Breakfasts at home

Last week, when we had pretty much finished our migration to organic produce I took a look in the refrigerator and got this happy feeling in my stomach that I think only a foodie would really understand. I had a couple of dozen eggs from a Washington state organic chicken farm, a package of bacon from Applegate Farms, a drawer full of local apples and pears, some oranges from California, two thick London broil steaks, chicken breasts and a tangle of vegetables: Leeks, eggplant, zucchini, onions, peppers...I had cream, and a package of shade-grown whole bean coffee, butter and coconut oil, and packages of lettuces and herbs. It was a beautiful sight, and all of it was organic, grass fed, nitrate free, and as natural as you can get these days. It made me feel good. My husband says that it is a natural female "nesting" instinct--that I feel more secure when my shelves and refrigerator are full. Even more so now that they are full of items I picked out for health reasons.

The whole idea of "organic" can be a little misleading. I want primarily healthy food. Food that is not exposed to pesticides, or unnecessarily added antibiotics or hormones. The problem with the label "organic" is that the document that defines "organic" standards in the US is 554 pages long--it is very complicated and while there are about 30 federally accredited organic certifiers out there supposedly making sure that producers who are labeled "organic" actually follow the standards, in 2008, half of those certifiers had been placed on probation for various violations of USDA organic standards. I think that as industrialized as our agriculture has become, it is very hard to insure that anything labeled "organic" is always going to live up to the standards we expect. That is why I prefer to choose farms that I know a little about.

Here in Seattle we have PCC (a local food co-op)--they "screen" certain organic ranches and farms. They have their own standards and expectations and they do their best to provide truly organic, local and healthy products. I love PCC although it is very expensive. I buy most of my meat there. I occasionally shop Wholefoods Market which has a similar screening process and endeavors to sell "the freshest, most healthful, minimally processed products available." I buy local whenever possible, shop Trader Joe's and other nearby grocery stores for bargains (Safeway and QFC have a good organic vegetable and fruit selection and sometimes have good deals on organic chicken and wild caught fish). I avoid processed foods as much as I can. I also try to buy foods that are stored in glass, metal or paper rather than plastic if possible. (Although this is next to impossible for fresh produce and meat!)