My dirty food couldn't be cleaner - how we became locavores

Last year, I wrote about our farmer's market, which unfortunately only runs in the summer to mid-fall.  Every year, I lament the end of the market, when I can no longer get local fresh produce and foodstuff.  Ha ha to all that this year.  In an attempt to live a more balanced, vegetable rich diet even in the grizzly cold of winter, we have signed up for a farm share.  For a bargain price of about $28-30 per week (I am not sarcastic here - it really is a bargain as I will explain below), we get a small box of organic or sustainably IPM grown root veggies, green veggies and citrus.  The box is a mix of produce from Enterprise Farm (in MA, close to us), farms from North Carolina and Florida.  

This box has changed the way we eat. Instead of trying to figure out what to make and then heading to the supermarket for produce, I check the fridge and find a recipe online.  This keeps us in season with the produce that's available, not to mention makes for tastier meals since the veggies are fresh and have great flavor.  Also, it saves on the disappointment of showing up to the store only to find that they have no butternut squash.

It has also saved us money.  First of all, instead of making almost daily trips to Trader Joe's for tasteless vegetables, we make one weekly trip to the pick up spot to get our box.  We have learned in the 3 deliveries we've received so far that this gets us through the week, and our grocery bills have been decreasing since I now go in only for things like butter, yogurt, and pantry staples like pasta and rice.  This has also saved us on the amount of food that we throw out.  Sometimes, I would buy a bag of 4 avocados (all rock solid), soften them in our pantry, use 2 and have 2 go straight to the trash.  Now, I get just one avocado, that I use to make a salad with the tomatoes I get from the farm, and some greens that are in the mix, like baby spinach or mixed meuslin and it's delicious.

The farm also has a buyers club for local staples like pickles and hand creams, yogurt and honey.  That's next on our try-this-out-list.  Now, if I could just find a chicken farm nearby where I could get fresh eggs and poultry year round.  That would be super.

So - check out the farms in your area and see if they deliver and offer farm shares in winter and get on the wagon.

Goodbye, tomatoes

Well, I've had to tear out all of my tomatoes.  So heartbreaking but absolutely necessary.  I have learned a few very important things, though.  First of all, I must start all plants early, say March or at the very latest, April, of next year.  This year, my beans and cucumbers have really been struggling: they are very small and are trying to grow in stifling heat.  Secondly, I will plant nothing close to the edges of the pots since those parts dry out and heat up the fastest.  And lastly, I will not set my hopes very high.

On the positive side, the alpine strawberries I planted at my parents' house are prospering and we are getting about 3-4 strawberries a day.  This weekend, I separated the 4 bushes into a bigger space (thanks to my husband and my dad who dug soil and fenced it off from deer and rabbits).  I planted only 2 bushes last year, so the fact that there are now 4 is encouraging! It's really great to reap rewards of your work, even if it's only 3-4 little strawberries a day.

Something is eating my tomatoes and it's not me

For all of you who read my joyful post about my newly growing tomato will take part in my heartbreak.  Just this morning, I had to resort to euthanasia of the tomato for a suspicious black growth at the bottom (see image).  The leaves on the large plant had also started growing black spots and the yellowing and dying.  I've been cutting them and tonight, I noticed that my newly potted 3rd pot has become infested with a population of tiny little bugs (tiny, knat size) crawling around.  By biggest worry is that whatever this thing is, it will infect the rest of my garden and goodbye dreams of tomatoes this season or beans.  I started growing cucumbers in the 3rd box and they are coming in very nicely, but now, they might also have to be sacrificed along with the infected tomato plant.

Now what?  Do I chug the window box and start over? How do people do this for a living?  Thank you to the farmer's at our farmer's market who bring fresh, bug free produce to our market every week.

Small City Garden Week 4 - 1st harvest

I am proud to say that my husband and I enjoyed two very small string beans last night. My first harvest, produced in an urban jungle with barely any growing space.

