St. Raymond (son's elementary school: self almost became weepy)

Connoisseur's Market Place on Santa Cruz Avenue (Self bought a sterling silver crucifix -- self would like to say hubby bought it for her, but the man has such a sixth sense: every time he saw self honing in on a jewelry booth, he made sure to stand at least half a mile away)

Kepler's (Why are half the shelves cleared? Self suggests loyal customers beat it there, pronto!)

Self was home. Specifically:

Lounging in the backyard, reading The New Yorker of 23 June 2008, a fantastic story by Chimamanda Ngozi Zdiche

Self was in downtown (RWC). SpecificallY;

At 8 a.m., in the Main Post Office on Broadway (mailing out manuscripts, what else could get self to the Post Office at 8 a.m.???)

At the Farmer's Market, buying: cilantro, green beans, new potatoes, green onions

In Courthouse Square, listening to the bands at the Blues & Jazz Festival

In front of the cinema, watching the crowds lining up for "The Dark Knight" (and feeling so sad about Heath Ledger)

At Peet's on Broadway, having an iced white mocha

In her heart, always: self is in Tel Aviv, with Ying.

The bags are printed with instructions to "Wash Fruits and Vegetables Before Serving," and they're being provided to markets throughout the state as part of a food safety initiative. Later on, they want to send us a bunch of surveys to find out if the message "stuck" with our customers.

I said, "Sure!" because, you know, free stuff from the state is cool! Especially for our little market!

Here's what I got in the mail a couple weeks later:

This is a 48lb. box of plastic. It contained approximately 1500 plastic bags, plus a bunch of handouts about washing fruits and veggies printed on cardstock. And when I opened it, I thought, Oh. Oh no. In saying yes to this, I have said yes to raping and littering the planet.

Maybe I was being a little over-dramatic, but 48 pounds of plastic bags is more than our market will likely use in five years! And it also occurs to me that, if they want to get a message out that people will remember, why didn't they print it on something that people would hold onto?

Many of our customers at the farmers market bring their own bags these days. They actually feel guilty if they forget their bags and have to take a plastic one. I've seen people putting cukes in their purses to avoid yet another plastic bag. For goodness sake--entire countries have banned the use of plastic bags!

A quote from the CNN article here:

Often, the flimsy bags are used once and discarded, adding to waste in a country grappling with air and water pollution as a result of rapid economic transformation, officials said.

"Our country consumes a large amount of plastic bags. While convenient for consumers, the bags also lead to a severe waste of resources and environmental pollution because of their excessive use and low rate of recycling," the statement at the Web site Gov.cn said. "The ultra-thin bags are the main source of 'white' pollution as they can easily get broken and end up as litter."

The government statement added, "We should encourage people to return to carrying cloth bags, using baskets for their vegetables."

Congratulations, China, for being a world leader in environmental policy!

Not only do many of our customers bring their own bags, our farmers market has a new vendor (she'll hopefully be coming more regularly now that VAAC Art Camp is ending) who is making lovely up-cycled grocery and tote bags from all kinds of fabulous remnants and doilies and table linens she finds in thrift shops.

Would you prefer plastic, or this?

Now, it's not that we don't appreciate free stuff from the state. Believe me, we're happy to be getting some recognition and help! And we appreciate all the free advice and support that our extension agents have given throughout the years.

But my gentle suggestion is this--don't send us 1500 plastic bags that will end up in rivers, streams, fields, and landfills. Send us 50 cloth bags that we can use as a giveaway promotion for our regular customers (or just customers who forgot their bag that day), and those bags and the message they're printed with will continue to show up at the market and around town--and not because they were blown into trees by the wind or scattered by the roadside when they sailed out a car window.

Heck, they're even making bags out of recycled plastic soda bottles now. So, if you get a little more grant money for a project like this, and you want your message to endure in consumer's minds, put the message on an enduring and reusable product that will also provide markets with a cool "freebie" to reward their customers. It will probably also cost a lot less in shipping!

Things I want to do for the business while on break:

~ Survive the craft fair - and make money!

~ Take lots and lots and lots of jewelry pictures!

~ Regulary post items on etsy.

~ Particpate in the etsy forums regularly.

~ Put business flyers up around town.

~ Start and maintain a flickr account.

~ Get more involveded in my new etsy team - Etsy Bloggers Street Team!

~ And of course - make lots of jewelry!  If I make enough at the fair (and with farmers markets) I have several things I want to try...I just need more money to justify spending the money needed :P

Oh! One thing I'm really excited about is I'm having earring cards and strips to hang necklaces with designed for me by thefineprint on etsy.  I should have the final designs soon (what I've seen so far is PERFECT) and I'm looking forward to having pretties to attach my jewelry too!  It'll make things look much better for the next farmers market and for the upcoming craft fair.  I'm really excited about it!

