Finally, another post! (It's been awhile)

 Ari at here 21st birthday celebration at the Wilde Rover Celtic pub. Our friend Safe bought her a CD by our musician friend Dan (to the right).

 It's thistle season in the Northwest

Anni leading the way on our recent hike through the woods.

 Anni went to gourmet cooking camp for a week. Here's the salad Nicoise she made during
French cooking day.

 The sun is shining and the veggies are growing. Here we have sage, chives, zucchini, berries, Thai basil, salad, greens, peas, squash blossoms, Italian basil, mint, calendula, and tomatoes.

 We took a trip to the San Juan Islands aboard the Washington State Ferries.

 We had a wonderful breakfast at this restaurant overlooking the harbor.

 We laughed at the name of this boat from our home town.

 Why is Ari so enthusiastic about this tree?

 She loves its cool umbrella shape.

 Alex attempting to hit peak speed along the Sammamish River trail.

 Here's the set-up for my camping trip with my friend Lisa, who'd never been camping.

We spent Thursday through Sunday camping at the NW Herbal Faire.  We enjoyed organic food, workshops on Herbalism and more, terrific music, and friendly folks, all in a beautiful lake side setting in the Walker Valley, near Mount Vernon. And the weather was gorgeous!

A dragon fly resting on a wild cherry twig during an herbal plant identification walk.

 Rafe Pearlman provides some beautiful tunes at the Faire.

 While the farmer was away, the garden got to play and grow and grow and grow. This was the daily harvest when I got back on Sunday.

 And here's today's harvest. Veggies galore! Today we went to Pike Place Market. We ate hombows and chatted with merchants. Today's finds were fresh oysters, local apple sausages, mushrooms, peaches, cilantro, French bread, basil garlic pasta, giant tomatoes, huckleberries, and peanut butter doggie biscuits (for Barkley, the wonder doodle). It was a beautiful warm day in the Seattle area.

 What's in this beautiful mini bouquet? Thai basil leaves, mint flowers, radish flowers, dandelions, and clover flowers. Who says weeds can't be fun?

This one has radish flowers and mini flowers. It was our centerpiece for dinner tonight. A lovely, no cost, no mileage bouquet!

Nanowrimo write-in

Check out that egg count folks. We're up to 37. I think I can cancel eggs on the grocery order for awhile. All 3 hens are laying steadily now.

Today was a great writing day. It was nanowrimo day at the Hugo House in Seattle. I wrote 10,000 words on my story today which put me over the 50,000 word mark. Yipee!!!

We had to do some winter weather shopping this weekend. Anni needed shoes. Alex needed long sleeved shirts and a jacket. Ari, as always, needed cash for coffee and books. I stocked up on gloves, hats, shoes, and workout gear. Yes, I'm running again. (Say a prayer for my knees and ankles!)

NWEI

Hi everyone! Folks have asked us how we learned to do all the stuff we do on the funny farm. Well, it all started with a course and a book.

The course was Voluntary Simplicity from the Northwest Earth Institute and the book was Plenty. Well, Seattle's branch of the Northwest Earth Institute is offering 24 classes throughout the greater Seattle area this fall! Many are offered on the eastside of Lake Washington. These courses get my vote as both a win:win for all the wonderful information and cool folks you'll encounter and a real bargain.

So you are all invited to:

CATCH THE GREEN VIRUS!

Plan to attend an introductory presentation about Northwest Earth Institute discussion courses on:
§ Global Warming
§ Menu for the Future
§ Healthy Children, Healthy Planet
§ Choices for Sustainable Living
§ Discovering a Sense of Place
§ Voluntary Simplicity
§ Deep Ecology

The presentations will provide background information on these Northwest Earth Institute discussion courses. Those who wish to participate in a course will be able to sign up at the presentation, and the meeting days and times will be chosen then.

The courses are participant-facilitated, based on readings drawn from authors including: Wendell Berry, Vicki Robin, Linda Breen Pierce, Paul Hawken, Rachel Carson, William J. Doherty, Eric Schlosser, Juliet Schor, Joanna Macy, Donella Meadows, Lester Brown.

