1 Lone Purple Carrot

I've had a cold since about Wednesday... I'm sure you've seen the Tweets. So, I've been down and out for a few days. I don't know why - but for some reason these Scottish Colds have hit me harder than usual. Before about October - I hadn't had a real cold per se for about a year and a half I think. Since about that time, I've had about 12 I think... I was fine for the last month or so - until Wednesday. :-( However, I'm feeling mostly better now. I forced myself out of the house yesterday morning because we had our Primary Easter Party - which went very well - and with a fair amount of cold medication in me - was enjoyable overall. The kids had fun, and so did I. I admit though, it was quite stressful planning/organizing and anticipating it. It was all worth it in the end - I think everyone had a lot of fun. :-)


That's right - you do see glasses on those chicks... the other ones had head scarves. Oh Lidl - how we love you.

Then, after that, Steve and MBCB convinced me to go and see their new allotment - which I will be helping them with while they are gone for most of the summer...

... now I know what you're thinking. You're thinking - remember what happened last year Becky? The mass garden murder of 2009? Well - this will be quite a bit easier for me to care for - as it's in the same city see? It will only cost me £2.40 round trip on the local bus - and take me 10 minutes of travel time. Also, I'm not going to be spending money on Heritage Variety Seeds, etc... ALTHOUGH, I discovered yesterday amongst the carrots that Steve pulled out of Sue Anne's patch - 1 lone purple carrot. That's right - 1 purple carrot survived...



However, it was in rough shape, and therefore I'm not going to eat it. Also - apparently these purple carrots are orange inside. What's the purpose of having a purple carrot if it's still the same boring orange inside? *snore* Well, I have learned my lesson though - start with the hardy, tried and true varieties. Anyway - this is Steve and MBCB's allotment - so I'll just be maintaining and harvesting whatever they want to plant. It is a lovely little spot though...



It comes with trees (we think Pear, Apple and Cherry), Strawberries, Raspberries, and any number of other lovely things. Also - there's sheds, a patio, and room for Greenhouses. PLENTY of room. Makes me want to have one of my own... sigh. Apparently it's dirt cheap too - £21 a year!!! for land! Quite a large chunk of land! The trouble is getting one. However, it's doable - you just have to put yourself on a list, and be patient. There's some right close to me here... maybe I'll see about getting myself on a list. In the meantime, I'll help my friends with theirs.

So - yeah - I know how most of my summer week-ends will be spent... at the allotment of course.

Back to work tomorrow. Busy times ahead. :-/ I hate being sick... the reason I hate being sick (besides just general sickness) is because there's always so much work to do when I go back to work. I REALLY hope that's the last cold for a while. The next time some random sickie walks past my desk - I'm going to pull out a face mask and tell them to go away - FAR away. People are so very generous with their germs. I do resent that a little.

Book Review: "The 100-Mile Diet - A Year Of Local Eating" by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon

I just finished this book that I've owned for about a year. It's called "The 100 Mile Diet" by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon. The book chronicles their attempt to eat locally for an entire year - specifically within 100 miles of their home. They chose 100 miles because they live in Vancouver; the surroundings of which are a cornucopia of amazingly good local food. The suggested local food line is actually 200 miles. This is drawn from Dr. William Rees' Ecological Footprint calculator. However, after analyzing their location, Alisa and James decided that would be FAR too easy for them, and that 100 miles was a bit more of a challenge with them living in the Pacific Northwest. I find it remarkable how they did this - just picked up and took on the challenge from where they were at that moment. The idea was born from a meal which they miraculously prepared while staying at their cabin in Northern British Columbia where they were virtually cut off from the outside world. They had friends visiting, and the only thing they had on hand was a cabbage. So, they and their friends went into the forest to forage, and what they came up with was the most amazing meal they had ever tasted. After the meal, they went home with an idea forming in their minds.

The thing about local eating, is that it really may be one of the most important ways we can make a difference in the world. Not only is it more nutritious to eat locally (nutrients are lost with the amount of time that food is out of the ground and thus - the farther it travels), but the fact of the matter is that we have lost touch with our food chain. Do we know where our meat is coming from? Do we know what is in our meat? (see entry below re: Fast Food Nation) Do we know how our vegetables were grown? Do we know that they were ethically traded? What sorts of things are we taking into our bodies? In my mind, almost no question to do with our physical bodies is more important. What are you putting into your body? I'm not saying I know exactly what I'm putting into my body all the time, but heck - I'd like to, and I do try. Beside the nutritional, and the health factors - eating locally is a VERY effective way to lower your carbon footprint. Do you know how far your food travels to get to your plate? Do you know how many gallons of oil are in your meal? Not only are we talking about travel costs here, but also petroleum products such as pesticides and herbicides used on your food. You wouldn't believe how much energy goes into one single plate of food. That's something to think about.

There are lots of websites with excellent ideas about how to eat locally, not the least of which is Alisa and James' site... (link)

There was also a local experiment which (according to Steve) has some links to the 100 mile diet experiment. The project was called "The Fife Diet" (link) Steve knows the guy who did this one apparently.

