Lia's Musings »

The fact that Lia’s first blog was called Swirling Notions says a lot about her. Here are random musings from Lia that don’t fall neatly into place.

Featured Article

Cultivate Your Soil

Cultivate Your Soil

I’ve been gardening ‘organically’ for nearly a decade now. But up until recently, carried a narrow definition of ‘organic’ in my head as what I wasn’t putting on my plants—no pesticides, no herbicides, no synthetic fertilizer. And while that is part of the equation, I’ve learned that organic gardening is so much more than what you don’t do; it’s about how you nurture the soil to be healthy long-term and, consequently, produce fruitful crops.

This isn’t revolutionary. In fact, Thomas Jefferson wrote this advice—about pesky pests—to his daughter in 1793:

“When the earth is rich, it bids defiance to droughts, yields in abundance, and of the best quality. I suspect that the insects which have harassed you have been encouraged by the feebleness of your plants, and that has been produced by the lean state of your soil.”

There’s a strong parallel here to the Nourish Network approach. One of our fundamental aims is…

read the article »

Other Articles in Lia's Musings »

Our Faves from the Fancy Food Show Part II
Our Faves from the Fancy Food Show Part II

This week, we continue our roundup from the Fancy Food Show. Here are six more of our favorites.

read the article »

Fancy Food Show Roundup Part I
Fancy Food Show Roundup Part I

Last weekend, the Nourish Network crew scoured the aisles of the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco looking for companies that really embodied our values of enjoying food that’s healthy for our bodies and the earth. Here, the first in my three part series (I’ve got a lot to say and didn’t want to overwhelm you) on our 18 favorites:

read the article »

Child’s Play: A Salad Story
Child’s Play: A Salad Story

I’ve wanted to write a piece for a while about making cooking fun during the holidays. The seeds were planted when, on a trying evening, I recruited my daughter to help me make a “special” salad and pouts and whines (from both of us) turned to laughter and pensive smiles. Here’s a poem inspired by the spirit of that night.

read the article »

Harvest Time
Harvest Time

For some reason, I have a tough time each year letting go of summer and welcoming fall—much as I love both seasons. When the sun takes on a lackadaisical slant and the earth smells wet, it makes my chest swell with a sort of nostalgiancholy. So I thought I’d take a cue from one of Noemi’s alphabet books and spell out how harvest feels to me.

read the article »

Lia’s 16-1/2 Minutes in the Limelight
Lia’s 16-1/2 Minutes in the Limelight

From San Francisco to Los Angeles and back again; from healthy lunches to healthy carbs . . . three TV shows in three weeks. My 16-1/2 minutes in the limelight.

read the article »