The classes are free. There is a small charge for the course materials.

These courses are developed and sponsored by the Northwest Earth Institute (http://www.nwei.org/) Please see the website http://www.nweiseattle.org/ of the Seattle chapter for specific information.

The mission of the Northwest Earth Institute is: Inspiring people to take
responsibility for Earth.

Please call Chris if you have any questions, at: 425-889-4724.

The Dandelion Scourge!

The scourge of every gardener, the dandelion!

Did you know, prior to flowering, they are very edible?

And once, they were important food and medicinal item?

And the leaves are delicious as greens in a salad?

(Just make sure they haven't been sprayed with anything nasty!)

Yesterday, we went for a walk at one of our local parks as the sun was briefly shining.

The wildlife was out in force. We saw 36 pond turtles sunning themselves on logs.

We saw a great blue heron make a spectacular landing and numerous

red-winged blackbirds vying for breeding territories. We even saw a super speedy

rufus hummingbird darting around the blackberry vines.

Today, we headed out to look for clothing bargains for Ms. Anni

who is growing like a dandelion weed, taller by the minute.

Luckily for us, most of the stores around here have their summerwear in

and are clearancing the long-sleeved shirts and pants.

Perfect for us, here, where the weather is still not very summery at all.

She picked up a bag full of colorful shirts and pants for just $5 each.

Then because she is such a girlie-girl, she wanted to do lunch - sushi!

She loves the veggie avocado rolls and sesame noodles.

Then, she had a craving for a Godiva chocolate. the girl's got taste!

Ari and I went to RASP, a spoken work group tonight.

Our friend, Lisa, read one of her pieces -very funny!

We also heard a great children's story by a new Nigerian author.

Green gift giving

A chilly morning view of the park

Ho! Ho! Ho! We're really getting into our holiday celebrations now. This evening we wrapped gifts with ribbons and bows, recycled bags, and saved papers. It was lots of fun, with holiday music playing in the background.

And now to a reader question: Do you have any suggestions for eco-bargains for green gift giving?

Here's a few:

1) Consider making a donation to a charity in the name of the person or a special gift to your family. We love Heifer International which targets hunger worldwide by purchasing livestock for families. The future farmers have decided on a sheep this year.

2) Consider a gift card to a green supermarket or a CSA subscription so the recipient can have healthy food on hand.

3) Consider making a gift from your kitchen, garden, or crafty hands, using materials you already have at home. One of our favorites is flavored hot chocolate mix: cocoa powder, powdered milk, (sugar,) and a featured flavor. Some we like are nutmeg, cinnamon, and chili powder.

4) Consider finding a gift at a garage sale, swap meet, or thrift store. These can be great places to purchase vintage chic and to save useful items from ending up in the land fills. I recently visited our local St. Vincent de Paul's and found a brand new set of holiday stoneware for four for $10. A coordinating cookie jar was $6. A cute reindeer plate, perfect for Santa's cookies was $3. (Our family constantly needs dish updates, we seem to have a high breakage rate.)

5) Finally, consider giving a gift of an experience. Tickets to movies, plays, symphonies, operas, ballets, comedy nights, etc make fun gifts to share with friends and family.

Tonight was soup night on the family menu. We made a delicious butternut squash (CSA)-potato (CSA) veggie soup topped with chives (garden) and served it up with fresh pumpkin (garden)-spice-wholewheat bread. Many, many thanks to our friend Lisa for roasting the butternut squash for us. Our oven is STILL out of whack.

The storm blew in as predicted yesterday with lots of wind and rain. So far our power is still on. The kids are eagerly anticipating snow tomorrow. David and I are less eagerly anticipating driving in the snow.

A quest for mason jars and Fall Enchiladas Ole

Today, Anni and I went on an odyssey of sorts, for mason jars. I hate paying the outrageous prices to purchase new ones, and all the ones my friends and I have retrieved from garages are currently full of jams, sauces, and pickles. So, the little one and I went searching. Eureka, we hit pay dirt at Value Village, 3 quart size jars for 69 cents each.