I have high standards for a farmer's market. I lived in Madison and the Dane County Farmers Market consistently gets rated as the best in the country. I can attest that it is. I miss it. But I like the Community Market in Fairfax. It's very small and manageable. And most of the vendors sell homemade or homegrown treats.

I say most of the vendors are actual farms, because you inevitably get the ones that just pass themselves off as "produce vendors." They probably aren't even farmers. It's no secret that around here, most of the vendors at farmer's markets just buy their produce in bulk from a warehouse. It's very likely the same stuff you'd get at Giant. I think this is fraud. Their stuff may be cheaper, but it never smells like dirt. And they sell stuff that is clearly out of season. Which to me is the dead giveaway.

But if you look hard enough, you'll find actual farm-fresh fruits and vegetables at local markets. I know for a fact that at least three of the vendors at this farmer's market represent actual farms. And I love that. After all, if tomatoes don't smell like the sun and the vine and the beets don't have a little dirt on them, what's the point?

I'm reading a very interesting book called The End of Food by Paul Roberts. It's a well-written and well-researched book about the history and future of food production.

I was fascinated by some of these facts from food marketing executives and researchers:

Food companies know exactly how much time the average household can devote to cooking -- around thirty minutes a day, down from an hour in 1970 -- and how quickly that number is expected to shrink: by 2030, the ideal cooking time is forecast to be between five and fifteen minutes.

Industry analysts have also tracked the decline in cooking frequency (less than half of home meals feature even one freshly made, or from-scratch item).

"Today's average homemaker isn't cooking a meal for five people anymore," Steve Silk, the former General Foods executive, told me. "She's cooking five different meals."

And "meal" may be an over generous term; according to one recent U.S. study, sandwiches are now the most commonly served dinner entree, ahead of beef and chicken dishes.

Snacking accounts for nearly half of all eating occasions. Not surprisingly, snacks, which are among the most highly processed of foods and thus have among the highest profit margins, are increasingly the focus of product innovations.

For example, when researchers at Skippy realized that the traditional mode for peanut butter consumption -- the sandwich -- had become too complex for time-pressed families and kids, the company introduced single-serving tubes of peanut butter, called Squeeze Stix, that kids empty directly into their mouths.

There are so many problems with our current food production paradigm. But that last example takes the proverbial cake. Families are too busy to make a sandwich so kids have to squeeze peanut butter directly into their mouths?

How can we be that busy? What are we so busy doing? Playing video games and going to the mall? Watching American Idol?

And why are we buying this garbage? It's all chock full of genetically modified ingredients, chemical additives and high fructose corn syrup.

We are paying a high price for convenience... and it's not just the price of our health. The average food item travels 1500 miles from farm to fork. And that's just transporting it. That's not including all the energy that goes into processing the food.

Look at this flow chart of the modern food chain:

This is the reason our nation's family farms have all but disappeared and the landscape is monocropped with corn and soybean.

We don't even have amber waves of grain anymore. We have genetically modified RoundUp Ready inedible agri-business inventory destined to become feed for animals in CAFOs or high fructose corn syrup.

The only way out of this madness is to get back to cooking and eating real food.

Here are some ideas:

Get out of the supermarket and start shopping at the farmer's market. Buy real milk from grass-fed cows, pastured chickens and organic potatoes -- directly from the farmer. Don't buy meat or dairy products that come from factory farms. Buy milk, meat and eggs from farmers who raise their animals on pasture.

If you can, grow your own. If you don't have room for a chicken coop, grow vegetables. If you don't have a lawn, do it in containers.

Buy dry beans and rice instead of frozen pizza and Lean Cuisine.

Make dinner every night. Use a crockpot if you have to. If you can't manage every night, start doing it once a week.

Sit down and eat together -- and not in front of the TV.

Learn how to make sourdough bread and cookies from scratch. Make your own pasta and pizza dough. Do it with your kids!

Give your kids chores like tending the vegetable garden or keeping the compost or doing the dishes.

Roast a chicken once a week and learn how to use the bones to make chicken stock. Once you've made the stock, you can use the bones to make homemade pet food. With the leftover meat, you can make sandwiches for lunch -- instead of using processed luncheon meat.

Make eggs or oatmeal for breakfast instead of serving extruded processed cereal from a factory.

And, most importantly, stop buying processed foods. Or at last try to reduce the number of processed foods you buy.

