Making a Difference

There are many reasons why I buy every book Barbara Kingsolver comes out with. I enjoy her writing style, she writes, most often, about things I enjoy/care about, and I feel so often as I read her words that "aha" or "yes" moment. A moment where either I agree so completely it's amazing or a moment where her words so perfectly describe my feelings and therefore makes them that more tangible and expressable.

There's another part of that equation--whether it's her fiction, nonfiction, or creative nonfiction, she has the ability to make problems seem surmountable. I'd say this goes double for her writing on environmental and food issues.

Changing the world is no easy task, and I think we live in a culture where (despite David and Goliath parable) chnage is viewed as negative and nearly impossible. If we put a conservative Republican and a liberal Democrat in a room together--do we really expect peace or a calm resolution of some political problem? Perish the thought.

I have often felt that I will never change a person's opinion, I could never have the kind of influence to save something of importantce, and no manner of talking, writing, expressing will change the government, the policies, the ideas, the beliefs of the world in which I leave. And because of all that it's so easy to say, WHY BOTHER? My voice doesn't matter and it won't ever matter. The end. This is a philosophy that goes beyond my own personal crusades. Something won't turn out like I want it to, why bother? It's a habit ingrained in my own personality and ingrained in some portion in the culture in which I grew up.

However, reading Barbara Kingsolver often makes me realize that it's not so much the results as it is the try. I may not make a world of difference, but a person of difference works can be just as important.

"Small, stepwise changes in personal habits aren't trivial. Ultimately they will, or won't, add up to having been the thing that mattered." "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle."

I especially would recommend this book because of one simple fact: it isn't all about giving up. It's not about sacrifice or deprevation. It's about what you can do if you try. It wasn't about totally changing to local food and cutting everything else off. It was about trying to change and making more responsible choices. If you feel you must have something you can't obtain locally--try to find organic, free trade options.

I have to remind myself that change is not a over-the-night thing. There's so many things I'd like to change about myself--that I've tried to change for years--and still haven't succeeded. I can't expect to go local and be done with it. But, making smarter choices and integrating a different food ethic will help start taking steps toward change...and right now, that's the best I can do.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

One Meal a Week Challenge

Now that Farmer's Market season is starting around here, I have been trying to find farmer's markets in my areas. I have found a few that claim to be farmer's markets in my direct area, but sell mainly California or other imported food stuffs. Because of the summer followed by winter weather we had in March/April, a lot of fruit growers in the area suffered--and according to a local article, fruit is where the moneys at. So, call in California. This isn't to say they won't carry ANY local food, just not very much.

There are some fairly decent farmer's markets in my extended area. And by extended I mean upwards 30+ miles away from me and nasty construction and traffic on the way. As I'm not much of a driver, especially a city driver, I like to avoid those areas if possible. I know that radius still means it's local food, and likely food from closer to my apartment than it is to the city, but nevertheless I'm not to the point where I'm willing to make that drive at least once a week. (Yet, anyway).

I found a possible Farmer's Market a little bit closer, so R. and I are going to go check it out on Saturday morning. And, I'm like a little kid ready for a trip to Florida. I keep reminding R. we're going, lest he forget. And, currently, it looks to be the highlight of my week.

I have been reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, as I mentioned earlier. There are a lot of statistics included, and typically I distrust statistics because it's so easy to manipulate a number, or to conduct research in a way that makes whatever you have to say seem authoritative or to find statistics to back up ANY opinion under the sun. But, I found this statistic particular interesting, even if it's only partially true. "If every U.S citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we could reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week."

That's a lot of people doing one small thing and making a big difference, no matter how you look at it. I'm not at a point in my life where I think I can make a drastic change like living a month on local goods or even a week. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to go totally local--partially because I am a very picky eater and partially because I am notoriously lazy. But, I feel one meal a week is COMPLETELY doable. And it could lead to two meals a week--a meal a day--and on and on until maybe my diet is mainly composed of local.

Now is the perfect time to start this challenge. Farmer's Markets are opening up everywhere and the summer bounty will soon be upon us (I had my first tomato flower pop up on Sunday!). If we're not really eating locally at all, why not try just one meal a week. It could be something as easy as 2 locally laid eggs and perhaps a piece of locally grown fruit for breakfast.

My success will depend on what we find at the Farmer's Market on Saturday and my ability to convince R. to try this little experiment with me (and continue to return to the Farmer's Market). (I promised to do a few things for him if he promised to read the book when I am finished with it).

