Misconceptions

What looked to be an innocent day of perusing Green Bluff’s local farm agritainment was instead the silly antics of my family in disguise. (This post is Home Ec. friendly because as these actions were taking place a local grass-fed beef roast was stewing in the crockpot with local carrots, tomatoes, leeks and herbs… so there).

Just to start the day off on the right foot, a coke guzzling contest (I apologize for the low-quality video):

Not to be humiliated (all by himself) by not winning the contest, the husband caught me in the midst of my brief love affair with a caramel apple at Walter’s Fruit Ranch:

It was so damn good I didn’t mind that the caramel was so insane I had to use the utensil below in place of a toothpick!

All about tomatoes.

The week has been all about tomatoes and reflecting on simplifying. The image above is just one window sill in my home decorated with a portion of the tomatoes that hadn’t yet fully ripened on the vine. I was afraid they might die if I left them to the changing temperatures so I brought them inside to join us.

Inspired by the plethora of tomatoes and a nostalgia for a sandwich my dear friend’s dad used to make back  in high school I slapped some ripe tomatoes on some sourdough bread with a mayo/butter paste (I know, terrible) but then remembered I had a bunch of just-made pesto and slathered that on as well.

My husband is King of the Calzones (dough recipe here) yet he lets me stuff my own- which I’ve done here with tomatoes, basil, spinach, goat cheese and chicken-garlic-gruyere sausage.

For dinner I’ve got a pot of tomatoes simmering that I’m going to puree into a lovely tomato soup that I will likely top with some feta cheese and basil. My daughter LOVES adding feta for creaminess.

I mention my week is about simplifying because I notice as I go through my usual routine of work, exercise, family time, cooking and taking a class that there isn’t much time left over for other things. So, I wonder whether or not those other things are a priority or not. And if not, and I still want to fit them in, how do I go about keeping my life simple enough that I find the time to appreciate and relish all that I choose to do?

That’s what’s on my mind this week; keeping life rich while keeping it shy of overwhelming. It’s not the easiest for me as I have a tendency to be enthusiastic about any new shiny thing that passes before me. It’s my challenge.

*Here’s that tomato soup: All that’s in it are tomatoes, sour cream & salt (out of feta); fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes are so flavorful!

change.

Eckhart Tolle in A New Earth said, “You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you, and allowing that goodness to emerge… but it can only emerge if something fundamental changes in your state of consciousness.”

I think the same could be said about how humanity approaches each other and the earth yet it occurs on an individual level and moves out.

oh boy.

I unwittingly wandered up on this scene on my way from work to catch the bus and oh so many feelings welled up in me. I almost heard myself sputtering, “geezuhs, really? I suppose you people believe Obama’s birth certificate is a fake too.”

Then it occurred to me- I’m not listening to a damn thing these people say because I believe they must be crazy to not understand the impact of what they are saying and how much they are harming individuals with their beliefs. Hmm… I was getting right into an “us vs. them” thing without much effort at all and if I’m doing it to “them” then certainly I shouldn’t be surprised when they do it to “us”.

So, here I find myself in a new inquiry. How might we find ways to work together in nonpartisan ways (I feel a little amateur to even use the word) to get right down to what all of us truly want? And what do we all want? Well, isn’t it really the same deep down? To feel protected, to have rights, to be heard, to be respected? Perhaps I’m being a bit trite; I apologize if I’m coming across that way, it just seems that it shouldn’t have to be so dang convoluted and contrived.

Certainly, it is a lot more difficult to truly communicate but aren’t we just expecting more of the same if we don’t move more in this direction? I applaud those doing the work to build the communicaton bridges.

100mile: Done!

That’s right, I’m a winner. I didn’t need any food after that huge lunch so nothing more to list regarding that.

I attended my first Full Moon Fiasco bike ride and sat next to my beer-drinking husband with a tap water. BUT, as you may know from Becky’s post I had my own secret weapon, hooch (local organic white wine) in a jar! Yep, I grabbed my little co-100mile buddy and headed out of the bar to consume that not-so-good tasting stuff; misery loves company. I’m sorry to hear that Becky can’t locate her USB cord in order to post the photos ’cause they’ve gotta be good.  Below are pictures Becky had from the night (how does she look cute drinking out of a jug while I look like a moron?). By the way, that little orb above Becky’s head is the full moon.

