Drinking Responsibly

What I mean by the title is not so much limiting alcohol intake (unless one is driving, of course), but finding products that are environmentally responsible (yay!). Basically, I want to share with you this vodka I just discovered (like three hours ago at the liquor store in town). Now, I haven't purchased vodka since, probably, my freshman (woman!) year of college (wow, I apologize for the parentheses!), but I just got this great drink recipe book, and I was inspired to try something new. So off to the liquor store I went, and I decided on Prairie Organic Vodka, which was produced and bottled right here in Minnesota. Finding organic and local products is super exciting (whether it be food or drink or clothes, whatever), because not only is the product organic, but it also took very little energy to ship it from its original location to the store.

Besides being USDA-certified organic, here are some other great points on the label:

"Hand-crafted in Benson, Minnesota, from organic yellow #2 corn, grown by three family farms near the distillery."

"100% free of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides."

"To fire the stills, we generate our own energy by gasifying wood chips and corncobs."

"Respect for people, communities, and environment are hallmarks of our fifth-generation family business."

And the price? Well, I could have bought a bottle of Smirnoff's for almost half the price, but the environmentally friendly values of this company are something I am willing to pay a little extra for (although I'm not sure if "gasifying" is a word, but I guess I'll let it slide...)

Happy Saturday night!

Basil!

Yesterday I made myself some pasta for lunch, and I put fresh basil leaves on that I grew myself, which made the entire dish even that much more delicious. And guess what? It was organic basil because I grew it myself from organic seeds. And it was free! Well, the pack of basil seeds cost a dollar or two, but that's practically free when you consider that you can probably grow 100 basil plants from one pack, and then you can harvest the seeds and grow more, etc., etc.

Aside from culinary use, basil also has medicinal uses: basil aids the digestive system and has been known to alleviate stomach cramps, headaches, and stress. I want to make basil tea, but I think I need a lot more basil to do that.... good thing I still have a ton of seeds from my two-dollar pack!

On another gardening note, yesterday we transplanted tomatoes, cucumbers, and iceberg lettuce into our outdoor raised-bed garden. And I planted carrot seeds. And Jason planted some rows of sweet corn along the back of our yard. And we have two apple trees! Gah, I feel like we are growing gold in our backyard.