An Unfortunate Choice of Words for the Local Holiday Food Drive

9:21 PM in an, Aqua, choice, drive, food, for, holiday, local, of, the, unfortunate, words

At the risk of being called a "Debbie Downer" during this time of giving, I feel I must add my two cents to the otherwise noble effort by a group of businesses to partner with Roadrunner Food to collect non-perishable food items during the holidays.

The image on the left is a scan of the paper bag that was inserted in between the various sections of The Albuquerque Journal  this week. The paper bag presented a misleading message to the public:"Solve Hunger" by donating food. A better word would be "Help Alleviate Hunger."

To actually solve hunger, we must solve some of the structural problems that cause hunger, one of which is poverty and related factors like unemployment, underemployment, low wages, lack of access to affordable and nutritious food, a high level of debt and other causes. There are 50 million of our neighbors who do not know where their next meal is coming from, including 360,000 in New Mexico who are at risk of hunger.

"Despite the end of the Great Recession and a falling unemployment rate, the nation continues to be plagued by a very uneven recovery; low employment rates; stagnant wages; inadequate public investments; and inadequate public safety net programs. Yes, there has been progress. But it has been too slow," the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) said in its recently unveiled Plan of Action to End Hunger in America.

And how much difference does the food drive make?  It certainly helps increase the amount of food available to Roadrunner Food Bank and all the Feeding America affiliates around that country. That is an important reason why we all should participate in this holiday drive. Go to your local grocery store (instead of emptying your pantry) and buy $10 or $15 worth of non-perishable food items and leave them by your mail box on Saturday. Or better yet, take them directly to your nearest post office.

"More than half the households in New Mexico have to make really tough decisions every day," said an editorial in todays edition of The Albuquerque Journal, one of the sponsors of the food drive.  "Sixty-one percent choose between spending on food and utilities. Sixty-six percent between food and transportation. Fifty-nine percent between food and medical care. Forty-eight percent between food and housing. But there’s an easy choice more fortunate New Mexicans can make today and Saturday. That’s to fill the brown grocery bag in Thursday’s Journal with nonperishable food,"

The brown paper bag also contains some handy tips to help Roadrunner Food Bank, including signing up for programs where retailers donate a portion of your holiday purchases to our local food bank. And you are also given an opportunity to text a donation.  Here is why the financial donations are important.

"Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization, annually serves 46.5 million people across the U.S. through its network of 200 food banks, according to its "Hunger in America 2014" study," said an article The Huffington Post. "But what you may not know is that these organizations have limited resources themselves. While approximately 100 million pounds of food is donated to Feeding America food banks each year via canned food drives, these items alone won’t solve the issue of hunger that so many Americans face. Tight budgets, limited volunteers, finite donations, and the short turnarounds required between receiving fresh foods and distributing them to families in need can be challenges in addressing the issue of hunger – and doing so with nutrient-rich foods."

The holiday food drive should give us at least a small opportunity to show solidarity with those who receive the food. One way to do this is to be aware of the reasons why families are in their current predicament.  It doesnt help when the campaign tells us that we are actually solving hunger through our holiday donations.

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A Prayer for Justice at the Roundhouse Rotunda Ahead of the 2016 Session of the State Legislature

4:17 PM in 2016, a, ahead, Aqua, at, for, justice, legislature, of, prayer, rotunda, roundhouse, session, state, the

2016

Witness for the People

Our State of the State Address

Monday, January 18   1:30 PM

"Where there is no vision, the people perish."  Proverbs 29.18

Featuring the
New Mexico Peace Choir, directed by Christy Conduff, in the Rotunda of the Roundhouse
following the Martin Luther King Day Celebration sponsored by the Santa Fe NAACP

As our state legislature prepares to shape a new budget during this 30 day session
Let Our Voices Be Heard proclaiming the priorities for their work on behalf of the people of New Mexico.  

For more information, contact Rev. Holly Beaumont, (hbeaumont@iwj.org)

Here are a couple of videos from the 2015 commemoration, which featured the Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Senior Minister Emeritus of The Riverside Church in New York City, and President of the Healing of the Nations Foundation.



Rev. Bert Scott, representing the Interfaith Hunger Coalition, was one of several faith leaders to offer a reflection/prayer.

