The Land of Milk and Honey

My mom landed in Israel yesterday, where she will spend the next two weeks touring the Holy Land. In her honor, I decided that today's post would be about why Israel is referred to The Land of Milk and Honey. Here is what I found online:

When G‑d spoke to Moses at the burning bush, He informed him that He would redeem the Israelites and bring them to a "good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey..."1 Honey here (and elsewhere in the Scriptures) is generally understood to be a reference to fruit nectar, specifically date honey—not bees' honey.

1) Nachmanides2 writes that the key word in the verse is "flowing." Fruit trees grow in many different terrains, but their produce overflow with nectar only when the land is especially fertile, when the trees are particularly well-nourished.

Similarly, livestock survives in many habitats, but only overflow with milk when they are in particularly fertile pastures.

Thus, a "land flowing with milk and honey" is indicative and symptomatic of a greater good—the fertility of the Promised Land.

2) The Midrash3 explains that milk symbolizes superior quality, richness of taste, and nourishment. Honey represents sweetness. The goodness of Israel is both nourishing and pleasant.

3) Some point out that honey and milk share a paradoxical quality. Honey is kosher, though it is produced by a non-kosher insect. Milk is kosher, though it comes from a cow whose meat may not be eaten together with milk.

O Organics

Another grocery store chain has made the business decision to invest in organic food. Safeway has created the label O Organics, which offers a ton of organic food options. And these are usually less expensive than other organic brands like Horizon or such.

I don't know much about where this food comes from or how ethically they treat animals and workers...but I figure it's better than nothing! I will do some research on whether Hy-Vee is developing an organic brand. For my L.A. readers...do you see O Organics or Wild Organics on your grocery store shelves?

Tasty Beverages for a Locavore

Once I committed to being more of a Locavore, it's been easy to think up new areas of my life in which I can support my community. Veggies, fruit and meat were an obvious choice but I realized that it's also easy to support local businesses when I'm out having drinks with friends. All I need to do is order beers made in my region/state.

Chicago has a couple of breweries to choose from and the wheat beer 312 is found at most bars. So this is the drink I order, whenever it's available.

This is just one more way I can support the small businesses within my community. I urge you to find the name of a brewery in your area, and the beers that they brew, and next time you find yourself at a happy hour, opt to buy the local beer instead of that Belgium beer. Such a small change can have a large impact.

Cheers!

Local First Chicago

I was told about this website, that promotes local businesses:
Local First Chicago

I added the link to the right of this webpage.

Beef Stew

1 peeled and chopped potato
1 diced yellow onion
1 peeled and chopped carrot
8 oz of tomato sauce
1 can of low fat cream of mushroom soup
2 cloves of chopped garlic
fresh ground pepper (to taste)
Beef in one inch cubes

Brown the beef in a skillet on all sides (so it doesn't fall apart in the crock pot). Add all ingredients to crock pot and stir. Set on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours. You can also spray the crock pot with Pam before adding the ingredients, which makes clean up even easier.

This recipe is an easy and delicious way to cook up Beef Stew. I picked up some stew beef from my farmer on Saturday and can't wait for dinner tonight. I think Michi is coming over to dine with me before we head off to swim class. Yum!

Grocery Shopping

I had a busy afternoon today doing my weekly grocery shopping. My meat farmer, Jody, was in the city giving out meat shares and I had placed a special order for which I was to pick-up today. Usually Chris and I buy a 3 month share of meat but we're holding off on buying a new share until spring rolls around and the grill comes out in full force.

In the meantime, Jody lets me pick and choose a few meats to buy. Today I got 1 lb of ground hamburger, a ham steak, a pot roast, stew beef and Italian sausage. These are all good, hearty cuts to get me through a dreary February. My crock pot is going to earn it's keep this month!

I picked up the meat at a local wine shop called Provence (in Logan Square). The shop owner lets Jody deliver shares there during the winter, when the farmers markets aren't being held. So I got to chat with the shop attendee about their cheese and honey selections. Provence had a great selection of local cheeses but he suggested I go to their Lincoln Square location so I can taste test some different varieties before purchasing. I think I will take him up on that offer.

But I couldn't resist purchasing a half gallon of apple cider, from an apple orchard just north of the city. I'm anticipating the cold night I can heat up some cider in a pot with a couple sticks of cinnamon. mmmm.....I can smell it already...

