Counterculture Holiday Ideas

Why sell out for the holidays? Here are a few holiday ideas that might actually help cultivate peace on earth and good will to all. Most of these are ideas that we have picked up somewhere along the way and use in our family holday celebrations. If you have any ideas, pass them along.

Gifts:

• Buy locally made goods. You can find local products at farmers' markets. Look around on your daily travels; you'll probably find more local stuff than you think.
• Buy second hand. Reduce your impact on the use of natural resources for manufacturing new products. Books, CDs, video games, electronics, clothes, toys, and athletic equipment can all be easily found second hand. If you can't find it in a local shop, try e-bay.
• Buy fair-trade products. Check out Ten Thousand Villages. They have locations nearby in Mechanicsburg and Hagerstown. They carry beautiful handmade products from around the world for which the artisans are paid a fair wage.
• Set a limit for your holiday spending. Your friends and family don't want you to go into debt buying presents for them.
• Be creative with gift-giving. Some gifts don't cost anything but have a lot of value: a night of babysitting, a home-cooked meal, a massage, mowing the lawn, a poem, a tai chi or yoga lesson. We all have something to give.
• For the person who has everything, give a charitable donation on their behalf.
• As a gift to yourself and your community, find an organization that is important to you and volunteer.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

• Don't forget about regifting! That brand new picture frame that your coworker gave you last year that doesn't match your decor might be perfect in someone else's home.
• Save and re-use that wrapping paper. Yeah, sometimes it's more fun to just tear into a gift, but sometimes it's OK to take your time and carefully unwrap a present. Think of it as savouring the joy of unwrapping the gift. Really though, we rarely have to buy wrapping paper, because we're able to reuse so much of it.
• Be creative with wrapping gifts. We have used colorful newspaper; it has a very chic, green look. We have covered gift boxes in the previous years' Christmas cards. Any other ideas?
• String-up popcorn and cranberries instead of lights (electricity = coal-fired power plants = no more North Pole for Santa's reindeer or the polar bears).
• Save clean pieces of aluminum foil that are too small to use for anything. Fold them into homemade tinsel/icecicles. I'll post a picture if I have time.
• Get a Christmas tree with the roots balled and plant it after the season is over.
• If you use a cut tree make sure that it is chipped for mulch or used as wildlife shelter and not landfilled.
• Consider how much packaging comes with gifts and where that packaging will end up. Look for alternatives with less packaging.
• Look into solar-powered Christmas lights as an alternative to the conventional.

Local Feast!

• Don't forget to get your turkey and holiday fixin's locally.

Finally, celebrate your holiday traditions with friends and family. Beneath the commercial, plastic surface of the holiday are ideas and traditions worth sharing.

That's it for now. I'll post more ideas later, if I think of more. If you have ideas of your own or would like to comment on these please post a comment.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.

Carlisle Central Farmers' Market

Last Saturday, I went with my family to the Carlisle Central Farmers' Market. We had a great time. It was great to finally meet and talk with Sandra from Painted Hand Farm. If you haven't checked out their website or blog, definitely take a look. I think they had goat meat, veal, a lone turkey, and some greens from their garden. They also had an assortment of cheeses from Keswick Creamery. We bought the "lesher" and "wallaby" cheeses which quickly disappeared at our family's Thanksgiving dinner.

Otterbein Acres also has a stand at the market and we picked up some of the "Ewe's Dream" from them, a very strong Romano that I love on some pasta dishes and salads. Otterbein Acres also has some beef and lamb available.

Latimore Valley Farms was also there with a wide selection of organic produce. I was able to do some more stocking up on squash and root crops at their stand. Latimore Valley Farms is a large organic farm about halfway between Gettysburg and Carlisle on Rt 15.

Be sure to check out the Market this weekend. They're having a special Holiday Market this Saturday, Dec. 8th. Check out the market's site for a list of the special holiday vendors. There's really too much for me to list here. I'm looking forward to going again and doing a little Christmas shopping.

Native Landscaping

I just thought I'd post a couple resources as I've been researching landscaping with native plants. Everyone knows what a waste of time, energy, space, and resources the typical American yard is, and they are generally pretty boring to look at. I've become tired of trying to maintain my yard, so I'm researching how I can landscape with native plants that will need little maintenance and no watering once they are established.

