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  Your Guide to Well-being and Wild, Crazy 
  Healthy Living!
February 2010
In This Issue:
~Time of Day and Gardening
~Variety: Garden Cooking
~RECIPE - Pesto and Gruyere Grilled Cheese
~Free Offer for eBook
~Plant & Seedling Sale

Want More Energy?

Want to regain your optimal health? Maybe optimize your weight while you get healthier?

Do you feel that you have the right to better health and that it is just out of your reach?

Act now and start optimizing your health and renewing your energy!

 Schedule a Strategy Session with Me!
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I have reserved some special evening and weekend hours for meeting with you to see if we would be a good match to work together to strategize and revamp your health.
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I work with people  who suspect that conventional health care and advise is leaving out most of the Truth about how to live a vibrant healthy life. As your health coach, I will act as a resource and advocate for you, working with you like a personal trainer would.

Visit Barbara Taylor Health 

Strategy Session is free of charge and no obligation; it is strictly some time set aside for you to see
if working together could turn your health and life around.
Before our session, I will ask you to fill out a Health History form, which can be found here!
 
Do you have Solar Panels?
solar panels
Mark and I are considering switching to solar energy
for our house and farm.

We are currently researching companies and set-ups.
If you have Solar Panels
and can send us any info
on who installed the panels
and how it all went and how
you like them, we would
greatly appreciate it!
please email:

[email protected]

Thanks!
June Bounty In the GreenhouseJune 2010 Newsletter
What a great growing year! Everything is just growing so fast and so well! We are so excited! Our local Gardeners and Farmers really needed such a year! Just glorious!
 

Conscious Gardening   
And the garden tasks are piling up! Weeding and planting and cultivating and watering all need to be done � immediately! I tend to push myself forward with an intended finished result "I have to get two rows weeded by 6:30." It does get stuff done fast and efficiently, and there is a place for that I guess, but I tend to miss out on the experience of what I'm doing as I'm doing it.

So, I wanted to write a bit on taking some time to garden consciously; in other words,  � pay attention to the experience of weeding. Consider why certain weeds are popping up in particular spots � pay attention to them; they say a lot actually. Consider the texture and feel of the different root systems � how they have adapted since you last pulled them. And pay attention to yourself, � your position, � what muscles are you using. Consider whatever task you're doing to be a yoga or stretching exercise. Take a moment every once in a while to stand up tall and straight and stretch your arms over you head and soak in the sun. Make the time you spend doing garden tasks spiritual and renewing. Dig your fingers and toes into the soil just to do it. As you water, watch the droplets in the morning sun hitting the leaves.

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WateringHarvesting and Growing Tip: What does the time of day mean to the gardener?
The soil will retain the moisture longer if you water in the evening. Plants will appreciate having the moisture for longer and being able to soak it up without competing with the sun. If your spot has a tendency to hold water and not drain properly, or if fungus is a problem, � like the Late Tomato Blight, watering in the morning is best.
 
At this point in the season, transplant your plants in the coolness of evening or early in the morning. Try not to disturb your plants between noon and 5 pm. Save hoeing, weeding, etc. for the cooler times of the day. That goes for harvesting too; your greens and herbs will last longer if you harvest them in the morning, after they have soaked up moisture and coolness all night.

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Variety - is the Spice of Life!
Now is the time of year to indulge in the bounty! B�ring it all home into your kitchen and take advantage of the freshness and variety. The Farmer�s Markets are in full swing and blossoming with great local organic items.

You know the cliche - Everything in Moderation. That is a great one to live by - but many people are lacking in the "Everything" category. There really isn't much variation in the supermarkets. It is all the same couple ingredients just re-packaged. But at the Farmer's Markets and in your garden, you can experience a huge wide range of various ingredients - all full of all sorts of nutrients, trace minerals, and antioxidants.