The rest of the garden is starting to come together very nicely also. The sage, mint, oregano and lavender are in. I am not sure what happened to the parseley, so I've planted some more in the 3rd window box I have acquired. I also planted a large tomato plant donated by a friend (she noticed the sad size of my tomato plants and expressed concern about them being able to produce anything this year - I still have some hope, although it's starting to wane.) The great news is that the donated tomato plant seems to be doing very well, and is even growing - gasp - a tomato. It's twice as big as it was yesterday (the tomato, not the plant), which still puts it at about pea size, but it's great! I am so excited for a real, fresh, tomato. I also planted 3 bushes of cucumbers, which should be mature in mid August. Hopefully, I can have at least a couple of cukes before the fall frost kills them off. Note to self, start plantings in March and April so that by the summer, they are mature plants.

If you look at this picture closely, you can see that one of the wilted flowers is a little bigger than others. That's yesterday, and today, you can clearly see the tomato.

My goal this summer, in addition to those stated in previous posts, is to break even. I am not going to count the cost of pots, since I plan to use them next year, and I can discount most of the soil cost, since all I will have to do next year is re-fertilize it. That puts me about $30 in the hole. I figure each basket of tomatoes is $5 at the market (organic), a basket of beans is about $3, plus cukes. I need to grow about 4 baskets of tomatoes (cherry tomatoes, that is), plus about 2 lb of cukes and a lb of beans. Then I will break even. I am not counting the herbs, because I rarely buy herbs fresh.

Parenting on the playground

I visit our local playgrounds on a daily basis and I often see the following take place:

11am Mom, nanny, etc. asks a tired hungry toddler "Jimmy, do you want to go home and have lunch?". The toddler scans all the fun playground structures and replies "No!" (that's because he's a toddler).

11:15 Mom has been negotiating with Jimmy that it's really time to go home and have lunch and we have such yummy food, etc. The more she tries to convince him to go and eat, the more reluctant he is.

11:30 Now, everyone is tired, hungry and cranky. Mom, nanny, etc. finally loses it and says "Jimmy, get in the stroller right now, it's time to go." Jimmy is now ticked because his opinion was obviously asked for and then ignored, which like any human being will make someone angry. He bursts into a tamper tantrum that ends in the mom being completely crazy and embarrassed, and a really terrible lunch, nap, etc.

Let me give a different scenario.

10:55 Mom says: "Jimmy, in 5 minutes, we have to go home." (assertively)

11:00 Mom says: "Jimmy, it's time to go home" and starts picking up his toys and putting them away. Jimmy, reluctantly, considers coming and then seeing that there is no arguing (and last time when he argued, he had to go home anyway when mom said that it was time to go), gets into the stroller or at least allows the mom to put him in.

Victory Garden, Week 2

I have plants! Well, it seems that my gardening efforts have not been in vain. I have now 3 beautiful bean plants and 2 sorry looking bean plants. The sorry looking plants I had transplanted, which they didn't like, but they are producing beans so I don't have the heart to rip them out and start over. There are 6 small beans, which are getting bigger every day, especially if we have some sunshine. The 3 newly planted bush beans are looking very hearty. We've had a lot of rain and not too much sun mixed with cool weather. My heart goes out for the farmers who make a living on this. It's hard going when the weather won't cooperate.

The tomatoes have not benefited from the increased rain and lack of sun. They are still the stumpy 4-5 inch plants that I had transplanted. I should have started them earlier. Note for next year!

The rest of the herbs are coming in and I am curious to see which ones are which. Of course, I forgot to write down what I had planted where, so I'll have to wait for real leaves to grow before yield can be determined.

I've included a picture of my alpine strawberry bush which I grow inside. Since I've started watering them at night, they've increased 50% in size and produce easily 2 strawberries a day, sometimes even more. Yummy!

Victory Garden, Week 1

Oh me, oh my, how many funny things grow by! Or don't grow at all. I spent my evening 2 nights ago seeding and planting my wonderful magical garden, only to be heartbroken over the next few days to see the leaves on my bean plants dry out and wither away. I've called an expert to give me some advise and I am hoping she will return my plea for help before the last vestiges of life escape my plants. Does anyone know if I have to prop them upright?

