You say you want a revolution, well you know, we all want to change the world....

Rewind. Post started back in July sometime:

I have a coworker who is somewhat of an astrology expert. He has informed me that the stars are indicating that we are in a time of turbulence and change that will continue through about mid-August. I have mixed feelings about such things, but turbulence is certainly here and doesn't seem to be fading any time soon. Celebrities are dying left and right, but that is nothing compared to what is going on in the world. Election violence in Iran, ethnic violence in China, a coup in Honduras, the health care debate is moving more and more to the forefront of our collective consciousness, a governor has resigned for no apparent reason, what is going on?!

I don't have an answer to all these questions, but I do know that part of the turbulence I've noticed is that our communities and our lives are falling apart! We've forgotten what's important to us! I'm pretty sure I've hinted at this before, but it's so true so I'm saying it again. In addition, I've always felt that it is important to give back to the community and get involved. While I was home at my parents' house for 4th of July, the local newspaper had a 3-page long obituary for a former resident who had had a significant impact on the city during his life. He hadn't even lived in Cypress for the last 3 years of his life, and yet he had been important enough to warrant a 3-page obituary! I remember him from playing soccer w/ his daughter, but he was involved in practically every aspect of the community that didn't involve election. Soccer, grad nite, the Cypress Community Festival, various organizational boards--what an inspiration! Very few people would have the ability to be so involved in their community, but couldn't we all aspire to have an impact? I tip my hat off to you, Nick Eighmy. Our President is also encouraging us to all become more involved in our communities, and why shouldn't we? All of us who have experienced success of any kind in life owe that success to the various opportunities we've been exposed to, which we owe in large part to the people in our lives.

Fast forward to today:

I started this post many months ago, and couldn't finish it for some unknown reason. A lot has changed since then. I no longer have a coworker who is an astrology expert, seeing as I was laid off 2 months ago. The health care debate is now practically all-consuming. There's been additional election turmoil in Afghanistan. And politicians never cease to amaze. But the idea of "revolution" has still been on my mind quite frequently. For anybody who cares, Wikipedia has revolution down as "a fundamental change in power or organization structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time." Bingo. I think it turned out that I think everything we've come to know about the world is being turned upside down, and the whole idea just seemed too big. Let it be known that I don't necessarily think a little revolution is a bad thing. I've been saying for a while now that we are going through a "re-set" in the way we shop, the way we interact with our communities, the way we sell, in the same sort of way that economists talk about markets re-setting. And then this guy, John Gerzema, came along and did a talk at TEDxKC, essentially on this very topic, but he said it so much better than I could ever hope to!

So now I realize that I can't simply write a post about this, because this is essentially what my whole blog is about! And hopefully I'll post things more frequently now that I'm past this particular hurdle.

Please watch the video and enjoy, and explore other TED talks as well. Truly inspiring.

(Not-so-secretly hoping I can figure out a way to get invited to TED and pay the $4400 price tag so I can experience this brilliance live and in-person...)

Tonight's dinner: Gnocchi mish-mash!

I was sitting here tonight pondering what to eat, knowing I have plenty of food in the house but nothing that was planned to go together. I did a little soul (aka food blog) searching and came up with this, made entirely of ingredients I had sitting around.

I write recipes "grandma-style" rather than "cookbook" style, so hang in there!

Boil a lot of water in a big pot. You're going to throw in about a pound of gnocchi and a whole bunch of asparagus in there, so make sure there's room! Cut up a bunch (like a pre-bound bunch from the market) of asparagus into bite-size pieces. Mine were skinny little guys, so I cut them into thirds.
While the water's boiling, saute some bacon that's been cut into small bite-size pieces (maybe 2-3 slices? I don't know since I pre-cut mine and keep it in the freezer for occasions such as these). Not too hot, you don't want it to cook too fast!
Dice up some tomatoes (I used 2 medium-sized heirlooms), and add those to the bacon once it's starting to look cooked but just shy of crispy, followed by about 2 cloves of minced garlic. Let it simmer, and check the gnocchi water--it's probably close to boiling by now.
Salt the water, and add the gnocchi and let it start floating. Season the tomatoes/bacon with some fresh black pepper, a big pinch of Italian seasoning, and a little pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. More or less, to your taste. There's probably no need for salt, because there's plenty in the bacon. About a minute after the gnocchi start to float, add the asparagus to the water and cook for another minute before draining. Add a touch (3/4 Tbsp?) of some kind of soft creamy cheese to the sauce and let it get all melty, though I'm sure it would taste just fine without the cheese. Put the gnocchi and asparagus back in the pot and pour the sauce over it. Give it a stir and enjoy!
My guess is this would be about 4 servings. Probably 6 if you're eating it with other things as well or as a side-dish.

