So grateful for our bounty!  Swiss chard in the basket.  Rosemary, front and center. Thyme on top of the pruners.  Sage to the right.  Oregano above the dish full of pesto my daughter made with fresh basil she grew (the best pesto ever)!  Heirloom zebra, green and red tomatoes.  Red hot chili peppers.  Kale to the left of the tomatoes and heirloom ears of corn between the chard and kale.  Oh, and a teeny weeny yellow summer squash fully grown.

Apparently, my cukes, squashes, pumpkins and zucchini are puny or non-existent this year.  Last year, I had trouble with peppers, but this year, so far so good.  All the plants or seeds are organic, growing in organic soil, mulched from time to time from my compost pile.

Organic IS better.  The bounty you grow has to survive without artificial feeding or protection.  Therefore, it has to contain higher levels of antioxidants because “the more stress plants suffer, the more polyphenols they produce.” according to Lamuela, a University of Barcelona scientist in the latest study.  Your produce is forced to activate its own defense mechanisms and you eat that vitality.  Just like you consume all the antibiotics if you eat conventional/industrial meat and dairy.  You ARE what you eat!

Wild (never buy farmed) Sea Bass sautéed in 1 teaspoon of coconut oil (organic), smothered in my little chef’s homemade tangy pesto with zebra and heirloom bite sized tomatoes sprinkled with a little of Cecilia’s salt seasoning.