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Circo for the Community Rescheduled for March 5

2:58 PM in 5, Aqua, circo, community, for, march, rescheduled, the

The Circo for the Community fundraiser, originally scheduled for this Saturday, January 23, has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 5.

The performance will benefit the New Mexico Conference of Churches, La Mesa Arts Academy, New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, and the New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice and the Albuquerque Aerialist Collective. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased on the NMCC site or at the door (you can write a check for any of these organizations). The cost of the ticket includes dinner and a reception.

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Interfaith Procession and Candlelight Prayer for UN Climate Meeting Scheduled for Monday November 30 in Albuquerque

11:24 PM in 30, albuquerque, and, Aqua, candlelight, climate, for, in, interfaith, meeting, monday, november, prayer, procession, scheduled, un

The Interfaith community in Albuquerque is coming together on Monday, Nov. 30, for a procession and candlelight vigil ahead of the upcoming UN Climate Talks in Paris. The vigil begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Federal Building, Gold and 6th SW, and ends at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 619 Copper Ave. NW  Here is a map (Note: The exact route will be announced later. The map just shows the starting and ending locations)

Even as the world is reeling from the violence in Paris, World Leaders from more than 150 nations prepare for the UN Climate Change meeting in Paris, November 30-December 11. An unprecedented number of leaders of religious traditions, including Pope Francis, the Dalai Lama and Muslim and Jewish world leaders are calling all people to act for climate justice. They will offer a moral voice to public officials as they meet to agree to an international agreement.
 

You are invited to participate in a special prayer for the meeting and to bless those from Albuquerque who will be traveling to Paris for this important gathering.

Order of evening:
*Procession calling to mind the many climate refugees
*Candle light prayer in Immaculate Conception with music, sacred dance, prayers by major religious tradition representatives, blessing of those going to Paris and blessing of those representing organizations that will be in Paris, call to action.

Co-sponsors: New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, New Mexico Conference of Churches, New Mexico Oxfam Action Corps, Bread for the World-New Mexico, Catholic Charities of Central New Mexico, Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe, and others.

For more information contact Sister Joan Brown (joan@nm-ipl.org).

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Heart Association Reduce Price for Fruits and Vegetables and Save 200 000 Lives

2:57 PM in 000, 200, and, Aqua, association, for, fruits, heart, lives, price, reduce, save, vegetables

For years, the American Heart Association (AHA) was identified with a campaign to reduce consumption of red meat.  In lieu of eating so many ribeyes or sirloins or fast-food hamburger, the AHA recommended that people obtain their protein from chicken, fish or beans.

The heart association is also recommending greater consumption of fruits and vegetables, which  the group says should be more affordable. At the AHAs Epidemiology meeting meeting in Phoenix this week, experts said a 30-percent reduction in the price of fruits and vegetable could save nearly 200,000 lives over 15 years. That is roughly the population of Des Moines, Iowa.

Heres what a report in National Public Radio said this week:
"Computer models suggest that making that produce more affordable may actually translate into lower death rates from heart disease and stroke. And, the researchers add, lower prices are more effective at saving lives than traditional campaigns designed to encourage consumption of fruits and vegetables, like 5 A Day. 

The conclusion is based in part on a tool developed by researchers at Tufts University and in Britain called the U.S. Impact Food Model that included projections of U.S. demographics and cardiovascular death rates to 2030. They then combined the data with current and projected fruit and vegetable intake figures. The model allowed the team to simulate the effects of different policies on eating habits.

"We were able to take a given change of price, and [determine] what that change in price does to consumption levels," lead researcher Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, an academic clinical fellow at Imperial College in London, told NPR.

Read the full NPR article.

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An Action Plan for Healthier Farms and People in New Mexico

7:35 PM in action, an, and, Aqua, farms, for, healthier, in, mexico, new, people, plan

New Mexico faces a stark paradox: ranking close to the top of the list in food insecurity and child and senior hunger, while about one-quarter of our population suffers from obesity and numerous diet-related chronic diseases. Public meal programs are critical opportunities for addressing the health and well-being of New Mexicans and there is real promise for those fruits and vegetables to be provided by New Mexico growers. -from The Power of Public Procurement: An Action Plan for Healthier Farms and People in New Mexico,September 2014

Cover: Seed Art Mural, Bernalillo County Youth Detention Center
Photo Courtesy of: Jade Leyva, Curator for SEEDS:A Collective Voice Multimedia
Exhibits, Community Seed Mural Projects Co-Artist & Coordinator

Over the past week we published blog posts on the links between health and hunger from the Bread for the World Institute, New Mexico Voices for Children and and First Choice Community Health Care. An important aspect of providing healthy food to the population, particularly low-income communities, is to ensure that fruits and vegetables are available at affordable levels. The produce does not need to be trucked from California. Rather, there is an abundance locally.

