A Few Great Cookbooks

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

I interrupt my months-long silence to bring you this short, sweet post about five inspiring and instructive cookbooks you or someone you love might enjoy.

The Fearless Baker by Erin Jeanne McDowell and with beautiful photographs by my dear friend, Jennifer May. If you like to bake, this is the book for you. You can go as in-depth as you care to go with her excellent advice. It was at the top of Melissa Clark's list of the best cookbooks in the NY Times.



Salt Fat Acid Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat. Samin is something of a culinary celebrity in the San Francisco Bay Area - she's a Chez Panisse alum whose been credited with teaching Michael Pollan how to cook. In this book, she teaches you to home in on the key elements that make food taste good and stop worrying so much about measurements. Great for anyone who wants to develop a more holistic, intuitive sense of cooking.


In My Kitchen A Collection of New and Favorite Vegetarian Recipes by Deborah Madison. I love everything Deborah Madison writes and this is no exception - more elegant yet down to earth prose that makes her recipes sing. She's one of the people I would most like to share a meal with, preferably one she's cooked.

Smitten Kitchen Everyday: Triumphant and Unfussy New Favorites by Deb Perelman. If you're a fan of Smitten Kitchen blog or of Deb's first book, you're in luck - there's more! 101 brand new recipes await you including a killer carrot ginger dressing that reminds me of the Dojo restaurant I ate at when visiting NYU on a college tour years and years ago. She's a powerhouse and the book is filled to bursting with tasty, creative food that will not take you hours to prepare.



This book came out last year but I somehow missed it until recently. It's such a lovely read and makes me devilishly hungry. The many spin-off recipe ideas Julia provides at the end of each recipe make it worth three or four cookbooks in one. I am leaving it open on the cookbook stand on my kitchen counter and plan to make my way through it recipe by recipe. 

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Esquites Corn Salad -- Mexican Street Corn In A Bowl

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Esquite salad - Mexican corn salad by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

I was introduced to this salad by my friend, Kali, who fell in love with it after ordering it at Colonia Verde in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood recently.

Sweet corn by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

It's like eating a bowl of Mexican street corn (a.k.a. elote.) Each bite is smokey, sweet, spicy, sour, creamy and salty - a sublimely happy marriage of flavors.

Sweet corn by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

The recipe calls for lightly charring the kernels in a cast iron skillet but if you happen to have leftover grilled corn on hand, by all means, use that, instead! It goes quickly so you may want to double the recipe.

Toasting pepitas by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

This is a tasty way to savor these last, bittersweet days of summer. Hope you enjoy it.

Esquite salad - Mexican corn salad by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

-- print recipe --Esquites Corn Salad
Serves 4-6 as a side

Ingredients

* 2 Tbsps grapeseed, sunflower or other neutral oil
* 4 cups corn kernels (roughly 5 ears' worth)
* 1/2 tsp sea salt
* 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
* 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
* 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped (I wear gloves!)
* 3 scallions, chopped
* 3 Tbsps crumbled cotija or feta cheese, plus more for garnish
* 2 Tbsps grated Parmesan cheese
* 2 Tbsps mayonnaise (there are a lotta options out there but I am fiercely loyal to good old Hellmanns)
* 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
* 1 1/2 tsps chili powder or smoked paprika
* 2 tsps ground cumin powder
* 2 Tbsps ground, toasted pepitas

Directions

1. In a large cast iron skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the corn kernels and cook, stirring every few minutes, until they are toasted and lightly browned - about 15 minutes.

2. Add the garlic and stir well, cook for another minute or so. Turn off the heat and let the corn cool down for a few minutes before moving it to a serving bowl with enough room to mix in.

3. Add the cilantro, mint, jalapeño, scallions, cheeses, mayo, chili powder or smoked paprika and cumin, pepitas, stir to combine. Top with a bit more cheese and cilantro and serve.

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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Strawberries, rhubarb, orange zest and sugar macerating by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

Rhubarb's tartness pairs so nicely with strawberries and sugar. Wrap 'em in a buttery crust and you can't go wrong.

Pie crust ingredients by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

Sadly, our strawberries are being systematically, HEARTBREAKINGLY nibbled by the hordes of chipmunks that surround our home so I had to buy a basket of berries.

Strawberries for the pie by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

Fortunately, chipmunks do not seem to like rhubarb - it's pretty much the only thing in the garden they eschew.

Rhubarb by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

Do not skip the tapioca in this recipe as strawberries have a high water content. The tapioca makes it all gel nicely so you don't have to go wading while you eat. And you'll definitely want to bake it on a cookie sheet as it will undoubtedly bubble over in the oven.

Strawberry rhubarb pie about to go into the oven by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

I did not get a great photo of my finished pie -- it's complicated but involved a very ill-timed power outage and having to pick my son up from camp at the same time as the pie needed to be delivered for judging at the pie contest at the Woodstock Farm Festival. But thanks to Michael for snapping this pic of it at the contest :) I did not win but it was definitely tasty and maybe I'll get 'em next time.


-- print recipe --
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (inspired by Elise's recipe)
Makes 1 9-inch pie

Ingredients

* 3 cups rhubarb stalks cut into 1/2 inch pieces (the leaves are poisonous so trim any ends off)
* 3 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
* 3/4 cup cane sugar (use a full cup if you like your pie really sweet)
* 3 Tbsps quick cooking "minute" tapioca pearls
* 1/4 tsp sea salt
* Zest of 1 organic orange
* 1 double recipe of pie crust - use your favorite or try this one

Directions

1. If you have not already done so, make your pastry dough and let it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

3. In a large bowl, toss the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, tapioca, orange zest and salt and let sit for 10 minutes.

4. Roll out half the dough and line your pie plate with it, trimming the edges to overhang the edge of the dish by roughly half an inch. Fill with your strawberry rhubarb mixture. Roll out the other half of your dough and lay it gently over the pie, trim the edges to overlap neatly and crimp the top and bottom edges together with your fingers or a fork. Score the top with a knife in whatever pattern you like to allow the steam to escape while it bakes.

