Feed Your Mother (Earth, That Is)

As a self-taught home cook who loves granola (and makes it herself, no less), counts down to farmer's market season (three and a half weeks, a painful seven weeks to wait until the one in my neighborhood opens), drinks tea, eats tofu, does yoga ... you get the picture ... well as my friend Andrei would say, "you're a damn hippie" - so not surprisingly, I love Earth Day.

In addition to hugging a tree, my Earth Day today will be all about sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is agricultural production that can be maintained without harming the environment. The aim is to make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and integrate natural biological cycles on the farm, ultimately enhancing the environmental quality and natural resource base. This model also helps to sustain the economic stability of farmers and in the long-term helps to fight worldwide hunger in an environmentally-conscious way.

How to "eat green" in every day life? Eat fresh and eat local, whenever possible. Eliminate the middle man and environmentally detrimental costs of production and food transportation by getting food directly from the source, or at the very least your local farmer's market. The Farm-to-Table movement, in which chefs are cooking with the produce grown in their own backyards, bringing the freshest ingredients to your plate, is gaining steam all over the country as locavores raise awareness to the global benefits of eating eco-friendly, not to mention the health benefits of eating nutrient-packed fresh farm fare. This is how we ate for most of humanity, of course, sustaining from the surrounding produce and livestock, so we are quite literally "going back to our roots."

In my mind, there are two kinds of cooking: following a recipe, going to the store with the list of ingredients; or going to the market to see what's fresh in season, and building the meal around the ingredients you find there. Now I've done both kinds of cooking (and also constructing meals out of the assortment of leftovers in my kitchen, which is another art entirely,) but especially in the warmer months I really prefer to follow the fresh food cooking model. The next time you find yourself wondering what to make for dinner, go to the market and play this game - see what produce looks ripe and beautiful, and let it inspire you. (I admit this works especially well with a smartphone to look up recipes in case you're not sure which other ingredients to get, but if you really want to challenge yourself just make it up from scratch and see where the cooking creativity takes you.) Spring is here, and it's time to eat green!

Fresh strawberries just picked on the farm:

Growing Green

When discussing food it is crucial to address the source of the ingredients themselves, as any dish is only as good as the quality of its components. The freshness of produce, for example, can make or break a meal, just as can the cut of meat or quality of olive oil used in the pan, I have learned. Sofra highlights this principle perfectly, as the produce used is all local, which ensures greater freshness (and seasonal appropriateness, our macrobiotic diet enthusiasts would argue.)

Sofra Chef Ana Sortun's farm Siena Farms also follows the community supported agricultural model, which is a small-farm marketing model that provides year-round income for the farmer and "an intimate season-long farm experience for the customer." Siena Farms visits area farmers markets in the spring and summer and participates in a BoxShare membership program, which sends produce-filled boxes regularly to pick up locations at Sofra in Cambridge and Copley Square in Boston. Community supported agriculture is an offshoot of the greater sustainable agriculture movement, which has gained increased attention and growing support in recent decades.

Sustainable agriculture is agricultural production that can be maintained without harming the environment. The aim is to make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and integrate natural biological cycles on the farm, ultimately enhancing the environmental quality and natural resource base. This model also helps to sustain the economic stability of farmers and in the long-term helps to fight worldwide hunger in an environmentally-conscious way.

Siena Farms produce is also used by the chefs of popular Boston-area restaurants such as the Beacon Hill Bistro, Henriett's Table, Persephone, O Ya, and Upstairs on the Square. For more information visit http://www.sienafarms.com/.