PLANTING THE SEEDS ...

The last Saturday of every January is designated as National Seed Swap Day. While the 1,500 national holidays that have been established thus far can seem over the top (for example, this year's National Seed Swap Day falls between National Peanut Brittle Day on the 26th, National Have Fun at Work Day on the 28th, and National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day on the 29th), we recognize that one person's trash is another person's treasure, and we'll take any excuse to honor and promote the origins and traditions of seed swapping. 

Each year, we look forward to perusing the pages of our favorite seed catalogs (from incredible seed saving establishments such as Hudson Valley Seed Company, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, High Mowing Organic Seeds, and Seed Savers Exchange - just to name a few). These seed companies do wonderful work saving and passing on viable seed, and they don't stop there - they also pass on the knowledge behind seed saving. In fact, the best seed companies (and the ones we love the most) often share the very information that could put them out of business. But they see the importance of passing on traditions as the highest calling, and would gladly live in a world where their services were no longer necessary because everyone had become a self-sufficient seed saver (say that five times fast).

It continues to blow our minds to realize that even with the hundreds or thousands of seeds available for sale, there are hundreds of thousands of more seeds out there. These seeds can be in the most unlikely places, often preserved by a small number of people who continue to cultivate them year after year. Heirloom seeds, after all, are akin to heirloom recipes passed from person to person - they continue to live with the help of the humans that cherish them.

For the past few years, Taylor has experimented with saving seeds from one year to the next, and it's her goal to master the art of seed saving and plant propagating in the next decade. We can't think of a more valuable skill to learn and to pass on for future generations.

To the power and pleasure of seed saving, 

Tay + Dor
Co-Founders, Good Food Jobs

tidbits...

what we’re reading / listening to / watching / noticing / thinking about / captivated by this Tuesday…

Speaking of differing priorities, National Seed Swap Day shares the spotlight this year with National Chocolate Cake Day, thereby making it officially our favorite day of 2018. We can never stop trying new recipes for chocolate cake, but this one is Dorothy's current favorite, and she tops it with the frosting from this other recipe. Taylor always opts for the tried-and-true super moist chocolate base cake from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food. It's so good that she doesn't even mind having it without frosting. 

If you're in San Francisco on January 30th, click here to get 20% tickets to talk with Jonathan Kauffman about his new book, Hippie Food.

'We don't just land a job and sit back coasting along thinking it'll turn into our dream job without effort'. Principles of love and work come together yet again in this interview with Suzie and James Pawelski from Gretchen Rubin's blog.

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