A little more than a year ago (in September 2014), Farm to Table and New Mexico State University (via the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business, the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences and half a dozen agricultural extension offices) published a report that attempts to identify and understand the potential and current barriers that New Mexico farmers and New Mexico’s public institutions face when trying to sell and purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables for their respective meal programs.

The report, entitled The Power of Public Procurement: An Action Plan for Healthier Farms and People in New Mexico, recognizes that a potentially significant market exists for the sale of New Mexico grown produce to the State’s public institutions. This is particularly true for the school districts’ food service programs.

"A large, and until recently, untapped, commercial exchange may be fostered between fruit and vegetable growers and the public officials who administer the procure-ment systems of public institutions," researchers said in the executive summary of the report. "Yet, practicalities and barriers currently impede the process."

The authors of the report make a number of recommendations at various agency and inter-agency levels, placing a strong emphasis on schools, but also on senior centers, state corrections institutions, and farming and agriculture.  Read the executive summary and the full report.

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Prayers and Reflections for the Third Sunday in Lent

8:10 AM in and, Aqua, for, in, lent, prayers, reflections, sunday, the, third

Todays Readings
Isaiah 55:1-9    Psalm 63    I Corinthians 10:1-13    Luke 13:1-9

from Bread for the World

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A Dancing Prayer for the Second Friday in Lent

12:59 AM in a, Aqua, dancing, for, friday, in, lent, prayer, second, the

Who says our prayers during the Lenten season have to be solemn? What is important is that we find a way to open up to the Creator. So, in that spirit I share a couple of "dancing" prayers on this second Friday in Lent.

Dancers Prayer
(From Living Prayers)

Lord God,
With every movement I make
I long to be close to you.
May I leap with your joy,
May I stretch with your passion,
May I balance with your strength.
I give you my dance, as a prayer,
As praise,
And as a testimony.

May my dancing tell of you love
And always point the way to you.
Amen.

"This delightful dance repeated around the globe will bring a smile to your lips and warm your heart."   Gratefulness.org 

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Coconut Oil Replacement for Temperate Climates

8:04 PM in Aqua, climates, coconut, for, oil, replacement, temperate

It seems that a lot of recipes for homemade hygiene products call for coconut oil as a primary ingredient.  And why not?  Coconut oil is touted as having numerous benefits, which may or may not be legit. (Many of the benefits may be topical rather than dietary.)  Were not much into beauty products, but occasionally we discover a need for some type of cosmetic product, such as deodorant for when someone we actually like invites us to an event in the public sphere.  In the past, we have incorporated coconut oil into some of our homemade hygiene items, mainly as a high-melting binder for something like deodorant.  However, weve found two problems with this situation.  First, the coconut oil, although higher-melting than many other oils, sometimes melts in the summer heat.  Second, we have no intention of living in the coconuts natural habitat (coastal areas within ~26° latitude of the equator), which means it would be very difficult to produce our own coconut oil on the homestead.

However, we do (or more precisely, will) have the capability to produce beeswax and vegetable oils (e.g., canola or sunflower oil), which we hypothesized we might be able to combine in certain proportions to produce a mixed-lipid substance with a tunable melting point.  The first thing we had to do was build something to measure the melting points.  Oh boy, a project!

We wanted to use a spare piece of leftover metal from the 90° electrical conduit punch-out elbows we used for the row cover we built last fall, but the Home Depot spec sheet said the pieces were either cast zinc or galvanized steel. We were a little nervous about heating zinc (it turns out it would have been fine for this application anyway), but when we held the pieces, they sure didnt feel dense enough to be zinc or steel (which have densities of 7.2 and 7.8 g/cm³, respectively).  We suspected they might be aluminum, so we converted an empty spice jar into a makeshift graduated cylinder (sort of like a really nerdy MacGyver), then used the old displacement principle to calculate a density of about 2.7 g/cm³--suspiciously close to that of aluminum.  No zinc fume worries, and good thermal conductivity--yay, science! (And Home Depot shoppers be warned...)