Do it for the health of your family, for the good of the environment, for the future of our nation's family farms.

Photo Credits: 1950s Housewife, High Fructose Corn Syrup and Obesity, Modern Food Chain, Boycott Krap

So Fresh And So Green

It's a (more or less) comprehensive listing of the various farmers markets around town, along with their website, days and hours of operation and their specialities/quirks.

Enjoy!

And eat local!  :)

I do love summertime harvests. The fragrance wafting off dozens of tables piled high with stone fruits, fresh summer herbs, and corn makes me want to either fire up a grill or get out the jam pots and jars.

Go to the market hungry during summer. I kid you not, every stand has fruit samples out. Take your time. Marvel in the yum. And then pick your prey. By the time you go from one end of the market to the other, you will have eaten your FDA recommended allotment of fruit. I zeroed in one some gorgeous floral white nectarines and “mango tasting” peaches. I didn’t believe the sign, but I tried some and was pleasantly surprised.

Occasionally the Hollywood market is graced with the presence of the Carlsbad Aquafarm. GORGEOUS shellfish. Crisp and fresh red seaweed for poke. Live scallops. Sweet Sunburst clams. They farm out of a lagoon down south and supply a few of the local restaurants with their menu items. Their website is just a splash page right now, but I look forward to them going into more detail about their harvests. Here’s a quickie recipe for you shellfish eaters:

Mmm.

And then there is the sprout guy. My favorites from him are his onion seed and radish sprouts.

Weiser Farms had their melon selection out and sliced to tempt wanderers into stopping. This is the Ogen melon, a green heirloom cantaloupe from Israel that smells like musky, sweet summertime.

Baby corn. So cute. So tasty.

Baby squash. Also cute. Also tasty. And in more varieties than I had patience to count.

There are more shots at the flickr site, I just don’t have time to go through them all for posting. I do love this market though. Yes, the produce is fantastic, but this is Hollywood, and while I was walking over to Groundwork for a pound of Angel City, I crossed paths with Charlie Chaplin, bowler hat and bicycle included, crossing Sunset Blvd. with a latte in his hand. Silly photographer that I am, I completely forgot to get a shot, so tickled was I by the sight of him casually meandering through the neighborhood.

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The Farmers' Markets Today feature, entitled "Local Foods Connection Combats Hunger and Supports Small Farmers" was written by yours truly and points to the many linkages between Local Foods Connection, farmers' markets, local farmers, and low-income individuals. We're thrilled that the folks at Farmers' Markets Today were interested in spreading the news of a program like LFC in their pages.

Speaking of "yours truly," though, this seems like a good chance to offer a brief introduction.

We've realized that because Local Foods Connection is so closely connected to the work of Laura Dowd - and for good reason! - many of our readers assume that Laura maintains the LFC blog. While Laura does write occasional posts, she has wisely delegated this task to one of LFC's many volunteers so that she can continue to focus on the millions of other tasks she has to accomplish on a weekly basis. And that volunteer happens to be me - Hello!

My name is Caroline Gottschalk-Druschke and I have been volunteering for Local Foods Connection for about a year now. I lived in Iowa City during the 1990s, but I actually heard about LFC when I was living in Chicago working on a PhD in rhetoric at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I was searching the Local Harvest database for CSAs in the Iowa City area, and I stumbled across the listing for Local Foods Connection.

Happily for me, but sadly for the world, LFC's description made it stick out like a sore thumb! I had never heard of a program whose purpose was, as the LFC description explains, to "purchase[] produce, bread, eggs, meat and other products from local earth-friendly farms and donate[] these goods to families who cannot afford such nutritious, tasty and fresh food... With your support, we assist families in need of a helping hand, strengthen our local foods network and empower the farmers who live and work just outside of your neighborhood."

Wow! I immediately contacted Laura and offered to help her in any way that I could. She invited me to take over the blog after that, which seemed like a natural fit since it didn't require being on site.

That was back in November and now, some nine months later, I'm still posting to the blog, spreading the word about LFC, and planning a move back to Iowa! My husband, Drew, and I will be back in Iowa City at the end of this month, where I will begin working on my field-based dissertation about - not surprisingly - local food, food security, and sustainable agriculture. Keep your eyes open for a post about my dissertation and school work and how it relates to LFC and to you! More to come on that, but, for now, thank you for reading!

When I travel abroad, I generally like to walk around and check out the local farmers markets there as well. You can get a good sense of what the region is known for and see the type of fresh fruits, herbs and vegetables commonly grown and used by the locals.

Here are some photos of one in Provence. Look at all the different spices, olives etc...

This is the first time I've seen an olive tree.... to see it go from this....

to this... Voila!

