Otherwise known as Lemon Verbena, which in turn is known to me as *THE* best herb to turn into a tea infusion ever.
The following I've lifted right out of the Lemon Verbena entry in The Southern Living Garden Book that my sister gave me not too long ago.
"this plant is prized for its leaves, which scent the area around them with a citruslike fragrance. . . . When you read of the scent of verbena in literature about the antebellum South, lemon verbena is the plant being described. . . . The long, shiny leaves add lemony flavor to teas and iced drinks."
According to my book, the upper south extends into the lower half of St. Louis. Good to know.
29 March 2009
28 March 2009
2/3 Vegan
I don't know what else to call it and I've been thinking about it for more than a month--specifically thinking about how to talk about how I eat. Because it confuses people.
So, here is how I eat:
For 2/3 of my day, 2/3 of my meals, I try to eat plants or things that until very recently were plants (cracked wheat, nuts, oatmeal). I avoid packaged, prepared foods.
For the other 1/3 I eat whatever, but I still avoid meat and most ready-made stuff.
That's what I'm doing, but before I get too far into why I'm doing this I think it would help to clarify two points. This is what I'm not doing:
1. America's Beef/Poultry production facilities are sickening, thoroughly revolting, inhumane, and unworthy of the name "farm". We've all known this for years, but it has never been motivation enough to transform me into a principled, committed vegetarian. Consequently this is not about animals. I've just never been able to work up the empathy (which is pathetic and small of me, and I accept that as it is). I'm not trying to rescue animals from their situation even though that would be a defensible, morally sound position.
2. If a diet is the temporary medicine applied to a condition called "fatness", this is not a diet. I'm not fat and have no weight-loss ambition.
Now that we have that out of the way we can move on. Here's the case I'd like to make for being 2/3 Vegan, choosing a diet that is mostly made up of plants (vegetables & fruits yes, and also beans, grains, nuts).
1. Meat production in the US is not environmentally sustainable. The meet producing factories in this country pollute terribly, create environmental waste that we would be better off without, and rampantly consume tremendous agricultural resources. I do not have to provide financial support (my food-buying dollars) to an industry that is bad for the earth.
2. Most Americans eat many times more meat each week than is good for them. We are a culture bent on the over-consumption of meat, and it is killing us. Animal fat has a terrible impact on the health of humans. It isn't healthy, and the research on the topic has born that out again and again. I want to be healthy and live fully for as long as I can. That desire is completely inconsistent with a lifestyle that embraces heavy meat consumption.
3. Often, the only thing better about packaged prepared foods (think of the boxed Mac & Cheese dinner) is their marketing. They are persistently advertised and promoted, but from my own experience the quality is crazy-inferior, the cost is much higher than the from-scratch counterpart, and usually these products don't save much (if any) time. When I make mac & cheese or cookies or pizza, I know what is in it, I know what isn't. I also know that (whatever it is) it wasn't mass produced in a factory and then shipped half way across the country. It hasn't already been on a shelf for two months by the time I eat it.
4. Sugar. Americans eat way too much of it. Left to my own devices, I would eat way too much of it. It can be hard to keep sugar consumption in check because it lurks in the oddest places. Most packaged, prepared things have too much sugar in them, and that's another good reason to make things from scratch. Anyway, a while ago I realized that being a vegetarian or vegan would not save you from eating highly processed, sugared, unhealthy things. But, emphasizing plants leaves little room for sugar, and that is as it should be.
5. So, with so many reasons to eat plants, why am I stopping at 2/3? Why not try to be 3 for 3 and drop the whole "eat whatever I want" thing for the third meal? Well, food is a big part of our culture. Food is an integral part of the way we socialize and celebrate, it connects people. To be so rigid as to uniformly reject a piece of birthday cake just because it was made from a box mix, or to pass on a glass of egg-nog on Christmas Eve because of the dairy, or to refuse to try a neighbor's BBQ -- any of these things would diminish my quality of life. I don't want food or the enjoyment of it to cease to be meaningful, so 2/3 is enough. The shift is significant enough to make a difference in my health, my budget, and the environmental impact of my food choices while retaining the ability to eat otherwise when that is called for.
Let me know what you think, or how you eat. Tell me if this approach to food would work for you, or if it wouldn't and why. Maybe there's a better way out there, or maybe someone out there has a better name for it than 2/3 Vegan.
