Produce- "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean 15"

It would be great to be able to buy organic all the time. It would also be great to have a vacation house, 4 cars, and a flying pony, but that's just not realistic for most. We need to retain some discretionary income to be able to enjoy the non-food niceties of life too, right? (what? Non-food-related enjoyment? Impossible. I know, I know, but let's focus...)


Unless you're able to set aside a pretty hefty portion of your paycheck to always buy organic, you'll probably find yourself picking up some conventional items pretty regularly. Each year the Environmental Working Group tests produce for the amount of residual pesticides AFTER they are prepared as normally eaten (washed, peeled, etc). The produce left with the highest amount of pesticides (containing toxins with links to cancer, neurological disorders, etc) are labeled "The Dirty Dozen." (gross, right? I'll say that again: AFTER washing and peeling. yikes.) More recently, they've also come out with "The Clean 15" list, which, as you can imagine, has the least amount of residual pesticides. 


There's always another side to these studies and UC Davis takes serious issue with the methodology of this study, particularly with the inclusion of the uber-healthy blueberry on the dirty side, but I would still err on the side of caution with most, particularly those at the top of the list. 


Here's the 2012 Dirty Dozen and Clean 15:


Dirty Dozen Plus™ as listed on ewg.org
Buy these organic
1   Apples
2   Celery
3   Sweet bell peppers
4   Peaches
5   Strawberries
6   Nectarines– imported
7   Grapes
8   Spinach
9   Lettuce
10   Cucumbers
11   Blueberries – domestic
12   Potatoes
Plus +   Green beans +   Kale/Greens
+ May contain pesticide residues of special 
concern


Clean 15™
Lowest in Pesticide
1   Onions
2   Sweet Corn
3   Pineapples
4   Avocado
5   Cabbage
6   Sweet peas
7   Asparagus
8   Mangoes
9   Eggplant
10   Kiwi
11   Cantaloupe - domestic
12   Sweet potatoes
13   Grapefruit
14   Watermelon
15    Mushrooms


Want a printable list to take to the store with you? 
Print This Lil' Guy! ---->

3" x 4" 

Grow Your Own Onions After Dinner!

Recently I've developed an interest in composting. Partially to help feed the garden, but largely because I realized how much organic material we throw away weekly.

While researching how to start composting, I came across a few sites that talked about growing and endless supply of green onions in a jar and this one that talked about how to sprout, plant, and harvest from the garden. Of course, I had to try it. I mean, come on, right? Grow my own onions? Yes, please. 

That night I saved the bottom of the onion that we grilled up (mmm... veggie skewers) and dried it out for a day, as the site recommended. I then placed it in a shallow plastic container with water and a teaspoon or so of water-storing crystals. (It's been hitting the 100 degree mark fairly regularly during the last few weeks and I didn't want all the water to evaporate. Side note- the crystals are super fun to play with. See Office Plants) I also threw a Bok Choi stem in there because someone said you can do that too. We'll see. 

The Onion Adventure:

Just after "planting": 

Bok Choi stem on left, Vidalia Onion on right 

Supposedly, what happens is that the bottom of each will start to create little roots and that the top of the circle clusters of the onion will start to create green shoots (no idea what the Bok Choi will do). 

Two days after start:

I think I can see 2 little green shoots starting on the bottom cluster but maybe it's just wishful thinking... we'll see.

Four days after start:

Are the green circles greener? I'd like to think so but it could also just be a wish-induced mirage.

One week after start:

It's like weird Shrinky-Dinks. 

10 days after start:

That bottom section is totally getting greener... right? 

Stay tuned for updates on the Great Onion Caper (Adventure)!

Foil Packet (Grilled) Lemon-Thyme Chicken

One of the best ways to get great flavor into chicken without adding a lot of fat is obviously grilling, but it's really easy to either dry out the chicken or undercook it. Plus, you can't marinate and cook the chicken with many herbs as they'll just burn and you'll have charcoal-crusted chicken instead of a tasty herb-y chicken. 

Foil packet chicken is a fantastic way to nix all of those issues. I love throwing citrus, tomatoes, or onions in the packet so that the flavor gets infused into the chicken and (bonus!) keeps it from drying out. 

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs bone-in kosher or local, free-range chicken, skinned & large pieces butterflied for even cooking

1-2 lemons, wedged

1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme (I used lemon thyme which has a more floral aroma)

3-4 Tbsp olive oil or equal parts butter & olive oil

Salt & Pepper

(You can add onions, mushrooms, garlic, and other veggies that roast well for a complete meal)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat grill 
2. Double-layer foil (or single-layer heavy duty foil) sheets about 18-24" long, depending on how much chicken you've got
3. Lightly grease the top layer of foil with olive oil
4. In a small bowl, combine remaining olive oil, chopped thyme, the juice of 2 wedges of lemon, salt and pepper
5. Rub or baste each piece of chicken on both sides and arrange on the foil, placing remaining wedges between chicken pieces throughout. Add other veggies if desired.
6. Pull ends of foil together and wrap together creating a tent
7. Roll other sides of foil together so that the packet is as air-tight as possible but with room to steam (don't push down on the top of the foil so that you can feel the chicken through it)
8. Grill on one side about 10-12 minutes
9. Flip, and grill other side for 4-5 minutes
10. Remove from heat, CAREFULLY unroll foil using oven mitts and check temperature of chicken- done when it reaches 170 degrees. If larger pieces aren't quite there, remove small ones, re-wrap large pieces and return to the grill for 5-6 more minutes. 

Serve with rice, Israeli couscous, or other hearty grain. Enjoy!