Man vs. Machine

I believe that bicycles are the transportation of the future, or will at least a big role in it. I would like to offer more insight on our blog about the ins and outs of bicycles, but to do that, I'm going to turn to my friend and avid bicyclist, Kenny Cotten. -Jason

Why I ride

I ride a bicycle for many reasons. I ride for fun. I ride for fitness. I ride to save money. But one reason stands out above all. I ride for advocacy. You see, I advocate cycling as it is my legal right to share the road. It is also a means of reducing our carbon footprint. It is a means to reducing a litany of health problems. It is a means to reduce stress and burn anxious energy built up throughout my day. It is so many things to me. I want to share my story with you, why riding a bike safely is so important to me.

Invisible me

You see, about four years ago, I was involved in a hit and run accident on my way home from work. It was a cool March afternoon and all was right in my world. Until, POW! I was lying on my back in the middle of an intersection. I remember hitting the ground hard and thinking that this was very bad. I knew my left knee was dislocated and my elbows were bleeding badly, but what I didn’t know yet was how I ended up in this dismal situation. I was hit from behind by a person in a mini-van. The individual was talking on the cell phone and I presume never saw me.

Now before you get all upset about poor little ol’ me, I want to share my part in the fault of this accident. You see, I had just begun commuting to work on my bike. I knew very little about the law as it relates to operating a bicycle on public streets. I had been riding with my earbuds in and my music volume loud. I was also riding on the sidewalk and entered the intersection at about 15 mph. I was basically invisible to the motorist. So I share the blame in the accident.

I came away from the accident utterly dismayed that I almost died and was shocked at how little humanity is left in this world. Not a single person at the intersection bothered to render aid or check to see if I was okay. Beckley and Ninth Street is a killing zone I discovered. The motorist watched me stumble from the wreck and then screeched toward the highway! WOW!

A Proposal

I would like to begin a series of posts on how a person might manage to avoid this situation and actually share the road with cars while enjoying a childhood pastime. So I leave you with this, riding a bike is no more dangerous than it was when we were kids, it just seems that we are merely mortals after all. -Kenny

Kenneth Cotten has been a European Import Auto Tech for the past 17 years. He's taught Automotive Technology at W.H. Adamson High School (Dallas, TX) for the past eight of those years. He drums for two locally performing bands, and works part-time for a custom bicycle manufacturing company as the sales and marketing specialist. Kenny has been married for over 14 years and has two young daughters (6 and 9). Four years ago, Kenny quit driving a car as he discovered it is not a necessity for him here in Oak Cliff... so long as he has a bike.

Homemade...Onion & Cheese Casserole

About five years ago my mom gave each of her three kids a family recipe book she compiled for Christmas (a great gift idea, by the way - especially for those of you whose chicks have recently flown the coop). Filled with all of our family favorites growing up in Virginia, these classics have now become favorites for my children. And yes you read that title right - Onion Casserole has become an oft-requested dish by my kids! You know it must be good! I swear to you my almost-10 year old just called out "Can you make this for me for my birthday?!?!" And she's serious!

I'm going to give you my slightly modified version because that's what I made. With the addition of Swiss Cheese, it almost tastes like French Onion Soup. I like to call it "French Onion Soup on Imodium." You could even throw in a couple of dashes of white wine if you really wanted to up the French Onion Soup flavor. It's so simple and tastes absolutely fantastic. Enjoy!


Onion & Cheese Casserole

1 Tbsp. butter
8 slices buttered toast (we use whole wheat), each slice cut into 4 strips
1 large white onion, 1 medium Vidalia onion, and about 3-4 small red onions - all thinly sliced
2 small-medium handfuls Cheddar cheese
4 slices Swiss cheese
1/4 cup Feta cheese
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. celery seed

Butter a 7.5" x 11.5" x 2" baking dish. Line baking dish with toast. Cover with a layer of onions (all 3 varieties mixed together), 1 handful of Cheddar, and 2 slices of Swiss, torn into pieces. Repeat with another layer of toast, onions, and 2 cheeses. Sprinkle top with the Feta.

Beat egg slightly and add balance of ingredients. Pour over contents of dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve at once. Serves 6-8.

A few notes:

• The original recipe calls for a flat, 2 quart baking dish, but I didn't have that.
  
• It also calls for only 4-5 slices of toast, but we like it with more.
  
