Eco-Mama Musings

Summer Meals

2009-08-27T18:38:00.007-05:00

I have been taking photos of a few of our great locavore meals this summer, but haven't taken the time to sit down and blog. So I thought I would briefly share a couple of recent creations to get back on track.

Veggie Chili with Herbed Whole-Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits

We had a lot of fresh herbs left over from our Farmer's Market stand last week, so I've been planning some kind of savory bread. I had decided to do some savory scones with a veggie chili, and thought about doing biscuits instead and baking them right on top of the chili in a dutch oven. It turned out wonderfully. The chili was entirely homegrown with the exception of the beans--onions, shallots, carrots, and tomatoes all came from our gardens.

Honey Glazed Pear Upside-Down Cake

We are lucky to have an orchard on-site at the farm we rent land from. They are generous in their produce trades with us, and we took home a bushel of early asian pears last week. I made this pear upside-down cake from a recipe I found on-line (just google it). The only change I made other than making up for using asian pears instead of big ones was to sprinkle chopped pecans instead of almonds. It was amazing!

We've also been eating a lot of potato "nachos"--baked potatoes with tomatoes, salsa, black beans, cilantro, and sour cream. Those are a big hit with the whole family. Marinara has been the other big meal maker. Since we sell almost all of our "good" tomatoes, usually I'm left with tomatoes that are only good for sauce. We've been trying to be better about keeping some of the good stuff for ourselves this year though, so we've had some yummy cucumber-tomato cold salads and the like.

Please send good energy against late blight. Our two main crops of heirloom tomatoes were completely taken out in the past couple of weeks, and with 1000+ pounds of potatoes still in the ground, we are very concerned about it spreading. We appreciate all the energy you can give us, as nothing else seems to stave off this awful disease. Thanks all, and enjoy the last "real" week of summer!

Local Dinner with Far Away Flavor

2009-07-16T19:01:00.005-05:00

I just had the most excellent meal ever, and I made it. This is one of my favorite times of the year, as the produce selection from the gardens really starts to explode. I made a sesame vegetable stir fry earlier this week with kohlrabi and broccoli from the farm we grow at--we traded our potatoes for them. I was paging through Vegan with a Vengance when I came across the recipe for potato and edmame samosas with coconut-mint chutney. I've come to realize that samosas are one of my favorite foods, so I was sold. I had some frozen edmame and thought it would be a great way to use some of our plethora of potatoes. I picked up my copy of Six Spices, a wonderful cookbook by the talented Neeta Saluja, who I've been lucky enough to take a cooking class from. Curried zucchini seemed like the perfect accompaniament since we had also traded potatoes for a good pile of zuchs. Yesterday I made the chutney--a simple blend of coconut milk, herbs, and spices. The mint and cilantro came right from our gardens. (If you wanted to make this more local and weren't trying for a vegan meal, you could make a locally produced yogurt based chutney instead.) Today I realized that I probably had enough carrots I could thin to use those for the samosas, and that the peas from the Farmer's Market would be a great substitute for the edamame. I got excited as I prepped the vegetables and collected a beautiful workspace of colors, textures, and aromas. This was a pretty labor intensive meal, but well worth it. I made chapati (Indian flat bread) to accompany everything and served brown rice for those who wanted it with the curried zucchini. All the dishes turned out wonderfully. I have never made a curry like the zucchini recipe--it had a lemon and sugar finish. If you enjoy Indian foods, I highly recommend that you check out this book and experiment with some of the wonderful different authentic methods. I was thrilled to be able to make such a great Indian meal with such local food. As Rob pointed out, it makes sense that it would be so easy to do, since much of ethnic cuisine draws from good whole foods. As you enjoy this summer's bounty, I hope you explore the many possibilities that your local gardens offer.

Strange Times

2009-07-15T09:47:00.005-05:00

My head has been in a very strange place lately. I seem to be at a precipice, but I haven't decided yet what the significance is. As a firm believer in what I refer to as the "Divine Nudge", I try to be open to feelings which urge me to sway one way or another--change direction, or make a certain decision. But as I have sat in this new mindset for a few days, I'm beginning to believe that I've just reached a point where I am open to making that change or taking that big step at any time, not just the "right" time, where there may be a critical choice to be made.

Maybe I should back up and try to explain a bit where I'm at. I've been feeling a bit burned out in the previous few months. I've been in my current field for about five years now, and I love my organization, but I feel like there is more I could be doing. I don't feel as called to it as I once did. I've been able to cut my hours back and still get the job done though, and spending less hours has been helpful in allowing me to step back yet continue to meet the needs of my organization.

Local, organic food is a bigger passion, but that too has seemed to loom as more responsibility than I can keep up with. I've enjoyed our home gardens more this year though, particularly as we have established relationships with local outlets that want our produce. There is nothing like growing your own food, and extending that to sharing it with others. The cool season has made growing slow, which has been nice as we haven't been overwhelmed as much as last year with weeds, haven't had to fight flooded fields, etc. The gardens have been just right--a source of food but also of solace and respite from the busy day-to-day.

The kids have been doing activities almost every morning, but I have them in the afternoons, and have struck a good balance I think between "doing" with them, and just letting them be. We have our beach days, and we have our days where they splash around in the backyard while I chill out with a book or putz in the gardens.

