Regenerative agriculture is gaining more recognition these days. It's a way of farming that focuses on improving the health of the soil and ecosystem.

When Bill was in Southern California recently, he visited a regenerative farm and shares some of his experience.

Join us to hear more.

In terms of food being healthy for us, it's important that it not have toxic chemicals on it. That was the motivation of the organic farming movement. This has been very important to Connie, me and our clients, as it makes it much easier on our bodies to assimilate the nutrients in the food and heal without having to deal with unwanted (and unnecessary) toxins.

So, organic is about what you don’t put into the farm, whereas regenerative is about actively improving the farm. And the importance of this, in our opinion, is that even with organic farming practices, we continue to lose topsoil. We need to find ways to farm that can preserve the topsoil and produce healthy, toxin-free food. Regenerative does that and more.

The two ways of farming, organic and regenerative, don't really compete, but where organic asks: "Are you farming without prohibited synthetic inputs?" regenerative asks: "Is the farm getting healthier as a result of how you farm it?"

To us, regenerative agriculture can be viewed as an evolution of the organic/soil-health movement rather than a competing philosophy.

The farm that Bill visited in California is Fox Point Farms. It's fully regenerative with the added mission to display the practice to the public through tours, events and farm-to-table dining. They are wanting to create a model of an "agrihood".

The idea of an agrihood is to reverse the usual suburban model where, rather than having houses built around a golf course, pool, or clubhouse, the farm becomes the community's centerpiece. The entire project is on about 20 acres with the farm being about 5 acres.

At Fox Point Farms, the farm is integrated with 250 homes, the working regenerative farm, community gardens and walking areas, a farm market, farm-to-table restaurant, and educational and community activities. Is that cool, or what?

It was a wonderful experience and we're so glad to have this available for people to learn from.

For the recipe this week, we're sharing a revised version of the Salt-free Kimchi from two weeks ago. We found that grating the carrots and daikon, and slicing the cabbage very fine, then cutting it into pieces makes a big difference.

To your Amazing Healthy,

Connie and Bill

Salt-Free Kimchi (makes 1 quart) adapted from Hippocrates Institute

Sauce

• 1½ cups red pepper, cut in large pieces
• ½ cup carrots, cut in chunks
• 1 whole habanero or 1 Jalapeno pepper--add a few seeds for heat
• ½ cup red onion, cut in chunks
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, cut in chunks
• 3 tablespoons kombu soaking water, see below
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4-inch piece of soaked kombu—instructions below

Place everything in high-speed blender and blend until it becomes a sauce, about 60 seconds.

Veggies

• ½ head Napa cabbage, sliced in 1-inch-wide slices or regular cabbage, sliced very thinly and in short pieces
• ¾ cup red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and cut in small pieces
• 1 cup carrots, grated
• ½ cup daikon radish, grated
• ½ cup red onion, sliced into thin pieces

NOTE: Save two large outer cabbage leaves to cover over seaweed at top of Kimchi when assembling in the crock or jar.

To add later:

• ½ apple, cored and seeded
• 6 or 7 pieces of Kombu seaweed, soaked in filtered water with the kombu for the sauce, to cover top of Kimchi

Mix cabbage, carrot, peppers, jalapeño, daikon and red onion in a large bowl.

Massage the sauce into the cabbage and veggie mixture with your hands.

Put half the cabbage and veggie mixture in a glass container or ceramic crock.

Now place the apple in the center of the cabbage and veggie mixture, add the remaining cabbage mixture, always pressing down firmly.

Cover cabbage and veggie mixture with hydrated Kombu strips.

Now add a layer of the large outer cabbage leaves.

Press everything down until the brine comes up above the ingredients.

Place a rock on top of cabbage leaves, keeping everything submerged. You can use the weight of the rock to hold it down or, if you have a jar with a spring-loaded lid, use a piece of carrot or daikon to push it down as you close and lock the lid.

Leave out at room temperature.

The Kimchi will begin to foam and bubble as it ferments, so we always set it on a plate.

Let stand 3-5 days until it tastes fermented.

Discard cabbage leaves, Kombu and apple in the middle.

Place in refrigerator for storage.

NOTE: This is a Korean-style kimchi. It’s spicy, boosts the immune system and helps with digestion. We use a fresh hot pepper which is great for its health benefits as well as spice.

If available, we like to add a bit of bok choy to it for a nice contrast in colour.