"He who knows what sweets and virtues are
in the ground, the waters, the plants, the
heavens, and how to come at these
enchantments, is the rich and royal man."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

What the World Eats in a Week:

A Dollar A Day! $1/person/day

A Dollar A Day!  $1/person/day
We were blown away by all the Coke and other multi-national labels in the hungry planet video clip above that seemed to permeate the tables and kitchens all over the world! It would appear us Earthlings can't live without our sugar water (or make that high fructose corn syrup water). Our backdrop is the only Pepsi you'll see in this month's photos. Aleli has nicknamed this old half of a tin sign, " Food Shortage".

Monday, August 4

I gather!




Yesterday was an active day for all. I was so busy, climbing trees, dining with neighbors and gathering the fruits of the earth, that I didn't get a chance to post my two cents. It was a great relief to see my sweet love, James, up on his feet again and starting to eat! Produce could not have returned to the picture at a better time. Oooh, to have something ripe and fresh again that you can really savor with all your senses...... it was FRUIT and VEGGIE TIME. (I started the hunt for produce that afternoon in our own garden with the tomatoes, onion and edible flowers pictured to the left....that is a days worth this time of year)

Upon hearing of James illness, our wonderful neighbor, Sam, invited us to a waffle breakfast at her house with her adorable baby Ezra. I wasn't sure if it exactly fit the guidelines of our experiment but she comes from a background ( as do I ) where you bring food to the sick. So we accepted her generous and delicious offer. Homemade Belgian waffles covered in fresh fruit and syrup with a wonderfully nutritious acai drink (Mona Vie) to go with it. The food and company were deeply good! Thanks Sam!

The kids and I were only in the mood for light grazing around lunchtime, since our breakfast was closer to brunch. So we had bits of free restaurant baked goods and some yogurt. James came home from work ( yes, he WORKED the day after being that sick!! ) and went out to the store for all the goods shown below. A word about shopping bags. We use cloth shopping bags about 70% of the time. The other 30% we just plain forget to take them out of the trunk. A tip: after unloading your groceries, hang your cloth bags on the doorknob of the front/or garage door that leads to your car and you will always have bags in your car when you need them. Anyway, I think when James walked in the door with all those boxes of ..... em, cereal.... the kids made their peace with this whole experiment. They thought, they might be deprived or something throughout the coming weeks. What they didn't know is that they will probably never see this much sugar again in their childhoods! Either way, it was time to visit the organic gardens at the colleges.






We had soaked some pinto beans for our traditional beans and rice dinner, but I really wanted some peppers to go with it. Down in the garden, not far off from the chicken yard, I spotted some gorgeous figs. While in the belly of the fig tree, I also picked these grapes (pictured above in the canopy of fig leaves) that were positively dripping from the vine that danced in and out of the fence surrounding both the fig tree and the gardens themselves. There were so many earthly delights that begged to be enjoyed. We found a fertility statue amongst some squash, a few ripe raspberries we devoured along the pathways, a pumpkin patch wildly inter planted with edible flower and amaranth and herbs. Our ten year old HAD TO HAVE this one strawberry that was just an inch beyond reach. I was his anchor, and he got it. Sweet success!





Now what did I come here for again? Oh yeah. A pepper. And there it was, hiding safely under a swatch of tomato plants just under the giant sunflower by the gate. Who's a tasty little pepper? You are! Yes you are!


The days harvest included some purple basil, a fine zucchini, figs, grapes (we froze some for later.... mmmmmmm), bell pepper, jalapeno, green onion, strawberry, and nibbles here and there along the path like raspberries, chard and herbs. Getting lost in a garden is good for the soul! Maybe even as good as a morsel of fine chocolate. I'll take both, thanks!


My favorite moment of the day? When this tiny hand magically appeared in the finished photograph above! That little hand stayed in the bowl until most of those grapes were gone, gone, gone!

Live well,
{{{Aleli}}}

A food for thought video. A must see for all! Enjoy!

And now a word on organics. "Grocery Store Wars"

Food, Glorious Food!

A Dollar a Day is all it takes: Plumpy' Nut...... a life saver.....please watch and think