Fat

[SandyLS]

I thought this was going to give me an excuse to eat Dove dark chocolate!
Di Bear, nothing better than fresh raspberries and rhubarb. You'd better start those other plants soon, you have a pretty short growing season up there. Still lots of snow up there?

[Di bear]

I thought this was going to give me an excuse to eat Dove dark chocolate!
Di Bear, nothing better than fresh raspberries and rhubarb. You'd better start those other plants soon, you have a pretty short growing season up there. Still lots of snow up there?

Actually, our growing season doesn't seem to be that short. We've been having long, moderate weather seasons the last couple of years - 8 months of riding. I give credit to Lake Superior - we're surrounded by it here in the Keweenaw. The vegetation is so incredibly different up here compared to the rest of the UP. Lots of birch and maple trees up here . . . LOTS! I think our biggest problem is the soil - it's lacking.

I'll be moving some of my plants indoors - I have a sun room. :-)

alpinerabbit - actually, I was talking about all the added crap you find in American foods, but not in other countries, for example, high fructose corn syrup (I believe I read that this is banned in Europe), which is believed to cause us to eat more and more and more. It's in a lot of our foods, including soft drinks, which is why I quite drinking Coke. I've been told that if I buy Coke imported from Mexico, it will be made with real sugar. I'm looking for some.

Sometimes I cheat, but I generally buy organic cheese and shred it myself. Cheddar cheese is white. The stuff you buy in the supermarket, the yellow stuff, is dyed. I personally think that freshly shredded cheese has more flavor as well.

I was really happy to find that Heinz makes organic ketchup. It doesn't turn to a hard rubbery substance overnight like the regular stuff does. It tastes better as well. Makes ya think.

[Grog]

Sometimes I cheat, but I generally buy organic cheese and shred it myself. Cheddar cheese is white. The stuff you buy in the supermarket, the yellow stuff, is dyed. I personally think that freshly shredded cheese has more flavor as well.

I am not 100% sure, but I think the process of dyeing (sp??) cheddar yellow started as a trade war against Britain, at least it was the case in Canada. The Canadian cheddar was yellow, thus indicating to clients that it's the one they should be buying to "buy Canadian." It might very well have been the same in the States...

[KnottedYet]

alpinerabbit - actually, I was talking about all the added crap you find in American foods, but not in other countries, for example, high fructose corn syrup (I believe I read that this is banned in Europe), which is believed to cause us to eat more and more and more. It's in a lot of our foods, including soft drinks, which is why I quite drinking Coke. I've been told that if I buy Coke imported from Mexico, it will be made with real sugar. I'm looking for some.

HFC makes me hungry, too. Makes me really hyper, too much sugar high and too fast.

I love Blue Sky Cola. http://drinkbluesky.com/ It's made with real sugar (as is Jones soda http://www.jonessoda.com/ ) and tastes great! Blue Sky soda is available just about everywhere around here (Seattle), though in some stores it's in the health food section rather than the regular drinks section. I think I usually pay something like $3.50 a six-pack. Mmmm, good stuff for those times when you really just want a "coke".

[tulip]

DiBear--if more people made small changes like you are doing, the world would be a much better place. One thing about the rhubarb--you know not to eat the leaves, right? Just thought I'd reiterate that point.

I picked my last harvest of winter collards today. I'm going to saute them in olive oil and garlic tonight. Tasty!

[Di bear]

Hm . . . never thought about eating the leaves. I'm learning how to use rhubarb from a friend who makes a killer strawberry-rhubarb crisp. I didn't eat last year's rhubarb cuz I didn't know what to do with it. I'll stick with leaf lettuce for leaves.

I picked my last harvest of winter collards today. I'm going to saute them in olive oil and garlic tonight.

I think this is typically southern fare. I've never seen it served way up here . . . I've never seen it served, except on an episode of "Good Eats."

[tulip]

Hm . . . never thought about eating the leaves. I'm learning how to use rhubarb from a friend who makes a killer strawberry-rhubarb crisp. I didn't eat last year's rhubarb cuz I didn't know what to do with it. I'll stick with leaf lettuce for leaves.

Rhubarb leaves are toxic. Don't eat them. Use only the stalks. Strawberry-rhubarb crisp (and pie) is delicious, but requires a lot of sugar, since rhubarb is tart, to say the least.

[Di bear]

I thought this was going to give me an excuse to eat Dove dark chocolate!

Sandy -

Have you tried Dagoba chocolate bars? They're YUMMY. Lately, I'm eating about 1/2 a bar a day - which is good since that is a serving size, but sometimes it takes me a month to get through a whole bar. I just leave 'em laying around the house. They're dark chocolate, so it doesn't take a bottomless pit of chocolate to satisfy me.

[Eden]

I think it is a myth that healthy food is more expensive than junk food too..... I will grant you that some neighborhoods have grocery stores that are woefully unstocked with healthy items (especially fresh produce), but tofu, beans and fresh vegetables are much less expensive per serving than prepackaged meals and meats. Even in the poorest of grocery stores I'm betting you can still find 90 cent cans of cooked beans and dried ones for even less. When you get vegetables you don't have to get fancy ones - things like cabbage, carrots and squash - cheap, cheap, cheap - or go frozen. I think that some things don't taste that great after being frozen, but its better than nothing, and usually quite inexpensive as well. Around here a lot of places have a neighborhood produce stand still too. When I worked up on Beacon Hill I used to be able to go in there and buy a weeks worth of produce for less than $10...

I think that education/taste in food is a much bigger barrier. Lots of people never learn to cook and lots of people never learn to enjoy foods that are not mainstream junk foods... they would probably refuse to even taste a really nice lentil curry, they would think it takes way to long to cook, etc.

[RoadRaven]

I think that education/taste in food is a much bigger barrier. Lots of people never learn to cook and lots of people never learn to enjoy foods that are not mainstream junk foods... they would probably refuse to even taste a really nice lentil curry, they would think it takes way to long to cook, etc.

I sooooooo agree with you Eden. We have made a deliberate effort to not only model cooking to our children, but to also show them how to use up left overs, to grow some of our food, and to shop wisely, and to "make" them prepare meals for a family as well as for themselves.
Hopefully, as sustainability issues become more important to individuals, wise food selection and preparation will become more of an everyday consideration.