5. Place the pie on the middle rack over a cookie sheet to catch any juices that spill over during baking. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 then lower the heat to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes longer until the crust is nicely browned and the filling looks thick and bubbly.

6. Remove to a rack and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes. The cooling is important to allow the liquidy filling time to gel. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream or non-dairy equivalent.

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In Search of Grandma Mary's Chocolate Mandelbrot

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Chocolate Mandelbrot by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2017

Many of my memories of Grandma Mary are tied to food. Eating a bowl of cantaloupe cubes on the linoleum floor of her one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn while watching Sesame Street on the television in the carpeted living room a few feet away -- a big treat as we did not get PBS at our home in upstate New York. Tugging on the wishbone (a rookie mistake - I always lost to my older brother) after a roast chicken dinner in her tiny kitchen. The spotless produce drawer in her refrigerator, red and green apples carefully arranged on a clean paper towel. Her salad dressing - an unsophisticated yet tasty mixture of white vinegar, oil, sugar, salt and fresh dill that she served over iceberg lettuce.

Grandma Mary with Louis and Eve
Grandma Mary on a long -ago visit to our home upstate with my big brother (who was in a King Tut phase) and me, looking amazingly like my four-and-a-half-year-old son.
But it was her mandelbrot that really captured my heart. She would bake a batch whenever we came to visit, wrapping it carefully in tinfoil to keep it fresh until we arrived from upstate. Grandma Mary had diabetes so she abstained but was happy to watch us tuck in gleefully. The modestly arched, crumbly slices studded with nuts and chocolate always disappeared quickly.

I've always regretted that she died before I got her recipe. But I was only 15 when she died and had not yet discovered my love of baking and cooking, not to mention that she was no longer lucid enough to share much of anything with us by then.

Batter for the Chocolate Mandelbrot by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2017

On a cold, gray day back in February, I was thinking about my Grandma and missing her (and her delicious twice-baked cookies...) So I did a little searching to see if I could find a recipe that sounded like a match.

Shaping the logs of Chocolate Mandelbrot by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2017

This recipe, adapted from King Arthur Flour, turned out pretty darn close although I used butter instead of the oil it calls for and I did not have almonds on hand so I used pecans, instead.

Slicing the log of chocolate mandelbrot before the second baking by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2017

Mandelbrot translates to "almond bread" and it is baked twice - first in a long log, then in individual slices sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. I hope you enjoy this delicious treat - the traditional Jewish version of biscotti.

-- print recipe --
Chocolate Almond Mandelbrot
Makes 56 cookies

Ingredients

* 3 large eggs
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup (7 ounces) vegetable oil
* 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
* 1 tsp sea salt
* 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 1 1/2 cups almond pieces (or walnuts or pecans)
* Coarse white sugar, optional

Directions

1. Beat together the eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla, and salt at medium-high speed until thickened and light-colored, about 5 minutes. Beat in the flour and baking powder then mix in the chips and nuts. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours, or overnight.

2. When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

3. Divide the dough into four even pieces, about 13 ounces each if you have a scale. Working with one piece at a time, place the dough on the prepared baking sheet, shaping it into an 8" x 2" log. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, leaving at least 2" between them; you'll put 2 logs on each baking sheet. Sprinkle the logs heavily with coarse white sugar, if desired.

4. Bake the logs for about 28 to 30 minutes, until they're set and beginning to brown and the edges and sides, but not brown all over. Remove them from the oven, and reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

5. Spritz the logs lightly with water; this will make them easier to cut. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Cut each log into 1/2" to 3/4" slices. Cutting them on the diagonal will make the mandelbrot longer; cutting them crosswise will yield shorter cookies.

6. Place the pieces on edge, quite close together, on the baking sheets, and return them to the oven to bake for an additional 35 to 45 minutes, until a cookie feels baked through when you pinch it between your fingers. You'll also notice some browning around the edges, though the cookie shouldn't be browning all over. Remove from the oven and cool right on the baking sheets.

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Cut Your Waste - Reusable Zippered Silicone Bags for Earth Day

Monday, April 17, 2017

Stasher bag - snack size

It's almost Earth Day and now is a great time to cut down on planet-destroying waste by investing in a few of these lovely, reusable zippered silicon bags made by Stasher. They are airtight, freezable and washable.

They're offering a 25% discount on all orders placed between now and 4/24. Just enter the enter code EARTHDAY at checkout at stasherbag.com. And shipping is free if you spend $40 or more.

These should go a long way to cutting down on the number of Ziploc-style bags that end up clogging landfills and fouling waterways. The folks at Stasher sent me the two bags above to try out a few months back and I'm happy to report that I like them (or I would not be writing this post...)

They are perfect for snacks, sandwiches and more. On our last vacation, I realized the smaller, snack-sized one was the perfect way to keep my cell phone dry and sand-free. And the larger one held all our sunscreens nicely.

Stasher bag - sandwich size

Now I wish Stasher would make them in a few, bigger sizes so I could kick those Ziplocs to the curb permanently. In the meantime, I will just keep washing and reusing the disposable ones for as long as I can. It's not hard -- just flip the bag inside out, hold one hand inside and soap up the outside, then rinse it clean under the faucet and hang over something to dry. I usually put the gallon-sized Ziploc bags over my blender or sodastream to dry while the smaller ones get plopped over a butter knife in the dish drainer or the like.

FYI, Stasher recently became a Certified B Corporation. If you're not familiar with B Corps, they are a good thing! B Corp Certification is to sustainable business what LEED certification is to green building or Fair Trade certification is to coffee or chocolate. B Corps (short for "Benefit" corporations) are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet their rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. King Arthur Flour, Patagonia and Etsy are a few other B Corps you might know and love.

