viva verde

A friend of mine Joel Robinson was in the Orange County Register today because his Wildlife Federation Certified backyard has been under attack by his neighbors.

(Joel in his yard- photo from Register)

I guess some of his neighbors are very anti-what-is supposed-to-be-growing-in-California because, “he’s received anonymous, threatening notes and even had some of his plants killed with herbicide. He says the situation in the neighborhood has become so tense he is thinking of moving away. ” Neighbors have actually defaced signs he has had posted ON HIS PROPERTY saying Wildlife Habitat.

Reading some of the comments from those against Joel (let me guess, from the neighbors), many said that they are for the “green” but not for his landscaping…some have even threatened to destroy his yard and call the city to intervene. UGGG!

here are my suggestions to those on Joel’s block:

1. prioritize people: there are so many other things that are more important….like the election, world hunger, the olympics, crime/graffiti, the dishes…heck anything is more important.

2. for probably the billionth time on this blog: southern California, if not the entire state is having a serious water crisis!

3. people need to remember that this is what was growing here before we imposed our tropical, British, high-water BS lawns that do nothing more than make us think we are somewhere other than Southern CA.

4. landscaping: yes you may not like it but hey, i dont like that you decided to grow yellow roses rather than red. and hey, i told you to to trim that hedge in the shape of an egg, not a square! your lawn, your taste.

perhaps i am bitter, living in Irvine, yes the city that says it is green that fined me for my own native yard, but we have a bogus HOA so they have an excuse.

if you agree with Joel and the use of natives, i urge everyone that reads this post to call the City of Orange City Council and demand that they not only protect Joel, but our future water supplies by encouraging people to grow more natives.

Mayor (714) 744-2200 Council (714) 744-2211

A few months ago at my friend Paige’s b-day party, i happened to meet one of the publishers of the new Edible LA publication that is coming out soon.

This is part of a number of regional publications from The Edible Communities Publications which:

“ creates editorially rich, community-based, local-foods publications in distinct culinary regions throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Through our publications, supporting websites, and events, we connect consumers with family farmers, growers, chefs, and food artisans of all kinds. ”

I was pretty excited about this, i have had a year-old copy of the Edible Brooklyn in the store’s bathroom…keep reading it over and over and love the photography.

  Well, guess what?  Just got the LA version here a few days ago.  This is a quarterly publication, but i think we will be selling it…already have had a ton of compliments.

(yes!)

I am very very fortunate to know the fabulous people that run Back to Natives: a local non-profit that encourages and educates on local conservation and restoration. Well these fantastic people held a seminar at the store and focused on this nasty excuse of ivy as an area to build a native CA butterfly garden YES!

(before: yes i know, boring and ugly…you dont want to know what we found in there!)

(Reggie and Lori to the rescue!!!)

(it was not that easy. ivy was growing there for over 30 years probably, took several days of work to get them out-and there are still some roots!)

Remember: ivy does NOT go into green waster, it is evasive and will take over everything, it must go in the trash. Reggie, in addition to making a stellar plan (i will show it off later, it is framed in the store), designed this awesome path made from decomposed granite (aka “the road less traveled”) in the middle of the garden with a collection of native, butterfly attracting plants like yucca, 3 different types of sage, blue-eyed grass, deerweed and others (Reg, don’t hate me for forgetting!)

(2 months later)

this was only after watering the garden every few days for the first 2 weeks and then removing weeds/ivy every so often. So beautiful and EASY to care for…we get a ton of compliments all the time, it smells good and people stop littering around it

If you are interested in getting a consultation with the amazing Reggie to have your own garden, contact him at Back to Natives or..

we also sell the seeds at the store!

Monday is my day-off (basically meaning i do work outside of the store rather than in the store), and i decided to head over to my friend Gretchen’s new store : Live ‘n Nature.
(this is one of Gretchen’s original designs)

Live ‘n Nature is Gretchen and her mother’s brainchild of providing natural, fair trade toys and products for kids  from all over the world.  A breath of fresh air and safety since the recalls and warnings we have been getting from toy makers over the past couple of years.

(that’s Gretchen in the corner trying to avoid the camera-got you!)

