Market to Table - April 30, 2009

Welcome back to Pantry Week, where I'm whittling my way through a pantry full of goodies while I'm waiting for my backyard garden to mature.  I'm good at not wasting my veggies - eating lots of them, canning the excess. What I'm not good at is ever getting around to eating those canned foods, since the fresh ones call to me from a year-round farmers' market. What's a girl to do?

So this week has been dedicated to all those home-canned, all-local foods in the pantry (with a few fresh appearances here and there)...

Veggie Soup'ed Rice - I'm a firm believer in what was canned as soup, doesn't have to be served as soup. I started out with 1 quart of cabbage soup canned earlier this year (the cabbage and onion came from my backyard garden; the carrots and olive oil from the farmers' market; and the mushrooms from the grocery, but they're raised 40 miles from here). The rice of course, is local too, from right around Houston. All I did was pour the jar of my homemade, all-local soup in a saucepan, add a cup of brown rice, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 45 minutes or until all the moisture was absorbed. I started this week with 21 jars of soup (most of them cabbage), so I ate this several times this week - fabulous EVERY time!

Veggie Soup and Avocado Potato Salad - Ok. Then there are times you actually serve soup as soup and this particular soup (made last August) just can't be improved upon. Another all-local delight, it contains carrots, onions, greens, potatoes, purple-hull peas, and mushrooms. Next to the cup of soup, is my second attempt at vegan potato salad, this time the mayo substitute is mashed avocado, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt. Right. So the avocado isn't local, but it tasted wonderful and at least it's a whole food (vs. buying vegan mayo or any kind of mayo for that matter). I suppose I might experiment with the whole mayo substitute more, but I have to tell you, this one is a REAL winner! 

Breakfast Burritos and Steamed Veggies - Dave got the fresh goodies this week. On the side there are the carrots and snow peas from the farmers' market that have been steamed. Those burritos were my first shot at serving my homemade whole-wheat tortillas to Dave. Inside are local sauteed mushrooms and onions, mixed in with local eggs (scrambled), sprinkled with some mozzarella cheese, and (of course) wrapped up in my homemade tortillas (the wheat came from the farmers' market). Other than the little bit of mozzarella, everything was local and Dave loved it! Yes! 

Now closing in on the end of the week, I'm only down 5 jars of soup. That leaves another 16 jars of soup and the same 13 jars of stewed tomatoes in the pantry. I've been thinking... this week was so tasty, I'll do it again next week (though I'll be sure to throw in some variations to make it more interesting - like a side of the "Crash Hot Potatoes" that Farmer's Daughter posted about recently...) Mmmm! Another yummy week coming my way!

Have a great day, everyone. And, as always, Happy (and mindful) eating!

Happy Birthday, Kelsey

We just got back from celebrating Kelsey's birthday. In years past, we've had parties at the local ice cream shops with friends and their families. Last year, we hosted the party at our house, while I made homemade ice cream, cookies, and sweet breads with as many local ingredients as I could find.

This year, with so much going on, we kept it low key, but Kelsey still got her special treat - a puppy scoop of frozen vanilla custard. Mmm. Mmm!

That was really good Mom! Can I have a birthday again tomorrow?

Being Thankful - April 29, 2009

As I looked out over my garden, I was reminded of the many things for which I have to be thankful:

• Rain - after month of draught, steady rains are helping my plants to grow tall, beautiful, and productive
• Generosity - my father provided the wood and compost, and Dave provided that labor that built the 7 raised beds housing our backyard gardens (and many harvests to come)
• Time - being at home (no paid employment) means I have time to meditate, exercise, garden, volunteer, write this blog, and read to my little heart's content
• Home - We have a roof over our heads and a warm bed at night. We have food in our bellies and clothes on our back. Do we really need much more?
• Sickness and Health - I am thankful for my "good" days, but also for the painful ones. It is because of chronic illness that I slowed the pace of my life and quit my job. It has made me who I am
• Family - I have a loving husband who encourages and supports me. Our kids, though of the furry kind, give us laughter and comfort. Particularly today, though, I'm thankful for Kelsey - We've been together since she was 6 weeks old and today is her 12th birthday. Happy Birthday, Pooh Bear!

What makes you thankful today?

Is eating ethically/sustainably/locally more expensive?

Over the weekend, I posted a link to an article on one couple's personal challenge to eat ethically AND within the government-established food stamp allotment. Interestingly enough, this article was published just a day before blogger Crunchy Chicken concluded her month-long Food Budget Challenge which similarly was to dispel the myth that "the sustainable food/organic movement is really only affordable by the middle and upper classes" by challenging herself and her readers to eat "sustainably using the Food Stamp Allotment Program Guidelines."

In her challenge "Wrap-Up," Crunchy Chicken (as well as many of the challenge participants) admitted to not quite making it. Crunchy herself, attributes the overspending to restaurant and coffee shop dining.

So the question is... Is eating ethically really possible on a budget as small as the one our government offers it's food stamp participants?

Unofficially, I tracked my personal food spending during the month of April. Per government guidelines, I had $176 to spend. How did I do? I ended up spending $125 on food for the entire month. That includes:

• $17 for a high quality olive oil from our farmers' market
• $48 eating out twice a week (lunch dates with my hubby)
• $30 for local strawberries
• $7 in splurge items like (onion glaze and dried cranberries at the farmers' market - didn't need them and, well, just splurged at the last minute)

The rest of my $125 was spent on lots of fresh veggies at the farmers' market, local rice that I buy in bulk from Houston, and local wheat berries which I can buy in bulk from Rosebud (TX). I could easily have cut back on olive oil, eating out, and those little splurge items from the market. So, I could easily have eaten on much less that my $125 which is still way below my allotment. 

Although I ate fresh fruit, I kept my fruit intake low (about 1 to 1-1/2 servings per day) and my veggie intake high (about 7-10 servings per day) - mostly because eating local fruit can be much more expensive than eating local veggies. Also missing is meat and dairy, which when bought sustainably-raised can be on the pricy side, and processed foods which can also be expensive to buy organic. I just don't eat them.

So I was able to pull it off, but does that mean it's possible for others? I readily admit, I didn't include my hubby's food bills because I knew it would push us over the two-person limit of $323 - he eats out every day at lunch adding up to about $200/month, and that's before we add in his breakfasts and dinners at home.  Having said that, however, Dave and I have discussed what would happen if money got tight and that eating out would be one of the first things to go. I honestly believe that if we HAD to, we could eat well on our $323 joint food budget.

So, is eating ethically/sustainably/locally more expensive? I am asked this question time and again when I speak to people in the community. Honestly, it's a tricky question to answer, solely because it depends on what we as individuals eat (fresh or packaged, whole or processed, meat and dairy or not). Eating ethically on a budget requires cooking from scratch, rejecting processed foods, and concentrating on quality vegetables, and inexpensive staples like whole grains and dried beans - much like the generations before us prepared food. Today, we have traded these traditional meals for quick-and-easy ones that keep us moving throughout our busy lives. Have we sacrificed something in the process? Does the single parent, working for minimum wage, attending every school function, with so little time to play with the children before falling exhausted into bed each night... Does that single parent even have a choice?