Bonkers

In honor my friend Sarah, who got rear-ended on her drive home from work yesterday and bonked her head.
Thank goodness the doc's gave her the A-OK!

Bonkers was such a yummy candy. Remember the gooey filling in the middle? And the commercials where people would take a bite of it and a tidal wave of water would rush over them. Whatever happened to Bonkers?

Bittersweet

Last night, Michelle and I ventured to the restaurant Bittersweet for dinner and dessert. Bittersweet is a little bakery shop on Belmont, near the red line, which has been around for awhile but both Michi and I have never eaten there before.
For dinner we shared a roasted turkey, havarti, carmalized onion panini with chips and homemade straweberry lemonade. For dessert Michi had the Banana Cream Pie Cupcake and I had the mini cheesecake with fresh raspberries. It was all sooo delicious.

Then we capped off the evening with two glasses of red wine at Frasca's. Bon Appetite!

Peanut Butter

I have spent the past two months searching and taste testing natural peanut butters. It's been a brutal task. :)

Peanut Butter is a healthy way to get protein into your diet and it's a filling, delicious snack. Every afternoon I treat myself to an organic Gala apple with a bit of peanut butter smeared on it. Yum....

Now the problems I saw with Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter were the following:
1. the need to stir is annoying
2. usually the oil doesn't mix all the way, so about halfway thru the jar the peanut butter gets grainy and dry
3. doesn't spread very easily
4. can have a dry taste to it

I decided to try Skippy's Natural Peanut Butter and it was delicious! There is a little added sugar and palm oil, unlike the Smuckers, but it's much healthier than regular peanut butter. So it's one of those in-between compromises that I'm willing to go with.

Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter 3 out of 5 spoons
Skippy's Natural Creamy Peanut Butter 5 out of 5 spoons

Spain, On the Road Again

On the weekends, I enjoy watching the show Spain, On the Road Again on PBS. The show stars Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow, a food critic and a Spanish actress. The four of them spent time driving around Spain, dining on local foods and wines. I don't know much about Spanish food but the show makes me want to spend the summer driving around Spain as well. Here's the recipe from today's episode, for Paella:

Serves 6

* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 6 large scampi or Dublin Bay prawns in the shell
* 1 medium Spanish onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice
* 1/2 cup pureed ripe tomatoes
* 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, or to taste
* 1 teaspoon saffron threads
* 1 tablespoon sweet pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika)
* 1 pound cleaned cuttlefish (or substitute calamari), cut into 1-inch pieces
* 2 quarts Fish Stock
* 2 cups Bomba or other short-grain rice
* 1 pound monkfish tail, cleaned and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
* 1 pound Manila clams, scrubbed

PHeat a 14- to 18-inch paella pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until smoking. Add the scampi and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add the onion to the pan and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato puree, stirring it into the onions, and cook for 3 minutes. Add the salt, saffron, pimentón, and cuttlefish and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until the cuttlefish firms up slightly. Add the stock, bring to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir well to distribute it evenly. Add monkfish and clams, arranging them in nicely, bring the stock back to a boil, and cook, without stirring, for 10 minutes. Reintroduce shrimp to paella, taste for salt and add it if needed, then cook, again without stirring, for 10-15 more minutes, or until the liquid is almost completely absorbed and the pan starts to make a crackling noise (don’t worry, this is what you want). Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

In Honor Of Rod Blagojevich's Impeachment

A recipe for Peach Cobbler:

1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 stick butter
3/4 to 1 c. milk
1 lg. can drained, sliced peaches
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 tbsp. sugar

Melt butter in a 2 quart casserole dish in 375 degree oven while combining flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add milk to the dry ingredients and stir until blended. Pour the batter into the melted butter *Do Not Mix into Butter*; place peach slices on top of batter. Sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar. Bake 30 to 40 minutes at 375 degrees.

A Conversation With My Brother

Olivia: So we've decided to try to eat more local, organic food in 2009.
Lance: Really, did we decide that or did you decide that and Chris is going along with it?
Olivia: Well I guess I suggested it and he said yes. *smiles*
Lance: That's what I thought. That didn't sound like a we idea. *grins*
Olivia: *grins* Yeah, so I've switched to organic milk and butter. And organic coffee.
Lance: Oh man! You're one of THOSE people, aren't you!