So that's where I've been, and then Rob took a week off of work last week, and before that I had a few days with my family visiting. The kids had off of their activities, and we didn't plan a million things to do, so it was just spending time with family, visiting bookstores or the farmer's market--just living life. It seems weird to say that it was just a week--maybe 10 days. It felt like much more. I felt so relaxed and at peace with everything, but as the days went by, I started noticing some strange things.

First, I started listening to different music. I's been listening to a lot of my typical workout music all the time now, to the point that Bird was starting to sing along with Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas a bit more than I was comfortable with! Then I got the new Regina Spektor album, which was a change since I normally just buy a select song here and there, and somehow it allowed me to get into this very internal mindset. I went back to my more mellow music, it just feel right again.

I think the strangest thing though has been books. I am an avid reader, and "have" to have a good novel on my bedside table to read myself to sleep. I rarely read for pleasure outside of that bedtime window, but at the beginning of this little mini-vacation I spent much of a day reading a novel I'd picked up from the library. It wasn't particularly fabulous, but a nice pleasant read. When I finished it, it was too late to go to the library but I needed something to read at bed, so I went to our bookshelves and grabbed the last Harry Potter. I am usually someone who has to finish what they start readig, but I have a few select books that I have read enough times that I'm okay with just reading a bit in-between other books. So the next day I looked at some of the "best of" summer reading lists, and couldn't find anything that appealed to me. I went to the bookstore, and looked at dozens of books, but nothing called to me. Another bookstore--same thing, and another... Then I went to the library and experienced the same phemomenon. You have to understand, this has never happened to me before. Yes, I'm picky about books, but I've always found something I want to read. I spent about 30 minutes staring at the spines of the books on the shelves in the non-fiction section pondering this. Perhaps it's because my normal reads are escapist--sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction--and something in me is rejecting that as I get closer to--what, reality? But that can't be all there is to it, because not even my beloved non-fiction appeals right now. I left the library with a copy of Vegan with a Vengance (an old friend) just because it felt ridiculous not to check out something.

Maybe it's not just reality that I've discovered, but somehow managed to find that near-enlightenment of living in the present. Having no work responsibilities, having Rob home (and really home, not able to go to the farm to work because of a shoulder injury), not planning any grand trips or adventures, having the kids home and happy... I've done plenty of thinking about where I want to be eventually. Should I get my Masters in Non-Profit Management? Should we look for a farm here, or closer to my parents? Should I try to find a job with more hours but less responsibility? I've thought about how the reason we're all so stressed is that we fill our lives with STUFF, and then we stress about keeping up with all of the STUFF in our big houses that we don't have time to clean, and we're not happy so we work harder so we have more money to buy more STUFF... But I haven't stressed out about it, it's just passed through as a truth. Is it as simple as coming to terms with the present? Carpe diem? I feel disconnected from all of the normal stress, all of the worries. It's like I'm somehow floating above the currents that I was previously constantly caught in. I'm curious, especially to see what happens next, but not so much that I'm stressing about it. I'm just...living. And really enjoying it.

Barter

2009-07-11T13:43:00.006-05:00

Back in February, I wrote about the new bakery that opened in our area. We've continued to patronize the bakery and have been happy to see it continue to succeed. We have talked to them about their desire to use more local ingredients and offered to grow more herbs this year so that we could provide some of their stock. We started a new bed in the Spring and dedicated most of it to herbs--basil, cilantro, sage, thyme, and rosemary. We tried to grow oregano as well but couldn't get a single seed to start up for us. The cool weather has hampered the more woody herbs' progress a bit, but I told the bakery yesterday that we had a good batch ready for them. This morning I delivered about 3 ounces of basil, 2 ounces of sage, and an ounce of thyme, and brought home a bag of whole grain rolls. I can't describe in words the feeling of growing something, being able to provide fresh, organic, local ingredients, and receiving something we need in exchange. What's more, the bakery is able to get the ingredients they need at a much lower cost to them. It has a feeling of such satisfaction and accomplishment to be able to somehow amplify our resources to gain more of what we can't do ourselves. Check it out:

BEFORE

AFTER

I love it. I've been trying to slow down a bit more, and have found myself more apt to muse, so I hope to be blogging more in the coming months. I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful growing season!

Just Sayin'

2009-06-09T20:21:00.004-05:00

And now, for something completely different!

One Tribe
Black Eyed Peas--The E.N.D.

Lyrics -- best I could do tonight, forgive my mistakes and lack of proper repeats!

One Tribe, one time, one planet, one race
It's all one blood don't care about your face
Color of your eye or the tone of your skin
Don't care where you are, don't care where you been

'Cause where we gonna go, is where we wanna be
The place where the native language is unity
And the continent is called Pangea
And the main ideas are connected like a sphere

No propaganda to try to upperhand us
'Cause man I'm lovin' this peace,
Man I'm loving this peace
Man I'm loving this peace

I don't need no leader that's gonna force feed a
concept to make me think I need ta
fear my brother, and fear my sister
and shoot my neighbor with my big missile

If I had an enemy, enemy
If I had an enemy, enemy
If I had an enemy then my enemy's
gonna try to come an' kill me
cause I'm his enemy.