So, here is how I eat:
For 2/3 of my day, 2/3 of my meals, I try to eat plants or things that until very recently were plants (cracked wheat, nuts, oatmeal). I avoid packaged, prepared foods.
For the other 1/3 I eat whatever, but I still avoid meat and most ready-made stuff.
That's what I'm doing, but before I get too far into why I'm doing this I think it would help to clarify two points. This is what I'm not doing:
1. America's Beef/Poultry production facilities are sickening, thoroughly revolting, inhumane, and unworthy of the name "farm". We've all known this for years, but it has never been motivation enough to transform me into a principled, committed vegetarian. Consequently this is not about animals. I've just never been able to work up the empathy (which is pathetic and small of me, and I accept that as it is). I'm not trying to rescue animals from their situation even though that would be a defensible, morally sound position.
2. If a diet is the temporary medicine applied to a condition called "fatness", this is not a diet. I'm not fat and have no weight-loss ambition.
Now that we have that out of the way we can move on. Here's the case I'd like to make for being 2/3 Vegan, choosing a diet that is mostly made up of plants (vegetables & fruits yes, and also beans, grains, nuts).
1. Meat production in the US is not environmentally sustainable. The meet producing factories in this country pollute terribly, create environmental waste that we would be better off without, and rampantly consume tremendous agricultural resources. I do not have to provide financial support (my food-buying dollars) to an industry that is bad for the earth.
2. Most Americans eat many times more meat each week than is good for them. We are a culture bent on the over-consumption of meat, and it is killing us. Animal fat has a terrible impact on the health of humans. It isn't healthy, and the research on the topic has born that out again and again. I want to be healthy and live fully for as long as I can. That desire is completely inconsistent with a lifestyle that embraces heavy meat consumption.
3. Often, the only thing better about packaged prepared foods (think of the boxed Mac & Cheese dinner) is their marketing. They are persistently advertised and promoted, but from my own experience the quality is crazy-inferior, the cost is much higher than the from-scratch counterpart, and usually these products don't save much (if any) time. When I make mac & cheese or cookies or pizza, I know what is in it, I know what isn't. I also know that (whatever it is) it wasn't mass produced in a factory and then shipped half way across the country. It hasn't already been on a shelf for two months by the time I eat it.
4. Sugar. Americans eat way too much of it. Left to my own devices, I would eat way too much of it. It can be hard to keep sugar consumption in check because it lurks in the oddest places. Most packaged, prepared things have too much sugar in them, and that's another good reason to make things from scratch. Anyway, a while ago I realized that being a vegetarian or vegan would not save you from eating highly processed, sugared, unhealthy things. But, emphasizing plants leaves little room for sugar, and that is as it should be.
5. So, with so many reasons to eat plants, why am I stopping at 2/3? Why not try to be 3 for 3 and drop the whole "eat whatever I want" thing for the third meal? Well, food is a big part of our culture. Food is an integral part of the way we socialize and celebrate, it connects people. To be so rigid as to uniformly reject a piece of birthday cake just because it was made from a box mix, or to pass on a glass of egg-nog on Christmas Eve because of the dairy, or to refuse to try a neighbor's BBQ -- any of these things would diminish my quality of life. I don't want food or the enjoyment of it to cease to be meaningful, so 2/3 is enough. The shift is significant enough to make a difference in my health, my budget, and the environmental impact of my food choices while retaining the ability to eat otherwise when that is called for.
Let me know what you think, or how you eat. Tell me if this approach to food would work for you, or if it wouldn't and why. Maybe there's a better way out there, or maybe someone out there has a better name for it than 2/3 Vegan.
I'm on it. Yeah. And my profile over there will pick up my blog posts, so you can read here, or there, or both, or not at all.
27 March 2009
This is how we know it is Spring
Never mind that it might snow tomorrow. Just in case it does, here are some pictures of just how nice Spring has already been.
I remember thinking last year that this, the lovelyAzalea Rhododendron PJM (it's HUGE! at least as tall as I am and bigger around than four ten of me would be) blooming purple just off the front porch, was a little obnoxious. So unabashedly purpley-pink. This year, I think it is a delight.
