Tumbling the Pyramid

I actually expected to see it happen last year. With Michelle Obama’s focus on childhood obesity, I knew it we were in for a revision. Online the USDA claimed a planned update in 2010. Then I got word from a wonderful blog, The Table of Promise, the new American eating plan had been unveiled.

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Pa Rum Pa Pum Pum

During the school year, my second grader studied Japan. He learned to eat with chop sticks, tie an obi on a kimono, write his name in Kanji and was basically electrified by the topic. The culmination was a visit to a Taiko Drumming exhibit where he not only got to listen but he also got to play one. His enthusiasm was contagious and probably raised my awareness to notice that our Wellness Community offered an evening drumming circle.

Frank Thompson of AZ Rhythm Connection

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Agrigirl Meets Agri-ecologist

It’s a good thing that seats are preassigned on United Airlines. If they weren’t, I might’ve arm-wrestled to keep the seat next to me open on the red-eye flight from Lima, Péru to Houston, TX. I had visions of stretching out across that empty seat in order to rest and relax and contemplate the magnificent journey that I’d just taken.

Machu Picchu in the Early Morning

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Waste Not, Want Not

The elaborate meaning is that if we don’t waste anything, then we won’t want anything. I’m not certain if it’s  true but it’s definitely a saying that was common in my home as a child. It came from my depression era grandmother who in her farm upbringing learned to use more parts of a chicken that I wish to acknowledge. And we know this is true of other cultures such as the Chinese and the Native Americans.

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Tammy’s Top Ten (t3 report) Reasons to Have House Plants

It’s really nothing more than being green the old-fashioned way. We just didn’t call it that. When I was a kid and our family went on vacation, we not only roped a neighbor into feeding our dog but also into watering the indoor plants while we were away. There were ferns in hanging baskets, easy-to-grow philodendron, temperamental African violets and a wide assortment of ivy and succulents. My grandmother is so good with them that twice a year, she used to hold a well-attended plant sale.

Recommendation: 15 Plants per 2,000 Square Foot Home

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Salt of the Earth

Salt is the new black. But then black salt might refer to sea salt that is mixed with activated charcoal or to Kala Namak, the deep purple salt from India with an odor telling of its sulfur content. Whether it’s pink salt from the Himalayas or matcha green tea salt, recently I’ve seen a number of recipes that call for a specific salt pedigree.

Peruvian Salt in the Sacred Valley Ogwen.flickr.cc.2.0

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Wordless Jueves

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La Diferencia de la Comida

Just writing this post is an adventure in itself. This is my first attempt at blogging from my iPad and from Perú. I’m here with 24 others on a Journey of Discovery high in the Andes Mountains. Every direction I look is the full-color pullout of a National Geographic. And at every turn, I learn how food played a dominant role in this ancient civilization.

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Yes, No or Not Right Now

The interaction was nearly silent. My son was hunched over the carrying case to his laptop. I could see his hand plunging deeply in each pocket. With mother’s intuition I knew instantly that he was searching for the mouse. He grimaced and the pace picked up. He was frantically moving his fingers from corner to corner of his bag. Silently and without notice I thought, “please let him find his mouse.”

If You Teach a Boy to Fish

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Getting Back on the Turnip Truck

I have no idea where the phrase, “didn’t just fall off the turnip turnip truck” originates. In fact, if you talk with my 93 year old grandmother, she’ll tell you that the milk truck was actually more hazardous. Evan Morris believes it is an example of a catch phrase based upon urban-rural rivalry.

3 lb Turnip in my CSA (egg for scale)

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