From GENE LOGSDON

We learn our lessons more by chance than by deliberation.  Or maybe it is more to the point to say that we learn by living. For sure, what we learn from experience sticks with us longer than what we think we learn in classrooms.  I can’t remember how to do algebra problems involving two unknowns but I will never forget what happened when I was dumb enough to touch a frosty piece of iron with my tongue.

I learned by chance that a good way to start tree seedlings is not to clean out the roof gutters. Another accidental discovery: you can make a deer proof fence by planting a row of red cedar trees about ten feet apart and after they get 15 feet tall or so, tie a wire panel fence to the trunks. The trees will continue to grow, closing the space between them with dense branches that extend above the fence high enough to stop the deer from jumping over. The only problem is that you have to accidentally learn this lesson many years before it takes effect.

Here’s another one. Last summer, making hay with rain threatening (rain is always threatening when you are making hay), I decided to dump a couple of pickup truck loads of loose hay in the machine shed instead of forking the hay into the barn loft, to save time.  The little stack would still be handy enough to the barn to carry forkfuls over to the hay ricks for winter feeding.

So now it is winter and the sheep are still out eating on the haystack in the field. The stack in the shed keeps settling down and spreading out more than it should be doing naturally. What gives? More Gene Logsdon…

From ALTERNET

Some will argue that 2010 was the year that homemade sausage finally came of age, or the year the school garden movement exploded. Others will remember 2010 as the year KFC’s Double Down sandwich made its glorious debut. With so many food preferences and priorities, you can hardly make an end-of-year food list to please everyone, so lets start with what the people think. Some of them, anyway.

A market research firm called Wakefield surveyed 1,000 Americans on what they felt was “the most significant food story of 2010.” Interestingly, the top three stories were threats to food safety: The impact of the BP oil spill on the seafood industry, the nationwide egg recall, and the recall of 35,000 pounds of beef when E. coli was detected at a Southern California distributor. (Story #4 was “Calorie count on menus goes national.”)

This public perception makes the current food safety bill especially timely. The bill finally got though Congress a few weeks ago before being sent back on a technicality as part of a Republican endgame on tax cuts. To the surprise of many, it was revived by the Senate again and then passed by the House in the waning days of the congressional session and now will be signed by Obama. Following closely on the food safety bill’s heels, the landmark Child Nutrition Act suffered no such snags and is was just signed by Obama…

Full article here
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From LISA BARNES

I love to bake during the holiday season.  It’s just another excuse to buy more sprinkles and cookie cutters.  As if the 100 plus I have, aren’t already enough.  But we can all overdue with sweets this time of year.  The bummer is a few weeks later, I’m wishing for another homemade treat or two.

I have the perfect gift if you want to give something sweet, but allow the recipient to enjoy when he or she wants to…the cookie mix jar.  This holiday season I’ve already made nine so far.  Mostly for my children’s teachers.  I thought this was especially good for them, since so many other children give cookies, chocolates, and prepared foods which need to be enjoyed immediately.  Measuring just the dry ingredients is easier than making an entire batch of cookies for the gift giver.  And having ingredients pre-measured and ready, makes it easy for the recipient to finish the cookies quickly (and they can get the credit for making them).

To make you simply layer all the dry ingredients to your favorite cookie recipe in a clear container.  It looks pretty and allows the recipient to finish and bake when they’d like.  This year I picked a chocolate pecan cookie recipe which has various colors of ingredients to make a sand art effect.  For those who may be allergic to nuts I substituted dried cranberries and changed the name of the recipe.  If you bake, you probably already have some ingredients on hand such as flour, salt, baking powder, sugars, etc.  Or at least you can pick up some more as well as chocolate chips and nuts on your next visit to the grocery store.

The only other thing you need to buy is the container.  Here’s where you can get really crafty and creative if you’d like, depending on the occasion.  I chose a one liter glass mason jar from The Container Store, which is pretty and simple and can be used again once the cookies are gone.  (I tried to buy a quart size which they did not have, but the one liter worked great).  I’ve used various cards and tie-ons to present the recipe.  The kids can have fun personalizing these too.  I find it’s best to attach the baking instructions to the container, so the recipient doesn’t lose it when they’re ready to bake.

Once you get the hang of it and learn the layering and packing technique these are quite simple to do, and you can do a few at once.

Question…If the recipient of the cookie mix jar, makes the cookies and gives them to someone else, is it re-gifting?

Here are a few tips: More Cookie Recipe…

From GENE LOGSDON

This is not a Christmas story exactly, but it makes a wonderful way to pass along glad tidings of the year. Brock McLeod and Heather Walker operate Makaria Farm in Duncan, British Columbia (www.makariafarm.com) and what they have been doing the past two years is just eye-poppingly, unbelievably, overwhelmingly, audaciously amazing.  They decided to take small scale grain raising to the very high level of accomplishment— beyond the wildest dreams I had when I wrote my book by that name.

They recently sent me a sort of homemade scrapbook telling the story of their adventures with small scale grain, complete with pictures. Once they realized that it was not that difficult to make their own bread from scratch— the ultimate scratch of growing the grain and grinding the flour, their imagination and vitality went into overdrive. They already ran a CSA and raised fruit along with seasonal vegetables, so adding grain to their farming menu was just another step up the ladder. What makes their grain adventure so endearing is that they involved the community of people around their farm. They started “Island Grains” and invited others to learn about small scale grain-raising with them. Fifty signed up with another twenty on the wait list. They tried to get me to come out for the first workshop but since I no longer can do much long distance travel, they looked around in their own neighborhood for experts, which is always the best thing to do anyway. They got Robert Giardino of the Heritage Grains Foundation to speak about ancient vs. modern grains at the first workshop. (I am reading from Brock and Heather’s scrapbook.)  He brought along cooked emmer grains for them to try. More Gene Logsdon…

From LESLIE CERIER

Scented with rosemary, basil, and bay leaves, this “wild vegetable” version of classic minestrone is one the whole family will love.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

· 8 cups water
· 1 cup dried organic lima beans, presoaked, rinsed and drained
· 2 bay leaves
· 3-inch-piece kelp
· 1 tablespoon extra dried nettles
· 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
· 5 cloves organic garlic, thickly sliced
· 1 cup coarsely chopped organic onions
· 5 tablespoons coarsely chopped organic shallots
· 1 cup coarsely chopped organic celery
· 4 cups coarsely chopped organic plum tomatoes
· 2½ cups coarsely chopped unpeeled organic yams
· 2½ cups coarsely chopped unpeeled organic potatoes
· 1 cup coarsely chopped oyster mushrooms
· Pinch saffron
· 5 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
· 2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
· 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
·1 heaping tablespoon fresh organic calendula petals

1. Bring the water, beans, bay leaves, kelp, and nettles to boil in a 6-quart stockpot. Reduce the heat to mediium-low, and simmer covered for 1 hour or until beans are soft.

2. Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, onions, and shallots. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the onions begin to soften. Add the celery and continue to sauté for 3 minutes, or until the celery becomes bright green.

3. Transfer the sautéed vegetables, tomatoes, yams, potatoes, mushrooms, and saffron to the simmering beans. Continue to simmer 20 minutes, or until the potatoes and yams are tender. Stir in the basil, rosemary, and salt. Adjust the seasonings, if desired.

4. Ladle the hot soup into bowls, garnish with calendula petals, and serve.

For a change…

· Before serving the soup, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

· Substitute 1 cup dried pasta, such as penne, elbows, or shells, for the mushrooms.
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Recipe excerpted from Going Wild in the Kitchen by Leslie Cerier, © 2005, Square One Publishers, Inc. Used by permission.
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