The point being that this is a company you can feel good about supporting. If you end up buying a few bags, don't forget to enter EARTHDAY when you check out to get 25% off your order.

10 Tips For Avoiding Tick Bites, Lyme Disease & Other Tick-Borne Diseases

Monday, March 6, 2017

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM TICK-BORNE DISEASES


1. Do a daily tick check on yourself and your family. Remove all clothing and carefully check for tiny black dots. Ticks are programmed to crawl up - towards your head - they love to feed on the thin, blood rich skin there so make sure to check behind your ears, at your hair line, the nape of your neck, etc., very carefully. But ticks can be anywhere - they may decide just to dig in at one of the other warm spots on your body - armpit, crotch, back of knee, etc.

One cheap, effective method of preventing ticks from reaching your skin is to buy an adhesive lint roller and keep it by your door, in your car or in your hiking backpack. Roll it over your clothes as soon as you return from the great outdoors and see what you find. Buy the kind that has adhesive layers as you will want to throw that sheet covered in ticks far, far away... And you may want to get one that you can get refills for to cut down on the waste a tiny bit. This lint roller fits the bill.

Ticks on lint roller, image copyright Guy Thompson, teegate@comast.net
Keep in mind that ticks come in many different sizes depending on where they are in their life cycle. Deer ticks in the nymphal stage are so small that they can be extremely hard to see - even when you're looking right at one, it can be hard to tell for sure if it's really a thing. So far, in my experience, it is usually really a thing, unfortunately.


2. If you find a tick, remove it ASAP! The longer it's biting you, the greater the chance that it will transmit disease. Keep in mind that there's only one right way to remove a tick and a whole lot of wrong ways. Think of the tick as a potentially disease-filled bag. You do not want to squeeze that bag of yucky bacteria into your body through the tick's bite.

Here's what you do:
  • Using pointy tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. 
  • Gently pull the tick in a steady, upward motion. If the tick's mouthparts do not come out with the rest of the tick, don't panic. The mouthparts, alone, can't transmit disease. You can either pick them out like you would a splinter or just leave them there and they'll eventually fall out on their own. 
  • Wash the area thoroughly with disinfectant and then apply antibacterial ointment. 
  • Save the tick to identify and to potentially send away for testing. I usually stick them to a piece of tape, pop them in a Ziploc and label it with the date in case I decide to send it for testing. 
  • If you do want to get the tick tested, you can mail it to Igenex Lab in California or to the LMZ at UMASS Amherst ($50 per tick and very quick and user-friendly - they'll text or email you your results speedily).  And if you're in New York State, you can get your ticks tested FOR FREE at this lab which is offering the service gratis because they want to gather as much tick disease data as possible. Please keep in mind that if the report shows that the tick was infected, it does not necessarily mean that you have been infected. Most doctors recommend waiting a number of weeks to see if you become ill before starting antibiotics. And if you should develop symptoms, you'll know what to treat for based on the results of the tick testing.
  • Watch the area closely for up to a month for signs of a rash that is at least 2 inches in diameter and probably will spread considerably (the tick bite may be red and irritated but a tiny red spot does not mean you have Lyme disease.) If you develop a rash or flu-like symptoms, go see a doctor right away and get on a two week course of antibiotics. Keep in mind that testing for Lyme disease is notoriously unreliable so if you get the rash and/or other symptoms with a tick bite, just get treated. 
  • You should also insist on being tested for the co-infections that are often transmitted along with Lyme -- babesiosis, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis are the most common co-infections and will require different treatment from the antibiotics that are used to treat Lyme!
Here's what you DON'T do:
  • Touch the tick with your bare hands. 
  • Squeeze the body of the tick. 
  • Put alcohol, nail polish remover or Vaseline on the tick. 
  • Put a hot match or cigarette on the tick in an effort to make it "back out." 
Not only do these things not help but they also increase the likelihood that the tick will end up transmitting Lyme disease to you.

3. Avoid contact with grasses, leaf litter, branches - basically, the entire frikkin' outdoors.

4. If you do dare to venture out of doors, wear light-colored, long pants and shirts, and tuck the pants into your socks. I will warn you that this is not a super sexy look (see below) but safety first... If you spend a lot of time mucking about outdoors, you may want to get a pair of high-cut Mucks or Bogs but still tuck your socks into your pants inside them.


5. Consider using insect repellent. I have mixed feelings about this but will sometimes spray my outdoor work clothes and boots with this Permethrin spray when I'm specifically going out to pull up barberry bushes or rake leaves. You spray it once and it lasts quite a long time - even through the wash - which is a little scary.


We also use this REPEL Lemon Eucalyptus insect spray (all over us and our clothes) because it is the only non-toxic option that actually works according to Consumer Reports's research.

And we have a bottle of this 20% Picaridin spray that we occasionally use though, in general, I avoid it cause the chemicals freak me out.

Again, I have mixed feelings about it all but you should make up your own mind about whether you want to use any or all of these products. You can read more about it on Consumer Reports and on the Connecticut (the original home of Lyme disease) government fact sheet.

