What’s it all about… It's about making stuff, making do with the stuff you already have, and making informed decisions about the stuff that affects the planet, your life, and your health. The topics covered fall into the following categories: Shelter, Food, Clothing, Water/Energy, Transportation and Arts/Entertainment. The posts are about what is interesting to me at the moment, but feel free to propose a topic or question for future posts in the "What's On Your Mind?" page.
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When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade – or in this case, milk. A group of Maine organic dairy farmers have banded together in an effort to save their farms. After H.P. Hood, Inc. reneged on their contracts, these farmers – who made substantial investments to convert to organic methods for Hood’s proposed venture into the organic milk market – decided to form their own company. Maine’s Own Organic Milk Company, or MOOMilk, is a collaboration of 10 organic dairies (milk supply), Smiling Hill Farm (production), Oakhurst (distribution), as well as the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, the Maine Farm Bureau, and the Maine Department of Agriculture.
I first heard about these farmers on NPR last week and really admired their perseverance. The recession has turned very ugly for most business owners, but this group is working together to try to help each other. It’s what I love most about Maine – the collective effort of community to get things done and take care of each other.
Listen to MPBN’s spot about MOOMilk
Last night, I either did something sacrilegious or I did something that would make Julia Child glow with pride.
Like so many people these days, my household is on a strict low-cost diet. Meals are carefully planned for optimal nutrition at the absolute lowest cost. A dish has to get a lot of mileage for it to be approved. Soups tend to be the most economical – a large 8 quart soup pot will provide a healthy low-fat, high-taste vegetarian meal that can last seven days. So we eat soup. A lot.
But this blog entry isn’t about making soup. It’s about making do.
As much as I love soup (and I do love, love, love soup), in between pots it’s nice to eat something else – sometimes anything else. However, my budget this week could only handle the fixings for split pea soup (total cost: $5.00), and some extra necessities (eggs, butter, soymilk, bath soap and t.p.). So, here was my dilemma – what to make that isn’t soup using what I have on hand in the house. Like most homesteaders, I turned to the bible for answers: Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1.
Continue reading Eggs, Flour, Butter, Water, Salt, Pepper and a Pinch of Nutmeg
I’ve often thought of using the scoured wool I discard before carding as packing material for my Etsy shop. It’s recyclable (just spread it outside on the grass for birds to use in their nests or reuse it in packing). It’s natural. It provides plenty of cushion for fragile objects. Seems like Abel & Cole in the UK has taken it to a whole new level. Applause!
Continue reading A Hmmmmm Moment…
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