Etsy sale!

photo by David Wheeler

I'm getting ready to bring in some new merchandise (Farmer's Market bags — finally!) so I'm clearing some space by offering all sweet skirts at 25% off now through July 15. These skirts are perfect for summer and make great gifts! And, as you can see from the photo above, they're very versatile!

More skirts will be in the shop soon. Let me know if there's a particular size/fabric you'd like to have.

Things I love about Portland: Sip

The first in an ongoing photo series.









Though I've been living in Portland for 5 years now, I've only recently discovered Sip, the vegan smoothie trailer outside People's Co-op. There is something about this that just seems so very Portland!

(FYI, I'm drinking the Incredible Hulk, a delicious bled of fresh apple, ginger, kale, spinach, and lemon!)

New Music, v3

It's been a while since I posted the new music I've been listening to. As always, most of these discoveries happen via XM radio, which I love. It's like Tivo — I can't imagine ever going back to regular radio (or regular TV).

The Rat by Dead Confederate
My Own Worst Enemy by Stereophonics
The Rake's Song by Decemberists (I feel compelled to warn you that this is a pretty disturbing song. I don't even normally like The Decemberists. That said, there's a free download of this song at www.decemberists.com.)
Supermassive Black Hole by Muse
Grapevine Fires by Death Cab for Cutie
1901 by Phoenix
I Know What I Am by Band of Skulls
Always Where I Need to Be by The Kooks
Microphone by Coconut Records

Disclaimer: I listen to these songs on the radio, so I'm not endorsing the content of these videos. In most cases, I haven't even watched them (who has time to watch videos what with all the sewing, blogging, cooking, and general life-living!?) These links are just so you can check out the music.

Enjoy!

Omnivore's Dilemma Giveaway — winners!

I am thrilled to say that everyone who commented gets a book! Instead of limiting winners to five, I decided to give away all eight books at once, since eight of you responded.

Please send your complete shippng information to me at julie@strongrrl.com. I'll try to get them out this week.

And, if you are so inclined, I'd love to get a dialog going about the book. Feel free to post comments, thoughts, or questions here and let me know how the book effected you.

Enjoy!

Berries and Fairies

I titled this post Berries and Fairies, but I could have just as easily called it June in Portland. There is something about Portland that bestows a green thumb upon all who live here. Seriously. I kill plants. I kill all plants, always. But not here. The climate, the abundant rainfall, the hot summers, do something to the plants here which I can only compare to magic. We started with basically bare yards (actually, it was worse than that. We had 6-foot weeds. No lie.) and now our yards are amazing (ok, I'm realizing I need to take some photos to show you. That will have to happen next week).




Last summer, a neighbor offered us some raspberry starts. We stuck them up along a wooded fence and did nothing. That summer we had a nice amount of berries, but nothing like what's happening this year! In another week or two we're going to have a bounty of berries! This year we've added strawberries. These aren't that plentiful this year, but I'm hoping by next we have more strawberries than we can eat (ok, that will never happen!).



To add to the beauty, a little fairy house, built by Anna and her uber-talented babysitter, Robin. When Robin was younger, she built elaborate fairy houses all over her parent's yard, complete with shell furniture and berry offerings. Hidden away in tall grasses and under bushes, they add a perfect little touch of magic to the yard.

Kale chips

I've been working out a technique to make homemade kale chips, and I think I've finally nailed it. If you haven't had kale chips before, they're crunchy and delicious, and a great way to get yourself (or other people who shall go unnamed!) to eat kale without the green-vegetable aversion.

You can buy kale chips, but they're pretty expensive and not all are created equal. Here's the result of my experimenting. Enjoy!

Kale chips
1 (or more) bunches kale
extra virgin olive oil
salt
nutritional yeast (optional)

Wash and dry the kale (I used red kale here). Tear into smaller pieces (they will shrink further, so they don't need to be tiny). Toss with a few tablespoons olive oil and spread on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Bake first for 1 hour at 200 degrees. Give them a gentle stir after an hour and then bake again at 300 for 20-30 minutes.





The chips should now be dry and crunchy. Once cool, sprinkle with nutritional yeast (this gives a cheesy taste) and add more salt or other spices if desired. Enjoy!

Update: I've discovered that if you keep these in a covered container, they lose their crunch and become tough and chewy. If that happens, you can revive them by placing them back in a 200-degree oven for about 10 minutes. But really, just eat them up the day you make them. That's when they're best!

The Omnivore’s Dilemma — Giveaway!

Editor's note: click here to see the winners!

I am thrilled to announce my first giveaway! Thanks to an anonymous donor, I am giving away 5 copies of The Omnivore's Dilemma (I have a total of 8; I will give away the other 3 at a later date). I can only offer to pay for domestic shipping, so this offer applies only in the U.S.

As I've mentioned several times, I recently read The Omnivore's Dilemma and was profoundly effected by it. I was shocked and angered at how much I had been manipulated into thinking the food choices I was making were the best for my family and for the environment.

The author, Michael Pollan, describes in chilling detail what he learns when he digs deep into the world of big agribusiness. As its title indicates, this isn't a book intended to turn everyone into vegetarians. It's about understanding how we've come to be in the situation we're in, and what you can do to ensure that the foods you're buying are best for you, the animals, the farmers, and the environment.

The giveaway does come with a catch though — I'm asking you to read the book and then pass it on. I'd like to see just how many people can be effected by these 5 copies of the book. So, if you're willing, please put your first name and your city and state on the inside front cover on the book. When your done, pass it on to someone you think would enjoy reading it and ask them to do the same. That's it!

If you'd like to enter to receive a copy, just leave a comment to this post. I'll leave comments open until 5pm Friday, June 19, 2009 (PST). If there aren't many comments (i.e. 5 or fewer) you'll automatically receive a book. Otherwise I'll do a random number generator and announce the winners on Monday. Good luck!