A little bit o' Shakespeare

This literally has nothing to do with sustainable agriculture.  It really has nothing to do with food, it's cupcakes.  Apologies for the snark, I've been living vicariously through a couple of my friends in satire class, so the sass has punctuated my monologues more than usual lately. 

 Moving on to less digressive topics, it was my teacher's birthday the other day (and when I say teacher, I mean advisory, English teacher, grammar hammer, and practically family).  She has had a Shakespeare cupcake in her room for about five years now, and yes it has gone through the five stages of food grieving: stale, mold, worms, dryness, dust.  Well, we're not quite at dust, but it's about to be trashed on Shakespeare's birthday.  Very ceremonial, I know. 

But!  Da dada!  I made her another one!  It was quite fun, and I just wanted to share a little whimsy with you all.  Long liveth the bard!

SNOW AND BREAD!

Well hello!  I hope those of you who inhabit the East Coast are hunkering down in your warm houses, just like we are, looking at seed catalogs with longing, and looking outside at the kids making snowmen.  Cough, I might have made one... 

But while I wasn't reveling in the snow, I was inside baking!  I'm not sure what it is that makes me want to use the oven when it's grey and chilly outside.  Probably the heat, but I prefer to think of it as something slightly more esoteric.  But I digress.  I am writing to tell you that I have made bread!  Delicious bread!

Warm, crusty, nutty, and round, this whole wheat bread is a staple at our house in the winter months.  Normally Sunday is baking day, but I couldn't help it.  When the first flake fell, I had to get elbow deep in flour. 

The bread lasted about a day.  Two loaves.  That is a new record for this family!  Can't say I blame the teenage brother (who was the main perpetrator of this theft).  If I had a bottomless pit for a stomach, I too would eat the homemade bread fresh out of the oven over the store-bought stuff. 

I had to take an inordinate number of pictures, because had I not, there would be no record!  Especially with the utter deliciousness of this bread, it needed some extra love. 

I would also like to feature our neighbor Tracey's fine cheesecake!  I let it out of the oven, took a picture, and delighted in its smell for a good five minutes while I was supposed to be walking the dog.  What can I say?

Apologies apologies...

WELL!  Here I am, a few weeks after my last post, typing frantically trying to keep up with school, scholarships, publishing my next book, practicing violin, and trying to recover from my sparring session last night. 

No excuses.

So!  Let us discuss something interesting!  I'll save the super bowl add for this weekend, I want to do that justice.

I am doing my Gold Award with my school!  The Gold Award is the highest award a girl scout can receive.  It's the equivalent to an Eagle Scout in Boy Scouts. 

I mention it because my service project is four programs with kids from ages 5-10 that educate them on sustainable agriculture. 

I had my first program last week, phew, and my second one is tomorrow!  My high-school helpers run the kids through a power point and make a poster with them that illustrates the theme for that week!

Last week was food mileage, Carbon Footprint if you will.  Our food comes so far to rest on the shelves of our supermarkets.  Really people?  A tomato that is ripe for the hamburgers in July is NOT ripe for the hamburgers in January.  It has probably traveled from its lovely sun in Cali or Italy to your counter (with a layover in a factory where it can be chemically ripened).  This is MILEAGE people!  And every airplane, car, truck, refrigerator, and storage facility that houses these delightful fruits is using energy.  Burning coal.  Making pollution.  Killing our planet.  I don't mean to sound like a complainer, but really, can't we make good choices?  Can't we show a little self-restraint?  I think we can. 

These kids who are learning from my Gold Award will hopefully take this idea with them when I am done.  I hope you, dear reader, will too!




A picture of our zucchini relish.  I'll write about it in August!