Skating Progress

I couldn't leave you on such a low note, so take a look at Ripley's skating progress! Wow!!

The Blues

Or more appropriately, The Greys. I've made it until April this year, thanks to my vitamin D supplements -- but I'm finally at that annual point (after a hum-dinger of a week ... Benjamin got strep throat, week of rain and cold, that "time" of the month, then I got strep throat!) where I start asking myself ... "Why in God's Earth do people choose to live in New England?!" Yeah, yeah, yeah ... the coast is beautiful, the topography is beautiful, the annual turning of leaves (which I have to admit I view in part like a funeral ... welcome grey), but seriously, How about Virginia? I went to college there and even though my family was living by the coast in Southeastern Massachusetts where it's milder, I had two complete springs every year. One in Virginia ... and one in Massachusetts when I came home IN MAY!! Sheesh. If I was on that Mayflower boat that was meant to land in Virginia ... I would have said "Let's go south! It's too dang cold here!!" A case in point ... I took the opportunity to record this grey 40 degree and rainy last day of March and at least show you where I plan to plant my fruit trees! (poor things only have two months of good summer ... ) Thankfully, "they" are forcasting 60 degrees tomorrow ... and rain, but beggars can't be choosers I suppose.

Knitting

I know, I know ... Love, Cook, Create, Knit. I really haven't had much to say about knitting. I'm currently on a reading / anti-television kick. (not very conducive to knitting) A woman once told me when I was brand new to the whole knitting thing that I would eventually be able to knit and read at the same time. It sounds like a dream come true to me (as I love to accomplish great things - two at once, even better!) however, I still can't imagine it. It seems like mistakes waiting to happen. Anyway, if you enjoy knitting you have GOT to check out this website if you haven't already ... RAVELRY . It's so clever, and so fabulous. In order to use this online knitting community website, you have to sign-up. Because of the demand, in a few days they send you an "invitation" in your email box. But, just to give you an example, you can look up a certain pattern in a certain book and see other knitters efforts at making this project. They show pictures, list the yarn they used and explain any changes they made to the pattern or trouble they ran into. What a brilliant idea. Really, if you like to knit. Check it out. Enjoy.

Earth Hour 2008

Here is a small way you can join with others to make a statement. Turn off all your lights this Saturday, March 29th from 8 to 9 pm to participate in Earth Hour to raise awareness regarding our energy use and how it effects our earth. This is a global event that was first created in Sydney, Australia last year. Make it a family event - light some candles, read books, tell stories, play games, play hide and seek. Teach your children about the importance of saving electricity. Take the opportunity to check your house for ways that you can save, like connecting your television etc. to a power strip and turning it all off when you're done. Talk about ways that you can save energy. Create a plan of action. You can sign up by clicking right HERE. This will bring you to OUR TEAM Earth Hour Group. Cool Eh? Let's see how many of us we can get to join in. Plus, it's kinda fun, isn't it? Check out this video from Earth Hour. Also from You Tube ... Enjoy.

My Pediatrician Politics Lobbyists Greed ... #37

Have I mentioned I love my pediatrician? Thankfully, my children don't get sick often, so I feel I can justify driving 45 minutes to reach this man. R.B. Trivett. He is a "one man band", only books patients he has time to see in a timely fashion (you pretty much never wait), he never does things that aren't necessary, has a time or two performed "old fashioned" inexpensive methods to diagnose, he inspects the kids shins to make sure they are active enough ... ie: many bruises mean that you are an active kiddo ... No bruises = too much t.v., He also has the kids squat down like ducks and walk across the floor ... if you can do this, it's a good sign that you are getting good exercise (he usually adds that you'd be surprised how many kids can't pull this off ... I'm happy to report that my kids have always passed.) He's cautious about using antibiotics even years ago when this wasn't "in fashion" (keeps up their usefulness), he's a no nonsense old fashioned dude who loves kids -- in a laid back New Englander kind of way. I could go on. Unrelated to my experience with him, when he found that Wednesdays were slow, he decided to go over to clinics to help out those who aren't as privileged as others. He and his wife (a nurse practitioner) also go to Haiti to serve folks there in clinics. We had to go visit Dr. Trivett today because Benjamin was complaining of a sore throat, head ache and had a fever the previous day. As usual when you're hanging out watching Dr. Trivett look at your child's sore throat or whatever, he gets to talking. I mentioned that although Benjamin has a great brain, he doesn't have the stomach to become a doctor. Then Doctor Trivett shook his head and told us that becoming a doctor isn't a great idea anyway. He went on to say that we used to have the best health care system in the world. Now we are #37. He informed me (with my astonished face) that France is number ONE. Dr. Trivett went on to gripe and complain that this was due to Corporate Greed, Politics and Lobbyists. I commented "Don't get me started". He added "And Pharmaceutical Companies." Amen. Don't get me started. I felt validated hearing this from a Doctor I have a great deal of respect and trust for. (p.s. Benjamin did have strep throat, poor guy)

Save Trees

Ok, I'll confess this took me one hour. I'd collected catalogs over several weeks (I've done this once before, but not as thoroughly) and sat down and worked through my entire pile. It took me exactly one hour. Really, it wasn't too bad. A lot of catalogs have a specific selection when you call to deal with folks who want to be removed from their mailing list. This gave me hope that others too are making an effort to stop the waste. Particularly with so many being able to access catalogs online, it's really unnecessary. I've been chipping away on this ... I've unsubscribed from DMA, called Valassis at 1-800-437-0479 to stop all of the weekly flyer junk mail, and called several other catalogs previously. Now, when I go to my mailbox, there is very little in there. Exciting. It also means time-saved in that I don't have to go through it, sort it or recycle it. And, of course it saves trees, energy both to produce them and to deliver them. Be encouraged. It's worth it.