There's One Tribe y'all
One Tribe y'all
We are one people
Let's cast amnesia
forget about all that evil
all that evil that they feed ya
remember we are one people
We are one people

One Tribe, one time, one planet, one race
One love one people, one
Too many things that's causin' one
to forget about the main cause

Connecting, uniting, but the evil
is seeded and alive in us
So our weapons are collidin',
and our peace is sinkin' like Poseidon

But we know that the one
the evil one is threatened by the sum
so he come and try to separate the sum
But he dumb

He didn't know we had a way to overcome
rejuvanatin' by the beating of the drum
come together by the supper of the hum
Freedom when all become one, forever.

It's One Tribe y'all
One Tribe y'all
We are one people
Let's cast amnesia
forget about all that evil
all that evil that they feed ya
Remember we are one people
We are one people

One love, one blood, one people
One heart, one beat, we equal
Connected like the internet
United that's how we do

Let's break one soul we situ
Let love and peace lead you
We can overcome the complication
cause we need to

Help eachother make these changes
Brother Sister rearrange this
We are fakin but we can change this
bad condition break

Use your mind and not your greed
Let's connect and help proceed
This is something I believe
We are one, we're all just people.

One Tribe y'all
One Tribe y'all
We are one people
Let's cast amnesia
forget about all that evil
all that evil that they feed ya
remember we are one people
We are one people
One Tribe y'all
One People

Lord help me out
trying to figure out what it's all about
'cause we're one and the same
same choice, same pain

And I hope that you get what I need ya
'cause maybe we need amnesia
and I don't wanna sound like a preacher
but we need ta be one

One war, one love, one passion
One tribe one understanding
cause you and me can
become one
***
New album is out--check it out!

Earth Day--Transplants

2009-04-22T15:53:00.003-05:00

When Beo and I were shopping for seed trays recently, I found myself going all "Ooh, shiny!" over a little wooden "Pot Maker". The Richter PotMaker is basically a wooden pestle and shallow mortar, which you wrap strips of newspaper around, fold over the bottom of the pestle, and then press shut with the pestle. I went ahead and picked it up for $12.95, fully knowing that it might not actually replace the strips of peat jiffy pots we were buying for $17.95. It was too nifty not to give it a shot. In past years, we've used peat pots minimally, trying instead to reuse plastic seed trays, but the transplant shock sets us so far behind that we're converting more. I figured Earth Day was a good day to give it a go (particularly because with how busy we've been we're getting behind schedule to get transplants started!). We don't get the newspaper, but Beo had asked a local restaurant for their old newspaper, and I stopped by the library for theirs. Lo and behold, the thing really works. You cut strips of newspaper about an inch wider than the bottom part of the pestle, and the width of one page of newspaper, give or take. I tried using double and single thickness--both worked fine. Roll it up, tuck the ends under, smash it, and voila--a little transplant pot! It took me less than 10 minutes to make 20 of them and get them seeded with pepper seeds. The kids helped me after school and we made some more--20 Wisconsin Lake Peppers and 16 Buran Peppers will be testing out these first batches of pots. (Those 36 fit well in a standard seed tray.) It doesn't take much newspaper at all to make them. Happily, the little it does use keeps that newspaper from having to be recycled, and saves us from having to use manufactured peat pots. If these work well as the seedlings get bigger, I will definitely do more of them next year. Just a little way to remember that we can celebrate Earth Day every day, in little ways. Keep on keepin' on.

Early Garden Days--Propagation

2009-04-11T14:58:00.004-05:00

Spring seems to have finally won over Winter, just in time for Ostara. A few warm days have finally lured me out of the shelter of the house and into the garden. Our crocuses are finishing their show, which was better than ever this year. Our hyacinths didn't do much of anything this year, and our daffodils are a bit behind, but our early blooming daffs are just about ready to burst. The peonies, iris and allium are up, and I've seen peeking leaves from the columbine, bergamot, bleeding heart, and a few others. I took clippers to the perennial beds today to take most everything to ground level--we leave almost everything up in the winter to provide food and/or shelter for the critters. I also began this year's battle with the quack grass, which apparently got a better foothold than I'd realized last year. As I was trimming the false indigo, the lure of the crackling pods finally got the better of me. I harvested the pods that hadn't yet split open, and set them aside for planting. One of the things I most enjoy about gardening is propagation. To me, that's a huge part of the magic--taking just one plant and seeing it become many more. For years, that's been a necessity for us as we build beds faster than we can afford to fill them with new stock. So I've gotten pretty good at splitting and dividing plants and letting them fill in where they will. In the past I've toyed with the idea of propagating more seriously. Now we're finally at a point where our beds have filled in nicely and we can turn our efforts in another direction. Last year I had a small nursery bed where I kept plants leftover from garden installations and "volunteer" plants from our more controlled prairie beds. We were able to use a few of them for more installations and to fill in to other beds. This year I'm hoping to do much more. I started all of the indigo seeds I could find in some peat pots, and rounded up some red milkweed seeds from the rain garden to try as well. I also dug into the dwarf iris in our larger rain garden, to split some for professional propagation, and move a few. I'll do most of the splitting for our own garden in the Fall. I'm confident that I'll be able to stock up on a good number of Purple Coneflower, Cupplant, and a few of other frequent volunteers before the season gets too far. I'm hoping that if I can succeed in expanding our collection of native nursery plants, I can supplement our stock that we need to order for garden installations as well as give us something to sell at the Farmer's Market when all of our produce is going to our restaurants and regular customers. Last year we didn't make it to market once, because our produce sold so quickly.

