Friday, July 16, 2010

Safe Fruits and Veggies!!

An expert panel of toxicologists, risk assessors and nutritionists has concluded that the Environmental Working Group’s "Dirty Dozen" list is (a) misleading to consumers, (b) an impediment to public health because it discourages consumption of fresh produce and (c) lacks scientific evidence that the pesticide levels found pose any risk. This research, led by the Alliance for Food and Farming, has produced an expert panel report and a full website launched on July 15, http://www.safefruitsandveggies.com/. The report states “As a result [of a,b, and c], there is no reason why a consumer should use this list to guide their purchasing decisions for fruits and vegetables.” The Perishable Pundit had a great piece on this study which can be found here: http://www.perishablepundit.com/index.php?date=07/15/10#5.

On a side note, the beauty of our Country is that we have the freedom to make our own choices and use whatever information we find relevant and valuable to assist in making those choices. As the wife of a farmer and a professional in the agriculture industry, I must tell you anytime I see anything from the Environmental Working Group I immediately scared and frustrated because I know while their intentions may seem good, I know their science is lacking (and/or missing all together) and their best interest is with those who are funding them. I guess the same can be said for the information I have shared above. However its all about information and education and you get to make your own choice. I ask you to take a look at the website http://www.safefruitsandveggies.com/. Make your own judgment. And remember farmers have kids too. And without consumers, California farmers are without jobs and soon you might be buying more of your produce then you already are from another country.

Just my opinion. Thanks for reading.~mrs. c

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Red, White and Beaches!!

Jake and I look forward to the opportunity to get out of town whenever we can. However since Clayton joined our life in January we have stayed a little closer to home. This was not a bad thing but we were more than ready to hit the road for Summer vacation. Oregon Coast - here we come...

Lots of things are great about July. For starters, vacation! Of course my favorite holiday takes place in July - the 4th of July and our wedding anniversary. Hard to believe its been two years already. But they have been two wonderful and fabulous years.

Growing up in a small rural town, 4th of July always meant a parade, BBQ and homemade ice cream. I got two out of three this year. Our vacation destination for 2010 was Lincoln City, Oregon. Why Lincoln City you ask? No particular reason. Jake and I did some online research and decided on the destination. Last year we went to Brookings and the year before, for our Honeymoon, we were in Cape Mears, Oregon. Yes we like Oregon. So before our arrival I scoped out the locations for Independance Day Celebrations. A short eight miles south of Lincoln City, in Glendenen Beach, they hosted a great local community parade. No cool antique tractors like I was accustomed to but lots of spirit and enthusiasm for the day. As you can see Clayton was dressed accordingly. He really didn't want to wave that flag as much as he wanted to eat it.


Jake and I enjoy cooking so we find it to be much more enjoyable for us to rent a house rather than stay in a hotel so we can eat, sleep and live a little more comfortably during our trips.

So we had to eat. For us this means fresh seafood all week. Here is a look a the super delish oysters we had on the 4th of July. Jake makes his homemade cocktail sauce, a splash of Tapatio and a squeeze of lemon - yummy oysters on the half shell! This was the appetizer. The main dish were some BBQ steaks and corn on the cob. What is more American that that? I didn't get any homemade ice cream - there was no room in the truck for me to pack that too - but I will make some when we get home.


I have come to realize after looking at the pictures from this year's trip that Jake had the camera most of the time since I was in a lot of the pictures.


While I was really excited to get out of the heat and into the cool coastal breeze, I was really even more jazzed to take Clayton to the beach for the first time. I know he will never remember the trip or the experience but I have some great memories of spending time with my family when I was kid a Pismo Beach. I want Clayton to have those great memories too.

He really probably thought we were nuts since we put him in that hat but come on - its soooo cute!



He was not so sure about the sand and the water was cold when it finally came over his toes but nonetheless, he can now say he's been to the beach.



Ahhhhh. No other words to describe this. Each evening this is what I saw from the deck of our house.

It was a fabulous week. We took Clayton on his first family vacation, we celebrated 4th of July and our 2nd wedding anniversary, Jake spent one day fishing and crabbing on a Charter, I spent some dollars at the Outlets in Lincoln City, we learned about glass blowing, we cooked and ate great food all week and we did it all together. Thanks for reading. ~mrs. c

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