What do you think? Is it realistic? Can we all eat ethically/sustainably/locally on a limited budget or is it truly for those with financial wiggle-room?

Local diet update - April 27, 2009

As I watered my backyard garden, I eyed bed after bed of tiny seedlings that will grow up one day soon to feed our hungry bellies. And in that peaceful, pensive moment, it occurred to me... we have ALOT of tiny seedlings! Yikes! Before long, we're going to be swimming in greens, peppers, beans, squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Sweet!

Of course, right about now, we're between harvests. There are still enough onions to keep my breath smelling lovely for the next month, but other than that, our backyard harvest is waiting for all these baby plants to mature.

In the meantime, I've counted 13 pints of stewed tomatoes and 21 quarts of soup on the pantry shelves from an overage of fresh, local veggies in months past. It was with this stock in mind (along with a full harvest to come) that I decided I needed to take it easy on the fresh veggies at this week's farmers' market. Other than needing to get wheat flour and a few fresh veggies for Dave, I declared this week Pantry Week (right, like that ever works once I lay eyes on all those goodies at the market...).

As usual, I pulled into the market about 7:30, giving me a full 30 minutes to set up my small market info booth before customers began to arrive. Unlike last week, the rain held off and it was a great day for a market. Eighteen vendors joined me that day selling a beautiful array of fruits, veggies, breads, canned goods, and crafts. Included in this week's display were:

Veggies: beet greens, swiss chard, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, turnips, green onions, yellow onions, red onions, beets, carrots, arugula, spinach, snow peas, red potatoes, white potatoes, peppers, yellow squash, bok choy, tomatoes

Fruits: dried cranberries, dried apples

Canned goods: pickles, jams and jellies, tomato juice, salsa

Baked goods: cornbread, yeast breads, sweet breads, bagel bites

Other: eggs, egg noodles, olive oil, locally-roasted coffees, fido-bites, locally-roasted peanuts, herbs

Crafts: jewelry, pot holders, walker aprons, candles, soaps

Plants: veggie, herb, and ornamental plants

So did I stick to my list in the face of all that beautiful food? Actually, I did a pretty good job. I picked up two containers of locally ground wheat flour, egg noodles, carrots, red potatoes, snow peas, puppy cookies (fido bites), and 2 bars of soap.

So Pantry Week is on (for me anyway)! I'm planning on steaming those carrots and snow peas for Dave to go along with a homemade pizza and/or pasta (with those yummy egg noodles). We also have local eggs still in the fridge and plenty of my homemade toast (honey is local and flour is ground locally). Kelsey, who's 12th birthday is this week, will be munching on her puppy cookies. And I'll be working on those soups and canned tomatoes in the pantry. 

Tune in on Thursday for this week's Market to Table post to see how all these goodies come together, and who knows - maybe I'll keep those red potatoes to myself and try a little something new...

Have a great week, everyone. And, as always, Happy (and mindful) eating!

To find out what's happening in other farmers' markets around the county, check out this week's Farmers' Market Report on To Every Meal There is a Season.

Can we afford to eat ethically?

My hubby forwarded a GREAT article to me that was published on Salon.com called, "Can we afford to eat ethically," the story of  one couple's month-long adventure to determine if they could a healthy, ethical diet on the "government-defined" food stamp minimum. 

Check it out!

The New Farmers' Market - A book review

If you're involved in founding, managing, promoting, or selling at a farmers' market, The New Farmers' Market is a MUST read! It came to my attention when a friend and market vendor suggested I read her copy. Somethings, she told me, I'd want to skim through, but she was convinced I'd like this book.

She was right! There's a section in this book for just about everyone. The New Farmers' Market is divided into 3 sections

1. Selling at the market
2. Starting, Managing, & Promoting the Market
3. The New Farmers' Market (embracing the community and expanding the vision)

Touching on everything from obtaining insurance, to pricing strategy, to writing a catchy market newsletter, this how-to guide is full of practical ideas including tips from market vendors all over the U.S. Whether your market is large or small, new or established, you're sure to find inspiring ideas to reenergize your market team.

Personally, my favorite section was on promoting the market where I found a host of suggestions on bridging the knowledge gap between market and community. My favorite is for a monthly market newsletter. Fellow Friends Volunteers, guess what's we're doing next? 

Look for The New Farmers' Market in your local library, or better yet, buy a copy to be shared among your market vendors, volunteers, and staff. The market of your dreams is only one book away...

Jim Hightower to speak at TAMU

Speaker, author, and sustainable agriculture activist, Jim Hightower will be speaking at TAMU on Tuesday, May 5 (5:30-7:30 PM), hosted by the TAMU Association for Social Entrepreneurship. The event will be held on TAMU's west campus (most likely next to the holistic garden, near the local community garden). The evening will also include live music. 

The idea is to make the biggest show we can to represent local food. If you are interested in providing snacks or drinks made with local ingredients, representing your farm, volunteering at one of the booths, or would just like to attend to hear the speech and enjoy the evening, let me know and I'll make sure you get all the details when they are finalized.

Market to Table - April 23, 2009

It was a pretty routine week in food here at SGF. Each day started off with some of those gorgeous strawberries Dave and I picked last Sunday. Lunches meant more of my favorite: all-local stir fried veggies with either wheat berries or rice (which are also both local). It was at dinner that I tried a little something new this week. I had been craving potato salad lately, and well, let's just get right to it...

Vegan Potato Salad - As you may remember from my lastest Vegan Adventures post, I had my little heart set on potato salad. So at the farmers' market last week, I was sure to pick up some of those wonderful potatoes from the Vaughns - one huge white potato and lots of medium sized red potatoes. All I did was wash them, cut them up into  bite sized pieces, and steam them in my steamer for about 30 minutes. Once they cooled, I added some chopped onion (local) and my first attempt at vegan mayo (Bryanna's Tofu Mayo). I'm not totally sold on the tofu mayo, but the wonderful commenters over at McDougalling with Chile and Friends were nice enough to give me a whole list of mayonnaise substitutes to try. Guess that means more potato salad in my future. Mmmm! Not a problem!

Stir Fry Veggies and Wheat Berries - More of my "Everything but the Kitchen Sink" stir fries for lunches this week. I toggle back and forth between local rice and local wheat berries, but the veggie goodness is always a constant. This week's featured stir fry was all local (well, except for the salt) with kohlrabi, carrots, onion, and olive oil from the farmers' market; bok choy from a friend's garden; and mushrooms from Madisonville (about 40 miles away). Don't be shy. Just pull out whatever you have in the fridge that sounds good, chop, toss in a frying pan with a little salt and olive oil, and enjoy the best stir fry ever!

As for the rest of the family, Dave enjoyed the local steamed carrots I made him to go along with the homemade mac and cheese (not local) as well as some local fried eggs with toast from my homemade bread (wheat and honey from the farmers' market); and Kelsey has been nibbling on the puppy cookies I got for her from the farmers' market a couple weeks ago. I think those puppy cookies will be back on the shopping list this week. She LOVES them!