Here are a few resources that I've run across:
Landscaping with Native Plants in Pennsylvania -- Perfect place to start! I've been cross-referencing their lists with "National Audubon Society, Field Guide to North American Wildflowers"

There are also links to a few other places on the DCNR website.

I also found these videos on Treehugger.com with similar ideas about making better use of space:
Edible Estates
Urban Homestead

Since what we're talking about is really a part of the whole concept of permaculture here is a great video series about permaculture featuring Bill Mollison (who is credited with originating the idea of permaculture):
The Permaculture Concept is a series of videos. I'm only linking to the first one, but I think there are 6 parts total.

New Discoveries

Last Saturday I went to Carlisle to find the Old Pomfret Farmers' Market. Instead I found a street street festival. There were a few farmers selling produce on the square, and I ran into Thom Marti, owner of Broad Valley Orchard - one of the very few orchards in the region that is certified natural (organic - just not USDA certified, which might be even better considering the way this administration has been trying to tinker with the organic standards).

Be sure to check out Thom's website (linked above). Lots of info there. The farm is about 15 miles north of Gettysburg, and from what Thom told me on Saturday the pick-up point for the CSA is at a Lutheran Church in Gettysburg. The amazing coincidence is that this CSA is one that I helped start about 8 years ago. I stepped out after I found myself in over my head without enough gardening experience to provide the food that we needed. I was overjoyed to hear that Thom took over the CSA and that it appears to be thriving.

I ran across a vendor at the fair who makes wooden toys. So I bought this grasshopper for our son. The vendor was "Sew 'n Saw, quality handcrafted items made from wood and fabric" Julie and Tom Pasker 125 Jeanel Ci, Lititz, PA 17543. 717-626-2797. sewnsaw@dejazzd.com

I finally stopped at Appalachian Whole Foods Market on the corner of High St. and Pitt St. in downtown Carlisle. Map of 100 W High St Carlisle, PA 17013-2924, US It's a corner grocery store that carries a wide range or organic and natural foods, body products, and health supplements.

They carry Big Sky Bread which appears to be baked in York, but is a national franchise. The wheat is grown in Montana, and all of the ingredients are simple -- no preservatives, no corn syrup, nothing that you can't pronounce easily. So it's not 100% local but it's a lot better than many of our alternatives. I bought a loaf of whole wheat multi-grain bread that was incredible. One of the best breads I've had in the U.S., and I have a loaf of French peasant bread in the freezer waiting for just the right meal to accompany it. I'll definitely be back for the bread.

They also have some dairy products from Trickling Springs Creamery which I've written about before. For those of you catching up, it's a great local dairy that has local organic dairy products.Apparently there's also a learning center there at Appalachian Whole Foods. There was really too much to try to absorb in one short visit, so I'll get more info next time I go

If anyone has more info on Appalachian Whole Foods or Big Sky Bread Company please post a comment.

While I'm writing about bread, I thought I'd mention the Gettysburg Baking Company. They have two locations in Gettysburg and Biglerville. I've heard good reports, but I've never been there myself. Again if anyone has been there, post a comment.

Other than my adventure in Carlisle, I've been busy putting food up for winter. In addition to the usual squash and root crops, I've been taking advantage of this unseasonably warm fall weather to get in more tomatoes. I freeze some whole for sauces and soups in the winter. I just put them in a big container in the freezer and then grab some whenever I want. I've also been drying some tomatoes and storing them in canning jars. In anticipation of getting a heavy frost someday, I've also been picking some green tomatoes to ripen indoors. I wrap them in newspaper and lay them on a sheet of newspaper on the cool basement floor. They will gradually ripen, hopefully not all at once. I've also been freezing sweet peppers. We also got some organic free-range chickens through our CSA from Village Acres Farm in Mifflintown, PA.

And I have one question for Finnegans Wake (who posted a comment earlier); have I run into another James Joyce fan? I've never had the courage to attempt "Finnegans Wake" but I love "Ulysses."

Where does our food come from?

