diet at home, we knew from the start, and it’s been...
Day 33: On The Right Path
Sep 02
One month down, and we've really made quite a few changes. As we planned, we've taken a relaxed approach to our diet in social situations. At home, however, which is where eat and/or prepare 90% of our meals, we have been fairly strict, though it's been almost effortless. We plan to get to know our local producers better, and write some more about our research, which is still ongoing. The more we learn, the more we find ourselves (me more than Laura) becoming passionately embroiled in the fate and origin of our food. We never intended to preach, but I find it hard to resist. My only goal is that we never make anyone feel guilty or uncomfortable around us. We just want to be informative and encouraging.
Papaya Curry, Happy Pork
Aug 25
We finally made the Papaya Curry I had been wanting to make from the One Dish Vegetarian Cookbook. I will say it was interesting. I think we decided we liked it overall, but could have done with smaller pieces of apple and no pineapple. Also more salt and more heat! I made my expensive pork shoulder into two different meals in the last week. The first one was half the shoulder in the crockpot...
Luma on Park
Aug 21
We went out for a fancy dinner last night at Luma on Park, a restaurant who we heard sources their ingredients locally and organically. The food was delicious, the service excellent, and the meal was easily the best we've eaten in Orlando. Ever. Unfortunately, it was a bittersweet experience for us. We discovered this morning that the "local" and "artisanal" meats the restaurant uses are by and large NOT local and come from confinement operations! We are so angry at being fooled that we may not return, even though the food was so incredible.
Day 17: Horrible Vegetarians OR The Best Vegetarians Ever
Aug 17I checked the fridge this morning to prepare my lunch for work only to come to the startling realization that we have no vegetables! My first thought was that we are just horrible vegetarians. But Laura says we are actually such good and thrifty vegetarians that we buy what we need and eat it fresh. Perhaps she's right, but either way, we need some vegetables! And I need some good ideas for ways to use vegetables in no-cook lunches other than salads. Any ideas?
Holy Cow! (or pig really)
Aug 16
So I am kinda freaking out a little bit over what I just paid for a pork shoulder. I ventured to the Audubon Farmers Market today to see my friend Tony from Big Wheel Provisions (It’s become a Monday tradition). I told him and the other lovely people from Big Wheel, that I had just dusted off my slow cooker and was looking for something to make. They suggested the pork shoulder they had in,...
Eating Out
Aug 15
So, as John said in his last post, we went out to dinner in St. Augustine yesterday on vacation. We actually did some research before we went out that night and found a couple restaurants that sounded promising. We thought The Present Moment Cafe sounded good, but knew that talking the rest of the gang in to an all veg restaurant was going to be difficult (besides we wanted everyone, even the...
Family Vacation
Aug 14Every year, for five years now, my family takes a beach vacation together, renting a house or condo and enjoying the sand, sun, games, good food, and good conversation. This year is no different, and we found a beach-side place to stay in North Florida, where we are luxuriating as I write this. Of course, there is a slightly different tone to this trip for me and for Laura, and that has to do...
Day 9
Aug 09
I stayed over in the area of town where I work late today, so I could go to the Audubon Farmers Market, the other market in town dedicated to only local vendors. I only went for eggs and milk. However, I came home with eggs and yogurt. The yogurt is a goat’s milk yogurt from Heart of Christmas. It is pretty thin, raw, and very tangy. I am not sure I like it all that much, but for $5 for a...
Day 8
Aug 08We have been eating largely vegetarian meals, partly because we feel it's responsible to eat less meat, and partly because natural meat is just so darn expensive! On the dairy side, we are finding many options that are not so cost-prohibitive. We will be posting local producers here shortly. We uncovered some fairly exciting news: Semi-sweet chocolate chips and dark chocolate bars typically have no dairy! (Click 'read more' for a little more.)
Day 5: Farmer’s Market
Aug 05
This phrase, like so many other American terms, has all but lost its original meaning: A locally-organized market where farmers can sell the fruits of their labor. Today's farmer's market is a far cry from the original — it's mostly just an arts and crafts fairs with some small food resale companies on the side. Tonight, however, we visited College Park's fairly young farmer's market and were pleased and surprised. It's one of only two local markets in Orlando, the other of which we have yet to visit, and it offered a lot of opportunities for us for the next three months.
Day 3
Aug 03We still have quite a few items in our fridge that we weren't been able to use up before our three months started. This makes me feel like we haven't changed much, though I know the effects will kick in more in a week or so. Laura thinks we should use up the items in the fridge that are not "safe," but I have a hard time looking at the mayonnaise and butter and NOT thinking about what soulless factory produced it. Today, I had my first ham sandwich with Applegate's Black Forest Ham. It tastes a lot fresher and meatier than Boar's Head.
Day 1
Aug 01So it’s the official big day, the start of our experiment. It’s amazing to think that these last two week of posts have just been in preparation for today and the next three months. Thanks for reading and we hope to start posting a few “journal” style posts talking about our day to day experiences with our new diet (you’ll know they are a journal post by the title...