• The original specifies using 9-10 sliced medium-sized onions (and boiling them after slicing until just tender, then draining), but that many won't remotely fit in my dish. Plus it is so much faster and tastes just as good to use raw onions.
  
• And hey - cheese is just as delectable no matter what kind you use. So experiment! Some Monterrey Jack or even a bit of Blue Cheese would taste great, too.
  
• While I am not one to use absolutes when it comes to cooking, one thing I would highly recommend including is the celery seed. I oddly enough don't use it in anything else, but can't imagine this dish without it. -Carrie

Reduction Ahead...

For all who have faithfully followed our blog, Thank You! We greatly appreciate and enjoy your input and comments. Carrie and I start back to school this week and we've been forced to make some decisions about the blog. Due to the time it takes to write a post, we believe it is better to give you two to three meaningful posts per week instead of six short "filler" posts. If it turns out school isn't as tough as we think it's going to be (please keep your fingers crossed!), we'll try to post more often. Also, if you find an interesting piece that you think would be worth posting here, please let us know. Additionally, we'd be interested in having a guest post or two if you have something up our sustainability alley. -Jason

Blogs That Inspire Me

My introduction to the blogosphere occurred about two years ago as I googled ways to purchase groceries inexpensively. I had heard of blogs but didn't know a thing about them. Little did I realize then that in two short years I'd have a blog of my own! I'd like to showcase a few blogs that I've come to rely on over the years to provide inspiration and laughter, insight and tips. Here they are, in no particular order:

• Little Homestead in the City: A blog showcasing the Dervaes Family of California. They are amazing and a huge inspiration to those interested in Urban Farming/Homesteading. On about 4000 square feet of land (just 1/10th of an acre) they strive to produce up to 6000 pounds of produce a year. They also raise chickens and ducks for eggs, rabbits for manure, goats for milk and manure, and bees for honey and pollination. A must for anyone wanting to learn about a more self sufficient, "simple" way of life (though they keep plenty busy, to be sure!).
• Get Rich Slowly: Devoted to sensible personal finance, J.D. Roth has been blogging on the subject for over 4 years. A vast amount of great information on subjects like Getting out of Debt, Life After Debt, Saving for Travel, and Living Inexpensively - just the tip of the iceberg!
• Zen Habits: Every time I read Leo Babauta's blog I seriously get up from whatever I am doing and go on a cleaning/purging spree! Three articles a week focus on: simplicity, health & fitness, motivation and inspiration, frugality, family life, happiness, goals, getting great things done, and living in the moment. His most recent post is a great one entitled The Wastefulness of Decluttering.
• Frugal Babe: A thirty-something married mother of 1, she writes some compelling posts about simple living, sustainable living, and a low-car lifestyle. While I wish she had more pictures (I LOVE pictures!), I really enjoy her writing. Some recent posts include Cutting Expenses to Focus on What you Really Want and The Cost of a Car.
• The Inadvertent Farmer: Kim lives on a 10 acre farm in Washington State. She has a bevy of animals (and kids!), and documents life on a farm through her amazing photography (here and here - just a sampling) and quick wit.
• 5 Acres & a Dream: Leigh and her husband live on 5 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Southern Appalachia. With cats, 8 chickens, two goats, and the recent addition of a llama, she has her hands full! Leigh writes about living on her homestead, animal keeping, gardening, and food preservation. Very down to earth with loads of good information.
  

That about sums up the blogs I try to keep a loose eye on. A few others that I've recently come across and enjoy include CoMo Homestead and Rowdy Kittens (about simple living - no cats as the name implies!). Are there any like-minded blogs that you'd recommend to our readers? Thanks! -Carrie

Go! Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello

It's times such as this that I WISH I lived back in Virginia. Not to mention the fact that much of my family still lives there and I miss them dearly! Perusing through the new issue of Mother Earth News I came upon an advertisement for the 4th annual Heritage Harvest Festival at Jefferson's Monticello (near Charlottesville, VA). Scheduled for September 10th-11th, it includes a dizzying array of both free and "premium" (i.e. extra cost) talks and workshops on every topic imaginable in the heirloom gardening, sustainable living, food preservation, water conservation, etc., etc. realm. Access the list of workshops here.