6. Reduce tick-friendly (a.k.a mouse-friendly) habitats near your home and widen the borders between the areas you use and any woodlands or meadows. That means keeping things dry, letting lots of light in, and limiting vegetation and stone walls or piles of brush where mice like to hide.
  • Keep your grass mowed. 
  • Remove any leaf litter, brush and weeds at the edge of the lawn. 
  • Restrict the use of groundcovers like pachysandra in areas frequented by family and roaming pets. 
  • Remove brush and leaves around stonewalls and wood piles. 
  • Discourage rodent activity. Clean up and seal stonewalls and small openings around the home and move firewood piles and bird feeders away from the house. 
  • Keep dogs and cats out of the woods to reduce ticks brought into the home. 
  • Put up a deer fence. 
  • Move kid's swing sets and sand boxes away from the woodland edge and place them on a wood chip or mulch type foundation. 
  • Trim tree branches and shrubs around the lawn edge to let in more sunlight. 
  • Create a 3-foot or wider wood chip, mulch, or gravel border between lawn and woods or stonewalls. Most tree companies will deliver wood chips for free as will many municipalities so they can be a very affordable option. We get a couple loads a year. 
  • Widen woodland trails to avoid brushing against branches and leaves.
7. Get rid of Japanese barberry plants! These thorny plants are deer mouse magnets that tend to serve as nurseries for black legged tickets. But you have to dig them out, roots and all or they will just sprout up again with renewed vigor. We use a digging bar, a pair of long-handled Fiskar loppers as well as a flame weeder to try to control the rampant barberry on our nine-acre property. I also wear a pair of long gloves meant for pruning roses since the thorns are pretty vicious - I learned that the hard way :) Read my post on this for more information.

Japanese Barberry by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2014

8. Scatter "Tick Tubes" around your property. Again, you have to be comfortable using an insecticide (Permethrin, in this case which is particularly bad for felines) but if you are, these can be a good way to go, especially for rock walls and other mouse-friendly areas. Tick tubes are cardboard tubes filled with cotton that's been treated with permethrin. the idea is that the mice use the cotton to line their nests and the permethrin kills the ticks on them, decreasing your chances of getting bitten. Supposedly, it does not harm the mice but who really knows what effect is has on the food chain. We have used them in rock walls at our home. You can buy a six-pack of the tubes on Amazon for $25 or you could buy a bottle of the Permethrin spray (about $15), get some cotton balls, save some toilet paper or paper towel rolls and make your own for less. If you go that route, be sure to wear gloves and wash your skin thoroughly afterwards.

Image courtesy of Damminix Tick Tubes

9. Put up an owl box. A barn owl eats roughly six mice each night and a family of barn owls can eat an astounding 3,000 mice per breeding season. That would be a big help with the mouse problem... Plus, so cool to have owls near your house that you can watch. You can buy a ready-made owl box or build your own. Click here for more information about where to situate your owl box. And remember, you can not use poison of any kind (rat, mouse, etc.) at your property since it will end up poisoning your birds of prey.


My husband built a barn owl box with the kids this fall but so far, no one has taken us up on our offer of hospitality. Here's hoping!


10. Get outdoor cats. By keeping them outside, you eliminate the risk of the animals bringing ticks into your home. Many shelters have way more feral cats on their hands then they know what to do with (and they've been vaccinated and neutered). If you can offer these not-so-socially inclined kitties a warm, covered place to sleep and food and water, the shelter will probably be happy to give you as many as you like. Be mindful that you may have trouble getting feral cats to stay at your house. And you should take into consideration the sad reality that outdoor cats tend to wreak havoc on the local bird population. But still, it could help!

11. Use beneficial nematodes and fungal sprays. You can also buy beneficial nematodes to spray on your lawn and around your home. After reading about which nematodes work on ticks, we purchased this product on Ebay and are trying it out this summer. Another well-reviewed product is a fungal spray called Met52 but it has been out of stock everywhere of late.

If you've made it this far, you deserve a reward. Take a listen to Ticks by Brad Paisley. And good luck!

I'm Moving My Political Posts - You're Welcome To Come Along!

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Hi there, lovers of good food, local farmers and clean, green homes everywhere.

I've gotten rather off-topic here of late and wanted to let you know that I'm going to stop posting about politics here - it's really not what you signed up for, after all.

But that does not mean I will stop writing about politics and activism...

I've created a new web site/blog/email list called Daily Acts of Resistance and if you share my politics, I encourage you to visit it and sign up to receive posts by email

I will not be posting every single day but the gist is that I will share small, achievable ways you can help resist Trump and the Republicans agenda.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program :)

I hope you're all well.

-Eve

My friend, Jess, me, and my mom, Rose at the Women's March in NYC last weekend.

Recommendations for Bizarro World

Friday, January 6, 2017

Apologies for not posting much lately. I've been busy and have just not had the "appetite" to write about food because I'm so distracted by the insanity taking place in our government and society.

Beyond the outrage and fear I've been experiencing since November 9th, one of the most disorienting aspects is trying to reconcile this horrifying new reality with the relative abundance, peace and beauty of my daily life. How can both be real? But then again, that's life in a nutshell, isn't it? I'll just have to keep qualifying my answer to the question, "How are you?" by saying, "I'm good. Well, aside from the fact that an insane person is going to become President."

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few things I've found noteworthy.

BJ Miller
On the feelings front, these two pieces touched me:

This NY Times profile on B.J. Miller - a triple amputee and palliative care doctor who helps people die well and fully in a non-medicalized, non-pathologized way. It made me cry and it made me think.

This short post by Kim Foster about the intense, heart-wrenching experience of working with her two foster children's biological parents to create an open adoption. Hats off to Kim and David and people like them. They are my heroes.

On the political activism front, here are some things you should check out:

The Indivisible Guide (now a web site) is a must-read. It was written by a bunch of former Congressional staffers and demystifies the process of taking back the country and explains how the Tea Party gained power. Hint, you have to actually get involved. If you're in my neck of the woods, please let me know if you'd like to join me in starting a citizen action group.

AdStrike is a new web site that makes it super easy for you to tweet at companies that are advertising on Breitbart.com in hopes of getting them to withdraw their ads, hitting Breitbart right in the bank account. You can also post on Facebook - they provide the screenshot, sample text and everything. It's a wonderfully satisfying way to spend a few minutes!


Flippable - a new site/org/list that aims to flip control of government. They send timely, easy actions you can take.

WallOfUs - another new site/org/list that provides simple, weekly acts of resistance.


Call your members of Congress, people. Every damn day!

And turn out for one of the many marches for women taking place in cities across the country on Saturday, January 21st.

Happy New Year to you all.

