5 Things To "Like" This Week

Matt Damon in "Always Doing The Right Thing"

1.  "Promised Land" DVD.  This movie is political.  It's about fracking.  It's about the environment and small towns and the consequences of the choices we are making.  Whatever way you feel about it, this is a well researched and well written movie.  The end even made me cry a little.

For a good time, read this.

2.  Mother Earth Living Magazine.  This is my new FAVORITE magazine.  Seriously, if I had a smart phone camera I would just take a picture of the ridiculous amount of pages I have earmarked in this thing.  Here are a list of my favorite articles (some of these are posted on their FB page):  "Spring Fling:  Make your home healthier and more efficient by checking off these annual spring cleaning tasks"; an ad for "Dogeared" a jewelry companyt that is part of the bcorporation.net/bthechange organization; a "Curried Quinoa with Green Onion and Basil" recipe; an ad for purchasing Stevia Plants (in the margin of the Quinoa recipe); "Homemade Versions of Popular Salad Dressings" (they have an excellent Ranch version);  "Wildly Affordable Organics" (#3 on this list); "Gardens For All:  best veggies for your garden"; "Radically Homemade:  Permaculture experts and radical homemakers Scott and Pittman live a bounteously fill life--on their own terms; "Plant A Therapeutic Garden:  Use plants and landscape that appeal to the senses to create a therapuetic retreat in your backyard"; "The Stress Reducing Tea Garden:  Grow your own herbs perfect for a relaxing tea blend"; "Growing, Harvesting and Using Mint"; the Mother Earth Living Bookshelf--here is where they sell you books!  Just get them from your library!!! (Maybe I didn't need a picture of the earmarks I made . . . I just listed them all!)  You can order a subscription to "Mother Earth News" HERE, or like them on FB too!  

Cha ching!

3.  Wildly Affordable Organics.  I absolutely loved the article titled in Mother Earth News titled, "Wildly Affordable Organics" by Linda Watson.  Watson takes on a shopping and food prep planning journey for less than $2.00 per person, per meal and also to do this organically and closest to the source.  I love this idea.    On another note, did you know that the average food-stamp allowance is about $1 per meal.  This made me think of having to feed a family on this small dollar amount and keeping it healthy.  It's do-able, even for people who don't need to be on public assistance.  Eating well shouldn't have to cost a lot.  No excuses.  And Linda just wrote a book (by the same name) about all of this too--which I just requested on InterLibrary Loan from the university library where I work:  "Wildly Affordable Organic Eat Fabulous Food, Get Healthy, and Save the Planet--All on $5 a Day or Less" (Da Capo Lifelong Books--May 31, 2011).  LOVE IT!  She even inspired me to make my own bread.  Which I did, and is my #4 for this week.

Bake it and your house will smell gooooooood!

4.  Oatmeal Whole Wheat Quick Bread.  The recipe called for 1 cup of ground rolled oats.  It said to just grind them in a blender or food processor.  I don't have a food processor and the blender actually worked awesome!  Hmmm.  Learned something new.  Anyway, the recipe is HERE.  I made 2 loaves. The first followed this recipe and then I made some sweet bread by adding ginger, allspice, cinnamon and more honey.  Yummmmmm.



5.  Amos Lee's new album "Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song".  Aaaah.  This album has a Southern sounding twang almost reminiscent of the Driveby Truckers that I just looooove.  Good album to bake bread to.

Xoxoxo,
Nik