My New Years Intention

It's the new year! Time to make a resolution or set an intention on how I'd like to live, love and interact in 2011. One of my New Years Intentions is to become a more informed consumer. I feel like I've made giant improvements in the way that I eat by doing some research to find out where my food comes from and making better decisions. Our household is currently purchasing 80-90% organic or local in the grocery store. I feel great with the choices I have been making when it comes to the food I put into my body.

I stopped eating meat at the age of 13 but just this last year I've started adding some fish to my diet to improve my Omega 3 and Protein consumption and I'm feeling great! We've been purchasing most of our fish at the Willy Street Coop and we've recently made the switch to sustainably caught canned tuna for sandwiches and salads.
Mike asked me the other day if I could tell a difference between the Wild Planet canned tuna http://www.wildplanetfoods.com/ versus the standard and cheaper StarKist brand.
I noted that I just feel better eating the Wild Planet version and it does taste and look better too! I think it's definitely worth the extra $2 a can. I will continue to do my research on other grocery products through the new year, however, now that I have the focus and knowledge to make better choices in the grocery store, I think it's time for me to move onto other consumable products!

Questions I intend to ask myself this year:
What are the ingredients in my shampoo, conditioner, lotion, makeup, and toothpaste? Are any of these known carcinogens or do they mimic hormones like estrogen?
What exactly does that non-stick pan have in/on it?
What are the ingredients in my cleaning products?
What about the saran wrap?
Do I need all of this plastic in my house?
Where were these clothes made? And by whom?

I've been wanting to do a sweep of my cosmetics and lotions for a while and switch to more natural products. The more natural products are of course a bit more expensive than the name-brands from Proctor & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson so I need a push. Also, I've always wanted to be more informed about the clothing choices I make to ensure that I'm not supported sweat-shop labor.

To get myself pumped up enough to put some serious energy into this endeavor I have picked up the book "The Body Toxic" by Nena Baker.

I just started reading it last night. The book digs into how the hazardous chemistry of everyday things, from our carpet, office chair, television, lotions, seat-belts and water bottles potentially threaten our health and well-being. Mike picked up the book last night when he saw it and said sarcastically, "Well that looks uplifting". I laughed! Truth...this is not uplifting. Luckily, I'm not looking for a feel-good story here, but rather some information that will outrage me enough to take some personal action. There are hundreds of chemicals in each one of us. We were born with some of them as they traveled through the umbilical cord while we developed in the womb and others we've accumulated. Scientists who are currently studying this phenomenon call it the Chemical Body Burden. Even those born after the DDT pesticide was banned may have DDT in their system as grasses and other products sprayed with DDT were consumed by animals and the animals held onto these chemicals for a period of time in their system, later those animals were consumed by humans who held onto these chemicals for a period of time and those humans had babies who may be born with trace levels of DDT. Are these trace amounts harmful to us? What about when we add this trace amount of DDT to trace amounts of 100s of other chemicals? It appears that we all have this Chemical Body Burden, I only want to learn how to make better choices to reduce mine.

Here's a link and video clip that have helped with my determination to fulfill my intention.

http://storyofstuff.org/cosmetics/



If you don't want to go down this road with me...I understand. However, I'm charging full speed ahead to a place full of more natural products and less synthetic chemicals...at least this is my intention!

Happy New Year!

Get Rid of the Old and Do some Good

Madison Children's Museum needs some items that you might just be throwing away or recycling this week. Have any CDs or CD cases you were thinking about tossing? How about a couple shoe boxes, bubble wrap or ribbon from the holidays? Do you collect sea-shells when you go on vacation only to realize you have no place to put them when you get home? Drop them off at the Museum and they'll be used for educational purposes, plus you will keep these items out of the landfill!

From their Website:

Wish List

Art Studio

To keep in line with our Sustainability Initiative, Madison Children’s Museum tries to use as much recycled and nature-based materials as possible in art projects. Please help us by collecting the following things at home.