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

A Few Great Cookbooks

I interrupt my months-long silence to bring you this short, sweet post about five inspiring and instructive cookbooks you or someone you love might enjoy.

The Fearless Baker by Erin Jeanne McDowell and with beautiful photographs by my dear friend, Jennifer May. If you like to bake, this is the book for you. You can go as in-depth as you care to go with her excellent advice. It was at the top of Melissa Clark's list of the best cookbooks in the NY Times.



Salt Fat Acid Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat. Samin is something of a culinary celebrity in the San Francisco Bay Area - she's a Chez Panisse alum whose been credited with teaching Michael Pollan how to cook. In this book, she teaches you to home in on the key elements that make food taste good and stop worrying so much about measurements. Great for anyone who wants to develop a more holistic, intuitive sense of cooking.


In My Kitchen A Collection of New and Favorite Vegetarian Recipes by Deborah Madison. I love everything Deborah Madison writes and this is no exception - more elegant yet down to earth prose that makes her recipes sing. She's one of the people I would most like to share a meal with, preferably one she's cooked.

Smitten Kitchen Everyday: Triumphant and Unfussy New Favorites by Deb Perelman. If you're a fan of Smitten Kitchen blog or of Deb's first book, you're in luck - there's more! 101 brand new recipes await you including a killer carrot ginger dressing that reminds me of the Dojo restaurant I ate at when visiting NYU on a college tour years and years ago. She's a powerhouse and the book is filled to bursting with tasty, creative food that will not take you hours to prepare.



This book came out last year but I somehow missed it until recently. It's such a lovely read and makes me devilishly hungry. The many spin-off recipe ideas Julia provides at the end of each recipe make it worth three or four cookbooks in one. I am leaving it open on the cookbook stand on my kitchen counter and plan to make my way through it recipe by recipe. 

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Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Esquites Corn Salad -- Mexican Street Corn In A Bowl

Esquite salad - Mexican corn salad by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

I was introduced to this salad by my friend, Kali, who fell in love with it after ordering it at Colonia Verde in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood recently.

Sweet corn by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

It's like eating a bowl of Mexican street corn (a.k.a. elote.) Each bite is smokey, sweet, spicy, sour, creamy and salty - a sublimely happy marriage of flavors.

Sweet corn by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

The recipe calls for lightly charring the kernels in a cast iron skillet but if you happen to have leftover grilled corn on hand, by all means, use that, instead! It goes quickly so you may want to double the recipe.

Toasting pepitas by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

This is a tasty way to savor these last, bittersweet days of summer. Hope you enjoy it.

Esquite salad - Mexican corn salad by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

-- print recipe --Esquites Corn Salad
Serves 4-6 as a side

Ingredients

* 2 Tbsps grapeseed, sunflower or other neutral oil
* 4 cups corn kernels (roughly 5 ears' worth)
* 1/2 tsp sea salt
* 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
* 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
* 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped (I wear gloves!)
* 3 scallions, chopped
* 3 Tbsps crumbled cotija or feta cheese, plus more for garnish
* 2 Tbsps grated Parmesan cheese
* 2 Tbsps mayonnaise (there are a lotta options out there but I am fiercely loyal to good old Hellmanns)
* 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
* 1 1/2 tsps chili powder or smoked paprika
* 2 tsps ground cumin powder
* 2 Tbsps ground, toasted pepitas

Directions

1. In a large cast iron skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the corn kernels and cook, stirring every few minutes, until they are toasted and lightly browned - about 15 minutes.

2. Add the garlic and stir well, cook for another minute or so. Turn off the heat and let the corn cool down for a few minutes before moving it to a serving bowl with enough room to mix in.

3. Add the cilantro, mint, jalapeño, scallions, cheeses, mayo, chili powder or smoked paprika and cumin, pepitas, stir to combine. Top with a bit more cheese and cilantro and serve.

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Thursday, June 15, 2017

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberries, rhubarb, orange zest and sugar macerating by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

Rhubarb's tartness pairs so nicely with strawberries and sugar. Wrap 'em in a buttery crust and you can't go wrong.

Pie crust ingredients by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

Sadly, our strawberries are being systematically, HEARTBREAKINGLY nibbled by the hordes of chipmunks that surround our home so I had to buy a basket of berries.

Strawberries for the pie by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

Fortunately, chipmunks do not seem to like rhubarb - it's pretty much the only thing in the garden they eschew.

Rhubarb by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

Do not skip the tapioca in this recipe as strawberries have a high water content. The tapioca makes it all gel nicely so you don't have to go wading while you eat. And you'll definitely want to bake it on a cookie sheet as it will undoubtedly bubble over in the oven.

Strawberry rhubarb pie about to go into the oven by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2017

I did not get a great photo of my finished pie -- it's complicated but involved a very ill-timed power outage and having to pick my son up from camp at the same time as the pie needed to be delivered for judging at the pie contest at the Woodstock Farm Festival. But thanks to Michael for snapping this pic of it at the contest :) I did not win but it was definitely tasty and maybe I'll get 'em next time.


-- print recipe --
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (inspired by Elise's recipe)
Makes 1 9-inch pie

Ingredients

* 3 cups rhubarb stalks cut into 1/2 inch pieces (the leaves are poisonous so trim any ends off)
* 3 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
* 3/4 cup cane sugar (use a full cup if you like your pie really sweet)
* 3 Tbsps quick cooking "minute" tapioca pearls
* 1/4 tsp sea salt
* Zest of 1 organic orange
* 1 double recipe of pie crust - use your favorite or try this one

Directions

1. If you have not already done so, make your pastry dough and let it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

3. In a large bowl, toss the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, tapioca, orange zest and salt and let sit for 10 minutes.

4. Roll out half the dough and line your pie plate with it, trimming the edges to overhang the edge of the dish by roughly half an inch. Fill with your strawberry rhubarb mixture. Roll out the other half of your dough and lay it gently over the pie, trim the edges to overlap neatly and crimp the top and bottom edges together with your fingers or a fork. Score the top with a knife in whatever pattern you like to allow the steam to escape while it bakes.

