I love Martha

It is true. I love Martha Stewart. I always have... And I can't really explain why. Perhaps it is because she is so earnest in her endeavor to spend countless hours on items I would just as soon buy at Target. Or maybe, just maybe, it is because she loves to learn. Her show is always a sort of grown up version of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, which, in my early elementary childhood, was my favorite show on TV. (I remember the first, and maybe even only, time I tried to pretend I was sick so I didn't have to go to school - the ruse was entirely concocted because I wanted to see the continuation of the story in the Land of Make Believe!) Anyway, I appreciate how Martha always seeks to learn about the things that interest her -- she liked a cranberry tart she made (from scratch -- no store bought pie crust there!), and so she decided to take her show to Maine to see the life cycle of a cranberry, complete with diving (well, wading) into the cranberry farms. No, this does not affect me at all - I only like cranberries mixed with oranges and a pound of sugar - but those cranberry bogs are fascinating!

On another blog I will share how she actually helped me to retain my sanity. No, that is not an exaggeration. I think I may owe my life to the woman. But I am quickly realizing that in this text and twitter age where every communication must be 160 characters or less, blogs should be something less than a dissertation. So onward to my point:

http://www.wholeliving.com/article/fresh-thinking-how-to-shop-for-fruits-and-vegetables?page=1

http://foodnews.org/EWG-shoppers-guide-download-final.pdf

Martha has a great article, available on her website, on "food values" (for the lack of a better term). She even cites Barbara's book in it, and calls her a "Locavore", which I have now committed to my vocabulary. (She goes on to admit, though, that the upper Midwest may not be the greatest area to start such a project...)

But also very informative is her list (the 2nd link) of "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Clean 15" -- fruits and vegetable the most, and least, susceptible to pesticides. Sadly, it seems as if all of Michigan's fruits are in the dirty dozen, but again, I will revisit that after Barbara convinces me I should know each farmer that grows my food...

So until later... :)