Across the parking lot at the local thrift shop for community charities, we found another 3 for 50 cents and for a dollar, a larger glass canister in which to store some of those organic grains taking over the kitchen. Anni scored too. She found a mini dollhouse for $3 at our first stop and was given a free book (Pippi Longstocking) at the second.

Now after a through washing and sterilizing, I'll have plenty of jars in which to make a tasty batch of pumpkin butter. Hmmm, I can almost taste it on a slice of toasted homemade bread.

And speaking of tasties, we continued in our celebration of the Days of the Dead with another great meal. We made very tasty fall enchiladas Ole (a Julie Ann original), served with a fruit platter and a green salad. Here's the recipe.

Fall Enchiladas Ole
1 Tbsp veggie oil
1 small onion, chopped
(Optional: 1 cup of cubed chicken or 8 oz of cubed tofu)
1/2 winter squash, skinned and shredded (I used an Asian squash, with beautiful bright orange flesh, that came in the CSA box)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small green mild chili pepper, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. oregano
1 can of corn, drained
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (this can be greatly increased for those who love cilantro, like me)
1/2 cup water
1 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
1 dozen flour tortillas (or larger corn tortillas, if you prefer)
1 can enchilada sauce
(Optional:1 can of chopped or sliced black olives)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the filling:
1) Heat oil in large skillet over medium-low flame. Add onion, and chicken or tofu if using, cook for 3 minutes. Then add the shredded squash, chili pepper, oregano, and corn. Cook for another 3 minutes. Add the cilantro. Stir thoroughly, but gently. Add water to keep from sticking.
2) Open enchilada sauce. Pour 1/2 cup over the mixture in the skillet. Stir. Add 1/2 cup of the cheese and stir again. Remove from heat.

Assembling the enchiladas:
1) Spray baking dish with nonstick spray. Add 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce to bottom of pay. Swirl to cover bottom of pan. Add more if needed.
2) For each enchilada, Lay tortilla on counter, place a large spoonful of filling down the center of the tortilla and roll it up like a tube. Place each in pan, snugging it up to its neighbor.
3) When all 12 are in pan, cover the top of the enchiladas with the remaining enchilada sauce, remaining cheese, and olives if desired.

Cook: Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Enjoy.

Tamales, Carousels, and Canisters

Alexander looking thrilled while he waits for dinner to start. We made homemade tamales with picadillo filing, chili verde rice, and pumpkin crema. Yum.

Our continuing Days of the Dead celebrations (a week or so delayed). We went to a multicultural fair at Crossroads. It was fun checking out the booths, sales, and great food. Alex had Mexican (enchiladas) food and Anni had Italian (pizza). I had Indian food (chickpea curry) and Lisa had Mediterranean. Anni especially liked riding on the mini carousel.

We've been searching for a set of large glass canisters to hold all our frequent baking supplies. Since we buy our flour in bulk, we needed larger than normal canisters. I've been on the prowl for a few weeks without success, but today we finally found them! Now the flour, wholewheat, and oatbran flour are within easy reach for baking! Yahoo!

Starships, skeletons, and a misplaced toilet

Alex's latest lego creation, a star battle cruiser.

Our Dias de las muertes bulletin board complete with paper marigolds.

Honey, why is the toilet in the tub? David loves to rearrange the furniture whenever the rest of us are out for the day, but this is riduculous! Seriously, David was busy plumping, patching, painting, and flooring. Now about that toilet...

Today was rainy, cloudy, and sunny. Ah, Autumn in the great Northwest. We decided to leave Ari to her studying and David to his fix-its. The little folks and I ran lots of errands. We took some favorite picture book copies to be laminated and found a keyboard for Anni on sale for $9! We went searching for long sleeved t-shirts for Anni, and she found a few to her liking. Then we went grocery shopping for a few pantry staples.

