Good Clean and FAIR Friday, November 21, 2008

 

Last night i attended a very complicated, fascinating lecture about fair trade and Oregon Farms.
Slow Food finds it important to focus on 3 things when it comes to food

Good; we need to eat good food. Good for us, good tasting
Clean; we need to eat food that isnt packed full of toxins, poisons and hormones
That leaves us with Fair; we should know where our food is coming from and know that the people who are bringing us this food are being treated fairly with fair labor laws and wages.

I say should  because the conversation is so complicated and ground-breaking. We have heard of fair-trade coffee and chocolate. Now we are talking about fair trade broccoli and strawberries.
There are farmers who are still paying their workers $2 an hour to spend 12 hours a day bent over with no health care and no way to protect themselves. 
There are also farmers out there who are working alongside their workers 12 -16 hours a day, finding ways to protect their worker’s bodies from the grueling labor and paying their workers the same wage they themselves are making.

Jeff Falen from Persephone Farms stated that if we are willing to pay 20-30% more for our produce then we already do, he could afford to pay his farm workers $12 an hour and give them health care benefits. Many of us are already willing to pay more for organic produce, would we also be willing to pay for Fair Trade Organic produce?  We are in an obvious economic slide. This doesnt make the conversation any easier. Many people in this country cant afford organic apples and can buy big red apples at a huge shopping center for half the price. So does it matter that those apples were grown in China where we have no information about good, clean or fair practices? For many people, they dont want to think about it or worry about it. But if  it does matter to you, think about what you are eating and how it got to your table and the people who brought it there, perhaps people who live less then 20 miles away from you.

I think it is a worthy addition to our already packed brains. When you think about the complcations of just this one train of thought, it is so overwhelming but then i read this quote and i thought DAMN! This isnt so complicated,

“I am only one, but i am one. I cannot do everything, but i can do something.
And i will not let what i cannot do interfere with what i can do” – Edward Everett Hale

There are going to be at least 2 more lectures about this topic here in Portland. If you want to learn more, go HERE

Three Cheers For Fall! Saturday, November 15, 2008

i have 3 little tid-bits that I want to share with you because they make me smile

1) I am making Chai and the house smells wonderful. It is so fun to throw a bunch of spices into a pan and let them steep the house in amazing smells. I am including the recipe here for you to enjoy too. This time  I am tweaking the recipe a bit. i am taking the first  7 ingredients  and i am going to simmer it until it reduces by half. Then i will add a vanilla bean, black tea and honey and give the syrup as a gift so that anyone can enjoy it! i hope it works.

BUT really the reason i am inside typing on a gorgeous fall day is to tell you that Vanilla Beans are $$$$$$ and  they are painful to buy. Here is a fantastic secret i learned!

Cost Plus has a great assortment of international spices. I picked up Star Anise Seeds, HUGE black cardamon seeds AND (drum roll please…) 2- 9 inch long very moist vanilla beans for $2.99! that’s right folks; two dollars and ninety-nine cents. I have skipped recipes before because i could not spend $20 on a damn bean. So go to Cost Plus and load up. if you dont have a cost plus near you, just let me know, i will buy them and mail them to you!

OK here is my Chai Recipe

1.5  cups water
10-15 Cardamom pods crushed
8 whole cloves
6 white peppercorns
1- 1inch piece of fresh ginger coarsely chopped
2 sticks of cinnamon
1-2 star anise pods
1 vanilla bean
milk
black tea
honey

put water in pan and  muddle the first 6 ingredients to break apart the oils. Add to water and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes. STRAIN. Add vanilla beans, milk, tea and honey and enjoy.
I have had really weak Chai and too strong Chai so i am making this purposely vague. You decide how strong you want it and add different spices to it to see what you love. Nutmeg, Bay Leaves, Allspice, whatever makes you feel fancy.

2) The Full Beaver Moon (hey i didnt name it) last night was incredible AND it was a clear night. How blessed are we? I ran up to the top of Rocky Butte and snapped a picture of the moon over East Portland. What you cant see is the river, mountains, and rush-hour traffic on I-84 and I-205 merging BUT it is ok because the moon rose over hte hills with wispy clouds and it was beautiful

3) i went to the Farmer’s Market this morning…an hour too early…and enjoyed all the fall bounty! My favorite was this Romensco. I havent cooked it but i think it is a cauliflower/broccoli? it is gorgeous! maybe next weekend i will cook with it! it would be fun for thanksgiving maybe? everything is good with cheese right?

i also found my new favorite way to recite the ABC’s

Italian Purple Artichokes : Brusselspouts : Piles of Chantrelles mmmmmm And all locally grown or foraged without any pesticides.