This brings me to my sad news about the garden... :-( Well, here it is - Sue Anne went to Germany for a couple of months to do research, and Steve went to Canada for a month, and because I had no money to get on the bus to Dunino (it's £7.05 round trip to St. Andrews alone) - our garden is pretty much dead. There are things alive in it, we just need to salvage them from the weeds. So, yes - we have a garden in Fife - we were part of the Fife Diet - however sadly it turned out. How great would it be though, to grow your own food, and obtain other food locally, and live off of it for a year? Or maybe - forever? (as much as one can) I think - that's pretty much my dream. It's even possible for flat dwellers such as myself to obtain an allotment from the city council, and grow food on it. It really isn't that hard.

I may have been dubbed the "garden murderer" in our recent attempt at this sort of project, but with a reasonable amount of do-ability and elbow grease, it's totally possible to carry this out. Alisa and James are proof. Some of you may remember that I did a book review in May of 2008 about another family who did this project. It was called "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver and her family. They did the same thing, but they took much time to prepare for their year of local eating. What I loved about Alisa and James, is that they just did it - right from where they were at that moment - they decided to just eat local for a year. They're true heroes in my books.



Some links to help you on your way to local eating...

Slow Food International

Slow Food UK

The Fife Diet

100 mile diet

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Scottish Association of Farmers Markets

Books I've Been Reading

This week is already 10 times better than last week. Most of my team are back from their annual leave time, and I am busy. I feel useful, fulfilled, and overall just - you know - awake. This is a really good thing, as I've always been the kind of person who needs to feel useful. I've been reading a few books lately. I won't do full-on reviews for these ones, as there's a few of them and they weren't moving enough for an entire review. They were entertaining enough for an honourable mention though...

The first one was "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser



I never saw the movie that was based on this book, but I can tell you that the book was certainly eye opening, and taught me a fair bit about the fast food industry that I didn't know before. I've said it before in other book reviews, but the thing about food is that it touches absolutely every aspect of life as we know it. Food is basically what we're made of, food is business, food is political, food is environmental, food influences absolutely everything in the world that lives in many different ways. The thing about fast food is that it's full of crap (quite literally), it holds very little nutritional value (if any), and it is a business that is corrupt right through the entire system, from the earth to the animal, to the slaughterhouse, to the restaurant where we so greedily gobble up those cheap meals that really aren't so cheap when you look at it in it's proper perspective. Though I was averse to fast food before I read the book, I certainly am 150% more averse to it after reading it. Thanks Eric for opening our eyes further. (I know I said that none of the books were moving enough for an entire review, but if any of them really were - it was this one. It was just a while back that I finished it, and therefore is not as fresh in my mind as some of the more recent ones)

The second one was "Elephants On Acid and Other Bizarre Experiments" by Alex Boese



This was a really interesting book. I read almost the entire thing on my bus trip to Leeds which took an entire day. I discovered it when I was at Sue Anne's house. Typical kind of book to find at a Scientist's house I suppose. The title and bright colours attracted me at first, (let's be honest) but then I opened the book and found LOADS of fascinating stories about whacky experiments that have been performed through the years by Scientists with the best of intentions. The one which the author got the title from was quite possibly the saddest thing I have ever read. Some scientists thought it would be a good idea to see what an Elephant would do on LSD. Unfortunately nobody knew how much LSD an Elephant could handle, so they gave poor Tusko a whopping 297 milligrams of LSD. Unfortunately this proved to be a huge mistake. Poor Tusko died quite a painful death all in the name of Science. None of the other stories are quite as sad as that one though. They're fascinating really, and totally worth reading even for the likes of non-scientists such as myself.

The third book I read recently was "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen



You may remember that I mentioned discovering this one a few months back. Well, yes - I finally read it and umm - I have to say it was mildly entertaining. But, for a true Jane fan, it is difficult not to pick out the glaring errors that Mr. Grahame-Smith made when re-writing the classic beloved by so many. You can also tell that he doesn't really have much literary experience. It seems to me that he just had a thought one day along the lines of - "Pride and Prejudice - AND - Zombies" and thought - how brilliant is that. Likely his girlfriend made him watch the BBC P&P and the thought came to him in a blinding flash of sheer brilliance. It is a brilliant idea really, but I feel that if he really knew the characters better, and the general period that the book was written in - he could have taken it and run with it in a really intelligently creative, yet still hilarious manner. However, that being said - it was good. I laughed out loud at some points. Good fun overall. The character Elizabeth Bennet and even Mr. Darcy have totally different personalities altogether in this book. Don't expect gentility and cordiality. These people are true killing machines!!!! I mean, they take out the living (mainly Ninjas) and the un-dead with sheer ruthlessness. Any guy who's girlfriend has made them sit through BBC P&P will probably think it is the MOST brilliant thing they have ever read.

The book I'm currently reading is "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman



I am REALLY enjoying this book. Neil is a genius. How DOES he know the world of Faerie so well? I'm not sure, but I have a theory that he's been there before. I saw the movie for this book when it first came out, and I thought it was brilliant. The book though - is better as I'm discovering at the moment. This man has amazing talent. I think I'll be reading his other works in the future.

That's all I have for book reviews today folks. Happy Reading!!!

Watch This Space...