Vegan Lasagna

2009-03-24T11:50:00.005-05:00

Lasagna has always been my go-to meal when I want to have a hearty veggie dish for company. I am a huge fan of the recipe from the original Moosewood Cookbook--a recipe which is no longer in the revised version. As I've been cutting more dairy out of my diet, I've been contemplating ways to make some of my favorite dishes which normally have cheese. I still eat a little bit of dairy (mostly organic goat cheese), and most of my favorite dishes are already dairy free, but the challenge has still been bouncing around in the back of my mind. So this week I finally buckled down and put my ideas into action. The challenge was to replace the creaminess and different textures that the cheese provides. I decided to replace the mozarella layers with roasted butternut squash and roasted garlic, pureed together. The ricotta layer kept it's spinach from my Moosewood recipe, but instead of the cheese and egg, I added finely chopped almonds and sauteed chopped onions. Here is the final recipe:

1 box lasagna noodles, cooked

1 large butternut squash, roasted

4 cloves garlic, roasted

1/3 c. chopped almonds

1 small onion, chopped and sauteed

1 bag frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

1 jar marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Puree the squash and garlic together, set aside. Mix almonds, onions, spinach, and salt if desired, set aside. In a 9x13 pan, spread a small amount of sauce in the bottom. Add a layer of noodles. Spoon half the spinach mixture over the noodles, then spoon about half the squash mixture over the spinach layer. Drizzle about 1/3 of the jar over the top. Add another layer of noodles and repeat the layering. Follow with one more layer of noodles, and the remainder of the sauce. Cover the pan with foil and bake approximately 40-45 minutes.

The lasagna was pretty well received. The kids ate it despite the fact that they knew they were missing the school fundraising night at the local fast-food place. The squash definitely gave it that creamy layer that I wanted. I do recommend adding about 3/4 t. of salt to the spinach mixture. I also added a pinch of turmeric to the squash. I would really like to make it with a thick, homemade marinara--I think the tomato sauce is the key to a good lasagna. Next time I will probably use a full head of garlic. The garlic can go in at the end of the roasting with the squash--makes the house smell great! I may also try toasting the almonds before I use them next time. Rob would like them chopped more finely, but I liked the texture. If you give this a try, let me know what you think! Enjoy!

V-Day, Like it or Not

2009-02-14T11:32:00.008-06:00

I know that plenty of people scoff at the "commercialness" of Valentine's Day. My whole view on the "Hallmark Holiday" is, if they're trying to get us to appreciate one another and be nice to eachother--heck, I'm in. This year Bird is in a double classroom with 2 teachers, so she had 30 valentines she needed to provide. Combine that with Sprout's almost-20 and that's a lot of sugar and/or flimy cardboard squares to come up with. So we decided to do something a bit more fun and utilitarian. I had visions of something much more handcrafted and elaborate, but after I got realistic I came up with the following: Take some die cut bookmarks, stickers, and markers. Add children. Leave for approximately 30 minutes, and voila--homemade Valentine bookmarks. No, they're not entirely eco, not really sustainable other than the fact that they might not get trashed like a standard valentine would, but the kids had a blast making them, and they turned out pretty swell, if I do say so myself.

Last week we headed up to the local bookstore I mentioned in my last post only to find it not only closed but entirely gutted. That was a bit of a blow. But the bakery we discovered seems to be doing well, so that's given me some hope. I feel so lucky to have a local place using local organic ingredients. Living in a rural area, we are pretty fortunate to have the local coffee shop, the bakery, and a few organic farms to choose from. The bakery's Saturday cinnamon rolls have become a new family tradition. Today we went in and found that the buttercreme frosting was pink, and the maple frosted rolls had conversation hearts on them. I'd hoped, but was afraid it wouldn't be "natural" enough. These are my kind of people. Even more to that point: they had giant heart shaped chocolate chip cookies. Giant cookies for the win! Nothing says "forever" like a ginormous cookie. Tonight we're dropping the kids off at the Children's Museum for a few hours of fun and pizza while Beo and I run out to have some incredible Himalayan cuisine. An excuse to use a ridiculous amount of stickers, eat gratuitous amounts of sweets, and make some couple time? I'll take it! Happy Valentine's Day!

The Economy v. The Economy

2009-01-22T12:38:00.005-06:00

I think it's safe to say at this point that all of us have been affected in some way by that dreaded elephant in the room: The Economy. Maybe you've had your hours cut back at work, or have had a spouse, friend or family member lose their job. Perhaps you've seen your favorite restaurant close its doors, or a local plant shut down. Maybe you've seen an increase in the cost of some of your own expenses. Our household has been lucky thus far in that our own jobs haven't been affected--yet. But with Beo working in retail and myself working for a non-profit, we know that nothing is certain. We've watched friends, colleagues and neighbors lose hours, jobs, and even their houses. Learning that a neighbor packed up and left in the night is sobering (especially when it happens more than once). So months ago, we started tightening our belts and building up savings. We tried to get back to basics with food, stop going out to eat, spend much less on clothes, and cut back on the "extras". I stopped collecting dolls and sold off most of my collection to help pay bills and build up our savings. We're in good company, knowing that likely millions of other families are doing the same thing.

