Food, Inc.

Eating is something you do each and every day. It is hard not to think about when you are going to eat, what you are going to eat, and where you are going to get it. The smallest smells can spark your mouth to salivate and your body to crave. We are so CLOSE to food... and yet, so very far away.

I watched Food Inc on Wednesday last week. There was a lot of information I already knew. I have been in this conversation for far too long to miss that feed lots are bad, and organics are good, and beyond organic is better. But listening to the conversation is absolutely fascinating! And there were bits of information that were given new light... particularly about 'big organic' that I hadn't thought of in that way. It was neat to hear a different perspective and be able to see how some people justified getting into bed with huge corporations to supply organics. I have to admit... I had a small turn of heart.

It helps that it has three of my favorite beyond organic advocates in force;

Eric Schlosser, the author of Fast Food Nation and a wonderful investigative reporter.

Micheal Pollan, my personal favorite food author and author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food.

And Joel Salitin, the owner of Polyface Farms and one of the forerunners for the Beyond Organic Movement. (He was featured in Micheal Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma.)

I highly recommend this movie. It is informative and it puts a face to so many of those places that you tend to think have had their bad business behind closed doors for far too long. Just the list of people who wouldn't talk to the reporters is pretty interesting. It makes you think even more, what do they have to hide?

A month of dates for under $100

My husband and I have very different schedules. He works from noon to midnight and I am a morning person. This causes a lot of personal time conflicts. About a year ago we decided that we needed a weekly date night, and since then, have been connecting much better. We used to go out and not think about the money. After all, I figure, even if we were doing it with no budget, it would be cheaper than marriage counseling.

In these last few months we have had to be more careful... just like everyone else.

This is my coupon file. It is the front page of my menu folder. I have figured out a way to have 4 dates a month with my husband for under $100.

#1: Plan ahead.

Pick one night a weekend that you can go out. This is harder with inconsistent schedules, but try set aside a night each week. Even if it is a different one every week. Planning ahead almost always saves money. See if you can trade babysitting with a friend who has children. You may not be able to go out every weekend, but say on one Friday evening you go out and then the next week they get to go out. Then both of your families will get the benefits of regular date nights without having to pay a babysitter.

#2: Use coupons.

Restaurant.com. I thought it was a scam at first... Honest, I did. Who gives out $25 coupons for $1-$10? But it isn't. We have used them a bunch of times. (Today's code is ENTREE for $2 coupons.) Make sure you read the fine print! There are limitations. You have to spend a certain amount to get the discount, but if you are careful, you can get a really nice dinner at a new restaurant for less than $20.

Discount movie tickets from Costco. For just $15 we can get into an evening movie. And don't forget to use your cinemas rewards card! We use the Regal Club Card and have gotten free tickets, free small popcorn's and free small sodas (both of which you can upgrade to a large for a dollar, plenty to share). And that cuts the cost off even more!

We don't do both of these things in the same night. We go to the movies one week and eat out the next. For two movies and two dinners out this month it has cost us $83.22 over the last 4 weeks. That is with 18% tip on both dinners, and popcorn and soda for both movies. (Last night we saw Couple's Retreat. Not great, but funny.)

And #3: Do it anyway.

Sometimes our babysitting doesn't work out. Sometimes we don't have the cash for even the cheap dates. But we try to keep our date night sacred... like a pact to make sure that we stay connected.

Dinner I made my husband on a 'date night'. Grass fed beef roast cooked Med Rare, sauteed shallots with mushrooms and garlic. Buttered cabbage with dill. Eat your heart out Applebee's.

Any date night tips out there? What do you guys do to keep the romance in these hard money times?

Market Days and thinking Christmas

My list this week:

Shallots, Chanterelle mushrooms, red and Chopra onions, carrots, Choiggia and red beets, russet potatoes, arugula, Romanesco, cauliflower, rutabaga, celery, fennel, Italian kale, cilantro, dill, leeks, Delicata squash, garlic, beautiful apples, celeriac, and one of the biggest cabbages I have ever seen.

I love the market. This year we are a tight bunch. Things have been hard in the sales dept and so we have all started coming together more and more. I love the community that we have created.

