Vegetable Heaven - CSA Delivery

One of the fun side-effects of blogging is that it has opened my eyes to so many thing out in the world that I never knew existed.

I have been reading for quite some time now about CSA's - Community Sponsored Agriculture. I've read all summer as people shared the contents of their baskets, and bragged about the canning and preserving they were doing.

I already receive a weekly shipment from Timber Creek Farms, a local company that delivers milk and organic produce. But even though they're great, I know they're not growing those pineapples and bananas in Indiana. They don't claim to, by the way. They do, however, deliver "hormone-free" milk that is far cheaper than ordinary organic milk (it's not actually organic, but if I had to rank my milk priorities, hormones and price are above organic). I also get a weekly Fruit Box and a few other grocery items like organic cottage cheese. I tried to get a Vegetable Box but it was just far too much veggies for my family to eat!

But I really wanted to try a CSA and HomeGrownWisconsin offers a Winter Share. Plus, it's Wisconsin, from where all good things come (as Sara well knows!). A WinterShare, if you're not familiar (I wasn't) is 3 deliveries, once a month, in November, December, and January. (So you can look forward to a similar post in December, right before Chanukah...I'm hoping for as many sweet potatoes so I can make sweet potato latkes!)

 

So here's what I got on Thursday night. Pie pumpkins, acorn squash, butternut squash, cranberries, carrots, apples, onions, leeks, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, dried celery, and....popcorn, dried on the cob. (That's in the bottom right corner of the picture.) How neat is that? I'm very excited for it to be an activity and a food. Plus I get a newsletter that tells me all about what I've got and how long it will last. 

While I know that we are not in the least bit qualified to be locavores (we like Costco too much), and we don't always eat organic (I pick and choose), I feel like this is my one little contribution to the world of sustainable agriculture. I look foward to figuring out what to do with all my veggies (pumpkin pie? cranberry sauce? leek soup? mushroom pate?) and, of course, sharing them with you all here in blogland.

What are you doing to improve the sustainability of your food?

Thanksgiving Rituals

There is one week to go until Thanksgiving!

A few years ago, our family started to do a Thanksgiving Seder, a retake on the Passover Seder. Much like Passover, this is a holiday whose primary ritual centers on a meal. There isn't, however, a set liturgy for the Thanksgiving meal...and that's where I come in. I've made some changes and additions to the Seder my family has used for a number of years. My own kids are, as you know, pretty young, so I've decided to create 2 different documents. The first is here today, for your viewing and downloading pleasure, for families with small children. Hopefully I will have the second soon, with more readings and opportunities for discussion with a more mature crowd.

Thanksgiving Seder for Families with Small Children

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this ritual and how you might incorporate it into your family's Thanksgiving traditions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cheese!

Yes, she put the hat over her face and then said "Cheese!"
Everyone wants to be a pirate in my house.

I ♥ to read

I don't know if you've ever looked to the left on my blog, down near the bottom. Go ahead, I'll wait while you look and then come back.

Saw it? I'm referring to the list of books I've read in 2008. So far, 74. Not bad for a mom of 3 with a full-time job, ya think?

Back in January, I made a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I tried to think of things I've always wanted to to do but never did. I love to read. I mean, I really love it. I am never without a book to read, sometimes I'm reading two at once! I've never kept track of what I read. I really wish I had a list dating back from the beginning....

I remember the day my mom brought my first "chapter book" home from the library. It was B is for Betsy, a book originally published in 1939. (They've been recently re-released, although never out of print, with pretty new covers.) I remember sitting in the living room of our house when she walked in from work with the book. I remember how excited she was to share it with me, to welcome me into the Club of Readers.

And I remember learning my way around our local public library, and discovering that Carolyn Haywood had written a lot of books. I can still visualize the shelf at the library where I found them. When I finished the Haywood books, I moved onto the rest of the library. I would search the shelves for long series, for thick books, for interesting titles. I read my way through most of the children's department and then joined my mom in the fiction section, discovering authors like Jean Plaidy (then my mom's favorite) and learning to love historical fiction among other genres. Go back and look through my list -- you'll see a very varied list!

I really wish this post was the launch of a new blog. I'm really dying to write a blog called The Reading Rabbi. I have even saved the URL with Blogger. But I just don't have the time right now. I just have to enjoy reading and occasionally sharing the books I read with you all! (And the book discussions we do at the synagogue.)

I just finished The Search Committee by Marc Angel. It was excellent - a great look into the Orthodox Yeshiva world. If you are interested in buying it, consider clicking over to my new Amazon Affiliates shop.

Not that I don't have anything to read, but if you have a great book for me, please share!

Race Around....it's another birthday!

My oldest child turned 7 this weekend.
I've been a mom for seven years!? I find this incredibly hard to believe.

He started out as such a little peanut, didn't he? (this was a FILM picture -- back then I sent all my film to Snapfish to develop so they have digital images of all of them. whew! who knew I'd need them for future blogging?!)

And now he's seven.
He can read.
He can write.
He can play chess and do karate and play piano.
He rocks a mean Guitar Hero.
It boggles my mind when he carries on a real conversation or says, "actually, Mom...."

We had a driving party. It's a long and complicated story, but basically we bought a few remote control cars and ran our own RC car party, using the synagogue's social hall for a big open space. We thought the kids would race but they had more fun just driving the cars around, so that's what we did!

It was really hard to photograph! Hard to get the kids and the cars in the same pictures, hard to keep them in focus. But they were having so much fun it didn't matter. (Also hard to get shots of just my kiddo so I could post them here on my blog, of course.)

 

 

Then we had chocolate cupcakes. Not as cute as last week's, but very tasty. I am really in love with Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and I love their frosting recipes. This one was the Chocolate Buttercream (but vegan...I'm not one, but I play one in the kitchen sometimes).

 

  

  

(As you can see, very well enjoyed!)

That last one is definitely my best shot, although I'm pretty sure my dad took it and not me. Oh well.

Go see what other people photographed this week. Happy birthday, David!

Check out this week's Haveil Havalim! (Hey, I'm hosting next week, so stick around!)

Marketing -- the Bad and the Good

In case you're not on twitter, and perhaps not involved in the mommyblogland, you may have missed this offensive-to-moms ad by Motrin....in case they've taken it down (I really hope they do), read Amy's post which sums it all up nicely.

It's hard to see a company that's perhaps trying a little bit too hard to be "cool" while bashing a great deal that moms hold dear. I sent them an email and I hope you will too.

On the upside of marketing, check out Sears' holiday campaign.



It's a great "Wish Registry" for military families, including their stories in video. What a great way to get us all to realize that no matter how hard it may be, we all need to pitch in and help out, especially to those who are giving so much for our country.

So go check it out and help make someone's wishes come true.

---
Five Places I've Been This Week

Jewish Robot (i want one)

The Forward 50

Signs You Twitter Too Much (so far, I'm safe)


Californians Against Hate (I'm not from Cali but I'm definitely against hate)

Brown Rice & Lentil Casserole (yum! Our Shabbat dinner this week)

from my delicious
Where have YOU been?

Pass the Candle!!!

Thanks to Reiza and Jewschool for the link.

I am definitely going to do this with my kids. But how to be creative....hmm....maybe in front of the Jerusalem stone wall at the synagogue? I'll work on it.

Will you do it!?