Vermont’s Table and a scholarship opportunity
March 14, 2012 § 2 Comments
Hey all! I wanted to pass along this information because it sounds awfully fun. Sterling College in Craftsbury, VT hosts a program called Vermont’s Table, which they define as “an intensive academic program in sustainable food systems that includes practical culinary experience, frequent field trips, lessons in sustainable agriculture, and seminars in food writing and food entrepreneurism.” The program lasts for five weeks and is open to university students as well as adult learners.
The college is located a beautiful and food-focused region. Hardwick, VT of the book The Town That Food Saved is just down the road. GoodFoodJobs.com will be offering three scholarships for those who would like to attend. Application deadline is April 13, 2012. You can find more information by visiting the Good Food Jobs website: www.goodfoodjobs.com/scholarship/.
Embracing the Sky
March 13, 2012 § Leave a comment
Reader-friends. I’ve been remiss in not telling you about my older brother and his amazing book. So here’s the story.
My brother Craig is a young man, college graduate, and remarkable poet. His body challenges him with the trappings of autism and mild cerebral palsy, but his mind is just as sharp as yours and mine. In 2000, he took a year off between high school and college to write a book of poems. (I get to claim a little credit here since I was the one to suggest he do so!) And not long into the following year – his first year of college – Jessica Kingsley Publishers in London, England, picked it up. I still remember that phone call from my mother: “Someone’s publishing Craig’s book!”
For a guy like Craig, who struggles to communicate with speech but sails forward in writing poems and papers by typing, with support, on a computer keyboard, having a book get published is a major victory – and a chance for the rest of the world to hear him as he really is. These are poems beyond disability because they allow readers to see not the outside guy but the reflective artist inside.
Having completed his degree in English literature, he’s hard at work on a second collection of poems these days. I’ve been spending time with him during these at-home days and listening to the new ones come forth. Remembering that voice. And realizing how some of you have yet to discover it!
So, let me encourage you to have a look. Here’s a link: Embracing the Sky by Craig Romkema.
I rest me in the thought
March 13, 2012 § Leave a comment
This is my Father’s world,
and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.
-Maltbie Davenport Babcock, This Is My Father’s World, 1901
Sail
March 13, 2012 § Leave a comment
Photo Credit: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Perspective
March 12, 2012 § Leave a comment
But then we did not think of ourselves as poor. We did not accept it. We thought we were superior people and other people that we looked down on and rightly mistrusted were rich.
-Ernest Hemingway, “A False Spring,” A Moveable Feast
Five Ridge Prairie
March 12, 2012 § 1 Comment
Saturday was so, so balmy in Iowa. Eerily warm for March, maybe – but we took off jackets and went short-sleeved with spring giddiness.
It is hard to find nature-walk places in this part of the state, I am sorry to say. We drove 24 miles to get to Fox Ridge Prairie, 790 acres that “exemplifies the northern loess bluffs of western Iowa with a mixture of oak timbered valleys, native prairie ridge tops and west facing slopes.” (mycountyparks.com)
The term “loess” refers to silt deposits laid down by wind activity. “Loess” is German for “loose or crumbly.” The Loess Hills in Western Iowa are fragile, easily eroded, and beautiful. Loess itself is not that unusual, but the size of the hills in Iowa – up to 200 feet thick of loess – is an uncommon geological occurrance. To learn more about the Loess Hills in Iowa – click here.
Tassie did not get to come (I wasn’t sure what the dog policy was, but based on the number of paw prints we saw, plus one black Lab, they do seem to be allowed). Mom and Dad and Craig and I went with a backpack full of egg salad sandwiches, string cheese, and apples.
I settled in to the tall grasses. I have always liked having them all around me.
It was one of those calm, outside, together times.
Chocolate cake with black raspberry green tea frosting
March 10, 2012 § 4 Comments
A food post! At long last!
I must confess upfront that this is not an entirely purist recipe. Why? Because for the cake I used (gasp!) a mix.
In my defense, it is an excellent gluten-free chocolate cake mix by Pamela’s. I am not gluten-free, though I think it’s wise to incorporate other flours into our diets. More importantly, my brother is gluten-free, and I wanted him to be able to have some. And in my (limited) experience with gluten-free baking, these mixes are such a nice foolproof way to go.
So.
I whipped up the mix with eggs, milk, oil. I added a bit of xylitol because it didn’t seem quite sweet enough.
And then the frosting. Oh. Easy and delicious!
RECIPE:
Cake:
Pamela’s Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Mix OR
Your favorite rich chocolate cake recipe.
Frosting:
Two sticks butter (blend)
Several cups powdered sugar (blend in till it feels right. Taste liberally!)
Make some black raspberry green tea. Pour in small amounts of green tea, again, making sure that your consistency feels right. Adjust sugar as needed.
Open a packet of the black raspberry green tea and pour in! (If you have loose leaf, crush it into small pieces, and use about a tablespoon.)
Frost the cake once it has cooled.
Share with your friends.
Mosaic
March 7, 2012 § Leave a comment
On Saturday, my family and I went to the Minneapolis Institute of Art. This mosaic, which hangs in a hallway and which we almost sauntered right past, was created in Syria around 4 or 5 A.D. In another room we saw a statue from several centuries B.C. I have been to many museums and marveled at much art. Still these things sort of stop me in my tracks. First: it is amazing that they are so very old, and have somehow managed to last until today, and even found homes in the Midwestern United States. Second: it is a wonderful thing that art in itself is so timeless, so instinctive, and so intrinsic to humanity. That in all times and cultures it has sprung forth. Yes. Art matters.
A little novel excerpt
March 6, 2012 § Leave a comment
My book proof for Riding the Neighbors’ Horses is sitting on a shelf in my (temporary) bedroom. I’m sorry to say that in paging through it I found mistakes noticeable enough that I can’t overlook them, so we’re a few steps back in the editing/reviewing process. I’m hoping the book will be available in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, it is the funniest feeling to have a physical copy of this novel in my hands. I finished the first draft almost seven years ago. Followed up with lots of off-and-on revisions. Ignored it completely. Decided to do something about it. The book looks shiny and professional and it has my name on the front. Wheee!
For now, here is a small excerpt. Our narrator and protagonist, Susan Abbot, is about to get her first riding lesson from her neighbor, and new friend, Nan Whiting.
Horse’s hooves clopped against wood as Nan led a tall bay from its stall. “This is Bet,” she said. “The first time I rode her I was two, or probably even younger. Hold this a second.” Nan dropped a line of rope in my hand and darted around the corner before I could protest. I toyed with the end of the rope, following its white weave up to the halter of the horse. Bet stood near enough that I could feel the heat from her body and smell her scent—a blend of hay and wood, earth and sweat. She studied me with eyes so dark I couldn’t tell where the pupil ended and the iris began, and I wondered what I might read in those eyes if only I knew how.
Kinds of Honey 