So we're feeling pretty good, though nervous, as we build up our potential "island", even as it's been challenged by medical bills and the like, and then we start looking out in the community and realizing: What is going to happen to the businesses we support if they don't get our dollars? Yes, we can go to the library instead of the local book store, but how many families can do that before the book store has to shut down? What about the local family-run restaurant, or the indy coffee house? Beo is baking bread again, but what about the new local organic bakery we just discovered, that is trying to get off the ground? We have to face that this is a dangerous dichotomy. We can build our own ark, or we can reach out to the community and figure out how to keep the flood waters at bay. Those who know us probably know that we've decided to go for the latter. It is a bit of a balancing act, and we have to be wise, but we believe it's necessary. These small local businesses reflect a model that we know is more sustainable not just for society, but for our environment. If we get through the current economic crisis ourselves and have no local bookstore, no local indy coffeehouse (which buys our produce), no local bakery, then how much have we gained? Futhermore, when these businesses close, business connections are severed, hurting more companies, and jobs are lost. It is in everyone's best interest to keep our local businesses strong.

So we're being smart with our money, but we're making sure to share what we have with the businesses that we most want to support. Baking our own bread may save me $20 a week, but it doesn't save the local bakery, and I can make room for that $20 in our budget. If we all work together, we can get through this as a larger community--not just here in our community, but in yours too, and as a nation. We can't do it alone. Last night when Beo took Sprout to the local bookstore, he questioned the owner about the signs announcing an "Inventory Reduction Sale". She confirmed his suspicions that she will likely be closing her doors soon. It's so difficult to watch a small, family operated business fail, especially when it is an important cultural hotspot for a small community. So please, take care of yourself, and your family, but don't forget to support the web that your strand is a part of, and help to keep that strong as well. Let's all try to do our part and work together to keep our communities strong.

Meal Planning

2009-01-17T11:21:00.003-06:00

I have been trying to get back-to-basics with healthy eating and frugal cooking, for the benefit of the whole family. The thing that has kept me on track for a few weeks now has also helped to get the kids eating more of our different meals is to have a weekly schedule. Each night of the week is someone's night, with Friday being pizza night. (I still love Whole Foods' pre-made whole wheat crust On the weekends we can finish up leftovers, make a big pot of soup, or have a family favorite like veggie lasagna or field roast. Other leftovers go to lunches for Beo and I.

To make things simple, I compiled a list of main dish options and options for sides, and each week I have everyone choose their menu for their night, and put together a shopping list. The kids not only are more willing to eat their menu, veggies and all, but seem more willing to eat on other nights as well, as though they have a sense of fairness about it all. The kids have been helping out with dinner more too, setting the table, peeling potatoes (they're pretty good!), breaking cauliflower into florets, etc. As I've said before, I think having the kids partcipate in meal prep really helps them to be more open to eating the meal. So, our menu for the coming week:

Monday (Beo): Cauliflower and Potato Tian (Simple Vegetarian Pleasures) and Spinach Salad

Tuesday (Me): Potato Curry with CousCous and Mixed Greens Salad

Wenesday (Sprout): Homemade Mac&Cheese with Lentils and Steamed Carrots

Thursday (Bird): Cannelini Beans and Lemon Cauliflower (both Emeril Green recipes)

Friday: Pizza

Beo has been making bread again, so we often have fresh bread (or pitas/roti) in addition to what's been planned. We sometimes have a little salad or a second steamed veggie as well, but when it's a dish like the tian or curry, it usually is a meal to itself. This plan has helped take the stress out of planning meals for me, has kept us to a tighter shopping list, made it easier for me to plan my day Weight Watchers point-wise, and has made the dinner table a more relaxed and enjoyable place.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T18:44:00.002-06:00

The Future of Hope

2008-11-05T09:05:00.003-06:00

Last night, when we heard Robert Siegel of NPR say it for the first time, we hung this second banner next to our Hope banner that's been up for a while now. We hung the banner as we cried tears of joy, as we laughed with disbelief, as we made a champagne toast to the future, as we hung blue crepe paper throughout the kitchen and the deck. We woke up Sprout and Bird, and carried our sleepy eyed children down as we turned on the TV and watched President Elect Barack Obama take the stage in Grant Park, and tell us that our hope has NOT been in vain. We watched over and over again this video, and sang along, and laughed and cried some more. Thank you voters. Thank you America, for standing up to make your voice heard. Thank you for believing, for hoping, for dreaming, and making a better tomorrow, a reality. I am so hopeful, so proud, and I stand with you today and share the dreams for the future, that now seem brighter than ever! YES WE CAN!!!

Things We Don't See on The News

2008-09-22T21:23:00.001-05:00

Spread the word...

The Apron Strings

2008-09-10T20:29:00.005-05:00

The introduction of Sarah Palin into the current political mess has sparked a flood of talk about feminism in America. Frankly, I haven't heard a single political comment about Palin and feminism that I agree with. I heard an article on NPR about Palin a few months ago, and she struck me as a strong, powerful woman. Still, I was shocked at McCain's choice of a running mate with so little experience. I cringed at what seemed obvious: He was gunning for Clinton supporters. There have been so many cringe-worthy moments since that initial announcement.
One thing that's driving me crazy is the people saying that they are going to vote for Palin because the "talking heads" are saying she shouldn't run for Vice President because she's a mom. Moms are great, they say. Moms can do anything. Well trust me, I know that most Moms are superheroes. Even Palin has donned this pitbull-with-lipstick-hockey-mom image with pride. But frankly, I have a real problem with the "I'm a mom just like you." line of thought. I want an individual who isn't all that much like me, frankly. I have some major ideas about government, but do I think I'm qualified to run the country? Heck no. And frankly I cringe at the fact that these self professed "feminists" say they are voting for Palin because the powers-that-be say she can't do it, or because Palin is a Mom. Shouldn't we empowered women be intelligent enough to realize when someone is chosen based on their gender? Palin may be a strong woman, but the idea that she is qualified for VP is outrageous. Shouldn't we expect more from our politicians than this?