I was pleasantly surprised last week when an old friend e-mailed to let me know that he had been reading the blog. Matt has been living in Idaho for a number of years now and writes on topics related to the outdoors and, of course, local food. Here are two of the pieces he e-mailed me.

They are both short editorials.
Look behind the label offers a brief introduction to the array of "eco-labels" we encounter at the supermarket and how one can begin to make some sense of them.

Where's the beef from? asks the fundamental question of the local food movement.

Both pieces relate to this basic idea of connection. I wonder if this local food movement is a reaction against the increasing disconnect and isolation in our culture. The illustrations of our individual isolation in our everyday lives abound: the solitary commute to work, cubicles at work, Moms and Dads who rarely see each other because they are on different shifts at work, kids running to a dozen different activities, automated check-out lanes at the store, on-line shopping, and hours spent in front of our electronic distractions (computers, television, video games, movies...). What could be more basic to life than air, food, and water? Is it possible that food provides a sense of connection that we may not even be conscious of? Connection to the farmer who grows the food. Connection to the people we meet at the farm or market. Connection to the plants, animals, and land that provide our food.

"There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot.
Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question whether a still higher 'standard of living' is worth its cost in things natural, wild, and free. For us of the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, and the chance to find a pasque-flower is a right as inalienable as free speech...
We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."
-- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

If you have never read "A Sand County Almanac," it is one of the seminal works in wilderness literature. Along with Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and John Muir, Aldo Leopold was one of the first European-Americans to clearly articulate an environmental ethic. I use the label European-American, because there were many Native Americans who had been speaking out against our careless use and destruction of the natural world for some time.

Stock Up for Winter

A few weeks ago I made a post and referenced two articles on Mother Earth News about eating with the seasons and storing foods for the winter. Here's a little update on what we've been doing to put some food up for winter.

First, we've been eating all of the fresh produce we can so that we do not dip into our winter stores. That means right now we're still eating a lot of salad greens, tomatoes, summer squash/zucchini, eggplant, and peppers. Even though we have potatoes, winter squash, and kohlrabi we're saving those for later.

Aside from our CSA, I've been supplementing our produce with stops at another local farmer's stand on Rt 11, just North of Chambersburg (near Green Village if you know where that is).Map of 2891 Philadelphia Ave Chambersburg, PA 17201-7904, US The address is actually for McDonald's which is across the road, but it'll get you there. They have a very nice selection -- not organic, but still local. Their farm is near Path Valley. I've been stopping every week and buying butternut squash, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, and apples.

I also stopped today at Shatzer's fruit stand on Rt 30 West (between Chambersburg and St. Thomas). I posted a map to their location in a post a month or two ago. Their apples are a little cheaper and better quality I think. While they are not organic, they also do not spray indiscriminately. Today they had several varieties of apples, pears, winter squash, pumpkins, cider, apple butter, honey, and a few other things I've forgotten.

Most produce needs cool temperatures for storage. Exact temperature requirements vary as do requirements for humidity, but it's not rocket science. See those articles I referenced for more info. If I get time, I'll post a little more later about storage ideas since most people don't have root cellars anymore.

Safe Household Cleaners

Over the past year I've been doing a little research on the chemicals in household cleaners. The problem is fairly simple. On a daily basis we come into contact with thousands of chemicals in our environment (consider the typical air and water pollution as well as chemicals used in the paints, finishes, carpets, insulation, and upholstery in our homes and offices); in products we use like household cleaners, automotive products, and pesticides/herbicides; and in the foods we eat and personal hygiene products. The catch is, we encounter a daily chemical cocktail that has never been tested. No one has any idea what this range, potency, and combination of chemicals will have on human beings. It could be innocuous, it could be the elixir of life, or it could be poison.