Thursdays are Farmers' Market days in Hammersmith, where my day job is situated, and that means falafels for lunch. Former colleague, Wise Woman, may have left sunny Ham-Wham behind, but she hasn't forgotten Falafel Thursday. Yesterday she signed off an e-mail with "Enjoy the falafel stall today."

So here's what all the fuss is about:

Believe me when I say that this is a short queue. People wait for ages for one of these delicious falafel wraps, the line of patrons snaking around Lyric Square. Some of my colleagues fetch their falafels at midday, to avoid the lunchtime rush. I wait until 3pm to pick mine up. You see? Our Thursday afternoon schedules are now dictated by falafels. In case you're wondering, they are worth every moment of queuing or inconvenience.

So what's in these wraps to make them so special? A warm flatbread is topped with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, chopped green chillies and cucumber before being drizzled liberally with mayonnaise and chilli sauce. Then the falafel balls, straight from the fryer, are squashed around the rim. Rolled together tightly in a twist of paper, they're fresh and healthy with a mini-explosion of heat from the sauce and chillies. They're also satisfactorily filling considering they cost £2.50 for a small or £3.00 for a large. Mind you, even though that's inexpensive for a healthy lunch in London, yesterday a man behind me in the queue said "gosh, falafels are a lot cheaper in Iraq!" Yes, well they would be, wouldn't they?

I love this time of year.  And I love Farmer's Markets.  I love going and seeing all of the delicious-looking, mostly local, produce lined up in the bins.  I love BC fruit, which is in abundance at our local Farmer's Market every summer.  I am a berry-aholic.  Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries - oh my!

Here's a tip for freezing berries -  freeze them on cookie sheets (don't wash first - wash as you use them) that way they don't clump together, then bag in freezer bags.  Freeze on the cookie sheets until firmly frozen.

Cherries are another favorite in this house.

Berries and cherries berry good - they are nutritional superstars - containing generous amounts of anti-oxidants and vitamins C, folate, and magnesium as well as fiber .  Cherries and blackberries may help ease symptoms of gout and arthritis because of the anti-oxidant anthocyanin   Blueberries may help lower the risk of developing age-related diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and rank #1 in anti-oxidant activity compared to 60 other fruits and vegetables.  (Source:  http://www.canadianliving.com/health/nutrition/top_25_healthy_fruits_blueberries_apples_cherries_bananas_and_21_more_healthy_picks.php)

An added bonus - cherries keep you regular due to their high fiber  content!

Almost-Healthy Blueberry Muffins:

2/3 c. whole wheat flour

½ c. white flour

1 T. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. nutmeg

1 c. brown sugar

¾ c. rolled oats

grated peel of one orange

1 egg

¼ tsp. oil

1 c. milk

1 c. blueberries

Preheat oven to 400.  Grease 12 muffin cups. Measure flour, baking powder, salt, spices and sugar into a large bowl.  Blend.  Stir in oats and orange peel.  Whisk together egg, oil and milk.  Pour into dry ingredients and stir until moist.  Gently fold in blueberries.  Fill muffin cups ¾ full.  Bake 15-18 minutes.  Makes approximately 1 dozen muffins.

When you buy local, you know where your food is coming from. The food is grown on a small scale, and escape some of the pitfalls (diseases) that can be prevalent with industrial food production.  Local farmers are also big proponents of organic methods of farming, so it's more than likely that your local farmer uses natural fertilizers and pesticides ( or pesticide free) to grow his wares. The local farmer is also closer to the food. He or she looks at it and touches it everyday, making sure that it is free of blemishes and the occasional pesky worm or bug. Your local farmer has a personal investment in what he or she sells, so naturally they will only put up the best for their customers. Roadside stands are also great; I had the best cantaloupe in my life a few years ago; my sister went to a roadside stand in Delaware ( it was four blocks from her home).

Buying local also give you a chance to try new things at a reduced price. When you buy straight from the source, you avoid the middle man. Our market has a variety of offerings that vary as the season goes on, from cherries, peaches and berries in May, to fresh collards, pumpkins squash and apples in September. Buying local also enables you to buy seasonally. This is the way nature intended us to eat. Who likes winter melons, tomatoes, and peaches? They always look so anemic and unappetizing. Yes, shipping innovations have allowed us to have these fruits and vegetables all year round, but where does the food come from?  I would rather wait for an ear of Silver Queen fro a farmer on the Eastern Shore, than have it shipped from Mexico.

