Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick
Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.
At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."
Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.
A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."
[snipped]
She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.
"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
There was a time when even poor people put sachets in the dresser drawers and linen cabinets.
When you bought a box of handkerchief at Woolworths for a gift, it would have a sachet for the undie drawer in it.
How did we get away from the delicate and lady like ways.
Now that i know the value of Lavender Essential Oil, I have to wonder just how well these clothes scents worked as a tranquilizer?
Was it the “a little here and there” that kept us in control and we then did not need a pill?
Thank you.
There is nothing as powerful as a Freeper prayer..
Please use this to reconnect with what the real meaning of Christmas is and that is helping others, serving others, finding yourself, starting all over again. You know, you may lose everything, I may lose everything but we still have each other and we still have our families, and tomorrow we’re going to do a special show just on the real meaning of Christmas and I want to tell you some of the amazing stories that I have heard in the last couple of days from people that will, holy cow, if they can do it, you can do it. Overcoming our hardest obstacles.<<<
Nothing is as powerful as “family and friends, with God pushing in the back” to save a country or a life.
I do not know what is coming, I pray, not the difficult times we all fear.
Over 50 years ago, one of Reader’s Digests one liners that stuck in my mind and is still true today, was:
A recession is when the man next door looses his job.
A depression is when you loose your job.
Thank you.
Please stay safe.
A depression is when you loose your job.
Yes. My company, a health-care related firm, laid off eight people yesterday. The parent company made an unprecedented 15% increase in profits the previous quarter. No one knows what's going on. We are contracted to Medicaid... maybe the states (New Jersey is one, Arizona is another) aren't paying their bills on time.
I guess there's unemployment, but who knows how long California can hang on without a bailout? The state has spent itself into bankruptcy, and its bonds are junk status. The voters here passed a proposition for high-speed rail at a $10 billion price tag, but I don't know how the bonds will sell. So I bet it will never even get started -- how dumb to pass a bill for a high tech toy we can't afford!
I have a feeling that the tough times to come will test us all beyond anything we've ever seen. I wonder if we have the intelligence and fortitude to survive. It's not gonna be pretty.
Victory Mail
Companion website to a physical exhibit about the history of Victory Mail, “more commonly known as V-Mail, operated during World War II to expedite mail service for American armed forces overseas. ... V-Mail used standardized stationery and microfilm processing to produce lighter, smaller cargo.” Includes sections on V-Mail operations and use and letter-writing in World War II, a timeline, and references. Includes lesson plans with facsimile V-Mail forms. From the Smithsonian National Postal Museum.
URL: http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/victorymail/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/26882
United States Renal Data System
This is “a national data system that collects, analyzes, and distributes information about end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the United States.” Features the Annual Data Report, which (as of 2008), “includes a volume dedicated to the Chronic Kidney Disease population, a first for public health surveillance of CKD in the United States.” Also find presentations and posters, slides, a researcher’s guide, and related resources.
URL: http://www.usrds.org/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27233
[It would be the NY Times and no posting from there...]
Hanukkah Recipes
Collection of recipes for foods served for Hanukkah celebrations. Includes recipes for latkes, jam-filled mandelbrot, letcho (Hungarian eggs with tomatoes, peppers, and onions), and other dishes. Also includes links to articles about Hanukkah, such as “A Beginner’s Guide to Hanukkah.” From The New York Times.
URL: URL TRUNCATED, SEE LII ITEM
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27260
Christmas Season Celebrations in Australia
Learn how Christmas is celebrated in Australia, where Christmas comes at the beginning of summer. Topics include where Australians spend Christmas (often out of doors, such as at a beach or camping), how “many people no longer serve a traditional hot roast dinner” (serving cold turkey and Christmas plum pudding with cold custard instead), and Australian Christmas carols. Also includes brief information about Indigenous Australians’ summer celebrations. From the Australian Government.
URL: http://culture.gov.au/articles/christmas/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27278
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=10064
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Angel Garland
Angel Garland
Strung together with fancy ribbon, this order of lacy angels looks heavenly draped from a tree bough, on a mantel or around a banister.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
Lacy white fabric or tulle
Cotton balls
Both white and yellow yarn
Yellow felt
White ribbon or cording
Glitter glue, optional
Beads or charms, optional
Time needed: Under 1 Hour
Angel Garland 1. To make each angel, place a cotton ball in the center of an 11-inch square of white fabric. Gather the fabric around the cotton ball and tie it with white string or yarn to form a head and gown. Trim the ends of the string close to the knot.
