Is being environmentally conscious only trendy on vacation?

I have been doing some research on Costa Rica and the option for Ecotourism keeps coming up. I have actually been noticing this a lot but it's really becoming noticeable as I search this vacation spot. I finally reach a soap box point because I'm a little aggravated with this.

I suppose a definition might help:

Ecotourism focuses on volunteering or "voluntourism" (don't get me started on that term), personal growth and environmental sustainability. Ecotourism typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. One of the goals of ecotourism is to offer tourists insight into the impact of human beings on the environment, and to foster a greater appreciation of our natural habitats.

Doing things that revolved around planetary awareness was reserved for the "dirty hippies", you know who I'm referring to. The woodstock, play in the mud, save the whales people. The people who used to go dumpster diving, not because they were looking for food, but because they knew the general public is lazy and doesn't recycle. When the term "ecotourism" hit the travel community I figured it was geared to people like that, that genuinely cared and loved for our planet all the time and finally earned a genre of tourism dedicated to their hard work.

After looking into and seeing what it cost I realized, it was not geared towards them. It was a method for the hip and trendy to make an even bolder statement that they are so with it, that they even take trips that help them save the planet. But does it? Yes it is great to go on a vacation that shows you how to minimize your carbon footprint but how useful is it to take a vacation if you come home and do nothing with it? I'm even one of these people, I came back from Montana all inspired by farm to table and farmer's markets, have I kept up with it, no... I am even guilty of throwing a plastic bottle in the trash..

Perhaps if someone is going to go on a tour designated for ecotourism, it should come with a contract that the traveler has to agree to take what they have learned on their adventure and apply it to their day to day life for at least six months. If we can't start doing something to better the planet with the information we learn on these gorgeous excursions then perhaps we should focus on going to the five star resort and leave the travel that could save the planet to those who aren't lazy and will actually make a difference.

Keeping my promise

Good morning readers! I hope you all had a good night's sleep, filled with dreams of delicious foods and time spent with precious loved ones. OK enough with the mushy stuff, on to business. Yesterday I spoke about the delectable food I had in Montana that was locally grown, and I made a promise that today I'd let you in on a handfull of places in the Metroplex that also did the farm to table dining.

                                                                 

The next on my list is also a soft spot for me, it's less than a mile from my house, Restaurant Ava. This new splendid restaurant is one of the best places in the Metroplex to eat, and in my opinion, the best high end dining in our little town of Rockwall Texas. They use farm to table products and free range chickens. The food is divine, it really is. Their lunch and dinner menus are sublime, but if you have a chance to stop in for breakfast I recomend getting their Shrimp and Grits (house cured tasso ham, oven roasted tomatoes, gulf shrimp, stone ground grits) for dinner I recommend Pan Roasted Chicken Breast (asparagus, french green beans, spanish chorizo, barking cat sweet peppers, patatas bravas).

Now if you're in Dallas and you need something on Inwood and Lovers Lane, then you should go visit Rise no1. A beautiful french bistrow featuring souffle's, the brain child of my boss' dear friend Hedda Dowd. She and Chef Cherif are co owners of this beautiful and very green living restaurant. It's one of the most interesting and delicious places one can eat at in the Dallas area. They have really made it their mission to educate and demonstration the importance of utilizing the local agriculture for gastronomic arts. They prove that local is delicious. Everything on their menu is superb and almost every ingrediant is something grown in the local area. They also use recycled materials from their decorations to their linens, but that's a tale for another day.

I realize that sometimes eating out is a little out of budget, don't worry, farm to table can also be your table. "But Wide Eyed, I don't think I can go to a farm for food." is what you might say, but I anticipated that. Yes, even though the two restaurants I listed are reasonable in price, eating out every meal isn't very cost effective, nor is it wise to drive to a random farm in the middle of Texas and just start plucking away at their goods. I found that in the Metroplex all you need to do is take a little drive to a local farmers market. I instantly found three convenient locations. There's the Rockwall farmers market, it's open Saturdays from 8-12noon, unfortunately it is not year round (it ends October 8th, hurry and go visit it). Then there's the Coppell Farmers Market, a huge supporter of the Farm to Table movement, they are also Saturdays from 8 - Noon, I know they are not year round, but not sure when they close down for the season, I'm pretty sure it's in November. Finally there's the Dallas Farmers Market, it's been up and running for 70 years. You can find anything there, and it's something you could do as an all day event, it is open 362 days a year from 8am - 6pm, no excuse to miss out on it. 

There's so much more I could tell you about when it comes to Dallas and it's growing appreciation for farm to table eating, but there's not enough hours in the day to tell you all about the delights. I know that DISH on Cedar Springs is one of Dallas' new hot spots but unfortunately I haven't had a chance to visit it personally, but trust me, I will be doing some very in depth research on it and will report back with the quickness. Have a wonderful weekend gnomes, go out and see if you can find some down home cooking, be it in a farm to table restaurant or fresh farmers market in your own kitchen.

http://restaurantava.com/
http://risesouffle.com/

http://www.dallasfarmersmarket.org

http://www.coppellfarmersmarket.org/

http://mainstreet.rockwall.com/faqs.asp 

Why does this taste so good?....

Hello my favorite readers. I have returned from my fantastic vacation in Montana (I like to pronounce "Mon-ton-ya" because it makes it sound much more distinguished). I went there for the majestic mountains, and fancy pants national park, but was wowed but something that I often praise but I don't believe I truly appreciated until my recent venture.

You see my gnomes, my main squeeze is from the great state of Montana and when we visit there (all two times) I depend on him to be my Experience Director for the area seeing as I know nothing about it (however I see to know my way around much faster than he does). He knew where the great food was and where ever we ate and I was wow'd by the awe inspired food I noticed a sign in the window, it was a farm to restaurant sign explaining that the food I was eating was locally grown and raised near by. Now I have always given a "raise the roof" to restaurants who do that but it was the first time I noticed that the real good stuff was the local stuff. The best meals I had in Montana came from the food we bought at the local coop, and from this wonderful place called the Nova Cafe.

• Preservatives are bad. They are, the chemicals break down the nutrients in your food, and it adds CHEMICALS that serve you no benefit in your food. There's a reason your grandmother's recipe for apple pie doesn't require you to add yellow #5, it's not natural.
• It tastes better when you eat something local. There's a huge difference with something picked and cooked the next day verses something flash frozen and driven for days and stored for weeks before you even see it in your kitchen.
• Helps the community, you're not dishing out cash that doesn't help somewhere you have never seen, the money goes back into your community benefiting those around you and helps to improve your local way of life.
• Not to mention, all the cool kids are doing it.

Maybe we as Texans need to really start looking into where we can get some truly down home food of our own....

.... and that's exactly what I'll be posting about next time.