Consider a few bits of evidence. Farmers who handle pesticides and herbicides on a regular basis have unusually high incidences of cancer, birth defects, and other health problems. Recent studies have shown that our current obsession with antibacterial soaps, tissues, cleaners, air fresheners, and hand sanitizers actually contribute to bacterial resistance. We are essentially killing weaker bacteria and selecting the stronger, more dangerous bacteria to multiply. How many of the chemicals we use on a daily basis have warning labels related to misuse of the product? Pretty much every single product. As pointed out by Sheryl Eisenberg in her column for the NRDC, bathroom cleaners are a particularly humorous paradox as they are intended for use in areas where they will also be the most dangerous (small, confined, and poorly ventilated). I also find it disturbing that chemical manufacturers who find their roots in the military chemicals of every conflict since World War II are now selling their chemicals to the rest of us for household use, and what they can't sell to us often ends up polluting the environment with known carcinogens.

I'll post a few of the resources I've found below, but I first wanted to mention three safe cleaners that I use on a regular basis for almost all of our household cleaning. Baking soda, vinegar, and soap.

Baking Soda: for scrubbing just about any surface from a countertop to sinks, bathtubs, and toilets. You can make a paste of baking soda mixed with a little water that works great.

I often use vinegar in conjunction with baking soda. I usually use a little vinegar to rinse whatever I've just cleaned with baking soda. We also keep small spray bottle of vinegar that we use for general cleaning.

Hot soapy water is our other most often used household cleaner.

We also save old toothbrushes, rags, and sponges to use for cleaning so that we are not continually using paper towels for cleaning.

http://www.nrdc.org/thisgreenlife/0405.asp This is the article I mentioned above. Really great piece with more detail about dangerous chemicals and some alternative cleaners.

http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/90/lundquist2 Article listing some common household cleaners and why they may not be as safe as we think. Look around on the Green Guide (which, by the way, is a National Geographic publication) for more info on safe/unsafe cleaners.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html Recipes and how to use some non-toxic cleaners.

Second Hand Thoughts

I'll admit this right from the start: I hate shopping. There are few things that will put me in a foul mood the way that going shopping does, especially for stuff that eventually wears out, ends up in the trash, gathers dust in the basement, or ends up in a yard sale. I become apoplectic at the sight of a shopping mall and begin sputtering nonsense about the evils of capitalism, consumerism, slave labor in Indonesia, paving over open land for malls, and dying gorillas in Africa (look up cadmium mining in Africa). It may seem odd, therefore, that I actually enjoy shopping at second-hand stores, yard sales, and the like. Believe me, I'm not thrilled about the things that some people cast aside, but at least their would-be-trash is getting a second life, and it is amazing what you can find.

The hunt is what I enjoy. You never know what you'll find. As one thrift-store shopper once pointed out to me, "Any good pirate will tell you that it's all about the booty." The hunt for treasure encompasses yard sales, auctions, and second hand stores of all shapes and sizes. Buying second-hand is like recycling but better, because there's virtually no cost associated with giving things their second life.

Buying second-hand prevents a veritable multitude of villainies:

• it keeps perfectly good stuff from entering the waste stream,
• doesn't require the harvest and manufacture of virgin natural resources,
• doesn't support harsh or illegal labor practices like childlabor that are common in sweatshops and manufacturing worldwide,
• because most second-hand shops are local businesses, it puts money back into the local economy,
• it prevents new stuff from being manufactured.

Imagine it. The unfortunate consumer of new products has the bad karma of environmental degradation and social injustice on their conscience, but buying second-hand is virtually karma-free.

The flip-side of buying second-hand is giving away or selling your things once their useful life has ended. Yard sales are one option. Sharing your old things with friends and family is another good idea. Most second-hand shops will accept donated items, and some will pay you for your things or sell them on consignment.

Here are a few local shops:

Act II Consignment Shops, 5248 Molly Pitcher Hwy, Chambersburg, PA 17202. (717) 375-4884. Located on Rt 11, just South of the Marion Exit of I-81. Great shop. Well-organized and very neatly-kept. I bought five button-down shirts, three dress pants, and two ties (all by very nice name brands and in like-new condition) for $37.

Act II's primary location is in Hagerstown. I've never been to this location but it is purportedly just as nice and about one-third larger than the one on Rt 11. 13625 Pennsylvania Ave, Hagerstown, MD 21742. (301) 739-0552.

Dress To A Tea, 17 W King St, Chambersburg, PA 17201. (717) 267-0603. Downtown Chambersburg. I've never been there, but feel free to add a comment if you have.