I'm just about out of veggies in the fridge and looking forward to another farmers' market trip this weekend. I hope to see you locals there and hope that everyone else has a farmers' market nearby. Mmm, mmm! Once you discover the wonderful world of local food, eating is never quite the same.

Happy (and mindful) eating!

Happy Earth Day!

Holidays tend to be wonderful opportunities for reflection. So may Earth Day be a time to reflect on how far we've come on our journey towards a more sustainable life, as well as a challenge to move forward towards a more mindful future. 

I've written about my journey toward sustainability thus far (here and here). More importantly, my more mindful future includes slowing down, allowing others to take over some of the work I've begun, and concentrate more on my individual journey. Although I'll continue working in the local food movement, I'll be striving towards a healthier balance of community activism and personal growth; to recapture some of the things I've set aside in my fervor to facilitate community awareness over the last few months. I long for hours in the garden, savoring the harvest, canning and drying and freezing the excess, sharing the rest with friends and neighbors; peaceful bike rides beneath a clear blue sky; inhaling the aroma of many loaves of freshly baked bread; exploring peace through meditation; as well as continuing to reduce our consumption, seeking local producers for the things we find are needed...

Where are you in your journey toward sustainability and mindfulness? Where do you hope to make improvements in the coming months?

P.S. In celebration of Earth Day, Hulu.com is offereing a free viewing of "Greasy Rider" a story of two men on a cross-country trip fueled with veggie oil. Enjoy!

Brazos Locavores- May Field Trip Announcement

Local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Long Bean Farm has invited the Brazos Locavores to visit their farm for our May field trip.  In addition to meeting farm owner Vicki Miller and touring the facility, we’ll be getting down and dirty in the rich Texas soil to dig up potatoes (this is definitely a trip to bring the kids).

Located right here in Bryan, Long Bean Farm operates mainly as a CSA (members buy shares in the farm and receive weekly baskets of the farm’s harvest), but is also a vendor at the Brazos Valley Farmers’ Market.

So here’s the scoop:

What: Brazos Locavore Field Trip to Long Bean Farm

When: Sunday, May 17 (1:30PM)

Where: Meet at Brazos Natural Foods to carpool out to the farm

RSVP: to Heather at brazoslocavores@gmail.com by Wednesday, May 13 (this is so that I can prepare the farm for the number of visitors and provide enough maps for drivers.

For more information on Long Bean Farm, check out their website at http://www.longbeanfarm.com/

Want to learn more about the Brazos Locavores? Visit our website at http://brazosgrows.org/brazos-locavores/

Or to receive field trip announcements directly to your inbox, join the Brazos Locavores Google Group at http://groups.google.com/group/brazos-locovore-adventures.

Always Buy Local - InStyle with SGF?

Last Thursday, I received In-Style Magazine in my mailbox. What? I thought? Whose is...

Nope it has my name and address on it, but (what anyone can figure out by looking at me), I don't exactly follow any fashion trend. Where in the world did this come from? I mean, for me anyway, this is a complete waste of paper (being that I'm a proud non-consumer and this magazine nothing but ad after ad of crap) and a little annoying to have received something I didn't order. What's going on here?

So I call the magazine. I'm told it's a free trial subscription offered to me by some place called M2Mags, but that I can suspend the subscription (which I promptly did after getting this M2Mag's phone number).

Right. So I call M2Mags. Of course after 15 minutes of trying every option they offer, no one live is there to help, but the electronic-voiced chick tells me to email them to take my name off the list. Uh huh. So I type up an email asking to be removed from any mailing list and (you guessed it) the email bounces back. Good grief!

So I did what anyone in this day and age does - I googled "M2Mags" where I found out there are a lot of frustrated people out there like the lady who received "Field and Stream or the middle-aged white couple that received "Essence" magazine (see the comments section). 

After some hunting, I found out that there was one common link - purchasing business cards from VistaPrint. Gosh darnit! They were inexpensive and I was trying to be frugal. Just look where it got me - junk mail!

I should have known better, but I've learned my lesson - BUY LOCAL!

P.S. If anyone runs into the same problem, I did finally find an email that works...

John Ikerd to visit TAMU

THIS JUST IN FROM THE ASSOCIATION FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AT TAMU:

The Father and Author of Sustainable Capitalism is coming to Texas A&M!!! He also has written extensively on sustainable agriculture including; Small Farms are Real Farms andCrisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture

When: April 27th/ Monday/ Rudder 601/ 6:00-7:30 p.m. 

RSVP through Facebook event link

Watch Dr. Ikerd on YouTube "On the Cost of Cheap Food"

You may have been hearing the word, “Sustainability” either around campus, at home or on the internet a lot lately. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it may seem like a buzzword or descriptive of some kind of fringe environmental movement, but it is much more than that. It is the basis of a comprehensive progressive effort that has begun to encourage many people who engage in a myriad of studies and occupations to ask themselves, “how can we plan success for the present generation while keeping in mind the needs of future generations?” Getting to know the sustainability movement would not only be a good idea because of the inherent good that comes with conserving and protecting the environment, but on a more personal note because of the likelihood that in any number of professions the probability that a student will be applying for a job or internship in a, “green” industry is becoming exceedingly high.

Take action and educate yourself. On Monday, April 27th at 6:00 in Rudder 601 John Ikerd, nationally renowned academic and activist and the, “Father of Sustainable Capitalism” is coming to speak at Texas A&M. He is an engaging speaker who is an avid defender of the American family farmer, the environment and local democracy. His books include Sustainable Capitalism, the book which established the field with which it shares a title, Small Farms are Real Farms, A Return to Common Sense, and Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture.

John Ikerd is an extremely engaging speaker and is looking forward to coming to Texas A&M because of the caliber of the graduates of our school. He will be coming straight from a speaking engagement in Madison, Wisconsin, home of the country’s most highly acclaimed collegiate Sustainability program to speak here because of the promise he believes Aggies have as leaders. He recognizes our potential to affect positive change across the board in the reform and development of the fields of business, politics, agriculture, sustainability, conservation, education and economics.

The event is being hosted by the Collegiate Association for Social Entrepreneurship, Texas Environmental Action Coalition, Aggie Community Garden, the Department of Multicultural Services, Texas A&M Sustainability Council, and KEOS Radio 89.1. Come out to enjoy the speaker, network and listen to an informative, engaging speaker cover a topic that is sure to touch the majority of us in our approaching professional lives.

Local diet update - April 20, 2009

Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night... The Brazos Valley Farmers' Market will be there to meet your every veggie need (and it tastes WAY better than any mail service I ever received).

Despite flash flood warnings, eight faithful market vendors set up shop in the County Health Department parking lot. I was there by 7:30 AM to get everything I needed, just in case the weather got really nasty forcing them to bail (there were tornado watches, too). 

And people came! That's right. It wasn't our steady stream of customers, but quite a few braved the stormy weather to get the best produce in town, and we had another amazing selection:

Veggies: red potatoes, white potatoes, red onions, yellow onions, green onions, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, carrots, collard greens, mustard greens, radishes, turnips, kohlrabi...