Lastly, your support of these local outdoor markets pump much-needed money back into the local economy. The more we patronize these farmers, the more they can continue to provide us with fresh and wholesome food. We had several food scares in the past 4 years, from baby greens and spinach, to tomatoes. They were able to trace back where the lettuces came from, not so much with the tomatoes. Now the FDA is saying that we should be careful of fresh jalapeños as well. You won't have to worry about that with local farmers. When you buy local, you preserve a part of history and a way of life. Whenever you see a new  housing development in the suburbs, you can believe it was once someone's farm that went out of business.

So spend this weekend exploring your local farmer's market ( Sunday if you plan to visit the municipal market in Baltimore). It is good for your wallet, your tummy, and your soul.

And, the farmers will thank you.

Farmers' Markets are now open throughout the state and the local produce is coming in . Two weekends ago I visited the markets in Fairfield, Westport and Georgetown. Assortments included fresh breads, herbs, lettuces, strawberries, cherries, zucchini, swiss chard and beets. Oh, i can't forget the pies.

There were also pestos, some cheeses, meats and seafood. This week I went to Ridgefield and Bethel. Zucchini blossoms were my favorite purchase. I made them that night; stuffed with goat cheese and lightly sauted. Yummy. Check out the recipe at my other blog... Long Ridge Kitchens.

Flowers were fresh cut and purchased over a week ago, still looking good on my kitchen table.

The local tomatoes available are greenhouse grown, but they are local and they were picked ripe so they still taste better then anything that has been shipped from out of the area.

Lettuces include romaine, red leaf, green leaf and bibb, along with some of the more unusual greens like cress, arugula, swiss chard, various mesclun, and mustard greens. I always have trouble editing my selection; and generally do so based on how much longer each type's season still is. I promise myself to return next week to pick up whatever I left behind this week,

At least with the herbs I ' just look' because I have them all growing at home and cut right before using. Parsley, basil, thyme, oregano, and cilantro are regulars in my kitchen. The young fresh onions and garlic though was irresistible, as were the leeks. I like to saute them all in a bit of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Just before serving I drizzle with a bit of basalmic vinegar. The fragrance is the first wave of pleasure. When the vinegar hits the hot vegetable the aroma fills the room. The texture and flavor of the young vegetable reminds me of trips I used to take this time of the year to the south of France or the coast of Italy. There, in the small villages, there are open air markets weekly and the entire village comes out to do their shopping. The atmosphere is electric and everyone has food on the mind. Recipes and laughter is shared. Always a favorite part of the trips.

I hope that more of us learn to come to the market to appreciate the turn of the seasons and the bounty that is offered. Find your local farmers' market and support their efforts. Enjoy!

Here are my goals:

(Note Done Yet)* Unplug what I can when the appliances/electronics are not in use.

I saw on either HGTV or DIY a nifty idea. You take a shoe box with a cover, cut holes in the sides for different cords, place your power strip inside the box (feeding the cord out one of the holes and plugging it in to the outlet), and then feeding into the box the plugs from the appliances/electronics. Plug these into the power strip and cover the box. You can decorate the box before doing this if you would like. The box can be placed anywhere accessible so you can easily turn the power strip on and off, and should not look gaudy.

I suppose that we could also try to attach the power strips to the wall/entertainment center/cabinets. I wonder if this would work, and how. I will have to look into it.

These appliances/electronics use electricity even when they are turned off, so it will save money to use one or more of the techniques above.

My dishwasher is portable, so it is unplugged after each use so that it can be rolled back to its place in the kitchen.

I always keep the small appliances on the counter unplugged when they are not in use.

We do not leave cell phone and other chargers plugged in when not in use.

(Still Have to get into this habit)* The desk top and laptop should be turned off and unplugged when not in use, as long as I will not need them again withing a half-an-hour.

(Good deal for me, not for her. At least she tried)* My daughter and I will be purchasing Diva Cups next week. This will save a lot of money each year that we otherwise would be using to pay for tampons and pads. Though they cost more than I would like, we will recover the cost of them before the first years use is up. We understand how to use them and how to keep them clean, and each one will likely last 10 years. Using the Diva Cups will also enable us to throw less trash into landfills, save money on toilet paper, and not flush tampons into the sewers. Plus, they are healthier for us.

(So far, so good with this one. For both of us.)* Though I am not 100% sure about the Infinity Razor for women, my daughter and I decided that we will each give one a try. Supposedly, these will last many years, and will be replaced free if they do not. This could save quite a bit of money. It could also help our Earth by us not throwing all of the used disposable razors and blades into the landfills.