Aunt Ruthie's Hummingbird Cake

This is a bunt cake family recipe from my Great Aunt Ruthie. After chatting at a small family reunion down in Maryland about my passion for family recipes, and heritage, she sent me four family recipes in the mail. One of the recipe's was my Grandmom Wohler's Raisin Bread recipe that Aunt Ruthie swears comes out best when she uses the recipe written by my Grandmom's own hand (rather than from a copy). Too Cute. I will write out the Raisin Bread recipe later. Now, enjoy Aunt Ruthie's Hummingbird Cake.

3 C flour, 2 C sugar, 1 t salt, 1 t baking soda, 1 t cinnamon, 1/2 C nuts, 1 1/2 t vanilla, 1 1/2 C oil, 2 C mashed bananas, 3 eggs, 1 8oz can crushed pineapple not drained.

By Hand: Mix dry ingredients together, Mix wet ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients stirring with a spoon NOT a mixer. Bake in a greased and floured Bunt pan 300 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Cake will crack slightly on top. Cool in pan for 1 hour before removing.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz softened cream cheese, 1 stick butter, 1 lb. box confectioners sugar, 1 t vanilla.

Cream butter and cheese, add sugar and vanilla. Mix until smooth.

Yum. Yum. Yum.

After having TASTED this cake now, I can say with confidence ... WOW!!! It got rave reviews at our small group last night. Yumola!!!

Thank you MINDI for saving me when I realized I didn't have enough confectioner's sugar!!

Kiddos, kiddos, kiddos

By the way ... when writing my last post this morning, I went to download the pictures from my camera card onto my computer AND What did I find?! Cracker crumbs in the CF card slot on my computer. Argh! Yes, Ripley tried to put his "cracker card" into my computer. Sheesh.

My Victory Garden - Beginnings

A 21st Century Victory Garden: Victory over Factory Farms, Victory over Chemicals and Pesticides, Victory over gas and pollution used to carry my vegetables all the way from California or Chile. Victory over wasting perfectly useful land on grass (we have a sizable front yard for outdoor sports), Victory over mowing large patches of grass - wasting fuel and polluting - when it's not being used. Here are the beginnings of my Victory Garden. On the left are my first seedlings. Broccoli and Broccoli Rabe, and two varieties of Leeks. Broccoli is a cold weather plant and can be planted here in Southeastern Massachusetts in mid-April. Leeks are a slow growing vegetable and need to be started early in order to be ready before snowfall. They can be "over-wintered" - which means covered with straw, protected from the elements, they go dormant and you can uncover them, pry them out with a pitch-fork and PRESTO fresh leeks in the winter. Cool. The picture to the right is the location of my new garden area (I currently have two raised beds). It should be ready by mid-April. Exciting.

The Boston Marathon

My sweet, thoughtful, fab-u-dad, loving, fun, thought-provoking, interesting, Portugal-Born, handsome husband Victor is running the Boston Marathon. It will be his 26th Marathon. Wow. This year he is running to benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. Victor needs to raise $3000. He will be running in the memory of my cousin Eileen Murphy Churn who died in less than a year after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma at the age of 33. Eileen's two children Sarah and James were both under the age of 10. It's a worthy cause. If you'd like to donate and help raise funding for the fight against Leukemia and Lymphoma you can do so through the Team in Training's Website on which Victor has a web page. Click HERE to get to his web page. Learn more about Team in Training by checking out their official site at http://www.teamintraining.org/ Thanks for giving. p.s. Victor is shown here riding in the right seat of my brother Scott's airplane.

More Ideas on Saving

Click HERE to link to even more ideas I've written on saving!

Bread Baking, part two

Ok, I feel better. The standard "Active Dry Yeast" should be proofed in liquid between 100 and 110 degrees. Phew! I'm not completely out to lunch. By the way, I need to tell you again, the Oatmeal Raisin Bread is INCREDIBLE! See the post below to get to the link to the recipe. Yumola.

Bread Baking

Like my experience with Green Tea I feel I'm the last to know some crucial information regarding bread baking. Regarding "rapid rise yeast" or "instant yeast" (I haven't researched regular "active dry yeast" yet because I'm currently out of it) ... this "instant yeast" is exclusively used in Peter Reinheart's thorough books about bread, and I see it frequently on a fabulous website for bread bakers www.thefreshloaf.com . Well, typically a recipe will indicate that "lukewarm" water should be used at some point to activate the yeast. I have always read in recipe books that the temperature of the water should be between 105 and 115 degrees -- you don't want it too hot or you could kill the yeast, you don't want it too cool or it wont activate the yeast. When my bread wasn't rising nicely I tried water closer to the 105 side of the scale -- thinking maybe I was killing the yeast. Well, I just happened to read the label on the "Fleischmann's BreadMachine / RapidRise Yeast" today. It said that some liquid (be it milk or water or a combo) should be mixed with the yeast at some point that is between 120 to 130 degrees!!! Good grief. So, of course, when making Oatmeal Raisin Bread today I heated my "liquid" to the correct temperature and don't you know my bread rose beautifully! Wow. Lesson learned. I feel like a turkey. I'm going to check the regular active dry yeast package tomorrow to see if the same applies to that. Anyway ... problem solved. PS - the Oatmeal Raisin Bread is FABULOUS! If you bake bread ... try it. (see link above) Enjoy!