On the positive side, the tomatoes I have planted don't seem to be succumbing to the same fate as quickly (yes, their leaves are also starting to wither at the ends). On the yet more positive side, it seems that although the bean plants are losing their leaves, they are producing beans! This is incredible. The tiny purple flowers of a few days ago are turning into thin, tiny little beans, which are growing very quickly.

No sign of anything else I've planted. Neither the extra bean plants or the herbs.

Here is a funny aside on parenting: after a particularly awful sleepless night with a toddler, I was staying horizontal as long as possible in the morning while my ever energized toddler ran circles around me. I was finally roused from my half sleep by her proud announcement that she did just like mama did with the seed packet and seeded the oregano seeds into the already overfull rosemary pot. Oh, well. Maybe that will be the oregano that actually grows!

Victory Garden, Day 1

I love to garden, but I have one small problem. I live in a condo with 0 land. I've been growing alpine strawberries in pots for 4 years now - they yield about a strawberry a day in the summer and a strawberry a week in the winter. But that's not been enough for many months now and after unsuccessfully petitioning my association to plant in common space, by husband has agreed to fulfill my "eat fresh and grow your own" ambitions and figured out a way to secure a window box on the outside sill of our 3rd floor condo.

Here is day 1:

The box is attached; I've purchased all the hardware to attach the second box and my husband will likely do it soon, since he hates clutter even more than I do. I've started string bean plants and tomato plants. The string beans are in a pot, and are about a foot now (you can see them in this image).

I've placed them outside this morning because I need the flowers that have started blooming to be pollinated by someone other than me. The poor things have bent over under the weight of the wind and the rain that has descended on them today. I have to see about getting some steaks to prop them up.

The tomatoes are still at a 3-4" dwarf level and I need to get them transplanted asap if we are going to see any this summer (they need more sun than I have inside). I've also purchased seed packets of basil, parseley, sage, and oregano. I've got seedlings on mint, which are not making too much progress, but hey - beggars can't be choosers and perhaps they will grow once they get outside.

Let me outline my goals for the summer:

1. Supply any and all herbs my family needs for the next year (I will dry the excess and keep them for the winter)

2. Supply at least one tomato salad worth of tomatoes

3. Supply 1 side dish worth of bean plants (my friend who is knowledgeable about these things thinks I need more plants - good thing I have more beans).

4. Not let any plants, dirt or tools fall to the ground, 3 stories below).

It's chocolate and it's delicious

For your foodies and knitters out there - I have two items to enter into the "love it" category. First, is a chocolate tart (originally called Chocolate Espresso Tart) from martha stewart. I had to drop the espresso part because we didn't have any espresso beans and I prefer my ganache sans coffee. The crust is not too sweet, the mascarpone adds the perfect amount of smoothness to balance the rich creaminess and sweetness of the ganache on top. It's all around delicious. You might be surprised by the shape of my tart in comparison to the picture with the recipe - I didn't have a rectangular tart pan so I used a regular cake pan, which worked fine. If you have a round tart pan, that might actually work even better for the sides, which collapsed a bit in my version.

The second item to be entered is a new addition to my yarn stash. From Fleece Artist, sock yarn appropriately called Chocolate, with slightly different hues of brown throughout. Delicious, isn't it? If fact, it's so good that my husband, upon seeing this noted very pointedly that he has no socks made by me.

City Select Stroller Test Drive

Today, I did something that seemed impossible even only 4 months ago. I took 2 toddlers to the park by myself. Now, before you think that I adopted another child - let me explain. I helped a friend by taking her soon off her hands from her for a couple of hours - a favor she has done for me many times.

So, now you might think - how did you get said children to the park. I live in a city, and the parks are close, but not quite within easy walking distance for a toddler, and my friend lives up a heinous hill. So, I borrowed her brand new City Select stroller, equipped for 2 - she is expecting in a week, so she's equipped.