Kid To Kid, 15 Shippensburg Shopping Ctr, Shippensburg, PA 17257. (717) 530-5437. My wife and I love this place. We buy our son toys and books here. They have children's clothes, toys, books, strollers, etc. They are in Shippensburg just off of the King St. exit of I-81 near K-mart.

Play It Again Sports. Great shop with all kinds of athletic equipment. They have two locations in the area: Hagerstown and Harrisburg.

13102 Pennsylvania Ave # A, Hagerstown, MD 21742. (301) 790-1365.

4141 Linglestown Rd, Harrisburg, PA 17112. (717) 731-9899.

CD Warehouse, 3832 Union Deposit Rd, Harrisburg, PA 17109. (717) 657-5336. Why pay retail? Once again I love this place for the thrill of searching for hidden treasure and for its quirkiness.

Northwood Books, 59 N Main St, Chambersburg, PA 17201, (717) 267-0606. Used Books.

Twice Read Books & Comics, 42 S Main St, Chambersburg, PA 17201, (717) 261-8449.

Post a comment if you have any other shops to add, comments on shops I've listed, or other ideas about second-hand stuff.

Busy week

Just a quick post to say that we have had a busy couple of weeks. My apologies for the lack of posts.

We took a short vacation to Virginia Beach over the weekend and had some great local food and saw a lot of wildlife on our hikes and bicycle rides.

Food recommendations: Steamed hardshell crabs. Fantastic. Fresh. Local. A little on the pricey side, but how often do you get to have fresh crabs? We got ours at Bubba's on the corner of Shore Dr. and Vista.

Restaurant: Hot Tuna. Ask what their fresh, local catch of the day is. We had Tilapia with a spinach and crab "topping." Their "she crab" soup is incredible as well.

The wildlife we saw at First Landing State Park included Osprey, Green Herons, Chicken turtles, painted turtles, one huge cottonmouth, and a water snake.

I've also been busy researching improvements to our home's insulation (starting with increasing our attic's R value to at least 49 with blown in cellulose insulation), composting projects for my little garden, looking into local foods that I can store for the winter (potatoes, apples, onions, garlic, squash, etc.), and getting back into practicing taiji (tai chi) daily. My wife is also a professional opera singer. I help manage her business on the side and this is a busy time of year for her business as well.

If anyone has any recommendations in regards to where to buy large-ish quantities of local (preferably organic) foods for winter storage please leave a comment. I'm planning on checking out the farmer's markets in the area, but haven't had a chance to do so yet.

Happy Harvesting!

Easy, Delicious Local Supper Idea

Tonight's menu was straightforward:

Steamed greenbeans (some from our modest garden and some from the CSA) with butter (Trickling Springs Creamery) and lemon and pepper;

Baked potatoes (garden/CSA) with butter (TSC).

My late night snack, which I will retire to in a few minutes will be two slices of rustic french bread (Lulu's Breadbox), red raspberry jam (Granma's jam house in Bittinger, MD-- not quite local) and some tea (definitely not local).

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." -- Douglas Adams

Local Farmer Prosecuted By State

A Newville farmer is being prosecuted by the State for selling raw milk without a permit. Police and officials from the Department of Agriculture raided Mark Nolt's farm in Newville, Pennsylvania confiscating thousands of dollars in product and equipment and threatening Nolt with jail if he did not stop producing raw milk.

Here's the story from WITF:
"Support voiced for midstate farmer being prosecuted for illegally selling raw milk 08/23/2007Scott Gilbert(Newville) -- Some Cumberland County farmers are rallying around one of their colleagues who's being prosecuted by the state for selling raw milk without a permit. Agriculture Department officials recently raided the farm of Mark Nolt in Newville, confiscating unfinished product and packaging. Authorities say Nolt had sold the milk and products made with it even after his license expired about a year ago. Jonas Stoltzfus, a neighbor and customer of Nolt and fellow producer, says recent highly-publicized crackdowns on raw milk farmers are misguided. 00006_stoltzfus1.mp3 The state says the milk is regulated because it can be harmful if it's mishandled. But Stoltzfus says that factor is outweighed by the need for consumer choice, adding he supports Nolt for defiantly selling the milk without a permit. Stoltzfus is organizing a rally for this Saturday at noon at Nolt's farm at 401 Centerville Road in Newville."