This week was hard for me because of the rudeness of people who are not in that community. One woman poured her coffee out in our stand. I don't know what she was thinking, but for the entire day, we had coffee under our table where we kept our purses. I would like to say she didn't do it on purpose, but I know she knew, and she didn't say 'I'm sorry' either.... so it makes me doubt it. And another lady started PEELING the shallots... down to the meat... and then putting them back in the basket. I spent the better part of the morning with snide comments in my head and a smile on my face. It was a hard day that way. But it is over now, and I have so many things to be thankful for!

Eggs from Quilceda's Farm again. As if to know your chickens were well taken care of in the production of your eggs was not enough, Terry occasionally puts together a set of eggs just for my kids... filled with brown, white, and green.

The idea that you can be close to your food is not so very hard. I have at least a short conversation with Terry each week about his animals, or what I cooked with his products, or which one of my recipes he liked. You can't have that same type of conversation with Safeway.... and even if you did, they wouldn't care what you thought and certainly wouldn't set aside colored eggs for your children. It is a whole other level of being connected to the process of your food.

In other news: Again I am thinking about Christmas. We are going to try all local or handmade and we are going for under $500. Sounds hard? Maybe... we will see. This week I did a little test run in the 'local' category and found some real gems!

The lady that made this mitt is a favorite vendor of mine. Theresa from Texture Clothing. She is so stinking sweet! I traded some of my pantry canned goods for these babies and I totally adore them! I will have to see if I can get more. Also, my best friend SWEARS by her skits. They have been a favorite of hers for over a year now. All of Theresa's stuff is made as gently on the earth as possible and she is the queen of finding new ways to reduce waste. Not to mention an awesome personality that is great to talk too.

And here is a new favorite vendor... Sip-T! This super cool mama has three girls ranging from 4 yrs old to late high-school... she unschools, is vegan, and makes KILLER tea! We traded veggies for these two, and I will be back for more. Wonderful tea! Her girls are at the market with her each week, and the olders are the best sales people ever. One bubbling over with excitement to tell you about the tea, and the other hanging back and telling you her experience in a quiet, reserved manor. A perfect mix if you ask me. A mood for everyone. They are all very knowledgeable and even their tea packages have personality.

Last year I gave soap in my Christmas gift baskets... but this year, I am thinking TEA! (Link to the best soap ever!)

In the farm news, they are doing a winter CSA this year. In our climate, that is a rare thing. I am excited to say that most of the things up in my list this week will continue to be available through Christmas and on until MAY! If you live between Vancouver and Seattle, please check them out.

The menu for this week is very inspired by what I got from Market. We are getting into the tight time of year moneywize. Heating bills going up, repairs needing to be done, and the coming of Father Christmas... yep. It's almost Winter.

I made this new template in Word. The clip art is also from there. I tried to convert it to a PDF but am not quite ready for that. If you want the file, email me and I will send it to you. :) Have a great Monday everyone!

Ecolovies ~ Recycled Art Candle Holders

Many people ask me what we do with all of the children's art. Aside from their portfolios, and the recycle bin, we like to turn art into other art!

I saw a picture on Flickr of candle holders made from card stock cut decoratively with a hole punch. The lady had several arranged in a round tray and they were just beautiful! As I was going through their art, and my recycle pile was getting larger and larger, I decided to pull out some of the art for this project.

What you need:

Heavy Paper/Children's Art

Different sized hole punches

Decorative Scissors

Mason jars

Tea light candles

(Shaped punches work too, but if you are using watercolor paper, as we were, know that it is hard to do. It may get discouraging for littles.)

1. Measure your mason jar with a ruler (mine were 2 and 5 inches tall) and make a line on the back of your child's artwork.

2. Cut the paper at that spot with decorative scissors.

3. Get crazy with the hole punches. Put punches in the top, bottom, make them look like lace by punching in a pattern across both top AND bottom.

Have fun with it!

4. Tape your paper, art side out, around the mason jar. (You could also use jute or hemp tie... perhaps with some of the punch outs dangling from it on a bow?)