Yummy yummy!

Now, why on earth is this hob-nob worthy of being added to a blog about sustainability? Well, a few reasons! For starters, the tomatoes and asparagus were organic and locally grown, so there's your environmentally friendly, and all the other ingredients could easily be acquired in such a fashion. But really, I think the most important reason is that this whole thing was literally whipped together from idea to in my belly in about 20 minutes, using ingredients I already had, and it is versatile enough that it can be sort of mixed and matched with whatever else might be on hand on any other day. How are we supposed to sustain ourselves if we make life so complicated all the time?? I've begun to notice that I might be developing a bit of food snobbery, and that's not good! I just want myself and others to take a more active role in what comes into and goes out of our lives, and one of the most basic ways of doing that is preparing our own meals. Yes, I prefer organic/local, but I think it would be far superior for a family (or friends!) to sit down together with a meal that took care and attention (even if it didn't take time) that wasn't organic, rather than to sit down to something brought home from a fancy organic restaurant. Not that I don't love restaurants, but hopefully you get my point: the kind of meal I put together tonight was easy, inexpensive, healthy yet just rich enough (less than 1 slice of bacon/serving, and no other oil!), and didn't take all night. I'd call all that sustainability in action!

Busy busy busy!!

What a busy time this is!  School is out for summer, and yet I seem to be busier than ever.  I chalk it up to the wonders of late spring/early summer.  I visited my friends Rachel and Mark in Kansas City, MO, over Memorial Day, and my little brother graduates from high school in just about a week, so I'm getting ready for that visit home, and I've had several people over to visit and see the new apartment.  Meanwhile, we are gearing up to move our office at work.  In addition, I have discovered baking and yogurt making.  The baking is still a work in progress, as I have yet to produce an actual loaf of risen bread (attempt #2 in progress at the moment!), however I have a very active sourdough starter that makes wonderful muffins and crescent rolls, and absolutely the best waffles I've EVER had, so things are coming along nicely.  The yogurt process isn't quite perfected just yet, but it is really too easy and inexpensive to not do on a regular basis.  I'm honestly not sure I'll ever buy yogurt again!  I'm also doing some planning for an office veggie garden, as well as planning ahead for all the delicious fruits about to hit the market that will take well to preservation in various forms.  Much to do!

I talked to my mom tonight about all these little "projects" I have going on, and we laughed a little at how silly I am for doing all this stuff.  As I was eating a tamale for dinner and had the brief thought of "maybe I could make tamales to use up all the cornmeal I have...," it dawned on my WHY I do these things.  The tamale moment was brief because I quickly acknowledged just how much work they take and how I just don't have that kind of time.  However, with most other "processed" whole foods (such as bread and yogurt), I find myself so removed from the process of how to produce them, and lacking the necessary appreciation of the time and work involved.  Even if this bread works out great, I highly doubt I'll never again buy a loaf of bread.  But it serves as a reminder of the work that goes into my food, and helps me to better gauge value.  For example, I've decided that even my beloved Straus yogurt is a bit expensive, as I can produce nearly the same product for just the cost of their milk (about a third less for the same quantity).  (Mind you, yogurt takes time, so I definitely think they are charging a fair price, just that I can do the same myself for less)  At the same time, I've decided that a good loaf of bread is a miraculous thing, and wonder at people who make real, fresh, whole bread on a daily basis.  This stuff takes patience and major planning!  

Go out and buy yourself a loaf of fresh artisan bread!  Trust me, it's worth it!