Chef Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

From Jamie Oliver's Website -

"This food revolution is about saving America's health by changing the way you eat. It's not just a TV show, it's a movement for you, your family and your community. If you care about your kids and their future take this revolution and make it your own. Educate yourself about food and cooking. Find out what your child is eating at school. Make only a few small changes and magical things will happen. Switching from processed to fresh food will not only make you feel better but it will add years to your life."

SIGN THE PETITION!

Click on the link above to take you right to Jamie's petition!!!

April Showers

April showers bring May flowers
But what do Mayflowers bring?
Pilgrims.

This is my kids' joke that they giggle out over and over on their way out the door to school this morning. My daughter dons her rain boots which have ladybugs on them. My son thinks that high top Converse All-Stars double for boots, which they don't, but he's an adolescent so I'll let it slide. There is something sweet and slightly adventurous when you're a child in preparing to head out into a light spring rain. It's different from preparing to go out into a fall storm. The chill is light and there is a warm embrace of newly green leaves.

For myself, I am enjoying a warm cup of coffee and the view of my perennial garden outside the window where I write. The colors are vibrant especially against the backdrop of the rain. Something about the gray sky and the water makes all the colors stand out.

The sage bush is ready to explode into flowers. The scent of the sage when the sun is warm is intoxicating. Interestingly enough, sage, if ingested in large quantity, is a powerful hallucinogen. So put that in your pipe and smoke it!

I don't have to work today and I was feeling eager to get outside and put my vegetable seedlings in the ground. The rain will keep me from doing that, but it will make my job easier tomorrow. The ground will still hopefully be damp and make the planting faster and better in general for the seedlings. So far, I have cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, carrots, lima beans and pole beans. As always, an experiment.

For now, I'm happy to sit and listen to the rain fall.

Clueless As Always

So I was mulching the perennial garden today. What I love so much about perennials is the way they come back year after year and all you have to do is welcome them. A little mulch, some organic compost and VOILA! Beautiful plants all season long.

The vegetable garden is another story. It takes a lot of work for me to produce really ANYTHING worth eating, although last year I had an abundance of arugula and just not enough uses for it. The result is that it bolted (or grew flowers) which makes the leaves taste really bitter and basically unusable. I didn't collect the seeds from the plants and didn't purchase new ones because I had an overabundance of the stuff from just one packet of seeds! The surprise happened when I started weeding the overgrown patch of garden that I use for vegetables; the arugula has grown back and is EVERYWHERE! Almost the entire vegetable garden is covered in arugula, which by the way has bolted and is flowering everywhere. All this time I thought there were just a lot of weeds encircling the enormous butterfly bush in the center of the garden. And don't get me wrong, there are a TON of weeds, too. But the most prolific plant in the garden by far is the arugula, which, mind you, I dind't plant.

I am impressed with Mother Nature's ability to recharge herself. I had no idea that arugula was a perennial or that it was so hardy. Although I can't really eat it now, I'm wondering if I can collect the seeds to save for next year. It's possible I've discovered a really amazing spot to grow arugula and that I could use it as a cash crop. I have several crops that have become so abundant that I'm actually thinking about opening a stand at the Farmer's Market this summer. I can't believe I'm saying that, either, but between the sage, lavendar, lamb's ears, arugula and the black-eyed Susan...all of them have taken off and become so abundant that I can't fit them in the garden and I can't use all of it either. It certainly wasn't a position I expected to find myself in, but if I can do it, I will be THRILLED!

If this works out, I might actually consider purchasing the bee hive.

Yep, that's the next threshold for me...bees. I want this suburban home to be a little organic farm. Seems like I'm on the right track....