Saving & Giving versus Consumption *Even More Added*

Whether you are saving to make ends meet, saving for emergencies, saving for retirement, or saving to give -- I want to write down some ideas I have. In a society that encourages consumption and waste without shame, I think it's worth considering that we don't have to "buy into" what THEY say that we need. Not only is it possible to cut back on a LOT, but you'll find that it also happens to be more GREEN. I'm going to keep adding to this as I have time, so keep checking back.

My thoughts and ideas:

Watch this Saturday Night Live Clip My Pastor played this during a recent sermon - it's hilarious! "Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford" FABULOUS! Click here to watch the clip.

Don't use your credit card If you don't have the money for something ... don't buy it. It's tempting once you've "charged" not to pay the entire amount on your credit card bill - and then you have to pay interest. Plan savings into your monthly budget for unexpected expenses. Use the suggestions on this post to try and get to the point where you can afford it.

Read the book AFFLUENZA I just finished the book Affluenza - get it? The authors define Affluenza as "a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more." It's a great, thought provoking book. Makes you think about how we've gotten here as a society and about the choices you make regarding the things you choose to do with your money, your stuff, your life.

Watch this Video Clip This clip The Story of Stuff is great. It talks about our consumption, and the mathematics of what it means to our society. Keep watching because it touches on a variety of subject matters -- it's well worth watching until the end. It will give you a fresh perspective and make you think twice before buying something you don't need. Save.Save.Save.

Plant a GARDEN I learned recently that Victory Gardens were created in the 40's to releave the pressure that the war put on our food supply. Everyone contributed in ways from recycling to creating victory gardens to help our country and economy. I think we should create a NEW KIND of Victory Garden ... Victory from bland vegetables ... Victory from supporting conventional (non-organic) farming ... Victory from shipping our vegetables across the country - vegetables that were picked well before they are ripened and genetically engineered to "look ripe" even though they weren't propperly ripened ... Victory from spending money on something that we can do for ourselves more cheaply and with WAY better taste!

Recycle & Compost Save money (and the environment) by cutting down on how many plastic garbage bags you use. Together with recycling and composting we produce LESS THAN one tall kitchen garbage bag worth of trash a week. We used to fill one tall kitchen garbage bag A DAY! Wow. Big difference. Check out the story on my blog - click here.

Cut down on your Electrical Bill Switch to CFL bulbs, Air Dry your clothes, Connect your computer and t.v. stations to power strips in order to shut off all "phantom electricity" and making sure everything is off. Commit to turning off lights when you're out of the room. Turn off your outdoor lighting unless you're expecting guests. Entertain yourself in ways that don't involve electricity -- read a book, play a board game with your kids. Check out my electric bill testimony - click here

Create a Weekly Menu, Shopping List At the start of your week (whenever you plan for the oncoming week) plan what you will serve for breakfasts, lunches, and especially dinners. Write a shopping list -- and when you go shopping, stick to the list! This week a got money for grocery shopping out of the bank. I am keeping it in an envelope and when I spend money on groceries (or other weekly expenses) I record the amount I spent and what I spent it on, on the envelope. It's fun to try to spend less than you have in the envelope (I love games). Today, I was thinking -- how fun it would be if - at the end of the week - if I spend less than I'd allowed for, I can donate it to charity. How cool is that?! I'll keep you posted and let you know how this goes. We do waste a lot of food. How many times have you cleaned out your fridge of tons of veggies you never used before they "went bad"? Plan. Plan. Plan. Stick to your list. Save. Save. Save.

Stop buying "to go" coffee At $2-$4 dollars a cup, this is a ridiculous waste of money. I have been on this bandwagon myself, but since being home with my children I have improved. Since going on my recycling kick I've improved even more. I'd say I "treat" myself to a to-go coffee once every one to two weeks. However, there are tons of people who regularly buy coffee two times a day. Not only is it expensive, think of the waste. Dunkin Donuts and Honey Dew are particularly bad because they use Styrofoam cups. It's tough to find a town who will recycle Styrofoam. Talking about chemicals. Ugh. With the amount of money you will save by drinking quality home brewed coffee, you will be able to afford organic, fair trade, shade-grown coffee from the Coffee Exchange in Providence! At $9.99 a pound for some varieties (16oz) - Mocha Java is FABULOUS - , it's about "on par" with ON SALE Starbucks Coffee (NOT organic, fair trade or shade grown) at Stop and Shop for $7.99 for 12 oz. Think about it.

Use your local library Free books. Go to your local library and check out books for your children and for yourself on a regular basis. Not only are books a better bet than t.v. and video games, but they are free to use at the library, and don't feed the consumerism monster. TV - commercials VIDEO games - accessories and new games. Plus, books are great for your brain and increase your vocabulary.

Stop buying bottled water. Save well over $300 a year ... stop buying bottled water. ($300 is based on buying one case a week at Walmart ... if you cave and buy SINGLE bottles of water you could save a boat-load more than $300) When you get ready to leave your house, fill up your water bottle (please, no leaching plastic) with fresh water from your faucet. Bottled water has far fewer restrictions to pass than your household water. Did you know that? Research it. Not only will you be saving big bucks by drinking water from home, but you will save the planet BIG TIME! Thank you for recycling your used bottled water containers -- if you do, but just think, there is no need to be using up the energy used to create the chemically based plastic bottles in the first place.

Stop buying soda. Honestly. The stuff is horrible for you. If you drink the sugar based soda ... not only are you getting empty calories in the sugar, but have you ever taken a gander through the ingredients list? If you drink the DIET soda ... do you really want to put ingredients in your body that have been proven to cause cancer in mice? Why? Not only is it bad for you, there is an inexpensive GOOD FOR YOU alternative .... water. Save BIG TIME by choosing water from your home. And, you wont waste needless energy producing the plastic and aluminum cans used to contain the liquid. AND, you don't have to add needless piles of cans and bottles to the recycling pile ... or worse, landfill. Eeeek.

