stuff and how much it costs.

some things cost way too much for what they are. this is something rW and i talk about a lot, and i feel that a portion of the list must be brought to light.

all of this comes from my needing shampoo and conditioner and deciding to go to the co-op to buy it because 1. i can ride my bike there. and 2. at least if i am going to be riped off, it will be with a good quality product. so.....!

shampoo and conditioner.
total rip off, but they have those of us who choose to keep hair totally under the proverbial thumb for the sake of good hygine and social graces. (by the by, my co-op stuff was the cheapest there and it works better than a comparable price drugstore product thus far.)

dental floss.
again, something we are threatened if we don't use. AND to add insult to injury, the cost of the stuff keeps going up without any noticeable changes in the actual product. the quality and utility has remained flatline whilst the price goes up up up.

breakfast cereal.
what gets me about this is that it is a totally open secret that this is a huge rip off. what is cereal made out of? usually corn or wheat. these are two of the most subsidized crops in the USA. this means that companies making cereal are able to buy the raw ingredients at below the cost to grow them AND charge you near on $5 per box. jerks.

razors.
this one is the opposite of dental floss. razors suffer from too much technology. now unless you want 4 blades, you get a crappy razor. i am convinced that standard 2 blade razors are being made poorer in quality so we all have to upgrade to 3-4 to get the same quality a 2 blade had in say... 1996.


think i am bad? rW has a whole list of "things that should have improved by now".

madness

(this picture has nothing to do with the post. i just like it. bees are awesome little creatures, and rW caught this one hard at work the day we picked blackberries and peaches.)

i have a pot of vegetable stock cooking on my stove right now, and the aroma is driving me mad. i know it would make a poor soup to just eat the pile of scraps that are currently in the pot, but it smells that good.

sunday at the farmer's market my favourite organic grower had beautiful carrots. they were still wearing their tops. the carrots themselves were no bigger than a finger and a beautiful ruby red color... like beets. when you bit into one, they were an electric orange color. amazing.

notice the past tense. they didn't last. but! the tops are living on in a stock*.

how to veggie stock...

in a 6 quart pot, combine...

tops of roots like carrots or beets, trimmings from your week's veggies (carrot tips, squash ends, tomato tops, scallion or onion greens, etc), any veggies past their prime (i used two orange and yellow peppers and a yellow squash), a whole bulb of garlic, two bay leaves, and a healthy dose of peppercorns.

top with enough water to cover but not overflow when the water boils.

cover and bring to a boil. once boiling, reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 1 hour. salt if desired.

strain off vegetables and aromatics and allow to cool

freeze in manageable quantities.


*i, personally, would not add tops to a stock unless i knew where they came from. tops are where the pesticides are sprayed on root vegetables, and i would rather not deliberately cook pesticides into my stock . i know, i know... i can be such a hippie, but i hope to be an old hippie one day.

stupid stupid.

rW and i went blackberry picking on sunday. aside from blackberries, look what i brought home!

baaaaack!

rW and i came home on monday night, and i have been busy busy ever since. garden is still alive i knit in ohio. i made banana jam, and i have a new project....

an etsy shop!
i am selling vintage, antique, and handmade items. i don't have any up yet, but soon i will list some jams.



i wish i still had use of my desktop computer. it had photoshop and i could make myself a nice banner for my shop. boo.