Now that summer is over, it's getting harder and harder to get find all our foods within the mile limits. We are finding much more difficult to find fruits within the 100 mile limit. Luckily, we froze and preserved lots over the summer, and we do get some from further afield via the CSA box. Now what to do with that persimmon???

We are finding that our monthly exceptions have stayed pretty consistent, usually an oil of some type (peanut for Nov.), a citrus fruit (mandarins), and hot chocolate. Our individual weekly exceptions can vary widely. Alex had to have ramen today. Anni wanted peanut butter. Ari (of course) needed coffee. David is currently craving a burger, and I had to have a veggie sushi roll with wasabi.

Responding to a question: Are you still buying organic given the current economy?


The answer is a matter of availability, health/cost ratio, and quality. Overall we do buy organic if at all possible. With the end of the seasonal farmers' markets, it's a bit trickier finding all the organic goodies. We are lucky enough to have a couple of great organic supermarket chains in the area which I hit often, and now even some of the 'regular' supermarkets have an organic section. We do buy less organic food due to cost, but since it's more nutritionally dense, we figure we come out even. Occasionally, we will buy some of the safer non-organics if the organic item is looking particularly poor that week.

Meat is an especially tricky issue, the organic free range or pasture fed meat is extremely expensive. So, we eat veggie at least four times a week now. At first there was much grumbling within the tribe, but now they've adjusted and don't usually ask about the missing meat. And when we do spring for the meat, it's usually part of a casserole, stew, etc with a whole bunch of veggies and grains.

Dinner tonight was tostadas with tiny crab cakes (Whole Paycheck) on a bed of cilantro-cabbage (CSA) slaw, with tomatoes (garden), green onion (CSA), and radish (CSA), and topped with jalapeno (organic from regular supermarket) cream. We served this up with roasted pumpking seeds (garden), black beans (organic from regular supermarket), corn (CSA), and a platter of fruit (mandarins ((monthly exception)), kiwi ((CSA)), and pomegranate seeds ((CSA))). The kids were so thrilled about the miniscule amount of crab that they didn't even realized they'd just eaten eleven servings from the fruit/veggie group.

New baby in the family!!!

Anni and Alex decorating for Halloween

CONGRATULATIONS to Cousin Andy and his gal Clare on the birth of their brand new baby girl - Megan Rose. She's lovely! We wish you much joy and hopefully some sleep!

This weekend was another busy one for the farmers down on the Funny Farm. Saturday was the last local farmer's market of the season. We met our friend, Lisa, at the market for the final tour of this year's fall offerings. We found squash, cilantro, hazelnuts, peppers, melons, cheese, and even some oxtail for making soup. We even found an apron for Anni's cooking group. She's thrilled.

Then it was breakfast at Tullys, better known as coffee time! Alex had a $5 bill that was burning a hole in his pocket, demanding to be spent at the comics shop. While he and Ari checked that out, Anni, Lisa, and I looked in the games shop. We added a few more learning games to Anni's game basket.

Then it was Ari's turn. So of course we ended up at the used book shop. Sticking strickly to the bargain aisles, we found all kinds of goodies. Ari found a dracula book ($7). Alex found an X-files video ($0.50) 2 geography computer games ($0.50 each) and 2 John Bellairs novels($3 each). Anni found 2 Arthur computer games ($0.50 and several books ($1-$2 each), and I found an armful of best sellers ($2 each) and some great music CDs ($1 each), soothing instrumentals, funky holiday songs and some favorite pop, including Hootie and the Blowfish, whom I love! We had a great time checking out all the cool goodies, and we didn't have to spend a bundle.

Yahoo! I've finally made it to the gym three days ina row. I'm on a roll now or is that a treadmill? So far, I've hit the treadmill, bike, and ellipse machines. Tomorrow, I'm swimming!

We tried out a new recipe tonight, homemade turkey-sage ravioli with a sage mock-cream sauce, carmelized carrots, and bread. It was great, but very time consuming to make. We started dinner at 6pm and dined at 9pm! Everyone had a great appetite by then!