And here, clustered in a corner of the front yard at 970
a bed of daffodils--three different varieties. There seem to be dozens of daffodil sorts. And that right there, is everything I know about daffodils except that I do like how very cheery they are.
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I remember thinking last year that this, the lovely
And here, clustered in a corner of the front yard at 970
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a bed of daffodils--three different varieties. There seem to be dozens of daffodil sorts. And that right there, is everything I know about daffodils except that I do like how very cheery they are.
Happy Birthday, I guess
We tried so hard to get Suz's cake to the table quickly, but . . .
don't you think they could make candles that burn just a little bit slower?
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don't you think they could make candles that burn just a little bit slower?
26 March 2009
25 March 2009
24 March 2009
The one with horrible cell phone photos
I'm not kidding. The pictures are horrible and I'm almost embarrassed by that. Embarrassed, but not enough to hide them. I'm posting these shots (poor though they are) because I feel compelled to do it. To blog. Reason enough.
Yesterday morning the girls had a fun time playing this game, called Blokus 3D, a gift from the girls' cousins on my side of the family. Seen in the picture with our kids is one of the cousins on Matthew's side.
Their cousin, as it turns out, is tough to beat at this game. In the past, my kids have mostly used the board and playing pieces to engage in a colorful kind of building freestyle. But this time around they stuck to the rules and they had so much fun that they specifically asked for the game again today.
We left Blowing Rock around noon, but before we did we stopped by a local park. When I got there I was glad to see that the park was empty. Only a landscaping crew was there. Mulch. It's that time of year.
We had been there for a few minutes when I realized that of the 11 men mulching the various beds in the park, 9 of them were wearing vests that clearly read "Inmate".
Let's see. 1 mom, 3 kids, 9 convicted criminals, 2 guys who were probably supervising the 'mates. I felt a little (massively!) out numbered. Could I just walk out (they would know I was judging them if I left now!)? The kids were having fun (and they'd never forgive me if I marched them out of there right after arriving!). It was broad daylight (but they were each armed with a pitchfork!). It was the optimist in me that assumed the higher-ups who organize prisoner labor wouldn't dare send serious offenders into an area full of kids (but we were outnumbered and they had pitchforks and we were the only ones there, and the world is full of stupid people without common sense!).
Yes, the world is full of people without common sense, and, as if to prove it, in the end I opted to stay . . .
so that I could blog about it later . . .
and not disappoint the kids.
And it was fine. If it hadn't been written all over their backs I would have had no cause to suppose they were (all of them!) criminals.
The drive out of NC and into Tennessee was perfect. The kids were well behaved and I didn't fall asleep. Not even once. Good weather, a near-total-absence of highway construction. What more could I ask for? We went swimming at the hotel (we're half way home!) and then we went out to a Chinese buffet, where I decided to try my luck with these.
Gosh that's an awful picture, but still, I had to show you. I've noticed that Chinese buffets tend to have unexpected things like this. If one has baby squid, the next will have several kinds of shell fish, and another will have duck feet. Why not?
The food wasn't bad. I had never eaten crab leg before, and the far more conventional fare that the girls ate met with their approval too. In the end my fortune cookie promised me success, Star's promised her money, and Dandelion's promised love. Everyone wins.
Yesterday morning the girls had a fun time playing this game, called Blokus 3D, a gift from the girls' cousins on my side of the family. Seen in the picture with our kids is one of the cousins on Matthew's side.
 |
Their cousin, as it turns out, is tough to beat at this game. In the past, my kids have mostly used the board and playing pieces to engage in a colorful kind of building freestyle. But this time around they stuck to the rules and they had so much fun that they specifically asked for the game again today.
We left Blowing Rock around noon, but before we did we stopped by a local park. When I got there I was glad to see that the park was empty. Only a landscaping crew was there. Mulch. It's that time of year.
 |
We had been there for a few minutes when I realized that of the 11 men mulching the various beds in the park, 9 of them were wearing vests that clearly read "Inmate".
Let's see. 1 mom, 3 kids, 9 convicted criminals, 2 guys who were probably supervising the 'mates. I felt a little (massively!) out numbered. Could I just walk out (they would know I was judging them if I left now!)? The kids were having fun (and they'd never forgive me if I marched them out of there right after arriving!). It was broad daylight (but they were each armed with a pitchfork!). It was the optimist in me that assumed the higher-ups who organize prisoner labor wouldn't dare send serious offenders into an area full of kids (but we were outnumbered and they had pitchforks and we were the only ones there, and the world is full of stupid people without common sense!).