If there's anyone out there still not integrating local foods into their diet, I think this would be an excellent first step.

Spring is REALLY here

Wow, real spring weather finally arrived and I'm practically giddy with it. It's not too hot like it was in March, but not too cold like the winter we had in April. It's sunny, sixties with a cool enough breeze to necessitate a jacket. My favorite kind of weather.

I've been getting my seedlings transplanted in pots, hoping the meager sun and meager space will do well enough for some of them to give something. I'm not looking for enough to live off of by any means, but a tomato or pepper or two would be nice. My strawberry seedlings never popped up, so that was a bit disappointing. I might see if I can find a strawberry plant somewhere instead of trying to grow them from seed.

I'm eagerly awaiting the opening of a farmer's market down the street. It's not quite close enough to walk to, but it is close enough that it makes sense to make regular trips for fruits and vegetables, instead of getting them from the grocery store. And, it's on the way to the grocery store, so it makes sense to stop by there first, then continue on to the store for other necessities. I am very excited about supporting some local farmers and getting some delicious, healthy food out of the deal!

I want to start making my own bread, though admitedly I am a bit intimidated by the whole process. It seems like bread takes a lot of patience, and I do not have a wealth of that! But, I think that will be my project for this weekend/week.

I've fallen off my projects lately. Funks and fogs are not really conduscive to making changes. So, I've been indulging in things like kiwis from Greece and fast food and sitting around, ignoring all the little things I should do. I'm trying to break out of that and get myself together. I need to get back on track with all aspects of my life, being more conscientious in my environmental decisions is just a small part of that.

Hopefully this weather will help get my butt in gear =)

A Jumble of Things

Whew, back in my own apartment! I have to admit I enjoyed curling up with a kitty at night and the broad cable selection of my parent's house, but it is good to be back in my home. My parent's home doesn't feel like my home anymore, much to their disappointment, but I only lived their 5 years--and now I am almost seven years removed from it, so it's just not mine. All right, onto my jumble of things:


Jumble 1:
I have quite a mess on my hands, because R. was sick all week and couldn't finish my unpacking efforts while I was away. This is his excuse anyway, but I don't think the place would have been any different on my return had he been feeling any better. He'd just have some other excuse in the wings. :) So, that is my project for this afternoon since I finally got my taxes done this morning. I think if I can get things put away and organized, I'll feel a lot less... jumpy.

Jumble 2:
One of the things that being home did was give me time to respark my creative juices in the fiction writing department. I have been writing short stories and novels since I was in elementary school, and the past few years have been an up and down dedication to my series of novels based on one family.

Over 2 years ago I began self-publishing these novels through Lulu Press. Somehow I have the heart to sell them to friends and family, but not the heart or fortitude to submit them to publishers.

As I am getting ready to finish up my fifth book in the series, I realize I didn't have anything on this blog about my novels. So, I'm going to be adding a little button to the sidebar. My novels are family-oriented romance novels. I don't think they would fit into the mainstream romance novel market today, because they are not very racy... if you could call them racy at all, and they're character focused and driven. No spies, vampires, murders, etc. It's the story of a family, and the people they fall in love with. Anyway, there's free previews of the first chapters of each if anyone likes romance novels :)

Jumble 3:

I need to get my seeds started! I finally got some containers lined up last week, but I need to get some soil mix to get stuff started. I'm hoping I can get this project accomplished by the end of next week. Then we'll be on our way to an odd assortment of vegetables.

I am, however, worried about sun. Our porch only gets sun in the afternoon, and even that it has to filter through the deck slats. I'm not sure what I can do about this except watch the porch to find the best sun spots and place the containers there once they are ready to be outside.

In the end, the project of growing at least one thing I can eat will probably fail, but it will be a learning process. And, hopefully next year I will have a house and a yard with sun to plant my veggies in.

In other news, I was driving not too far from our apartment last week and noticed a big sign for a farmer's market coming soon in a strip mall only a few miles down the road. I could not be more excited to see where this food will be coming from, but hopefully it will be an excellent resource for local food this summer!

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I hope to get my posts more... cohesive now that there's no big (planned) changes, vacations, etc looming on my horizon. Back to the old grindstone of routine. Thank God!

Back in the Groove, Sorta

Well, it’s been quite a crazy few days. Between attempting to move in the rain, trying to get everything moved (still not accomplished), and attempting to unpack and get organized (not accomplished either), I really just feel like lying down and taking a nap.
But, there’s still much to do.