Start a compost bin. A compost bin is a bin that you put outside in your yard (there are all kinds of sizes). In it you put all of your vegetable scraps. You can also put paper towel rolls / t.p. rolls, tissue paper (used is fine), hair, coffee grounds, egg shells, paper bags, newspaper ... click here for more information ... In the end, you get free natural chemical free fertilizer for your yard and garden. Plus, you don't fill up your landfill with stuff that you can make good use out of. Cool! Alot of towns offer a discounted compost bin. If you live in the greater Providence / Attleboro area I know that Attleboro and Seekonk offer compost bins for $25 -- which is quite a deal! Even though I live in Rehoboth, Seekonk was very willing to sell me a bin for $25 along with a kitchen compost bucket. Check it out.

Stop buying Paper towels. Use good old fashioned rags. Not only are you USING old clothing like t-shirts, sheets, towels, that might be stained, torn, or too small rather than throwing them in the land fill -- but you aren't supporting the unnecessary cutting down of perfectly good trees. It's amazing to see that if you don't buy them, you realize you don't need them. Use dish towels, dish rags and good 'ole fashioned rags (for cleaning floors, etc.).

Stop buying Swiffers. Again, no need to buy anything except environmentally friendly soap. Get down on your knees, get some extra exercise, and clean the silly floor. We are under exercised, over maxed on our credit cards, and overloaded in our landfills -- Don't "buy on" to buying "tools" we don't need to make life easier. A rag and soap is simpler, cheaper, better for you and better for the environment.

Stop buying WINDEX. My parents have a house in Florida with LOTS of LARGE windows to take advantage of beautiful views they are blessed to be nearby. Do you know what they use? White Vinegar and Water. Not only is white vinegar very low in cost, it's natural and fine for the environment! Plus, who needs to handle chemicals when other options are cheaper -- and as far as I can tell work as well or better. What a racket. Put the Windex down.

Stop buying Sponges. Not only are the majority of sponges that people use unnatural requiring chemicals to produce -- and therefore pollute the environment (and let's not rob the ocean of natural sponges, please) but they collect germs. I use one dish cloth a day. At the end of the day, it goes into the wash with our clothes.

Buy WHOLE FOODS No, I don't mean the natural foods store. I mean, foods that aren't processed. Simple whole foods are better for you, have less packaging, and have a lower impact on the environment. The Providence Journal has been running a terrific series on saving money when buying food. One article discussed how immigrants often do a better job saving by cooking whole foods - simply because they are used to cooking simply, from scratch. For example -- there is nothing cheaper and simpler to make than rice and beans. It isn't difficult to cook simply, from scratch. Let's face it, we generally don't have time and energy to cook like Martha Stewart every night -- but that's not necessary to have a good whole foods meal that taste great and takes a small amount of time to whip up. When we "bought on" to packaged and prepared foods (such the novelty in the 60's and 70's) we lost the ART of cooking quickly, simply and cheaply. You should see my Portuguese in-laws whip up a simple chicken soup in no time. I'm not talking chicken soup with boxes of broth and pre-cooked packaged chicken ... I'm talking from a whole chicken. It DOESN'T TAKE LONG! A lost art ... worth learning. (I will get around to enclosing simple whole food recipes)

Stop CATALOGS. Take time, pick up the phone and call the 800 number for free and tell stores to "hold the catalog". You will be amazed, without allowing retailers to brainwash you that you NEED MORE STUFF with their slick photo shoots and advertisements how much you will ultimately save. Plus, you save trees and the environment. Also, other mailers can be stopped by going to this site, filling out the form and paying one dollar (which simply validates your information ... and let's face it, they make a dollar out of the deal) www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist . To stop flyer's that typically come on Wednesday's in the mail including everything from Goodyear to ALL of your local grocery stores call Valassis at 1-800-437-0479 ... at least this is the number for southeastern Massachusetts.

Stop buying Dryer Sheets Stop drying your clothes in the dryer all together. We have cut down our electric bill dramatically by air drying our clothes. If you don't use a dryer, you don't need dryer sheets! Cool, eh?

I will be writing more, so please stay tuned!

Let me know if you have any ideas!

Thanks, Sandy

Ripley strikes again!

When we went skiing several weeks ago, Ripley was introduced to the snowboard. He didn't try it out, but he informed me that he'd like to. Since then, he's been eyeing Benjamin's skateboard and saying that it's like the snowboard. Well, today was a little taste of spring outside so Ripley took the opportunity to try out the skateboard. He literally worked at it for over an hour. Here is a little video clip of him trying to master the skateboard at the ripe old age of 3 1/2. Enjoy!

Miraculous!

There is something miraculous about approaching spring. I just walked outside to pick up the newspaper and experienced 49 degrees at 6:45am -- which after a full season of winter, felt like a balmy 65 degree morning. That all of the planets in our solar system hang in space spinning in time on their own axis and around our sun changing our weather and seasons ... miraculous. Just like all of the minuet details that must come together to conceive, grow and give birth to a child ... it's miraculous. Welcome spring ... come quickly! And, thank you Lord for this small glimpse of what's to come.

Winter Farmer's Market

So, we went to the Winter Farmer's Market on Saturday. I'd forgotten about it, so we got there late and missed the greens and bokchoy but here is a sampling of the things we did buy. How fun! Again it's on Saturdays from 12 to 3 in the AS220 Building, 115 Empire Street in Providence. They had fabulous music and in the room next door is a fabulous restaurant I'd never been to ... where have I been??? Taqueria Pacifica opens at 12 noon and they serve Tex-Mex foods and breakfast Tex-Mex foods on Saturday. They use a lot of local foods including local eggs. Very yummy, hip, low key and artsy.

