kitty_d’s blog

Food, Inc.

Fantastic and well-done!  It was almost like watching a Michael Pollan book (and he is a very dominant voice in the movie). 

If you haven't seen this movie yet, GO!  It is on a very limited engagement at several movie theatres across the nation. 

My take-aways:
1. Every day you vote with your wallet. 
Make sure that vote really reflects you and your values.  Do you want to vote for CAFOs or small organic farmers?  The choice is yours.

2. I wish that a meal at McDonald's really reflected the true cost of it. 
A burger should be more than $1.  But, because of subsidies, fast-food is cheaper than wholesome food for the consumer.  This unbalanced pricing scheme is making poor people fatter, sicker and still poorer than those that are more well-to-do.  And, some would say, this system of subsidizing unhealthy food is wrecking havoc on our health system.  If 50% of minorities end up with type 2 diabetes, that's gotta cost the country A LOT OF DOUGH!  Especially since many of those people probably don't have health insurance.  America, and Americans, pay the price (eventually) for bad food in many ways - environment, health, wealth, etc.

3. Farmers have got it tough.
I'm glad I'm not a farmer.  I can save seeds and grow some of my own vegetables; and they can't sue me or put me out of business for it (at least not that I know of). 

4. Frequent your local farmer's market!!!
What you buy there is always in season and local.  Again, you have to ask yourself - where do I want my money to go? 

IT IS TIME FOR SOME CHANGE IN FOOD POLICY, PEOPLE!

I'm now reading Jane Jacobs' "The Death and Life of Great American Cities", and I absolutely love it.  I am continually fascinated by cities and the culture of cities and what makes them great places to live.  This book, though written almost 40 years ago, is an in-depth look at cities and demonstrates what makes them great or the lack thereof.  I am especially thrilled by her focus on sidewalks, which takes up 3 chapters in "Part One: The Peculiar Nature of Cities".  I could not agree with her more on this focus.  I have always known, on some level, that sidewalks were important.  I know that I feel safest on busy sidewalks; likewise, I veer around dark, deserted sidewalks; and I seek out sidewalks that contain interesting shops, restaurants and coffee houses from where I can people watch. 

Since moving to Austin, the subject of sidewalks has never been more on the forefront of my mind.  In my immediate location, there are NO SIDEWALKS!  What?!  Yes.  In order to go on a pleasant evening walk, I have to walk on the street (a street which some use as a quick jaunt to South Congress and, therefore, travel 40 miles an hour) for about 15 or so minutes until I come to a sidewalk that will get me out of harms way.  In a city of 700,000 inhabitants or so, this seems absolutely ridiculous.  Though in some respects, it's hardly a "city" at all, but merely an extensive town upon town upon sprawling town separated by large green expanses.  To some, that sounds like a very idylic place to live; however, it nearly forces you to own a car and drive that car many miles a day. 

Back to sidewalks - the lack of sidewalks is seen in other Austin neighborhoods as well, most notably in parts of East Austin.  Even in my teeny tiny hometown, they managed to build sidewalks.  I can't help but wonder what was going on in the planners' heads when these neighborhoods were built.  Were there no people traveling by foot?  Were cars the only factor?  Were citizens not interested in sidewalks, or were they just not strong enough to inject their opinions into the building of the surrounding area?  I need to find a history of Austin city planning book.

This article scares me.  Holy moly.  Really?!  Lab produced meat in a skyscraper?  Aquaponic vegetables and fruits managed by food scientists in white lab coats?!  Yikes.  I DO NOT WANT TO LIVE IN THAT WORLD!

A reminder here, people -- we're still producing way more food than we can consume or use.  Corn is in pretty much every single processed food we make now.  Coincidence?  I think not.  Look at the acres upon acres upon acres of that stuff growing all over America.  Perhaps we need to take a close look at our agriculture policies.

Being a Sunday morning, the rest of my driveinto Seattle was pretty chill.  I had not yet heard from Sydnor so I wasn't exactly sure where I should be going.  I decided to get off the freeway and just meander around the neighborhoods.  I ended up driving around Capital Hill, which is really nice!  And, oh my god - breath-taking views from all around Seattle!  At almost every turn, there is a gorgeous view of snow covered mountains.  :)

I drove around for a while, marveling at the views, the city, and the green-ness!  Then, Syd called and we decided to meet up in an hour.  I found a nice coffee shop, had a latte and then headed north to Syd's sister's house.  I was still in awe at the fact that it was a sunny day in Seattle.  I had previously been to Seattle on 3 or 4 separate occassions and it was always raining and cloudy.  This was the first time that I had experienced Seattle in gorgeous sunlight.