Then we built a little contraption out of scrap wood to turn our aluminum piece and our wood burning tool into a melting point apparatus.  She aint purdy, but she sure is sturdy!

We drilled a partial hole in the center of the bottom in which to nest the wood burner, and two holes equidistant from the center: one for a small piece of whatever solid were melting and one for a thermocouple or thermometer.   This setup heats surprisingly quickly, so we had to serve as our own PID controller by plugging in and unplugging the wood burner.  It would be way easier to add a potentiometer between the wood burner and the wall outlet (something like this guy did), if we had one on hand and wanted to precisely control the heating rate.

The next step is to put a small chunk of the wax or wax/oil mixture in the one hole, hold the thermocouple in the other hole, and heat er up!  Keep heating until...

....the wax melts!  We got 142 °F as the melting point for the pure beeswax, which is pretty close to the normal range.  The aluminum plate cools down pretty quickly, so we can record the temperature at which it re-solidifies also, and do multiple melts to get an average.  (Since we know the approximate melting point from the first melt, we can unplug the wood burner sooner in subsequent replicates to approach the melting point more slowly--maybe even as slow as a real melting point apparatus would!)

With the instrument and methodology validated, we can finally pursue our goal of finding a beeswax/oil blend with the melting temperature we want.  We mixed up combinations of 80%, 60%, 40%, and 20% beeswax in canola oil (by volume) as our standards.

Then we made sure they were good and melted in the microwave.  We stirred the melt to mix everything well, then set them outside to freeze.  If the air outside is going to be cold, we might as well make use of it!

The 20-80% beeswax standards all had a pretty high melting point (e.g., the 20% mix melted at 118 °F), so we added a 5% beeswax mix to the curve.  It looked kind of like runny Vaseline, and seemed to cross over to the liquid side around 70 °F.  Thats lower than the melting temperature of coconut oil (which we measured at 79 °F, compared to an internet value of 77 °F), and is probably too soft for making deodorant.  The 20% mix seems like it might be about right.

Heres the data all together.  The point at the far left (pure canola oil) is from here since the air outside wasnt quite cold enough to freeze it (nor was our freezer, for some reason).  Naturally, the curve would look different if other oils were added into the mix, but wed wager that oils with a similar fatty acid profile to canola oil would give similar results.  The line is a fit to the equation shown, which has no physical meaning, as far as we know, but seems to fit the data well.  (Hooray for empiricism!)  Physical chemistry students: you might be able to publish a paper on the theory behind it.

Have you mixed beeswax with other oils for your own homestead hygiene?  Whats your favorite combination?  Let us know in the comments section below!

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Easy Soil Sampler Tool for Compacted Soil

2:24 PM in Aqua, compacted, easy, for, sampler, soil, tool

Earlier this spring, we decided we should get our dirt tested.  We carefully selected a lab and read through their sampling instructions.  The only problem was that, lacking an auger or corer tool, we would have had to use our trusty spade shovel.  Why is that a problem?  First, because we would be sampling from places around the yard, many of which we wont actually want to turn over.  Second, our soil is extremely compacted, and digging 20+ holes to a depth of 6-8" would require at least a couple hours of sweat and tears.  Instead, we put on our thinking caps and invented a device from the junk we had laying around.  We still spent a couple hours on the project, but only ~20 minutes were doing the sampling.  The other 80-100 were spent inventing and testing, which will save time in the long run.  (Especially for you, dear readers, because that work is now done!)  Plus, now we dont have (big) holes all over our yard.

The key component of our invention is a piece of old 3/4" pipe, such as this electrical conduit.  But it wont work very well directly as a pipe.  So we marked it at 8" from the end, and cut it as shown.  The closer to one side you can get it, the better, because it will have more rigidity and be less likely to twist when actually taking the samples.  Making a pointed end also helps with that.  Three other tools are needed for easy sampling: a hatchet (or hammer), a vice grips, and a screw driver.  Sample collection is then a three-step process.

Step 1: pound the pipe into the ground, up to the 8" mark. (Step 1a: chase the chickens away because they all think that humans working in dirt = treats.)

