The Giving Season

When we lived in Winona, each December we could go to the library and pick names off of the Giving Tree.  We typically grabbed 2-3 names and spent between $25-$40 on each one.  We never took people who wanted iPods or some luxury item.  We mostly grabbed the people who were asking for pants and socks and necessities. 

Does anyone know of a place in the Cities that does that?  I did a quick Google search but couldn't come up with any current listings.  I assume churches worldwide do it, but since we don't go to church, we miss out on that option.  I found the Salvation Army's Angel adoptions, but that's not quite what I want to do.

Any ideas?

This early afternoon, I watched Food, Inc. Have any of you seen it? I cried at least twice--once when looking at the beginnings of chicken production--chicks in crates and dropped through shoots, and the second time with E Coli and a two year old. And I did get to see the Polyface Farm focused on in The Omnivore's Dilemma, and it was just as I imagined. Exactly.

I teach composition at the University of Minnesota, and for their projects, I asked them to follow an issue that would reflect their passions in life. I have two students studying organic food, another studying green housing, two or three more looking at obesity and fast food. I'm grateful to them, this cross-section of the university, who are choosing to look into better lifestyles. This, and I will learn a great deal, I hope, from them.

I read The Green Kitchen Handbook, which was really good for someone who is still in the early stages of transitioning. As many of you already know, I'm returning to vegetarianism after eating meet for about three or four years (and was vegetarian for about seven or eight). My husband will still eat meat, but I think we should probably start purchasing it all from the local health food store, where it focuses on local and organic and free range options. I don't want to say that becoming vegetarian is the answer to the growing food disaster; rather, it would probably be better to put my money into celebrating family farms who are focused on sustainability and mindfulness.

One of the things I need to learn much, much more about is cooking with seasonal recipes. This is what I took the most away from The Green Kitchen Handbook, that and my strong desire to eventually learn how to can my own food. I'm so spoiled with all that's available in the grocery stores, the aisles of tomatoes and lettuce and whatnot. I know I need to take it a little bit at a time to make the change permanent.

Does anyone have any good advice on this? How do you make sure you eat seasonally? Any tips for someone living in a small town south of the cities? Perhaps I need to do more shopping at the Wedge and Seward while I'm in town for classes.

xo

John Seymour

Anyone one to take a trip to Ireland? 

Another good one page article from my Organic Gardening magazine lead me on a multi-tabbed ascent into the world of self sufficiency through John Seymour's eyes.  Many books have been marked to read in Goodreads, possibly one will get bookshelved as to buy for X-mas. 

Does Anyone Castille?

Anyone have any pointers on how they use castille soap?  I already have some and will start using it obsessively asap, but I'm curious how others use it. 

I just realized that it would have made sense to cross post most of my No Impact entries here... eh', feel free to check them out.

another ny times article on no impact man

So very timely. Check out the book review here.

event: Talk of the Stacks: Andrew Zimmern Date/Time:Tue., October 20, 7:00pm Price: free

Venue

Minneapolis Central Library

300 Nicollet Mall

Minneapolis, MN

612.630.6000

http://mplib.org

Andrew Zimmern

Jessica Armbruster

He's drunk blood while in Uganda, he's consumed a roasted bat, and he's even had an Incan witch doctor beat him with a live guinea pig. No, Andrew Zimmern is not a vampire or a guy with a strange animal fetish. He's a dude who eats weird stuff for a living. This Tuesday, the St. Paul resident, who received rave reviews while working as a chef at Un Deux Trois in the '90s, will discusses his latest book, The Bizarre Truth: How I Walked Out the Door Mouth First...and Came Back Shaking My Head (Broadway). The author, columnist, and television personality is probably best known as the host of Bizarre Foods, which appeals to a 13-year-old-boy demographic by having him sample some of the world's strangest culinary delights, from local grub to high-end treats. But the show is worthwhile for adults, too, as it goes beyond gross-out antics and into anthropological musings on how local markets can be one of the most revealing things about a culture, and how finding authentic, local food is becoming increasingly difficult in our era of globalization. This evening's talk should be food for thought as well as entertaining. (Photo by Travel Channel)

Look What the Flashlight Beam Found

Peanut butter goodness = 1
Mouse = 0

We just recently started putting some of our 'storage' veggies in our crawlspace. I realize it's still a bit too warm down there to be called a root cellar, but it's no warmer than the kitchen, where they were stored previously (and will get much colder).

I have a old crate down there that is holdling a bunch of things - garlic, red and yellow onions, shallots, & a different types of potatoes.  So far so good.  Nothing has taken to eating anything.  A few days ago, we put some mouse traps down there, just in case.  This spring when we were re-doing the insulation we found a few dead mice.  We had no way of knowing how long they had been there, so the traps were a safety net.  

It would appear they were a good decision on our part.  The used trap has been reset and placed back in it's spot. 

Guess that grow-foam insulation didn't do much to keep the little rascals out of those holes we found earlier.  For those that don't know us, we have 3 cats.  We have never had a mouse issue in the livable portion of our house to date.  I'm sure one of our felines would be more than happy to share their kill with us, if they were to find one scampering around.