Ideas for Earth Day (Sunday)

As we prepare for Earth Day, a festival recognizing nature’s bounty and our responsibility to protect it, our thoughts turn to how food can enrich our understanding of the day, enliven our observance, and stimulate us to action.

Start the day with an organic breakfast

Earth Day was begun to remind us that we can not continue to deplete and poison our environment. Organic farming offers us natural foods bursting with flavor and nutrition, grown without pesticides, herbicides, genetic modification, or artificial fertilizers.

Play in your garden

Earth Day is a great time for preparing the soil, cleaning your tools, building a mulch bin and beginning to plant your vegetable garden. If you don’t have a yard, consider planting an herb garden in a window box, preparing container gardens for your front steps, or making friends with a gardening neighbor.

Make an Earth Day centerpiece

Collect twigs, rocks, azalea boughs, moss, tulips and other spring flowers, and new leaves and create a natural centerpiece for your table.

Have a picnic lunch with locally-produced foods

With a quick trip to a local co-op or farmers’ market, you can pick up all the supplies you’ll need for an Earth Day picnic using produce grown locally. Buying local supports sustainable agriculture by members of our community, cuts down on fuel needlessly burned up transporting our food, and connects us with the seasons and our own environment.

Visit a local farm

Among the many ways to celebrate Earth Day, one of our favorites is visiting a farm. Call ahead and arrange to meet the farmers and take a walk in the fields and orchards. Take your picnic with you and consider buying a homemade pie for dessert.

Join Slow Food USA

We’re not the only ones who like to celebrate good food. As part of the international Slow Food movement, the mission of Slow Food USA is to support and celebrate the food traditions of North America. The non-profit organization values sustainability, cultural diversity, pleasure and quality in everyday eating experiences, inclusiveness, authenticity, and integrity.

Host a neighborhood Earth Day potluck

Earth Day helps us remember that we are all in this together. It’s a great time to get to know your neighbors. Ask everyone to bring their favorite ways of enjoying earth’s bounty. In the spirit of the day, try using reusable utensils, plates, and napkins rather than disposables.

Enrich your meal with a poem, reading, or song

Before, during, or after your celebratory dinner, invite guests to share poems, environmental readings, and earth-themed songs with your family and friends. Many cultures have rich meal-time traditions; explore your own culture or learn a new one. We’re thinking of incorporating some Jewish Tu B’Shevat rituals into our Earth Day celebration. Also consider using these discussion starters.

Enjoy Fair Trade chocolate and coffee for dessert

The Fair Trade label allows consumers to purchase items produced where workers labor in safe conditions, are paid fair wages, and producers have committed to sustainable practices that are mindful of the environment. What a sweet way to end your Earth Day celebration.

May this Earth Day renew our commitment to building a sustainable world, strengthening our communities, and nurturing our families.

* * *

A True Earth Day Feast

(Put together by Son)

“They began with rich brown loam that looked almost exactly like chocolate…. When the rich loam had taken the edge of their hunger, the trees turned to an earth of the kind you see in Somerset, which is almost pink. They said it was lighter and sweeter. At the cheese stage they had a chalky soil, and then went on to delicate confections of the finest gravel powdered with choice silver sand. …For the most part they quenched their thirst with deep drafts of mingled dew and rain flavored with forest flowers and the airy taste of the thinnest clouds.”

from Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

If you would like to have your own Earth Day Feast and you don’t eat dirt as the trees do, try this recipe. This dish is made with many ingredients that grow in the earth. It’s a wonderful meal and I hope you enjoy it!

Earth Day Earth Stew

(Senegalese Mafé)

2 large onions

2 sweet potatoes

4 turnips

4 medium potatoes

2 large carrots

½ small cabbage

2 large tomatoes

1 bunch fresh leafy greens

2 chili peppers or 1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 cups tomato sauce

¾ cups peanut butter

Finely chop onions. Chop sweet potatoes, turnips, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes into bite size chunks and coarsely shred the cabbage and greens. Brown onions in four tablespoons of peanut oil in a large skillet or stew pot. Add the vegetables one at a time, sautéing each for about a minute before adding the next.

Stir in tomato sauce along with a cup of water, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender. Spoon out about a half cup of hot broth and mix it with the peanut butter to make a smooth paste. Add peanut butter paste to the pot and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Serve over rice.

Stepping Out

Step It Up 2007 is the brainchild of Bill McKibben, a wonderful author and environmentalist whose books make me think and inspire me to change our world.

His group spearheaded the National Day of Climate of Action on Saturday. Tens of thousands of Americans gathered across the country in the largest-ever demonstration against global warming. Over thirteen hundred rallies, demonstrations and actions were held in all fifty states to call on Congress to cut carbon emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050.