Step 2: Take the vice grips and rotate the pipe around to cut a core of soil.  Then pull the pipe back out of the ground, which is much easier with the vice grips still attached.

It should be full of dirt.  Like this!

Step 3: Use the screwdriver to scrape the dirt out of the pipe into a bucket. If there is still residue from the sawing operations, it might be good to take a few samples first in areas you dont care about, and discard them.  Step 4 is to repeat steps 1-3 at least 10 times around the sampling area, until enough dirt has been collected to meet the test labs requirements.  For us, about 15 sampling points worked out to about two cups soil after drying.

When we first started this, we were afraid that the pounding and scraping would lead to increased metals from the pipe getting into the soil and messing up the test results.  But we took a chance, and the zinc levels (what we would expect to go up the most from using galvanized pipe) were right about at background levels for our area.  (All values in the table are in ppm--parts per million, or mg analyte/kg soil.)  On the other hand, our selenium levels are off the chart!  The level we got was still less than A&L Eastern Lab says is hazardous (that same table appearing in other publications, too, possibly originating from a Cornell report), but more than the level that raises a red flag for UMass, and way above background for our area.  Where could that come from (and what should we do about it?)  Dont touch that dial--well be back with more info in a few days.

How do you collect your soil samples?  Let us know in the comments section below!

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Rick Steves Christmas Fundraiser Brings More than 430 000 to Bread for the World

8:46 PM in 000, 430, Aqua, bread, brings, christmas, for, fundraiser, more, rick, steves, than, the, to, world

Image from OpenClipArt

1,659 

That figure represents the number of supporters of Rick Steves who answered his challenge to help raise funds for Bread for the World during the Christmas season in 2015. The travel writer matched donations dollar for dollar.  People who donated $100 received a gift from Steves: his European Christmas gift package or his Complete Collection 2000-2016 DVD Box Set (all 100 of my travel shows)."

Steves and ex-Sen. Tom Harkin at Bread 40th anniversary (2014)

In a Thank You letter to supporters, Steves said:

"Together, you contributed $218,000. And with my match, collectively, we raised over $430,000 to help power BFTWs work in explaining to Congress the needs of our nations poor, homeless, and hungry people.

 "We all want to get our fiscal house in order. And BFTW has been very effective in its advocacy work encouraging our government not to balance the budget by cutting vital services to our nations most needy." 

Thanks so much for making this a very expensive Christmas for me. Giving like this, in partnership with caring travelers like you, makes my work even more gratifying than it already is. Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to all.

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A Free Healthy Meal Seven Days a Week for Children and Youth in Albuquerque

12:33 PM in a, albuquerque, and, Aqua, children, days, for, free, healthy, in, meal, seven, week, youth

Are you between the ages of 3 to 18 or have a child who is in that age range? If so, you can receive a free healthy meal at the Presbyterian Hospital cafeteria between 1:00 and 7:00 p.m., seven days a week.

The cafeteria is located on level 5-2, north side of the hospital, located at 1100 Central Ave. SE (map)

No identification is necessary, and any child or youth of 3-18 years of age qualifies.

You will need to order from a cashier and sign a log showing that you received a meal. The meal must be eaten at the hospital. A voucher is not necessary. 

The program is sponsored by Presbyterian Community Health.

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Prayers and Reflections for the Second Sunday in Lent

3:30 PM in and, Aqua, for, in, lent, prayers, reflections, second, sunday, the

Todays Readings
Genesis 15: 1-12, 17-18, Psalm 27, Philippians 3:17-4:1, Luke 13:31-35 or Luke 9:28-43

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Wishes for an Abundant New Year

10:27 PM in abundant, an, Aqua, for, new, wishes, year

As the pages of the calendar turn to a new year our tendency is to wish our friends and family a Happy New Year.  And if you are in Latin America and other places around the world, the wish is for a Prosperous New Year.  Happiness and prosperity are good things to wish for our relatives, friends and acquaintances. The symbolic transition, however, gives us a great opportunity to make an alternative kind of wish: an Abundant New Year. On this day we celebrate Gods abundant love for us (Isaiah 49:15-16 and Jeremiah 31:3) and we resolve to share this abundant love with others (John 15: 9-14)

So, as 2016 begins, I wish everyone Gods abundant love in our hearts, our minds to guide us as we live our lives in the coming year.

