Ono's Notebook
Le Grenier de Notre Dame is a great restaurant very close to ... well I think you know where it is. It's vegetarian and 80% organic. The staff are friendly to the point of practically trying to adopt my daughter and even my carnivorous family members had to admit that they liked the food.
Looking back on the three Paris restaurants I have reviewed so far, the one thing they all had in common aside from being organic/vegetarian was the welcoming, down to earth atmosphere and the simple but well made food.
I went macrobiotic again, and it was excellent: even the seaweed was knockout. Others in the party had a good cassoulet with plenty of seitan and white beans, and the vegetable lasagne was also a big hit.
Vacationing in the Bahamas is heavenly except for the hellish bug bites. Mosquitos and the aptly named No-See-Ums can leave nasty welts. To easy the itchiness and help repel pests in the first place use Purification oil, a nice blend of Citronella, Lemongrass, Rosemary, Melaleuca (Tea Tree), Lavandin, and Myrtle. This oil is made by Young Living which I've heard is organic but there is no seal of certification on the bottle. It does say 100% grade A and they are known for top quality therapeutic essential oils. They also make many other great blends like Peace and Calming, Panaway, and Thieves. If you think mosquitos will be a problem wherever you're headed I recommend the Purification.
While reading a story about an intriguing cocktail, the Praguetive, I learned about Saf in Instanbul, Turkey which claims to be Europe's first organic bistro, wine and martini bar. It looks great... I feel another field trip coming on!
Before heading to Paris, I had heard that organic and vegan eating often went hand and hand with macrobiotic. I wasn't too excited about that, to tell you the truth: macrobiotic is definitely feel-good food, but I was after something a bit more tasty. Well, I got the best of both worlds, delicious macrobiotic, at 'Les Cinq Saveurs d’Ananda'
It's a fun location, [72 rue du Cardinal Lemoine, Metro Cardinal Lemoine, 01 43 29 58 54] near the many bars and shops around Place de la Contrescarpe, and the restaurant itself is simple, failry large and a good place to go with a bunch of friends.
Menu choice is pretty simple in terms of the main course: normal macrobiotic plate or fancy macrobiotic place with your choice of protein. The food is almost all organic and it's all vegan. Unless you order the fish or cheese. Of course.
When I was done, I wished I had gone for the bigger macrobiotic plate... that's a first. The wine was good and cheap, the server was delightful. They even love kids. Just a great 'bio' restaurant
If you are celebrating Passover or the Lord's Evening Meal you will be happy to know that Organic Matzah bread is available for the festivities. Chicago’s Shmura Matzah Factory is the only matzah bakery in the US outside the New York area, and is the only certified organic matzah bakery in the country. They make this special unleavened bread with whole wheat flour and spelt. This year they are also producing softer and thicker Sephardic Matzah, similar to a pita, supervised by a Sephardic rabbi.
Forbes.com reports that the nation pet food recall is scaring pet owners to organic pet food. The article anecdotally indicates that the demand for organic pet food has risen dramatically in recent weeks. "People are extending their food ethic to their whole family, including the pets."
Ms. Magazine writes of the growing interest that women have in organics and that the number of women in farming is growing too.
A new graduate program in sustainable agriculture at Iowa State University, [director and co-founder Denise O’Brien] says, has more women students than men. “So many of them aren’t coming out of a traditional rural culture. They’re bringing a feminist culture to food production.”
Way too late for Valentine's Day, but let's face it, you're too cool for Valentine's Day : it's much more romantic to give lingerie a few days later. So, check out the organic/sustainable/hemp/sexy lingerie from Enamore (UK)
This underwear is not your usual beige cotton everyday wear, but rather "a delicate fusion of Japanese simplicity and luxurious French boudoir chic." Nice stuff. Thanks to the great design blog Inhabit for the tip.
The Wall Street Journal reports today[subscription for full article] that Kleenex is launching a new facial tissue with embedded pesticides to kill cold and flu viruses. CNW in Canada also covers the announcement. Over at MetaFilter, there's a discussion that identifies the culprits as citric acid and sodium lauryl sulfate(which is found in most shampoos.) Personally, I avoid shampoos with sodium lauryl sulfate, but I was surprised to learn that it is classified as a pesticide.
Organic skeptics will often bring up the benefits that the 'green revolution' and modern fertilizers have given to the developing world. So it was interesting to read this story in The Hindu about India's Organic Farmers Association, which now has 10,000 members.
Use of organic methods for crop cultivation is no rocket science, according to [Mr. R. Ranganathan, President of the Organic Farmers Association]. "These traditional methods were used for decades, but forgotten along the way and now have been rediscovered as safe and affordable alternatives," he explains.