Friday, January 19, 2007
Locavore
Here's a little more to follow my New Year's post on January 4th.
From Macleans.ca Culture People Honour Roll 2006: Discoverers and thinkers of July 1, 2006:
"ALISA SMITH AND JAMES MACKINNON 'LOCAVORES' EAT A LOT OF POTATOES
When Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon realized the fossil fuels they saved by cycling to the grocery store were nothing compared to those spent transporting their food from around the globe, they decided to eat locally for a year -- only what was grown and processed within a 100-mile radius of their Vancouver home. 'We controversially went non-metric -- 160 km didn't sound very catchy,' laughs Smith, 34. They got chummy with local farmers, preserved jams with honey instead of sugar, and lost a combined 15 lb. on a diet of lots of potatoes. Life improved considerably when they discovered a local flour mill -- adding bread and pasta to their menu. Their diet, which ended in March, has inspired several 'locavore' communities in the U.S. and Canada."
AND
"Save the Date: September 2007 Challenge:
As you are ringing in the new year of 2007, please take a moment to mark your calendars for the September 2007 Eat Local Challenge. In association with the Locavores, this site will sponsor an international month-long event in which over 1000 participants will challenge themselves to eat within a pre-determined radius of their home. Because this challenge will be occurring during the harvest season in most locations, there will be a particular emphasis on canning, preserving, and learning to put food up for the winter.
If you are interested in participating in this challenge, please sign up for email updates on the Locavores site or check back on this site for updates in the next few months. You can also sign up to receive an email whenever a post is written on this site by finding the 'get email updates' section on this page in the right-hand column.
Why do we choose to eat local? Read our 10 Reasons to Eat Local.
Interested in eating local and need some tips? Read our tips for the Eat Local Challenge.
If you would like to read about challenges that we have participated in, please refer to the list below.
August 2005 Eat Local Challenge
May 2006 Eat Local Challenge
2006 One Local Summer Challenge
2006 100-Mile Thanksgiving Challenge
We look forward to your joining us in September 2007!"
Also check out locavores.com
From Macleans.ca Culture People Honour Roll 2006: Discoverers and thinkers of July 1, 2006:
"ALISA SMITH AND JAMES MACKINNON 'LOCAVORES' EAT A LOT OF POTATOES
When Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon realized the fossil fuels they saved by cycling to the grocery store were nothing compared to those spent transporting their food from around the globe, they decided to eat locally for a year -- only what was grown and processed within a 100-mile radius of their Vancouver home. 'We controversially went non-metric -- 160 km didn't sound very catchy,' laughs Smith, 34. They got chummy with local farmers, preserved jams with honey instead of sugar, and lost a combined 15 lb. on a diet of lots of potatoes. Life improved considerably when they discovered a local flour mill -- adding bread and pasta to their menu. Their diet, which ended in March, has inspired several 'locavore' communities in the U.S. and Canada."
AND
"Save the Date: September 2007 Challenge:
As you are ringing in the new year of 2007, please take a moment to mark your calendars for the September 2007 Eat Local Challenge. In association with the Locavores, this site will sponsor an international month-long event in which over 1000 participants will challenge themselves to eat within a pre-determined radius of their home. Because this challenge will be occurring during the harvest season in most locations, there will be a particular emphasis on canning, preserving, and learning to put food up for the winter.
If you are interested in participating in this challenge, please sign up for email updates on the Locavores site or check back on this site for updates in the next few months. You can also sign up to receive an email whenever a post is written on this site by finding the 'get email updates' section on this page in the right-hand column.
Why do we choose to eat local? Read our 10 Reasons to Eat Local.
Interested in eating local and need some tips? Read our tips for the Eat Local Challenge.
If you would like to read about challenges that we have participated in, please refer to the list below.
August 2005 Eat Local Challenge
May 2006 Eat Local Challenge
2006 One Local Summer Challenge
2006 100-Mile Thanksgiving Challenge
We look forward to your joining us in September 2007!"
Also check out locavores.com
Good Night and Good Luck
"Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar."
-Edward R. Murrow
-Edward R. Murrow
Saturday, January 13, 2007
the Advisor's secret peanut butter fan mail
Dear Advisor,
Thank you for your email and for being a valued P.B.Loco customer! Believe us, nobody hates shipping charges more than we do. Our aim is to get our peanut butter into your hands in the most economical way possible. Unfortunately, because of the weight of peanut butter, it is not cheap to ship. Indeed, the shipping cost per jar goes down with every jar you order! As to your question regarding shelf life, your peanut butter should stay yummy for about 9 months after the purchase date.
I hope this information helps and we can get some more peanut butter into your hands soon. Please let us know if you have any further questions.
Yours in peanut butter,
The P.B.Loco Gang
----- Original Message -----
From: The Advisor
To: contact@pbloco.com
Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 8:01 PM
Subject: shelf life
I live in Canada, and it has been a year and a half since my mouth has been blessed with the presence of your peanut butter. There isn’t a week that has gone by that I haven’t fondly remembered and craved your delicious spread. However, shipping costs to Canada are prohibitive, and I have not been able to justify spending $24.00 for a single jar of peanuty goodness. Maybe I just don’t have my priorities straight. If I were to buy a large amount, the shipping cost would be spread out over several jars, and I might consider making an extremely worthwhile purchase… What is the shelf life of an unopened jar of PB Loco peanut butter?
The Advisor
Thank you for your email and for being a valued P.B.Loco customer! Believe us, nobody hates shipping charges more than we do. Our aim is to get our peanut butter into your hands in the most economical way possible. Unfortunately, because of the weight of peanut butter, it is not cheap to ship. Indeed, the shipping cost per jar goes down with every jar you order! As to your question regarding shelf life, your peanut butter should stay yummy for about 9 months after the purchase date.
I hope this information helps and we can get some more peanut butter into your hands soon. Please let us know if you have any further questions.
Yours in peanut butter,
The P.B.Loco Gang
----- Original Message -----
From: The Advisor
To: contact@pbloco.com
Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 8:01 PM
Subject: shelf life
I live in Canada, and it has been a year and a half since my mouth has been blessed with the presence of your peanut butter. There isn’t a week that has gone by that I haven’t fondly remembered and craved your delicious spread. However, shipping costs to Canada are prohibitive, and I have not been able to justify spending $24.00 for a single jar of peanuty goodness. Maybe I just don’t have my priorities straight. If I were to buy a large amount, the shipping cost would be spread out over several jars, and I might consider making an extremely worthwhile purchase… What is the shelf life of an unopened jar of PB Loco peanut butter?
The Advisor
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Online Etch A Sketch
Thursday, January 04, 2007
2007
...the year to celebrate all things Bond? At least that's what WJH3 tells me.
This is, for many, the time of year for resolving to do things. Many people that do this are fundamentalist resolution extremists - resolving to do things that would definitely change and improve their lives, but are also somewhat ridiculous. Others are passive resolutionaries - resolving, inanely, to be "a better person", these are resolutionaries in name but not in spirit. Unless we aim to remake New Year's resolutions as empty symbols of silly tradition every January, I suggest that we each take this opportunity to navel gaze, and come up with a few simple changes that we each can make to do something that is a little more in line with reality. I recall one year in University, I resolved to abstain from drinking for 3 months. Several years ago, I resolved to avoid fried potato products until the spring. You may note that I don't recall 'year-long' resolutions here - those tend to result in a disappointment come Dec. 31.
This year, I am resolving to graze less in the kitchen, eat a maximum of 3 meals per day (regardless of a meal's 'free-ness'), and walk more (I plan to set a 'number of steps per day' goal, and monitor that with my new, unopened, pedometer)...at least until the end of June. I would like to, in the grand scheme of things, have a smaller ecological footprint at the end of 2007, but I'm not going to be resolutionary on that front. I am not resolving to drink less coffee, that would be ridiculous.
Here's an interesting thought - I would eat less, and better, if I have to plan and prepare a little more deliberately for my meals, and it would be infinitely better for the environment if we all ate locally grown and minimally processed foods. Right? Here's an intriguing initiative that apparently took place in BC already, and is in preparatory stages in Manitoba right now: 100 Mile Manitoba. I think I'll be watching this one to see how it plays out.
This is, for many, the time of year for resolving to do things. Many people that do this are fundamentalist resolution extremists - resolving to do things that would definitely change and improve their lives, but are also somewhat ridiculous. Others are passive resolutionaries - resolving, inanely, to be "a better person", these are resolutionaries in name but not in spirit. Unless we aim to remake New Year's resolutions as empty symbols of silly tradition every January, I suggest that we each take this opportunity to navel gaze, and come up with a few simple changes that we each can make to do something that is a little more in line with reality. I recall one year in University, I resolved to abstain from drinking for 3 months. Several years ago, I resolved to avoid fried potato products until the spring. You may note that I don't recall 'year-long' resolutions here - those tend to result in a disappointment come Dec. 31.
This year, I am resolving to graze less in the kitchen, eat a maximum of 3 meals per day (regardless of a meal's 'free-ness'), and walk more (I plan to set a 'number of steps per day' goal, and monitor that with my new, unopened, pedometer)...at least until the end of June. I would like to, in the grand scheme of things, have a smaller ecological footprint at the end of 2007, but I'm not going to be resolutionary on that front. I am not resolving to drink less coffee, that would be ridiculous.
Here's an interesting thought - I would eat less, and better, if I have to plan and prepare a little more deliberately for my meals, and it would be infinitely better for the environment if we all ate locally grown and minimally processed foods. Right? Here's an intriguing initiative that apparently took place in BC already, and is in preparatory stages in Manitoba right now: 100 Mile Manitoba. I think I'll be watching this one to see how it plays out.