Saturday night after moving the big stuff, we went to the grocery store. I had planned out our meals for the week and made a list accordingly. And then we spent almost $200 on food—for two people. We were starting from just about scratch, so it makes some sense, but it still was outrageous. But, we bought a lot of produce (mainly organic) and a lot of meat (R. is still not convinced a meal can be a meal without meat, so I only have one meatless meal and will be slowly weaning him down to smaller portions of meat). I’m hoping that as we go along with this I can come up with more cost effective choices for meals and bring that grocery bill down.

Well, it’s back to school and work with intermittent unpacking, organizing, and cleaning of the old apartment. Still, I should be back to posting a bit more regularly.

And lastly, thanks to Katie for answering my last question. Informative and helpful! Thanks, Katie.

It Feels Like Spring, But It's Still Winter: What Should I Be Eating?

Oh, my, but it’s been a busy few days. We’ve actually gotten some cleaning and packing done (not quite as much as I’d like though). Not to mention the weather has been delicious. I sat outside yesterday morning eating my breakfast realizing this was the first February in a while that seems to have flown by… and now it seems like the last week will last forever.

I am ready for warmth and sun. More ready than I thought I was. Sitting there, soaking it all in, even with the cool slightly chilling breezes, I was desperate for those gorgeous spring days of low 60s, sun, still a little cool but in a nice, refreshing way.

Still, despite the warmer temperatures it’s still winter and still a long way off from fresh produce. So, I have a bit of a question for all you lovely people out there: what are you eating this time of year?

Since this is my first year entering the whole eating local/eating organic lifestyle, I don’t have anything frozen or stored from last year. Also, I’m really picky and don’t like a wide variety of vegetables that most people would consider staples (potatoes, peas, spinach, basically any vegetable that is cooked and green… or cooked at all).

I was planning our meals for next week, trying to come up with a few meatless dishes—or something where meat wasn’t the main part of the meal, and I was having a hard time thinking what I should be eating right now… what would be local or in season? Add to that, what would I like? I’m open to trying new things (which is why I have some squash recipe in my meal plan), but I’m also woefully ignorant.

So, what are you guys eating this time of year (whether it's from your freezer or from the store)? What kind of good winter/early spring recipes do you use that utilize more seasonal/local/organic ingredients?

More On Food

This goes a bit with my previous post, but I thought I’d keep it separate anyhow.

On our last grocery trip, I made a bit of an effort to pop some organic items into our cart. I know, these organic items are probably from a large organic company not totally working in an ecological way, but I figure its one step closer—and that’s the process I’m going for.

One of the things I bought was tomato sauce for this recipe we, in my family, call goulash (I don’t think it’s anything like real goulash—it’s just macaroni noodles, hamburger, and tomato sauce—so it’s really more like a spin on spaghetti).

I made the goulash with the tomato sauce. I actually didn’t like this organic tomato sauce as well… because it was too sweet—in other words, it tasted more like a tomato probably should taste and I’m not a big tomato fan. I’ve grown up with such tasteless, manufactured food that I actually don’t like the fresh as much. (This happened to me as well when I bought fresh green beans and didn’t like them at all, when I can eat whole cans of green beans by themselves. I didn’t like the real flavor; I liked the fake one). Still, I think that I will begin to accustom myself to fresh food or organic food and begin to like it more, it will just be a process on weaning myself off the salt, bland and preservative.

I must preface this next part with the fact that R. and me are not the cleanest people on the Earth and have the terrible habit of not doing dishes right away. Usually, this isn’t much of a problem.

This time, it was. We didn’t wash out our goulash bowls or the pan it was made in. And the next morning there was this smell. I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. We hadn’t made anything that I thought would smell after only a night. At first I thought it was the dishtowel, then I thought the garbage disposal. I tried numerous things and still the smell persisted.

And then, that night, it clicked—it was the tomato sauce. Without the preservatives in the tomato sauce I usually bought, it had decomposed and gone to smelling overnight. Convenient? Not so much, but it made me feel a lot better about eating something that seemed real. Tomato sauce that never smells… there’s something wrong with that. Why would I want to put that in my body?

In other news, we’re supposed to get a lovely warm spell this week. I can’t wait! Also, you should check out this post http://simplereduce.blogspot.com/2007/02/sense-of-entitlement.html over at Simple Living. I couldn’t agree more.