UPcycling

Fix it up and wear it out, make it do or do without.

How often do we find a new home for or recycle our belongings? Flea markets and antique stores frequently dot the landscape of New England but how many people actually furnish and decorate their home with pre-owned goods? Personally, I find my old furnishings bring a bit of history into my home. They have a character that a pressboard cabinet from China just doesn’t have. Not only made from a whole natural substance (wood, glass), they are often sturdier after 50 yrs. than their contemporary counterparts are after 2 yrs.

You don’t have to spend big bucks to buy so called antiques. Look at local flea markets (Todd Farm, Rowley), yard sales and online marketplaces such as craigslist.com or freecycle.com or to your friends who may be updating their outdated kitchen. UPcycle. Clean it up, add a little paint or if you are blessed with carpentry skills, modify the piece to fit your needs. The time you invest will be more rewarding than the time spent walking through the fluorescent-lit aisles of Home Depot. Wouldn’t you rather spend a sunny Sunday morning strolling an open-air flea market?

This method definitely requires patience. If you are looking for the perfect bookshelf it may take you a few weeks to find it…maybe even a few months. The American attitude of instant gratification has caused us to be a wasteful society. We want it and we want it now. It doesn’t matter if it’s an import that isn’t helping our economy, it doesn’t matter if it’s made of cheap materials and will fall apart in 5 years with no other future but to be landfill.

Of course, there are items you won’t be able to find what you need and will have to purchase new but you can do this responsibly and consciously. Ask yourself, where was it made? Is there a company, which manufactures the product in the good ol’ USA? Is the packaging recyclable and easy enough to recycle that you will actually do it? How long is the warranty? Does it seem sturdy or cheaply made? What do the reviews say (epinions.com)? Is it energy star rated? Is there an alternate option made of sustainable resources (bamboo flooring vs. linoleum)?

Let’s remember, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

Belated Happy Birthday to Karma King

This past Monday many had the day off in observance of the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Karma King as I'm calling him this morning.

He truly understood the path of Karma yoga, which is that of selfless service. ANY of us can be on this path...no yoga mat required! You do not have to hold any belief other than the one that to do something for someone other than yourself is a good thing. Any time you do anything of benefit to another being or living system, you are on the path.

Here is a quote from King on service...

"If you want to be important, wonderful.
If you want to be recognized, wonderful.
If you want to be great, wonderful.
But recognize that, he who is greatest among you shall be a servant.
That's the new definition of greatness.
And this morning, the thing that I like about it.
By giving that definition of greatness,it means that everybody can be great.
Because everybody can serve.
You don't have to have a college degree to serve.
You don't have to have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.
You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve.
You don't have to know Einstein's "Theory of Relativity" to serve.
You don't have to know the Second Theory of Thermal Dynamics in Physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace,
A soul generated by love,
And you can be that servant."

--Martin Luther King Jr.

Click to hear the Audio Version

What cause are you serving?

locavore events!

On Saturday, January 9, 35 farmers, fishermen and food producers will be in the cafeteria of the new Exeter High School in Exeter, NH from 10am-2pm, selling their meats, cheeses, milk, eggs, vegetables, fish and shrimp, prepared foods, baked goods, honey and maple syrup! You can find a full list of participating vendors and the products they will be selling at www.seacoasteatlocal.org

The new Exeter High School is located at 1 Blue Hawk Drive, or 315 Epping for GPS. Here's a map!

Locavore Dinner, January 13

The North Hampton Ag Commission is sponsoring a locavore dinner incorporating products of Winter Farmers’ Market participants.

A Roast Beef Dinner, with four vegetables, apple cider and baked apple dessert to be held at the Copper Lantern Restaurant, Lafayette Rd., North Hampton, at 6pm on Wednesday, January 13th.

