Vivian's Masterpiece

Yummy. We used safe, organic, botanical dyes to make paint for Baby V. They smelled amazing!

She loves anything squishy and messy.

The finished project. Her first painting! A true masterpiece.

The Bernette 20

Would you pause just for a second and take a good look at this beauty? Notice the sparkle. Notice the 60 different stitches. Notice all of the other features that I don't even have names for. Isn't it absolutely lovely? My parents bought this shiny new sewing machine for me as a combined birthday/Christmas present. My dear friend Sharon helped me pick it out and was just as excited about it as me I think. I call it my second baby, and it's part of the reason that yet another month has flown by since I've blogged. Every free second I get I've been whipping things up with it! The first thing I did was to finally finish the ring sling I had started before Vivian was even born. My old sewing machine piddled out on literally the last step before it was complete. All the layers I was trying to sew through were just too much for the old dame. But the Bernette sliced through those layers like butter! It was a beautiful thing. I used this tutorial in case you're interested in making one for yourself. It was super easy and fun! Vivian and I love it!

I also made a fabric high chair for the Viv using this tutorial. We were feeding her on the floor in her Bumbo, but that got old pretty quickly. Now she can sit at the table with us to eat! Can you tell that she loves it? Another quick, easy, and fun project.

For my next project I'm currently cutting endless mounds of fabric for a 'quilt' I'm making for my niece who is due to arrive in early October! I have a about half of the cutting part done so far and am working double time to try to have it finished by the time she's born! I can't wait to share photos of that once it's finished, and then to continue blazing through my "To Stitch" list. There are about a million things on it. What about you? Are you stitching anything exciting? Have any favorite tutorials to share? I'm going to try to blog a bit more regularly. No promises though. So until next time, happy stitching!

Beyond Organic

The main reason I buy organic items at the grocery store is not to avoid consuming biocides. Nor is it to avoid polluting the earth with these biocides. It's not to avoid synthetic ingredients in my food either. Although those things are all important to me, the main reason I buy organic is because that's the only way to be absolutely certain that I'm avoiding genetically modified food. (Today's post is not about GMOs, but we'll talk about the dangers of GMOs another time.) Beyond that, I'm not too impressed with certified organic food anymore. Why? Because what started out as a local, value-based movement has by and large transformed into just another arm of the industrial food system, a marketing tool, and a label behind which to hide loopholes, exceptions, and slack regulations meant to further line the pockets of food-producing giants. Let me explain.

Earlier this summer, the substance carrageenan was approved by the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) for the use in foods carrying the USDA's official organic label. Carrageenan is a stabilizer and thickener derived from seaweed, and it's a carcinogen. Yet, the NOSB, which is largely comprised of agribusiness representatives, has deemed this substance safe in food. And not just any food, we're talking certified organic food. How does a synthetic cancer-causer belong in organic food? This is just one example, an illustration to share with you what's really behind that label. You can see the list of all the substances approved in organics here if you're curious to know more. I personally like my food without a side of carcinogens and synthetics, but the organic label does not guarantee that these harmful substances won't be present in my food.

Let's turn to organic meat and eggs. One of the (many) reasons I stopped buying conventional animal products is because these animals are raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), where the conditions are inhumane, unsanitary, and just downright horrible. Other than the fact that I don't think it's right for animals to be treated that way, this system of producing food is dangerous. Sickness and disease in these animals is rampant. Cows are eating a diet of corn their digestive system isn't designed to handle, and so they become infected with E. coli. The conditions in which laying hens are kept are so cramped and filthy that 80% of eggs in the supermarket are contaminated with campylobacter. You wouldn't think that these same conditions would be acceptable under an organic certification, but they are. The feed has to be organic, but it's still the same system, just tweaked a bit here and there to continue to pull the wool over the eyes of the public.

I could go on and on . . . and on. But you get the point, right? "Organic" does not mean what the public thinks it means and wants it to mean. And that's the problem with certifications and labels. Their original meanings can become twisted, things can be hidden. So where do we go from there?

We go to our gardens, farmers markets, CSAs, and co-ops. We opt out of the food industry in general and become as locally oriented as possible. We eat at restaurants who source their food locally. We buy food that has no bar code and no packaging, from people with a face and a name, people we know! The more I've learned about the industrial food industry, both organic and conventional, the more my eating habits have shifted in this direction, and I encourage you to do the same! You will have to learn to eat seasonally if you don't know how to do that yet. (I'm still learning!) If you want tomatoes in January, you'll have to preserve them during the summer. You'll have to learn to eat fruits and vegetables that grow in your climate. You will have to buy food more than once a week because you'll be using fresh ingredients that won't keep in the fridge for days on end. You will have to eat "beyond organic," the term Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm uses to describe his farm. Well, he actually calls it a "family owned, multi-generational, pasture-based, beyond organic, local-market farm and informational outreach." And this is why labels fail us. You can't put all of that on a package. The solution? Opt out of the package.

The Test Drive

It's been far too long since I last posted, almost two months! You can blame it on this little munchkin.

At the botanical gardens last week. She LOVES plants! We were there for three hours, and she was completely engrossed the entire time. Can't wait to plant her own little garden together next spring!

She has been demanding every second of my time. Clint and I think we named her quite appropriately - Vivian means "full of life" and has the same root word as vivacious, which means "lively and animated," and vivid, which describes something that is strong, clear, and bright. I think all of these are good descriptions of the little personality we're seeing more and more of each day!