Check out Grist's report on some of the amazing rallies!

We thought about going to the big rally at the nation's capitol but decided instead to intend our local march. On a day that threatened rain but managed to stay sunny, the Takoma Park/Silver Spring action began with an inspiring performance by the always-inspiring duo Emma's Revolution!



After they finished a couple of songs, they headed to the Capitol and we began to prepare for a three mile march through the streets of Takoma Park and Silver Spring.

We were joined by a giant puppet and the puppet maker on stilts (who looks amazingly like shawl designer Sivia Harding):





and by the Rhythm Workers Union:



We followed many colorful and powerful banners:





One child wanted to give the world a hand:



The march route took us by a park with ancient trees that activists fought to keep alive, an eco-friendly co-housing village, Walter Reed, and two urban gardens.



The joyful celebration of the earth ended with a drumming circle...



...while some of the children made the trees their companions for the afternoon:

Day Out

After spending entirely too much time indoors reading the copy edits of my book, Son and I decided to spend Friday exploring downtown Silver Spring. We hopped on the bus and headed the hilly mile to this revitalized area. Although the neighborhood is now dotted with the same chains you see everywhere else, there is also a strong showing from independent businesses. It is also frequented by a much more diverse crowd than you find in many areas that look like Silver Spring is beginning to look.

First stop: Borders bookstore. We loaded up our arms with books to read in the cafe then headed in for some milk (organic!) for my son and coffee for me. In a big display at the front, the cafe is advertising that they are giving away used coffee grounds for customers to use in their gardens. While I knew you could request used grounds from any cafe and be likely to go home with some, I'm thrilled to see this effort at increasing the level of composting going on in the area.

Next: lunch at one of our favorite places to get Pho. After loading my soup with lime, bean sprouts, chili paste, and that green herb (not the basil but the other one?), I happily indulged my serious craving for spicy food.

As he usually does, Son commented on the number of young amputees in the area. Walter Reed is right near by and many wounded soldiers--those with brain injuries and those with amputations, etc.-- recovering there come to downtown Silver Spring for entertainment as well as therapy. The costs of this war always seem so high and so immediate when watching these young men and women try to adjust to their new bodies and minds. I wonder if the rest of the country were to have such an intense view of the suffering how we could do anything but riot in the streets until this has stopped. But then I realize that I am one of those incredibly privileged people who lives divorced from reality to some extent in my little ivory tower. I have not had a child or a parent or a spouse go to Iraq. I have not even had a neighbor or friend go....

After lunch, we walked over to our local library and loaded up our bags with books of all sorts. Lots of reviews coming soon.

* * *

In the evening, we convinced David to go with us to Franklin's for dinner. The relatively new knitting store A Tangled Skein is right across the street. I was thinking the store was not going to be on our destination list for the evening. Although it is open until 7pm on Friday evenings, it was about 6:45 when we arrived in the area--and we were all starving.

After our meal, we played around in Franklin's general store until Son glanced through the window and noted that the lights were still on at the yarn store, and that people were moving around in there. "Maybe doing an inventory?" I thought--but realized after a second that tax day has nothing to do with doing inventory.

So we popped over--and they were hosting a Friday the 13th knit-in! Tables were spread with wine, cheese and crackers, and desserts. Chairs were full of knitters from the area, many of whom were old friends (with and without blogs) but also some new funny talented acquaintances.

Luckily, all three of us had brought knitting for the restaurant--but since we were't expecting the knit-in, we barely had enough for a couple of hours of knitting. I had Seraphim (scroll down for the picture) with me--and ended the evening with less than a row's worth of yarn left.

But running out of yarn in a yarn shop is not the worst thing in the world--especially when there is a 20% discount in effect for the evening. I came away with a gorgeous skein of Claudia's Hand Painted laceweight silk in the very subtle and full of depth colorway "Ink." My cowriter had asked me the day before what I was going to wear when we were crowned co-queens for writing our book. I stalled: what WOULD I wear? (Notice that I did not question the fact that we would be queens.) Well, an Ink-colored lace shawl sounds just perfect--maybe another Diamond Fantasy or perhaps a Hanging Garden stole. Can you tell I am a bit enamored with Sivia Harding at the moment?

Mouse wrote in the comments that she is often not crazy about color-variegated lace--and I very much agree. Diamond Fantasy seems to be one of those patterns that really takes well to the color differences. Any other shawl ideas for a lightly variegated yarn?

Toe Weaving

I am not the only crazy fiber-addicted craftsperson around here.

Using potholder loops, Son first warped the loom:



Then he was off from there...

















...making a uterus with fallopian tubes?...