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Hydroponic Garden for profit

10:15 PM in Aqua, for, garden, hydroponic, profit

Hydroponic Garden for profit

 

Lowest water consumption and lowest use of fertilizer
Lowest impact on ground water, too
Feed yourself; Feed others
Run your own silver mining operation
When your neighbors are starving, take their silver coins and gold
Viewer discretion advised; Humorous, but somewhat obscene

 

 

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Reflections for the Jubilee Year of Mercy

3:36 AM in Aqua, for, jubilee, mercy, of, reflections, the, year

On Dec. 8, 2015, Pope Francis launched the Jubilee Year of Mercy, an effort to focus the mission of the church and of the faithful on mercy and forgiveness rather than on judgment. This is a call for both individuals and for the institution. Here are a couple of quotes on mercy, including one from Pope Francis.

Photo via Norbertine Community of Santa Maria de la Vid

Mercy is not a virtue that you choose to put on one day. Mercy has to be your deepest way of seeing, a generosity of spirit that draws from your identity, your deepest dignity, which is love. It is basically a worldview of abundance, wherein I do not have to withhold, protect, or hoard myself.   -Rev. Richard Rohr OFM

The mystery of divine mercy is revealed in the history of the covenant between God and his people Israel. God shows himself ever rich in mercy, ever ready to treat his people with deep tenderness and compassion, especially at those tragic moments when infidelity ruptures the bond of the covenant, which then needs to be ratified more firmly in justice and truth. Here is a true love story, in which God plays the role of the betrayed father and husband, while Israel plays the unfaithful child and bride. These domestic images – as in the case of Hosea (cf. Hos 1-2) – show to what extent God wishes to bind himself to his people.  -Pope Francis (from message for Lent, 2016)

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Frozen Wild Greens Recap and New! Liquid Carrots for Dessert

12:00 PM in and, Aqua, carrots, dessert, for, frozen, greens, liquid, new, recap, wild

When Katies out of town, as was the case this last week, the kitchen experiments around here tend to get a little more curious.  In particular, the opportunity exists to use up things from the freezer that arent allowed in the kitchen at the same time as Katie.  Not that shes particularly picky, but its been a busy week nonetheless.

First, the last of the frozen wild greens are now used up.  There were a couple quart bags of dandelions and one of sorrel in the freezer.

If memory serves, one bag of dandelions was blanched before freezing, and the other just soaked to extract the bitter taraxinic acids, then frozen without blanching.  Both seemed to be functionally equivalent to frozen spinach, except slightly bitter (in a good way).  In the future, we definitely wont bother with the blanching!

The sorrel also seemed to be functionally equivalent to frozen spinach.  This one we didnt blanch because heating the fresh sorrel makes it turn a weird green-gray color.  Interestingly, after it came out of the freezer, it stayed green in the frying pan.  There was only one bag of sorrel, though (no replicate in this experiment!), so well have to try again next year to try to reproduce the lack of color change on heating.

One staple dish around here for frozen greens is a a mix of the sauteed greens, potatoes, plain yogurt (or sour cream if youre trying to get some extra calories in), and seasonings.  Pretty good stuff.  The combination of bold flavors also makes it a good hiding place for odd cuts of meat that some of the Homestead Laboratory resident scientists would object to eating as a featured course.

...such as this delectable bit, which was just as tender and scrumptious as the Curious Coconut promised.  Any guesses what it is? (Hint: click the link.)

An approximate total recipe for this iteration of the dish is something like 10 oz greens, 5 cups cubed, cooked potatoes, 1 lb cubed meat, 2 cups plain yogurt, and salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, basil, and cayenne pepper to taste.  Topped with some melty cheddar, its a dish fit for kings.  Or at least, the king of this castle when the queen isnt around.

Were also big fans of cramming vegetables into our desserts, although Katie tends to be less excited about untested combinations.  For example, the picture shows the makings of a carrot-apple cider-caramel ice cream smoothy.  It took about three medium carrots (which the kitchen scale said was 5.65 oz), about 1.5 cups apple cider, and three big scoops of salted caramel ice cream.  Carrots got chopped in the food processor with the apple cider, then ice cream jumped in and everything got processed until smooth.  Before you wrinkle your nose, keep in mind that carrot juice and apple juice are no strangers to each other in the juicing world (search carrot apple juice to find a litany of recipes), and apples and caramel are one of the best flavor combinations of all time.  (And that is a scientific fact!)  It actually tastes mostly not like carrot.