Amidst all of the gender talk, I keep hearing the term "Apron Strings". They say Palin is tying on the apron strings with pride. (Some say this against Palin, some for Palin.) They play clips of conservative analysts accusing Hillary of "hiding behind the apron strings". Outside of politics, people accuse people who stay close to their mother's as "holding on to" the apron strings. I recently became the proud owner of an apron, so maybe that's what made these comments stick out to me. What does that mean, apron strings? In context, people seem to think it represents feminine, stay-at-home, dinner-on-the-table womanhood. Are strong women "hiding" their strength behind femininty? If so, apron strings are the wrong way to go about portraying this. As I was tying on my apron the other day, I realized something. Apron strings are designed to cross in back, and tie in front. Why? Because while we women are going about our business, there is no one standing around waiting to help us out. There is no one there to tie the strings of our aprons so we can keep our dresses clean. No, we tie our apron strings ourselves, and get down to the business of doing all of the hard work that--while behind the scenes--is so crucial to keeping everything running as it should.

My youngest started school last week. I have been a proud stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) for nearly seven years now, so this was a huge change. People kept telling me I would have "so much time" now, but I couldn't believe it. Indeed, I seem just as busy now as I was before. I still have two non-profits to Direct, a gardening business to co-operate, a house to keep, 3 dogs to care for, and 2 kids that now not only need much more of my attention when they are here, but need to be shuttled back and forth to school and have all sorts of new needs because of school. People used to tell me I was a superwoman, and I shook my head. But now I look back and wonder how I managed it all. I don't often pat my own back, but I'm doing it now in hopes that some of my readers will acknowledge their own superhero status as well, and wear their self-tied aprons with pride.

Sweet retro apron by Pretty Industries--ampirlot on Etsy.com.

Catching Up

2008-09-07T16:45:00.001-05:00

It has been far too long since I've posted--so long that I don't think I can possibly catch up. So since a picture is worth a thousand words, here is what I did this summer.
Any questions? I hope to be back to normal speed blogging very soon. Hope you all had a wonderful summer!

Swallowtail Caterpillars

2008-06-17T22:03:00.004-05:00

Our fennel went nuts last year and ended up dropping seeds all over our herb spiral. I cleaned out the spiral this spring as I was putting in new plants, but even with a few trips back through, we've had dozens of little fennel plants all over the place. Thankfully, I'm not that vicious of a weeder, because all of these plants have attracted the notice of swallowtail butterfly caterpillars! We counted 4 big fat 'pillars this evening. Pretty fun since the kids just attended a library presentation about bugs. It was especially nice to see them since at the moment our yard feels like anything but a nature preserve. The flooding that has closed I-94 in Wisconsin is bad enough that we were looking at weeks of closure, so they are building a crossover to get 2 lanes of cross-directional traffic across the "good" bridge. All that is happening directly across from our bedroom window. So the kids have had fun with the construction site right in our backyard, but we got this nice reminder of what progress we've made in building up backyard habitat in the midst of a new subdivision. We're looking forward to watching them develop into beautiful butterflies. Bird turns 5 tomorrow: Happy Birthday, Bird!

A Watery Glimpse of the Future?

2008-06-16T21:08:00.009-05:00

Some of my dear readers have been wondering how we're doing here in Wisconsin with all of the flooding. Before I begin, let me say that we are fine. We are 1000 times luckier than the majority of people in our area. Our basement is dry, we can not complain. We have had some major damage to our seed crops and lettuce, and our vegetables that survived are overgrown with weeds in fields so soggy we can't possibly step foot in them without damaging the plants. So. We've done what we could. We did two huge lettuce harvests before hail took the remainder that we couldn't get out in time. The refrigerator was overflowing with lettuce. Think I'm exaggerating? That's where you'd be wrong. I have photographic evidence! So that and a car with a few hail dings is really all we can claim as inconvenience. That--and being relatively stranded. We live very near the Rock River. Most of you know we live right up against I-94. Half of it has been closed because of flooding on the Rock. We basically can't get West with any rhyme or reason. We can't get South either without going way east first. We can go North, but not far, and not to any practical purpose. We can easily go East, we just can't get back. The first picture up above shows the Rock River 3 days before we got the last set of really big storms--3 nights before we spent most of the night in our basement listening to tornado sirens go off. We've seen the Rock flood it's banks a bit at this farm before--the normal path is a few yards to the right of the line of trees on the right of the picture. It's crept into this farmyard a bit before, but nothing like this. If you look at the fenceline, you'll see that it's under about 3 feet of water. Now this picture is of the park directly across the water. There is usually a parking lot in front of that sign. (It's still there, just under a couple of feet of water. Notice the picnic pavilion that's barely above water. Now. Like I said, this was three days before the last big wave of storms hit. The day after the storms hit, we were driving home from the North and the bridge was closed. This pavilion? Was 3 feet deep in water. And then? It rained again. A lot. So we can't even get onto this road anymore but I can only imagine what it looks like now. And the farm on the other side--the water has to be up over the ground floor level of that house now. I'd guess their first floor is under at least a foot of water. The water just keeps coming, and there is nowhere for it to go. It is bizarre to be stranded like this. Events are being canceled left and right, local business is suffering since most people are avoiding the interstate, and you just "can't get from here to there" as someone reminisced is once true again. This is all bad--but nothing compared to what's happening in Iowa. The scariest part is that this may very well be just a glimpse of the future as we experience continued climate change, AKA global warming. In other news Sprout graduated from Kindergarten and our little bird turns 5. The world keeps turning on, regardless of climate change, regardless of the rain. It helps a little to know that hopefully our kids will grow up in a brighter future if we all do our part to stop and reverse the changes that past generations have put into motion. As Beo says, and it is more important than ever now: Be the change.