Yes, the world is full of people without common sense, and, as if to prove it, in the end I opted to stay . . .
so that I could blog about it later . . .
and not disappoint the kids.
And it was fine. If it hadn't been written all over their backs I would have had no cause to suppose they were (all of them!) criminals.
The drive out of NC and into Tennessee was perfect. The kids were well behaved and I didn't fall asleep. Not even once. Good weather, a near-total-absence of highway construction. What more could I ask for? We went swimming at the hotel (we're half way home!) and then we went out to a Chinese buffet, where I decided to try my luck with these.
 |
Gosh that's an awful picture, but still, I had to show you. I've noticed that Chinese buffets tend to have unexpected things like this. If one has baby squid, the next will have several kinds of shell fish, and another will have duck feet. Why not?
The food wasn't bad. I had never eaten crab leg before, and the far more conventional fare that the girls ate met with their approval too. In the end my fortune cookie promised me success, Star's promised her money, and Dandelion's promised love. Everyone wins.
22 March 2009
North Carolina
On Thursday, we departed for North Carolina to visit Matthew's family. The total driving time between St. Louis and Blowing Rock is something like 11 hours (without any kind of delay or pit stop), so our custom is to split the trip in half. Halfway point? Nashville. We spent the night there and finished the drive Friday. Saturday we were right back in the car to visit the girls' great-grandmother and second cousins in South Carolina.
The girls are great travelers--my favorite travel buddies actually. But even though they travel well, I was happy that today, for the first time since Wednesday, we did not spend 5+ hours in the car.
The girls have had a wonderful time with Matthew's family. So have I.
If I can manage it, I'll post some pictures soon.
The girls are great travelers--my favorite travel buddies actually. But even though they travel well, I was happy that today, for the first time since Wednesday, we did not spend 5+ hours in the car.
The girls have had a wonderful time with Matthew's family. So have I.
If I can manage it, I'll post some pictures soon.
18 March 2009
I love Craigslist
I've published this picture of my backyard before. This time, I want to point out the square edged in railroad ties in the back next to the garage.
The railroad ties were kept in place by wooden stakes driven about 2 feet into the ground and then screwed to most of the ties. My guess is that one of the families who lived here before we did had a swing set and it was set up in the railroad tie square. These days the square is nothing other than a really mulchy weed garden, much to the dismay of our children who dream of a playground reappearing in that space. If we had a swing set, maybe I wouldn't mind maintaining the square (weed-eating all summer long around the edges, weeding within the edges, etc.) but there is no swing set and I do mind.
The railroad ties had to go. So I called our garbage collectors to see if I could arrange for a special pickup. Well, let's just say that option wasn't an option. Their minimum charge for picking up non-standard household waste is $50. For railroad ties (big, heavy, and treated with chemicals) the price would just go up, up, up.
I tried to think of creative ways to repurpose the railroad ties in or around our house, but I couldn't come up with anything compelling.
Then, two days ago I decided to try something new. Craigslist. I've been on the buying end of craigslist a few times, but I had never been on the selling/giving end. I thought maybe, if I offered the railroad ties for free, someone might come get them, so I went out to the backyard and began to dig them up. They came up easy as pie with my shovel. Leveraging something with a shovel is one thing, lifting it is quite another. Boy were they heavy. It took time, but I was able to pile them up near the front of the garage and then I took a picture.
Yesterday morning, I posted the picture on craigslist in their free section. In my add I stated that whoever wanted them would have to come get them--one or some or all of the ties--however many they could use.
Ten minutes later the calls started. The first guy I talked to wanted them all and said he could come after work. I told him I'd save them for him.
I got calls and e-mails all day from people and most were very interested in taking them all. I kept their names and numbers in case the first guy didn't show up or didn't take all of them. I ended up with 15 people on the waiting list. I had no idea that so many people would be happy to take them off my hands. I mean, I didn't want them and that made me think no one would. Maybe it was because I offered them for free.