The price of $20 per person is all inclusive of tax & gratuity, which will cover the purchases from local farmers and the staff of the restaurant. Reservations required, contact Dick Wollmar at 964-6793 or emailorgfarm@comcast.net

Winter Film Series: King Corn, January 29
at the Congregational Church in Exeter, 21 Front St, 7pm

A discussion of “Relocalization” and peripheral topics will be incorporated. There will also be a cozy fire in the fireplace of this homey restaurant. Director Ian Cheney will be in attendance! A documentary movie about two-friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that that drives our fast-food nation. When they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raised troubling questions about how we eat -- and how we farm.Free and open to the public.

eating in snowy new england on a cold winter's day

I'm on a 3 day juice fast so FOOD is on my mind. How much we consume, how much we actually need, and how far of a distance it travels to get to us. Living in New England in the winter, it is impossible to be a total locavore but there are ways to increase your local intake.

Let's start with how much food we actually need in order to function. The general guideline for caloric intake is 1,700 to 2,200 for your average person. Of those calories here is the breakdown in terms of recommended types of foods that we need to consume are:

55-60% Carbohydrates (whole grains, breads, and vegetables, fruits)
20-30% Fats (oil, avocados, nuts..unsaturated is best)
10-20% Protein (eggs, milk, meat, poultry, fish)

So what does that mean in table terms? Using Calorie Count I put together a day of meals within the above recommendations. I then noted in parenthesis how local you can get in the winter in New England. Local items are in green.

BREAKFAST

Oatmeal
1/3 cup rolled oats (Grandy Oats, Maine Grown, Maine made)
2/3 cup water
3 tbs raisins (California)
2 tbs walnuts (California)
1 tbsp brown sugar (Hawaii)

green tea (China)
honey (Tendercrop sells Essex honey, Newburyport, MA or Ipswich)

SNACK
1 med apple (Newburyport, MA)

LUNCH
Avocado Salad of Nesteren with balsamic grilled chicken
Red Sail Leaf organic lettuce (Ipswich)
1 cucumber (Mexico)
1 organic tomato (Ipswich)
2 tbsp olive oil (Italy)
2 tbsp lemon juice (California..if you're lucky)
½ tsp salt (Maine sea salt) 8 olives (Spain)
1 small red bell pepper (although perhaps farther we'll give you the benefit of Mexico)
½ avocado (Mexico)
1 tsp mint (homegrown indoors)
10 oz boneless chicken breast (Tendercrop, Newburyport, MA)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (Italy)

DINNER
Wild Mushroom Ragout Pasta
2 tsp olive oil 1 onion (Ipswich)
3 cloves garlic (Purchased from local farm and stored for winter)
1 1/2 lb mushroom (wild mushrooms purchased at Tendercrop and dried)
1/4 cup chicken broth (made from locally raised chicken, Tendercrop, Newburyport, MA)
3/4 cup no-alcohol red wine (California)
2 tbsp tomato paste (tomatos purchased at local farm and canned)
3 tbsp parsley, 2 tsp sage, fresh 1 tsp rosemary, fresh 1 tsp marjoram (homegrown, fresh or dried)
1/2 tsp salt (Maine sea salt)
1/4 tsp pepper (Vietnam or India most likely)
1 lb whole-wheat pasta (mid-west grown wheat or is that wishful thinking?)
6 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated (Italy)

TREAT
Hot Chocolate
250 ml organic skim milk (New Hampshire)
1 tsp sugar (Hawaii)
5 tsp cocoa powder (West Africa, Brazil or Indonesia)

More about the farms mentioned...

Eastern Farm of New England at 143 High Street in Ipswich is currently producing Red Sail leaf lettuce, green & red oak leaf lettuce (cut fresh from the garden), carrots, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, white onions, and red onions. They also sell fresh eggs, and local honey. Best of all, it's all organic.

Tendercrop Farm of Newburyport offers some of their own produce as well as imported produce. They post signs that will tell you what is theirs. The farm uses IPM (Integrated Pest Management) so pesticides may be used.

Happy New Year

In the spirit of fresh beginnings I will once again be writing posts....stay tuned!