Wordless Wednesday

Today is The Beagle's 5th Birthday. Here are some pictures and a video to celebrate. And yes, there will be hamburger for dinner tonight. :)

The day I brought the little love ball home (4 years ago)

The Beagle's 1st trip to the coast

What a happy puppy face.

The Beagle plays dress up.

Aw.. my little man's 5th Birthday! (and our 4 year anniversary)

Corned Beef and Cabbage

DB and I celebrated St. Patricks Day with this delicious easy meal. It uses a slow cooker and thank G*D since I had a slight flea problem to deal with that day.... (more on this later)


Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ingredients

1 corned beef package (I bought mine at Safeway. It was labeled as GF so YAY!)
1 head of cabbage, quartered
3 carrots, chopped
2 large Yukon gold potatoes, diced into large pieces
Fresh parsley to garnish

Carrots and potatoes in the bottom of a slow cooker. Rinse corned beef of excess brine and pat dry. Trim away the fat layer. Place on top of the vegetables and empty the contents of the included spice package on top of the meat. Fill the slow cooker with enough water to cover the meat and cook on high for 6 hours. About 20 minutes before you're ready to serve, Stick in cabbage and continue cooking. REmove from slowcooker and sprinkle with chopped parsley.


That's it.

This meal is hearty, quick (in the sense that you "set it and forget it"), cheap (the beef is less that $2/lb) and delicious and I saved the broth for future use. Num Num

Carrot Date Cake

So this is really more of a muffin but I don't have muffin pans, so I made a cake.

GF, SF Carrot Date Cake*
Adapted from Amy's Carrot Date Spice Muffins

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups Flour blend
2/3 cups buckwheat flour
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons flax meal
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup soy milk, heated for about 30 seconds in the microwave
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup grated carrot
3/4 cup chopped dates

Lightly grease small glass cake pan.
Combine soy milk and vinegar and set aside. This will turn into "buttermilk". Thoroughly mix other ingredents except dates and carrots until combined. Stir in "buttermilk" until mixed through and then stir in carrots and dates. Pour/scoop into cake pan and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes, or until the center is done.

This freezes and reheats well. A make again recipe.

Food for Thought

Due to my travels over the past week, I skipped my CSA package. Unfortunately, this meant that I came home to a house with no produce and in Jayme-world, this is a house with no food. I traveled to a local natural grocer to do an experiment. I wanted to buy a CSA-sized equivalent of organic veggies and fruit. I ventured into the produce section and bought a variety of things such as green leaf lettuce, rainbow chard, zucchini, danish squash, beets, and baby carrots. I also looked up the prices of a half dozen of free range "happy" eggs: Just round $2.40. I picked up some other non-CSA things such as some organic, humane-certified, lamb shoulder, Regular bananas (I've been forcing these down my throat for potassium, and Nancy's yogurt. My total for the trip was $28.54. If I were to hypothetically buy those eggs, it would have been $30.94. The total CSA-replacement veggies was $20.02 or $22.42 if I had the eggs.

I would probably compare the variety of produce that I bought today, equivalent to a size small share which runs $22/week. However, I would compare the amount of produce to the medium size share which runs $36/week.

The reason why I am comparing these two "methods" is because I am finding out that I am more sensitive to a variety of foods than I thought I was. It is likely that I will not be able to eat some of the vegetables or fruit that CSA provides.

Here are the pros and cons of each "method"

Grocery store
Pros:

• I can choose what I want to buy. ie: I don't like cabbage, yet I get a ton of it with the CSA. If something is on sale, I can buy it and save money
• I can purchase other non-produce things such as meat and in the future, grains for the same amount of money
  
• If I am going to be gone on the weekends, I don't have to accommodate my meals when I get back to eat the remaining veggies before they go bad.
• I don't have to worry about having to pick up my package at a specific time and location. I can go to the grocery store anytime I want.
• I have a giant basil plant at home, so I don't need a lot of the herbs the CSA provides... plus, I'm a little sick of cilantro.
• Once the farmers markets are in full swing, I can save more money.
• This is a lot cheaper!
  

Cons:

• I have to deal with the crowded grocery stores.
• The produce at the store is organic, but is not as fresh, and not typically local (most things are from Mexico) Perhaps this will change in the summer?
  