Sue Anne, Steve, and I have been digging a garden in Sue Anne's back yard. It's great to have a friend who rents a cottage - with actual land. I wish I had actual land. I just have a wee flat. Most people here only have a wee flat. Steve also has only a flat, no land. So, the 3 of us are taking advantage of what land we can use, and working towards growing our own food this year. I am super duper excited about it too. We've been tearing up grass and trying to get it all sorted for the last 4 weeks or so. Last week we put our wee greenhouses out and staked them to the ground. In the greenhouses, we are growing tomatoes and peppers. We bought 2 varieties of tomatoes - Money Maker and Shirley. You can see in the picture that we are using a grow-bag - which is really useful if you want to see quick results. Steve bought 4 different varieties of Peppers (which I am unable to name at the moment - but they look good) We put these in our smaller greenhouse.





So, that's one project we have. We've also used grow bags for our Blue and Oca Red Potatoes...



I wish I had taken pictures of the yard the way it looked before so that you can see what we've done to it. Sufficeth to say, we've done a lot of digging with what little time we had.

With this strip of land (which we dug up from sod)...



...we are going to lay down some fabric and plant vegetable seeds tomorrow. Among the vegetable seeds we have, there are Carrots (Purple, White, AND orange), Beets (yellow and maybe purple), peas, beans, bright lights - chard, cabbage, spring onions, yellow zucchini (what Britons call Courgettes), and other things I'm having trouble remembering at the moment. We have to get up super early tomorrow, because we've had a late start for something like 4 weeks in a row, and have tonnes of work to get done. We also have a commitment to climb the Lomond Hills tomorrow afternoon, so that will cut into gardening time substantially.

We've actually planted wee leeks, and purple sprouting Broccoli in this part of the garden already, but have a lot more to plant. Here you can see the Broccoli, but the wee leeks may be harder to spot...



On this side...



You can't see them, but there's DEVIL ROOTS in there. By that I mean - roots of which there seems to be no end of. This has been my bane for a few weeks now. Tomorrow, if I get a chance, I shall finish cleaning it up, and perhaps get it looking presentable enough to plant something. We're thinking though, that because of the devil roots, we'll just plant something that needs a shallow root system - like squash. We've even discussed raised beds a bit, but that always costs so much, so we'll work with what we have.

Some highlights of the garden...



RHUBARB!!!!!!!!!!! I found these 2-year old Rhubarb advertised on the University weekly newsletter. 3 of them for £7. They're "Early Red" variety - good for pies!!!!!!!!!! I'm a wee bit over-excited about that part. Hopefully we'll get an excellent crop from these lovely plants.



Sue Anne unleashed her ample creative skills and organized this lovely rock garden - with adorable moss-covered rocks and wee plants - along the edge of our veggie patch.



The yard in all it's splendor. Note the 3 chairs and BBQ. The BBQ has become our very good friend - as it always is.



The Garden Mascot - Miss Meta.



And here - just for the fun of it is Steve doing his Physio exercises. Heehee.

So - yeah - watch this space. I'll take pictures as we go along and see progression in the exotic vegetable garden. I say exotic, simply because we all seem to agree that vegetables of unconventional colour are far more exciting than plain ones. They probably contain more varieties of phytonutrients as well. The more the better I say. Must get to bed early tonight. Busy day tomorrow.

Home Grown

I've been watching this show on the BBC iplayer. I don't own a TV, so all of my entertainment comes from the internet. Thankfully, I live in a country where the greatest TV in the world is produced. It's also free, and you can get it on the internet (for a limited time) if you don't have a TV of your own.

Anyway - "Grow Your Own Drugs" with James Wong - Ethnobotanist extraordinaire is a really exciting show. I saw the title weeks ago and thought - oh yeah - hmm, this is Britain is it? They teach people how to home grow. Then, out of curiosity (such a curious girl), I started watching it, and it turns out to be right up my alley. James uses plants of all kinds - easily available right here in Britain to make home remedies - the way everybody used to. They're useful home remedies as well, and it makes complete sense to me that they would work. Obviously, some remedies worked better for some people on the show than others; and James made disclaimers stating that on each episode. The thing is, that if it might work for you, then why wouldn't you try it. After all, science can back up the chemicals contained in the plants, and where do you think the pharmaceutical companies get those chemicals???? Obviously from the plants. It would be worth it as well - knowing exactly what you're taking, and exactly where it came from. Having said that, you also need to be careful when using these home remedies, because plants can be just as dangerous as modern/traditional medicine if used improperly. You should give plants the same respect you would to drugs bought at the store. James also said that in each episode.

I got so excited about the show - that I found James' book on Amazon for £9.34 including delivery. This is pretty exciting, because the day after I purchased it, I found it at WH Smith for £14.99. I thought to myself - "suckers..."

James taught me how to make mouthwash out of Thyme; sore muscle treatments out of chillies and mustard; constipation remedies out of figs and senna; an Athlete's foot treatment out of garlic (which also makes a nice salad dressing); an insect bite and sting treatment out of plantain leaves; Varicose Vein treatment out of Horse Chestnuts, and Vodka; a PMS treatment (sign me up) out of Chaste Berry Tea; and last but not least (this is what sold me) - he taught me how to make CRYSTALLIZED GINGER out of ginger and umm - sugar for Travel Sickness. Oh James - how I love you.

Apparently you can get a Ginger root (which is really a rhizome) and plant it in a giant pot, put it in your front window, and grow ginger yourself. I'm going to do it - obviously. I'm also going to make my own Crystallized Ginger, of course. When I do, I shall show you how it worked out. I need to buy myself a few tools in order to do so, but when I do - I shall be making the Crystallized Ginger. I shall also try other things over time. It's nice to have the book so that I know how.