For our recycling station: Cardboard tubes, yogurt/plastic containers, water bottles and caps, plastic and paper bags, egg cartons, spools, corks, film canisters, used CDs/CD cases, paper, yarn scraps, ribbon, string, twine, twist ties, fabrics, plastic containers, packing peanuts, bubble wrap, electrical or craft wire, dowels, craft tiles, shoe boxes, small cardboard boxes, and carpet squares.

For our nature-based station: Pine cones, cotton, hemp strings, pieces of wood, pebbles, river stones, dried fall leaves, dried flowers, acorns, sticks, twigs, vines, empty eggshells, sea shells, volcanic rocks, starfish, and seeds.

Materials not accepted include: Anything glass, pill bottles, computer and television monitors, and anything potentially dangerous to children.

If you have items to donate to the museum, please leave them at the front desk on your next visit.

Visitor Services

Items needed: Child’s wheelchair, weighted blankets. Please call 608.256.6445, ext. 149, to arrange for drop-off of your donation.

Rooftop Ramble

Items needed: Apparel for the Cultural Coat Closet (coats, wraps, footwear, and accessories from many cultures, countries, and climates throughout the world); good-quality juicer; hand-crank ice cream maker; flip-lid canning jars; acrylic specimens (animals, insects, plants, flowers); antique egg collecting basket; nature collections; fossil and rock collections; kid-size cooking implements (wooden spoons, bowls, small cast iron frying pans and pots); enamel cups, plates, pitchers, and bowls; small-sized silverware; magnifying glasses; heirloom/rare seeds; and books about chickens or pigeons.

Please drop off at the front desk or call 608.256.6445, ext. 142.

Sunday Paper

Dear Sentry Grocery Store at Hilldale,
No I do not want a free Sunday Newspaper. Please stop asking.

That is all.
Kind Regards,
Melanie

(On average, a year's worth of newspaper (one paper per day) produces 550 pounds (250 kilograms) of waste paper. An average New York Times Sunday edition produces 8 million pounds (3.6 million kilograms) of waste paper.)

Vacation

It's almost time for vacation. I do not plan on getting back onto a computer again until January 3rd. As I spend at least 8 hours a day on the computer during the work week, this is the best holiday gift that I can give myself and my weary eyes!
We will be out of town for vacation and to keep the energy use down in the house while we're away we will be turning the thermostat down to 56 degrees (it's recommended not to go below 55 so the pipes won't freeze) and I will be unplugging all appliances except the refrigerator.

We have found some local grocery stores and a Whole Foods at our vacation destination so we can continue to purchase local/organic produce while we are away.

Though, we are flying (not great for the environment) we do have a direct flight. Why does this matter? It’s not just because we are traveling fewer miles. It’s because as much as 50% of airplane carbon emissions come from takeoff and landing!

Stay Green! Happy Holidays!

Holiday Survival Guide - Sierra Club

Check out this entertaining Guide to challenging environmentally charged conversations that may come up over the dinner-table this holiday season.

Holiday Survival Guide - Sierra Club


Cheers!

Holiday Giving

The Holidays are fast approaching. It is apparent by the frigid temperatures, the bountiful amount of snow on the ground, the lights up on my neighbor's house, the music being played on the radio, the amount of cookies and candy in the office and of course the full parking lot at the mall.

I love the holiday season. I love drinking hot chocolate (and peppermint schnapps), I love walking in the snow, I love my broken Nutcracker that sits on the bookshelf, I love Charlie Brown's Christmas Special, I love candy-canes and the holiday lights and music and spending time with friends and family.

One part of Christmas that I don't celebrate much anymore is the gift purchasing madness. For the first 28 years of my life we had loads of presents under our Christmas Tree at home.
For my entire life, I would ask my father what he would like for Christmas and he would respond "Save your money all I want is World Peace" (or Whirled Peas...depending on the mood he was in). So each year I would search the stores to try and find something to buy him because though he said he didn't want a gift, I couldn't buy something for everyone else in the family and leave him out. It was usually a sweater or socks or as I got older a gift-certificate to Gander Mountain. These gifts weren't special and given the number of sweaters that I purchased and never actually saw my father wear, it was unnecessary. It probably made my father feel bad to receive a gift he knew he wouldn't be using and it made me feel bad to wander the stores knowing that nothing I found would be what he had asked for...because you can't buy World Peace.

