The Hemp Connection [Search results for Greg Peterson] 

This week's radio guest, Urban Farmer Greg Peterson, opened my eyes to how similar the processes of growing a healthy garden and growing a healthy body can be!

If you're intrested in learning more about sustainable living, gardening for beginners, even raising tilapia--yes--tilapia--on your patio--you won't want to miss this interview!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/incystforhormones/2010/12/13/gardening-its-good-therapy-for-whatever-ails-you

As for me, I'm passing on the tilapia for now…but I am going to try planting my tomatoes at a different time of year to see if my thumb is greener than I've been thinking.

Greg's website is http://www.urbanfarm.org/, and it's packed with great resources including one I am always asked about, a"which fruits and vegetables are in season?" chart.

Here are Greg's titles from amazon.com, which I promised I would post for anyone who would like more reading.

Thanks Greg! I'll think of you every time I make fresh bruschetta from my own patio from now on!

How Green Am I? Simple Steps to Cultivating an Earth-Friendly Lifestyle (The Urban Farm's Simple Sustainability Series)

My Ordinary Extraordinary Yard (The Urban Farm's Simple Sustainability Series)

Fowl Play, Your Guide to Keeping Chickens in the City (The Urban Farm's Simple Sustainability Series)

Grow Wherever You Go! Discovering the Place Where Your Garden Lives (The Urban Farm's Simple Sustainability Series)

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Kate attended my vegetarian eating class. She mentioned that she has been eating the broccoli leaves from the broccoli plants in her garden. Tonight she gave me a bag from that garden to experiment with in my kitchen.

I learned while researching, that broccoli leaves are actually higher in beta-carotene than any other part of the broccoli! They are also a nice source of thiamin, niacin, pantothenic acid, calcium, iron, selenium, vitamin C, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and manganese.

Most chefs writing about broccoli leaves suggest that they are similar to collard greens as far as their cooking characteristics. Here's a sample recipe (scroll to the bottom of the post).

Kate told me they work well in making chips similar to kale chips. That's what I'm going to experiment with tomorrow. I'll update with a report on how they turned out!

Local colleague Greg Peterson will be on the radio show tomorroww to talk about his urban farm and how he uses it to inspire other city dwellers to grow their own food. Greg and I had a nice chat recently about the therapy that a garden provides. It's not just about the food!

Be sure to tune in at www.blogtalkradio.com/incystforhormones at noon Eastern time, or check in the archives to hear the recording.

I know my time in Kate's garden tonight was so much fun! She showed me and our friend Ivonne her peppers, artichokes, lemon tree, and squash. We cut open a lemon, dipped the slices in sugar, and ate them just like that! It was fun to bond over simple pleasures and I could tell Kate enjoys heading to her garden for a bit of quiet time as well as some great tasty eats.

BTW…the amount of sugar we used for a few lemon slices…was probably far less than many of you habitually use in your coffee or get in a soda. It was truly tasty, like eating lemonade!