5. Add a candle and enjoy!

Arn't they pretty?

Unbelieveably cool!

Just a few days ago I told you guys about my score on Cyan's Born shoes... and night before last, I was going out to dinner for my weekly date with The Man, and I saw this cute little consignment shop. As I looked around I glanced at the shoes and couldn't believe what I saw. A pair of Born clogs, very similar to Cyan's, for ME!!! Two totally different shops, totally different trips. Mine are not quite as perky, and the morning I took these pictures I went to the Apple Guys place so they surely not as clean... but wow. Two pairs of great shoes for me and my girly for under $15. *Glee*

It is the thing of stories in the faith of thrifting. "If you need it, it will come."

(BTW, it is really hard to take a picture of the side of a shoe you are wearing. I'm just sayin'.)

The Apple Guy

Our apple tree appointment was yesterday. Bob Hartman himself was our guide for the morning. He has been breeding/growing trees for 37 yrs! He was AMAZING! I swear, he has forgotten more about apples than I will ever know.

We walked about his place and he would pull apples right off the little trees that we were considering buying and cut them for us to taste. He gave me a pen and a roll of tape to mark the ones that I liked so I would know them when I was ordering (pic above). He talked about varieties that are good for organic gardening (not susceptible to Apple Scab) and then what flavor and storage hardiness we wanted.

When I told him I wanted a smaller type of tree he started to throw out numbers... Most of which I had no clue what they meant; P22, B9, M111... huh? I sat there quietly, until he realised that he had lost me and he said that those are the root stock that the trees are grafted onto to make them smaller. He asked me what sized tree I was looking for, and I said one I could reach most of, but I didn't mind if I had to use a ladder for some. And he said the root stock I wanted was the B9 or Mark... which grow trees about 40% of normal size. I just nodded and asked if that was under 9ft tall... and he said yes with this twinkle in his eye. That twinkle came back when we were tasting the apples too. He would always taste them with us... he said it was "quality control"... but I think he just really loves apples.

It was an amazing apple education. My head is still full. One thing that really shocked me though was that he doesn't preserve his apples. He just eats them raw. I asked him which ones were best for apple pie filling and apple sauce... he said that he thought it was the tart ones (which I already knew, I was fishing for a specific variety) but he wasn't sure because he never makes the stuff! An apple guy who doesn't make apple pie. I thought for a moment about asking him to ask his wife. LOL!

I ended up picking three 3yr old trees... but two are grafted to have two different varieties on them. I got one Gravenstein, one Keepsake with a Liberty graft, and one Florina with a graft of Sweet Sixteen. I specifically picked the second double tree because the Sweet Sixteen is an early apple that is Bob's favorite...

"But you didn't taste that one." he says

"I trust your judgement... you are the apple god." I reply.

And again, he got that twinkle in his eye.

The best part of the whole trip was him telling me that since I bought three trees I got a fourth for free!!! I decided that I had enough apples and picked my favorite from my parents old yard: Italian Plum. I have NO idea where I am going to put that baby, but I am crazy excited about it. It was a heavenly homestead day. :)

My Household Notebook

I am a lover of paper. Paper and water. I waste both continuously (recycling constantly, of course). I love a good book, and a long bath. I love hot showers and three ring binders filled with paper that I have printed out. It is one of my many flaws. I still haven't gotten use to this information age for keeping all of the ideas I love on the compact glory of the computer. I am an avid user of binders. And I am not sure I will ever change... I honestly prefer paper to screen.

This is a post about our household notebook. It holds so much of our lives in it's three hole punched pages. I have seen many tutorials of what to put in a household notebook, or how to print the pages just so... but the ones that always helped me the most were the tried and true posts about what people use every day and what is in their notebooks. So I am going to try to give you a description of mine.

There are 9 sections in my household notebook.

1. First up is the front pocket and the pencil case. In the pencil case I have tons of page tabs, highlighters and pens. Along with a ruler and a pair of scissors.