2. Next, cut a 12-inch piece of yellow string or yarn for a belt and tie it around the angel’s gown (be sure to leave sleeve openings large enough to thread ribbon through).
3. Loop and tie another piece of yellow string (or gold thread) into a halo and glue it to the back of the angel’s head.
4. Use the same method to make five more angels. Then thread a 5-foot length of white ribbon or cording through the sleeves of each angel. For an extra festive touch, string beads or charms between the angels.
5. Finally, cut out a pair of yellow felt wings for each angel. Glue the wings (paint them with glitter glue, if desired) to the backs of the angels, and the garland is ready to hang.
More Christmas crafts »
I have a feeling that the tough times to come will test us all beyond anything we’ve ever seen. I wonder if we have the intelligence and fortitude to survive. It’s not gonna be pretty.<<<
What is lacking is knowledge, I know my mid 50’s kids don’t have what it takes to turn off the electric and survive.
If you know there is nothing to eat but beans, you eat them and say a prayer of thanks.
We grew up on beans and cornbread and survived, none of this 8 veges a day charted diets.
Actually they say beans, rice and corn, is a balanced diet, I of course cannot name the building blocks, they are the basics.
The ever present chili pepper in the Mexican diet is the vitamin C that we need.
The shock will be when there are no credit cards and you go to the store with $5.00 for a week.......that is beans or rice, not both.
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[Please do not make my kids a Jingle Bell bracelet, it will drive me over the edge.......if I had kids still...granny]
The Plum Book (United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions)
“The Plum Book is used to identify presidentially appointed positions within the Federal Government.” It features details about jobs, locations, salary, and more for “over 7,000 Federal civil service leadership and support positions in the legislative and executive branches of the Federal Government.” Published every four years just after the presidential election. From the Government Printing Office (GPO).
URL: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plumbook/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/116
Regiftable.com
Humorous website on the financial and personal aspects of regifting. Includes “Regifting 101” (with matters to consider such as the condition of the gift and keeping the regifting secret), user-submitted regifting stories, and a blog. This site also sets the Thursday before Christmas as National Regifting Day, which “according to ... unscientific research ... is the most common day for a holiday office party,” where much regifting takes place. From a consumer credit counseling service.
URL: http://www.regiftable.com/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27315
A couple years ago, John at 850koa.com, a Denver radio station, did a program on regifting, it was a delight.
I did not know it had a name, thought of it as “something everyone did, quietly”.
Some callers were horrified that you would do such a thing.
Others told the truth that they did it all the time.
There reports on the same gift regifted for 30 or more years between people.
My favorite, was the entire family regifts, you bring a regift and put it on a table, enter your name in a hat, and when it is drawn, you get to go to the table and choose a gift that you do want........that has to be fun, of course the first are lucky and the last will bring theirs back for next year.
One not so pretty vase had been there 13 times.
granny
Economic Indicators
“Available from April 1995 forward, this monthly compilation is prepared for the Joint Economic Committee by the Council of Economic Advisors and provides economic information on prices, wages, production, business activity, purchasing power, credit, money and Federal finance.” Searchable; or browse by date back to 1998. Available in ASCII text (charts and graphic omitted) and PDF formats. From GPO Access, a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office.
URL: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/indicators/index.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27313
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20-Minute Meals
Your family can still eat well on busy school nights with these quick & easy recipes.
parmesan chicken
eating well.com
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gnocchi zucchini eating well.com
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Basic Microwave Risotto
By Drasaid
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If all the stirring, and stirring and stirring has discouraged you from making creamy risotto, then read on. This simple recipe cooks up in the microwave all by itself in about 20 minutes. You can add different ingredients to the basic recipe and come up with countless variations.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
3/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
1. In a 3 quart, microwave safe casserole dish combine butter, garlic and onion. Place dish in microwave and cook on high for 3 minutes.
2. Place vegetable broth in a microwave safe dish. Heat on microwave until the broth is hot but not boiling (approximately 2 minutes).
3. Stir the rice and broth into the casserole dish with the onion, butter and garlic mixture. Cover the dish tightly and cook on high for 6 minutes.