Syd's sister's house is so beautiful and surrounded by lovely evergreen trees.  We chilled for a bit then went for a sunset walk around a lake - it was a very popular thing to do as the mile and a half walk was filled with Seattlans, old and young, some with strollers and some with dogs.  Then we headed over to the Fremont neighborhood (very cute), grabbed a couple beers at the irish pub and played a few games of pinball.  Then, we headed over a thai place for dinner.  By the time we got back to her house it was about 10pm.  We sat and talked and watched some TV.  It was so nice to spend some time with Sydnor again.  The next morning as I was leaving and saying goodbye, I realized just how much I had missed her.  At the door, we shared a big, long, warm embrace as my eyes started to tear.  But, that is just the way life is - there are many wonderful people in our lives that we love dearly but who just do not live in the same vicinity.  I know I'll always have a loving friend to visit in Seattle!

By this time, it is about 10:30am and I'm already late to meet my friend Udi for breakfast.  I finally arrive about 20min late, and we enjoy a wonderful breakfast, inspiring conversation with heartfelt intentions.  Udi truly is an exceptional being - filled with so much light and love and pure energy!  I wanted to bask in his light and energy for endless time, but I knew we only had a few hours together before I absolutely had to trek back to Portland for the remainder of my trip.  We decided to go find the MLK march that was happening and joined in.  It was amazing!  Just to see everyone out,and happy and with the feeling of life and hope on their glowing faces.  Time was now winding down for us as we stopped to rest by his car and chatted some more.  Then, he drove me back to my car and said farewell - 'til we meet again dear friend!  Another loving, warm embrace with a lovely being.  Wow, so much love in one day - no wonder I was absolutely glowing that day!

Now, I was back in the car and back on the road, this time to Portland.  The drive was filled with similar fog as my drive up to Seattle but a little less magical - perhaps it's because I was thinking of my next day filled with PSU duties or the fact that I was staying at a person's house that I didn't know yet.  I also planned a coffee meeting with an ex to catch up.  There were a lot of unknowns on my horizon that were starting to bubble up into my consciousness.  What would it be like to be a grad student at PSU?  Would I be happy there?  What does it mean to me to return to Portland to live?  These thoughts and more filled my head as I drove the 3 hours back to Portland. 

I dropped off the car to Thrifty then took their shuttle back to the airport, then hopped on the max line.  I called my friend Matt who was at 24 hour fitness playing raquet ball.  He said he'd wait there for me and he'd give me a ride to my destination.  We decided to go out for dinner; we stopped by his house and picked up his wife then proceeded to Ethan's house.  We met for the first time and gave each other a brief hug of comraderie.  I felt his unsuredness but could also feel his gentle spirit.  I knew he would be a nice guy.  I told him about dinner and even though he already ate, he decided to join us.  It was a pleasant dinner, drinks and good conversation.  Then we meandered across the street to a special dessert place.  It was packed to the max, so we decided to order desserts to go.  We ate them at Matt's house with some port, and holy crap were those desserts ever good!  yum yum!  Then, Matt drove Ethan and I back to Ethan's house.  We chatted some more, and he was glad that he decided to come with - he had fun.  :)  Then, we bid 'goodnight' and each went into our rooms to get ready for sleepy dreams.....

Wow - it's been so long since I've done a blog post.  whoosh.

I'll give a little glimpse into into my recent trip to Portland and Seattle that I took over MLK holiday weekend.

7:30pm - left my house in North Berkeley to BART which took me to SFO.
while at SFO my flight started to get a little delayed.  bummer.  but we boarded around 10:30pm and arrived in PDX around midnight.  The air was cold when I stepped outside.  It was crispy underfoot as I ventured outside to find my way to the Thrifty car rental.  It seems as though my body knew exactly where it was going.  I didn't even think about what I was doing.  I boarded the van which wisked us away to the Thrifty lot.  I got my car and then headed out to my hotel which was off Sandy at 102nd.  Having not been in Portland for many years, and not even owning a car while I was there, I was surprised to see how easy it was for me to get around.  It all made sense.  I checked in to the hotel and then went back out to the car to get my bag.  I was nearly blown away from the fierce arctic winds that were wipin' through the city.  Even when our plane landed, you could sense that the pilot was having a difficult time keeping the plane level as the winds were so high and kept pushing the plane this way and that.  But land we did; and all in one piece!  As I departed the plane, I realized I had forgotten my camera.  :(  bummer.  But out of all the things to forget, a camera is not that big of deal.  After I got to my room, and got ready for bed, it was already past 1am.  I kept watching TV and was unable to fall asleep.  I was still awake at 3am.  ugh.  And tomorrow I had to get on the road early and drive my way to Seattle!  I somehow fell asleep and got a few hours of shut-eye.  I woke up around 8 and took a shower and got ready.  I went down to the breakfast area and made myself a waffle!  yum yum.  and drank some not-so-excellent coffee.  Then, I was off!