Close Up of Spring--Baby Robins

2008-06-03T12:04:00.006-05:00

Greetings Dear Readers! I am taking the week off from both of my (paid) jobs, so I'm hoping to catch up with all of the blog posts I've had sitting in the hopper! First, I'd like to share the special close up of Spring we had the treat to see this year. A momma robin built her nest under the tiny eaves of the kids' playground in our backyard. We thought for sure she'd give up on it with the kids always running around, but no, soon there were three twee blue eggs, and one day Sprout noticed that one had hatched. I decided to take a picture so that the kids could get a close up view without traumatizing the mama. By the time I got the camera out, there were 2 babies. This was May 17th.

We tried to have the kids avoid the playground as much as possible after that. The momma would get super irritated even if the kids were in the vicinity. We didn't want to bug her, nor did we want the kids to get a pecking. We promised them they'd have their playground back soon, but I didn't look up how soon we could expect that to be. Well a week and a half later, we were outside while I hung out the laundry, and Sprout noticed that one of the babies was on the playground mulch. We got a towel and I went and looked at it. He was pretty sturdy, but I was afraid he'd be dog bait, so I gently scooped him up and climbed up the playground ladder and set him back down on his brothers/sisters. That was May 28th.

Just 3 days later, Bird came running upstairs early in the morning to tell us that the baby robin had come to visit. We wrote it off to her dreamy mind, but when Beo went downstairs, he came up laughing and told me I had to come look. Sure enough, there was a baby robin, right in the bush about 18 inches in front of our living room window. I tried to get some pictures through the screen. Poor momma was going crazy. She kept trying to come bring him food but she was scared to come so close to the house. She mostly sat on the bird feeder out front and squawked like crazy! Later that morning we were out front and had forgotten that the baby was so close. When I saw him I decided to get a closer picture. I got this shot, and then off he flew--right into the road! He just sat there so I walked around him to try to herd him back into the yard. He actually flew right up onto the neighbor's roof, so I wasn't worried about his flying ability then. Momma Robin was much happier taking food to him over there. We got squawked at a bit more that afternoon when we were in the backyard, but by the next day there was no sign of momma or babies. We're hoping that she might come again next year though. It was a really neat experience for all of us.

Fiddlehead Fabulosity

2008-05-03T18:56:00.004-05:00

Earlier this week I heard an interview with a local, seasonal, slow-food enthusiast. He was singing the praises of the foods that could be foraged locally in this burst of Spring weather. One of the things he mentioned was fiddlehead ferns, so when I saw a package at Whole Foods last night, I snatched them up. I was a bit intimidated by them, but I took it as a challenge to my culinary ingenuity. I found a recipe published in Mother Earth News, by "A Taste of The Mountains" cooking school. After a thorough cleaning the recipe instructed how to lightly sautee the fern heads in olive and sesame oils, with a touch of freshly ground corriander and honey. (If you use this recipe, I'd recommend going light on the pepper at the end.) They were perfectly delightful served over a bed of linguine tossed with a bit of butter and salt. They reminded me very much of asparagus, but with an undertone of earthier flavor. If you have the chance to try this ephemeral Spring delicacy of the Earth, I'd highly advise you to do so. Bon appetite!

To Go, Green Style

2008-04-28T18:00:00.006-05:00

One of my biggest green-smashing vices is take out. Life has gotten a lot busier in the past year with taking on a second job, stepping up the gardening business, and ironically, having Sprout in school. The local coffee shop is the main place we indulge in now and again. They have a divine soup, make a mean veggie sandwich, and have sweets galore. It's all reasonably priced and I like supporting our local, family-owned coffee shop that buys our organically grown produce in the summer. There's just one problem: packaging. We usually eat there, but there's almost always leftovers. I most often eat there with Bird, and she's the only one to get lunch (I eat when I get home), but she always has half a sandwich left over. Yes, the soup comes home in a paper cup, the rest comes home in bulky styrofoam. It finally got to the point where I realized it was time to do something about it, so I went searching, and discovered these items which are some of my favorite new things! The first are Sigg snack boxes, like the blue one pictured at right, and the red one below. These are perfect for putting Bird's leftovers or a sweet treat in. They will also be perfect for when I don't have Sprout's Laptop Lunchbox clean and need to use his regular lunchbox (a soft-sided number). We only use a few plastic baggies a month but I expect these will totally eliminate our need for them. The snack boxes also come in a larger size for people who want to take a big salad to work or otherwise pack a bigger portion. They are lightweight and sturdy, and close securely. The second is a tiffin by To-Go Wear that I first saw on Vegan Lunchbox. It really is divine. I can have soup or a salad in one container, and a half-sandwich or roll in the other. The divider between the two can be used as a little plate. The handle allows you to put in hot foods and not burn yourself walking around. Very handy. So now I can get my take out completely waste free and enjoy my "fast food" with much less guilt. Hooray! I found my new treasures at www.reusablebags.com.