5. Place the pie on the middle rack over a cookie sheet to catch any juices that spill over during baking. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 then lower the heat to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes longer until the crust is nicely browned and the filling looks thick and bubbly.

6. Remove to a rack and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes. The cooling is important to allow the liquidy filling time to gel. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream or non-dairy equivalent.

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Wednesday, April 19, 2017

In Search of Grandma Mary's Chocolate Mandelbrot

Chocolate Mandelbrot by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2017

Many of my memories of Grandma Mary are tied to food. Eating a bowl of cantaloupe cubes on the linoleum floor of her one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn while watching Sesame Street on the television in the carpeted living room a few feet away -- a big treat as we did not get PBS at our home in upstate New York. Tugging on the wishbone (a rookie mistake - I always lost to my older brother) after a roast chicken dinner in her tiny kitchen. The spotless produce drawer in her refrigerator, red and green apples carefully arranged on a clean paper towel. Her salad dressing - an unsophisticated yet tasty mixture of white vinegar, oil, sugar, salt and fresh dill that she served over iceberg lettuce.

Grandma Mary with Louis and Eve
Grandma Mary on a long -ago visit to our home upstate with my big brother (who was in a King Tut phase) and me, looking amazingly like my four-and-a-half-year-old son.
But it was her mandelbrot that really captured my heart. She would bake a batch whenever we came to visit, wrapping it carefully in tinfoil to keep it fresh until we arrived from upstate. Grandma Mary had diabetes so she abstained but was happy to watch us tuck in gleefully. The modestly arched, crumbly slices studded with nuts and chocolate always disappeared quickly.

I've always regretted that she died before I got her recipe. But I was only 15 when she died and had not yet discovered my love of baking and cooking, not to mention that she was no longer lucid enough to share much of anything with us by then.

Batter for the Chocolate Mandelbrot by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2017

On a cold, gray day back in February, I was thinking about my Grandma and missing her (and her delicious twice-baked cookies...) So I did a little searching to see if I could find a recipe that sounded like a match.

Shaping the logs of Chocolate Mandelbrot by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2017

This recipe, adapted from King Arthur Flour, turned out pretty darn close although I used butter instead of the oil it calls for and I did not have almonds on hand so I used pecans, instead.

Slicing the log of chocolate mandelbrot before the second baking by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2017

Mandelbrot translates to "almond bread" and it is baked twice - first in a long log, then in individual slices sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. I hope you enjoy this delicious treat - the traditional Jewish version of biscotti.

-- print recipe --
Chocolate Almond Mandelbrot
Makes 56 cookies

Ingredients

* 3 large eggs
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup (7 ounces) vegetable oil
* 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
* 1 tsp sea salt
* 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 1 1/2 cups almond pieces (or walnuts or pecans)
* Coarse white sugar, optional

Directions

1. Beat together the eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla, and salt at medium-high speed until thickened and light-colored, about 5 minutes. Beat in the flour and baking powder then mix in the chips and nuts. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours, or overnight.

2. When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

3. Divide the dough into four even pieces, about 13 ounces each if you have a scale. Working with one piece at a time, place the dough on the prepared baking sheet, shaping it into an 8" x 2" log. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, leaving at least 2" between them; you'll put 2 logs on each baking sheet. Sprinkle the logs heavily with coarse white sugar, if desired.

4. Bake the logs for about 28 to 30 minutes, until they're set and beginning to brown and the edges and sides, but not brown all over. Remove them from the oven, and reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

5. Spritz the logs lightly with water; this will make them easier to cut. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Cut each log into 1/2" to 3/4" slices. Cutting them on the diagonal will make the mandelbrot longer; cutting them crosswise will yield shorter cookies.

6. Place the pieces on edge, quite close together, on the baking sheets, and return them to the oven to bake for an additional 35 to 45 minutes, until a cookie feels baked through when you pinch it between your fingers. You'll also notice some browning around the edges, though the cookie shouldn't be browning all over. Remove from the oven and cool right on the baking sheets.

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Monday, April 17, 2017

Cut Your Waste - Reusable Zippered Silicone Bags for Earth Day

Stasher bag - snack size

It's almost Earth Day and now is a great time to cut down on planet-destroying waste by investing in a few of these lovely, reusable zippered silicon bags made by Stasher. They are airtight, freezable and washable.

They're offering a 25% discount on all orders placed between now and 4/24. Just enter the enter code EARTHDAY at checkout at stasherbag.com. And shipping is free if you spend $40 or more.

These should go a long way to cutting down on the number of Ziploc-style bags that end up clogging landfills and fouling waterways. The folks at Stasher sent me the two bags above to try out a few months back and I'm happy to report that I like them (or I would not be writing this post...)

They are perfect for snacks, sandwiches and more. On our last vacation, I realized the smaller, snack-sized one was the perfect way to keep my cell phone dry and sand-free. And the larger one held all our sunscreens nicely.

Stasher bag - sandwich size

Now I wish Stasher would make them in a few, bigger sizes so I could kick those Ziplocs to the curb permanently. In the meantime, I will just keep washing and reusing the disposable ones for as long as I can. It's not hard -- just flip the bag inside out, hold one hand inside and soap up the outside, then rinse it clean under the faucet and hang over something to dry. I usually put the gallon-sized Ziploc bags over my blender or sodastream to dry while the smaller ones get plopped over a butter knife in the dish drainer or the like.

FYI, Stasher recently became a Certified B Corporation. If you're not familiar with B Corps, they are a good thing! B Corp Certification is to sustainable business what LEED certification is to green building or Fair Trade certification is to coffee or chocolate. B Corps (short for "Benefit" corporations) are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet their rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. King Arthur Flour, Patagonia and Etsy are a few other B Corps you might know and love.