Counting Down Thursday, November 13, 2008

This year i wanted to make Mieke an Advent Calendar. I grew up with a HUGE felt advent calendar that reached from the floor to the ceiling and each square was made by my mom or one of her students back in the 60’s. I have the most amazing memories of this calendar and every year we pull it out and oh and ah about it. The square with the lamb on it still has lipstick on his cotton ball fleece where i tried to make him pink. I was such a pain in the arse.

I have always loved the idea of starting the Christmas countdown on December 1 and there are so many different kinds of Advent Calendars out there! I wanted Mieke to have something she would have every year and would be part of her family’s celebration. The only answer I could think of was felt of course! All good Christmas items include felt right?

Here is the final project.

 

It took me about a week to design it and put all the little pieces together. I have been swimming in red and green felt, string sequins, beads, sheesh! It has been odd to have all this christmasy stuff around in November but i had to get it done! Can you find my  mistake? I might leave it that way as my signature flaw. Each pocket holds a little treat!

Of course Kudra couldnt help but get involved…so there is also a little cat hair on it…her signature too

  

Preparing For Winter Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The weather around here has definitely let us know winter is on its way. All the leaves are off the trees now and i was like a drowned rat just going from the house to the car and my car to the office. why did i even bother drying my hair this morning? To be honest with you, I LOVE this weather! Yesterday i had a fire going, listening to music, working on a project (coming soon!) and i even made a meatloaf. mmmmmm. The cats were snoozing, the dogs were snoozing and the storm was blowing outside.

All were hunkered down, except for the ladies. I watch them out the window; heads down, bums up and the wind is ruffling their feathers all over the place. They could care less about STORM WATCH 2008.

 

The coop is ready for snow, wind and rain. There are tarps on 3 sides and a peice of plywood on the front side and fresh bails of straw inside.  I love stomping out to the coop in the blustery weather and as soon as the coop door closes  I hear the rain pattering on the roof, the tarps  billowing and the ladies all warm and dry. It is quite cozy. I havent had to use the heat lamp yet but it is ready to go too.

Be On the Lookout Thursday, November 6, 2008

I LOVE the Farmer’s Almanac. I get it in my email about once a month and it is chalked full of sage advice from wise wise folks.
This month it is preparing us for the long cold months ahead.

Apparently the good people who guide me believe in a combination of scientific fact and an eye on nature. Personally i am pretty sure they could tell me brownies were going to grow on rose bushes come May and i would carve it out in stone…ok only maybe.

However, Farmer’s Almanac did provide me with some signs to watch for of a long cold winter

Here they are;

• Geese fly south at a high altitude.
• Oak trees bear many acorns.
• Chipmunks are abundant.
• Lakes and rivers freeze later than usual.
• Onions grow thicker skins than usual.
• Squirrels are gathering a large supply of nuts.
• Woodpeckers appear early.
• Lots of berries.
• Corn husks are thicker and stronger.

Does anyone find this as wonderful as i do? (read: am i a complete dork)

i also learned that Tedd Roosevelt was the first president to travel outside of the US in 1906 and that November is the best month to cut wood.

Now, you can all sleep peacefully tonight  and dream of large nut piles.

Oh and if you too want to be as well informed as I am,  go HERE.
I should add that their webcams are a bit disappointing…one is dark (assuming it is night) and the other is wet and dark ( my windshield perhaps?)

Meat-centric and Not Ashamed Tuesday, November 4, 2008

I just love that word now; meat-centric. I am pretty sure an undernourished and angry vegetarian would create such a word. Someone told me that there are people trying to ban foie gras from local restaurants, which has successfully been done in Chicago, and criticize my favorite restaurant Beast because they serve too much meat. TOO MUCH MEAT. I think that is the funniest thing i have ever heard! The place is called Beast! They may create delicate flower blossoms stuffed with goat cheese and curried carrot soup topped with roasted pumpkin seeds but it will never be complete without a plate of their succulent perfectly prepared pork! There are 100’s of incredible vegetarian restaurants in Portland. Leave the meat to us crazy carnivores. GO BEAST! You have my 100% support to be as meat-centric as you want to be and i will cross your door every day if i win the lottery, promise. mmmmmm Beast

The Budding Friendship of Black Bat and Purple Butterfly Monday, November 3, 2008

Halloween was fun this year. I spent the evening with a few friends and their little ones.
We had a Bat, a Butterfly and a spooky creature with no face..but she didnt like having no face so her costume came off pretty quickly. Oh and i was one of those people who left a bowl of candy on my front porch with a sign and half expected it to either not be touched, or gone, bowl and all. But happily, 3/4 of the bowl was empty! i have trick or treaters!! nice ones!!

This is my favorite picture of the evening.