Just a few of the talks I have my eyes on are as follows:

• Mushroom Cultivation
  
• Mainstreaming Heirloom Vegetables
• Low Energy Food Preservation Techniques
• Home Grown Hops
• Backyard Fruit Propagation
• The Zero Garbage Challenge
• Good Milk Makes Good Cheese
  

And again, these are just to name a few! Some presenters include:

• Sharon Astyk, author of Independence Days and A Nation of Farmers
  
• Patti Moreno, the "Garden Girl"
  
• Rosalind Creasy
  
• Barbara Pleasant
• John Martin Taylor, "Hoppin' John"
• William Woys Weaver, author of Heirloom Vegetable Gardening
  

You can be sure I will be making it there within the next few years. If you are able to go PLEASE let me know how it is! -Carrie

A Tale of Two Pears

My Confession
I have a confession to make… There was one not so long ago which I lusted after. Actually, there were many from the same family, and I would have been happy to have any one of them. They were all sweet and had the perfect shape of a pear. Carrie wanted one too! I could almost taste her in my mouth…

If you haven’t guessed yet, she was a pear.

My Find
A couple of months ago, I happened upon a tree in my neighborhood by a sidewalk which was loaded with pears. Our previous winter was a cold one and this fruit tree, which depends upon the winter’s chilling hours to produce it’s treasure, was LOADED with what we later learned is a seckel pear.


Shortly after the discovery, I obtained permission from the owner of the tree to harvest the fruit. He was glad to let me have them as he found them to be more of a nuisance. I researched, I learned, I salivated and I waited for harvest time. I was excited about my find and all of the things I would do with my seckel pears. Pear wine (as seen below from Weinhof Winery of our Hill Country Heaven post), pear jelly, pear syrup, juice, and just plain whole pears.



My Apprehension
I had only one apprehension. It was next to a public sidewalk. Any number of people without manners enough to ask could steal "my" fruit. So I waited on bated breath for the time of harvest, early August.

Sometime around the end of July my path took me by my tree when I noticed the lower half had been picked! The thief! I knew it! My worst fears had come true! Why am I using so many exclamation marks?!!! The top half of the tree still had its fruit and I would just have to make do with a half harvest.

It wasn’t too long before I learned that my worst fears weren’t realized. I saw the owner a week before harvest and stopped him to tell him that I would come by in a week to get the remaining fruit. He then apologized to me. For what you ask? He removed the lower half of the fruit and placed them in the trash bin because he was tired of dealing with an errant pear falling and spoiling on the ground, enticing flies. I was heartbroken. Seriously, are we so rich in this country that it’s not enough to put our table scraps in the trash, but we have to take fruit straight off the tree and put it in the trash!

1938
I later learned of a tale told by Carrie’s grandfather, Gamps, of seckel pears. Back in 1938, Gamps’ father lived in Attleboro, Massachusetts where he, like so many people back then, had several varieties of edible fruit he grew, including seckels. As the tale goes, he loved those seckels and would eat them straight from the tree. As luck would have it, a hurricane came through that year towards the end of seckel season and Mr. Keeler knew his crop would be wiped out. Not to let the weather get the best of him, he stood out by his seckel and enjoyed his pears in the wind and rain!

What a contrast compared to the tree owner in my tale. One man loved the fruit of his land and realized its value, while the other felt it more of a burden.

Harvest
I went back to my tree a week later as planned. The remaining pears, I found, had been picked to some degree by the birds which led to their spoil. I managed to harvest a whole seven pears out of over 150. All I can say is live, learn, and repeat. Of course, next time I will coordinate with the tree’s owner and perhaps net the tree in preparation for harvest. I still weep on the inside at the thought of my dashed dreams of the pear dalliances I had planned. -Jason

Extreme Measures in Micro Environments

You may have heard of a New Yorker named Colin Beaven. Beaven set out on a mission to, over the course of a year, live a life of zero carbon impact. His experiment was documented in a book and movie of the same title: No Impact Man.

It was fascinating watching this little family take steps toward a greener lifestyle. Little by little, their creature comforts were removed until they were living without electricity. What an extreme measure and without a doubt you could label him an extremist. Here’s the thing though; Napoleon was an extremist with little tolerance. Jim Jones, David Koresh, Marilyn Manson, Bin Laden, and Hitler were all extremists who made and changed history. What would America look like today if Lincoln hadn’t taken that extreme position on slavery without waiver? What would it look like if he had negotiated his morals? The same could be said of Martin Luther King.

I’m not saying we should all be extremists, but perhaps by being someone willing to go out on a limb every once in a while we can all change our little world around us. -Jason