4. Stir wine into the rice. Cook on high for 10 minutes more. Most of the liquid should boil off. Stir the cheese into the rice and serve.
Nutrition Information
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 370 cal Total Fat: 10.7 g Cholesterol: 28 mg
Sodium: 380 mg Carbohydrates: 50.1 g Fiber: 1.9 g
Protein: 7.5 g
http://www.fao.org/docrep/011/ai473e/ai473e03.htm
snipped:
In Far East Asia, in spite of an overall good supply situation, serious food insecurity continues to be reported in several countries, notably in Myanmar due to the effects of cyclone Nargis, sweeping through the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) delta region and the country’s main city and former capital on 2 and 3 May 2008. In Bangladesh, large-scale humanitarian relief operations are still ongoing to assist the 1.5 million people most affected by Cyclone Sidr, which hit up to 30 districts on 15 November 2007, and millions of people affected by rising food prices. In the Democratic People ’ s Republic of Korea, the food supply outlook remains precarious. The WFP/FAO Rapid Food Security Assessment (RFSA) conducted in June 2008 confirmed a significant deterioration in food security in most parts of the country.
Localized food insecurity in Nepal continues. Tens of thousands of people in the Eastern region have been displaced due to a breach in the banks of the Koshi River which flooded the area in August, while 180 000 people have been reportedly displaced in the affected districts of the Far Western and Mid-Western regions since 19 September due to floods and landslides. The food security situation of a large number of people in Sri Lanka continues to be affected by the resurgence of civil conflict, which claimed 7 000 lives since the beginning of 2008, as well as rising high food prices. In the Philippines, the effect of Typhoon Fengshen on 18 June 2008 and high food prices continue to impact on the wellbeing of a large number of vulnerable people. The food supply situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran is of serious concern since the significant reduction in 2008 of wheat production as a result of drought conditions in the country as well as crop damage due to winter frost. In China, 1 million urban households and 3.5 million rural families in Sichuan province, affected by the severe earthquake in May, have moved into transitional houses. However, millions of people are expected to continue to need agricultural and food assistance in the coming months.
In the Near East, in Iraq, following continued improvement in the security situation and financial incentives offered by the Government, many refugees in Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic are returning home. However, food security concerns are exacerbated this year following the drought, which drastically reduced the domestic wheat crop, meaning the country will have to rely more heavily on imports. Furthermore, the drought has also led to difficulties in the supply adequate safe drinking water. Outbreaks of cholera spread throughout central and southern areas in late August. In Afghanistan, insecurity and widespread lack of adequate access to food has being exacerbated by a drought-reduced harvest in 2008. The cereal import requirement for 2008/09 is estimated at 2.3 million tonnes, more than double the previous year’s level. With the commercial import capacity estimated at 1.5 million tonnes, this leaves a requirement of 700 000 tonnes as food assistance. The Government and the United Nations are appealing for funds to cover the food assistance needs and also to facilitate preparation and planting for the next winter crop season, which starts in September-October.
In the Asian CIS, in Tajikistan, widespread poor access to food has been exacerbated by a drought-reduced cereal crop in 2008 for the second year in succession. Reflecting the poor harvest, the cereal import requirement is estimated to be a high 560 000 tonnes. The country is having difficulties mobilizing its supplies commercially and food aid will be necessary to bring relief to the poor.
In Central America and the Caribbean, exceptionally high rainfall has afflicted the subregion since mid-August. Three tropical storms and one hurricane caused major flooding and mudslides in Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with damage to infrastructure and severe losses of cash and food crops, in particular bananas, plantains, cassava and paddy. Food vulnerability has increased dramatically in several Caribbean countries, where soils are widely saturated and local livelihoods and food supply may be further affected by additional precipitation in the next two months until the end of the hurricane season.
http://www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/economic/giews/english/fo/index.htm
Food Outlook is a biannual publication (June and November) focusing on developments affecting global food and feed markets. The sub-title “Global Market Analysis” reflects this focus on developments in international markets, with comprehensive assessments and forecasts on a commodity by commodity basis. Food Outlook maintains a close synergy with another major GIEWS publication, Crop Prospects and Food Situation, especially with regard to the coverage of cereals. Food outlook is available in English, French, Spanish and Chinese.
ping
Thank you, I signed up for DaVita periodic emails with recipes for renal patients, linked at the second URL. It will be a great help.
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