The drive to Seattle was wonderful.  It was still extremely windy - like a wind storm!  I was struggling to control the car over some of the bridges on the north side of Portland.  I was wondering if it was the dumb car that Thrifty gave me but it was just the wind.  I had a time listening to random tunes, enjoying the gorgeous sunshine and Mount St. Helens and trees!  Oh, the glorious evergreen trees of the Pacific Northwest!!  So, incredibly beautiful.  I forgot how amazing the landscape really is there.  The air so fresh and the views so spectacular.  oh!  The drive was almost all sun until I hit the valley around about an hour or so out of Seattle.  It was really dense fog!  I could sense the towering green-ness all around but couldn't see anything but about 1/2 mile of road in front of me.  Still, I was happy and blissfully enjoying this mystical drive into the fog.  Sometimes fog feels so magical to me.  I really love seeing the dense fog over the Bay as I drive across the Bay Bridge into the city.  It always feel beautiful to me. 

About 30 miles outside of Seattle, I stop at a wayside - free coffee!  But I decide not to since I don't have my mug and they only have styrofoam - isn't that stuff illegal yet?!  Regardless it was the perfect stop for me - a chance to stretch the legs, arms, body; and a chance to call Sydnor and let her know where I am.  And I also sent a msg to my friend Udi and let him know I was almost to Seattle!  woohoo!

30 miles to go...

I saw this entry on move.com (seems to be some type of real estate website-ish).
anyhow, i loved seeing some of my favorite cities listed as their pick for greenest cities in the US!  I'm definitely a person attracted to green cities - I've lived in 3 of the ones listed (SF, Portland and Madison).  Awesome  :) 

excerpt from site:

Yay for green cities!

I just have to say that I'm still thinking about this amazing event!

I had such a great time meandering around Civic Center, seeing the garden, meeting new people, chatting about food...
It was awesome!

I think my favorite part was hearing Van Jones speak.  He is such an eloquent speaker.  Really AMAZING.

If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, I highly recommend going to Slow Food USA --

www.slowfoodusa.org
www.slowfoodnation.org

And there are several local chapters (convivium) in the Bay Area.

I highly recommend getting involved and learning about food and all of its ramifications for every other part of our lives.
Think about it - food is connected to everything -- health, energy, regional planning, education, and the list goes on!

the peaches are almost ripe!  i'm so excited.  i'm going to harvest a bunch this weekend.  and i'm going to learn to make jam/preserve!  yay.  i'll have to post some pics this weekend!

peaches!  yum yum.

we have a nice, beautiful peach tree in our backyard!  it is loaded with peaches this year!  it has been so fascinating watching it bloom with tiny peaches and watching the whole growing process.  i hope they will be ready in july.  i've also thought that we will get hundreds of peaches.  what does a group of 4 do with hundreds of peaches?  well, i'm thinking about doing a few things -

**first - i really want to take this opportunity to play with baking and cooking with peaches!  and i'm thinking about creating an entire cookbook to peaches.  i'm envisioning a small cookbook but with many variations on the same recipe - like a vegan version, no gluten version, low sugar/no sugar version, etc.  i've already told my mom about it and now i've gotten her excited.  so excited in fact that she's scouring her many recipes and sending me peach recipes!  how fun.  :)  be on the lookout for follow up posts on my peach book!

**second - i'm wondering how easy it would be to set up a peach stand at one of the many farmers markets here and actually sell my peaches.  or do a peach barter with the other vendors.  how cool would that be to trade peaches for tomatoes, spinach, kale, onions, potatoes, corn...  wait a minute - i'm growing all of this in my backyard too! 

**and i forgot what third was but i'm all about the peaches!

;)
~d