These are some delicious “Chocolots…in the Raw,” one of our favorite holiday treats. Handmade with breath, love and Texas Spirits. If you are in the Houston area stop by the Highland Village Farmer’s Market and visit Pat Greer to indulge in these sweet temptations.

I wanted to share this beautiful photograph of the cabbage I bought at Highland Village Farmer’s Market in Houston. It looked majestic with a taste and tenderness to match. I wanted to display it as a center piece on my dining table, but we couldn’t wait that long without trying it.

Caribbean cabbage salad
I prepared a delicious Caribbean cabbage salad with chopped tomatoes, red onion, parsley and freshly squeezed lime juice. I added a small slice of chocolate habanero for extra heat. Salt and pepper to taste.This salad goes perfectly with plantain chips. Our family loves it!

I can’t wait to see what other winter surprises I find next Saturday.

‘Grace’: PETA’s Thanksgiving ad

Houston will welcome its first 100% organic and sustainable farmers market on Saturday, October 31, 2009. The Highland Village Farmers Market, located at 2706 Suffolk, just east of Houston’s Galleria area, will be celebrating its grand opening, following a successful “soft launch” last week.

Local vendors will be selling farm-fresh fare, as well as treats like baked goods, soaps and even specialty marshmallow creations.

The market will be open on Saturdays from 8am-noon. We’ll see you there!

A new study has found that times of recession have actually increased overall health, resulting in increased longevity and lower rates of mortality. The study, which focused primarily on the Great Depression, found that between 1929 and 1932 life expectancy shot up by 6.2 years. Between 1920 and 1940, the total difference was 8.8 years.

Taking that into a modern economy, the authors noted, we can see that people are drinking, smoking and eating out less – all behavioral modifications that can help one avoid the negative impact of these choices. If you pair that with reports that claim that people are giving up expensive tennis club and golf course memberships, and taking up inexpensive activities like running, it makes sense that health gets a much greater boost.

There’s no telling if we’‘ll see those changes stick around. However, economists are wary of the hesitation citizens will have to go back to their free-spending ways, so it’s possible that we’ll take better care of ourselves for just a bit longer.

Has the economic meltdown helped you find your way to healthier habits?

Out With the Old

With the sweltering summer heat, we have decided that our backyard garden has called it quits. The three tomato plants that valiantly produced over 40 pounds of tomatoes since May were now gangly, weed-like walls of uncontrollable vines. They continued shooting tiny yellow flowers out into the hot Houston air, only to shrivel and collapse back into themselves.

After consulting with several farmers at the market, and hearing of their own inability to coax tomatoes from their plants, we realized it was time to reset our own expectations. This weekend, the plants came out of the ground and our backyard once again took on the appearance of something in the ‘burbs. We’ve still got two fully loaded lime trees and a patch of basil doing very well. But given how busy we’ve become with our training, none of us has volunteered to tend to the next crop of outdoor goodness.

...In(doors) With the New

Though we’ll wait for another opportunity to step outside and break soil, our gardening experiment continues with seed sprouting. Since discovering the fresh crunch of sprouted lentils, mustard, chick peas and other beans, Maggie has learned both jar sprouting and tray sprouting techniques. The process is reminiscent of those long-ago elementary school lessons where we witnessed seed springing to life, and the results are delicious. Sprouts have become a central part of our meal planning, and they are an economical way to consume protein-rich, biodynamic foods that are full of nutrients.

How is your garden growing?

As the late summer days slip away, we are all anticipating the new schedules and activities that the fall brings. As a homeschooling mom, mid-August is a time for planning and organizing all the lessons and materials for Katerina’s school year. I also plan for her afternoon classes – everything from bible class to music and dance lessons. Keeping track of everybody’s schedule while maintaining my sanity has become a form of art (one I’m not quite sure I’ve mastered).

This fall will be a little different from past years. Not only will we have to deal with the demands of homeschooling, parenting and work, but also with the demands of the rigorous running program that Adrian and I are following. Unlike the novice marathon program that we just completed, our new training involves more intensity, the addition of speed work and yes, longer hours on our feet. That translates into earlier wake-up calls and shorter nights in order to get everything done. We know there are going to be tough days ahead, but feel more than ready to take on the challenge.

After finishing sub-4:00 hr on our first marathon in San Francisco, July 26, 2009, we were motivated to take on 2 more marathons: Rock ‘n Roll San Antonio and Chevron Houston. We are focused on setting PRs (personal records) in order to qualify for the world-famous Boston Marathon by 2011 (or sooner).

Yes, these are ambitious goals for a pair of folks who started running a mere 7 months ago. All this thanks to our friends Tom and Maxine Yunker, whose talk of their own marathon experiences inspired us to take on this new lifestyle. Now that we’ve run a marathon, we know that we can keep pushing the limits…physically, mentally and even emotionally, to get a deeper sense of our true potential. It’s not every day that we find the courage to assume daunting challenges, so we are grateful for the inspiration and encouragement that came along at just the right time.

It might be natural to fear the unknown – to shy away from difficult choices and actions. But anyone who has ever persevered knows that the payoff, however intangible, is incredibly reaffirming.  As someone who seeks out challenges and new experiences, I feel excited to commence this new chapter in life.

I know that Katerina will thrive in third grade, growing and maturing with each passing day. Adrian will work to achieve his personal and professional goals. And together we will help each other break down the barriers that seem to stand in the way of our dreams.

Working towards your own big dream? Share it with us!

For the last 10 weeks, we’ve stepped out of a strict locavore diet and have confronted difficult choices. The most significant of these was implementing a plan to reduce our consumption of animal products. This was a direction the three of us wanted to pursue, but we found ourselves growing dissatisfied with our meals very frequently. For most of our lives, we’ve been able to count on a lean protein and lots of vegetables at the dinner plate. It was nice to add food items like beans and quinoa, but when they appear on your plate for days on end, the lack of variety can be overwhelming.

We found a temporary solution in spices, especially traditional Indian and Middle Eastern flavors, which helped us put a different spin on these foods. However, replacing meat or chicken with only starches still feels awkward – enough that we’ve continued to buy small amounts of animal products for variety. We’re still avoiding processed food, breads, pasta, soy products and dairy, so that might help to illustrate the challenge we face in making the transition.

As you can no doubt infer, I’m not sure how this will turn out. The desire to eat compassionately, to reduce the stress on our environment and to nurture ourselves with living foods is still strong. At the moment, though, the familiarity of an omnivore diet and its endless range of options is just as potent. So perhaps Michael Pollan got it just right in his book In Defense of Food, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Here’s to tomorrow…