Happy Earth Day!

It's Earth Day . . . and our plan to have a picnic has been washed out, according to the forecast.

But we have decided on another way to honor the day:  we're all going vegetarian for a week!

Yep, we discussed it at dinner on Friday and agreed it would be a good thing to try--to increase awareness of how much meat our family consumes, experience new foods, focus on health, reduce our carbon footprint some for the week.  Sis only agreed after consulting the school menu for the week to make sure her beloved chicken nuggets weren't listed!

We  made a long list of our usual family favorites--grilled cheese, Dutch baby pancakes, omelets, cauliflower bow tie pasta, broccoli noodle soup, vegetable fried rice, vegetable noodles, corn soup, fettuccine, among others--and agreed to try a few new things. Of course, I have several veg or nearly veg cookbooks.  But one thing about those recipes doesn't fit for us:  the overabundance of cheese or faux cheese (we're not doing vegan, just vegetarian).  My kids just aren't into dairy.  So we'll have think outside the box.

It's not quite the dramatic event of my Bread Pledge a few years ago, but it's an adventure we can share together for a little while.

Earth Day Idea

Looking for a way to celebrate Earth Day this year?

How about having a Picnic for the Planet, supported by the Nature Conservancy?

Even though it's supposed to rain, I think that's what we're going to do.  

How do you observe April 22?

The Earth is Our Mother

Happy Earth Day tomorrow! The big 4-0! (Not the planet, of course, the "holiday.) The kids have talked about it, both the holiday and environmental action in general, in preschool and church school, in positive and affirming ways (not, thankfully, the destruction we as a species have wrought on the planet). And so we're having our own little party. Sis wants to walk around picking up any trash in our yard and neighborhood. And we're thinking of starting the fruit and vegetable seeds Gommie sent us in small containers on the porch (we can't plant here in CT until Mother's Day, as the rule goes). Otherwise, I hope to spend as much of the day outside as the forecasted rainy weather allows us, making the Green Hour into a Green Day: fairy houses, seeds, nature walk, fairy boats, bubbles, trash pick-up, picnic, playset, scooters, tricycles. The sky's the limit. Have a great green day!

Rise Up: Embracing the Bread

Unitarian Universalists (UUs) across the continent are expanding Earth Day’s 40^th anniversaryon April 22, 2010 to last 40days, from Sunday April 18 to Thursday May 27. How? By committing to small and large daily actions over the 40 days, for the sake of the Earth and all who live here. Some UUs are even taking small lifestyle changes for 40-day “test drives,” knowing that our personal choices affect many aspects of global environmental justice.

And I'll be making bread. Not just for fun occasionally with the kids. But all of our family's bread--sandwich bread, cinnamon raisin bread for toast, rolls, any buns we need, also any pie crusts and all baked goods like baked doughnuts and quick breads and cookies and cakes for celebrations (pretty much the only thing with wheat that I will not be responsible for is pasta! And maybe tortillas . . . ). No knead, hand-kneaded, bread machine, whatever it takes. For 40 days.

And I'm really excited. First, because I've considered being our sole bread provider (that's literal, not figurative!). I mean, it's so easy to make bread in my machine and it's so much better for us--who needs all that HFCS and preservatives in bread that never seems to rot? And the baking of homemade bread smells so good! Second, of course because I love to bake, especially with the kids, even if it is just putting ingredients in my bread machine and watching it do the work (I am not, obviously, a snot about bread machines, though I'll be trying it the traditional way too). Third, I'd like to expand my skills. I've had some successes with bread, like last Easter's braided cardamom loaf (oops, confession: that dough was started in the machine). But also some major failures, like Rev. M's bread gone bad (I talked with her about it; she's flummoxed but thinks it must have been a yeast-proof problem. So, Rev. M, I mean, I know you're busy and all with your wedding, but would you like to come bake bread sometime?! Even after the 40 days . . . ). And fourth, there are some recipes I want to master. Like pie crust. How come I'm scared of pie crust? And I want to try Bloodroot's oatmeal and seed bread, which I love. And I have a Dutch oven to do the no-knead recipes in. And I want to find a wheat bread that is good tasting and good for us so we're not just eating (divine) cakey white bread (because, another Pollan food rule states "the whiter the bread, the quicker you're dead!"). And I'm going to figure out how Bertucci's makes those rolls, which long ago replaced Olive Garden breadsticks as my restaurant bread of choice.

Now, luckily, we don't eat a ton of bread as it is. So one loaf a week (freezing half after it cools to thaw later in the week--homemade bread just doesn't last--in more ways than one! I like mine with butter and marmalade; Sis prefers honey or apple butter; Bud likes honey or strawberry jam; Mama will eat all of the above!), plus usually another baked good, is all we're really talking about. Though, I'm guessing that those of you who live near me will benefit from this project as I will unload family extras--our freezer just isn't big enough to house it all. And I'd hate to waste it.

It was a proverbial sign from heaven as I was sitting in my minister's office talking about church school and Passover that I spotted two pamphlets on UU breadmaking rituals (more on that in a later post)! I mean, really, bread and spirituality have gone hand in hand for millennia. What better way to celebrate the earth and ethical eating and church (especially for a very Lent-like 40 days)? And then today, Whole Foods had featured on the end of an aisle the new King Arthur Flour's organic bread flour. So I bought a bag, no doubt my first of many.

Keep an eye out for future posts, under the "Rise Up" title. And send any bread recipes you think I should try.

Remember Earth Day

From our church's Earth day singalong:

This Old World

(Words by Steve Blunt.  Tune is "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.")

This old world is a beautiful place,

Sunny skies and rainy days.

For good clean water, earth and air,

This old world needs love and care.

This old world is a beautiful place,

Sunny skies and rainy days.

Birds need to fly in air that is clean,

Fish need to swim in water that's clear.

Plants and animals need their own land,

You and I can lend a hand.

This old world is a beautiful place,

Sunny skies and rainy days.

We won't litter upon the land,

We'll recycle bottles and cans.

We'll remember to turn off the light,

To keep this old world shining bright.

This old world is a beautiful place,

Sunny skies and rainy days.