My family doesn't exchange holiday gifts anymore. We stopped exchanging gifts when the state of the economy changed in 2008. With cash a little tighter in everyone's pocket we decided it didn't really make sense to purchase gifts that year. Along with the shift in the economy, a shift was occurring in my family and we began to think more about our belongings and our needs. It was harder than ever to answer that one simple question..."what would you like for Christmas?".

This year the members of my family will be purchasing a goat for a family in need through Heifer International. http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.195980/
Through Heifer International, one can purchase live-stock, trees, bees, etc. that will be given to families in need across the world. Heifer provides training which allows the families to maintain their livestock as a source of food and income. Heifer calls these animals "living loans". In exchange for the livestock and training each family receives, they agree to give one of their animal's offspring to another family in need. Now that's a gift that keeps on giving! From their website- Heifer International has helped over 70 million men, women, and children across the world on the road to sustainability. Providing livestock and training is the helping hand you can extend this holiday season with your gift. The organization allows people to purchase an animal, like our goat ($120), or a share of an animal (usually around $10.00). People can also purchase a flock of ducks or chicks for around $20.00.
This allows for the opportunity to contribute at any level!

Though the adults no longer purchase gifts for each-other in my family we do purchase gifts for my two young nephews. This year my gift is not something tangible. I've gotten my sister's family a membership to the Madison Children's Museum. http://www.madisonchildrensmuseum.org/
So they will have one year of free admission and reduced parking.
I know there are days, especially in the colder months when my sister is home with the kids and they just need to get out of the house, so hopefully this will provide a place she can take them without spending any money! It sure beats walking around Target drinking a Starbucks coffee with the kids in the cart, just so that they can get a change of scenery.

This year, if gift-buying is unavoidable, think about some non-tangible gifts.

Here are some ideas;
- A donation to offset your loved one's carbon footprint. http://store.terrapass.com/store/c/18-carbon-offsets.html
- A donation to your loved one's favorite charity (or purchase your loved one a goat or some chickens through Heifer International).
- Tickets to a show or concert.
- A State or County trail pass (biking, skiing etc)
- A State or National Park pass
- Membership to the local zoo, museum, aquarium etc.
- Membership to a local co-op grocery store.
- Gift Certificate to a restaurant or coffee shop.

Happy Holidays!

Synopsis

We recently received a break-down of how we are doing in the Eco-Challenge.

Here is a brief overview:

Driving- 40% below the Madison average for one person is around 650 miles per month. Our miles per month were 677 mil/month, 879 mil/month, and 670 mil/month is August, September, and October. Now this is above our goal for one person however there are two of us driving the car, so individually we are well below.
Perhaps we can get 40% below the average of one car-driver. That's our new goal! It will be interesting to see if we drive more or less in the winter months. I think a lot of our trips are actually high-mile trips out of town to do different activities like camping and kayaking. So, since we aren't making those trips in the winter, it may drop down. I guess we will see!


Trash- The goal for trash per month should be no more than 82 lbs (40% less than the Madison Average). We keep track of our trash generated for one week of each month. We have generated 2.5lbs/week in August, 3.5lbs/week in September, and 6lbs/week in October. Each month we were well below the 82 lbs/month mark. So we're doing pretty well so far but I would still like to reduce this amount by purchasing more items in bulk from the co-op.