Happy Earth Day 2008

2008-04-22T07:08:00.003-05:00

Happy Earth Day! We had a smashing Earth Dinner on Sunday--our 3rd annual Earth Dinner, and it was just wonderful. We had old friends, people from our church, the community--a full house of people talking about food, climate change, and how we can play a part. It was inspirational and heart warming. Wisconsin offered up food that became curried potatoes, chili, corn chips, sourdough and sweet breads, cherry pie, salad, maple popcorn, wine, and more. I got to wear my herbivore "Eat Like You Give a Damn" tee and hang out with eco-friendly friends while eating great food. Yeah, that's pretty much perfection for me. My dolls are helping to spread the message of Earth Day this year, as hundreds of board members access the album that I put together on our Traveling Doll's blog: www.travelingnora.blogspot.com. Check it out for some lighthearted fun. I hope you and yours have a renewing, inspirational Earth Day 2008!

The Branch Will Not Break

2008-04-19T17:15:00.008-05:00

Lately life has been quite busy, yet has seemed more balanced at the same time. As I've had this realization, I've found that I'm more susceptible to being touched by poetry. Maybe it's just that it's National Poetry Month. I heard this poem on "To The Best of Our Knowledge" (NPR) last weekend and found it positively delightful:

In a pine tree,
A few yards away from my window sill,
A brilliant blue jay is springing up and down,
up and down,
On a branch.
I laugh, as I see him abandon himself
To entire delight, for he knows as well as I do
That the branch will not break.
--James Wright

I so loved this poem, and actually the entire show was just really excellent. As a matter of fact, you should listen to it if you have the time. You can do so HERE. It sent me chasing to Barnes and Noble for the book "Sightings" by Sam Keen, and I decided to see if I could find the book that the poem was in. It was only $5, so heck yeah, throw it in there. I ordered those two books along with SMITH magazine's "Not Quite What I Was Planning" (a blog for a later date). These books are so good that I sent the exact same order to my sister and her roomie because they needed them. Well, the books came, and the poetry book was just twee! At first I felt like an idiot, but then I realized that it was all poetry in motion,

because Goodreau Privera had just arrived and looked so sweet sitting in her chair, but really needed some reading material. Hello, how cute is this? Ah yes, my doll collecting has branched out a bit since last I mentioned it. I'm more into them now, but into different dolls. Beo surprised me with some mad money from an unexpected bonus, so I got to make the jump and purchase this Beauty. Seriously, isn't she gorgeous? It's silly how happy she makes me.

Balance in the doing,
In the music and the craft.
Creativity and Hard Work,
Challenge and Longing.
Accomplishment and sometimes,
sheer unexpected joy:
A laugh
A smile
A song
And I know that I am blessed.

Happy Poetry Month!

April Just One Thing

2008-04-08T15:56:00.003-05:00

April's Just One Thing is the two degrees of separation. Did you know that a difference of just a degree or two in your thermostat setting can make a big difference? This is usually a mild time of year, so now might be a good time to try it. If you're thermostat is set to heat, try turning it down two degrees. Already cooling off? Turn it up two degrees. By doing so, you can save about 2,000 pounds of carbon emissions each year! You probably won't even notice the difference in temperature, but you may notice the average energy cost savings of $100! Thank you!

To learn more:
EPA Individual Emissions
Programmable Thermostats

Spring Craft Time

2008-03-29T11:13:00.008-05:00

Bird is getting to the age where she has a bit more interest and patience for "real" crafts. Yesterday, a unique shop on State Street in Madison lured us in again. Anthology, a newer boutique near the Children's Museum end of State Street, combines unique handcrafted art for sale with a few do-it-yourself art projects. The window's bright colors, vintage fabrics, and creativity caught our eye. The shop was filled with bags, cards, magnets, colorful unique quilts, beautiful papers, books, handcrafted toys, jewelry, and other delights. I spotted many items made from salvaged fabrics and papers. I picked up a handmade fabric coffee cozy for when I forget my reusable mugs. A table near the back offered materials and instructions to make your own tissue paper flowers for an insanely reasonable fee. Sprout picked out a "wallet" (change purse) made of an old capri sun juice packet. Bird and I couldn't resist this cute kit from "Artgirlz". We've never been so quick to finish a project! We started on it shortly after getting home yesterday, and finished it up this morning. Bird was more than willing to attempt some sewing as we appliqued a big "E" on the front (yes it's true, "Bird" is not her given name); and happily strung beads despite a frustration here and there. I think the thought of the finished project made it worth it for her. I can't believe we didn't have a single meltdown, as she's been more prone to tantrums lately. There's a little flower garden started on the other side of the bag, but Bird was so overcome with the present success of the bag that she wanted to call it quits for now. I'm totally fine with that. It's nice to have a project that looks so great and was so easy to do. This allowed Bird to be creative and still have an incredible finished piece, so we'll be looking for similar projects. Overall, I think this was a big success, and I hope we'll be doing more crafting like it in the future. Anthology will be a good source. I highly recommend that you check it out if you're in the area!