W.E.X.

Judging 5/14/09

Judging people is wrong and everyone knows it but we still do it. We all judge people before we actually meet them because we want to decide if that is the kind of person we want to spend our time with. Sometimes we get judged wrongly and sometimes it hurts but we also sometimes judge others wrong too. At the beginning of the year I was forced to sit next to a girl I thought I wouldn't get along with not because she was mean or weird but because I talk a lot and she didn't seem like she did. I was disappointed until; we talked for the very first time.

Utopia 2/25/09

My utopia is a place that already exists not on earth but in the clouds. This place has streets of gold and nothing ever goes wrong. Everyone lives in happiness. No one ever gets sick or hurt. Its the only perfect place. There are beautiful angels flying around and one amazing man with his son who runs the whole place. If you haven't guessed it already I'll tell you, It's a little place called heaven.

Grocery Bag 3/4/09

Every Tuesday and Thursday I get taken out of the back seat of this woman's car. I don't know anything about her except that she bought me just to use me over and over again. I just get filled with the same things, milk, coffee, salad, and a few other things. Occasionally there will be something new like a ginger bread house making kit or an Easter bunny made entirely of chocolate. I'm guessing the new items are just for the holidays. It gets boring living the life of a Trader Joe's reusable shopping bag. At least being owned by this boring lady. "Maybe I'll run away." I thought until I remembered shopping bags don't have legs. I tried to think of other ideas but the best one I got was if she looses me but that would never work because she just leaves me in her stupid car. I felt there was no solution to my problem so I decided to try and make the best of the situation.

Herb cookageness ;)

Wonder

We are growing the herbs because we want to live in a more sustainable way but to do that we cant just grow the herbs we have to do more. We

 looked for recipes that had one or more of our herbs in it. Then we brought the herbs home and used them to make a delicious meal. Some people asked Why? or Whats the point? it might be hard to see at first but there is a reason. We were reading this book called My Ishmael that has a main theme to it which just so happens to 

be living a more sustainable life. We took what he was saying and did our own research on how we can live better. We used the information we found to make reports on them and after it was all finished we decided to try it ourselves. This also connected to our essential questions for the beginning of the reports: 'Why don’t people live more sustainably?' and 'How can I convince them to do so?' The reason it connects to the first question is because we found out why people wouldn't live more sustainably the reason being its a lot of work but we

ll worth it in the end. The reason it connects to the other question is because we can convince people to live this other way by showing them the rewards of doing it the way we do it so they become more interested in it themselves.

Process

First we planted the herbs as a class and once they were big enough to harvest we did. We took them home to cook a meal. My meal was a pasta sauce that I got from http://www.osagegardens.com/lemonbasil.html but I had changed a few things.

QUICK FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

 WITH LEMON BASIL
Perfect for quick and tasty meals. Serve over chicken, pasta, tofu, fish or rice.

3 ripe red tomatoes (the best available), pee

led, seeded and roughly chopped 
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 package lemon basil
Heat oil in fry pan. Add garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds to a minute, being careful not to brown. Add tomatoes with their juice. Season and cook for 10-15 minutes. Add chopped basil and serve immediately. Can be stored in refrigerator for up to one week.

I used fresh lemon basil and i also blended after I stir fried it to make it more creamy.

Presentation

Reflection

When I finally finished cooking my pasta sauce with lemon basil I was a little afraid to try it to be honest but when I build up the courage to try it I found out it didn't taste half bad. The only think I would have changed is that I would have put less tomatoes in it or maybe add some meat to make meat balls. This whole experience change the way I feel about growing my own herbs and using them in my meal making at home. I feel like I might do start growing something in my backyard but I haven't completely decided yet. I think I will be planting strawberries or another fruit in my yard because I eat more fruits then veggies.

ThisIBelieve!!

Tony Hawk

http://thisibelieve.org/dsp_ShowEssay.php?uid=22870&topessays=25&&start=

I liked this essay because I know about him. I like how he talks about skating as he passion and his job even if others don't think about it that way. I like how he says just because no one agrees with him on it being a career choice he knows that it is to him. I liked this because it made me think about how I think of cheer the same way. 

herbs recipe

Basil Jelly 
1 1/2 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves, finely chopped 
1 3/4 cups water 
3 1/2 cups sugar 
2 tablespoons lemon juice 
90g powdered pectin

Place basil in pan, add water, bring to boil, then remove from heat and set aside (covered) for 15 minutes to steep. Strain liquid into a 2 cup glass measure. Add water to measure 1 3/4 cup if necessary. Return liquid to saucepan. Stir in pectin and lemon juice. Bring to the boil over high heat. Add sugar and bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil for 1 minute. Pour into hot, sterile jars and seal. Try using purple basil, anise basil, cinnamon basil or lemon basil.