Fruits: dried cranberries, dried apples

Canned goods: a variety of salsas, canned veggies, jellies and jams, tomato juice

Baked goods: yeast breads, sweet breads, bagel bites

Other: eggs, honey, cornmeal, ornamental plants

I wasn't technically supposed to be there, but the Earth Day Celebration where I was going to host a booth Saturday morning was cancelled due to the nasty weather. So because I stocked up last week, I didn't need much. I picked up more of those wonderful carrots, some red and white potatoes (I've been craving potato salad), and lots of honey (I've been baking lots of bread recently and have been going through the honey like water). 

Then Sunday marked the most recent Brazos Locavore trip, this time to Kings Orchard where Dave and I picked up lots more local strawberries. This ought to last me until blackberry and dewberry season hit in about a month. Mmm, berries!

Of course, I still have lots of onions to be picked from the garden; local mushrooms, kohlrabi, and bok choy in the refrigerator; pounds of local rice and wheat berries stored in the freezer; and a pantry full of all-local home-canned soups and stewed tomatoes. 

As I think back on all those water-logged vendors, huddled under tents in a chilly rain on Saturday morning I'm amazed at their dedication - being there no matter what the weather. But I suppose that's what local food does to you. It takes captive of each of our senses - the food tastes better, it looks better, it feels better, it smells better (ok, maybe it doesn't sound better but you get the idea). Local food moves the growers to faithfully provide to those for whom local food has called - people like me who know there's just no better place to eat than good old-fashioned local. I wouldn't miss it for the world (or the rain) either.

Have a great week, everyone. And, as always, Happy (and mindful) eating!

Sunday Stats - April 19, 2009

It's Sunday and that means another edition of Sunday Stats here at SGF. It's the weekend and I'm feeling lazy so let's get right to it!

Here are my numbers for the week indicating how much of my diet (measured in percentage of calories) is from local sources:

Local food consumption at home only: 96%

Local food consumption overall (includes restaurant meals): 85%

Sweet! And speaking of sweet, today is the Brazos Locavores field trip to Kings Orchard where I'm going to stock up (again) on some wonderful local strawberries. 

With three weeks under my belt, I feel like I have a pretty good idea now of "just how local" my diet is. Rather than post weekly, I'll switch to updating occasionally, tracking my progress in random weeks throughout the year. So, until next time...

For more information on the results of past weeks, checkout other posts in the Sunday Stat series. 

Happy (and mindful) eating!

Now THIS is education!

A friend forwarded an article to me this morning regarding a neighboring town. This is my kind of education!

Check out "Students Get Their Hands Dirty in This Class" from the Cameron Herald.

Answering your questions - Saving shower water

Ever since the water conservation post last November, I've been asked by a number of readers just how we save our shower water (and how do we keep it from getting soapy). Trust me, there's no soap involved and this is as easy as it gets! It's all about saving that water that runs down the drain while you're waiting for the water to heat up (I don't know about you, but I can't just hop in and turn that chilly water on...)

Here's how it works:

1. Keep a bucket handy in the bathroom (we keep ours in the completely superfluous "garden" tub, but you can keep in under the sink, in the towel closet, wherever it's handy)
2. Hang the bucket on the shower head (our low flow shower head has this little knob on it that makes it easy to hang, but do what you gotta do to keep it there) and turn the water on.
3. Once the water has heated up to a bearable temperature (for us it's about 3/4 of the bucket), pull the bucket out of the shower and hop in!

It turns out that one shower will fill our watering can for an easy sprinkling in the garden. Sure, my backyard garden needs more than one or two showers' worth of reserve, but trust me, every little bit helps not only for the Earth, but our water bill as well.

Other ways you might save a little water here and there...

1. Don't have a garden or yard? Save your shower water to flush your toilets.
2. Do you can jams, soups, or veggies? Save the water from the pressure canner or boiling water bath for the garden, compost pile, or your next canning job.
3. Aerators are a cheap and easy fix to wasted water down the bathroom sink (how much flow do you need to brush your teeth, anyway?)
4. Don't mow as often. We let our grass grow extra long so that it stays healthier without the constant watering (that only drains our pocketbook). The neighbors probably aren't super crazy about how long we go between mowing, but hey, it only makes their lawns look better, right?

Saving water is good for our pocket books and the environment; and it's easy! But I'll bet there are plenty more ideas out there. How do you save water in your home?

Vegan Adventures - Substituting for mayonnaise

For those of you following my vegan adventures, check out my new guest post, "Calling all vegans - Substituting for mayonnaise" at McDougalling with Chile and Friends.

Happy (and mindful) Eating!

Market to Table - April 16, 2009

Another wonderful week of food to report here at SGF. Spring has sprung and while we still have plenty of winter veggies in our harvest, some of the summer veggies are working their way in as well - like the summer squash last weekend, the first we've seen at the market since last fall. 

I mentioned in Monday's post that with an empty fridge, I went a little crazy at the market this weekend. So what did I do with all those goodies?

Stir-fry Veggies and Wheat Berries - This meal marks the last of the 5 cabbage plants from my backyard garden. I'm a little sad because they were really tasty (not to mention the excitement of having grown them myself), but more wonderful veggies are on the way. This stir fry started out with chopped cabbage, green onions (also from the backyard), mushrooms (local from Madisonville - 36 miles), and carrots (farmers' market). As usual, just a little olive oil (farmers' market) and some salt to saute until the veggies start to soften. Then, I added about a cup of cooked wheat berries (local from Rosebud TX - 68 miles) and mixed it all up as it heated through. Mmmm! I never get tired of a yummy stir fry and it's SO easy!

Sweet Onion Glazed Stir Fry - As I sit at my market booth every Saturday morning, I love to people watch; observing what people buy, what they comment on, and especially when they inquire about recipe suggestions. Last weekend, someone picked up a jar of sweet onion glaze and asked Lois Vaughn (the vendor in the booth next to me) what could be done with it. Lois immediately piped up saying that the onion glaze was tasty as a glaze over a meat (such as an Easter Ham - very timely). 

Then, for some reason, it occurred to me what I would use the sweet onion glaze on: stir fried rice and veggies as a sweet and sour-type sauce. I mentioned this and both women perked right up saying that actually, that sounded REALLY good. Lois vowed to go home and try it, I broke out another $4 for the jar of glaze (because now I was craving it). 

Well, as it turns out, it was just as wonderful as I imagined. Like all my other stir fries, I just started yanking stuff out of the fridge - some carrots, onion, kohlrabi, squash, and bok choy. Everything was chopped and sauteed in a frying pan with olive oil. Then I stirred in about a cup of local rice and some of that sweet onion glaze and let it heat through. Oh, for the love of all that is good in the world, was this dish a winner (and everything was local except the little bit of salt)! I managed an entire week of stir fries on this one jar. Mmmm! We'll definitely be trying that onion glaze again!

Pasta - This was one of Dave's dinners this week. The egg noodles are homemade from one of our farmers' market vendors (mmm, mmm!), the sauce is not local (sorry), but the mozzarella is from the local dairy and I made that gorgeous yogurt sandwich roll from scratch. And the most important part: Dave loved it!