(Purchased the fabric, but I have to find my pinking shears to cut them out with. Or another good pair of my scissors.)* Less toilet paper goal. This one I will be doing, not my daughter, the daycare children and company. I am going to be doing a sort of trial, using premade cloth wipes instead. This won't even be as bad as changing cloth diapers, as I am not collecting waste, just wiping. Sounds gross, yes. But it will be helpful. I will keep a covered bucket in the bathroom filled half way with water and baking soda for soaking. I will make the cloths myself, and reuse a bucket (instead of throwing it out). If I decide I don't want to continue with this, I don't have to. But, if I decide to keep using theis method, I will be saving more money on toilet paper, and flushing less waste.

(Done)* Household cleaners. I recently found a recipe for for powdered dishwasher detergent. Though I haven't tried it yet, I am planning to soon.  I already use vinegar in the rinse cycle.

(Still Looking)I am still looking for a liquid dish detergent for sink washing. And, I need an environmentally safe, non-toxic substitute for bleach.

I have already made posts for the household cleaners and laundry detergent that I make.

These cleaning products are cheap to make, and are not harmful to the environment.

(Still need to do)* Batteries. The neighbor gave us a small battery charger for AA and AAA batteries. We will have to invest in the rechargeable batteries. I would also like to see if I can find a charger that will take 9-volts, C's and D's as well. If I can, I will give the small charger to someone else who wants to help our Earth. How many time can a rechargeable battery be recharged?

(Hanging when I can, but there has been so much rain. I need to find a permanent inside place for hanging to dry in my too small home.)* I have begun hanging out laundry again, which will help to lower the utility bill for the spring/summer and fall. My goal for next winter is to hang the lighter things to dry somewhere inside the trailer.

(Done, plus I have been using the towels twice)* Saving water. We already wash full loads of laundry, so there will not be much of a change in this area. I am sure that there are some articles of clothing that I can wear more than once before washing. Tops mostly. Maybe pants every so often.  I only use one towel to dry off with, and really prefer to wash it after each use, but I am willing to hang the bath mat rather than washing it each day.

(Doing these most of the time) When I am gardening, I do a few things to help save money and water. First, I dump the dish pan water in the flower gardens. For the herbs, fruits and vegetables, I will use the cold water I run while waiting for the dish water to heat, as well as the cold water from the tub. This year, I plan to put a bucket in the shower to catch water as well. I will place it under the shower head. I will also use the water left in cups, and the water from cooking hard boiled eggs, pasta and vegetables in the gardens.

(Done) We will take shorter showers.  I will teach my daughter and the daycare children to wet their hands and then turn the water off until they are ready to rinse their hands off. And to do that quickly.

I already use the shortest wash cycle in the washing machine, and we do not flush every time we use the toilet. Just for #2's. And I swish the toilet each day so that it doesn't get yucky!

We turn of the water while brushing our teeth.

(Working on this - I do not buy individual drinks to keep in the refrigerator any more)* Plastics. I will try putting the yucky faucet water into a pitcher in the sink, whenever I can't get well water from my mother or sister. I hear that, after leaving the water in the refirgerator over night, the chlorine is supposed to evaporate when you do this. This will not only save money on bottled water, but it will also mean that people will not have to use precious resources to recycle these bottles.

(Purchased some reusable containers for packing lunches) (Re-use aluminum foil) I wash and reuse all plastic baggies that we use. These are great for freezing and for storing foods that you do not want a lot of air getting into. I will not likely stop using these all together, but I will cut down on the need to buy so many.

We have enough reusable water bottles so that we do not have to buy drinks in plastic bottles at the store.

I do have reusable plastic silverware and snack containers for picnics. I am actually purchasing as much of this stuff as possible at yardsales. Saving them from the landfills...(I also have a fabric table cover, napkins and placemats for our picnics, as well as reusable totes and lunch boxes.) I am working on this area.

Less plastic in landfills would be a good thing.

(Worke well)* As for food, I purchased a box of those bags that they are advertising on television. The reusable ones. We waste a lot of our precious food dollars by throwing out things that we do not have time to eat. These bags should help to keep our fruits and vegetables frehs longer.

(Not yet)I would also like those lids that they are advertising. The ones that you press down on to keep foods fresher. They would work nicely for things that we cannot put into the bags.

(Getting better, even took them yard saling and to the farmer's market) Okay. I have to be more disciplined. I have all of these canvas totes for shopping (not just for food), but I need to remember to actually grab them on the way out the door. I cannot keep them in the car, as there is no car. The sad thing is that I have them hanging on a hook near the door, and I still forget them!

(Do this when I can) I want to buy more fresh produce from local farmer's markets and roadside stands. I purchased a bag of potatoes last week from a man who parks over town. I paid only $1.50, and they are so much fresher than what I can get at the grocery store.

