Thursday, August 28, 2008

Food, Wonderful Food!






Today is CSA day. I often want to take photos of the wonderful boxes of food that we receive each week, but that would become redundant at some point. What never gets old though, is photos of the people, vegetables and animals that make our CSA boxes complete. Cheers to those who help make our lives healthier, happier, and much more interesting! Today I took just a couple of photos at Jen Ehr Farm when I picked up our CSA box. You see, I didn't take nearly enough photos of the staff on the farm this year, and I sense several of them are about to move on to school or other endeavors, so I thank you all for sloshing through the mud, sweating through the heat and sun, and ensuring that each and every week the CSA customers have a beautiful, healthful share to enjoy. I know that this time on the farm will last in your memories forever. I hope that it has permanently changed the way you look at and eat food. I hope that some of you will choose the difficult path that Kay and Paul have chosen, which so enriches our lives that it is worth all the heartache, sleepless nights and financial worries that come with the territory. If you take nothing more with you, please go forward with the knowledge that you have contributed to a healthy, sustainable way of eating, and we are all better off because of your efforts. Bountiful Eating!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

No Child Left A Dime


You won't see this often--I'm not into politics, but this was too good to pass up. While walking home from the library 5 minutes ago, yes, walking...some of us still do that, I saw this bumper sticker, and thanks to modern technology it's now on my Blog. Recently we've been talking in the back yard with the neighbors about what a joke the "economic stimulus" checks are, how much money it will cost us and our children to pay for this foolishness and how it really isn't going to help the economy at all. So I took a few steps back and took a picture of the bumper sticker with my cell phone, and while I was taking it I read the one above...priceless. Of course, often even if you do vote people like Bush & Cheney get selected--that's how pitiful the options are. So, that's my two cents on current politics.
But while I'm on a rant, in today's Wisconsin State Journal Opinion section, there was an article about the FDA allowing irradiation of greens, and how "The move will protect Wisconsin consumers from bad spinach and food-borne illness-but only if they buy irradiated products." HUH??? Hello, nice pitch for corporate agriculture. If we all eat locally grown produce and know who our farmers are and how they handle our food we really don't have too much to worry about, AND it's good for the local economy and environmentally correct too. Buy Local--It's Fresh and Safe.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Beans, Pickles and Yes--Blueberries

Beans and pickles--dilly beans and pickles. It's canning time and just before heading to St Louis to see Tim's daughter Angela, and his grandson, Isaac I canned up some dill pickles and some dilly beans. Coincidentally while we were visiting, little baby Isaac ate some beans and pickles, at the urging of his Grandma (me!) He's only 9 months old, and has only two teeth, but he has a great appetite and so far likes pretty much everything! Last weekend my niece, Sarah, was married in Illinois. I've just added the photos to the people section of the photography pages. Check them out! And yes, FINALLY I've found blueberries. They haven't been easy to find this year, and don't come cheap, at $8 per quart, but boy are they yummy!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

No Blueberries Yet, but Tomatoes!

In spite of oversleeping and not getting to the Dane County Farmer's Market until 9 am on Saturday, there were no blueberries to be found...no melons either. I had a hankering for cantaloupe and blueberries, which will have to wait a few more days. There were early Lodi apples, the tart, green early apples that let us know fall is coming. And there was Apple Cider, which is a very welcome relief to the fill-in orange juice we've been buying to get our fruit juice intake.
But Tomatoes, they are starting to ripen in the garden and we had our first summer bounty last night with fresh basil out of the garden, fresh, local mozzarella and balsamic vinegar. Can you say summer in a bowl? What a treat. And we're just at the beginning of the tomato season. I saw some awesome heirlooms at the farmer's market, but I have three plants ready to burst any time so I'd rather wait for those. Somehow it's much more fun to pick them out of the garden at home and put them on the table for lunch or dinner, or even breakfast. My largest tomato plant fell over twice due to an early morning storm on Sunday. It took some rigging to save it and to get it upright, but it's full of green tomatoes, so I didn't want to lose what is sure to be a boatload shortly.
So tomorrow at the Wednesday market I'll go in search of blueberries and melon, and probably find some other yummy things as well. Next Blog--blueberries???