Electricity- Our goal is 360 Kwh a month (40% of Madison average of a 2 person house-hold.) We used 321 Kwh in August, 320 Kwh in September and 233 Kwh in October. I'm hoping to purchase a wall clock - and run it on rechargeable batteries so that we can unplug the microwave when not in use since that is our main source of telling time and it's pulling unnecessary energy. We are continuing to use task-based lighting in the kitchen to help reduce our energy use. Also, two light-bulbs have burned-out in the bathroom and we haven't yet replaced them...so this might help bring it down even further. The goal for a one-person household is 222kwh-it would be awesome to see how close we could get to this number!


Food- We have been eating a lot more than 40% local and organic which is great! Typically we are anywhere between 80-90%. We are also striving to make more conscious decisions when eating out, by going to restaurants that purchase meats, cheeses and vegetables locally. With Willy Street Co-op on the west side of town, I think the amount of local and organic products we are buying will only increase!


I plan on researching some new ways to help reduce our electricity! Also as the temperatures drop (and they've sure dropped today currently 10 degrees, feels like -4) we have turned on the heat. It will be interesting to see in the next few months where we rank in gas-use.

I'm curious how the other families are doing.....

Handkerchiefs and Snow

The lack of recent blogging has to do with an unfortunate cold/virus sweeping through my tiny house-hold. Perhaps I should have attempted to blog this week while deliriously fighting a fever, drinking Nyquil and swallowing Sudafed tablets. That may have made for some entertaining ramblings.

I must say that when fighting a cold, my attention diverts away from trying to lower my environmental impact. I noticed myself leaving some lights on, cranking the heat and of course going through boxes of tissues.

I do admire those individuals who carry a handkerchief to wipe their wet noses. However I wonder if these folks use them when fighting a pesky virus? That would be one interesting load of laundry, full of sticky handkerchiefs.

We are on the mend and feeling better around here and just in time for a delightful snow fall! Madison got 3-5 inches last night and it's still coming down. There were multiple instances overnight where one of us jumped from bed to peek out the window and see how things were coming. We woke early with anticipation and by 8am we were outside shoveling the driveway and sidewalk...hopefully without waking our neighbors.

I've only recently become so excited about the snow-season in Wisconsin, after finally accepting the fact that I live here....and not somewhere tropical. In the past I would walk around in the winter with a light weight coat and leather clogs, complaining about how cold and miserable I was. After some initial investment in some "real" winter gear and some awesome winter toys, I'm ready to play outside! Granted it took me almost 30 years to figure this out.

This afternoon Mike and I took a nice walk in the snow to the Babcock Dairy Store for some lunch. http://www.babcockhalldairystore.wisc.edu/
Babcock Dairy is the University of Wisconsin's Dairy Plant that is mostly staffed by students and covers 100% of its costs through the sale of the ice cream, milk and cheese produced. Unfortunately for us, the store doesn't serve lunch on Saturday, so instead we purchased some fresh cheese and ice cream! I suppose that is about as local you we can get within the city when it comes to cheese and ice-cream production. It's delicious, locally produced and within walking distance.

To the gentleman leaving Babcock this afternoon with two bags full of ice cream and an ice-cream cone in his hand - Right on man! It's never too cold for a Babcock ice-cream cone.

Attitude of Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you enjoy your day!

Here are a couple of simple tips to help make this Thanksgiving a green one.

If possible try choosing organic and locally grown or produced items for your meal tomorrow!

Try an Organic Turkey from a Local Farm. If you haven't picked one up yet and you're in the Madison area, Willy Street Coop has fresh, all natural, free range turkeys from Bell & Evans
http://www.bellandevans.com/index.cfm?act=about_us
and frozen organic birds from Organic Prairie
http://www.organicprairie.com/?gclid=CLmBjp3xuaUCFQNrKgodpWzHZg.

Plus you don't need to pre-order so even if you haven't planned ahead you can swing by and pick up your bird for tomorrow!

Make a Homemade Pie with local ingredients! It should be easy to find some local pumpkins and apples. My mom is making our homemade pumpkin pie today. I'm so grateful!
Here's a simple recipe to try!
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/real-homemade-pumpkin-pie/Detail.aspx

As always if you can, get your vegetables local and organic. I'll be making my creole roasted yams tomorrow with organic olive oil and yams!