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Of course, the week also featured some of those wonderful strawberries from Plantersville (about 40 miles southeast of town); I had some of my all-local canned soups and stewed tomatoes over local rice; I made pizzas for Dave from scratch with more of that local mozzarella from the dairy north of town; and Kelsey was just drooling over her puppy treats from the farmers' market. We're all living local this week and it's never tasted better!

Hope the spring is bringing the opening to farmers' markets and CSAs in your neck of the woods. For more recipe ideas, feel free to peruse some of the older "Market to Table" posts. I'm not great at following recipes, but I'm always full of ideas. 

Happy (and mindful) Eating!

Earth Day 2009

The brochures are printed, the banner is ready, and the volunteers have been scheduled. Earth Day here we come! And it seems everyone is jumping on the bandwagon this year. Not only have I been invited to host a farmers' market info booth at our regional Earth Day Celebration this weekend, but one of the Earth Day Celebrations on the university campus next week as well. 

For the APLS April Carnival, bloggers were asked to consider wither Earth Day is relevant. I mean, shouldn't every day be Earth Day? But to me, Earth Day isn't about renewing my commitment to the Earth or celebrating her beauty and bounty. That is very much part of my every day life, as it should be. Just like we celebrate a loved ones birth each year, though we continue to share our love for them the year through. Earth Day, in particular though, is about awareness; the bringing together of a community and her resources. 

Earth Day celebrations have informed me about community recycling facilities, energy rebate programs from our local utility company for green home improvements, and has even helped us improve our compost pile. This year, I hope visitors to our farmers' market booth will help people connect healthy food with a healthy Earth, inspiring them to eat locally-produced, sustainably grown foods. 

So I will get out of bed early on Saturday morning and spend the entire day talking to anyone willing to listen; just as I will next Thursday at the campus celebration. Because I believe that awareness is the most powerful tool in making real change possible. And what better opportunity to bring awareness to our community than a celebration of solutions; bringing awareness to the public through education.

So, be sure to attend an Earth Day event near you, learn a little something new, and keep changing your world one day at a time. 

P.S. Those of you who are local, come on out to the Brazos Valley Earth Day Celebration in downtown Bryan from 10AM - 3PM on Saturday. And be sure to stop by the Farmers' Market booth to say "hi!"

For more blog posts on Earth Day, be sure to check out the APLS April Carnival on April 22 (Earth Day, of course)!

Garden therapy - A backyard garden update (April)

It's been a busy month in garden therapy. Remember all that cedar we received as a gift last December? Well, now we have compost to match it (Thanks again to my Dad and a borrowed trailer)! Dave spent quite a few evenings and weekends putting all the beds together (an additional 4' x 10' shallow beds and three 4' x 10' deep beds), and I followed behind him and hoed up the grass, put down the weed cloth, and filled the beds in with a garden mix of soil and compost. At this point, every muscle aches in both our bodies but at least we're done with the expansion (1200% larger than our growing area last Oct - if you enlarge the photo, that's the original 4x4 bed way in the back corner).

To be honest, I haven't even begun to figure out what I'll be planting in all these boxes other than I know one of the deep beds will consist entirely of sweet potatoes. Mmmm! We also bought lettuce, chard, and collard green seeds for the two new shallow beds so before long, we'll have greens coming out of our ears, but what a wonderful problem to have! 

For now, though, let's concentrate on the two older (aka previously established) beds. In the smaller of the 2 beds (4 x 4), I've finished harvesting those beautiful cabbage. I'm sad to see them go, but in their place are cucumber and spaghetti squash (both growing well). I also have several squares of onions that just need to be picked, lambs quarter and kale that will continue to grow into the spring and summer months, sage (transplants from indoors), and 4 squares of green beans just starting to break the surface. I'll transplant some basil in the remaining squares (currently inhabited by onions) as soon as it warms up a bit more and I get around to harvesting the rest of the onions.

In the second bed (4 x 8) are all those juicy tomatoes. One seems to have fallen victim to our latest frost but the other 11 are looking healthy and happy and are starting to bloom! The rest of the bed is full of more green beans (a total of 16 plants) and green peppers (a total of 16 plants). The green beans in this bed have all been growing healthy for weeks. The peppers were just planted last week so you can't quite see them yet. They should be gorgeous this time next month though!

Indoors, I have quite a few seedlings to be transplanted when they're ready. That's basil, more sage, and some green peppers in addition to the goodies in the Aerogarden. 

You know, this whole garden thing has SERIOUSLY exploded since we built that first 4x4 bed in October. Was that really only 6 months ago?

All I can say is that despite being completely exhausted with all the grunt work we've been doing, the garden looks fabulous and the possibilities for planting are endless. It might be a lot of hard work, but the idea of being able to support our little family (mostly anyway) out of our own backyard (with a little bartering of the excess) will hopefully become a reality just a few short months from now. This is certainly not the life I dreamed of when I was a kid. Isn't it good then, that life has a way of altering our plans. I wouldn't trade this life for anything in the world. There's nothing a little garden therapy can't solve. Farmer Heather signing out!

Local diet update - April 13, 2009

By the end of last week, I'd finally managed to eat my way through all those wonderful but leftover local veggies in the fridge. That left me a clean slate with which to start for Saturday's farmers' market. I could pick anything I wanted. Hmm. What sounds good?

As usual, the market vendors were out in droves (14 this week) with another amazing harvest. This week's bounty included:

Veggies: Beets, beet greens, turnips, collard greens, radishes, lettuce, red potatoes, white potatoes, red onions, yellow onions, green onions, carrots, mustard greens, cabbage, tomatoes, yellow squash (new this week), green peppers, swiss chard, kohlrabi, celery

Fruits: Strawberries, dried apples, dried cranberries

Baked Goods: pies, cookies, cakes, sweet breads, yeast breads, cornbread, bagel bites

Canned Goods: okra, green beans, jams and jellies, glazes, a variety of salsas, tomato juice

Dry Goods: Locally-roasted coffee, cornmeal, whole wheat flour, cornbread mix, egg noodles, trail mix

Misc: olive oil, eggs, locally roasted peanuts, doggie treats, ornamental plants, veggie plants

Crafts: dolls, journals, puzzles, easter baskets (both large and small), aprons, pot holders

Right. So I had to make my selections for the next week's fare. Actually, I was choosing for two weeks since next weekend I'll be hosting a booth at our local Earth Day Celebration and will miss the market. Knowing I would need to stock up a bit inspired me to go all out. Ok. Actually, I went a little overboard, but in my defense many of the items were actually given to me by a host of generous market vendors and a wonderful friend. How could I resist? I came home with carrots, an onion, kohlrabi, yellow squash, lettuce, mint, sage, whole wheat flour, dried cranberries, onion glaze, trail mix, fresh egg noodles, and a bag of homemade doggie treats. AND I got a CD from Joey McGee, a local musician that stopped by to meet me about providing a little mood music for a future market (his music ROCKS, so I was pretty excited about getting his CD). Local is awesome!

Of course, I still have lots of local strawberries, rice, and wheat berries in the freezer, a pantry full of local canned soups and stewed tomatoes, and lots of onions in the garden just waiting to be harvested; and with a whole new host of fresh veggies, who knows what I'll make next. Stay tuned for Thursday's "Market to Table" post to find out. 