...or earrings?...



which are also perfect for beginning juggling practice.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend

I'm just finished the seventh repeat of the Diamond Fantasy Shawl, knit on size 3s with Helen's Lace. I don't think I've ever enjoyed knitting something more than I have this project. Even when I daydream about a next project, it is simply this same shawl in this same yarn but another colorway.



I love how you knit the lace border as you go along:



I am loving the shawl so much that I convinced one of my knitting buddies, Jennifer, to start it too! Her yarn choice, Claudia's hand painted silk, might be just as addictive as Helen's Lace....

The diamond lace pattern is too complex to knit during knitting group, and for that I have the lovely but almost boringly simple Seraphim Shawl. For this shawl, I am using the luxurious Jade Sapphire Cashmere yarn. I was showing off the softness of the yarn to David's 97-year-old great aunt--and the stitches pulled off the needles right after the first set of eyelets. I got the stitches right eventually, but one hole continued to seem huge. After spending entirely too much time trying to fix it, I ripped out a few rows and tried again.

Seraphim also caught the idea of another one of my knitting pals, Martha. She's using a totally different yarn and it looks fantastic so far.

What fun it will be to model our different shawls together!

Reading Material

Two books arrived in the mail at the same time. I keep flipping back and forth between them:



Stephanie's new book--and the copy edits for mine!

But I can't seem to get away from the themes of Unspeakable. Even the Yarn Harlot talks about justice.

Florida Knitting

New knitting converts!

David showed his brother Eliot and E's partner Dave how to knit:



Eliot trys, using needles that his grandmother used to use...



...and he finished his first project, a coaster!




* * *

After many months' delay, I was able to take David's mother her Hanukkah present--the silk Swallowtail Shawl. It looks just perfect on her!

Renewal, with Snow

Tapuz--The Orange

Matzoh, the cracker-like substance that replaces leavened bread, is a famous food eaten during the 8-day celebration of Passover. During that time, observant Jews do not eat wheat, spelt, barley, rye, or oats. Many of us do not eat corn, rice, or legumes like peanuts or soy or other beans or peas, either. Even things like sunflower seeds and sesame seeds are often avoided. Given that additives of various sorts made from corn and soy are in almost every processed food on the shelf, this proscription can be fairly challenging unless you buy specifically kosher-for-Passover brands--or eat a whole foods diet.

There are other foods associated with Passover. A traditional seder plate holds bitter herbs (usually horseradish), charoset (a paste of sweet fruit and nuts), a roasted egg, a shankbone (or roasted beet for vegetarians), etc. In a traditional haggadah, we point to the foods and say things like, "Why do we eat matzah tonight?" or "Why is there charoset on the seder plate?"--then have a discussion of many different understandings, many different possibilities and ideas. The horseradish reminds us of the bitterness of slavery. The charoset is a way of expressing the sweetness of liberation.

Our seder plate, and the plates of many other progressive Jews, also holds an orange.

Why is there an orange on the seder plate?



The explanation we've read for a dozen years is that after hearing about women becoming rabbis, a man roared, "A woman has no more place leading prayer than an orange has a place on the Seder plate!" So we place an orange on the Seder plate, for it belongs there as a symbol that women belong wherever Jews carry on a sacred life.

Recently I discovered that this story is not the full story.

An early feminist haggadah placed a crust of bread on the seder plate as a sign of solidarity with Jewish lesbians, showing that traditional Judaism offers as little acceptance of lesbians as it does of bread during Passover. One rabbi, Susannah Heschel, believed that this symbol suggested that gays and lesbians were truly out of place in Judaism and violated the meaning of the religion. She wanted to use a different symbol, one that showed that the inclusion of gays and lesbians made Judaism all the more fruitful. The need to spit out a few seeds just reminds us that we need to constantly remove traces of prejudice from ourselves.

Round you are and bright as a newly risen moon.
You are sweet and acid, dessert and medicine.
You carry within your curves the future
of your kind, those pale seeds winking
from the sections, each an embryo tree.

Come into your own and shine,
where the only roundness was the almost
hidden plate bearing up the ritual items.
Be subject as well as object. Sing
in your orangeness of female strength.

Clash if you need to. Roll if you must.
Center the plate about your glow.
We are, we will be, we become: rabbis,
yes, cantors, shapers, prophets, creating
a new Judaism that is yours and ours.

-- Marge Piercy

Freedom

Passover has an inherently political edge. Here is a time to talk about slavery and about liberation. It is a time to think about the changes we must make, to consider the revolts and rebellions that may be necessary to create a world rooted in justice. It is a time to devote ourselves to tikkun olam, the repair of our damaged world.

* * *

On Monday morning, we woke up in Florida at David's parents house and planned our day. After breakfast, we slipped on our bathing suits and headed for the beach. When we first arrived, the clouds were out and there was a strong enough breeze to keep many of the tourists inside. We collected shells, dipped our toes in the water, and enjoyed the peacefulness.