If you live in the UK, I think you can still catch it for the next few days on the iplayer. So - you should if you get the chance. If you don't - umm - look for it on amazon? or ebay? Or perhaps Satellite TV?

You can find his recipes here... (link)

James is also adorable - have you noticed? I wonder if he's un-attached...

What to do with Winter Squash...

Ok, so even though I had something really big to blog about yesterday, I have something again today, but those who are looking for my big news ought not to look for it in this one, it's in the one below. So, look there...

!!!!!!! I just made the most fantastic Butternut Squash Soup I've ever tasted. Yes, it is a medley of flavor and goodness. To be honest with you, I don't know if I could duplicate it if I tried, because it was all me - roughly following a recipe, and dashing, guessing quantities, etc... My outline was found on epicurious.com. I roughly followed the recipe, but as I said - I messed up on a couple of things, but managed to salvage the soup and make it something - AMAZING!!! I really am not being very modest about the soup - I know, but it's true - amazing. So, roughly, here is what I did...

I bought these 2 lovely Butternut Squash at Community Natural Foods - because I really couldn't resist the lovely squash display they had, and enjoyed the idea of squash filling my soul with the lovely feeling of autumn goodness. I love the autumn, honestly, I think it may be my favorite season. So - there they were, calling my name and I brought them home...



There they were, so I had to find a recipe - found this one on epicurious.com as I said previously. So, I cut them in half - lengthwise, and scooped out the seeds...

They had the most lovely orange color...



Scooped out those lovely seeds, and placed the halves down flat on an oiled baking sheet to bake for 50 minutes. This is what they looked like when they came out - all shiny like that - aren't they beautiful?



So then I skinned the squash with a paring knife - this actually proved a little more difficult than I thought it would be because it was hot and messy. But, the skin itself came off quite easily, and then I cut it into cubes...



So, then came the actual cooking of the soup part - which is where I messed up a little - simply because I didn't read the whole recipe over before beginning, and just dashed and guessed some stuff, anyway, I heated the oil, and added the 2 cups of onions, added the brown sugar and the ginger - which I added quite plentifully - as I'm a huge ginger fan, and really don't think 2 teaspoons is enough. Also, added the garlic (unfortunately all I had was powdered - bleh), and the cinnamon. Again, I didn't have a cinnamon stick, so ended up adding 2 tsp (which turns out to be a lot - haha) of ground cinnamon. If I had read the recipe more closely - I would have seen that the cinnamon stick was to stay in the soup whilst cooking, but then removed later - however, I added the cinnamon powdered. Well, then it made my simmering onions and stuff all dry, so I added more water and a dash more oil. No big deal. How much can you really screw up a squash soup? Hmm? So, then I added the chunks of squash, and the chicken broth...



Brought it to a boil, then let it simmer for 10 minutes. I then blended it to a puree in portions (it produced a monumental amount of soup), and - this is what I ended up with...



It may not look like much, but with a bit of salt - voila - it was possibly the best thing I've ever tasted... Mum and Dad thought so too, they kept coming in the kitchen and saying - good grief something smells good. Mum actually called me a clever girl... (She's in a good mood today) And - honestly - I've impressed myself, and I'm harder on myself than anyone is...

Go - get some winter squash - and experiment for yourself - it is so tasty and full of goodness...

Book Review: The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Yes, that's right, I've finished "The Omnivore's Dilemma" - the book that is well coveted by other Calgary Public Library users, and am now writing the highly anticipated review. The book is due back on Tuesday, so finished not a minute too soon. As you know (if you've read previous posts), I LOVE Michael Pollan, and what he stands for in the food community. He's the whistle blower. I don't know why, but I love whistle blowers. I love anyone who tells it up straight - like it is, and doesn't sugar coat it. (funny enough, I made a friend just like that today at church)

In this book, Michael followed the food chain for three different meals. One - the typical every day meal that 80% (rough estimate) of the western world eats - The Corn food Chain; the second one is the Pastoral Grass food chain, and the 3rd is the Forest (hunter/gatherer) food chain. My personal favorite is the Pastoral Grass food chain (it seems to be the one I learned the most from, and really is the way of the future).