If possible, visit your local bakery today to grab some locally made items like rolls and bread for stuffing!

Save your leftovers! I don't eat turkey but I can still remember how much I loved cold turkey sandwiches the days following Thanksgiving.
Pack your leftovers in your empty containers (your #5 plastics that you've been saving to drop off at Whole Foods perhaps) and send them away with family and friends.

If you are throwing away leftovers, try to pitch them in the compost bin instead of the garbage. According to the EPA, food scraps, yard trimmings and wood waster are the largest component of our trash and make up over two-thirds of the solid waste that ends up in landfills.


Got plans for the day after Thanksgiving? How about celebrating Buy Nothing Day! According to the BuyNothingDay website, the Friday after Thanksgiving is your special day to unshop, unspend and unwind. Relax and do nothing for the economy and yourself, at least for a day!

http://www.buynothingday.org/buynothing.html

Buy Nothing Day, is an international day to protest consumerism. The first organized celebration was in 1992.
Take some time for yourself, stop, breath, and examine your consumption. I plan on taking a yoga class and cleaning my house on Friday. My sister has planned a day to decorate the house for the holidays with her kids (ages 2 and 4)
She has prepped herself with some good music and champagne for a morning mimosa. Sounds divine!

Plastic State of Mind - Love this!

Seriously

I just wrote Mike an email that began: "Hey Mike, Hope your day is going well! It was nice biking into work with you today...even though it was really cold and windy and otherwise unpleasant."


It is not nice outside. Truth.
November 19th and we are still biking into work. Styling the gloves, warm wind-breakers, skiing socks and on some days the long underwear (long-johns).
In my opinion Gore Bike Wear carries some of the best biking gear available.
http://www.gorebikewear.com/remote/Satellite/HomePage

If you're not looking to shell out a lot of cash, Bike Nashbar is a great websites for deals.

Bike Nashbar: http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/TopCategories_10053_10052_-1?cm_mmc=Google-_-Non%20Brand-_-G_Nashbar_Official_Site-_-BikeNashbar


Today I was lucky enough to ride in with Mike since we were leaving for work at the same time. He is stronger than I am and the cold doesn't seem to faze him as much as it does me.

As we biked along he said, "your biking fast." I laughed and replied, "because it's cold out!" After another minute or so he said, "do you think it's in the the 40s?" And I exclaimed, "It's 32 degrees!".

I'm not sure how long I'm going to make it!

_______________________________________________________

My office building is very bike friendly and we have numerous options for bike parking. I choose to park my bike at the designated bike racks in the parking garage. It's so nice to know that if it's raining outside my bike is protected. Today as I was heading towards the door from the parking garage to the building I could smell cigarette smoke. Someone was smoking in the parking garage, and not just in the garage but right next to the door.

I was asking myself who would smoke right next to the door like that..and why?! Probably because it's too cold to smoke outside.

Seriously...If people can bike to work when it's 32 degrees, work outside when it's 32 degrees, and the unfortunate homeless population in town can sleep outside when it's 32 degrees, than one would think people should be able walk 25 feet away from the building and stand there for 2 minutes to enjoy their cigarette. I know and love several people who smoke, so I'm not judging this personal choice ..however, have some respect people!

I was fortunate enough to ride the elevator up with the perpetrator and had my face not been completely frozen I might have said something to her directly.
Though, I've never been good at confrontation and I probably wouldn't have said anything. So instead I will post my dissatisfaction here today and maybe later I'll file a complaint.

Co-op Grocery Stores

It is common today to walk into a standard grocery store or super-market and find vegetarian, vegan, natural, local and organic options. Thirty years ago things were a little different and thus Food Cooperatives were established to help make natural and organic options more affordable to members. A Co-op can purchase larger quantities of these goods and supply them at a discount.

