The Language of Marketing

Starbucks makes me a pioneer just by drinking their coffee. Recycled cups, 10% post consumer waste, free trade coffee. Somehow I am the hero consumer, spending money for the good of all.

I suppose that I would have to take this notion further, much further and examine our current state of crisis within the world wide food production and distribution system. Having recently read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and upon watching The Future of Food and Food Inc. and following a burgeoning “Go Local” movement in Austin, I am keenly aware of the bargain sale price of 2 for $4 blueberries in February at my local health food store may not be such a bargain after all. I first become excited at the price and snatch up 4 boxes for my breakfast fruit bowl. My excitement turns sour as I note that they are from Chile and I begin to add up the transportation cost of finding these ripe berries on the shelf. I am almost certain that the sale price of these particular blueberries this week does not begin to cover the full amount of the production and transportation costs of this box of blueberries. Cheap prices are the hook, as I reach for food that is not in my particular seasonal growing cycle. It is really hard to put them down because I love blueberries and they are filled with those helpful antioxidants. Next week when they will be at their full price of $3.99 a box, I will not be having this dilemma.

So, today I am headed to the local Farmer's Market where I get to see the variety of foods that are in season for my particular growing cycle. I am lucky to live in a region that supports fall and winter gardens. Personally, this is my favorite growing season. I am already on my second rotation with peas, lettuce and herbs. We have been lucky this winter because we have seen lots of rain and I have not had to resort to using city water to help my plants grow.

Farmer's Markets are at the heart of the answer to the food crisis as each individual begins to become aware of the part they play as a consumer. Buy from your local source or learn how you can grow your own.

Check out these websites or find your own answers to the question, “Just because it is there, do we really need it.......now?”

http://www.slowfood.com/

http://www.edibleaustin.com/content/

Corn Huskers Lotion

I suppose that I know about this lotion because my mom had it in her cabinet and so did her mom and probably her mom's mom too. Corn Huskers has been around a long time because it works. Sometime around the turn of the 20^th century, this lotion was developed by a pharmacist and sold in the corn growing regions of the Midwest to help heal and sooth the dry cracked hands of the corn pickers and shuckers. Today Johnson and Johnson, who owns Pfizer, owns the patent to Corn Huskers Lotion.

Corn Huskers is the only lotion that will, after only one application, soften the tips of my fingers when they become like tiny bits of sandpaper. The weather was incredibly nice on Sunday so I spent a while in the garden digging around, pulling weeds and planting. By evening, my fingers were so rough to touch that they hurt. Just a little dab will do ya of this powerful water and glycerin based lotion. It's all you need to moisturize and repair. Lacking color and fragrance additives, this lotion takes on a gooey phlegm like consistency which cannot compete with its high end drug store companions in scent and appearance, but the price is right at just about $4.00 for a seven ounce bottle. Its my best investment for those times when daily body lotion just isn't doing the job.

The Digital Divide

Even if move to the most remote and rural land on Earth, I will still be a part time pioneer. I cannot get away from the river of technology flowing all around me. Today I attended the Texas Computer Education Association Convention in Austin. The convention center was filled with the latest cutting edge software curriculum and hardware devices to educate our K-12 digital natives. As a middle school art educator it is imperative to grab the attention of hormone driven adolescents in order to trick them into learning.

Animoto (http://animoto.com/) did just that. Not only is it slick and sophisticated, it is fast and satisfies the need for instant gratification that they/we crave. In just a few minutes I uploaded about 15 pictures to the online program, added copyright free music from their collection and rendered a professional quality video. The program adds edits and transitions to the tempo of the music in a seamless intuitive Pandora-like (http://www.pandora.com) style.

I think that this free program will keep me and my students amused for awhile or until the next wave of technology flows my way.

Canning 101

My Granny canned everything Pap grew. She preserved the harvest for the winter months. Down in their basement which was really just a bit more than a root cellar, she stored mason jars filled with beans and corn and tomatoes. I loved the taste of corn off the cob during our Christmas vacation. Ohio is known for its sweet corn, tasty on the cob during those summer months, but equally as delicious in the winter when we'd come for a visit.

Granny and I can for different reasons. Hers was out of necessity and mine for novelty. She had to keep all of those garden fresh veggies, well fresh, in some form or another. Me, I like the alchemy of turning a rather small amount of fruit and a huge amount of sugar into a jellied substance that you can spread on bread.

My first canning experience was many years ago when the kids were tiny and we lived in Florida. We would drive south over the Sunshine Skyway bridge to Parrish to vast fields of strawberries where pick-your-own flats sold for $8. I started with strawberry jam, kumquat chutney and orange marmalade. I once canned a corn relish, but I never enjoyed it as much as the sweet stuff. One year for our wedding anniversary, Tom bought me a canning book and the one tool for canning that is really necessary, a rubber coated pair of tongs shaped like a jar used for pulling hot mason jars out of boiling water. It is one of those kitchen gadgets that I use only occasionally, but really can't do without.

The canning bug crept back in when I saw a recipe for Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit Marmalade in the Austin American Statesman. I decided to give it a try. I made the honey version and it came out delicious. My favorite way to eat this marmalade is on a perfectly toasted and buttered English muffin. Yum. Here's the recipe.

Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit Marmalade

Honey version:
5 medium-sized Texas `Rio Star' grapefruit, cut in half horizontally
Juice of 4 lemons
6 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup local honey

Vanilla version:
5 medium-sized Texas `Rio Star' grapefruit, cut in half horizontally
Juice of 4 lemons
8 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean, split open lengthwise, seeds removed, pod reserved to add to pot

Put grapefruit halves in a large soup pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered until very soft, about 2 hours, adding more water from a simmering kettle if needed. Drain and set aside until cool enough to handle. Place a cutting board inside a roasting pan and cut grapefruit into large chunks, removing seeds as you go.

Place chunks (rind, pith, flesh and all) in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, and whirl, in batches, until pieces are finely chopped. Add back to large pot with remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Set pot to simmer and stir frequently until mixture reaches jell point, tasting as you go to see if it needs more sugar. Allow mixture to sit off heat for about 5 minutes, and then stir before filling jars. Process in a water bath for 15 minutes. Makes about 11-12 half-pint jars.

Adapted by Stephanie McClenny from a recipe by Nigella Lawson

Note: This recipe assumes that you know a lot about canning such as the temperature your mixture needs to reach to become a jelly (220 degrees.) After you wash/sterilize the jars, let them stand in a warm oven to dry and keep them there till you fill them. How to “process” cans (upside down in boiling water). I also added tons more sugar as it cooked, in total probably about 9 cups or so.