The Sentinel covered the story and has some great input from local people in support of Mr. Nolt: http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2007/08/18/news/news632.txt

Here's a second story just published in the Sentinel that at least partially answers one of my questions below: http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2007/08/23/news/news581.txt

Supporters of Mr. Nolt are organizing a rally on Saturday at noon on his farm: 401 Centerville Rd. Newville, Pa. 17241. Please bring a dish to share for a raw milk product picnic, signs, posters and a friend. Media coverage is expected.

After spending a few hours researching Pennsylvania's raw milk regulations, I have a few questions that I can't easily find answers to.

What is the cost of a permit for producing raw milk in PA? Why was Mr. Nolt's permit expired? He had been warned on at least two occassions by the state. It sounds like an act of civil disobedience to me. Is there something inherently wrong with the state requirements or permitting process? Pennsylvania is one of only a handful of states that even allow the sale of raw milk products. At this point, wouldn't it be wise to follow the law? I believe peaceful protests and acts of civil disobedience are the responsibility of the citizens of a democracy, but what exactly is Mr. Nolt protesting?

When I look around at the condition of agriculture in Pennsylvania, my intuition tells me that there is something wrong. I see family farms struggling to survive and going under only to be replaced by shopping centers and developments. The only operations that appear to thrive are what I would call factory farms: those operations in which the animals (typically cows, chickens, or hogs) live in cramped, squalid conditions and are treated like machines that produce milk, meat, and eggs for our supermarkets. We have very few small-scale farmers who take pride in the quality of food they produce, care for their animals and consider themselves stewards of the land. My last questions: Is the state really protecting our health by prosecuting Mr. Nolt? Or is it protecting the financial interests of large-scale agribusiness by squeezing the little guy?

Water Conservation Tips

These tips would have been a bit more timely at the beginning of the drought we're dealing with, but it's never too late to start making a difference.

1. When washing your hands, turn the water off while scrubbing and back on to rinse.
2. Don't leave the tap running while brushing your teeth.
3. Collect water from washing dishes, washing hands, washing vegetables, and other water at the sink to water outdoor plants.
4. Water outdoor plants in the morning or evening rather than in the heat of the day when more of the water evaporates.
5. Try landscaping with native and drought resistant plants.
6. Resist the urge to water your lawn.
7. Sprinklers aren't the most efficient way to water. A lot of the water you spray into the air evaporates before it ever reaches the plants. Try drip irrigation or soaker lines instead.
8. Try a water saver in the back reservoir of the toilet: a brick or closed water bottle to take up space. Just make sure that it doesn't interfere with the toilet's proper function.
9. If they're still clean, try wearing clothes more than once.
10. Flush toilets only when necessary: "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down." Or, even better, buy or build a composting toilet.
11. Shower or bathe when necessary and not out of habit. Try washing or sponge bathing only the essentials sometimes.
12. Use low-flow shower heads and faucets.
13. Fix dripping faucets.
14. Take shorter showers. Also try this: Turn the water on to get wet. Turn the water off when you lather up and put the shampoo or conditioner in your hair. Then turn the water back on to rinse.
15. Use rainwater to water your garden and flowerbeds. http://www.cwp.org/Community_Watersheds/brochure.pdf http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gardening/article/0,1785,HGTV_3546_2165903,00.html http://www.rainbarrelsandmore.com/
16. If you use the dishwasher, run only full loads.

"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water." -- LORAN EISELY, The Immense Journey, 1957

"All the water that will ever be is, right now. " National Geographic, October 1993

“Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone knows this, but no one can do it.” Lao Tzu, The Dao De Jing

Fabulous summer foods!

I hope everyone is having as much fun eating local summer produce as my family is. Lately, I've been getting our milk and cheese at Trickling Springs, bread and baked goods at Lulu's Bakery, veggies from our CSA and Maplewood Produce, and fruit from Shatzers Orchard and Maplewood. I have info on these other places elsewhere on my blog, and here's a little info on Shatzer's.