Certain antioxidants get well known and popular due to grant money and studies and then they go through the politics of the media, and people start looking for them and taking capsules of them. There's money and politics in resveratrol. That's not to say it isn't an important antioxidant, but there are just millions of others being ignored by the funding and media. I really don't want to make my health decisions based on politics. I look at my gardens and eat a big bunch of colors and flavors and scents and let my body use what it wants. And right now it is easy to do that. I'm throwing flowers petals and leaves of all colors in every salad. Herbs are full of special, often medicinal nutrients. And your herb plants grow better if you harvest from them often. So take advantage of all that is growing now and make sure you use it in your everyday meals.

Take a look at the Hudson Valley Food Network, which is a compilation of all the fabulous variety available right now - great resources for finding new foods! 

Hudson Valley Food Network
Hudson Valley Food Network

You can also use it like Facebook and interact with all sorts of great groups like Hudson Valley Gathers or Hudson Valley Homebrewers & Beer Geeks or you can use it as a timely and thorough reference calender of events and great places to get great local foods!

PestoI find that making Pestos and Salsas are great ways to utilize all the great stuff growing outside.
For the raw food enthusiast or for a summer meal you actually can make in the garden without heating up your house, Pestos and Salsas are perfect!

Tomorrow (Saturday June 26th, 12:30-2:30 pm), I am doing my Pestos and Salsas Workshop. As in all my cooking workshops, we make specific recipes, but the main focus is on the general concepts of blending and using the ingredients so you can be creative in your own kitchen using your own garden's or farmer's market's bounty! Not only will we go over a whole slew of awesome recipes using all sorts of ingredients, but we'll also go over the differences in pestos created using mortar/pestle vs mezza luna vs food processor. And there's more than just pasta and nacho chips for eating your pestos and salsas! You'll bring home a big packet of recipes and a big bunch of our own fresh basil!

Workshop details:

Pestos and Salsas Workshop
Sat. 6/26/10, 12:30-2:30 pm
Creating Pesto and Salsa Verde is truly an art in the artisanal kitchen. And although we'll do a great traditional Basil pesto, we also have a whole range of absolutely wonderful and creative mixtures using arugula, parsley, cilantro, lovage, chervil, dandelion, unusual heirloom Italian chicories, and more. All the Pestos and Salsa Verdes we will be making will also be fully balanced using nuts and seeds and can be thought of as the main course as well as the appetizers. Workshop is hands on and tasting is encouraged | Cost is $36 | Still spaces open - email today to reserve a spot!

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RECIPE OF THE MONTH
  I made a delicious grilled-cheese sandwich last night:

Pesto, Zucchini, and Grilled Gruyere Sandwich
 
Ingredients:
~A good pesto (Consider signing up for our Pesto and Salsa Making Workshop this Saturday, June 23rd at 12:30 pm ! )
~Smoked paprika powder, � can be hot or sweet � up to your taste
~Sea salt
~A zucchini of any color � sliced thin length-wise
~Slices of solid hardy bread (I used Colorado Cracked Wheat by Rudi�s Organic Bakery)
~Thin slices of gruyere or quality swiss cheese
~Olive oil
~a bit of butter
 
In a heavy skillet (I used my trusty cast iron) put a dab of olive oil and heat to quite hot. Lay the thin slices of zucchini and let them brown, flip and brown on other side. Take them out of the skillet and lay on paper towels.
 
Now put a little pat of butter in with the hot olive oil left in the skillet and turn down the heat to low. Spread a thin layer of pesto over each slice of bread, lay one slice in the skillet, pesto side up, sprinkle with paprika and salt. Add half the slices of cheese in a thin layer, add the slices of zucchini, add the rest of the cheese, and top with the second slice of bread. Cover and cook until lightly browned on the bottom, then flip and let
it brown on the other side, uncovered.

Serve with a glass of sauvignon blanc, which seems to go with all grilled cheeses and pestos!

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Millie with Basil Artisanal Skill: Making Your Own Pet Food
Variety is good for your dog or cat as well. As a part of their marketing plan, commercial brands of pet food tell people that it so hard, � basically impossible, � to balance your pet's diet. And they feel that what they are presenting in their bags of kibble or cans of mush is balanced. And it may be. The various levels of general protein vs fats vs carbs may be at what was deemed optimal for most pets. But let's think one step further; � can your individual pet thrive on only what is in that bag or can for every day of his/her life?
 