The point being that this is a company you can feel good about supporting. If you end up buying a few bags, don't forget to enter EARTHDAY when you check out to get 25% off your order.

Monday, March 6, 2017

10 Tips For Avoiding Tick Bites, Lyme Disease & Other Tick-Borne Diseases

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM TICK-BORNE DISEASES


1. Do a daily tick check on yourself and your family. Remove all clothing and carefully check for tiny black dots. Ticks are programmed to crawl up - towards your head - they love to feed on the thin, blood rich skin there so make sure to check behind your ears, at your hair line, the nape of your neck, etc., very carefully. But ticks can be anywhere - they may decide just to dig in at one of the other warm spots on your body - armpit, crotch, back of knee, etc.

One cheap, effective method of preventing ticks from reaching your skin is to buy an adhesive lint roller and keep it by your door, in your car or in your hiking backpack. Roll it over your clothes as soon as you return from the great outdoors and see what you find. Buy the kind that has adhesive layers as you will want to throw that sheet covered in ticks far, far away... And you may want to get one that you can get refills for to cut down on the waste a tiny bit. This lint roller fits the bill.

Ticks on lint roller, image copyright Guy Thompson, teegate@comast.net
Keep in mind that ticks come in many different sizes depending on where they are in their life cycle. Deer ticks in the nymphal stage are so small that they can be extremely hard to see - even when you're looking right at one, it can be hard to tell for sure if it's really a thing. So far, in my experience, it is usually really a thing, unfortunately.


2. If you find a tick, remove it ASAP! The longer it's biting you, the greater the chance that it will transmit disease. Keep in mind that there's only one right way to remove a tick and a whole lot of wrong ways. Think of the tick as a potentially disease-filled bag. You do not want to squeeze that bag of yucky bacteria into your body through the tick's bite.

Here's what you do:
  • Using pointy tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. 
  • Gently pull the tick in a steady, upward motion. If the tick's mouthparts do not come out with the rest of the tick, don't panic. The mouthparts, alone, can't transmit disease. You can either pick them out like you would a splinter or just leave them there and they'll eventually fall out on their own. 
  • Wash the area thoroughly with disinfectant and then apply antibacterial ointment. 
  • Save the tick to identify and to potentially send away for testing. I usually stick them to a piece of tape, pop them in a Ziploc and label it with the date in case I decide to send it for testing. 
  • If you do want to get the tick tested, you can mail it to Igenex Lab in California or to the LMZ at UMASS Amherst ($50 per tick and very quick and user-friendly - they'll text or email you your results speedily).  And if you're in New York State, you can get your ticks tested FOR FREE at this lab which is offering the service gratis because they want to gather as much tick disease data as possible. Please keep in mind that if the report shows that the tick was infected, it does not necessarily mean that you have been infected. Most doctors recommend waiting a number of weeks to see if you become ill before starting antibiotics. And if you should develop symptoms, you'll know what to treat for based on the results of the tick testing.
  • Watch the area closely for up to a month for signs of a rash that is at least 2 inches in diameter and probably will spread considerably (the tick bite may be red and irritated but a tiny red spot does not mean you have Lyme disease.) If you develop a rash or flu-like symptoms, go see a doctor right away and get on a two week course of antibiotics. Keep in mind that testing for Lyme disease is notoriously unreliable so if you get the rash and/or other symptoms with a tick bite, just get treated. 
  • You should also insist on being tested for the co-infections that are often transmitted along with Lyme -- babesiosis, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis are the most common co-infections and will require different treatment from the antibiotics that are used to treat Lyme!
Here's what you DON'T do:
  • Touch the tick with your bare hands. 
  • Squeeze the body of the tick. 
  • Put alcohol, nail polish remover or Vaseline on the tick. 
  • Put a hot match or cigarette on the tick in an effort to make it "back out." 
Not only do these things not help but they also increase the likelihood that the tick will end up transmitting Lyme disease to you.

3. Avoid contact with grasses, leaf litter, branches - basically, the entire frikkin' outdoors.

4. If you do dare to venture out of doors, wear light-colored, long pants and shirts, and tuck the pants into your socks. I will warn you that this is not a super sexy look (see below) but safety first... If you spend a lot of time mucking about outdoors, you may want to get a pair of high-cut Mucks or Bogs but still tuck your socks into your pants inside them.


5. Consider using insect repellent. I have mixed feelings about this but will sometimes spray my outdoor work clothes and boots with this Permethrin spray when I'm specifically going out to pull up barberry bushes or rake leaves. You spray it once and it lasts quite a long time - even through the wash - which is a little scary.


We also use this REPEL Lemon Eucalyptus insect spray (all over us and our clothes) because it is the only non-toxic option that actually works according to Consumer Reports's research.

And we have a bottle of this 20% Picaridin spray that we occasionally use though, in general, I avoid it cause the chemicals freak me out.

Again, I have mixed feelings about it all but you should make up your own mind about whether you want to use any or all of these products. You can read more about it on Consumer Reports and on the Connecticut (the original home of Lyme disease) government fact sheet.

