I'm a Farm Ambassador!

Many of you know that over the years I've been volunteering at special events at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, MA. I volunteer at the maple breakfast, Woolapalooza (the interpretive trail from sheep to sweater), Harvest Festivals, and Tales of the Night (for Halloween) each year. Usually I request to get assigned to kid's crafts or educational areas.

Drumlin has many regular educational programs for children and adults and has added 'know your food' and local harvest dinners in recent years. This spring I reached out to my contact for all of the volunteer work assignments and applied to become a Farm Ambassador. I got the position and my first Saturday is June 18 (which is also strawberry picking day at the farm!). I will still continue my work on special events, but one weekend each month I'll work on a particular lesson plan for the guests there that day. I also get an official Mass Audubon name tag, which is kind of cool.

The lesson plans are pre-built (and each lives in it's own Tupperware--very well organized). Some days I'll teach kids about various animals on the farm (there's a sheep and goat station to set up in that part of the farmyard, and a chicken one, an animal one to set up near the foxes, raptors, rabbits (they are in separate areas--otherwise they would all hunt each other). I'll be paired up with another worker and there's even kits prepared for animal skeletons, garden seeds (to be near the greenhouse and gardens), and animals furs. I was instructed when the children ask "How did the animal die?" to just say that we found it in the woods somewhere and that it had lived a very long healthy life. I'm already used to the question: "Do the farm animals here have names?" (the answer is no, since often they are turned into food).

I know a lot of folks do fundraising events for various charities they are passionate about. Others may volunteer there time instead (as I do). Do you have any advice for me as I begin this new adventure? Maybe you've worked with children in your schools or area clubs. These are all interactive exhibits (think: Boston Science Museum) where it's really hands-on with the kids. Let me know about your favorite way to give back and nurture a passion VERY different than your day job!

#1 Book in America?

Today Snack Girl provided a review of 'The Dukan Diet'. It's the #1 book in America. With the Royal Wedding a few days away, this diet has been in the news a lot in recent weeks. When I first heard about this diet I had flashbacks to the 1990s where co-workers would cook raw chicken in the microwave and just eat meat all day long.

Here's part of the review on Snack Girl:


"So, the Dukan Diet is "Atkins without the fat", and I am sure you will lose weight on it. You will also be constipated, feel lethargic, and have bad breath. You could potentially harm your kidneys with all that protein in your diet.

Look, I know we are all desperate to lose weight, but this is not the way to go about it. Not only do you want to shed pounds, but you should want to get HEALTHIER not UNHEALTHIER.

The Dukan Diet relies on you eating a lot of protein and very little of anything else. It is inflexible, unrealistic, and drastic."

I also just watched the 2nd episode in 'Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution' last night (the LA season). Those burger specials for under $5 (with healthy veggies and humanely raised local meat) looked fantastic. I did not think that anything would be more shocking than the Huntington WV season.

Do you know anyone on the Dukan Diet right now? If so, are they doing it because they heard about it in the news? Have you been watching 'Food Revolution' this season? The behind the scenes red tape in that district (that all of the viewers now know about) is pretty upsetting.

It's a wee chicken

Last night while grocery shopping I picked up a humanely raised meat I don't normally buy. Cornish Game Hens. The price was right (around $5 per wee little bird). On the way home from the store I realized that I had no idea how to cook them (we have cooked them before in our 'set it and forget it' rotisserie, but that device has been retired to the pantry for now as it's a mess to clean).

I looked up a recipe and modified it to suit our needs. It came out very good!

1. Cut two Cornish game hens in half.
2. Rub a mix of spices plus salt and pepper both inside and outside of the bird
(I used garlic powder, paprika, sage, rosemary, salt, pepper)
3. Brown the birds in a little bit of butter in a large Dutch oven (Tyler did this step and used our Le Cruset pan)
4. Pour in 1 cup of white wine and cook with lid on for 45 minutes on low or until the birds reach the appropriate temperature.
5. Serve with buttered egg noodles and some veggies (we used carrots and broccoli cooked on the stove top in olive oil).
6. You can also thicken up the cooking broth a bit with corn starch and pour a bit over noodles and hens. We ate 1/2 hen each and saved the rest for tonight.

The meat just falls off the bone. Highly recommend!
(photo source: Edible Portland)

Battle with the Sun

Many of you know about my off-the-grid home in Maine. It's 100% powered by solar and wind. A few year's back our solar panels were stolen off the roof and it took me 3 weeks to find a new insurance policy. Some of the biggest insurance companies in America told me they would NOT insure a home that was not connected to the grid. They preferred a home that was connected to the grid where solar was a secondary energy source not primary. Even with battery backup (which is what we have). It was not a fun process, and I was horrified to learn how the insurance industry is so against green living in the US.