Lance: You're totally going to buy a goat.
Olivia: No I'm not!

Olivia: (to herself) Hmmm...buy a goat...

Fair Trade 101

Starting in 2009, I've switched from buying my usual Millstone Breakfast Blend Coffee to Wild Harvest Organic and Fair Trade Breakfast Blend. The Wild Harvest is $1.00 cheaper than the Millstone.

Here's info on what Fair Trade means (from Wikipedia):
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit and flowers.


From the Wild Harvest website:
why we only select fair trade certified coffees
* Better for you
* Better for the environment
* Better for our fellow man

Wild Harvest coffee beans are grown free of chemicals under the natural forest canopy, and benefit from a natural processing system practiced for centuries. When you drink it, you know you're making life better for farming families around the world.

Oatmeal

I bought, for the first time, Wild Harvest's Organic Instant Oatmeal in Maple flavoring. It is sweet enough that it tastes good and is easy to make. It was on sale for 2 for $5, which was cheaper than Quaker Oats instant oatmeal. It's super white, so there is no artificial coloring going on in the dish. The taste is delicious and the only downfall I see is that you gotta eat this fast. After about 5 minutes it gets sorta gluey.

For a quick breakfast on the go, or a good office breakfast, I would recommend this oatmeal.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Spoons

The Cost of Eating Healthy

One of the hardest things I have to weigh, when opting to buy organic food versus non-organic, is how much more things cost when they're grown organically. In the summer months this usually isn't a problem because the food at the farmer's market is usually well priced. I remember this past summer buying $4 for a pint of blueberries from a local farmer and then walking into the grocery store that day to find blueberries were on sale for $3.99 a pint. So really, it cost the same to support my local farmers and to eat the produce without all those chemicals.

But milk is definitely more expensive. A gallon of regular milk usually runs about $2.99. My organic milk is $6.49. But since my gasoline bill has gone down so much, I can handle the extra expense.

But I'll admit, it is hard. I'm a single woman, living on her own and sometimes the healthier option is also the pricier option. But I figure if I eat healthy now, hopefully I'll need to spend less on myself in the future (medical bills and such).

If only I had a backyard, I could grow my own vegetable garden for dirt cheap!

New Year: New Topic

I just got back from a week in the Bahamas. It was a wonderful, relaxing vacation filled with lots of fishing, card games and great food.

I spent a lot of the weekend reading a book I just picked up, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. With every chapter I read, I brainstormed ways I could eat more local foods, more organic, more nutritious, etc. I love cooking and food and over the past couple of years my 'interest' has become my 'passion' and with every new recipe or discovered vegetable, my passion burns stronger.

A couple of years ago I decided to join my friend's CSA program. I didn't join because I wanted to buy organic food, or because I loved gardening, I joined to support my friend. Clear and simple. And in the past two years I have become an advocate of local, organic eating. Barbara Kingsolver named 'my kind' as a Locavore. I like the sound of that.

So in 2009, my blog is going to take on the topic of food. I'm going to write out some favorite recipes and ask you to email me any of your favorites, so I can post and share to my readers. I'm going to write about my journey in becoming a more dedicated Locavore. I'll post the frustrations, the burnt dinners, the celebrations and every thing in between. But before I begin, I'll give you a bit of my foodie history.

I have spent the past two summers as a member of my friend Mike's CSA program, picking up a bushel of vegetables and fruits every other weekend. For 2009 I opted not to join the CSA, because it's hard to eat that bushel before it goes bad (I have 4 days, at best) and then I spend the next week and a half hungry for veggies. So instead, this summer I'm going to go to the market every weekend to pick up my week's goods.

Last May, Chris and I joined a meat program with a nearby farm. Jody and Beth (husband and wife) are local farmers who bring us a month's worth of meat on the third Sunday of the month. We usually get varied cuts of beef, chicken and pork along with a couple dozen eggs. Jody and Beth have kindly answered my naive questions, like "is this egg rotten or should the yolk really be neon yellow?". My next question will be "do your chickens lay eggs in the winter, or only during warm months?" There is so much more to learn from them and luckily they encourage my inquisitive mind.