As far as corn goes, most of the western world is filled with walking, talking, breathing corn. (we're the walking corn) Corn feeds our cows (cows aren't meant to digest corn), and corn is the basis of most processed foods, it is the base for most fried foods, as they are usually fried in corn oil. We ingest an insane of High Fructose Corn Syrup in the Soda we drink. Corn feeds chickens (again, not the best choice for their feed). The entire McDonald's menu should just be replaced and should have corn next to every price. McCorn all the way down the list. The corn we use for these items, isn't the healthy multi-variety grain that was so prized by the Aztec people. It's standard number 2. Genetically modified in most cases, and a simple - high energy, cost efficient way to feed our livestock. You can imagine - that with corn as the basis of an entire food system, there is not a lot of variety of nutrients, or nutrition in this particular kind of diet. This - simplified is why our food today (all of the processed variety of food - corn) lacks the nutrients we need in order to function at our highest level. It's just pure calories with no nutrition. We wonder why we have an obesity epidemic on our hands? It starts - my friends with our agricultural system and works it's way through our food chain all the way to our plates. The other thing about this section of the book that opened my eyes (though I knew about it before) is the way that animals are treated in order to feed our population. CAFO's are evil. (Concentrated Animal Feedlot Operations). There is no reason whatsoever to torture an animal before you eat it, and this - essentially is what is going on in most cases. Animals are seen as dollar signs in the Corn food-chain. Nobody cares in that corporate food world what happens to them, just that they make more of them, and fatter ones, with more meat, and keep them disease free even though we are packing them all inside tiny little areas. In fact, pump them full of anti-biotics just in case they do become susceptible to some disease or other - heck it's bound to happen in that small of an area. This is cruel, AND (sorry to say more important to me) incredibly unhealthy for us!!! These animals are getting little to no variety in their diet, they are pumped full of anti-biotics, and who knows what else. Then, we're all shocked, shocked when there's a Listeria outbreak. Not to mention e-coli, and other deadly diseases that come from having an unvaried diet such as Diabetes, Cancer, etc. This is the source of almost ALL of our health problems in the world today. It starts in the food chain. I've only touched on a couple of issues here, but there are many more in the book. I suggest you read it for the full scope. So, needless to say, the Corn food-chain doesn't impress me as the best way.

The second section on pastoral grass, also opened up my eyes somewhat to the "organic" corporate world. Which - really regulation-wise isn't that much different than the other corporate world, except that their chickens aren't fed anti-biotics (and therefore, could end up with who knows what kinds of diseases), and they do have a slight option of being able to go out into a small yard. (which they never use) This by U.S. organic standards is qualified to be called "organic" and "free-range" Though, this is what is wrong with standardizing organic growing. Organizations want to see what they can get away with in order to cash in on the consumer's obsession with anything organic. I myself am a big organic fan. Though, I'm now slightly more skeptical of what really is worth it. In fact, I was looking at free-range eggs the other day, and the only one I felt really secure was actually free-range was the one that had a stamp on it from the SPCA. Haha. You have to trust the SPCA. These were happy chickens evidently. Anyway, in this world today, you hardly know who to trust. That's why the local food movement has become so popular. When you meet the farmer, and you look them in the eye, and you ask them if this was grown organically, you know whether or not you can trust them. In the book - my favorite thing ever - is when Michael spent a week with a Virginia farmer by the name of Joel Salatin on his "Polyface Inc." farm. Joel is self-proclaimed as beyond organic. Joel practices simple, tried and true farming techniques (with a number of his own state of the art twists - such as the egg-mobile). He practices management intensive grazing - a technique where the farmer lets his herd graze on a plot of land only for a certain amount of time (long enough not to kill the grass, but give it a quick cow-chew mowing) and then moves them onto the next plot of grass. The grasses he grows as well are of many different varieties, and provides the cows with a "salad bar" from which to graze. Cows are ruminants, grass is what they are supposed to eat. They were never meant to eat corn - ever. The only animal that can truly digest corn is the pig. After the cows graze the land, Joel brings in his chickens in their egg-mobile to graze after them, and clean up. It's ingenious really. The result is - healthier, happier animals and tastier, healthier meat. The eggs that come out of that egg-mobile are highly coveted by the chefs in Joel's area. The muscle tone of the egg is the real selling point, if you want to know what the heck that means, you'll have to read the book. So, Joel is pretty much living my dream.

The 3rd section was cool, but as I said - the pastoral life - that's for me. In the Forest, Michael learned how to hunt wild California Pig (which is actually a pest, and really - not native to California) from a lovely gentleman named Angelo. Italians always know where the best food is, after all it is them that started the slow-food movement in protest against a McDonald's restaurant being opened in Rome. So, Angelo taught Michael how to hunt wild California pig, and it's really a great story, totally worth reading. Michael also learned how to gather (and hunt) different varieties of mushroom in his adventures. Chantrelles and Morels to be specific - highly coveted mushrooms (wouldn't know about that - hate mushrooms - but I'm working on not hating them) That was also a highly entertaining read. I liked the part where he learned how to "gather" yeast in order to make his bread. I'll have to remember that technique myself for future use.

As you may know if you've read previous posts, I love the idea of doing things like this myself. When I have had time to do so, I have made cheese, and Yoghurt. I have every intention to one day be able to grow and raise my own food from scratch. There's a kind of satisfaction that comes from knowing exactly where your food comes from, and for me - it's about living healthy more than anything else. There's so many toxins, and endocrine disruptors in our world, and for me (and many others) that's dangerous. My body is highly sensitive to those types of things (who's isn't?) and I just feel a lot better knowing exactly where my food comes from, and how it got to my plate. I'm not saying I don't opt out for convenience like everyone else - anybody who knows me at work knows that I'm a big microwave dinner fan. (not fan so much, as just too busy to really take the time to cook) Ideally though, I want to cook my food from ingredients whose origins I know. The last thing Michael wrote in the book sums it up...

"This is not the way I want to eat every day. I like to be able to open a can of stock and I like to talk about politics, or the movies, at the dinner table sometimes instead of food. But imagine for a moment if we once again knew, strictly as a matter of course, these few unremarkable things: What it is we're eating. Where it came from. How it found its way to our table. And what, in a true accounting, it really cost. We could then talk about some other things at dinner. For we would no longer need any reminding that however we choose to feed ourselves, we eat by the grace of nature, not industry, and what we're eating is never anything more or less than the body of the world."