Have a great week, everyone. And, as always, Happy (and mindful) eating! 

Now, what to eat first...

Sunday Stats - April 12, 2009

For those of you who missed it, last Sunday I started this new series so that I could actually quantify how much of my diet is local. Last week, I scored an 82% which included one meal eating out with my hubby (otherwise it would have been much higher). I wrestled over the number, not sure whether or not I want to count these restaurant meals in the total or not, so (because I'm notoriously indecisive) I decided to do both. 

Without further ado, here are my numbers for this week indicating how much of my diet is from local sources:

Local food consumption at home only: 98%

Local food consumption overall (includes restaurant meals): 88%

As far as I'm concerned, these numbers totally rock. I'm really happy with them and I feel more confident speaking with people, knowing just how local I am. It'll be interesting to see how these numbers fluctuate over the weeks.

Thanks for checking in! Yeah for local!

New Kid on the Block

It's officially been announced! Last week, I received an email relaying that there was an opening for a writer at The Blogging Bookworm and asking if I was interested in having my name considered. Well, of course!

I found out later that day that I was selected to be the new kid on the block of what is nothing less than a powerhouse of bloggers. Needless to say, I'm ecstatic and looking forward to sharing my latest reads with everyone. 

For those of you who haven't yet checked out The Blogging Bookworm, it's the best resource for all the latest eco reads including children's books, climate change, food, garbage, parenting, social justice, and much more! My first series of posts will start in May, but don't wait. Check out The Blogging Bookworm today!

Not Buying It - A Book Review

I seem to have accumulated a rather lengthy list of books that I want to read covering anything from our environmental impact to the Voluntary Simplicity movement. Because these books tend to be a bit on the heavy side, requiring a much greater degree of reflection than do some of the silly mystery novels I read, I take my time both reading these more serious books as well as taking breaks between them to properly meditate on how new knowledge and perspective changes how I interact with the world around me. 

That being said, "Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping" was a book I was seriously looking forward to reading, despite the fact that it is now several years old. Not only did it sound right up my alley in terms of my own journey towards simplifying life, but it is available through my local library. Perfect!

I wanted to love this book. I tried to love this book. I'm sorry. I didn't. "Not Buying It" by Judith Levine is the story of one couple's decision to stop buying pretty much anything other than food, for one calendar year. I was prepared to be inspired, however, very quickly into the book, I realized that instead of focusing on personal growth and the new experiences available to her by withdrawing from the buying culture, she concentrated more on what she felt she was missing and how complicated and frustrating she felt life was as a result. I hate to say this, but the book felt whiny to me. 

I don't mean to disparage the great effort it took to make and sustain her commitment to not buying for a full 12 months, but I would have liked to have read less about her political persuasion (which at times seemed irrelevant) and more about how she came to realize that our  buying choices affect the world around us (something she concludes in the end). 

She did end the book on a more positive note. One quote that stuck out for me was: 

By not assuaging transient needs... we've made ourselves available to a wider range of small experiences... These feelings are not always comfortable. But they have their own unexpected rewards...

It is this quote that sums up for me one of the key discoveries of living a more mindful life - the unexpected rewards that are realized when we step out of our comfort zones. 

Unfortunately, this one quote wasn't enough to redeem the book for me, but perhaps others may find it inspiring. The good news is if you're interested in reading this book, it has been made available in its entirety for free via Google Books. Let me know what you think.

Have others of you read "Not Buying It?" What were your thoughts on the book?

Market to Table - April 9, 2009

The good news is that I've managed to whittle down all those veggies in the fridge far enough so that this weekend, I actually NEED veggies. The bad news is... Well, there isn't any bad news. The weather was gorgeous, my garden is growing, and every meal was drool-worthy!

Stirfry and Rice - It just looks like Spring, doesn't it? As usual, I just start pulling food out of the fridge: a carrot, a couple mushrooms, some onion, a little squash, don't forget the chard, here's some broccoli, and the cabbage. Everything gets chopped up and tossed in a frying pan with a little drizzle of olive oil, then a pinch of salt, stir in a little cooked rice... Voila! Veggie stir-fry and rice, and just about everything is local (both the salt and squash are not local, but everything else is). Mmm! Local taste good!

Vegetable Soup and Rye Bites - Any time I have an overabundance of veggies, I just whip up a pot of soup and then can it so that it's ready for a quick meal any time (with no veggies ever going to waste). The problem is, that with such a wonderful and steady (year-round) supply of fresh, local veggies, I actually have to make an effort NOT to buy foods so that I can occasionally dip into all those canned veggies, soups, and stewed tomatoes lining the pantry shelves. Well, this week the soup was calling to me so I pulled out a canned of all-local, homemade veggie soup that I canned early last fall. Looks like there's mushrooms, potatoes, spinach, purple hull peas, onions... and probably a bunch of other goodies in there from another season's harvest. All I know is that it was delicious even 8 months later... especially 8 months later now that purple hull peas haven't been in season since last summer. Mmm. And that's some of the rye bites (homemade rye bread, spices, and olive oil) that I purchased a couple weeks ago at the farmers' market that make wonderfully spicy crackers. 

Not pictured were the local strawberries at breakfast, many more delicious stir fries with both local rice and local wheat berries, my homemade tortillas made with flour from the farmers' market and rolled with my homemade local peach jam...

You know somehow eating locally makes the simplest of meals the most mouthwatering. Trust me, I'm no chef and you don't have to be when you eat local. The food? It just speaks for itself. 

Hope you're enjoying some wonderful local foods in your neck of the woods. As always, Happy (and mindful) eating!

Happy Birthday SGF

That's right. One year ago today, I wrote my very first blog post: Starting from Scratch. What started out as a way for a reclusive home-body like me to connect with the world has turned into an amazing journey. So what did this first year look like? Let's see:

• A total of 356 blog posts (not including guest posts on McDougalling with Chile, Brazos Grows, and a review I did for the Blogging Bookworm)
• I learned to bake bread, rolls, bagels, pizza dough, crackers, and tortillas; can soups, jams, and vegetables; and make butter, whip cream, and ice cream.
• I started a vegetable and herb garden in my backyard
• I did two radio interviews and three talks at Texas A&M University
• I quit my job
• I went vegan
• I became the coordinator for the Brazos Locavores
• I launched an all-volunteer support group for our local farmers' market (The Friends of the Brazos Valley Farmers' Market)
• I host an info booth at our farmers' market every Saturday, talking to people about eating locally
• I'm scheduled to host booths at several festivals and fairs this spring to promote our farmers' market
• I've connected area farmers with local groceries and restaurants
• I've met with individuals wanting to move toward a more local lifestyle
• I consumed an almost exclusively local diet
  

Hmm. Well, so much for being reclusive...

Thanks to everyone out there for joining me on this beautiful adventure. It's been a wonderful year with hopefully many more to come! 

