Life Begins at 30

Taking a minute away from the Eat Local Challenge

... to talk about photography.  I took this picture of my friends' baby a couple weeks ago.  It was part of a series that I took while testing out a lens from Ziplens.  I had rented the 85 mm f/1.4D Nikon for my Vietnam trip and was thrilled with the results.  That lens is just a gem of a piece of equipment.  But at $1,000 retail, it's a mite pricey for my budget.  The lens I used for the picture below (and for these pics of my cousins) is the 85mm f/1.8D from Nikon.  The price for this lens is much more reasonable at around $420.  You give up some speed, and the boke is not quite as luxurious, but for $600 less, I think it seems to be a really excellent lens.  This will be going on my wish list ...

In other news, I posted on Bay Area Bites today about my 72 hours in Portland a few weeks ago.  Check it out!

And to continue the complete randomness of this post, click on this picture of my mother doing a "trick shot" at a car race expo a few weeks ago.  Funniest.  Thing.  Ever.

 

Michael Pollan on the Farm Bill

Michael Pollan has written a great article for the NY Times about why we all should care about the Farm Bill.  I have to admit to being overwhelmed by the ins and outs of the 2007 Farm Bill and not paying as much attention to it as I should be.  This article has given me the push to finally commit to seeing how I can help ensure that my farmers are appropriately represented by this bill.

Anyone have good "must read" links for those of us looking to find out more about the Farm Bill and what we can do? 

"You are what you Grow", NYT Link
MichaelPollan.com article text (for when the NYT free archive link runs out)

Penny-Wise ELC in the Chronicle

The San Francisco Chronicle published a series of articles today focused on the Penny-Wise Eat Local Challenge.  They asked a few participants to take the challenge a couple weeks early, and then reported on their experiences.  I had nothing to do with who they chose, but think that the choices were fantastic, as they showed a really good cross-section of people.  I was interviewed for the summary article.  Read it if you can, or better yet pick up a hard copy today -- the 4-page spread is really overwhelming and cool.

Summary Article
Jane Tunks' Experience
Debby and Rob's Experience (more on her blog)
Nick Petti's Experience

My Penny-Wise Eat Local Challenge

It's Penny-Wise Eat Local Challenge time over at the Eat Local Challenge blog.  Below, please find my personal statement for the challenge.  I can't wait to see how I do!

1.  What's your definition of local for this challenge?

I will be using a 100-mile radius for most things.   When I travel at the end of the week, my 100-mile radius will be 100 miles from the place where I am staying.  I will be staying with another eat local challenge participant, so we'll be able to put our heads together!

2.  What exemptions will you claim?

I will have an exemption for coffee.  I will be using the "Marco Polo" rule when necessary for spices: salt and dried spices that sailors could carry in their pocket for 6 months at sea including baking soda, baking powder, and yeast.  I will be getting my rice from Massa Organics that is near Ukiah because it's the rice farm I most want to support even though it is a bit out of my radius. 

When I travel at the end of the week, I may bring a few items from home that are sourced local to here.  Any exemptions I claim will be included in my final budget amounts for the week.

Due to a pre-planned (and worthy) dinner obligation toward the end of the week, I am going to be starting my challenge on the evening of 4/22 and then taking the evening of 4/26 off from the challenge.

Taking a line from a previous eat local challenge, I will not refuse things offered to me in friendship or love when it would be awkward, recognizing that personal relationships take priority over my own personal challenge.

3.  Will you be making any changes to our budget goals?

I will be using the 1 person in the family, one wage earner: $68 a week budget.  I will be adding the $8/week alcoholic beverages budget.  When I am cooking for others, I will add $6 per person to my budget.

4.  Do you have any additional personal goals for the week? 

My main goal for this week is not to make major diet changes in order to win the game.  Rather, I would like to have a true catalog of how well I can eat on the budget of an average American.

Happy Easter

May all your chocolate bunnies be delicious.

I had no idea ...

I'm a bit of a thinker.  Most things that there are to think about, I feel like I've pondered.  But I can honestly say that I never ever wondered what a pineapple plant looked like.  And when I came upon one in an orchard I was wandering in the Mekong Delta, it was a revelation.  Good grief, it was beautiful. 

On my tour, we had a home stay in the Delta.  I am a tiny bit of a princess about where I lay my head.  "I don't camp and I don't go to dumps," I've been known to tell friends.  Give me a chicken to break down, or homemade soup on a street corner and I'm fine, but I was a little apprehensive about our home stay.

But it was wonderful.  And as soon as I saw the line of hammocks for us to relax in, I knew that we were in good hands.  We played charades between 3 Americans, 2 Vietnamese, a Norwegian, and 3 Aussies, and I can't remember the last time I've laughed so hard.  We ate fantastic food - most memorably a whole fish that was artfully presented. 

An ice chest full of cold beer was set out and we kept a tally of how many we had so that we could pay in the morning.  And then we retired to long bunks in our location right over the river.  The next morning we were up to check out the floating market, then it was back to Ho Chi Minh City for a few final chaotic days.