Seriously?

New 'food safety' legislation. I've been snoping it out since yesterday and haven't found any good news yet. I'm so mad I could spit. And not to get political here but Obama's latest video address also made me mad along these same lines. I quote:

"We are a nation built on the strength of individual initiative. But there are certain things that we can't do on our own. There are certain things that only a government can do. And one of those things is ensuring that the foods we eat, and the medicines we take, are safe and don't cause us harm."

I'm pretty confident that I can ensure that the food I eat is safe with much more efficacy and vested interest than the government. And it seems to me that the right to grow my own food in my back yard is a right as natural as the right to breathe. I feel that way about owning chickens and drinking raw milk too but I understand the need to keep livestock out of the cities: the animals could get sick.

I don't see how the legislation is enforceable. For example, I buy my eggs from a lady who meets me in a Target parking lot at a different time each week. I get my milk from someone who could easily be selling it to me as 'pet food'. I grow herbs and vegetables for medicinal and culinary use but it can't be proven that the tomatoes aren't just decorative. And how do you keep a person from eating the cucumbers handed over the neighborly fence? I for one will continue to grow and buy my food as locally as possible, regardless of the laws, simply because I believe its the right thing to do.

Life After Aphids

I finally figured out why my spinach and broccoli have shriveled and turned yellow. You guessed it: copious aphid populations. Grrr! I've sprayed with a dish soap/tobasco solution. Is there hope for my plants or should I just cut them back, dig them up, and pray that my beets recover? They've covered the undersides of my spinach and put out their gooky goonk. My broccoli is pretty covered too and is definitely not bearing. The beets seem less affected though the aphids are definitely expanding their territory in that direction. I really want my beets to survive! I mean, I really want my spinach and broccoli too but at least I've had them for dinner. Any suggestions? How often should I spray?

Daily Bread: Low Sugar Granola

For my lenten fast from sweets, I decided to develop a granola recipe with much less sugar than what I usually use. I think it turned out quite well, but my husband misses the sugar. If you try it, let me know what you think.

4 cups regular rolled oats (not quick)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, or a blend of other sweet spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg
1/2 - 1 cup nuts and seeds

2 cups boiling water
scant 1/4 cup sugar (white, turbinado, demerara, brown, honey, syrup, whatever)

1/4 cup oil (or melt 1/4 cup butter in the boiling water)

1 cup dried fruit

Oven: 350 degres farenheit

1. Combine the first set of dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Dissolve sugar (and melt butter if using) in boiling water. Pour the sugar water over oat mixture and stir until everything is wet. Let that sit for 10 minutes.
3. Drizzle oil (unless you used butter) over the oat mixture. Do not stir. Crumble the sticky oat mixture evenly over a greased, large, rimmed cookie sheet. Drizzle any remaining oil in the bowl over the oats on the cookie sheet.
4. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the edges of the granola are lightly browned.
5. Stir and turn over the granola with a spatula, bringing the outside pieces in to the center and the inside pieces out. Break up any large chunks into bite sized pieces.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 275 and continue baking until dry, stirring every 20 minutes if necessary to prevent the edges from burning.
7. Sprinkle dried fruit over granola and allow it to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.