This book is so worth the read - I think food is a subject everybody should read about - who's life isn't influenced by food?

I Finally Went to the Calgary Farmer's Market

I have 5 days off this week-end to do whatever I want, and today (after thinking about doing so for a couple of months) I went to the Calgary Farmer's Market. I was amazed really at what diverse kinds of produce that one is able to find there - even in June! I mean - we live in Alberta right? Can anything really grow in Alberta? Well, the answer to that is - yes, with much effort. But, a lot of the produce I found today was from B.C. (which technically is outside of my 100 miles, but at least it's not New Zealand) They also had some California produce there, but I was not about to touch that. It makes me guilty even thinking about it now. There is actually one grower in Innisfail, AB that grows Asparagus!!!!! I mean - Asparagus - in Alberta. It's truly amazing to me.



Note the label says "Asparagus - grown locally - Innisfail, AB"

So, what did I buy there at the Asparagus people's stand? - Pickled Asparagus of course!!! I LOVE Pickled Asparagus (as anyone who keeps up with my blog knows) I haven't opened it up yet, but you KNOW that's going to disappear tomorrow when I do. I also picked up some lovely B.C. Cherries. 2 Varieties - The regular Bing variety, and also these lovely Rainier Cherries with a lovely golden color and slightly tart taste. I'm currently eating them, and have this crazy idea that if I lay the seeds out on a paper towel and dry them out, I may be able to grow a Rainier Cherry tree right here in my back yard. Will let you know how that one turns out.





I also found this really cool and slightly weird Yellow Zucchini grown locally (can't remember where) as well. I know that squash traditionally is yellow, but Zucchini is usually green. It's so fun to see yellow zucchini, and it was the same price as the green, so I went for it...



One other really cool thing I found was Honey made by Alberta Bees!!!!! This company I bought it from does this amazing thing with it as well. They cream the honey, and add fruit flavor extracts to it to make it fruity. I tried a few varieties out of curiosity, and then well, I couldn't say no, so I bought the Saskatoon, Blueberry, and Lemon flavored ones. You would be surprised how tasty the Lemon one was.



So, needless to say, I was pretty impressed with the variety found at the Calgary Farmer's Market. People often told me that it's more expensive than other farmer's markets, but you know, I found that the prices aren't that much different than they are at the Health Food Store, and often you can't find local produce at the health food store. (Not at this time anyway) Also, the vendors are just local folk trying to make a living, and I would imagine that the cost of being set up there is somewhat high, so they have to cover their overhead. With all of these thoughts in mind, I don't really mind spending a few extra dollars to support local producers. The atmosphere of the Market is awesome, and there's something to see literally everywhere you turn. They have live entertainment at various parts of the Market, andd also crafts, local artisans, etc. I loved every minute of being there. Don't eat before you go either because there's tonnes of good eats - ready to eat. ALSO, it's not too hard to get there on city transit. (which is how I got there) You just take the 20 from Heritage and get off just after Mount Royal College, and right before Flander's Avenue. You can see it quite clearly from Richard Road, so it's super easy to find. I'm going back lots of times this summer, because I'm sure (in fact I know) that there will be more exciting produce to come as the summer goes on. What a great place to spend a Saturday (or a Friday off) I recommend it to everyone I know!!!

Here's some more pictures of the market...

Book Review: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (and family)

This entry is going to be a bit more than a book review. Mainly because it's a topic which is so important to me that I can't help but sprinkling it with personalisms. First off, I'd like to dedicate this entry on my blog to my good friend Steve, and people like him who have known about the struggle to keep the "locavore" movement alive a lot longer than people like me. I've always felt that healthy eating was important, but lately, learning more about myself, and what makes me tick has made me even more focused on this important issue; so, I've been learning as much as I possibly could. Jodi (at work) told me about this Barbara Kingsolver event coming up and told me I should go to it because - in her book - she makes cheese. She really does make cheese in her book, but the book is about much more than just cheese. (Jodi knew that, just wanted to share a portion of it that she thought would be important to me - being a cheesemaker and all) Anyway, so, I was all - yeah maybe, ok. Then, one day a couple of weeks back, I was just chillin' like a villin' at my favorite book store - McNally Robinson (about to close locally, which makes me sad) There was this Animal, Vegetable, Miracle book sitting there, so I picked it up; and lo and behold - in the description - I learned that Barbara and her family were living my dream. Living off the land, self reliant, supporting local farmers. When I was a little girl, (in Calgary - no joke) we had a garden. This was the late '70's, early '80's you understand of course, so the seasons were reasonably - normalish, and we could probably grow more than you could now. We had lovely Zucchini, Peas, Raspberries, Carrots, Potatoes, Chives, Rhubarb, Strawberries, probably lots of other things too, but I can't remember them all now. I do remember however - eating peas and chives until I was sick and stinky. We loved that garden, and the fruits of our labors.


Dad, Deb, Rich and I with some of the fruits of our labors. Note that my head is down and I am seriously focused on eating peas.


Dad, Rich and I in the Raspberry patch - harvesting Raspberries.

