Sustainable seafood - download this helplful guide

Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood WATCH

I know... it's tough to remember which fish are OK to eat but luckily the Monterey Bay Aquarium helps us by providing the Seafood WATCH guide which you can download from their web site.

Print out this small pocket guide and keep in your wallet so next time you're out shopping for seafood or ordering at a restaurant you'll have at your fingertips a guide to help you make the right decisions.

There are actually several different guides so you can choose the one most appropriate for your region and also a sushi guide. If you have an iPhone there is a free app you can download. Actually the guides are available at my husband's company's cafeteria - I grabbed a few and distributed them to my friends to help spread the awareness on how to consume seafood that helps protect are waters and environment.

To learn about the issues about our ocean and the wildlife the Seafood WATCH Ocean Issues page is a great place to start getting educated. Here's the overview from the web page:

There's a Limit to the Fish in the Sea

Ocean fish are wildlife—the last such creatures that we hunt on a large scale. And while the sheer size of the oceans is awesome, there are many signs that we have found their limits. Despite our best efforts, the global catch of wild fish leveled off over 20 years ago and 70 percent of the world's fisheries are being harvested at capacity or are in decline.

Yet there are fisheries being run in a sustainable way. We now need to improve the practices of the remaining fisheries and solve the most pressing issues, including overfishing, illegal and unregulated fishing, habitat damage, bycatch (accidentally catching unwanted species) and poor management.

Monterey Bay Aquarium has done a fabulous job on their Seafood WATCH web pages.There's a plethora of great information to educate us not just about sustainable seafood but also which are healthy for you as well.

Spring Thyme!

Woodland Brown 1 quart
Originally uploaded by love_yellow

Thyme is my favorite herb in my garden. It's easy to grow and versatile in cooking - goes well in many dishes. This time of the year my thyme plants are thriving and the fresh spring leaves are beautiful and tasty.

Recently I learned some cool things about thyme I didn't know before.

Did you know...
- Thyme is native to areas such as Asia, southern Europe and the Mediterranean region.

- It retains its flavor on drying better than many other herbs. As a rule of thumb, use one third as much dried as fresh thyme, a little less if it is ground.

- Either in its fresh or dried form, should be added toward the end of the cooking process since heat can easily cause a loss of its delicate flavor.

- 20-54% of thyme leaves contain Thymol, which is an antiseptic and is the main active ingredient in Listerine mouthwash. Before the advent of modern antibiotics it was used to medicate bandages.

- The ancient Egyptians used it as an embalming agent to preserve their deceased pharaohs.

I'm fascinated by all the great things I learned about this herb from www.wikipedia.com and www.whfoods.org. I've gained a whole new respect for this plant and will be more mindful of it's power when I'm gardening or cooking with it.

About the photo
A friend gave me a thyme plant a couple of years ago which I planted in my garden. It has been thriving ever since, and I think of her every time I see the plant. In this photo is the batch I had to prune to keep the plant healthy. I kept it in my fridge for almost 2 weeks - used for cooking, added to salads and gave some to neighbors. A gift that keeps on giving.