(Garden is looking pretty good) I plan to grow as much food as I can on the tiny lot that we live on. Here are some places for affordable seeds:

fedcoseeds.com

superseeds.com

rareseed.com

cheapseeds.com

(Not yet) I will also scavenge the materials to make a few garden beds. And, I will do the same at some point (this year or next) to make cold frames. I will also need a trellis or two. Maybe three or four.

(Have a few books that I purchased second hand. Also, have a few herbs growing in the garden.) I want to learn to grow more herbs. I plan to give dried herbs as gifts to people at the holidays, and sharing with my daughters when they have their own places. Then they won't have to purchase so many herbs themselves. I also want to learn herbalism and home remedies.

I also have to learn to dry and/or freeze the herbs. I only know how to do this with parsley.

(We eatly mostly vegetarian/vegan now) I want to try to eat vegetarian for a week to see if I can take it. If so, we will eat a (mainly) vegetarian diet here, with minimal meats. I will have to learn to cook some new things.

(Not yet) I may not be able to do this this year, but I plan to purchase (hopefully second hand) the supplies necessary for canning and water baths. At the very least, I could be making the following:

apple pie filling

apple crisp filling

applesauce

plumsauce

pumpkin

salsa

pasta sauce

(Doing this. My nephew and I built a compost bin) I also plan to compost so that the food we grow will be more abundant and healthier. I plan to build one or two bins this summer, but will have four or five before I am done. I will place these at the back of the far end of the trailer. They will not be seen from the road, and will prevent the neighbors and their children from walking by my bedroom window. I will be sure to leave enough space to put the banking through in the fall. I will scavenge the materials for this project.

(Not yet) I will drink more tea instead of powdered drinks. This will save money and be healthier.

(Trying to locate the best places. All of a sudden, we're not getting much rain)* I plan to collect water in buckets, to at least water the flowers with. I know that this is not a well thought out idea yet, but it will serve my purpose for now. I do not have a gutter to collect by, so I am counting on the rain itself going into the buckets. I think Mother Nature can handle it. The buckets will be put where they will not be noticed.

Later, I plan to have a more thought out system set up.

* (Done) Electricity will be saved by using the dryer less, (not yet) and by unplugging things. I do use flourescent light bulbs, and (not dome yet) would like to use solar lighting for outside when I have the extra cash. We use natural sunlight as late as possible every day.

* Do you know that many people do not use soap? And, they don't stink! I have also read that many people with skin problems don't use soap, and their skin balances itself so much that they don't have problems with it any more. These people have skin that looks and feels better. (Not a problem going a few days without using soap other than to wash 'important parts', and my skin problems are not as noticable now)

Will I try this? Maybe, but not fully (at first, at least). I have such skin sensitivities, that I think showering without soap may be helpful. However, I think that I will continue to use soap on certain important areas, just in case.

(Not yet, but I did purchase some homemade goatsmilk soap at the farmer's market) At any rate, I do plan to start making my own soaps, even if they are only used on the important areas, as I have sensitivities to store-bought soaps. Oatmeal and goats milk soaps work quite well.

* Now, can someone tell me how a person who does not use deodorant does not have smelly arm pits? I would really like to know. A famous guest on Oprah does not use deodorant, not sure who she was. Julia Roberts? I can't remember. I missed the episode, and would like to know what other things she does, or doesn't do.

* Heating is another area that I am not happy with. I have oil heat. I know that this is not good for the environment, but I cannot afford to switch to anything else. I would never switch to electric because it is just too expensive. Here are some things that I do:

I clean the filter on the furnace door twice a year.

I vacuum out the vents twice a year.

Bank the trailer each fall, plugging in heat tape.

This year, the dryer vent came unhooked, so it was venting under the trailer all winter.

Here is what I plan to do over the next couple of years:

(Not yet) Make/purchase at yardales: draft stoppers and wall and window quilts.

(Not yet) Get register heat blockers

(Not yet) A long-term goal is to replace my windows.

(Not yet) * My nephew and I will be trying to make candles from the stubs of used candles. The plan is to purchase wicks, and scavenge candle holders. I recently received a bunch of holders with mostly used candles. I am using the candles as long as they can still be used, then saving the leftovers and washing the holders. This will be a fun project.

(Haven;t found these items yet, but I am still looking) * Yardsaling is a great adventure. Not only can you purchase things that you need very cheaply, but you can also prevent those items from ending up in landfills.

