My two-part cold remedy

Part One: raw garlic. In whatever form and however much you can tolerate, and if your cold is as bad as mine you have probably lost all sense of taste, so that takes care of many issues right there. I had some in a salad this afternoon, and I felt almost instant sinus relief. I had some in my pot roast tonight and I am as decongested as if I had taken one of those commercial cold medicines.

Part Two: Vodka and cranberry juice. However much you are accustomed to drinking. The cranberry juice contains a lot of Vitamin C and other stuff you need, and the vodka takes the edge off the whole cold suffering experience. Okay, I am not sounding very politically correct here, as promoting any use of alcohol, aside from the commercials of major beer distributors, is seen as immoral these days. But humans have a long history with the gift of fermentation, and if it can ease suffering, what can be wrong with that? Why do they put alcohol in NyQuil anyway? Obviously, if you have a bad relationship with the spirits, you should think long and hard about this. But if you're okay with your relationship with alcohol (and I tend to think a lot of us are), having an extra vodka cranberry juice will not hurt anything. You're staying home anyway, right?

School lunch

This year, in order to save money and perhaps exert more autonomy in what the kids eat for lunch, we decided to bring lunches from home. From the standpoint of the kids, this experiment has been a success; they have not complained about anything, and I think they enjoy what is in their lunch versus a precooked school meal.

Of course the perfect school lunch would involve homemade bread for the sandwiches, which would be made from local, sustainably raised sliced meats. Locally produced cheeses would be painstakingly sliced and included. Of course this isn't happening. We buy meat and cheese, and even bread in bulk from a national warehouse food store. We include pre-made granola bars and cheese crackers, even overly packaged juice.

This brings the dilemma of food choices vs. price out in the open. We are a middle class family getting by on 1 1/2 incomes. Of course we would love to be totally self sufficient, but realistically I do not see that happening. It takes a substantial endowment to live the Mother Earth News lifestyle, sad to say. I do not have the answer; just sayin'.

So for now I'm happy saving a few bucks a month packing lunches myself. The most rewarding part is taking an active role in what my kids eat instead of passively paying money for whatever the school has to offer, which in the end probably is not of any greater nutritional value. I do like the feeling I get knowing I am taking a greater role in their lives in lunch matters anyway.

Breakfast potatoes

I may have inadvertently come across a good way to cook potatoes for breakfast. I usually boil cubed potatoes for a bit, then drain and fry in butter. Good, but I even found a way to improve on that! You see, when I put the potatoes in the pan, which I had previously used to fry bacon, and I had already melted butter in, I forgot to turn the burner on. When I realized my potatoes were not cooking, I turned the burner on high, just to get the heat going (I have an electric glass top stove, just so you know). A few minutes later, I was wondering why everything was browning so quickly. I had forgotten to turn the heat down. But rather than it being a catastrophe, the potatoes turned out wonderfully--crispy golden brown on the outside, melt in your mouth tender on the inside. These were homegrown potatoes, by the way, a yellow variety the name of which I cannot remember! So the lesson learned is, cook them fast!

I'm becoming a fan of Sandorkraut

Last week I came across a blog post somewhere, I forget exactly, that mentioned a book called The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved by Sandor Ellix Katz aka "Sandorkraut". That title alone was enough to send me to the library website to see if it was in our local library system. It was, along with the above book, Wild Fermentation. I decided to reserve both. I thought I would read The Revolution first, but I was more drawn to Wild Fermentation for some reason. I have almost read it cover to cover now, and it is on my Amazon wish list.

Lately I am into ideas that challenge the "official" nutrition information we receive; information such as eat less fat, saturated fat is bad, cholesterol is bad, etc. Not only do Katz's books reject such information, with good documentation, his writing style is a joy to read. This guy is passionate about life, has a great sense of humor, and does not burden the reader with "common sense" reminders like "after you make this wonderful beer, remember to enjoy in moderation".

Katz's philosophy of food draws on ancient methods and wisdom, not modern food science. It rejects industrial farming and processed fake food. And it is not just about food; it is about a way of life that is less automated and sterilized, more alive. That goes along with the life I am trying to create here under the blue roof.

Do people know how to buy real FOOD anymore?

The other day at the convenience store end of the grocery store in town I was waiting to pay for gas. There were two parties ahead of me; one cashed in a couple of lottery tickets, but I am glad she didn't insist on scratching the new tickets right then and there.

The other party was a young couple with a toddler and a baby. They bought a bag of food, including milk, on WIC vouchers, and then, to lengthen the transaction, bought some other stuff with a debit card. I do not know and will not presume whether it was a food stamp thing. Anyway, they bought some frozen appetizer type things, and some plastic bottled vitamin water stuff.

I feel sorry for them. I don't think they know how to prepare real, nutritious food, or even how to get the best value for their obviously limited budget. I think they are a product of the convenience food generation, whose mothers were "liberated" from cooking real, nutritious meals and never looked back.

Monday's meal plan

Hotdogs. (With homemade buns!) Nachos. Crackerjacks. Coca-cola. And a 23 ounce Summit beer.

It's the Twins season opener. PARTY!

got eggs?

Apparently we've been a bit lax in the egg collecting department. Starflower and I collected these from the chicken house today. These are just the cleanest ones. What a colorful bunch, and not a white one anywhere!

Starflower says she'll take on egg collecting duties. For an allowance, of course.

Quiche anyone?

She's come undone!

I have been stepping up my efforts to get my family to make good food choices lately. So much, in fact, that The Hermit has started calling me "Sarge". Perhaps I have some control issues?

It's difficult, however, when I'm not the only one grocery shopping. When I shop, I usually make a list and stick to it. Sometimes I even get a bit neurotic about items on a list, and stand there in the aisle reading labels and thinking "do I go with the organic brand from California or is it okay to save a buck?" And yes, sometimes in a moment of weakness, I'll buy a bag of Doritos.

The Hermit is a bit more impulsive at the grocery store. I try to let most of it go in the name of marital harmony, but I have been scrutinizing receipts and letting my opinion be heard on certain items, like the perfect looking strawberries from California. NOT good. After all, it's my grocery money too, and I hate to see it wasted on less-than-desirable food.

This morning I had a meltdown over pancake mix. Blueberry pancake mix. I should know better than to read labels after a few too many cups of coffee. I nearly hit the ceiling when I saw "imitation blueberry bits". You don't even want to know what is in them. Nothing edible, that's for sure. I decided then and there that we would not be having imitation blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Luckily we had a bag of real blueberries in the freezer, which I added to some pancake mix that had passed my inspection at the grocery store.

I don't want to know how much money was spent on that box of imitation blueberry pancake mix, but I won't waste it. The box will go to the local food shelf, for some family who does not have the luxury of making food choices.

It makes me sick thinking that the only food some people can afford is not real food.

A change of name, and revival

How embarrassing. Six months since my last post here! But I have been busy...

Since I now live under a blue roof, I decided I should change the name of this blog to reflect the most distinguishing characteristic of my new domicile. We are settling in, things are getting in place, and this year I think will be a big one for advancing towards the life I want to live.

I approach all of this with thankfulness. In these tough economic times, many people are hurting. The Hermit and I may bitch about bills, and paying up all the improvements we made last year, but in reality we are doing quite well. For now. You never know what lies ahead, and I want to be prepared by adjusting my lifestyle, and that is what this blog will focus on. But I also want to include ways to keep on living the good life in tough times; simple abundance, good cheer.

May I post at least once a month in 2009! :)