What's Green with Betsy

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I am a firm believer in local, seasonal eating. But, I do have some exceptions, one of which is bananas. I could never give up bananas and they certainly don’t grow in New England! I start everyday with a nutrition-packed smoothie and banana is the mainstay ingredient.

Bananas are actually a super food in their own right! Here’s how………

I have many more spices in my spice cabinet than I actually use, and most have been there for years. Ground spices lose their volatile oils after a time and shouldn’t be kept longer than a year or two. I’ve even heard 6 months. Many of mine are way past their potency and won’t add much flavoring to food; yet, I can’t just throw them away. I recently read an article with some clever uses for old spices, a few of which I want to share with you.

It’s that time of year again; farmer’s markets are back! Lettuces, kale, swiss chard, pea greens, radishes, strawberries – plenty of early spring produce, especially with greenhouse grown vegetables. You can also get locally raised eggs, meat, and poultry, fresh baked goods, locally produced cheeses, potted plants and herbs, handcrafted soaps and lotions, and artisanal items. Every week it’s something different.

Just as we all have made the switch to compact fluorescent bulbs (I hope!), along come LED light bulbs, which are now the most energy efficient, eco-friendly, long lasting and affordable bulb!

LED bulbs last about 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs and 3 times longer than CFLs. LED bulbs and diodes have a life time operational expectation of about 30,000 hours, or 11 years of continuous operation or 22 years of 50% operation. Imagine not changing a light bulb but once every 20 years or more!

We’ve spent the last few days happily planting vegetable seeds on our farm. As every gardener does, we are hoping for a prolific harvest. To achieve that of course you need sun and rain; in dry spells you have to water.

An aside: On a quintessential Patriot’s day, the face of the historic and prestigious Boston Marathon was changed by a horrific act of terrorism. My heart goes out to the three people who were killed, those who were wounded, their families and all the runners who trained so hard and long and were unable to finish the race. This tragedy, this shock, will not break the spirit of the hearty and resilient New England people.

April 22 is the 43rd annual Earth Day. According to earthday.org, more than one billion people take part in Earth Day – individuals, communities, organizations and governments from around the world. This year, earthday.org is collecting and displaying images of people, animals and places directly affected by climate change as well as those helping to do something about it.