Eagle Creek Hike

We picked the one day during spring break that was dry to do a day hike! Yeah! We did Eagle Creek in the gorge AGAIN! It is one of our favorites and we never get tired of it. We hit the trail head just after 8am and finished just before 3pm. We hiked just past Tunnel Falls and then turned around. 14 miles when it was all said and done!

Hazelwood Community Garden 2009 season

So it is now spring day five! We are itching to get seeds planted but don't want to jump start and be sorry if we have one more night of below freezing temps. We have several plants started under fluorescent light in our bedroom closet (I know, it sounds scandalous)! My hope is to give weekly updates of our garden this year from start to harvest.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle ch. 19-20 THE END OF THE BEGINNING

Hungry Month is included in February and March. Right where we are in the calendar now! In the Kingsolver pantry was a minimal supply. "Six quarts of spaghetti sauce, four jars of dried tomatoes, four onions, one head of garlic at the end of a long skinny braid-and weeks to go!" (322).
It's a great time to start vegetable seeds indoors under a fluorescent lamp. That's what Matt and I did at the beginning of this month.
In the final chapter, Steven L. Hopp gives some good guidelines and when shopping for your food. See pp. 348-49. The questions he poses are:
1. How small is a small farm?
2. How nearby does local have to be?
3. Is organic more important than local?
4. Which of these should we favor and when?
Some of the guidelines that I will walk away with are
'Make meal plans for the seasons, rather than starting with a recipe and having a treasure hunt for its ingredients.' 'Products with fewer ingredients have probably burned less gas.'
Let time begin again for you and let it continue locally, sustainably and eat healthy in community!

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle ch. 17-18

Have you ever asked yourself what types of food are traditionally American? In chapter 17 Kingsolver talks of the very few foods that are uniquely American. Here they are: corn pudding, pumpkins and cranberries. I'm sure this list isn't extensive but it does speak to the limits to our traditionally unique food. In the author's household, Thanksgiving is Creation's birthday party. I would add that we praise the Creator rather than creation. That's not to say that we shouldn't be thankful for His creation because it's what we live off and enjoy.
Once the farmer's market closes for the winter, stock up! I love this idea! And what a way to support the farmer's at the end of their season.
One of the quotes I loved from this chapter is "Value is not made of money, but a tender balance of expectation and longing." (287)
Chapter 18 asks What Do You Eat in January? A very good question the answer to which I was eagerly awaiting. I love pesto and was pleased to find out that it freezes well! Yeah! The ultimate goal of this book was to prove that a family could live entirely local and sustainable. One other surprise accomplishment was the financial savings. Yes, farmer's market produce generally costs more than buying in the grocery store. But it tastes better. But the money saved from not buying prepacked foods from the grocery stores, it was incredible!
Eating locally in winter is easy. But the time to think about that would be in August. (309)

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle ch. 15-16

Chapter 15 was primarily about the author's vacation in Italy. I love the image of food in Italy! You take the time to eat and enjoy the meal, even savor each flavor and nuance. There are many courses but Italians eat slowly and sometimes just a bit of each course. One of the places they stayed was somewhat like a bed and breakfast but served all meals and you had the option of helping on the farm! Sounds like adventure to me. I also love the idea of eating with people you don't know. What conversations might be had? This place attracts tourists and is called agriturismo.
In chapter 16, I was fascinated by how a peanut grows! It's quite amazing actually. Peanuts begin like most other plants, blooming in summer but then pollinate and set their seeds and then begin to grow downward and burrow into the ground. Hence your underground crop, the peanut! Matt thinks it's too cool to grow peanuts in the Pacific Northwest. I wonder if my co-blogger and friend, Jenn could in southern CA???

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle ch. 13-14

Chapter 13: Life In A Red State.
This particular red state is the state of constant tomatoes in August. And now the life of canning begins. Slicing, canning, roasting and drying tomatotes is what August is all about for the serious gardener. We are very interested in canning some of our garden harvest this year. I will take heed to prevent the awful Botulism-"the famously deadly bacterium that grows in airless, sealed containers and thus can spoil canned goods." Kingsolver says that tomatoes, grapes and tree fruits can safely be canned in a simple boiling water bath. All other vegetables must be processed in a pressure canner that exposes them to higher-than-boiling temperatures; it takes at least 240 degrees F to kill botulism spores. I also learned that tomatoes can be frozen whole! Who knew?
"Supermarkets only accept properly packaged, coded, and labeled produce that conforms to certain standards of color, size, and shape." Some church and social justice groups give the "trash" vegetables away to those in need. What saddens me is that some of these perfectly good vegetables probably become real trash.
Chapter 14: You Can't Run Away On Harvest Day
Labor Day weekend dawns and it is time to harvest the chickens and turkeys on the farm. "A harvest (animal or vegetable) implies planning, respect, and effort." "Pasture-based chicken and turkey are available in whole food stores and many mainstream supermarkets. Farmers' markets are a likely source for free-range eggs, poultry, beef, lamb, and pork. Jenn (my co-blogger on this subject) and I wrestle with this issue. Do we spend more money on the better product or less money and still be fed? Some will feel they need to buy the cheaper product. Still others will choose to eat meat less often and pay the higher price. Matt and I are doing this slowly. Right now it's just beef that we're eating at a higher price for the better product but we eat less of it. But the exciting thing is that when demand for the better product increases, and it is, prices will decrease! It's a win-win!