6. Reduce tick-friendly (a.k.a mouse-friendly) habitats near your home and widen the borders between the areas you use and any woodlands or meadows. That means keeping things dry, letting lots of light in, and limiting vegetation and stone walls or piles of brush where mice like to hide.
  • Keep your grass mowed. 
  • Remove any leaf litter, brush and weeds at the edge of the lawn. 
  • Restrict the use of groundcovers like pachysandra in areas frequented by family and roaming pets. 
  • Remove brush and leaves around stonewalls and wood piles. 
  • Discourage rodent activity. Clean up and seal stonewalls and small openings around the home and move firewood piles and bird feeders away from the house. 
  • Keep dogs and cats out of the woods to reduce ticks brought into the home. 
  • Put up a deer fence. 
  • Move kid's swing sets and sand boxes away from the woodland edge and place them on a wood chip or mulch type foundation. 
  • Trim tree branches and shrubs around the lawn edge to let in more sunlight. 
  • Create a 3-foot or wider wood chip, mulch, or gravel border between lawn and woods or stonewalls. Most tree companies will deliver wood chips for free as will many municipalities so they can be a very affordable option. We get a couple loads a year. 
  • Widen woodland trails to avoid brushing against branches and leaves.
7. Get rid of Japanese barberry plants! These thorny plants are deer mouse magnets that tend to serve as nurseries for black legged tickets. But you have to dig them out, roots and all or they will just sprout up again with renewed vigor. We use a digging bar, a pair of long-handled Fiskar loppers as well as a flame weeder to try to control the rampant barberry on our nine-acre property. I also wear a pair of long gloves meant for pruning roses since the thorns are pretty vicious - I learned that the hard way :) Read my post on this for more information.

Japanese Barberry by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2014

8. Scatter "Tick Tubes" around your property. Again, you have to be comfortable using an insecticide (Permethrin, in this case which is particularly bad for felines) but if you are, these can be a good way to go, especially for rock walls and other mouse-friendly areas. Tick tubes are cardboard tubes filled with cotton that's been treated with permethrin. the idea is that the mice use the cotton to line their nests and the permethrin kills the ticks on them, decreasing your chances of getting bitten. Supposedly, it does not harm the mice but who really knows what effect is has on the food chain. We have used them in rock walls at our home. You can buy a six-pack of the tubes on Amazon for $25 or you could buy a bottle of the Permethrin spray (about $15), get some cotton balls, save some toilet paper or paper towel rolls and make your own for less. If you go that route, be sure to wear gloves and wash your skin thoroughly afterwards.

Image courtesy of Damminix Tick Tubes

9. Put up an owl box. A barn owl eats roughly six mice each night and a family of barn owls can eat an astounding 3,000 mice per breeding season. That would be a big help with the mouse problem... Plus, so cool to have owls near your house that you can watch. You can buy a ready-made owl box or build your own. Click here for more information about where to situate your owl box. And remember, you can not use poison of any kind (rat, mouse, etc.) at your property since it will end up poisoning your birds of prey.


My husband built a barn owl box with the kids this fall but so far, no one has taken us up on our offer of hospitality. Here's hoping!


10. Get outdoor cats. By keeping them outside, you eliminate the risk of the animals bringing ticks into your home. Many shelters have way more feral cats on their hands then they know what to do with (and they've been vaccinated and neutered). If you can offer these not-so-socially inclined kitties a warm, covered place to sleep and food and water, the shelter will probably be happy to give you as many as you like. Be mindful that you may have trouble getting feral cats to stay at your house. And you should take into consideration the sad reality that outdoor cats tend to wreak havoc on the local bird population. But still, it could help!

11. Use beneficial nematodes and fungal sprays. You can also buy beneficial nematodes to spray on your lawn and around your home. After reading about which nematodes work on ticks, we purchased this product on Ebay and are trying it out this summer. Another well-reviewed product is a fungal spray called Met52 but it has been out of stock everywhere of late.

If you've made it this far, you deserve a reward. Take a listen to Ticks by Brad Paisley. And good luck!

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

I'm Moving My Political Posts - You're Welcome To Come Along!

Hi there, lovers of good food, local farmers and clean, green homes everywhere.

I've gotten rather off-topic here of late and wanted to let you know that I'm going to stop posting about politics here - it's really not what you signed up for, after all.

But that does not mean I will stop writing about politics and activism...

I've created a new web site/blog/email list called Daily Acts of Resistance and if you share my politics, I encourage you to visit it and sign up to receive posts by email

I will not be posting every single day but the gist is that I will share small, achievable ways you can help resist Trump and the Republicans agenda.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program :)

I hope you're all well.

-Eve

My friend, Jess, me, and my mom, Rose at the Women's March in NYC last weekend.

Friday, January 6, 2017

Recommendations for Bizarro World

Apologies for not posting much lately. I've been busy and have just not had the "appetite" to write about food because I'm so distracted by the insanity taking place in our government and society.

Beyond the outrage and fear I've been experiencing since November 9th, one of the most disorienting aspects is trying to reconcile this horrifying new reality with the relative abundance, peace and beauty of my daily life. How can both be real? But then again, that's life in a nutshell, isn't it? I'll just have to keep qualifying my answer to the question, "How are you?" by saying, "I'm good. Well, aside from the fact that an insane person is going to become President."

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few things I've found noteworthy.

BJ Miller
On the feelings front, these two pieces touched me:

This NY Times profile on B.J. Miller - a triple amputee and palliative care doctor who helps people die well and fully in a non-medicalized, non-pathologized way. It made me cry and it made me think.

This short post by Kim Foster about the intense, heart-wrenching experience of working with her two foster children's biological parents to create an open adoption. Hats off to Kim and David and people like them. They are my heroes.

On the political activism front, here are some things you should check out:

The Indivisible Guide (now a web site) is a must-read. It was written by a bunch of former Congressional staffers and demystifies the process of taking back the country and explains how the Tea Party gained power. Hint, you have to actually get involved. If you're in my neck of the woods, please let me know if you'd like to join me in starting a citizen action group.

AdStrike is a new web site that makes it super easy for you to tweet at companies that are advertising on Breitbart.com in hopes of getting them to withdraw their ads, hitting Breitbart right in the bank account. You can also post on Facebook - they provide the screenshot, sample text and everything. It's a wonderfully satisfying way to spend a few minutes!


Flippable - a new site/org/list that aims to flip control of government. They send timely, easy actions you can take.

WallOfUs - another new site/org/list that provides simple, weekly acts of resistance.


Call your members of Congress, people. Every damn day!

And turn out for one of the many marches for women taking place in cities across the country on Saturday, January 21st.

Happy New Year to you all.