2. The second section is my calendar. It was drafted by my best friend and this is her second year producing it for all of us homeschooling mamas. First there are the month in view pages:

I use the page tabs for events that haven't happened yet, and then once they have, I mark them down in pen on the actual calendar pages. I want an accurate representation of what we have done, and this is it. If the event was rescheduled, I can move the tab without a problem. If we didn't do the event or class, I remove the page tab.

Next is the week in view pages. This is where I keep all of our homeschooling records. What we are learning, the pages of what book were finished, and what field trips we took. This is always full. I consider most everything schooling, so it all goes in there. If you were to see a close up of this weeks list you would see "Preserving Apple Chips" and "Writing in Journal" right along with "Math U See Lesson 17D"

The next three sections are the chore sections. I have one, The Man has one, and the kids have one. We all have printable chore charts.

3. My chores. For a long time I have gotten mine from Motivated Moms. I print mine out on the 29th of each month and they get three hole punched and put in the binder. (If you wanted to try out Motivated Moms, right now is a good time... the last of the years chore calendar is always at a crazy discount... like $3.)

4. The Man's chores are broken up into days he works, and days he doesn't. Of course, on the days he works they are very limited. He always has to put away the clean laundry and dishes. The other days I get to add on to the 'honey do' list. But I try to be reasonable. ;)

5. The kids chores are the last section. I have the master list and they get a half page print out of their daily chores that they get to mark off. I print these out the same time I print mine each month.

6. The next section is meal planning. Each week I plan our meals from the food I get from the market on the weekend. Then we make a shopping run for everything else on Mondays. I have my menu templates all printed out and three hole punched in this section (I print 4 or 5 each month with my chore charts).

I also keep all of our old menus and menu ideas behind the new templates.

7. This section is for dr visits and vets visits. I keep all of our medical records (including pets) in this section. Once a year I clean it out and separate the recycling and the records storage. This section has been in use a lot as we have just moved and found new doctors and vets. It was so nice to be able to look back on it and see when Taio had his last Rabies shot, or we had our last dental cleaning.

8. This section is the car and house repairs. Mostly this is a page with a pocket for receipts, but I do have a page with dates for oil changes, furnace cleaning, etc.

9. The last section in my notebook is my preservation notebook. This has become really important. Mostly for the planning of the next year. I made a table and printed out 5 pages that are set up like this:

At a glance I can tell what I stored, how much yield there was per box/crate/pound and when we ran out.

At the back of this section there are a bunch of page protected sheets with my favorite preservation recipes. Some of these are new and I printed them off this year:

If I do take a file from the Internet, then I try to make sure I can find the source again by putting the name of the blog, or website at the top of the recipe. Of course, this being paper, I can pull it out and write on it (above) to adjust the recipe to my taste. This blueberry jam recipe turned into one of my very favorites of the year and I am excited that I can find both kinds again and again.

That's it. It feels very strange to put this all down on paper... like my OCD tendencies are all out there. lol... However, I really do use it every day. There are other sections (smaller parts of the 9 main sections) that are in themselves very helpful for me that I will share at a later time, but this is the bulk of it.

Change is in the air...

Spring and Fall seem like good cleaning and cleansing times. It seems that decluttering and getting unwanted stuff out of the house is doubled with the idea of actually being in the house for the next 6 months. It is funny how coming back to these seasonal rituals helps with the acceptance of the passing of time. Currently, I have a large pile of things that I have collected from around the house that I am going to go through and put in it's place. Mostly papers that need to be sorted, bills that need to be filed, and other things like that.

One thing I am doing differently this year is the clothing. I am going to limit everyone to 10 - 12 outfits each. This is easy for the boys. The idea came from The Man actually doing that already! But for Cyan and I, it won't be so easy.

Does anyone have any ideas on accessories that make our outfits still exciting and fun, while having a very simple wardrobe?

Market days

My list is deceptively short this week because of how many things I couldn't bring home due to us selling out! The market was crazy yesterday. The last few days have been cold, but BEAUTIFUL. Sunny and brisk, people were out in force and wanting veggies. Many farmers have left the market now, and so the few that are there (us included) are slammed all day long. I don't think we stopped moving from the minute we got there at 7:30am, until we got back in the truck around 4:30pm. It was crazy... but good business. It was one of the best days we have had yet this year.