Thats a big, tall glass of yum, right there.  Yup.

What kind of experiments have you been working on in the kitchen?

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Dear Member of Congress Please Prioritize Support for Maternal Child Health Programs

10:47 AM in Aqua, child, congress, dear, for, health, maternal, member, of, please, prioritize, programs, support

Photo: Twin Cities Bread team

Year after year, the leadership team in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area has put together great Offering of Letters workshops, maintained a website focused on the years letter-writing campaign and provided resources for churches in the area to organize their letter-writing Sundays (or weekends).

Here is the example that the Bread leaders in the Twin cities put together for the 2016 Offering of Letters, entitled "Survive and Thrive," which urges Congress to prioritize support for maternal and child health programs, emphasizing nutrition.

STEP 3 
Sincerely
Your Name
Address

STEP 4
Address your letter to Congress
U.S. House of Representatives, Washingon, D.C. 20515
 U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510

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Krazy for Kohlrabi!

2:31 PM in Aqua, for, kohlrabi, krazy

Kohlrabi is a forgotten gem.  With the resurgence in interest in heirloom and other older vegetables kohlrabi may be poised for a comeback.  Look at how kale is the current trendy food when not too long ago it was eaten only because it was cheap and easy to grow.

Kohlrabi is the royal cabbage.  While it looks like a root vegetable, it is actually the stem of the plant you eat.  The name comes from the German for Cabbage Turnip.  When you look at kohlrabi (especially the purple varieties) you can see how it looks a bit like a turnip.  However, it is a member of the Brassica family.  Just like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts it has been selected by man for the characteristic of the bulging stem.

Looks Like a Turnip Tastes Like Broccoli

I am currently growing them using a flood and drain grow bed, deep water culture rafts, and nutrient film technique tubes.  Much to my surprise they are growing best with NFT.  I really thought they would excel in the grow beds and that they would be too top heavy for rafts or tubes. 

They do lean in DWC rafts and for some reason their bulb becomes elongated.  Doesnt change the taste but if you are growing for looks, well it looks odd. 

Leaning Tower of Kolhrabi

If you are growing for looks, you probably arent growing kohlrabi to begin with because well
                     it is an odd looking veggie.
                                                                 Isnt it?

Kohlrabi can be eaten raw or cooked.  The taste is like the stem of the broccoli with a little bite of radish thrown in for a kick.  The smaller the "bulb" the more tender it is.  No matter the size, you certainly want to peel it before you eat it cooked or raw.  It has a very tough outer skin.

It is used in Asian and German cooking.  I prefer it cooked, but that is probably because that is how my Mom cooked it. 

If you look on the internet, you will find recipes for cooking the bulb and leaves.  Ive never eaten the leaves....I was taught incorrectly that the stems and leaves were toxic to humans.  As an adult, I realize my Dad probably just said that because he didnt like the leaves. 

If you want to try it for yourself, it is very easy to grow in soil or in an aquaponic garden.  It likes cooler temperatures so you can direct sow seeds outdoors 4 to 6 weeks before your last frost.  So get them in the ground soon! They like a pH in the 6s and they need water to develop that fleshy stem.  If you grow in soil, beware that they have shallow roots.  Keep them well mulched if using soil. I havent had a problem with cabbage worms but I did have to spray for aphids with my pepper/garlic spray (read about that here) on one set of tubes.  If using aquaponics, give them a try in NFT tubes.  Ive been getting great results in both small and large tubes.

Are you krazy as I am for kohlrabi?

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Video for Survive and Thrive the 2016 Offering of Letters

2:21 PM in 2016, and, Aqua, for, letters, of, offering, survive, the, thrive, video

Every two minutes, a woman dies from complications in pregnancy or childbirth. Every five seconds, a child dies, often from preventable causes such as malnutrition. We can change this, and it starts with a simple letter.  Learn more about Bread for the Worlds 2016 Offering of Letters in this video.  And if you live in the Albuquerque area, please join us for a workshop on Saturday, March 12.


Heres the same message in 60 seconds....

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