Vitamin D

Last fall I read that 80 to 90 percent of people are vitamin D deficient. After suffering as I usually do from winter doldrums -- particularly by the time February and March roll around I was researching the idea of getting one of those light boxes to relieve the slumps. Then I read that a large majority of people are vitamin deficient and that the recommended daily amount of Vitamin D was too low. Also, when milk - fortified w/ Vitamin D - was tested they found that the Vitamin D levels were depleted sometimes to more than half the amount. So, this winter, I've added Vitamin D to my daily vitamins and don't you know I have had NO WINTER DOLDRUMS ... in spite of my lowering the temperature of our home to icebox levels (ok, I'm exaggerating). Isn't that exciting?! So, for any of you who live in areas where you hardly expose your skin to the light of day from November to April do some research and consider taking some Vitamin D. I've been taking 800 IU of Vitamin D daily. Some recommend 1000 IU. Anyway, it's worth some research -- I for one can tell you it's made a huge difference in my life this winter! Check it out.

Enjoy!

Vitamin D and Depression

Calcium Absorption, Cancer, Gum Disease, Diabetes Prevention

Oil Bill

Ok guys ... I'm a little demoralized. I just received our oil bill. If you remember, I reprogrammed our thermostats cutting down our night time temps drastically and lowered our day time temps from 68 degrees to 66 degrees. I also had our furnace cleaned and tuned. It's been a major stretch for me (I'm always cold) often dressed with wool sweater, wool socks, Uggs, wool hat, and sometimes even a scarf ... INDOORS! Well, accounting for the two extra days in this months bill versus last months and the slight increase in oil ... if the oil price had stayed the same I would have saved a whooping 95 cents a day!! However, the oil price went up, and this month I ended up paying $22.67 MORE. 95 cents may sound encouraging to you, however, let me tell you, there were some days I would have gladly payed $2 a day just to take off the hat and scarf! Help! What do you think?! Should I cave and go back up 2 degrees? I guess ultimately, if oil prices had stayed the same, I would have saved $29.45. That's pretty good. Right??

In Memory of "Bobby D"

"Bobby D" as we called him, went home to be with the Lord last week. His life was filled with peaks and valleys, but his heart was dear and his eyes were twinkling. One of his loves and gifts was his effortless ability to whip up something fabulous in the kitchen. After an abundant tomato harvest one year we happened to have a church potluck at our house. Bobby D had been simmering his "gravy" (Italian red sauce) all day, and brought it over in a crock pot. Wow. It was fabulous. I was over ten years younger and had never made my own sauce ... and if I had, it wouldn't have tasted that good! With my enormous stock pile of fresh tomatoes in mind, a few days later, I called Bobby D up over the phone and begged him to tell me how he did it. Generous man that he was, he shared it with me. Now, Bobby D was the type of cook to throw stuff in without measuring so know that this is just the version that he was able to call out to me on the phone. I made it not to long ago for family night, and let me tell you, it got rave reviews.

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So, In His Memory ... Here is Bobby D's Gravy.

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Cover bottom of large pan with extra virgin olive oil

6 - 8 cloves garlic crushed

1 1/2 medium or 2 small yellow onions chopped

Cook garlic and onion over med-low heat.

Add 3-4 pork chops with bone to pan.

Simmer for 1 hour.

Add 1/2 of 24oz can of crushed tomatoes plus a little water.

Nice big handful of fresh basil chopped.

Black Pepper & Salt (he didn't mention it, but I added crushed red pepper too ... I like it hot)

Simmer 3 hours.

De-bone pork chops - discard bones.

Remove pork from pan.

Add remaining 1/2 of 24oz can of tomatoes.

Puree sauce with Cuisinart or one of those handy-dandy wand soup pureer thing-a-ma-jigs.

Put pork back in. (I smashed the pork with fork to make the pieces smaller)

Add remaining cans of tomatoes (5 - 24oz cans crushed tomatoes)

Cook for at least another hour.

If bitter add a dash of sugar or cook with a carrot.

Add more water to get proper consistency -- ("gravy" is quite runny)

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Enjoy . . . And remember a man who loved people, cooking, sushi, gospel music with a good beat, "gabbing", his gravy, "his girls", and the Lord.

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"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" "Lamentations 3:22-24

R.I. Slow Food, CSA's and Phosphates

Slow Food Nation
Support local farmers' efforts to become part of the Slow Food Nation movement. Two local Providence Restaurant owners / chefs that invest in local foods Farmstead and New Rivers are holding The Rhode Island Aquaculture Dinner on Sunday, March 30 at New Rivers. The cost for the five-course dinner is $75 and includes mollusks, bivalves and more. The money from the dinner sill send Rhode Island farmers to the Slow Food Nation show in San Francisco. Call New Rivers at 401-751-0350.

"Slow Food Nation inspires and empowers Americans to build a food system that is good, clean and fair.The world's most pressing questions regarding health, culture, the environment, education, social justice and the global economy are all deeply connected to the food we eat and how it is produced. Slow Food Nation is an event at the center of a movement with national impact and global implications. It will engage tens of thousands of attendees in learning how everyday choices affect our wellbeing, our culture and the health of the planet. The event will be held from August 29 to September 1, 2008 in San Francisco, and will bring hundreds of farmers and food artisans from across the country to present an extraordinary range of foods and preparation techniques. It will offer activities for all ages, including food, music, talks, forums, workshops, films and exhibits, all highlighting food that supports an agricultural system that is good, clean and fair."


