Farmers Market Episode 12

Interview with Olivia, owner of Tru Gourmet Dim Sum at the Grand Lake Farmers Market, in Oakland, California. She is one of the very few specialty vendors selling organic, sustainably conscious Dim Sum. Follow her on Twitter: @TruGourmet !

Tru Gourmet Dim Sum

Durable Local Economy at Grand Lake Market.

"The logic is clear: in a world threatened by ever higher energy prices and ever-scarcer fossil fuels, you're better off in a relatively self-sufficient county or state or region. In a world increasingly rocked by wild and threatening weather, durable economies will be more useful than dynamic ones. And in both cases, the increased sense of community and heightened skill at democratic decision making that a more local economy implies will not simply increase our levels of satisfaction with our lives, but also increase our chances of survival in a more dangerous world." 
 ~Bill McKibben from Deep Economy,The Wealth of Communities and Durable Future.

Today I present you some items from Grand Lake Farmers Market, representing our local economy. Fresh produce, grown locally, vendors with handmade products & great talent.  It's the kind of community I am proud to be a part of. We move through our days and slowly our world seems a little bit more dangerous and tenuous, but then my spirit is lifted by the possibility of our community creating urban gardens, making their own soap, medicines, and generally becoming self sufficient into itself.  It's a beautiful thing and completely in line with how our future might actually look and feel, right after we have exhausted all our natural resources to move products around the world freely. We would need more of these: The Institute of Urban Homesteading. These lovely people, I encountered today, were offering classes in gardening, urban animal husbandry, food preservation, brecraft, herbal medicines, and much more. Many urbanites already have in place orchards, drought tolerant gardens, compost systems, chicken coops, mushroom beds, food forests. It's the first signs of a new paradigm around creating a new "durable economy" no longer focused on unlimited growth and economic hyper-individualism, but sustaining strong local communities and healthier physical environments. Here are the following blessings I found today.

  Tasty sugar snap peas grown by Happy BoyFarms.

Cherries that Joe Gotelli & Sons told me arrived a few weeks later than expected.

Fresh made Kettle Corn by The Gold Miners Kettle makers. 

Capay Farms had these lovely radishes

Tomatero Farms had the first of sweet strawberries coming into season.

Nancy Funk Ceramics made these Sumo Soaps and more. 

 Oulen Studio  made hand crafted items so lovely. 

Buy local, Eat Organic, Save the Planet!

~Tarabud 

Foodie Manifesto ~ Never Too Late

After finishing my graduate degree at John F. Kennedy University in psychology, and practicing for a few years in the community, I fell into an emotional slump. I was reading and watching many films about the demise of our planet, and was seriously passing through Eco-Anxiety. The most productive phase of this Anxiety Disorder is when you become an active spearhead to bring awareness to the community. I quit my job and began doing my Foodie Out Of The Closet blog, incorporating all my love for cooking, food, farming, and planet awareness. I set out one morning to interview the local vendors at my farmers market, in Oakland, California. In doing so, I realized the joy of talking to people who supplied delicious organic produce and the benefits of having relationships with these food suppliers. Reading “Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and Durable Future" by Bill McKibben, reaffirmed that I was right on track with my strong beliefs. Returning to local and sustainable economies, in turn providing nutritious foods, would also improve the health of our planet, by decreasing the use fossil fuels in our agricultural system. Perhaps, global climate change could not be reversed but a new paradigm of what was possible for everyday consumers could be sprouted. Consumers do not have to be strapped to large agricultural business that provides low quality food - individuals have better choices. Higher levels of satisfaction in life are possible with a few changes. Join me, in the second year of farmer interviews, cooking recipes, and plain food talk. My slogan lives on: Buy Local, Eat Organic, Save the Planet!