My list: Carrots, golden beets, celery, cilantro, dill, cabbage, leeks, cauliflower (beautiful crop!), shallots, tiny radishes, and some decorative gourds. Trade: Russet potatoes for baking, apples and pears, and then my wonderful eggs.

Here is the menu for this week:

Halloween

The warrior.

The princess.

The dragon.

Of babies, bread, and bruises

I unwrapped Logan's foot last night. It seems so much better. Arnica cream and the bandage are helping a whole lot. It is so hard to judge hurts with tough toddlers. When he first jumped off the couch and landed wrong on his foot he seemed broken. Couldn't walk. Wanting only to be held and read to for about an hour. I called the nurse at our Dr office (which is now 40 minutes away) and she said to give it until 3pm if he could walk on it. He could, he just didn't want to. She said to wait and then go into Urgent Care instead of the ER. So I wrapped it, read to my baby, and waited. By the time 3pm rolled around he was running after balls in the backyard. No kidding. I thought that I had overreacted. And then I unwrapped it.

This looks good. Oh SO good compared to three days ago. And you can only see the side... the bruise goes all the way down the bottom of his foot and half way across the top in, what is now, a big green/yellow stain. That night when I took the bandage off, it was so swollen that his big toe was pointing down slightly. Goodness that boy is tough. It hurts me just to look at it... and he was running within hours. Amazing! I still have put the bandage and arnica cream on it every single day and will until the bruise is gone. But it seems to be healing nicely now.

This is his current perch. He sits on the counter while I cook. This loaf of bread is from Great Harvest Bread Co next to Trader Joe's. It is a feta and spinach loaf... he calls it "pizza bread". He has been snacking on bread for about 5 days now. Doesn't really eat much else. Good thing I get good bread.

He is so spirited. My baby. Yells all the time. I think that he has two talkative older siblings and it makes it hard to know when he will get cut off, or pushed out of the way for something more important... so he yells. It always makes for an interesting day.

Thrifty, but oh... so cool.

Score!

A few days ago, walking through Value Village while picking up the last of the Halloween stuff we needed... I saw these amazing shoes. These are Born's. They are $60 shoes and I found them, brand new with tags, for $4.99. I couldn't believe my eyes.

Pretty sweet shoes for a pretty sweet girl. Happy fall!

Starting Over

Starting over is hard. Especially when the job is as big as creating a homestead. But there are fundamental differences that make this time/this space feel right to me.

1. This is my home. I am not renting anymore. The changes we make here will not have to be changed back when we leave.


2. We can plan on being here for a very long time. That means that doing things like planting fruit trees, or putting in a huge garden will not feel like a waste or even a compromise.


3. I know the rules. When I started the homestead in the Red House I felt like I needed to do tons of research just to make sure what I was doing was alright. With landlords, with laws of the city, etc. This time I am outside of the city (by 20 blocks) and I own my own house. It never stopped me before, but it will make the going much easier this time.

I am daunted by this task. I feel like there are so many things to do and research before I even start with the building, digging, moving, and planting.

This week, it is apple tree research. In this catalog above I can get three year old, branched, bareroot fruit trees for $21 each. The man that runs this farm will make an appointment with you, let you try the apples from the trees you are considering, and tell you if your planting location will work. What an AMAZING resource! I am setting up my appointment for next week (our weekends are T/W/Th) and we will go out there and pick our three trees for the spot in the back of the garden. I am looking for semi-dwarfs, native to the Pacific NW. The catalog says that there are quite a few. I can't wait to taste them!

You can't find this type of service at the big box stores. Their products may be cheaper but there is something HUGE that is missing there. Not only are there only three kinds of trees, but the employees refer to the tags for the difference. lol! They rarely know anything about planting, growth, or when they fruit. Not to knock places like Home Depot or Lowes... honestly I am there quite often with requests for specific kinds of boards, hinges, paint, and door knobs. And they do a good job of helping you research while you are there. But for things like fruit trees, it just seems that you would want someone who has tasted the fruit. Doesn't it?