I've grown up a co-op member. As a child, my mother would frequent both Willy Street Co-op and Mifflin Street Co-op with my sister and I in tow.

Willy Street Co-op, http://www.willystreet.coop/, affectionately and simply referred to as Willy Street or just The Co-op by many has been a landmark on Williamson (Willy) Street in Madison since the 1970s. It has changed locations several times in the last 30+ years but has always remained on Willy Street and has grown into probably the most successful business in the neighborhood. My mother would take us to The Co-op when it was located at 1202 Williamson Street (currently the Social Justice Center). The aisles were narrow but the space was bright and lively. I remember being excited to help pick snacks from the bulk bins...sesame sticks were my favorite. I wonder if perhaps this was a favorite snack of mine because I associated them with Oscar and my other friends on Sesame Street. Even at this smaller location the Coop offered a corner for children to play while their parents wondered the aisles.

The Mifflin Co-op opened in 1969 as a grassroots way of taking back the food supply. And though it was a neighborhood gem for decades in Madison it unfortunately closed 5 years ago due to financial struggles. I have fond memories of this Co-op as well...it was cozier than Willy Street and offered different items, like candy. I remember one trip in particular. I was begging my mom to buy me some chocolates that were wrapped in colorful aluminum foil. The chocolates looked like shiny coins in pink, yellow and purple! Oh my my! Now, I wasn't the type of child to throw a fit, but I desperately wanted to enjoy some of these fabulous shiny chocolates. My mother didn't buy us traditional sweets, so I knew that if we were going to get some candy it would be some "healthy" candy from the co-op. After begging and pleading my case my mother had to finally explain to me that the object of my 10 year old desire, these shiny coins were not chocolate candies but shiny condoms. I'm sure I argued, surely this was candy and my mom was trying to pull a fast-one on me. She was clearly making this up. After that episode and the conversation to follow, my sister and I stared in awe at those shiny coins every time we went into the Mifflin Street Co-op.

...That was then and this is now.

Mike and I currently belong to the Willy Street Co-op and the Regent Street Co-op, http://www.regentmarketcoop.org/?page_id=30. The Regent Street Co-op was founded in 1998, but the store has been a grocer since 1924. I love this neighborhood co-op. It does carry a lot of organic and natural items, but not specifically. You can still find Heinz ketchup and Lays Potato Chips if these are items you enjoy. The Regent Street Co-op's strength is definitely in its deli. The deli offers fabulous meat and fish options and if you stop by on a Saturday morning you may be able to see one of the oldest butchers in town. Stop by, say hi and grab one of his wife's homemade brownies before they're all gone! This is still truly a neighborhood grocery store!

Willy Street Co-op, has just opened its second location in Middleton!
I'm very excited for the new Willy Street location. It is located at 6825 University Ave. at the corner of Park and University, in Middleton. Hopefully the new location will help ease traffic and parking concerns at the original location and gain even more members on the West side! Our home is right in between the two Willy co-ops, so we'll have options now! Willy Street's strength is definitely its bulk section and I'm driven to start buying more in bulk to help drive down our waste (cans, jars, bags) and help drive up our percentage of local and organic groceries.


From sesame sticks to shiny condoms, I have a soft spot in my heart for co-op grocery stores and I always will.

Nic Marks: The Happy Planet Index | Video on TED.com

Nic Marks: The Happy Planet Index | Video on TED.com

Eating Local

What a nice weekend! The weather in Madison has been absolutely unbelievable. It has been in or near the 60 degree range for the past 4 days. I could get accustomed to this kind of weather in November.

Last weekend was REAP's Pie Palooza.
I had a wonderful time volunteering and met up with friends after my volunteer shift to try some pie for myself! I tried a delicious slice of spinach quiche and a fabulous slice of sweet potato pie. Our two pieces came with salad, beverages and an added bonus...Sassy Cow Creamery Ice Cream! http://www.sassycowcreamery.com/Index.htm

Mike and I also went to a dinner party this past weekend where we were fortunate enough to eat a wonderful Mexican meal made with local ingredients. Our friends grilled local venison meat and we had home-made salsa from locally grown tomatillos, peppers and tomatoes. What a treat indeed!