• I'm not supporting a local farm. I am supporting large Mexican farms and contributing to the effects of the transportation of my food from Mexico to Oregon.
  
• I am not forced to try new things

Don't get me wrong, I love the CSA, but I am also living on a limited budget and have no income. I have felt a little bad for spending so much on the CSA every week. If I can promise myself to stick to the same quality of foods while continuing to eat with variety, I feel more justified shopping at my local grocery store. In the future, when I have a job and am not in law school, I would love to participate in a CSA. But for now, I still have a few weeks left in my subscription but once I am done, I will cancel my membership. (I think)


What are your thought about this? Should I stay, or should I go?

I couldn't agree more

People trust their dogs to know them better than their friends, survey says

By Jacques Von Lunen, Special to The Oregon...

March 22, 2010, 1:53PM

The results of a recent survey of dog owners illustrate just how strong the emotional bond is between them and their pooches.

The vast majority of respondents to the survey, which was commissioned by dog-snack maker Pup-Peroni and conducted by Kelton Research, said they believe they communicate with their dogs. Many said they relate to their dogs better than they do to human friends. -- Nearly three-fourths of dog owners surveyed said they can interpret their dogs' body language or facial expressions correctly.

-- Nearly half believe they know exactly what their pet is thinking.

-- More than one-third reported to have had entire conversations with their dogs without using words.

-- Almost half said that their canine friend is more likely to notice they've had a bad day than their best human friend.

-- More than two-thirds believe their dogs know when they feel happy.

-- Large majorities said their dogs are able to pick up on emotions such as happiness (69 percent), anger (67 percent) and sadness (58 percent), without having to say a word.

-- An overwhelming 89 percent of dog owners believe there have been moments when their dogs tried to comfort them in times of need.

-- Nearly two-thirds believe their dogs are more dependable than their human best friends.

-- Two-thirds said they feel guiltier about leaving their dogs behind than their own family and friends when they leave on trips.

-- Nearly three-fourths prefer to wind down by taking a walk with their dogs, rather than with a human companion.

-- The vast majority (89 percent) say their dogs are more excited when they come home than are their significant others.

-- Jacques Von Lunen





http://www.oregonlive.com/pets/index.ssf/2010/03/people_trust_their_pets_to_kno.html

Break

Hum... Spring Break. One of my last ones.

So far...

• I've rid my apartment of the flea I found on The Beagle's tummy and all of its' potential family members,
• attended an Oregon track meet,
• went to Corvallis to hang out with DB,
  
• drove from Corvallis to Ocean Park, Washington along Highway 99 to 101 (it was in the mid-60's and sunny the entire time!)
  
• Spent a few days playing with The Beagle, DB's roommate's dog, and running on the beach
• Got a new eyeglass prescription (have yet to get new glasses)
  
• Prepare for an interview for tomorrow. (wish me luck!)

The rest of this short week will be spent:

• Going to this interview
• driving back down to Eugene
• Tea date with my sorority sister GC
• Driving down to Ashland with DB and his brothers.

I should probably get some school work done during this week. bah.

Sad news...
My new blender died. Something happened with the motor and it's just vibrating, not turning. This puts a slight hamper on my smoothie obsession. Perhaps I will steal my mom's blender that she never uses...

I promise to be back on the cooking/creating bandwagon soon folks. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures below:

My future....

Sustainability comes in small steps for Portland mother

By Carrie Sturrock, Special to The Oregonia...

March 18, 2010, 1:28PM

Monique Dupre doesn't buy processed food. Her kids don't have the consumer bug. She grinds her own flour. Composting goes without saying. She doesn't own a TV. Or a cell phone.

I met Dupre in an introduction course she taught recently on sustainable living on a budget sponsored by the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

If hers is an introduction to sustainability, I thought as I left the class, I'm hopeless.

When someone asks Dupre's two children, "What do you want from Santa?" they usually stare blankly at the questioner, she told us, even though they have very few toys (and those toys include a basket of rocks). The one time her daughter did answer, she said, "I want wings so I can fly like the fairies."

My kids would have a ready answer (cha-ching!) that would just add to their already too-large toy collection.

Dupre, 30, doesn't buy crackers, cereal or canned foods. She bakes bread.

My cupboards contain crackers, cereal and canned food.

The rest of the article is continued here: