Woe is Wal-Mart

I saw this list of ten healthiest grocery store chains on the Today show last week. You can view the list HERE. Sadly, the only one of these chains within a reasonable driving distance of my house (20 miles or so) is Target. So what is there to choose from around my house? Wal-Mart, Super 1, Brookshire’s. While I would love to shop somewhere other than Wal-Mart, Brookshire’s and Super 1 are both more expensive, and in the midst of the craptaculous economy, I can’t pay more overall. I splurge on various items for organics of other Earth-friendly products, but, let’s face it, none of the stores in my area are terribly green.

We do have a farmer’s market with a few vendors who sell fresh eggs and fruits/veggies, but it’s a sad turnout most weekends. The most I’ve ever seen were three vendors at a time. It’s enough to get by and get some fresh produce, but again, not much variety. I would loooove to dig into some free range meats, but I’ll have to do a bit more homework before I can pull that off.

How about you? Where do you shop?

Repower America

If you’ve noticed this post in your Google Reader a bazillion times, I apologize. WordPress hates me and first screwed up my formatting, and now it won’t let me post a video. Sooo, you get the boring text version of this post:

WeCanSolveIt.org is a great organization devoted to solving the climate crisis. Apparently ABC refused to air their Repower America ad and they’re asking folks like you, me, Joe Six-Pack, and Sarah Palin to write ABC with our concerns about their refusal.

Well, you know I already wrote mine, so please take a few minutes to watch the commercial and send your own words of concern on to ABC.

Click HERE.

By the way, anyone going to watch Saturday Night Live Thursday Weekend Update tonight?! It’s running every Thursday night up to election time.

Oh, and I voted on Monday. Absentee through North Carolina since I’m still registered to vote out there. I hope everyone else follows! I was really proud to hear that several of my students have requested voter registration materials lately. Huzzah!

The 11th Hour

Leonardo DiCaprio

As usual, it’s been way too long since I’ve visited my own activism blog. That doesn’t mean I’ve shut down my efforts, they’ve just been playing out away from the computer.

Today I’m watching my latest Netflix goodie, Leonardo DiCaprio’s environmental documentary, The 11th Hour. While I’m a huge fan of the “environmentary” in general, I think this is one of the most compelling I’ve seen. Unlike An Inconvenient Truth, DiCaprio’s effort is much more cinematic, incorporating more gorgeous visuals along with commentary by scientific, academic, and economic professionals.

I’m specifically thinking about this documentary from the point of view of my students. I’m teaching a class over research and argument this semester, and we’re dealing with some of the hot button issues included in our textbook, Everything’s an Argument. We always examine media pretty intensely, but last semester we put our efforts into analyzing media and advertising as they relate to body image in America as well as censorship and intellectual freedom.

This semester I think we’ll tackle environmental issues. To that end, I always offer extra credit points to students who take the time to watch and respond to a documentary outside of class (no other way for them to do it since we’re an online section). I think The 11th Hour might be the way to go for its innovation and its argumentative prowess. Instead of focusing purely on doom and gloom scenarios (although there’s plenty of that, too), the documentary really takes a look at some innovative solutions to our environmental problems. There’s a distinct focus on the capability of humans to create technologies and innovations that could help us live smarter and break our dependence on oil and other finite resources.

On the other side of the coin, I like to offer balanced, unbiased options for the students. Does anyone know of any documentaries refuting global warming? Although I suspect they’d be harder to find in the local video store, I would like to offer the option for students to watch both and then react.

In the meantime, a favorite poem from Sara Teasdale who knew that life would go on beautifully without us: “There Will Come Soft Rains.”

There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white;

Robins will wear their feathery fire,
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn
Would scarcely know that we were gone.

Changes…Whoa Changes…

I haven’ written much since I’ve moved back from North Carolina, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy behind the scenes!!! I actually did something wonderful and thrilling last weekend: went to the local farmer’s market!!! It’s small, given, but there are still enough fresh veggies and free range eggs to keep me tickled pink. We bought 2 dozen eggs (taste great), some summer squash and some new potatoes. It’s so nice knowing that fresh local produce is readily available, and maybe if I go earlier this weekend or next I’ll find even more goodies.

One negative transition from NC to my hometown in TX is the lack of curbside recycling services. I was an avid recycler in North Carolina, and I certainly miss it now. To my knowledge there aren’t any “take it yourself” recycling centers around here either, but I’m still investigating those possibilities. I wouldn’t mind boxing up all my junk and taking it ever 2-4 weeks. Not a problem!

As it is, though, there’s far less to recycle in my mom’s house than there was in the boyfriend’s house in NC. We don’t drink nearly as many canned drinks, bottled water, or anything like that. However, it makes my butt pucker to throw out any aluminum cans, so I hope we have an opportunity to curbside it very soon. To my knowledge it’s in the works, but we’ll see if it comes to fruition.

That’s my update for now, but I’ll be back with some political thoughts soon! Gotta get my TX driver’s license so I can register to vote!

Dabbling Vegetarian

So I’ve never really thought seriously of going vegetarian. OK, maybe I thought about it–fleetingly–a few times. However, I do love meat. Love love meat. As unexciting as it is, I adore chicken. I could eat chicken every day of my life and never get sick of it. Lamb, delectable. Beef, satisfying to the tips of my toes. Pork? YES!

Recently I began to notice, when I dine at my boyfriend’s parents’ house, meat is not necessarily the star of the show as it is in my house. I’ve never asked, but I tend to think this penchant for vegetables–sometimes entire meals of them–might have something to do with the fact that his parents have always raised vegetables, and oftentimes those of an older generation (my older relatives included) tend to think of meat secondarily because it was less available when they were coming up (vegetables grow faster than cows and take less slaughtering, see). That’s just conjecture. Maybe they just don’t like meat as much as we do.

Anyhow, I was sort of fascinated by this love for vegetables. Meals of tomato sandwiches and plates of beans, corn, peas, potatoes. In light of my trying to be greener and all–buy locally, buy organic, eat better in general. With the push of the EcoJustice Challenge, I’ve vowed to eat organically/locally at least twice and week, and I’m adding vegetarian to that list to satisfy my own sense of responsibility and curiosity. Plus, as I’ve stated here before, it’s sort of difficult to buy local/organic around here for lack of availability. Our garden hasn’t sprouted just yet, but a new produced stand just opened up in town, so I’m definitely going to hit them up this week.

This past week marked my first foray into vegetarian cooking. I dove into allrecipes.com and grouprecipes.com (not to mention my own cookbooks) with gusto, rooting around for the tastiest in vegetarian recipes.

At this juncture I should probably add that I’m not trying to eat vegan. I don’t know if I can do away with dairy at this point. Cheese is dairy. CHEESE! So there is some cheese (a lot of cheese) in these first two recipes I tried. However, for the sake of health and whatnot, I will probably cut out as much cheese as possible when I eat vegetarian in the future.

The first recipe that caught my eye was for “Crabless Cakes.” I found several recipes for crabless cakes, so I combined the two I liked best.

• 2 cups of grated zucchini (squeezed to rid of excess moisture)
• 1/4-1/2 an onion, grated
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of potato flakes (I used the garlic & herb variety)
• 1 tsp of Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 cup of Italian blend cheese (mozarella and parmesan)
• 1 clove of garlic
• a tidbit of flour

Mix the drained zucchini, onion, garlic, egg, potato flakes, seasonings, and cheese together in a bowl. Mash into cakes and lightly coat in flour. I pan seared mine with a touch of olive oil and margarine, but you could certainly bake these babies at 400 degrees for approximately 12-15 minutes per side.

I have to say, these were DELICIOUS!!! They had the flavor and texture of crab cakes without the crab. They’re yummy with a dollop of sour cream and salsa. I would probably eat these with a green salad and some roasted corn. A great summer supper. In the future I’ll probably leave out the cheese (really couldn’t taste it), and I might go easier on the potato flakes. I wanted to taste the zucchini more and have that texture come through.

The second recipe I tried (and I totally stole this) was from Heather F. She originally posted her recipe for Tortellini with Mushroom Cheese Sauce at her defunct food blog, Rambling Fancy. You can still read it here with a picture!