CSA's
Have you heard of CSA's? No, not CFL's the light bulbs, not CPA's the number crunchers ... CSA Community Supported Agriculture. You basically "sign-up" with a local farm to buy a "share" of the local food grown at that farm. This way you are supporting local farms and living a greener lifestyle by purchasing local foods as they are ready in your local area -- as oppossed to paying for food that's been motored to your grocery store all the way from South America. To connect to a local farm near you go to www.localharvest.org . If you are in the greater Providence, Rhode Island area, or close to Little Compton, Rhode Island there is a wonderful organic and I.P.M. CSA that is worth checking out. www.wishingstonefarm.com You can pick up your "share" from Wishing Stone in Providence or in Little Compton right at the farm (which incidentally is just down the street from our tiny summer place). Wishing Stone allows you to pick what you want from what they have available as opposed to giving you a pre-packed box or bag. Different farms handle distribution differently. Don't delay though, because shares sell out.


Phosphates
Phosphates. Just what are they? Have you seen the labeling on cleaning products boldly claiming "contains no phosphates". Well, that got me to thinking, What on earth are they? Why are they bad for the environment? and What HAS phosphates IN them? Well, the short answer is:

• A) Dishwasher Detergent is the most common place you will find phosphates in your home. FYI: After a few trials, the best most effective phosphate-free dishwasher detergent I've used is Seventh Generation.
• B) Phosphates basically act like a fertilizer that when they enter water tables, rivers, lakes ... etc. they over produce algae that rob the water of all of the oxygen then of course fish and other aquatic organisms die.
• C) It's serious enough that when the government recognized the problems that phosphates were causing, local governments started putting limits on the amount of phosphates allowed in products. In Washington State for example, by 2010 phosphate levels cannot exceed 0.5 percent.

But, it's more complicated than that. About a month ago I did some research online and copied a few articles to a file ... but regretably didn't record where I got them from. So, sorry I'm not to be able to reference these. However, for what it's worth, here are more in depth explainations:

From Article 1:

"Phosphates enter waterways from human and animal waste, phosphorus rich bedrock, laundry, cleaning, industrial effluents, and fertilizer runoff. These phosphates become detrimental when they over fertilize aquatic plants and cause stepped up eutrophication.
Eutrophication is the natural aging process of a body of water such as a bay or lake. This process results from the increase of nutrients within the body of water which, in turn, create plant growth. The plants die more quickly than they can be decomposed. This dead plant matter builds up and together with sediment entering the water, fills in the bed of the bay or lake making it more shallow. Normally this process takes thousands of years.
Cultural eutrophication is an unnatural speeding up of this process because of man's addition of phosphates, nitrogen, and sediment to the water. Bodies of water are being aged at a much faster rate than geological forces can create new ones.
In testing for cultural eutrophication, one would expect to find an algal bloom or scum on the water accompanied by a fishy smell to the water and a low dissolved oxygen content. Do not expect to find a high phosphate reading if the algae is already blooming, as the phosphates will already be in the algae, not in the water. The algae bloom should start where running water enters the lake or bay, so test the water before the area where the bloom begins for high phosphate and nitrate levels.
Monitors should be aware that there are different kinds of phosphates in the water, but a total phosphate-phosphorous reading is all that is needed to calculate the water quality. Use the chart below to rate your water sample:

How phosphorous affects aquatic life
If too much phosphate is present in the water the algae and weeds will grow rapidly, may choke the waterway, and use up large amounts of precious oxygen (in the absence of photosynthesis and as the algae and plants die and are consumed by aerobic bacteria.) The result may be the death of many fish and aquatic organisms.
Environmental Impact: Rainfall can cause varying amounts of phosphates to wash from farm soils into nearby waterways. Phosphate will stimulate the growth of plankton and aquatic plants which provide food for fish. This may cause an increase in the fish population and improve the overall water quality. However, if an excess of phosphate enters the waterway, algae and aquatic plants will grow wildly, choke up the waterway and use up large amounts of oxygen. This condition is known as eutrophication or over-fertilization of receiving waters. This rapid growth of aquatic vegetation eventually dies and as it decays it uses up oxygen. This process in turn causes the death of aquatic life because of the lowering of dissolved oxygen levels. Phosphates are not toxic to people or animals unless they are present in very high levels. Digestive problems could occur from extremely high levels of phosphate."

From Article 2:

"Back in the 1970s, the U.S. government recognized the problem of phosphorus pollution -- it can cause massive algal blooms in waterways that screw with ecosystems by robbing the water and aquatic life of all-important oxygen -- and started trying to come up with alternatives. Meanwhile, states and localities became more and more aware of the undesirable effects of phosphorus and began acting on their own to limit or restrict its use in laundry detergents, the first places being five cities in Illinois in 1971. (Way to go, Illinoisans!) By the 1990s, enough states and localities had limited or restricted laundry-detergent phosphates that detergent companies saw the writing on the machine and decided to voluntarily phase them out in all domestic formulations, which was done by the mid-1990s.
The main reason dishwashing-detergent phosphates didn't get the same treatment was that the best alternatives, enzymes, were neither common nor cheap even as late as the early '90s. There was also the influence of heavy lobbying by detergent makers and phosphate cheerleaders to keep them in. And so phosphates remain in many detergents at varying levels, even though they don't need to be there.
There are plenty of eco-friendly, phosphate-free alternatives that wash dishes just as well or better than phosphate-laden ones. And you probably won't be surprised to learn that mainstream, big-name detergents have lots of other suspect ingredients that are derived from petroleum and aren't so environmentally benign, a main one being artificial fragrances. So it's best to use one of the eco-brands anyway, and any eco-brand worth its eco-label will be phosphate- and chlorine-free.
Some states and localities are starting to severely limit or ban phosphates in dishwasher detergent too. My spiffy home state of Washington signed new rules into law this year that will keep the phosphorus content in dishwashing detergent to 0.5 percent beginning in 2010. It's a significant cut, since detergents now contain up to 9 percent."