Lemon Basil Potato Puff 
1kg potatoes, pealed and quartered 
3/4 cup fine dried breadcrumbs 
3 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted 
1 tablespoon chopped parsley 
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten 
1/4 cup snipped basil or lemon basil 
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel 
1 teaspoon lemon juice 
1 cup milk 
1 1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese 
3 egg whites

Cook potatoes , covered , in boiling water 20-25 minutes or until tender. Drain and mash. Combine breadcrumbs, margarine, and parsley. Press mixture onto bottom and up sides of a lightly greased 1 1/2 litre casserole dish. Combine egg yolks, basil, lemon peel and juice, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 ground white pepper; stir in milk and one cup of the cheese. Stir milk mixture into potatoes. Beat egg whites till stiff peaks form, fold into potato mixture. Transfer into prepared casserole, top with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 180C for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in centre comes out clean. Garnish with snipped parsley.

Lemon Basil Snaps 
2 cups flour 
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
3/4 cup butter or margarine 
3/4 cup sugar 
1 egg 
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind 
1 tablespoon lemon juice 
1/3 cup chopped fresh lemon basil 
1/3 cup finely chopped pistachio nuts 
3 tablespoons sugar, extra

Combine pistachio nuts and extra sugar, set aside. Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt, set aside. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Beat in egg, mixing till combined. Add lemon rind, lemon juice and lemon basil. Stir in the dry ingredients, blending thoroughly. Wrap and chill the dough for 1 hour or till firm. Preheat oven to 180C. Shape the dough into 2cm balls. Roll in pistachio mixture till well coated. Place 3-4cm apart on ungreased baking sheets. Press down with the palm of the hand to flatten them slightly. Bake 10-12 minutes or till golden. Transfer to racks to cool.

Lemon Basil Potato Salad

2 1/2 pounds small Yukon gold or red potatoes, cut into eighths 
2 tablespoons olive oil 
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice 
4 garlic cloves, finely minced 
1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil 
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 
1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 
2/3 cup olive oil 
1/2 medium-size purple onion, thinly sliced 
3-4 thick bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (optional)

Toss potatoes with olive oil and place on a foil-lined jellyroll pan. Roast at 450°F stirring occasionally, 20 to 25 minutes or until tender and golden.

Whisk together lemon juice and next 5 ingredients; whisk in 2/3 cup olive oil in a slow, steady stream. Gently toss potato and onion with vinaigrette.

Sprinkle with bacon if desired.

Serve immediately.

~source: Southern Living

Sustainibilty Visits

What is your name and your role here at the (farmers market, CSA, community garden)?
Piscilla. I sell home grown fruits and veggitables.

Why do you choose to shop here/garden here/support this CSA?
When I first stared coming here the man in charge talked to me about it and I thought I would try it myself and I fell in love with it.

When did you start coming here?
18 years ago.

Do you garden at home? Why or why not?
Yes I do. I do this because I want to come here and sell fresh food and I enjoy it.

How did you find out about this place?

Word of mouth.

What would be your advice to get others to do what you do?
You have to love it to do it.

1. It was what expected only because I had gone to a farmers market a couple time in the past. It was just a little bigger then i thought.

2. I think that i might go to this farmers market again because it was fun talking to all the people there and seeing another way of buying foods. I alos like some of the other thing people were selling.

3. These places fit into our essential question of "Why Don’t People Live More Sustainably?” because these people are living more sustainably then others who do not contribute to these places. These places are also connected to our other essential question of “How Can I Convince them to do So?” because the people who sell there are making other people think about what they are doing and some people might want to try it them selves.

Today is march 18th

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1884779_1884782_1884776,00.html

Ecological Intelligence is trying to find out if something is good for the environment that is said in commercials. It is trying to see how helpful it really is. It means to know the backround of the products you buy. In the article it says not everything is as good as it looks. It means to try our best to meet our needs with out hurting the planet.

This connects to our essential question because it makes us think more about how we can live more sustainably by looking at our carbon foot print. People could see how much water, energy, and all the other things that are hurting our planet.

I think that I do have some sort of Ecological Intelligence. I just think I dont know how to use it and didn't care about trying to use it until now anyway. I think that since I didn't know about anything about the things we are learning I didn't care. I now know more so I can use it to help let me live more sustainable.

LULS thing

1. One thing that struck me was how almost everyone knows that they leave their home electronics on when they aren't in use. Also more people have allot of electronics they leave on.

2. I was surprised at how many people said they are just too lazy to turn things off and how its probably the easiest thing to help you live more sustainably. I was also surprised that more people left ther electronics on longer.

3. I expected to find more people who cared but know one seemed like they did.

4. I will make a poster raising awarness about how you can save money and the world by just turning off unused electronics.