Seedy business

The new year seems like a suitable time to plant an unchanged seed of change. Let me clarify: an heirloom, nongenetically modified seed of a fruit, vegetable or legume, such as one from the 2014 edition of The Whole Seed Catalog. This mammoth 355-page catalog-slash-magazine by Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. includes hundreds (at least) of stunning, luscious, food-porn-tastic photos of the most gorgeous produce, like the cracked, rust-hued Himalayan Sikkim cucumber. It's worth the $7.95 price tag, since it also contains recipes (eggplant cake!), profiles of seed growers and gardeners, and instructions on canning and how to save seeds, because Baker is not too keen on the food supply being “controlled by the world's most unethical corporations.” Get a copy at www.rareseeds.com. The seed company is based in Missouri, but has a store in Petaluma, which means road trip!