Pie Lollipops Part Deux

The Pie Lollipops were a success!  Mostly because Martha Stewart's easy pie crust really was foolproof.  The dough was flaky but sturdy enough to stand up to the lollipop sticks.  The only issue is that it's hard to get a large filling to crust ratio without the pies leaking.  Overall, they weren't too fussy and were worth the "wow' factor.  We'll be making these again and again.

As American as Apple Pie Pops

These pie lollipops from luxirare are the perfect 4th of July treat!  We'll be making them this weekend and will post our pics on Monday.  Happy Fourth!!

Save the World.

(pic via living nature grove)

It's Earth Day on Thursday.  And thankfully there are enough wonderful eco friendly products that we could spend weeks posting on them all. This week we will bring you some of our favorites.
 We know this week will be full of people preaching. 
But during this week, we seem to be even more aware of the way we use the world. More aware of the waste we produce, the choices we make, ways that we can improve on our carbon footprint.  We keep coming back to education and food.
Food is such an important part of childhood. It shares space in our memories for most of our favorite times, birthdays, holidays, seasonal events....The lessons we take from childhood into adulthood about food creates our desire to honor and respect the nutrients we eat or unconsciously consume calories.

Changing the school lunch program in the United States seems vital to the survival of our nation.
Yep, we said it. Here's why.  Take away the fact that 1 in 2 children born after 2000 who are from low socioeconomic status will have Type 2 Diabetes before adulthood and that this is the first generation of children who will live shorter lives than their parents. Or the fact that there are kindergarteners in this country that weigh more than most of us did in junior high.
The way the food is processed is an energy sucking force of Jabba the Hut proportions. Did anyone else see the freezer in last week's Food Revolution. We can't bear to think of how much coal that takes a year to run.

And it seems from the pics on the fabulous Fed Up With Lunch blog that all the food we serve is in disposable containers.

But what seems the greatest tragedy is that we are compartmentialzing our food. Even with a change is the quality of food (which is fantastic and we want want want this!), children are still not being taught where their food comes from or how to cook it. 

Alice Waters, the Mother of the Organic Food Movement and the Slow Food Movement, has seen this need and has been chipping away at our nations stubborn (and horribly misguided) belief that children can only learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, sitting in a desk indoors. Her Edible Schoolyard program works with classroom teachers to integrate the garden into the core curriculum. The children help in the growing, harvesting, and preparing of the food grown.
How much better for our world if we all were ushered into adulthood knowing how to grow, harvest, preserve, and prepare our food?

Happy Cows

 

picture via Our Farm and Dairy in Michigan. Another great dairy coop!

Food Inc was nominated this year for an Oscar and on April 21 it will be aired on PBS. Michael Pollen has changed the way most of my friends and I think about food.

Sometimes it's comforting to remember that the images we see at the local store are still real- it's just that none of those farmers' products are offered in a large grocery chain. But there are great farmers and products throughout the US if we look. Here is one great one on the East Coast! And the pics come from another great one in Michigan. We can keep the dream of America's Heartland alive if we actually purchase from a family farmer.
Hudson Valley Fresh milk is produced in New York's Dutchess County. A nonprofit that seeks to create a better product for consumers while allowing dairy farmers to make a livable wage. Their co-op consists of @@ farmers who pool their milk, process and ship it themselves. Milk makes it from the farm into your home in about 36 hours! While not classified as organic, all the farmer's in the coop are dedicated to sustainable agriculture. Their cows also have natural gestational cycles, which allows them to live longer lives and produce more milk. This is happy, happy news for me! The information that factory dairy farming was in essence fueling the veal industry had me off dairy for quite sometime. (I love cheese it was hard to stay away!)

 

via Our Farm and Dairy

Served at the NYS Governor's Executive Mansion, as well as, New York University, Bard and Vassar Colleges, and Millbrook School and The Dutchess Day School, and the Culinary Institute of America.
They can also be found at a variety of great market's throughout the greater NYC area.
Two are on my list for my next trip:
Forager's Market in Brooklyn
Union Market in Brooklyn
Eli Zabar's is a must stop everytime I'm in New York!
Also available at area Whole Foods.

Start Spreading the News. . .

New Yorker's have had a very snowy Winter but Spring is around the corner!  The Brooklyn Flea(aka etsy street) returns to Fort Greene on Saturdays starting April 3rd and the Dumbo location reopens on Sundays starting the 4th.  Hooray!  Check it out, even if you're a Manhattanite, you won't be disappointed.  Local vendors with everything from artisan cheese, gourmet ice cream, antiques, and more share their wares every weekend.  Shop and snack your afternoon away in bliss.