Ah, those were the days. I often say that, but life was really much, much simpler in the '80's. What has happened to us? Why are we so driven to keep going and going, and our lives fly by. Months seem to go faster, and days seem to flee as soon as they arrive. There's a movement called "Slow Food International" started in 1986 - Italy that is trying to restore some of those simpler, slower, more appreciated practices that are involved in keeping the food we eat - healthy and flavorful. There is a direct correlation between freshness of food, and flavor. The fresher our food is - (straight from the ground, or free-range fed), the more flavor, the more nutrition we are going to get from it. That is the message of Barbara's book. That and much more actually. There are so many different aspects of this issue that it affects us nutritionally, socially, economically, politically - we literally ARE what we eat. I honestly (and am ashamed to say) have never thought of this until reading the book, but the truth is that we are contributing a massive amount of emissions to the atmosphere due to food transport. There's a portion of the book - written by her husband - Steven L. Hopp which can explain this issue better than I can...

"Americans put almost as much fossil fuel into our refrigerators as our cars. We're consuming about 400 gallons of oil a year per citizen - about 17 percent of our nations energy use - for agriculture, a close second to our vehicular use. Tractors, combines, harvesters, irrigation, sprayers, tillers, balers, and other equipment all use petroleum. Even bigger gas guzzlers on the farm are not the machines, but so-called inputs. Synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides use oil and natural gas as their starting materials, and in their manufacturing. More than a quarter of all farming energy goes into synthetic fertilizers. But getting the crop from seed to harvest takes only one-fifth of the total oil used for our food. The lion's share is consumed during the trip from the farm to your plate. Each food item in a typical US meal has traveled an average of 1500 miles. In addition to direct transport, other fuel-thirsty steps include processing (drying, milling, cutting, sorting, baking), packaging warehousing, and refrigeration. Energy calories consumed by production, packaging, and shipping far outweigh the energy calories we receive from the food. A quick way to improve food-related fuel economy would be to buy a quart of motor oil and drink it. More palatable options are available. If every US citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That's not gallons, but barrels. Small changes in buying habits can make big differences. Becoming a less energy-dependent nation may just need to start with a good breakfast."

So there you have it - your solution to reducing your personal emissions may just start with becoming a locavore, and eating only foods grown locally and organically. As I said, I had never thought of that, but I'm so glad that I know it now. My friend Steve, also made another good point - all of that travel of the food, also contributes to the cost of it. As gas prices go up, so does the price of our food. We all know that the price of food is becoming astronomical. This is something we ought to think about.

As I grew older, my parents eventually gave up the vegetable gardening, opting for flowers, and making my patch of grass to mow larger. Alas, we all have had the wool pulled over our eyes - believing that it is easier, and less costly to eat processed food from the grocery store. That - I believe, was one of the many factors that contributed to my life-long battle with the bulge. No longer, I mean - yes, I will still fight - always, but I now know where the origin of the problem is, and exactly how to conquer it. When I was a teenager, I remember watching "Gone With The Wind" with Scarlett O'Hara - and her famous line "As God is my witness, I'll never go hungry again". One thing that stood out in that movie, and stuck with me I believe throughout my life is something that her father - Gerald O'Hara said to her. It was something to the effect of "Land - Katie Scarlett - land is the only thing in the world worth having, it's the only thing worth fighting for". I really think, something struck a chord with me when he said that, and somehow, that and other factors influenced me to want to grow green things, and off I went to college - Olds College to study Horticulture. I decided - this was the life for me - I would grow things, and live off the land, and I would make a difference in the world. Well, being 19 years old, and away for the first time ever, as well as many other dramatic things that seem to always happen to 19 year olds unfortunately put the Kibosh on my plans to become a great Organic producer. Though, the dream is still in the back of my head. I even remember making a business plan for my plans. This was forever ago, and plans that were written down have been lost; though it is still in the back of my mind, creeping up ever so much to the forefront. One day - I will get to live that dream - I will grow things, and eat them, I will be self reliant, I will raise my children to know where their food comes from, and what went into bringing that food to their table. My brother-in-law's Dad wrote him an email a couple of weeks back. (he lives in Victoria, and it was during our spring snowfall), he wrote to him... "I'm eating Lettuce and Radishes that I grew in my garden, what are you doing - shovelling snow? We all found it very amusing, but the truth is that his Dad lives in a nursing home, and he has a small patch of land there where he grows his garden, so I figure - if he can do it, then, none of us have an excuse. We can grow a garden anywhere, and frankly, should grow them everywhere. There's an excess of space wasting that goes on in our urban lives. I'm not a purist, and I'm not perfect, but my passion for these things has been renewed, and it has me thinking about what I can do to improve my life in the future. Thanks Barbara for helping me get that passion back. Oh, and as for the book - seriously - entertaining, witty, educational, fantastic. Barbara is an amazing writer, and her family are just as great. I loved hearing stories about Zucchini Larceny, and Turkey sex (which believe it or not - is entirely non-existent in our current food system). She makes everything so interesting. I'm looking forward to meeting her next Wednesday and getting her to sign my book. On a side note, yes, Barbara and her family are American, but what they have to say applies worldwide. They often refer to statistics within their own country, but the truth is, this is a problem in all of the countries of the world (including mine) Other books, and links to similar projects and ideas can be found here...

http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/
http://100milediet.org/ (the Canadian version - yay!)
http://www.slowfood.com/
http://www.slowfoodcalgary.ca/ (for my local friends)
http://www.seedsavers.org/

Become a Locavore today!!!

To Sum Up My Week...