As it turns out, so are electric companies. I wanted to make you aware of a horrible situation going on right now for Black Dinah Chocolatiers. BDC recently installed solar panels to off-set their electricity costs for the business. They even had professionals install the system. They have received word from their electric company (Isle au Haut Electric) that they need to disconnect their system WITHIN 24 hours or else the company is cutting power to the house/business. This is absurd! Yes, it's a very small self-sufficient island off of Maine. However, that's all the more reason to allow a business to convert to solar for their secondary energy source. 

Have any of you ever heard of such a thing? Everything was done by the books here and this little power company has basically said "not on our island." I thought that power companies were required by law to work with these type of systems. Very upsetting!

Rainy Day Fun Book

When I was little I remember having an activity book called the 'Rainy Day Fun Book'. It had various at-home activities. I wish today at work that I had a book like this.

Mostly we're just trying to have fun and combat the Mondays by eating lots of tasty food (including homemade carrot cake that someone brought in). This...was not the best approach. I actually just downed a 1,000 calorie lunch (whoops) that I hope will be offset by me taking Zumba (!) for the first time at my gym tonight. I'm a little bit scared but my skills are not that shabby considering the last time I played the dance game on Wii I did quite well. As long as I don't fall down and burn over 500 calories I'll consider it a successful class.

While we're on a healthy topic I have a gardening question I was hoping any of the readers who garden can help out with. Each year we grow some veggies we have not tried before. This year (well technically we will not be eating them until 2012) we are planting asparagus. Also leeks. If any of you have tips and suggestions for growing asparagus or leeks please do share!
(Photo credit: Eco Logic)

Cleaning out my closet

I have two closets (I know, that's more than the average human *needs*). For the record my husband has 2 closets as well. Much. Smaller. Closets.

I organized my primary closet by color a few years back. This has been an amazing strategy. Like today, I needed a navy shirt, so I reached into the blue section...so easy. I also practice the 'one in, one out' rule where if I get something new I donate something I have not worn in a while. I was not using this rule for my dressy clothes closet. In fact, I had gowns in there from 1994, 1999, 2000, etc. There were a few I could not part with during my dressy closet overhaul this weekend (wedding dress, prom gown). I also got a batch of shoes together that need to be donated to a local charity (I'm going to donate to the local chapter for Dress for Success).

I also threw away some satin bags that were required purchases during a few bridesmaid stints. They had started to break down (hate how satin does that). So, although the new closet layout is not perfect my dressy work clothes (mostly skirts and blazers) can now breathe. If you have an old bookcase on hand (and a closet large enough), my suggestion is to use it to store shoes.

I guess I can count this towards Spring cleaning. Phase 1. Tonight I'm heading to the brand new Salvation Army in Framingham. My Mom expressed concern that some of them take the quality stuff and just put it in 'rag bags'. I let her know that St. Vincent's in Framingham (my favorite one to donate clothes to) does not seem to do that. :) What is your favorite charity to donate clothing to?

Pizza, Chicken wrap, Cuban Food

Yesterday I worked at an event at BU so this meant I had to get up in the dark. For those of you that know me well, you know that this was fighting against my internal wiring. I also worked all day without a break and got home and *crashed* bad. I could have just slept on the couch with the remote in my hand but instead I hoisted myself out of the house and to my beloved Centergy class. It was a new routine, so it turned out to be just what I needed--a good sort of pain.

Prior to leaving my husband called me and agreed to purchase 3 things we needed to make this Cuban recipe for dinner. I was psyched. Tyler going to the grocery store during the week (or going to the store at all) never happens in our house. I called him with the recipe needs, left a post it on the counter thanking him, and galloped off to the gym with ice pellets raining down from the sky.

When I left the gym my high hopes were smooshed when I realized it was 7:40 and Tyler was still at work. We texted quickly and realized Cuban was not going to happen. He wanted a chicken wrap (what I had for lunch) and I wanted pizza (what Tyler had for lunch--no way to share whatever I picked up). I realized I had $0 cash and that I needed to go home first before picking up takeout. Yes, I know takeout after the gym sounds backwards. This is what happens when I wake up before the sun. I make bad choices.

Do you have any favorite weeknight recipes that you would like to share? I'm always looking for new ideas.