Thursday's Thinking of Food

Hope everyone's having a great week--I am so excited for the impending long weekend, aren't you? James and I are headed to Charleston to visit a dear friend of mine from high school, Austin, and her awesome husband, Collin. We're going to traverse the city, eat really good food, and sun ourselves silly--posts next week!

Exciting foodie information today--here goes:

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*Panera, the national soup, salad, and bread chain, has opened a "pay-what-you-can" store in a suburb of St. Louis. How freakin' cool is that!? The menu is exactly the same at this nonprofit location, but there are no prices. Customers are encouraged to pay what they can, and a price is suggested, but nothing is required. The motto that hangs over the counter of the store reads: "Take what you need, leave your fair share." The store just opened this month, but similar models have worked in the past. Click here to read a Washington Post article on the venture. I first read about the nonprofit Panera store here.

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*A newly-released study published in the journal Pediatrics, indicates that "Children exposed to higher levels of a type of pesticide found in trace amounts on commercially grown fruit and vegetables are more likely to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder than children with less exposure." Wow. This is the largest study of its kind to date, and it seems pretty well-conducted. The lead author of the study, Maryse Bouchard, Ph.D., states: "Organic fruits and vegetables contain much less pesticides, so I would certainly advise getting those for children. National surveys have also shown that fruits and vegetables from farmers' markets contain less pesticides even if they're not organic. If you can buy local and from farmers' markets, that's a good way to go." And buying organic or from a farmer's market is so easy these days, why not?


*The Big Shebang at City Roots, Columbia's urban farm, last weekend was really fun! There were local artisans selling their wares, a potluck lunch sponsored by Slow Food Columbia-all dishes included at least one local ingredient, and City Roots was giving farm tours. There was also plenty of locally grown produce, herbs, and plants for sale. I got some basil:

which I later turned into a homemade pesto to go on toast with mozzarella for my sister's baby shower last Sunday:

City Roots also has a tilapia tank and free range chickens, along with their 30 varieties of vegetables and fruit.

Go visit City Roots--the Farm Store is open Monday-Friday 9- 5:30 and Saturday 10-2.


*And, if you're planning a cookout for Memorial Day-here's a deal for you: get a FREE bottle of Earth Fare Organic Ketchup with any $5 purchase and this coupon.

Have a great weekend! I would love to hear what you're doing for the holiday.

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