And even if you are buying an optimal pet food �like Canidae/Felidae (check out Whole Dog Journal for a solid evaluation of top pet foods) you still don't truly know the quality of what is in the food and if the high price you are paying for that food is reflected in that quality. When you make your own pet food, you know exactly what you're putting in and you can easily provide a variety.

Also, if you have an organic natural household, it just seems wrong to scoop out some kibble each day for the dogs and cats. You need to take it all the way! With a little planning, it really is easy to make your own!

Check out our website for recipes and info and an outline of our Homemade Dog and Cat Food Workshop
which we will be giving on Sunday, July 25th, 10am -12 noon.
 
Workshop details:
Making Homemade Dog and Cat Food
Sunday, July 25th, 10 am to 12 noon
Healthier, Economical, Delicious. Either as a supplementary meal or as your pets' regular diet, homemade food is better, safer, and easy to make. We will mix up a batch of balanced food using raw chicken as a base. We'll go over tons of options in food bases - raw vs cooked, various nutritional additions, dogs vs cats, special needs pets, and discuss the wide range of commercial diets and brands. You'll take home recipes, a clearer knowledge of the commercial pet food available, and resources for suppliers. We'll also make up a wonderful whole foods supplement that you can add to a commercial diet using higher quality ingredients and for a lot less money than the fancy brand names. Even if you're not ready to switch over completely to a homemade diet, you'll get a lot from this workshop. In the Farm Kitchen. Cost is $36 | registration closes July 23rd.
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IIN Ever considered taking the Institute for Integrative Nutrition - Holistic Health Coaching Program?

As many of you know, I am not only a farmer, but also a Holistic Health
Coach. I got my certification and a lot of info on coaching at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). Right now, they are offering a free e-copy
of the program founder's book, called Integrative Nutrition. Quite a few people have asked me what the program is like, and I think this is a great opportunity for you to get a good taste of the focus of the program.
 
All you have to do is click on this link:
http://info.integrativenutrition.com/free-e-book
 
Then fill out the form (you need a graduate referral to get this offer � my full name is Barbara Taylor Laino), take a bit of time to talk with one of the admissions advisors, and you get a link to the e-book to download. There is absolutely no obligation or cost and the admissions advisors are friendly and don't put any pressure on you. They don't keep calling you or anything like that.
 
The program is great for people wanting to expand their knowledge of holistic health and nutrition. The Institute for Integrative Nutrition is
right on the cutting edge of all healthy trends and places. You really get integrated into that world fully, learning about various types of successful
healthy school lunch programs to meeting top notch NYC raw and organic restaurantaurs. And it is a fabulous program for actually putting together a coaching business where you can actually play an active role in bringing real holistic health advise to more and more people who need it.
 
Book CoverI had a tendency to find myself preaching at people about how to get healthy but most people are so embedded in bad health habits or fooled into thinking what they are doing is healthy � and it was very frustrating. One of the first things that you learn at IIN is to focus on the people who need you � who are open to what you are saying and who are ready to start making changes. And there are so many people, more and more each day actually, who are actively looking for guidance! I cannot express how fulfilling it is to be propelled into being involved with and coaching people where I can make a difference!
 
So use this free copy of Integrative Nutrition as a little push to just talk with the advisor and see what you think... You may feel compelled to sign up for the IIN program or you may just get some inspiration or ideas for some other way to make a difference in the world, bring real health to others, or just involve yourself more in the growing and supportive groups of like-minded people! There is an energy at IIN that is truly addictive and you always end up inspired in some way.