Pedal Power Update - April 2009

Similar to February, March brought some serious winds to my area of Texas. Gusts of 20-25 miles an hour were fairly normal meaning that many days, biking just wasn't an option. I still managed to get most of my errands (at least those in Bryan) done on a bike. Anything further, though, and I just rode in towards work with Dave, he'd drop me somewhere off along the way, I'd walk my errands around, then catch the bus home (or most of the way home - Home is still about a 30 minute walk from the closest University bus stop). 

Needless to say, I still got lots of exercise while walking and exercising my pedal power. Although we've experienced some pretty extreme temps (one day I'll bike in shorts and a t-shirt, the next I'm bundled in layers with a heavy coat, hat, scarf, and mittens), I think we've finally reached the end of winter. Surprisingly enough, it was far less daunting that I feared. Even temps in the 30's didn't keep me off my bike. With an extra layer or two, more often than not, I'd end up sweating by the end of my bike ride. It's just that gosh darn wind that gets me. 

I suppose the wind will continue through the next month or so and we move through an abbreviated Spring here in Texas (we usually go from cool to hot with not much time in between). I may have to walk a little more often, but before long, I'll be biking around in 100 degree weather, a water bottle in my basket, and a nice Texas tan (on my arms and legs anyway -  I look like a striped freak in a bathing suit, but what can you do?).

So what about you? As temps start to warm in your area, do you plan to exercise a little more pedal power?

Good News: A response from my letter to our local utility company

Last week, I got pretty upset about an article in our local utility company magazine both praising and promoting the Walmart here in Bryan. Immediately after writing the post, I wrote a similar email to both the magazine and the local utility company.

Well, I have fabulous news to report: Apparently, my letter very quickly sparked several meetings which resulted in a phone call to me from the company's Public Information Officer (he's also editor of the magazine). The utility representative wanted me to know that my letter was generating a lot of attention and (long story short), BTU wanted me to pitch ideas for stories that could be written to support local businesses and their impact in the community. 

To be honest, I didn't expect to hear a word in response (or at most a form letter). To have been given the opportunity to now make a greater difference and promote our small local business and producers is a wonderful encouragement for all of us to take action in our community. 

Go local!

Local diet update - April 6, 2009

I promise, I'm trying to eat up all those veggies in the fridge so that I can splurge on the gorgeous harvest that is gathered for our Saturday morning farmers' market, but you should see my fridge! I still have a whole drawer full of broccoli, onions, and cabbage from my backyard garden; local grapefruit and strawberries between the fridge and freezer; and local mushrooms, some eggs, and potatoes from past weeks. Like last week, I just didn't need much at the market. 

Thankfully, I didn't get there until about 10:00, so I didn't have the entire morning's temptation (I walked a 5K with a friend of mine to celebrate her birthday - Happy Birthday, Sharli). Not having the booth though was a nice rest from the usual routine, and gave me the chance to walk around and talk to everyone, like I used to do, checking out all that fresh produce. So let's see, this week's harvest brought:

Peppers, tomatoes, carrots, red onions, yellow onions, green onions, cabbage, red potatoes, white potatoes, broccoli, lettuce, beet greens, collard greens, celery, mustard greens, herbs, radishes, turnips, chives, dried apples, pickles, locally roasted coffees, locally roasted peanuts, homemade egg noodles, a variety of baked goods: tortillas, yeast breads, sweet breads, cookies, candies, pies, a variety of salsas, jams and jellies, decorative and vegetable plants, doggie treats (new this week), and a wonderful variety of beautiful crafts.

I managed to escape Saturday morning with carrots, mint for my herbal tea, a dozen eggs, and a a containers of whole wheat flour - but let me tell you, it was hard to resist all those other garden goodies. 

Back at home, I'm determined to get through the last of those older veggies this week. Who knows, maybe I'll even run out early and have to dig out some of my homemade soups and stewed tomatoes lining the pantry. I've been wanting a little of that soup, but with so many fresh veggies in the fridge, I couldn't bear to raid the pantry. I know, poor me with more fresh veggies than I can possibly eat. Maybe it's time to can another batch of soup...

Hope the farmers' markets are starting to open in your neck of the woods. What fresh, local foods are you serving up this week?

Sunday Stats - April 5, 2009

As I talk to people in my community about the wonderful world of local food, I usually qualify my eat local status by saying "I eat an almost exclusively local diet." The "almost exclusively" part to allow for eating lunch out with my hubby once or twice a week and the occasional "I'm feeling crummy and I really NEED a banana" splurge. 

Then it occurred to me last week, I've never really quantified my "almost exclusivity." How much of my diet is actually local? I  know it'll be fairly high considering I buy almost all my food at the local farmers' market, but how do those little banana splurges and lunches out affect my numbers? I decided to find out.

Starting today, I'm launching this new series, "Sunday Stats," to discover just how local my diet is. I'm not certain at this point whether I'll post weekly or monthly or be driven so crazy by the food diary that I give up all together. Either way, awareness allows us to learn and grow (and gosh darn it, I'm curious). 

The big question, then, became - How to measure the quantity of local vs. non-local? I considered two ways - calorie count and weight. Well, there was no way I was going to start weighing all my ingredients (I have sanity to protect, after all), so I quickly went with the calorie count. Of course that means those 2-3 cups of local herb tea I drink every day don't count for anything since there are no calories, but then neither will the non-local salt, so I suppose it all evens out.

So how did my first week of tracking go (granted I didn't start until Tuesday)? I scored an 82% which included one meal out for lunch on Saturday and a few contraband bananas (it was one of those weeks). As far as I'm concerned, I'm aiming for between 80-90% each week (who needs to be perfect, right?), so that's right along the lines of what I was hoping for. It's good to know for sure!

How will next week look? Tune in next week to find out (I can hardly wait to see, myself). In the meantime, Happy (and mindful) eating!

There's something cooking with the Brazos Locavores

The Brazos Locavores were recently given the opportunity to showcase both our skills as cooks as well as the wonderful selection of foods grown right here in the Brazos Valley.

The Brazos Progressives co-sponsored last night's “Evening of the Arts," asking the Locavores to supply some appetizers for the event. To discover what the locavores cooked up, and check out some great recipes using local food, visit "There's Something Cooking at The Evening of the Arts" on the Brazos Locavores website.

Cutting back

The town where I live is slow to grow. That tends to mean we're not on the cutting edge of any cultural revolution (the green and local movements are just now becoming popular) but right now, slow is a wonderful thing. We haven't been hit quite as hard by the recession, the increased costs of goods, or the extensive mortgage defaults. 

We're lucky, but that doesn't mean we're completely unaffected. Companies are closing, people are losing their jobs, a few are losing their homes, and anyone who works for the state is seeing their retirement die a long slow death. I know a few mothers whose kids (some of whom also have kids) are moving home until they get back on their feet. Even my father is making plans to prep his 100 acre farm so that if anything happened to any of us kids, we could live off his land. 

Fortunately, Dave and I are usually on the same page when it comes to money and we don't spend much of it. We're VERY frugal people and our personalities are such that we prefer a minimalist lifestyle to the clutter of owning "stuff." By simplifying our lives over the years, we've come into this recession owning our house and our one car outright (aka we pretty much only pay utilities, insurance, and food), and it was this dedication to simplicity that made it possible for me to quit my job last August without huge financial repercussions.