I plan to look for blankets, quilts, afghans and comforters at yardsales. We are also in need of fluffier pillows again. If I purchase a couple, then I can open the old ones and combine their contents. If I can only find flat pillows, then I can do the same to combine more than one to make fluffier pillows. This can be done by lightly sewing together the tow filling pieces.

There are other things that I will be looking for as well.

(Not yet) * I have to stock up on lamp oil and wicking, as well as get a new one of those globe thingys, for the oild lamps. These will be nice during the winter evenings when we do not need a lot of light.

(Not yet) * I will be re-teaching myself to crochet. I need the simple stitch to finish the scarf that my neighbor started. She gave me the started scarf and yarn before she moved, and a new scarf will come in handy next winter.

(Not yet) * I want to learn to make braided and/or rag rugs.

(Not yet) * I need to make curtains, placemats and cloth napkins.

Here are some things that I do that have less of an impact on my purse and the environment:

~ I purchase a lot, if not most, of the things that we need second hand.

~ I shop resale/consigment/church shops.

~ I shop yard/garage sales.

~ I take what people offer me. If I don't need the items, I pass them along to someone who does.

~ I give things away rather than throw them out. If no one that I know wants them, I put them on my front lawn with a big free sign. Usually things go pretty quickly. I also donate things to charities, and if I leave things by the dumpster someone will usually snatch them up.

I may add more goals to this categorie in the future, and I will post updates as well.

Happing saving and helping!

Shannon

I also spotted cabbage that was labeled as local but didn't pick up any of that as I had more than enough fresh goodness for now.  The Cheese People were there but I have cheese on hand so I resisted the temptation.  There were of course more baked goods and prepared foods but I passed on those as well. One booth had a few baskets of Michigan strawberries but they didn't look very fresh.  Sadly I missed much of strawberry season while I was deployed but there is always next year.

Local food not only tastes wonderful but it pleasing to the eye as well.

Krydret and med stjerneanis og shii-takesvampe

Kryddermarinaden hældes sammen i en gryde og koges op. Lad den koge ved svag varme i 10 min.

En and fileteres. Brug både bryst fileten og over- og underlårstykker. Skær den i lige store stykker ca. 6*3 cm og læg stykkerne i et ovnfast fad med skindsiden opad.

Hæl marinaden gennem en sigte og hæld marinaden over andestykkerne. Sæt fadet i en varm ovn ved 225 C i ca. 20 min. til andestykkerne er rosa og skindet er sprødt.

Shiitake svampene renses med lidt køkkenrulle for evt. urenheder og bunden skæres af. En wok varmes godt op, kom en neutral olie i og de hele svampe. Lad dem svitse for stærk varme i ca. 3 min. Hæld noget tamari over og rør rundt og tag wokken af varmen. Svampene er klar til servering.

You may have to forgive me, but this is where you'll find me many Saturdays. The Burlington Farmers Market is a place with lots of activity and, of course, good, fresh food.

Three years ago I had the opportunity to visit the Mahane Yehuda public market in Jerusalem (see photos below). It's also a place with lots of activity and, of course, good, fresh food. But there's one unfortunate difference, a difference far removed from us here in Vermont.

Markets are amazing places. Full of food, spices, sweets, people ... they should be places where we never have to look over our shoulder, pass through a checkpoint, or have concerns for our safety. I wish this were true for our brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.

posted by Wayne Senville

Buying locally has more benefits than simply saving us money at the checkout counter. Small- to mid-sized farmers have literally been selling the farm to the highest bidder because they cannot compete with large agribusiness, creating a glut of urban sprawl and the stripping of natural resources by developers of highways and major suburban developments. Buyers of locally grown foods have more knowledge about how their food is grown and handled. And there is no doubt about it -- fresher food tastes better! My children love to pick out vegetables and talk about where they're from; and then help cook them and know what they're eating!

Two very recent articles feature the growing "buy local" movement. See this story that appeared in Raleigh's News & Observer on July 1st, titled "Buy local" effort could set a record. Another article, which focuses on the solution to a growing concern, is The Food, Climate, & Energy Crisis: From Panic to Organic, which appears in a publication by the Organic Consumers Association.

For North Carolinians, our options are vast and growing.

Carolina Farm Stewardship Association has created an online "Find Local Food" guide to assist Carolinians in purchasing locally produced meat, dairy and produce, as well as value-added goods such as jams, baked goods, sauces, and cured meats.

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) also creates a Local Food Guide (in print and searchable web database). The organization supports farmers in the western mountains region of North Carolina, listing restaurants and grocers who sell their products. "Buy Appalachian" is the eat-local campaign sponsored by ASAP.

There are dozens of farmers markets in the state. I have links to a few online resources on a links page.