Hope you find this interesting and informative. Enjoy!

Skiing Again

We went skiing again this weekend. Benjamin is working on his parallel skiing and Ripley can ski down the majic carpet tiny trail by himself ... with occassional correction. Victor and I spent most of our time chasing Ripley on the majic carpet trail, so regretably we don't have ONE picture of Benjamin. Regret. Ripley's advetures however, were well documented . . .

Local Food - Winter Farmers Market!

Hey this is exciting stuff. I read in the paper the other day that Rhode Island farmers are having such a call from local restaurants and even schools for local produce over the winter months that they have decided to hold Farmers Markets! Isn't that fabulous?! Here is the info for those of you in the Providence area.

Saturdays from 12 noon to 3 pm, Inside AS220, 115 Empire Street, Providence
Here is the website: www.farmfreshri.org

A bit about the Providence Wintertime Farmers' MarketLocal food all winter long. The chickens are still laying eggs. The salad greens are so leafy and crisp. The onions and garlic are packing spice. The apples and squashes are getting sweeter by the day. Join us for the start of another 365 days of local food. Chefs and eaters, one and all, come enjoy all that grows in Rhode Island year-round! Plus aprons, bowls, cups and calendars by Providence artists for your culinary-inclined loved ones. And hot coffee and brunch next door at Taqueria Pacifica. ALL WINTER LONG: Lettuces, arugula, bok choi, kale, collards, cabbage, chard, apples, cider, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, leeks, garlic, radishes, chilis, fresh herbs, beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips, winter squash, oysters, beef, pork, Narragansett Creamery cheese, eggs, honey, maple syrup DECEMBER: Wreaths and trees, broccoli, cauliflower MARCH: maple syrup MAY: asparagus ALSO from non-farm RI producers: jams, jellies, tortillas, johnnycake mix, chocolates, fair-trade coffee by the pound, gifts for your favorite foodie** More farmers and vendors to be announced...**

Isn't this exciting??!
Remember, eating locally is GREEN -- saving all of the energy it takes to ship your food all the way from California ... or worse, China or South America!
Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here are my Valentine's Spitzbubien Cookes! For recipe look under "Cookies", "Family Recipes", or "Recipes". Yum!

Fruit Trees, Benjamin and Whole Foods

Well, over the weekend I attended a seminar given by the University of Massachusetts Amherst about growing apples organically. We live in a rural development and are regretably restricted from having chickens. When I started lamenting about where we had chosen to settle, I realized that with all of the land we have, what is to stop me from enlarging my garden space and planting some fruit trees? I've already met with a man we've used before to do various plantings to see about enlarging the number of raised beds we have and creating a mixed fruit tree "petite" orchard including apples, peaches, pears, cherries and blueberries that works with our "rural development" neighborhood. Fruit trees are known for being challenging - particularly if you are growing them organically. So, this is what the seminar was all about. Exciting! I'll keep you posted.

Just a word about Benjamin ... I've been meaning to write this for awhile now ...

Do you know that my eight year old brings home to me anything in his lunch box that is recyclable or compostable?! A boy who saw Benjamin not throwing all of the contents of his lunch box away told on Benjamin. Benjamin explained to the teacher that he was bringing these items back to recycle and compost. So, the teacher told the other boy that this was a good thing for the environment. How cool is that?!

Speaking of the enviornment ... when going through the check out line at Whole Foods last week the gal running the registers mentioned in passing that by April Whole Foods will be discontinuing the use of their plastic bags. How fabulous! I hope it's true. Go Whole Foods!!

Happy Birthday Moose! (and carrot cake)

What a great family night birthday celebration we had at Scott (aka "Moose") and Tanya's house. We were blessed to also have in our company Auntie Alison, Rip and Tim.
From L to R, top to bottom: Dylan, Rip, Orion, Reese, Tim, Tanya, Benjamin, Auntie Alison, Glen, Scott, Ripley, Victor, Sandy, Sue, Rosalie, David.

In the center of the picture is a family favorite that my mom always made for us growing up -- carrot cake. It's Scott's stand-by request for his birthday cake. It is an easy cake to make and always a crowd pleaser. Here is the recipe:

Mix
2 C sugar
1 1/2 C oil
4 eggs

Mix dry ingredients together, then add to the above:
2 C + 2 T flour
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 t (heaping) cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1 C chopped pecans

Then, stir in:
3 1/2 C grated carrots (about 7-8 carrots) (if you want to save time, you could buy a bag of grated carrots)

Butter cake pans
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Frosting
Whip together in a mixer:
1 stick butter (use salted, and just don't add any salt)
8 oz package of cream cheese
2 t vanilla
lemon juice to taste
1 box confectioner's sugar

Here is Ripley skating! (He has the red Portuguese Soccer Shirt on ... the closest thing we have to a hockey shirt and he likes to "dress the part") Today, Ripley went to his class and participated all by himself. After the class, I skated with him and took these pictures and videos. I can't tell you how excited I was after four weeks taking him out on the ice myself and basically begging and pleading him to participate. Yea! Success!