• 1 pckg (12 oz) frozen or fresh tortellini
• 1 TB butter or margarine
• 1 lb mushroom, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 TB minced fresh basil OR 1/2 tsp dry basil
• 6 oz cream cheese
• 3/4 cup milk
• parsley sprigs for presentation

1. Cook tortellini per package instructions in water salted like the sea
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in wide frying pan over med-high heat
3. Add mushrooms, garlic & basil
4. Cook, stirring often, until all liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are beginning to brown (about 10 minutes)
5. Add cream cheese & milk to mushroom mixture
6. Stir until cheese is completely melted & incorporated smoothly, then bring sauce to a gentle boil
7. Remove from heat, and add tortellini.
8. Mix together gently
9. Serve, garnished with parsley sprigs if desired
10. Serves 4 main-dish or 6 1st course

I modified this recipe just slightly to use what I had on hand. I had a pound of orzo pasta. I substituted roughly 1/2 a pound of the orzo for the tortellini, and the result reminded me very much of one of my favorite things…mushroom risotto! In texture more than taste, really, given the cream cheese in this recipe. It was SO delicious, I can’t even tell you.

I made both of these recipes at once because I find if I cook two vegetarian recipes at a time I can enjoy the meals for a couple of days at lunchtime, which keeps me from having to go to the cafeteria and use more of those damned styrofoam containers. Plus, the boyfriend is quite the carnivore, so I haven’t introduced the idea of vegetarian cooking to him just yet.

I’m not sure if this is a life change in the making, but I certainly am open to the idea of vegetarian eating. It’s like a whole new cooking challenge to find tasty recipes that are better for me and better for the environment. Not to mention, they’re CHEAPER! And I love that (says the girl with all the student loans to pay).

More on vegetarian cooking coming soon. And my thoughts on going greener with food. This week I’d like to try a recipe for stuffed tomatoes (rice, spinach) and something involving artichokes, though I haven’t decided what just yet.

Wish me luck, and be sure to leave your favorite vegetarian recipes if you have them.

The Problem of Wal-Mart

Terri caught me. I mentioned at Tripping Toward Lucidity that I love the garlic & parmesan kettle cooked potato chips from Wal-Mat. Sam’s Choice. Yep. I had to swing through there today to get Daisy some rawhide chips (to save our couch), and I picked up lunch while I was there (chips and a deli sandwich).

I realize that shopping at large chain retailers like the evil-doing Wal-Mart is not terribly green of me. Nor does it support my efforts to buy locally. However, I have a question…Questions? Yeah, more like.

I live in a rural area. And when I say rural I mean way more rural than the rural I lived in when I lived in Texas. In general there are no interstates connecting the towns I frequent, and Wal-Mart is usually the only significant retailer. In general, they’ve driven out the common man, the local business owner, and the entities flocking around Wally World are other large corporately owned businesses.

So, how does one buy local when there’s very little offered locally? Now, if I were a better planner and more innovative, I might buy locally grown potatoes and make my own kettle chips. Fine. But what about all the other stuff? Clothes? Housewares? What about that thing I need on the fly that I don’t have time to order from someone small somewhere else?? Food is not as big a problem as other “stuff.”

How does one balance out large corporate entities when they’ve largely killed the little guy? I’m totally open for suggestions. This is something B and I bitch about constantly in our house.

Also, feel free to mention some green businesses (even if they’re big ones) that you support.

Bye bye plastic bottles!

I’m so very very proud of myself. And for such a little thing, too. I am a water bottle addict. I’m one of those women walking around with a water bottle in her hand at all times. However, I’ve taken the initial steps to break the habit!

My addiction to water bottles begins at home. Our town water is horrendous. Seriously, it tastes like chlorine and dirt. All the time. It smells funny, it tastes funnier, and there’s just no way in hell I would drink it on a regular basis. As a result, B and I buy 24-packs of bottled water. Generally I take one a day to work and I might drink anywhere from 1-3 at home each day. As you might imagine, that’s a LOT of bottles. Mind you, we do recycle them all, but that’s still not as good as not using them at all.

I got the bright idea last week to invest in one of those filtering water pitchers to (hopefully) make the water more palatable. We ran across one Friday evening…a PUR brand for a reasonable price. I came home, immediately prepped the filter and filled it up.

I’m tickled to tell you that our town water is now TOTALLY DRINKABLE and delicious. No chlorine taste, no dirt taste. That little pitcher is a miracle. We still have some bottles to finish off (just bought a new case), but it looks like my average bottle use will fall from approximately 18-25 per work week down to 5ish. Until they’re all gone, that is, then I’ll just use a refillable jug–fill it up in the morning, bring it to work during the day, and wash it out at night.

Now if I could only figure out how to alleviate my Styrofoam container use. I tend to eat lunch in the cafeteria and that’s all they have available for dining in or carrying out. I think I need to visit the Tupperware website…