I love their cute and quaint space filled with natural, solid wood shelves, and warm earth tones on the walls…they really make the bright colored stuffed animals and toys jump like the one below, an instrument that is played with marbles!

(awesome colors right!)

(natural building blocks made from logs!)

Give them a visit in Mission Viejo, you can also see some of their goods here at the store soon!

The CAMP in Costa Mesa launched its Sustainable Cinema Series on Sunday with the help of you-know-who to show thought-provoking and socially conscious films with great discussion after.

The first film on the summer line-up: Black Gold. This wonderful film takes a look at the one of the most traded commodities in the world’s marketplace: your morning cup of Joe. The film concentrates on Ethiopia, the “birthplace of coffee” and how an unregulated market has drastically altered the livelihood of so many farmers who depend on coffee prices to afford the most basic of necessities.

(film watchers enjoying the film and awesome weather)

I have to say, i was super excited to be sitting next to Mr. Martin Diedrich (yes from the beloved Diedrich Coffeehouse and now LOVED Kean Coffee). Raised in Guatemala and in the essence of coffee-culture, Martin knows the ins-and-outs of what is means to grow, roast, sell and market the bean through and through. I cannot think of a better person of talk to after such a film.

(our panel-hey, that’s me!)

Martin did make some interesting points: from his perspective, fair-trade coffee has suffered in quality and that the film only examines coffee trade in the form of the BIG players (think bigger than Starbucks even-they are the fifth largest!) like Nestle & Proctor and Gamble-types.  His solution: buy from small-indie outfits that give a damn about quality, beans, roasting and creating an end-product that respects the environment, people & palate…a coffee triple-bottom-line!

read more about coffee growers

I am still recovering my old-bones from a few events that i participated in this past weekend. One of which was on Saturday: the Tree Huggers Ball.

The 4th-annual installment of this locals-only-eco-community-event is located in Baker Canyon, in the absolutely GORGEOUS Santiago Mountains by locals who live in the area.  I must say that the location was simply wonderful, but a bit of a trek to get out there.

(the view above from where we were stationed!)

This was my first year to the event, and i had no idea what to expect, however one i did at least think of was the extreme HEAT that was a result of a heatwave that made the situation one that was less than comfortable.  I dont know how someone could combat this while planning an event, we still were not in the main hot-weather month to really see this, but still, it was pretty intense.  My advice: bring your own ice and a spritzer bottle to pamper yourself in the shade.

The event, overall was fun; my cohort for the day, Lisa a water conservation specialist  was so great with the temp and everything, thank you Lisa for your help!

(that’s Lisa workin’ the booth! go Lisa!!)

i do however, have some tips for next year, just from my observation with green events and just general green-living:

1. always serve a vegetarian meal as the main course: BBQ was the fair by-in-large and that didnt seem to make sense with being “eco”

(love tie-dye, but these would ROCK as flags for the event)

2. with such a large natural space, a large compost pile would have been key to making the event as low impact as possible.

3. the port-o-potties after 7pm where in the dark!  yeah, try doing your business in one of those with no lights, not fun!

4. there needed to be more small-group activities to get folks in the “mood” for staying longer and participating.

5. keep the corn cups out of the sun cause the melt!

(good thing: THE LOST BEAN- these guys rock!)

so last night i went to my new hangout: Manhattan Supper Club. a new Wednesday fave.

love this addition to the drowdy Main street fair. yes you would think that a Main Street was alive with action, but here it is still in the process of remodeling…thank you for this blessing to OC dining! the folks behind MSC lovingly took a old French eatery (that was truely RUN DOWN) into a beautiful gem that is well worth the drive.  What is additionally great these people:  organic produce and grass-fed beef on the menu (i still think it sounds strange to say “grass-fed”, isn’t that what it is supposed to be??)

will talk more about MSC, but what i really want to get back to is what i saw on the menu since my first glance at the menu: hericot vert.

i have heard of the item from OC beloved chef Diego of Memphis Cafe who educated me on what they actually are: a french version of the string bean but much more classier. these beans need very little in the assistance department; they taste fab alone but when pared with good olive oil, garlic & onion and some lovin’- well me like a whole bunch!

and here i thought that Hericot Verts were a a thing that i had to check on my car every 10,000 miles!

recipe/info the Hericot