First impression: I am driving an SUV and I am only used to driving a coup. Second impression: this stroller is great and with 2 toddlers weighing in at 30 lb each, it handles only marginally worse than my Maclaren loaded with 1. Major cudos to Baby Jogger for the huge wheels, easily adjustable seats and the extra large canopies that kept both of my charges nicely shaded on this sunny day. The basket is the dream of every city mom. Not only could I fit the random collection of essential park items including: the sand toys, hand wipes, ball, diaper caddy and my husband's old tshirt for wiping slides, but I also fit my not so small bag stuffed with water bottles, snacks and personal items including a makeshift boo boo fix kit of band aids, alcohol wipes and disinfectant cloths. The handle bar is a little chunky for my hands, so I would have liked for them to narrow it a little bit in the center, but it's still great.

I had the kids facing each other, since they are friends and would get a kick out of it. I would NOT recommend this position with siblings unless you have children who share an incredible love for each other and don't poke, prod or otherwise torchure each other when cranky, tired, etc. Because, let's face it, you need to pay attention to the road and not who untied whos shoe, etc.

So, would I buy this stroller? Probably. If my kids were less than 3 years apart and my oldest couldn't easily surf on a board, I would opt for it. I am hoping that my kids will be more than 3 years apart, so that my oldest will be either walking or surfing, which means I won't need a stroller made for two. If you have twins, check the bassinet setup. You may not be super happy with the way the basinets can be arranged although the dual toddler seat setup is great.

Getting healthy or not

I became fed up with my yoga instructor and started looking for a new way of getting some exercise. I've done yoga for about 6 years now (with lots of different instructors), a habit I started when I was in grad school and in serious need of some de-stressing activity.

Now I am 20 pounds heavier than I was in my grad school days, thanks to motherhood and my baking addiction. I started my "get fit routine" at Benefitness where I got a $15 class pass. Best $15 I've spent on a class in years! I walked out barely able to walk - the instructor was that good at getting me to move and burn some calories. And it showed me just how far I have to go to get myself back in shape.

Low and behold, a week after I realized that a path to body salvation lies in a gym near me, a friend sent a Groupon (group coupon) for the Healthworks group of gyms in the area: $24 for 24 day passes. That's right - $1 per day - to be used anytime between Feb and Apr 29th. It's 2 days a week, for 12 weeks. I am determined to get at least 1 day in a week before the coupon expires and I've been on track so far.
For those of you not from Boston, Healthworks is a group of 4 or 5 gyms for women, with everything from a sauna to a full class schedule to personal training, a spa, massage sessions and other fun stuff.

Here is a list of classes I've taken:

Fitness Flashback: A movement class with no props - basically, jump and move to the beat with the instructor to 80s music. Probably my favorite aerobic class so far, since it does not require me to be coordinated.

Hoop: I thought to myself: "How hard can this class be? I hooped all through childhood" Well, this class was a complete disaster. First of all, it turns out that there is a primary direction to hoop and a secondary direction. I cannot hoop in the secondary direction. Also, the hoop is weighted, with the weights forming bead like bumps on the INSIDE of the hoop. I am not sure what this is meant to accomplish, but as the instructor warned us - I had bruises all around my mid section after the class. Instead of feeling a good workout and a good burn, I felt beaten up and sore.

Body Pump: "The Original barbell workout". When I ventured into this class, I had only a vague recollection of what a barbell was. It's a bar, which has some weight to it, onto which you put more weights, and then clips on the ends to hold it all together. I am really glad that there are no men at this gym. The last thing I needed to see was some jock lifting his body weight like it was a feather. Needless to say that I learned just how weak my arms are in that class. I kept going down and down in weight until I was at the bare respectable minimum and I still was hurting. And I remember thinking to myself - oh god, even the leg exercises require you to hold the bar with your arms.

Step Express - a 30 minute step class. This gave me flashbacks to high school, where I took step after school for a year or two. For some reason, every instructor feels the need to create their own moves, which leave me baffled for long enough to lose my step and be out of step with the rest of the class. It's a good workout - both for your coordination and your body.

Slow Flow Yoga - I have never attended a fast flow yoga class, if something like this exists, but this is the basic yoga class, taught by a very tall soft spoken joke cracking British gentleman who says "Good" while you are doing a pose that is making you want to cry, and all of a sudden, with his words of encouragement, you feel good. And you really can do more...

