Farmer Karen Pusin, Norman, OK

“At the end of the day, I’ve spent the whole day making what amounts to a salad...The salad does taste better, though.” — Karen Pusin on why she left the corporate world to turn her backyard into Rose Hip Farm.

Karen Pusin understands what it means to live authentically: she is a woman who consciously creates — and when warranted, recreates – her life, one moment at a time.

We spent a few hours together at her glorious “itty bitty” farm a few years ago.  At one point, she looked me straight in the eyes and told me that grief had once brought her to her knees…and to the soil.

“This,” she said, clutching a clump of dirt, “absorbs pain. It filters grief. And it brings forth life. There’s no drug that can do that. No psychologist. This is it.”

Karen slowly found herself casting away her old life to plant herself anew.

These days, the former corporate wife is now a bona fide farmer, with a goat and chickens and a gorgeous, rambling back yard that daily rewards her efforts.

Karen, to me, defines Jefferson’s ideal of the farmer-philosopher. She leads a well-read, well-considered life, and her decisions are deliberate. There is much to admire over yonder, there in that lush and fertile place where she grows herself.

Click the link above to hear my interview with Karen Pusin.

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Healthy Eats Here! lists hundreds of
restaurants – from Maui to Maine – that serve
local, sustainable, organic and/or grass-fed
& pastured foods.   And now, the Spring 2010 edition lists more restaurants than ever!

Click here to purchase a copy.

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Where the Health to Eat this Week around the Country:
(all photos courtesy of the respective restaurants)

Southwest
(Restaurant name available only to buyers of Healthy Eats Here!)– Tucson, AZ

_____, the prodigious and profoundly talented chef behind this Tucson treasure, is offering a cooking class celebrating spring…featuring the kinds of foraged and cultivated local foods showcased in the restaurant’s spring menus.  Call to reserve your spot!  (Note: this is a new addition to the Healthy Eats Here! Spring 2010 Edition.)

South:
(Restaurant name available only to buyers of Healthy Eats Here!) South FL

The newest entry into the South Florida burger scene, this burgeoning chain makes grassfed grub so great, you’ll practically levitate.  I just ate at another location and nearly peed my pants, so excitingly pronounced was the juicy, lusty goodness of my burger.  A must-try.

Happy Eating!

Holly