Monthly Archives: October 2010

Oct 27Guest Post – Canning Tomato Jam with Kids

As I venture into the world of canning for the first time, I am relieved to have some support from my experienced pals like Kathleen. Many thanks for this awesome guest post on canning with kids. (Yes, they can indeed make it a more efficient process!) Kathleen McDade is a writer, educator, mom, gardener and full-time bicycle commuter. She blogs about parenting, technology and sustainability at http://technoearthmama.com. High temperatures, sharp objects, breakable glass, potential for spread...

Oct 25Sunday Supper with ThreeManyCooks

I know it may sound trite, but as the weather turns cool, it makes me want to gather around the kitchen table with family and friends. Maybe it's that a warm meal makes me feel cozy on a cold day. Maybe it's that the cool weather makes me want to spend time in the warm kitchen. Who knows? After I returned from the BlogHer Food conference a few weeks ago with the new cookbook from Pam Anderson, my daughter thumbed through it and picked out a handful of recipes she wanted us to make together....

Oct 22Let’s Eat. Right. Now.

I am an emotional person; a passionate person, and I wear my heart on my sleeve. Truth, inspiration and authenticity mean the world to me. Food Inc. spoke to me (and I cried my way through it)... and I am on the edge of my seat, waiting for Food Forward, a new show on PBS, our local public television station. Who do you think is changing the way we eat? If you were the producer, who would you include in this documentary?

Oct 20My October Unprocessed Post - Backyard Chickens ...

My October Unprocessed Post – Backyard Chickens Have the Good Life

Today, I'm a featured guest writer for the October: Unprocessed project over at Eating Rules: Backyard Chickens Have the Good Life Don't miss it...There's video involved!

Oct 20Guest Post: Farmer GreenBeet Plants Seeds with K...

Guest Post: Farmer GreenBeet Plants Seeds with Kids

When I met Amber at a Ketchum media training the day before the BlogHer Food Conference in San Francisco, I instantly knew she was a kindred spirit! She is in touch with the earth and where her food comes from, and loves working with kids to excite them about the benefits of becoming a locavore. I loved this story of her experience planting seeds with students as Farmer GreenBeet... My pockets are overflowing with carrots and seed packets. As I walk through the school playground, children’s...

Oct 17Judging Blog Success- My Washington Post Quote a...

Judging Blog Success- My Washington Post Quote and a Perspective

Over the past year or so, I have been struggling with the idea that my blog wasn't very well-known. But then I realized that I was using the wrong parameters to judge success. I can't compare myself to some of the top-notch bloggers that I adore - we each have our own distinguishing feature. My photographs are good, but they'll never compare to Shaina's, Heidi's, or Alice's. My recipes will always taste delicious (unless I am writing about a flop) but they won't be as refined and well tested...

Oct 15Blog Action Day: Water - Kids and the Environmen...

Blog Action Day: Water – Kids and the Environment

Water. Every living creature depends on it. We drink it, critters swim in it, plants are thirsty for it. And yet, the children of our nation swill soda and juice, rather than clean, clear water, and our factories, cars and factory farms contaminate it with pollution. That's not the way to treat something we care about. We should be teaching our children how good it tastes, right out of the filtered tap. Who needs disposable plastic water bottles? Sure, they are convenient. And cheap. ...

Oct 11School Lunch Reform – Stick a Spork In My Eye

Okay, it's time for me to tell it like it is. It's not like I was lying to you before. But I realize that I may have suggested that our school lunch reform efforts were all flowers and butterflies. It's time for a reality check. For you. So you don't think that this is easy. I'll be honest - there have been many days when I have wanted to stick a spork in my eye. But I haven't told you about those days because I didn't want to be a complainer. And I didn't want to make anyone look...

Oct 8Ecosystem Lesson Plan: Connecting The Food Web t...

My stomach turns when I get the list of classroom volunteer jobs at school: copying and grading papers, filing, organizing carpools for field trips...Maybe it's my years of teaching that make me avert my eyes from grading papers. I'd much prefer to interact with the kids - to excite them and inspire them. I always hope that our teachers want to take advantage of my classroom experience. When my son's 3rd grade teacher told me that she was doing a unit on ecosystems, I nearly tripped over my...

Oct 5Farm Festival Cooking with Kids - Red Quinoa wit...

For the 4th year in a row, I packed up some of my trusty cooking tools, cutting mats, and a few ingredients and headed to the booming metropolis of Guinda, to cook with kids at Full Belly Farm's annual Hoe's Down Festival. While it's not your standard cooking class, it is fun to teach kids to cook outside on hay bale counters (maybe a new eco-friendly trend for the kitchen?) and play with fresh seasonal ingredients. This year, I asked the farm for some produce, which they picked for me that...