Shatzer's is not organic, but at least they're local. It still beats having fruit shipped from California. They are really friendly and have a little shop where they sell their fruit and other local items. Here's a map to their fruit stand on Rt 30 west of Chambersburg:Map of 2197 Lincoln Way W Chambersburg, PA 17201-8655, US

I'm still looking for a reliable source of local organic fruit. If anyone has any info let me know. I hope that I'll soon be able to check out the Windmill Farmer's Market in Shippensburg. They advertise organic produce.

If you're having trouble figuring out some new and different ways to prepare all these great veggies, here are some ideas.

Last night I made Eggplant caviar. Don't fear it has nothing to do with fish eggs. The dish is named for its texture which is like a coarse dip. Basically you bake an entire eggplant in oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Roast a few cloves of garlic in their skins wrapped in a piece of aluminum foil in the oven along with the eggplant. When done let the eggplant cool until it is cool enough to be handled. Cut the eggplant into slices and remove the skin, but be sure to get all the little bits next to the skin as these are some of the tastiest. Puree the peeled eggplant. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggplant, a handful of chopped parsley, 3 scallions or small onions, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice, salt to taste, and garlic (just squeeze the roasted garlic from its skin into the mix). Mix and mash as thoroughly as possible. Serve with crackers or on slices of toasted baguette.

Tonight we had omelettes with sauteed onions, garlic, tomatoes, summer squash, and cheddar cheese (all mixed into the omelette). Then we had fresh peaches for desert.

Some nights we have ratatouille, which is basically just grilled (or sauteed) veggies drizzled with olive oil and italian herbs.

As tomatoes are beginning to kick in, I often have tomato sandwiches and some fruit for lunch.

I'll occassionally post a recipe for seasonal foods. I love to cook, but I know not everyone enjoys searching for that perfect recipe.

Here's a good start. The Wilson CSA has a weekly newsletter and includes some great recipes. http://www.wilson.edu/wilson/asp/content.asp?id=815

Otterbein Acres Sheep Dairy

Today was a fun day on the local food scene. I ran over to Maplewood Produce and picked up some tomatoes, cherries, peaches, and blueberries. Then we went to Otterbein Acres Sheep Dairy for some Romano and Cheddar cheese.

Otterbein Acres is small farm in the rolling hills west of Shippensburg that raises both sheep and cows. The farm is near Newburg on Otterbein Church Rd, although I didn't see a road sign. There are a few other small businesses immediately before the dairy, and the dairy is on your right if you're coming from Newburg Rd. They are also very close to the PA Turnpike. Here's a map to the farm: Map of 10071 Otterbein Church Rd Newburg, PA 17240-9630, US

Their cheese is naturally aged and is not pastuerized. The Romano is aged at least 5 months and the cheddar at least 2 months. When I stopped in today, they allowed me to taste the cheeses before I bought any. They are exceptional; head and shoulders above anything you can get at your local grocery store.

You can either go directly to their farm or go to Carlisle's Old Pomfret Farmers' Market to get their cheeses (every Saturday 8am-12pm from May through October 27). http://www.downtowncarlisle.com/FarmersMarket/tabid/61/Default.aspx
If you are in the D.C. area, they also sell their cheese at the Rockville Farmers' Market. http://www.rockvillemd.gov/events/farmers.htm. In addition to cheese, I believe they also sell lamb and poultry when requested in advance.

Otterbein Acres Sheep Dairy
10071 Otterbein Church Rd
Newburg, PA 17240
717-423-6689

Local Government

In the spirit of my earlier post about making democracy work for the people, here are links to the websites of Cumberland and Franklin Counties. On their sites you can find the names and contact information of your elected officials, dates and times of public meetings, and links to municipal and township websites.

http://www.ccpa.net/cumberland/site/default.asp
http://www.co.franklin.pa.us/franklin/site/default.asp

I also highly recommend checking out the website of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund and the Daniel Pennock Democracy School. Even though their emphasis is on environmental issues, they have a lot to offer in regard to making government work for the people. Definitely check out their video about the democracy school on youtube, and, if you do a search on youtube, you'll find some additional footage of their democracy school.

http://www.celdf.org/