Going Green...

As I used to say to my mom in my teenage years..."Don't say NO until I'm finished talking!" Ben is not known for being gentle on the environment. Just take a look at his businesses, high powered racing engines and airplanes...neither of them involve energy efficient engines and they both require loads of fuel! He can talk, I mean debate, about the fuel crisis and where we should make changes as a country and believe me, he can defend his choices with the best of them. However, we have moved towards a healthier eating style which softens our carbon footprint. It at least helps me feel a bit better about raising our kids to love the Earth and take care of all it provides...so please don't say no until I'm finished posting...

First we began our family garden. We considered this year a testing season. We were not that confident we could be growers. We impressed a lot of people, including ourselves, that we could grow and the food we grew tasted great! Ben made a box in about 15 minutes and we found a good spot in an unused portion of our yard. We added all natural "organic" soil and began planting. We planted lettuce, both red and green romaine, radishes, carrots, green onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and strawberries. Of that the lettuce was the most impressive. It yielded several large salads, it would have lasted longer but we got hit with caterpillars in July. The radishes, we learned, needed to be spaced out more...no luck with carrots. The herbs...great! Just like Food Network! Bell Peppers, still going strong. The tomatoes began to take over, so we thinned out a few plants and then the horned worms came through. Ben didn't want them to win so he ripped the plants out. We did meet a farmer at the farmer's market and we bought some special "earth" product to dust the plants with to ensure he'll win next time!

We plan on increasing our boxes next spring...probably 6 boxes in total. Of course we'll need an arbor and a bench to complete our garden, but it is a work in progress, a teaching tool for the girls and a really neat additive to our diet. Just think if everyone (this is where I'm suggsting you get a garden) had a garden...our next home project will be composting, consider it added to my Christmas list, available at Home Depot!

In addition to our garden we joined our CSA - Community Supported Agriculture. This is a group that provides certified organic produce grown within 50 miles. You pay up front for the season and the farms provide you with a weekly box of in season produce, along with a website to provide recipes and ideas for those of us who don't know what to do with Kale? We already go to farmers market so this will be efficient and a consistant source for fresh goodness. Here is our local link if you are interested in seeing what it is all about. http://www.inlandempirecsa.com/ We also joined the SLOW FOOD movement supporting business and farms through the thinking that slow food is good food. As a family we have NOT eaten at McDonald's in a year and a half. Natalie has no idea what a McDonald's is...we have now added all other fast food chains to our ban - we did agree that In-N-Out is acceptable since they hand tear their lettuce and use real potatoes - we need some kind of a fix...again please don't say no....

Lastly, Ben bought a cow...for those of you only scanning the post - BEN BOUGHT A COW! Yes, he came back from Texas explaining to me that we owned half of a pregnant cow. Pause for a moment and think what you would say if your spouse came home and said they bought $1000.00 worth of cow? Well I had time to prepare, it took about 9 months for VR549 to deliver her calf and be butchered for our eating. She had a good life. She was raised on a hormone free, natural farm. Her meat isn't blood red like from the grocery store but she tastes great! Ben went out to pick her up butchered into our favorite steaks and 1lb packages of ground sirloin, we bought a deep freeze and now she will live out her days in our laundry room while we slowly eat her nutritious remains...come on over for dinner:)

So while you are all doing your part, driving low emission cars and fueling up on renewable energy cars, we will be helping Mother Earth out in the garden and organic department - since the big oil companies keep paying the mortgage.