As far as prices, again depending on where you are in the country and how much you want to go organic, you have to do some research. Where I live CSA’s are a great deal (google community supported agriculture), the farmer’s market is a little less expensive than Whole Foods, and Whole Foods is a little less expensive than the smaller “natural foods stores”. My prices are based on a Whole Foods in downtown Manhattan as of April 2009 with nothing on sale.

Keep on cookin!!

The author actually says that his method of rissoto preparation is not how a “purist” would do it. He’s just trying to make the dish more accessible.

Saute the onion and the garlic in a little EVOO before adding them to the milk/cheese/egg mix. The raw onion and garlic don’t quite cook tender during the baking, and are still a bit spicier than most folks are comfy with.

One tablespoon of mustard ’stead of two.

Doesn’t really need salt. Eliminate it.

Use 2% organic milk and cheese, the full-fat is a bit rich.

Add a little EVOO to the bread crumbs and parm. mix, it will bake up extra crispy. I used Romano instead of Parm…it’s all good.

I hope you’re not overly discouraged by some of the feedback. I liked the tone of your writing and your enthusiasm for the subject.

I think the two points made in the comments that I would encourage you to focus on are:

1. Writing recipes is a lot harder than it seems. My note…It will definately get easier with practice though. Ideally one cooks A LOT (both from recipes and without recipes)before trying this – so that you have a thorough understanding and feel for various ingredients and the art of cooking. Giving your own recipes to people who may not know how to cook at all is a major act of detail-oriented and thorough organization.
2. Taking into consideration when and where something is grown/raised (as in seasonal/local vs. shipped out of season from across the planet)is also a major consideration when discussing environmental impact.

Best of luck! I’ll be sure to visit your site!

I do a lot of comparative shopping and Whole Foods is the priciest of the lot. I buy my produce from a Korean market (H Mart, started in Atlanta) for third of what they charge at WF.

I buy my animal products at Costco in bulk.

Sundries are also a lot more expensive at WF, a lot of which I coupon match at Kroger.

Where’s the instructions for what to do with the garlic in the mac and cheese?

Your risotto recipe isn’t actually risotto. To make risotto, you saute and aromatic base (which almost always includes shallots), then add your rice and saute it until the grains turn translucent, then deglaze with something like vermouth. Then you add the simmering broth, one ladle full at a time, adding it little by little as it absorbs, stirring constantly. It’s also probably inadvisable to make risotto with bullion – it would be way to harsh and salty. You want a good homemade stock. Why would you bother buying expensive arborio for this?

You’re almost there with the noodles. But you need some oil for texture – try toasted sesame oil. And cut down the amount of soy sauce by subbing some rice vinegar. You probably want to add some fresh minced ginger too.

I think maybe you’re not quite ready to be writing recipes – it’s not as easy as it seems! You need people to test them, and then proofread/edit. You also can’t make really make a compelling collection of organic recipes by taking a recipe and tacking “organic” on to all the ingredients. Keep at it though – some tweakign and editing and you’ll probably end up with something worth reading!

Now, my grocery-shopping patterns are different from most people’s, so your mileage may vary. Whole Foods does charge high prices on animal products like meat and milk, as I understand it, because they buy those things from farms that have a higher standard of animal welfare. But that’s important to some people.

That being said, I will probably try one or two of the recipes. I think the whole organic movement is bunk, but to each his own. My opinion is solely mine. I’ll use the ingredients in my pantry, though.

I bought a pile of vegetables from a farmer’s market this past Saturday (on the way home from the cradle of Texas liberty, Washington-on-the-Brazos). Their open produce was all tagged as locally grown. Their bagged produce (we bought carrot) was actually grown in Texas. We’d go more often except Hempstead is 40 miles away.

First, for beloml: broccoli and other green vegetables do not give you much protein. They have a lot of good micronutrients and fiber, but not much else.

It’s not necessary to have meat to get a large amount of protein, though it is easier. There are alternatives: soy products like tofu, mixtures of beans and rice.

Also, 1/2 cup of soy sauce is way too much for portions of this size, even if you like your food very salty.

Would it surprise you to know that kids who regularly eat dinner with their families make healthier food choices so they are less likely to be overweight, because they eat more nutritious meals?

Studies have proven that kids who regularly eat dinner with their families do better in school and are less likely to smoke, drink alcohol and take drugs. Maybe it’s because they feel valued and cared about! Sounds like lots of great reasons to start cooking!

And, heck, today I tasted pickled green tomatoes at the greenmarket for the first time and they were so good I bought a jar.