Portuguese Cornbread

Here is Ripley helping me to make Portuguese Cornbread. I'm quite happy with how this came out. Also as you can see, I made my weekly whole wheat bread. I'm learning more and more. The Portuguese Cornbread recipe I got online a few years ago on a site dedicated to old family recipes. I searched after my inlaws brought a loaf over that they'd purchased from a Portuguese market. Portuguese Cornbread is made with white cornmeal, white bread flour and rolled in white cornflour, and yeast. (White cornmeal / flour is readily available and very affordable in the international foods section -- particularly if you live in an area heavily settled by the Portuguese. But, it is possible to find it in the baking section too.) It's lighter and has a finer crumb than a traditional yellow cornbread, but you can tell that they are related when you taste it. Next time I think I'll start the oven out a little warmer and cook it for a few more minutes to get a browner crust. But, all and all, I think this loaf came out nicely. Here is the recipe for those of you who want to try it out.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 C fine white cornmeal

2 t salt

1 1/4 C boiling water

1 t sugar

1/2 C lukewarm water (for yeast)

1 T yeast

3 C white flour

1/2 C lukewarm water

1/2 C white cornflour

• Pour boiling water over white cornmeal and salt in medium-large bowl. Mix until smooth. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
• Disolve sugar in 1/2 C lukewarm water and stir in yeast. Let sit 10 minutes until foamy.
• Rapidly wisk yeast mixture with fork, then stir into the cornmeal mixture.
• Add 3 C flour and 1/2 C luke warm water slowly and alternately until combined.
• Knead 10 minutes on lightly floured surface.
• Gather into a ball and let rise in a lightly oiled bowl for 90 minutes.
• Gently punch down (one of the new things I've learned is that I was punching down to violently ... punching down is hardly supposed to be a punch. More like a gentle caress.)
• Make a round loaf, ROLL in your 1/2 C of white cornflour, and put into greased pie plate.
• Rise 45 minutes or until doubled.
• Sprinkle with more of the white cornflour just before baking.
• Bake at 450 degrees for 30-40 minutes. (I'm going to try starting oven at 475, lower once you put the bread in the oven, then cook for 40 minutes. Last time I cooked it for 35.)
• Transfer to wire rack to cool. Don't cut until cooled. Cooling is part of the bread baking process.

Let me know if you try it and how it comes out! Yumola! Enjoy!

Our electric bill, and the affordability of cooking from scratch . . .

I never thought this would be such an exciting monthly event! Yes, our electric bill is in. And, it's good! Our KWH usage for the month last year was 944. THIS YEAR 587! Our average KWH usage per day went from 31.5 to 17.6! Hey, that's a big improvement. That doesn't even include the new CFL's I've installed in our home. Next month I hope it will be even greater. With the additional CFL's and I finally installed two powerstrips that I can turn off all of our computer and t.v. stuff quickly. Exciting. (I'm still living at 66 degrees in my house. I called the oil company to get a print out of our account over the past few years so I can measure any progress ... I'm not going to have chilled fingers for nothing!)

While we are talking about the expense of electricity . . .

I recently saw an article in the Providence Journal that reminded me of a conversation that a group of us had at family night one Sunday. The article was titled "Use common sense when coping with food costs" and on the second page "You can cut food costs and eat a more healthful diet." Amen. The article creates a shopping list along with recipes for six meals for a family of four, for under $20. No kidding. We have been sold on conveneince and have ended up with processed poison that's clogging our arteries, making us over weight, filling up our landfills with needless packaging that people don't take the time to recycle, AND ROBBING US BLIND. It is better for us to eat and drink REAL food. It's better for our health, our earth and our wealth. Think about it.

What we were talking about a few family nights ago was how our commercial capitalistic materialistic society has twisted our perception of what we need. For example, we've been sold that our children (and adults for that matter) need all kinds of electronics to be entertained and content. A book at the library is free to use, enjoy, increase your vocabulary and exercise your brain. Do they need gameboys and an xbox? Suddenly everyone looks around and stamps their foot and says "Hey! I can't afford to live on one income! I'm having to max out my credit card(s)! Just to get by!" Interesting? Maybe we need to think about living simply.

Just something that's been on my mind.

Simply Christian

As we all (hopefully) are pondering BIG things ... deciding who to vote for in the primary (PLEASE VOTE), and why ... I was pondering over a book our church is reading all together through small groups called Simply Christian by N.T. Wright. I read non-fiction books with a pencil marking everything that moves me or that I want to remember. (It requires a lot of restraint while reading a library book!) There have been numerous places in this book so far that I've litered with marks, circles, even exclaimation points. Here is an excerpt from a section where N.T. Wright is speaking about Justice . . .

" . . . And now we have the new global evils: rampant, uncaring, and irresponsible materialism and capitalism on the one hand; raging unthinking religious fundamentalism on the other. As one famous book puts it, we have "Jihad versus McWorld." (Whether there is such a thing as caring capitalism, or for that matter thoughtful fundamentalism, isn't the point at the moment.) . . . It doesn't take a Ph.D. in macroeconomics to know that if the rich are getting richer by the minute, and the poor poorer, there is something badly wrong.

Meanwhile, we all want a happy and secure home life. Dr. Johnson, the eighteenth-century conversationalist, once remarked that the aim and goal of all human endeavor is "to be happy at home." But in the Western world, and many other parts as well, homes and familiies are tearing themselves apart. The gentle art of being gentle -- of kindness and forgiveness, sensitivity and thoughtfulness and generosity and humility and good old-fashioned-love -- have one out of fashion. Ironically, everyone is demanding their "right," and this demand is so shrill that it destroys one of the most basic "rights," if we can put it like that; the "right," or at least the longing and hope, to have a peaceful, stable, secure, and caring place to live, to be, to learn, and to flourish.

Once again people ask the question: Why is it like this? Does it have to be like this? Can things be put to rights, and if so how? Can the world be rescued? Can we be rescued?"

For me, this was food for thought.

Enjoy.