Of course, that doesn't mean that I'm not always on the look out for ways to continually cut back - especially now that we're living on just one income. Every month, I pour over our monthly purchases looking for things we might need to rethink the next time around. Food purchases are now scrutinized closely, we downsized our cellular phone service, and are looking at cheaper prices on internet service as well. 

We've made quite a few other changes throughout the years - things like  using our library instead of buying books, movies, magazine and newspapers; never window shopping; becoming a one-car family (the difference in working full vs part time for me) and biking/walking/busing as much as possible; learning to cook from scratch, grow our own food, and make our own household cleaners; cutting the cable; shopping second hand; eating smart - less meat, dairy, and processed food, and more dried beans, lentils, rice, and pasta; getting creative with our spare time (attending free festivals and fairs, volunteering, reading, watching our favorite tv shows on-line for free; hanging out with the neighbors in the front yard); gifting differently by making our own greeting cards and even some of our own gifts (baked goods, crocheted blankets and scarves)... 

Of course, like anything else, cutting back demands that we be mindful. I'm not talking about saving money by shopping in your cheap big-box store - that usually just means more "stuff."As you cut back on all this "stuff" in your life, things you find you don't really need, you'll have the opportunity to spend more discriminately on the things you do - for instance, buying from local producers which contributes to the health of your local economy and buying things that will last a lifetime, not wear out just as the 1-year warranty expires. When we talk about where and how we spend in addition to how much we spend, we can make a difference in our pocketbooks, in our communities, and for our environment. 

Most importantly, however, remember that cutting back doesn't mean denying the things we love. It's about restructuring and refocusing so that we have time and money to put towards the things that make us happy - more time to spend with loved ones and less stress over how we'll ever get those bills paid. It's about more life and less distraction.

So let's hear from you. Have you always been frugal? How has the economy made you rethink your expenses? What creative things have you been doing to cut back?

Market to Table - April 2, 2009

The fridge was loaded down with fruits and veggies again this week, so I was able to make more colorful, tasty dishes. I haven't been buying much food lately, but between the garden, and the generosity of friends and loved ones, my kitchen is practically bursting with fresh food. Bring it on!

Peach Jam Tortilla and Strawberries - Remember those tortillas I've been tinkering with? A little whole wheat flour from the farmers' market went into the homemade tortillas. Wrapped inside is a light smear of my home-made local peach jam. And of course, to the side is a cup of strawberries that I picked about a month ago in Plantersville (40 min south of town) and have been storing in the freezer. I had this several times this week because it was just so darn yummy! I'm going to need to make more of those tortillas!

Veggie Stir-Fry with Spaghetti Squash - Instead of showing you my usual veggie stir-fry with rice, I thought I'd throw this little doozy in. The spaghetti squash isn't local (my dad, knowing  I LOVE them, picked one up for me at a produce market south of town), but everything else is local. As usual, I just started pulling veggies out of the fridge: spinach, onions, carrot, mushrooms, and broccoli. Everything was chopped and tossed in a frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil. As the veggies started to soften, I added salt, cooked for a little longer, then added some baked spaghetti squash strands and a few Texas almonds. Oh, yeah, this is good stuff!  The bad news is, this will most likely be the last spaghetti squash for awhile. The good news is, I planted spaghetti squash in the garden, so it's only a harvest away... 

Stewed Tomatoes and Rice - Instead of stir-fry and rice this week, allow me to showcase something even easier to fix. That's right, I'm a lazy cook so the easier the better. At dinnertime, I haven't been feeling up to chopping veggies or standing over the stove, even for the 10 or 15 minutes it takes to do veggie stir-fry. So I pulled out a jar of my stewed tomatoes, poured about half the pint in a sauce pan, added 1/3 cup of rice, and let it cook on the stove on low heat for about an hour, while I hung out on the couch reading a book like a complete bum. It doesn't get much easier than that and it's all local!

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I'm definitely working my way through those veggies in the fridge. What a wonderful problem to have - too many fresh, local foods. I know, you northerners are sending me the evil eye, but I'm more than happy to share. Anyone for dinner?

Have a great Thursday, everyone. And as always, Happy (and mindful) eating!

You have GOT to be kidding me

I just went out to pick up today's mail and discovered only the monthly magazine for our local utility company.  I did my usual quick glance-through, when what did I see... No. This can't be right. It's April Fools Day, but it's in print right here in my hands. An article praising Wal-Mart?

Ok, seriously. There are so many things wrong with this picture, I don't even know where to begin. My initial thoughts: WE ARE IN A RECESSION WHERE SMALL LOCAL BUSINESS ARE FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES AGAINST THIS CHEAP-CRAP-SELLING GIANT AND OUR LOCAL UTILITY COMPANY WRITES AN ARTICLE ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO GO TO WAL-MART BECAUSE THEY'RE A NICE COMPANY! You have GOT to be kidding me. 

There are so many people here in my community (including ME) who spend our days campaigning for these small local businesses, trying to get our voices heard, their voices heard. While families struggle to pay the bills, Wal-Mart is notorious for low wages, sexual discrimination, and denying the majority of their employees health care coverage which only forces the burden on us (the taxpayer) when their employees apply for government assistance just to survive. 

Ok. Then there's the question of: does this almost 200 billion dollar company need advertising from a local magazine? I mean, does anyone in this town NOT know that this behemoth exists? Why not promote local businesses whose money actually comes back into our community. I know I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but when you buy at a Wal-Mart, only $14 out of $100 comes back to our community. Buy at a locally owned business and it becomes $45 out of $100. CHEAP COSTS US IN THE LONG RUN! We pay it in our health, we pay it in the environment, and we pay it in the loss of valuable local businesses.

I understand the article is about all the "nice" things local Wal-Mart employees are involved in to support our community. I don't want to disparage the compassionate acts of any individual, and I know the magazine has written some nice pieces about other organizations in our community, but Wal-Mart? Why Wal-Mart when there are still so many opportunities to write and show support for our many locally-owned businesses who not only support our community, they ARE our community - the small business owner or the farmer who makes a living selling fresh, quality, local food at our farmers' market - the REAL heroes, NOT Wal-Mart!

Sorry. Can you tell I'm a little miffed? I'll close for now. I have a letter to the editor to write...

Blithe Tomato - A book review

A few weeks ago, one of the other Friends of the Market volunteers who was helping me with my Saturday market booth, brought with her a book that she thought I might enjoy: Blithe Tomato, by Mike Madison. Curious, I accepted the book and began to read it later that day.

To my surprise and delight, this book is a series of short stories (many of them no more 2 pages long) written by a farmers' market vendor. It's a refreshing perspective on the life of a farmer and his view of the world around him. 

You won't learn how to save the world, start a garden, or enjoy a healthy diet. There's no studies involved, no tasks to perform. This is a simple book, written by a man living a simple life. In fact, it's best read slowly. Perhaps one chapter each day, giving you time to meditate on his insight and carefree observation. 

So here's the best part - I've discovered that Google Books offers the entire text of this book on-line for free. So grab a nice hot cup of tea, curl up on the couch, and be prepared to see the world through different eyes. Enjoy!