In Wisconsin we are getting ready for a long and cold winter (though recent temperatures don't show it). As the temperatures dip and the days get shorter the growing season ends.
So what can we do to ensure that we keep eating local?

1. CSA Winter Shares. I just realized that some CSA farms have a winter option that extends your CSA season into December. Winter shares typically include cold-hardy crops like spinach, broccoli, and kale, as well as storage crops like carrots, potatoes, squash, onions and garlic. I will definitely be looking into a winter share next year!

2. Indoor Farmers Markets. Many farmers markets move indoors in the colder months. It may take some research to find out what is available in the area, but it is well worth it!
In Madison, the Dane County Farmers Market moves indoors this weekend to the Monona Terrace. Some items that are likely to be found are;

Fruits (Apples Cider, Jams, jellies, and preserves; Pears; Pear and apple butters; Raspberry products), Stored Vegetables (Carrots, Garlic, Potatoes, Shallots, Turnips), Fresh Vegetables (Chard, Greens, Kale, Lettuce, Micro-greens, Radish, Spinach, Tomatoes), Meats Beef, Bison, Brats and sausage, Chicken), Cheeses (Flavored cheeses, Goat cheese, World-class aged cheeses, Fresh cheese curds) and Baked Goods (Biscotti, Cheesecake, Pastries, Cinnamon rolls, Breads) Specialty Items (Mushrooms, Maple syrup, Wool products, Candles, Honey, Pesto, Vinaigrettes, Eggs, Hot sauces, Flavored sea salt, Goat milk soap, Salsa, Yarn, Sheepskins, Hides and leather, Soups, Pasta sauce, Fresh-ground whole wheat flour, Herbal vinegar)

3. Preserving: Canning/Pickling/Freezing/Drying. If the proper equipment is available preserving is a wonderful way to extend the use of local vegetables and fruits. Meats, fish, and berries can be easily stored in the freezer. Herbs, mushrooms and some vegetables can be dried using a dehydrator. Fruits and Vegetables can be canned and cucumbers, carrots and beans can be pickled. I'm not a "canner" but here is a link to helpful tips. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/

4. Think beyond locally grown. Don't forget to focus on locally produced and supplied items in the winter. Even though our growing season is limited, there are plenty of companies that produce breads, sauces, salsas, pastas, milk,(etc.) all year long!


The challenge to eat local will increase in the next 6 months but I'm excited to see what kind of things Mike and I can come up with to keep our local/organic percentage as high as possible.

REAP's Pie Palooza Brunch

This Sunday - November 7th, REAP (research, education, action and policy on food group) is holding their annual Pie Palooza at the Goodman Community Center in Madison!





I've never been to this event, but this year I'll be volunteering and hope to sit down for brunch after my shift.

Local chefs and bakers create recipes for pies that range from very savory to very sweet! Some of the local chefs and bakers come from my favorite Madison restaurants. Hubbard Avenue Diner, Monty's Blue Plate, Crema Cafe and Lombardino's are all on the list of contributors! From the pie varieties on the REAP website, I'm hoping I can try the Autumn Harvest Quiche (w/ squash, onion, parsnips, spinach, and sweet potatotes) and the Pumpkin Pie (with hickory nuts and caramel)!

http://www.reapfoodgroup.org/Programs-Events/pie-palooza.html

Tickets are $16.00 and can be purchased online. Pie is served in three separate seatings; 9:30-10:30am, 10:30-11:30am, and 11:30-12:30pm.

All proceeds support REAP programs in Southern Wisconsin. REAP is a local non-profit organization that supports sustainable agriculture. Their local programs help bring fresh local produce to classrooms and link farmers with business owners to get local produce into our restaurants. Events like this one help our community build a sustainable food system!

Sounds like a perfect way to warm up on a chilly Autumn morning!