Needless to say, I haven't had much time to spend in the kitchen either, but the limited time I've had has been nothing short of scrumptious. For a bit over a month, I've been experimenting with what I like to call a "vegan test drive." Basically I haven't been eating animal products (but I do still eat honey) except in situations where it's unavoidable (like when I'm a guest in someone's home and it's either not possible or impolite to maintain my eating preferences) or where a non-vegan treat is irresistible (which happens sometimes when you have a bad sweet tooth and work at a bakery, even though we have awesome vegan baked goods). I'll have to get into why I'm doing this in another post on another day!

Here is one of my current favorite test drive meals: quinoa "taco meat" with avocado, sprouts, salsa, and sunflower seed sour cream, all on a giant swiss chard leaf (harvested straight from the garden). It's filling, easy to throw together, satisfying, and just plain good! I could eat about three of these, even though they're huge! Good thing I never have enough time to get that many down :)

Easy Homemade Beauty Products!

Here on Ear to the Earth, we mostly talk about what goes into your body and the importance of a whole foods plant based diet, but today I want to discuss a few things that, although we don't eat them, end up inside our bodies all the same. As I'm sure we all know by now, our skin isn't an impenetrable barrier between us and the outside world; it is, in fact, permeable, and much of what our skin comes in contact with is absorbed straight into the bloodstream! I've been slowly transitioning the few beauty and personal care products I use from the creepy chemical-laden store bought brands to clean, safe, and simple homemade ones for some time now, but then one day I thought, "I kiss Viv's chunky little cheeks about 50 million times a day. I do NOT want to be plastering her with all these creepy toxins!" And so the great clean out has begun. I started with products I use on my face, since that's what comes in contact with her the most, and will move on to hair next. Until then, let me share with you these simple (but important!) changes I've made.

One of the only bits of makeup I wear is blush, and the only thing you need to make your own is a beet! I got the instructions from my favorite blog, YumUniverse, and I encourage you to toss whatever blush you're currently using and make your own beet blush today. It has such a nice subtle and natural color that I just love and can feel so good about applying to my skin.

I don't really use eyeliner, but sometimes for special occasions (like my wedding) I do use eyeshadow. Here is a super simple way to make your own eyeshadow/eyeliner from activated charcoal capsules, which you can find for less than $10 at your local health food store, and it works so well! Much better than any other eyeshadow or eyeliner I've ever used.

And finally, the lip balm. This is the one product I use all the time. Right after Vivian was born, the only things I wanted were water and my lip balm - ha ha! This recipe is marvelous, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to make enough to have one tin in every room of the house. It really is that good! Here's how to make it:

1t beeswax
1T coconut oil
1T grapeseed oil
6 drops orange essential oil (You can substitute other essential oils here; just be sure they're safe to apply to the skin!)

• Heat beeswax and oils together in oven (on lowest temperature setting possible) till melted.
• Remove from oven and add essential oil.
• Pour into 2 lip balm tins, cap, and allow to cool.

These three things are so easy and inexpensive to make on your own, and the finished products are well worth the small bit of effort required. If you try any of them, I'd love to hear how they turn out!

Blueberry Studded Lemon Cookies

So even though I write a blog about health, it's no secret that I have an insatiable sweet tooth. (Someday I really, really want to cut sugar out of my life, but not today!) Today I had no means of satisfying that sweet tooth - no ready made goodies and none of the right ingredients to whip something up. I was desperate enough that I took stock of what I had and with it miraculously came up with the most divine cookie ever. I present to you Blueberry Studded Lemon Cookies.

I say these are blueberry studded because lemon really is the star of the show. I'm a bit lemon crazed; I just can't get enough of it, and so I used the zest and juice of an entire, rather large, organic lemon in this recipe.

Next time I want to try to vegetarianize them, replacing the butter with coconut oil and the egg with a chia egg, and I would also like to try a Lemon Lavender version because I love lavender as well. (Have I mentioned that I started an entire packet of lavender seeds? Some women think you can't have enough shoes, some think you can never have too many handbags. Me, I don't think you can ever have too much lavender or lemon!)

Blueberry Studded Lemon Cookies
1/2c organic butter, softened
3/4c honey
1 egg
Zest and juice of 1 organic lemon
1t vanilla
2c flour
2t aluminum free baking powder
1/2t salt
1c frozen blueberries

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line cookie sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
• Cream together butter and honey, then add egg, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla extract, blending well.
• Mix in dry ingredients.
• Fold in blueberries.
• Drop by rounded tablespoonful onto cookie sheet and bake 14 minutes.
• Devour and share with a friend!

I have no idea how many cookies this recipe makes because I ate way too much cookie dough. Sweet tooth satisfied!

And the Viv photo for the post. This is her today during tummy time! She's 12 weeks old!

Wet Your Plants

My dear friend shared with me this sign she saw at a garden center: "Spring is here. We're so excited we wet our plants!" I must say I concur! At the time of my last post, Clint had just built the frames for my raised beds. This past weekend, he filled them with a truckload of deliciously-rich-with-compost soil, and I finally got to plant my first garden!

I know you're going to be a little surprised about this, but I went a little overboard in my planting (all from seed). I planted, or have started inside, four varieties of heirloom tomatoes, heirloom lemon cucumber, a flower petal salad, four varieties of basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, oregano, lavender, heirloom summer squash, heirloom sweet pepper, heirloom okra, cardoon, heirloom purple carrots, spinach, red romaine, heirloom curly kale, borage, swiss chard, beets, broccoli, mesculun, beans, heirloom peas, milk thistle, calendula, chives, lemon balm, cilantro, dill, and echinacea. I promise I held back. The list of what I didn't plant but wanted to is just as long. Maybe we can add another bed or two next year.

Yes, I have a superman husband, and Vivian even helped too!

And, our CSA starts in two weeks, and the farmers market reopened this past Saturday! Yes, I'm definitely wetting my plants. Are you wetting yours? Have you planted anything this year?