     

I had a lot of fun with the challenge and the biggest thing I’m walking away with is that by adding back into my diet those 100 mile prohibitive staples like olive oil, vinegar, yeast etc. I can very easily maintain a mostly local diet. Very cool.

By the way, at 12:02am I polished off the last bit of cookies and cream ice cream in my freezer…. and it was good.

100mile: Day Five

Breakfast: Rolled emmer flakes with berries and milk, Kootenai Cider (commuter style).

Snack: hard-boiled egg

Lunch: Delicious, I mean, burger with roasted tomatoes and basil, rosemary fries and an attempt at camelina mayo (egg yolk, camelina, vinegar and a few roasted tomatoes).  That faux-mayo sauce made all the difference. Did I say yum already?

Must be eaten like this for full enjoyment:

I am proud to say that with this meal I didn’t miss salt at all.

So, who’s the sucker, sucker?

I can taste the sweet salt of success…

That’s right- hanging tough.

100mile: Day Four

Yes, that’s butter on my potato. Unsalted butter, because I made it by shaking up that bit of cream on the top of my Spokane Family Farm milk.  It was better than no butter and actually tasted a bit cheesy. I really am looking forward to Saturday and the challenge being over. I think I’ll have myself a hot fudge brownie sundae with a big fat cup of coffee and some salt on the side. yum.

Just got home from watching Fresh at the Magic Lantern and swapping some local goods with my competition. I enjoyed that the film really did spend more time focusing on the possibility of the food system changing in a positive way than it did on the horrors and flaws of our industrial food system. It’s necessary to show some of that for the viewers that are unaware of that reality yet it can often lead to overwhelm then apathy. This time I was left with a stronger sense of optimism and inspired. Good stuff.

It was fun to bump into Geneva, Remi, Becky, Crystal, Rachel and Mark. Crystal and Rachel stopped by to swap food and the rest stuck around for the film. By the way, Remi, I think you should take yourself out with a big bang- what’s the point of suffering any longer?

I’m wiped out and ready to go dream about all those prohibited food items. So, here’s my list for the day:

Breakfast: Rolled emmer flakes with honey, strawberries, blackberries and milk.

Lunch: Leftover soup, slaw and gazpacho.

Snacks: peach, hard boiled egg, cherry tomatoes and a slice of the baked peach dessert I made last night.

Theater Fare: Carrot from Geneva (thanks)

Dinner: Grilled sirloin (from Susie David Farm), baked potato and green salad.

100mile: Day Three

Apparently, yellow is the theme (just ask Hank). Today has been HARD although I’m beginning to figure out a few more things that I can eat that leave me feeling satisfied.

Breakfast: Fried egg and roasted potatoes (like Bart said, “blah”). By the way Bart, eat a teaspoon of salt for me, would you? Crystal, you too. dang. Sorry to see you go (sort of). ha.

Lunch: Leftover ground beef saute -this time wrapped in a crepe, gazpacho of tomato, jalapeno, cucumber and a few garbanzos. watermelon.

Snacks: a peach, hard boiled egg, some carrots.

Dinner: Potato and corn chowder seasoned with onions, garlic, chives, rosemary and some of the liquid from my burnt pot of  last night’s stew (no kidding, I’m looking for any flavor at all).  It was okay. My family said it was really good but then they were able to add salt and pepper.

Dessert: Inspired by Geneva’s peach experiment, I separated some eggs, added milk and spelt flour to the yolks then folded in the whipped egg whites and baked in a cast iron pan on 400. Near the end I drizzled honey on top and covered it all with peaches when I pulled it out of the oven. It was yummmmmy… thank goodness.

The dessert was just what I needed to keep me committed. So watch out, I’ve made it 3 days, the last thing I plan on doing is folding! That said, I think I better spend a few minutes figuring out lunch for tomorrow.

Man, I can’t imagine doing this for an extended period of time.

feeling weak.

I’ve got to go make myself some dinner and then try to come up with some sort of creative dessert because I’m beginning to get crazy cravings for all those things that are off limits!!!!!!!