Soon the sun was out and the crowds descended. David and I spread a towel out and sat down for a while. Son waded in for a little wave jumping. I almost cried while watching our 7yo's absolutely uninhibited JOY. How long will he have this unselfconscious ability to live fully? He is about to turn eight--and many of his friends have already lost it. We've chosen to shelter our child from the contemptuous boredom seen in much of today's pop culture. We try not to control or close down his expressions of emotion, be they this kind of happiness or anger or sadness. We make an effort to restrict how much he is quizzed and drilled or forced to compete at this young age, and perhaps this has given our son some extra room to be a child. We've worked hard so he will not feel that he cannot measure up to someone else's expectations--a feeling I think many successful people in our generation struggle against. Whatever allows it, the greatest joy in my life is seeing my child being so open and exuberant and free.

* * *

We returned to D's parent's house where a cleaning service was using strongly-scented products to clean the bathrooms and floors. I'm a bit oversensitive to smells and quickly escaped to the porch with my knitting along with Son, D's brother, and his partner. David went to make copies of our haggadah (explained below) and to pick up some last minute things to prepare for dinner.

I went in to go to the bathroom at some point--and although I felt fine before, found myself vomiting intensely and then lying on the bathroom floor. I thought I must have food poisoning from the place at the beach where we had eaten lunch. Finally I dragged myself into the room where we sleep, turned on the fan, and sort of passed out on the floor. I tried to figure out how to call someone to tell someone, but everybody was some distance away and I couldn't really get sound out.

David walked in about 90 minutes later. He realized that rather than having food poisoning, I might be sick from the chemicals (probably bleach which often makes me ill). After getting me out to their front yard and giving me a glass of water, it was less than ten minutes before I felt like a human being again. I drank an enormous amount of water and a few crackers, sat outside for a while, and was back to myself--albeit a slightly shaky version of myself.

* * *

Soon, additional family members arrived and we walked back in to a house that had been airing out for a while. I had a dull headache but was doing fine. We all sat down around the table. Before the meal on Passover, Jews traditionally spend time celebrating the story of the Exodus from Egypt. David and I put together a haggadah (sort of a prayerbook) about fifteen years ago--full of not only traditional texts but also modern ideas that we wrote or found. Each year we read texts from the Bible and the Torah, but we also read feminist texts and other leftist political/ activists texts that have acquired a deep patina of meaning for us.

Unfortunately, one of the guests was troubled by a few of our additions. I certainly would not inflict this haggadah on an Orthodox family--or a Republican for that matter. But I thought this gentleman had used our haggadah before at D's parents' seders and that he would be comfortable with it. Unfortunately, he was not. He expressed his frustration--almost anger--and I felt terrible both that we were forcing something on him that was not appropriate for his needs AND because his unhappiness took away from my deep enjoyment of this annual repetition of texts about justice and freedom that David and I wrote and assembled when we were a new couple.

* * *

Following a discussion about idol-worship from the traditional haggadah, we read this, the offending paragraph:

The anger and fear awakened by feminist attempts to alter the way in which we speak about God bespeaks a profound attachment to an image of God as male. When a metaphor such as "He" is assumed and defended, it has ceased to be an image and becomes an idol. The metaphor in no longer simply a way of pointing to God but is identified with God "himself." The claim that only male language may be used for God leads to the worship of maleness. While Jews are used to thinking of idols as pillars and stones, verbal idols can be every bit as powerful as sculpted ones--indeed, more powerful for being less visible.

* * *

After we completed the first part of the haggadah, we began the feast. The meal was full of wonderful foods and full of memories: David's grandmother's pot roast, tzimmes (sweet potatoes, carrots, and prunes), mandelbrot (Jewish biscotti kosher for Passover). THIS felt like what Passover was all about. Isn't it amazing how food can link us to the past, to the future, to the justice of sustaining the world? As Marge Piercy says in her new Pesach for the Rest of Us: Making the Passover Seder Your Own, "Food sometimes feels like emotion made edible."

* * *

Traditional haggadah text:

A Jewish legend teaches that when the armies of Egypt were dying in the sea, the Heavenly Hosts broke out in jubilation. And God asked, "The works of my hands are drowning, and you sing praises?" And the heavens were silent.

* * *

Tomorrow: our seder plate

Homecoming

We've been in Florida for the last few days, spending the beginning of Passover with David's family. More details about our trip soon (complete with pictures of the conversion of a new knitter!), but for now:


Spinning silk roving in the "Turkish Carpet" colorway:





I also plied the silk cap from last week with itself, then skeined it up:



(I have a new incentive to exfoliate and moisturize my hands. Silk fibers catch and snag on every one of my rough spots....)