I have absolutely nothing to blog about this week it seems. I mean, I'm over my cold for the most part - that's news I guess. To say something positive for the cold, it did make me lose 4 pounds instead of 1.5 or 2. So, yay for getting sick. I'm reading this awesome book called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle about Barbara Kingsolver and her family - living my dream!!! Living off the land, completely self suficient except for what they get from their neighbours. I will, of course do a review of it after I am finished, but basically - it's pretty much the greatest thing ever! I am going to see Barbara Kingsolver in person with her family on May 28th at the Knox United Church on 4th St. I bought tickets, so that will be awesome to hear about it first hand. Hmm, what else, well, my brother turned 40 yesterday. It has reminded me of my own mortality. We all seem to be getting older. Darn. Still trying to sell my car, and find a used hybrid bike for $450ish. Please, someone - buy my car! This week please. I know, begging is not flattering, but I'm not proud, I'll beg if I have to. As for bikes, well, I'm debating between Specialized, and Gary Fisher. The Gary Fisher Utopia looks good. Maybe I can find last year's model somewhere. I did see one add for a Gary Fisher Hybrid on Kijiji, but someone already got it. I'm checking daily, don't worry, scanning the horizon and keeping my keen sense of smell on the hunt. Something's gotta come up. Well, later peeps. I'm off to the gym to catch some 90210! Heehee.

SUCCESS!!!!! (That positive tone is for you - Jodi)

Tonight, I made cheese. Yes, that is right, I made my own cheese. It is an officially recognized cheese - even though it is one of the simplest of all the cheeses to make. It really was simple really. Though, even a simple cheese can be complicated if even the smallest details are missed. After numerous attempts at Mozzarella (which I may have gotten to the bottom of why that wasn't working), I decided to try an easy cheese - Queso Blanco, and there was much success. I will write out the recipe, just in case any of you want to try it yourself at home, and put in my 2 cents as to what I did, with pics....

First off, you need to start with Sterilizing all of your equipment. It's really important, when dealing with dairy in particular to keep your work area clean and to reduce the risk of pathogens getting into your cheese. Dairy is so delicate you know - in the making. I pulled back my hair too because hair in cheese is just wrong. Earlier in the week, I found "The Big Pot" at Winners for cheap, and decided to buy that to make my gallon of cheese this week-end. In the process of sterilizing it, and sterilizing my cheesecloth as well as my thermometer, I discovered that my thermometer is between 5 and 10 degrees off because it started boiling somewhere between 90-95 degrees Celsius. That may be where I went wrong with the Mozzarella, and before I try again, I'm going to get a proper Dairy Thermometer (for which I will hunt) Anyway, "The Big Pot" turned out to be too big...


I could have fit 2 Gallons in there, and probably will do 2 next time...


Ah well, anyway, here is the info in the book re: Queso Blanco with recipe...

Queso Blanco is a simple Latin American cheese popular in many Latin dishes, especially Mexican. It's name translates to "white cheese." It is a crumbly, moist cheese that acts quite like Cheddar for cooking. It's flavor is mild, almost bland and slightly sweet. Queso Blanco is the original Monterey Jack cheese. The massed produced Monterey Jack cheeses that most people are used to are more bland and rubbery than this original cheese. The name Jack cheese came from David Jacks, a Scotsman (always a scot - this is me, Becky speaking, I'll do this from time to time while typing out the recipe and you'll know it's me because of the italics ;-) who was given credit for the cheese. However, the original Jack cheese, Queso Blanco can trace its roots farther back to Spanish Franciscan monks originally from Mexico.

Ingredients: 1 Gallon of whole Goat's or Cow's Milk, and 1/4 Cup of Cider Vinegar

Heating: No Double Boiler is needed for this cheese. Heat the milk slowly on direct heat, stirring it frequently to prevent burning. Using a medium-low heat, stir and heat until the milk reaches a temperature of 180 degrees Farenheit. (this takes flipping forever and especially so when you are using an entire Gallon) Maintain the 180 degrees temperature for several minutes.


Acid Coagulation: After the 180 degrees Farenheit temperature has been held for 10 minutes, slowly stir in the cider vinegar until the milk solidifies and small curds start to form. (I admit, I was a little impatient due to disappointment in the past, and added a touch more cider vinegar than the recipe calls for)



Draining: Remove the pot from the heat. Drain the curds by pouring the whole mixture through a colander lined with cheesecloth to keep the curds from escaping.


Tie a knot with the corners of the cheesecloth to form a bag of curds. Hang the bag over a pot for draining. The bag can be hung from a hook, or you may use chopsticks or spoons pushed through the knot to hold the bag on the sides of a pot to drain. (I chose to use a rolling pin) Let the bag drain for 3-4 hours, until the bag stops dripping.


Storing: Open the bag and remove the solid mass of curds. They can be wrapped in a plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This cheese can be eaten immediately, or stored for up to a week in the refrigerator. (I chose to use a ceramic bowl - you know my feelings about plastic)


So, the cheese itself, I like it - it is bland and slightly sweet (which is how it's supposed to be apparently), but I feel it could have used a touch of salt. Overall, I'm really impressed with the texture, the taste, and the easiness of Queso Blanco. You can see for yourself, I am very satisfied with the results of this cheese-making experiment...


Co-workers, be prepared to taste my cheese this week!!!!!!!!