Ironically, I've gained 2 pounds since I've started this fiasco, but I'm telling myself that it's all muscle weight. Yeah body pump!

How to get sleep and rest with a new baby

When I first had my daughter, I thought I'd never get a full night's sleep again. That's probably true - she's 2 now and I am becoming less and less optimistic about ever getting a long stretch of uninterrupted sleep. Nonetheless, there are some remedies that all new parents can make to make the situation better.

Please understand that I am not a sleep or child expert, so my advice is just that.

1. Get dimmers - when you're mixing bottles at 2am or changing a diaper, you'll be more comfortable in dim lights than in full on brightness and you'll be able to get to sleep better after.

2. Designate your time and mine. My husband used to spend 8pm to 11pm with my daughter, doing everything to keep her sleeping or entertained. This allowed me a nice 3 hour uninterrupted stretch. Then I would take over for the rest of the night, but that 3 hours was a real life saver.

3. At around 7:30pm, dim the lights in your house and turn down the music. It seems ridiculous at first, but it will help your body get into sleep and rest better.

4. Repeat your routine every night consistently so that your body can get used to the shifted sleep schedule.

A side not to the night owls. For those of you who like to stay up late, swap with your husband. Let him take the 5am - 7am shift, so you can sleep in. It's amazing what an extra 2 hours can do for you in the morning.

One Giant Leap for a Bottle

About 2 years ago, my husband bought me a Sigg bottle. I was really excited about it. First of all, it meant that he no longer had to break his back carrying water up to our 3rd floor walkup. Second, it meant that I could take almost a liter of water with me every day. Third, I would be saving the planet from the 3-4 plastic bottles I was tossing into the recycling bin every day.

Fast forward a year or so, and we hear news that Sigg, the company who made it cool to have a non-plastic reusable bottle, announces that their bottles have a BPA-lining. I'll let you read real news to judge whether there is real merit to the reasons why they didn't release the information as soon as they knew that BPA was a problem - a whopping year before the news finally leaked out. No pun intended.

Needless to say, I've chugged the Sigg bottle and now enjoy my beverages from a stylish new SubZero bottle, free of dents and BPA (it's stainless steel). Will I ever buy Sigg again? Probably not. Would you?

Dirty Food

I love the farmer's market. Here, it happens every Thursday, from 1pm till dusk, but most wares sell out by 6pm, so if you want the best fish, meat or produce, you have to show up early.

There is something truly wonderful about the earthiness of market produce. It literally has dirt on it and I come home, laden with heavy bags of produce and I shake off all the dirt from the bag after I've unpacked it. Every November, when the market closes down and I return to buying food in the sterile bright supermarket, I start to sorely miss the dirt. I get used to it by December, when the winter chill has set in and fresh food is a distant memory.

This time of year, in late February early March, when root cellared supplies are running short and the spring crops haven't yet come in, we enter the true deep freeze of winter. The body starts to yearn for fresh food and we look at the smallest sprouts in the dirt with great hope. Soon enough, just a couple more months, and we'll taste the sweetness of fresh strawberries and smell the ripe tomatoes once more and the cycle will repeat itself again.

My New Year's Resolutions

I've been thinking recently that I rarely make New Year's resolutions, and perhaps I ought to give this some thought. What would I like to accomplish this year and what can I do differently? Here is what I've come up with:

1. Make more money and try to keep more of it in my pocket

2. Drink all the hot chocolate I want, so long as I make it at home and it doesn't cost much (see #1 and French Women Don't Get Fat)

3. Go on more dates with my husband in nice clothing with jewelry (at least earrings and necklace) and makeup (at least lipstick).

4. Find out where my food comes from and try to minimize the distance it has to travel

5. Buy less (see #1)

6. Plant a garden - this is a tough one. I live in an appartment buildings and, let's just say, we're not exactly green

7. See more cultural events like plays, ballets and operas

8. Spend more time with my girlfriends

And now that it's written in stone.. um, I mean in digital easily-erasable format, I will have to stick to it and perhaps even write a post at the end of the year as a self-evaluation of sorts, since owning my own business, I am my own boss and evaluator. You never know, I might just earn myself a pay raise.