Applemania

It’s as Kazakhstani as apple pie. Which is not as they say, whoever THEY are . . . but as they should say, if they knew. I learned of the origin of this nationalized icon some years ago back in a fabulous article from…

Cornucopia

Life Goal: Collect beautiful baskets made out of natural fibers like the ones my friend Anore has. Anore is 80 years old, widowed 5 years ago, homesteading alone off-grid on 5 acres on Waldron in the San Juan Islands. She goes barefoot outdoors even…

Say Cheese

I spent my birthday money on a cheese making kit. A step or two up from the single-batch gift boxes, it was an entry-level hobbyist setup with all the basic hardware and enough enzyme and rennet for a dozen or so batches, recipes included…

A Cow Named Lu

As I was driving back from an errand an hour or so southwest of home, a highway sign alerted me to a total closure of I-5 a few exits north due to an accident.  I chose my own detour and found myself in a…

Arrival II: The Pie Garden

June 7, 2019 marks the first Edgewild strawberry and indeed the first Edgewild harvest of any kind.  The total strawberry yield that season was about half a pound.  My basis for that estimate is memory of quantity and size of berries compared to what…

Themes and Variations

May went fast. This is going to be more of a gallery than a blog post. All three Foodshed Challenge days for last month. It’s also a work in progress. I am getting the pictures up here. I will add captions and descriptions as…

State Fare

My first experiment in eating local took place in spring of 2010, six full weeks in March and April.  Strangely enough it was my first time observing Lent and I was doing so shortly following my departure from formal religion.  For a recovering Evangelical,…

Meet the Neighbors

Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors.  Her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle chronicles her family’s adventure in eating local and seasonal for a whole year.  It’s years now since I read it and the details are fuzzy but I ought to credit it…

The Foodshed Challenge

Eat local. Where did your last meal come from?  Who made it?  How long did it take to grow?  How long since it was alive?  Did it live well? Living well, and giving good lives to the beings that sustain me, is the core…