When I changed jobs from Crate and Barrel to Holly Hunt, and cut my gasoline bill by 75%, I decided I would take that money and begin purchasing only organic skim milk. For 2009, I've decided to also switch to organic butter. Cows get pumped chock full of hormones, to help them overproduce milk, and those hormones end up in a glass of milk and a pat of butter on my dining table. I'll get more into the problems I've faced by ingesting those hormones in a later post, but for now just know that if it comes from a cow and is going into my body...there are no added hormones.

Which brings me to cheese. I love cheese. And I'm going to start looking into finding a local cheesemaker. I have no idea how to go about doing this so I'll be sure to keep you posted as I figure out how to get good cheese in Chicago. I'm an hour south of Wisconsin, so I don't think it will be that hard.

Also, for 2009 I'm only buying organic, fair-trade coffee. I don't know why I hadn't thought to start buying this stuff earlier, but better late than never. Luckily, there is a brand sold at my grocery store that costs the same amount of money as the brand I usually buy. So that's an easy switch.

So my priorities are: organic first, local whenever possible, respectful of the people/animal/soil that provides me with my meals.

Happy 2009!

My Advent Calendar!

Months ago I blogged about stitching an advent calendar, similar to the one my mom had when I was growing up. It's complete and I've enjoyed pinning the ornaments on every morning in anticipation for Christmas. Here's what it looks like!

All I Want For Christmas Is Four Wheel Drive

I left work early today to try and make a 5:10 dentist appt. Stepping across the snow and ice I walked the 1/2 block to my little black Nissan.

When I turned the key over, I let the car idle a bit to help warm up the engine. After about a minute (it's hard to be patient when it's -3 degrees outside) I shifted the car into reverse and spun my tires.
So I put it in drive and spun my tires.
So I put it in reverse and spun my tires. Then, with a burst of energy, I popped up on the mound of ice, landing partly on the car behind me while my two back wheels floated in the air.

Good Grief.

At first I tried waving down strangers to help give me a push but no one would stop. Finally I called Chris saying I was stuck on top of an ice mound and I couldn't move my car. He offered to call his friend and have them come meet me to help push me out.

As I waited, I saw a car down the street having trouble getting out of their parking spot. Well, I thought...better make myself useful. So I hopped out of my car and ran over and offered to give a push. The guy said he didn't need my help but noticing my car balanced beautifully on top of an iceberg, he asked if I happened to need some help.

I thankfully said yes.

And then came two other men, walking past, who stopped to try to help. We pushed my car back and forth for about 40 minutes with no avail. We borrowed a shovel from the car lot across the street to try and shovel the snow out. Well, that shovel bent when hitting the ice. THAT'S HOW HARD IT WAS. So we found another metal shovel that was able to chip away a bit of the mound.

At this point, we were all growing concerned about possible frostbite so the four of us ran into the condo building next door to try and warm up. About 5 minutes later, Chris and his friend BK showed up with rope and an SUV. They took a look at my car and their mouths fell wide open. The question on everyone's mind was 'how the heck did she get her car in that position???'

So after some brainstorming, BK and Chris thought it best we try to pick the car up and shift it to the side. It was impossible to drive and being that I was suspended on top of another car, they were afraid I would rip off both bumpers if they tried to push it. So the 5 of us crowded around my trunk and on the count of three we lifted my car off the ground and shifted it one inch.

Then we did that again.
And again.
And again.
Until both back tires were on the ground and the entire car was off the car behind it.

Then BK and Chris tied a rope from my car to BK's SUV and we pulled my car out of the snow/ice mound.

It took 90 minutes but finally my car was on solid ground.

I'm thankful for the angels that appeared in my life today. It was one of those humbling moments were you realize no matter how strong of a person you are, sometimes you need the help of others. And you have to hope that there are kind, generous folks around willing to pitch in. So this year I am thankful for the kindness of strangers. And friends. And boyfriends.

Well Played, Kate W.

Well Played Kate! She looks fantastic! Even with the odd beading on her dress which looks like it's roping in her right boob.

The Children's Play

Sunday morning was our church's first ever children's nativity play. This is the first year we've had a children's ministry and it was wonderful to see over 20 kids dressed up and participating.
We even had a live baby lamb.
But the cutest part of the entire play was the little 2 year old girl, dressed as a baby lamb, and her squeals of delight and she darted towards the real lamb and then back to her mom, and then towards the lamb, and back to her mom, and.....
:)
Even Jesus had to have been smiling down on that moment and perhaps giggling to himself.