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eggs June/July Workshop Schedule:
Backyard Organic Poultry Rearing Workshop TOMORROW!
Saturday, June 26th, 10 am - 12 noon
For anyone who has dreamed of walking out to your own chicken coop and collecting fresh eggs for breakfast, this course will guide you through starting up your own flock and in organic and natural rearing methods. We will discuss all of our secrets to Organic chicken care that we have discovered over the years. Chickens are wonderful stewards of the earth; and kept in proper conditions, chickens are valuable assets to the garden, lawn, and compost pile. They also provide backyard joy. They are easy to take care of, are not noisy or smelly, and are an important part of the Organic garden. This is the optimal time of year to bring chicks home. And we willhave chicks available for sale at the end of the workshop. (Please be sure to check with your town to make sure that chickens are allowed where you live.) Workshop takes place mostly outside (dress appropriately - wear boots) and is weather permitting. Cost is $36 | Still spaces open - email today to reserve a spot!

Ingredients for PestoPestos and Salsas Workshop TOMORROW!
Saturday, June 26th, 12:30-2:30 pm
Creating Pesto and Salsa Verde is truly an art in the artisanal kitchen. And although we'll do a great traditional Basil pesto, we also have a whole range of absolutely wonderful and creative mixtures using arugula, parsley, cilantro, lovage, chervil, dandelion, unusual heirloom Italian chicories, and more. All the Pestos and Salsa Verdes we will be making will also be fully balanced using nuts and seeds and can be thought of as the main course as well as the appetizers. Workshop is hands on and tasting is encouraged | Cost is $36 |
Still spaces open - email today to reserve a spot!


Too Many Zucchini! Workshop
Sat. 7/10/10, 10-12 noon

By popular request - I'm doing a workshop on what to do with all your summer squash. I also used to feel overwhelmed and even bored by summer squash, but now I can't wait to get my hands on as many as possible! I have a wide range of truly delicious recipes that I am thrilled to share with you so you too can fully enjoy all those zucchini you're pulling out of your garden this time of year! As with my other cooking workshops, you'll take home a variety of recipes and building outlines for creatively designing your own meals. Workshop is hands on and tasting is encouraged | $36.00 | registration closes 7/7/10

Making Homemade Dog and Cat Food
Sunday, July 25th, 10-12 noon
Healthier, Economical, Delicious. Either as a supplementary meal or as your pets' regular diet, homemade food is better, safer, and easy to make. We will mix up a batch of balanced food using raw chicken as a base. We'll go over tons of options in food bases - raw vs cooked, various nutritional additions, dogs vs cats, special needs pets, and discuss the wide range of commercial diets and brands. You'll take home recipes, a clearer knowledge of the commercial pet food available, and resources for suppliers. We'll also make up a wonderful whole foods supplement that you can add to a commercial diet using higher quality ingredients and for a lot less money than the fancy brand names. Even if you're not ready to switch over completely to a homemade diet, you'll get a lot from this workshop. In the Farm Kitchen. Cost is $36 | registration closes 7/23/10


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Bunnies Looking OutThank you very much !

Don't forget that I have also started a website to archive the articles from these newsletters in one place - you can access it here.  And you can also still find additional links and materials on the Midsummer Farm website's Newsletter Extras and Links page. And visit us on Facebook and Twitter too!
Disclaimer
� Copyright 2010 Barbara Taylor-Laino, HHC / Barbara Taylor Health. All Rights Reserved. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Barbara Taylor Laino is required.

This information newsletter is designed as an educational tool for better health. Recipes and information are included as examples for you learn from; they are not diagnostic or prescriptive. Everyone's health needs are different. This newsletter is not to be used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of any health condition or problem. Any questions regarding your own health should be addressed to your own physician or other healthcare provider. The entire contents of this newsletter and the websites of Barbara Taylor Laino and Midsummer Farm are based upon the opinions of Barbara Taylor Laino, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author(s), who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Barbara Taylor Laino. You are encouraged to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.
Farm Contact Info
Barbara and Mark Laino
Midsummer Farm
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990
845-986-9699
[email protected]


Holistic Health Counselling Contact Info
Barbara Taylor-Laino
Barbara Taylor Health
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990
845-986-9699
[email protected]