Best Lunch Ever.

This is my favorite thing to make for lunch on days when I'm at home. It's just an everything bagel (the kind with dried onions and such inside), with cream cheese (1/3 less fat, of course), Classico Pesto sauce and fresh tomatoes. Put it in the oven for a few minutes and yay! Yummy lunch. It's not local, except for the tomatoes. But, it sure beats the hell out of Lean Cuisine. Right?

Food, Part 2: The Vegetannual

Here's a little guide from Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It will help you become more aware of what's in season in your area.























































Also, Doug and I made this yummy dinner from farmers' market foods:

Jasmine rice grown in Fairhope, AL
Hickory Smoked Pork Sausage from Chickasaw, AL
Baldwin Co. bell peppers and onion

And Dessert:
Homemade pecan squares from Heavenly Creations in Fairhope, AL

Food

We went to see Food, Inc. this weekend. It was gross. Food, Inc. is a documentary about the American food industry...how our food is grown, processed, and distributed. This is a topic I've been reading and learning about since I first read Fast Food Nation about six years ago. Most of the startling info in the movie was not news to me, but seeing all the footage from inside factories and "farms" was really disturbing: moo cows standing knee deep in their own waste, chickens bred to grow so fat they can't stand up, ground beef soaked in ammonia. Ew. Even our produce is genetically altered to withstand traveling hundreds of miles and to resist common pests. And beyond these obvious issues of health and sanitation, you get into major issues of giant multi-national corporations controlling the food supply. Animals are mistreated (to say the least), workers are mistreated and underpaid, consumers are kept in the dark about what's in their food, and profit is the number one priority.....make more money, whatever the cost. Anywho, I could on for days here. Just wanted to tell everyone they should either watch Food, Inc. or read some books...or both, of course.
Some food books:

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
This one will gross you out, but is very informative and interesting. It will change the way you eat for sure. They made a movie from this book, but I haven't seen it.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
This one is a very pleasant, easy read. She's a novelist, so it reads much like a novel, which is nice. She and her family left their home in Arizona and moved to a New England farm where they vowed to eat only food that they had grown themselves (or that close neighbors had grown) for an entire year. Lots of good info in this one.

What to Eat by Marion Nestle
Marion Nestle is a nutrition professor at NYU (I think) and she realized people who learn all this information about the food industry and where food comes from and then don't know what they should actually be eating. This is her guide for buying food. I'm reading it now. Good so far.

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
These are both on my need to read list. They're both well-recognized as very important reads for anything food/food industry related.

Let me know if you decide to read one or see the movie. In the meantime, shop at your local farmer's market. If you don't have a farmer's market close by, buy organic.

Home Decor.....it's better homemade.

This time of year, I always get into Martha Stewart mode. The weather is getting cooler, Halloween is coming soon (my favorite), and I start sprucing up the house and searching for pretty decor. This year, since we're in our first ever fall season in our new house, I wanted to get a nice wreath for the door. I used to think wreaths were only for grannies, but I have seen some pretty ones around, so I began looking for a nice natural-looking wreath for the front door. Well, I was in for a rude awakening about the price of wreaths. The cheapest ones I found were around $35 at Target. And they didn't look very nice...nor did they look like they would last more than one season. The nice looking ones that I came across in craft stores and home decorating stores were anywhere from $65 to $100. That's ridiculous!! I know... if you buy a good one that will last and last....blah, blah. What if next year you're tired of that wreath and want a new one? Doug and I could eat for at least a week on what it would cost us to buy a stupid-ass wreath. So, of course, I decided to make my own. Hobby Lobby had their fake flowers on sale 50% off, and grape-vine wreath forms are only $3.99 (regular price). Had there not been a sale, I would have bought some cheap berry garland for about $8 and wrapped it around the wreath form. But I got some nice things and made myself a wreath for $19, including tax. Hooray! And, I didn't use any glue...only wire. So, next year, if I've decided it's ugly, I can reuse the form. Ta-da!

Playtime

I've been making things lately, since I have some extra time on my hands. I recorded myself singing a song after listening to entirely too much Judy Garland: Myself singing a song

And, I drew a guy with a hat on!






















It's so nice (and good for my health and sanity levels) to have playtime. More people should have it.