I love how my yard looks without them. I'm so glad that the people who have them now can put them to use and are happy to have them. I love that the ties are gone at no expense to me. And I love craigslist for facilitating this kind of transaction.
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The railroad ties were kept in place by wooden stakes driven about 2 feet into the ground and then screwed to most of the ties. My guess is that one of the families who lived here before we did had a swing set and it was set up in the railroad tie square. These days the square is nothing other than a really mulchy weed garden, much to the dismay of our children who dream of a playground reappearing in that space. If we had a swing set, maybe I wouldn't mind maintaining the square (weed-eating all summer long around the edges, weeding within the edges, etc.) but there is no swing set and I do mind.
The railroad ties had to go. So I called our garbage collectors to see if I could arrange for a special pickup. Well, let's just say that option wasn't an option. Their minimum charge for picking up non-standard household waste is $50. For railroad ties (big, heavy, and treated with chemicals) the price would just go up, up, up.
I tried to think of creative ways to repurpose the railroad ties in or around our house, but I couldn't come up with anything compelling.
Then, two days ago I decided to try something new. Craigslist. I've been on the buying end of craigslist a few times, but I had never been on the selling/giving end. I thought maybe, if I offered the railroad ties for free, someone might come get them, so I went out to the backyard and began to dig them up. They came up easy as pie with my shovel. Leveraging something with a shovel is one thing, lifting it is quite another. Boy were they heavy. It took time, but I was able to pile them up near the front of the garage and then I took a picture.
 |
Yesterday morning, I posted the picture on craigslist in their free section. In my add I stated that whoever wanted them would have to come get them--one or some or all of the ties--however many they could use.
Ten minutes later the calls started. The first guy I talked to wanted them all and said he could come after work. I told him I'd save them for him.
I got calls and e-mails all day from people and most were very interested in taking them all. I kept their names and numbers in case the first guy didn't show up or didn't take all of them. I ended up with 15 people on the waiting list. I had no idea that so many people would be happy to take them off my hands. I mean, I didn't want them and that made me think no one would. Maybe it was because I offered them for free.
I love how my yard looks without them. I'm so glad that the people who have them now can put them to use and are happy to have them. I love that the ties are gone at no expense to me. And I love craigslist for facilitating this kind of transaction.
17 March 2009
16 March 2009
Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is how Dandelion helps to make cookies:
Of course, you could buy cookies, but Frugalein can't imagine why you would want to do that. When she makes them herself:
1. she saves money
2. she can be totally sure about what is in them
3. and what isn't
4. they taste better
5. because they are better
6. and it doesn't hurt that they were made fresh five minutes ago.
She'd recommend that you make these:
Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 sticks of butter (1 cup) softened
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 12oz. bag chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 F. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together salt, soda, & flour. Slowly blend this into the wet ingredients. When combined, add chocolate chips stirring until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter. Drop golf-ball sized globs onto an insulated baking sheet (I didn't grease it), and bake for about 10 minutes for a chewy cookie, 12 for a crispy one. Yield 36 pretty-big cookies.
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Of course, you could buy cookies, but Frugalein can't imagine why you would want to do that. When she makes them herself:
1. she saves money
2. she can be totally sure about what is in them
3. and what isn't
4. they taste better
5. because they are better
6. and it doesn't hurt that they were made fresh five minutes ago.
She'd recommend that you make these:
 |
Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 sticks of butter (1 cup) softened
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 12oz. bag chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 F. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together salt, soda, & flour. Slowly blend this into the wet ingredients. When combined, add chocolate chips stirring until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter. Drop golf-ball sized globs onto an insulated baking sheet (I didn't grease it), and bake for about 10 minutes for a chewy cookie, 12 for a crispy one. Yield 36 pretty-big cookies.
14 March 2009
Mile by Mile
Last fall we signed Star up for a mile-by-mile marathon. She'll do a mile here and a mile there, and I keep track of it, and in about a month she'll do the final mile with hundreds of other kids in the St. Louis area--part of the Go! St. Louis marathon weekend.
So we are officially in training, and as part of that we went for a walk to the bakery. Distance: exactly 1 mile round trip. Anything to clock the miles we need . . .
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So we are officially in training, and as part of that we went for a walk to the bakery. Distance: exactly 1 mile round trip. Anything to clock the miles we need . . .
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