Where your bagel came from
Your eyes are not deceiving you. That, indeed, is the US Capitol, live wheat, and a combine. This isn’t the work of Photoshop, rather it’s the Urban Wheat Field facilitated by the Wheat Foods Council and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG). And how’s this for cool points: a member of our congregational (and a member of the committee which called me) is Second Vice President of NAWG.
Last week, must have been big for agriculture on Capitol Hill, because a few days before Stephen Colbert gave his hilarious and compelling testimony (discussed here), the wheat industry came together to educate Members of Congress and the public of D.C. about wheat. Turns out it doesn’t grow in the back of grocery stories. Part of the Farm to Fork movement, the D.C. display included a quarter-acre of live wheat in pallets, and areas to learn about milling, baking, and nutrition.
Several Members of Congress were in attendance, and our congregation member Erik Younggren, even made it back to church on Sunday! Erik also blogs about his wheat farm at the awesome url MyWheatFarm.com
Farming has received some more time under the spot light in recent years, with Michael Pollan’s influential work and documentaries like Food Inc. Community Support Agriculture also seems to be taking off, and Farmers’ Markets are the new cool thing. But often and especially, what gets lost in the discussion is the less glamorous areas like wheat farming which supply most of what you eat on a daily basis. Here’s a few fun facts for you:
- 80% of wheat farms are family owned
- half the US wheat crop is used domestically
- one bushel of wheat contains about a million kernels, weighs 60 pounds and can produce 42 pounds of white flour (60 lbs of whole-wheat flour)
- Kansas in the largest producer in the US followed closely by North Dakota
- wheat is grown in 42 states in the US
A view about the wheat life cycle is below, and Erik also put up a nice post on how Family Farming is not Coporate Farming.
Travel Mug Marvel
Some people have life goals of curing cancer or climbing Everest; I search for the perfect coffee mug. My most beloved non-travel mugs are all handmade pottery, most from North Carolina. Such beautiful and functional mugs are not easy to find, but they are out there at least, awaiting my discovery if I invest enough time, energy, blood, sweat, and tears. The perfect travel mug is more elusive.
While not quite perfect, I have found a pretty darn good travel mug that I commend to your drinking pleasure.
The Contigo AUTOSEAL Stainless Steel Travel Mug is leakproof, extremely insulating, and looks good too. It
uses a patented sealing technique that completely closes the lid (that screws on well) until a button is released when you grab it to drink. So it functions as an adult sippy cup. It holds 16 oz, perfect for your grande extra hot non-fat vanilla latte. Some reviews said it’s difficult to wash, but the lid is dishwasher safe and all taller mugs take a little work at the sink. “Wait, is this the perfect mug?” you say. Well, it comes very close, but there’s a few downsides. First, and this sounds petty but it’s true: the mug keeps coffee almost too hot. I like hot coffee, but sometimes I need it to cool a bit before I drink it so my tongue can still taste later. If the lid is on the Contigo mug it takes several hours for coffee to cool. No joke. That’s usually great — I now just keep the lid off for a few minutes when I get a really hot cup of joe — but it’s worth noting, I guess. The only other downside is that the amount of liquid you get from each sip is a little smaller than I’d prefer. The flow isn’t as bad as some mugs, but if you’re a big gulper you might notice.
All is all, I really recommend the Contigo mug (I found mine at Target, after hours of internet research) and will take a respite from further life goal pursuing. By the way, if you’re in the market for a travel mug, do not be tempted by the Starbucks Recycled Tumbler which is a worthless excuse of a travel mug. It’s fancy lid makes a mess and lets out a really small amount of coffee. The whole thing smells plasticy and it doesn’t insulate for anything. Nice try Starbucks, but you need to learn a thing or two from Contigo. Now I’m off to reassess my life goals. Next up: best pair of socks 
Man in Overalls
My blog will be a bit quiet this week due to Thanksgiving festivities and family in town. As my North American readers head to the grocery stores this week to buy food from across the world for their Thanksgiving dinner, I thought I’d give a shout out to my friend Nathan in Tallahassee.
Nathan, whose blog Man in Overalls is a fun read, is a local treasure. He plants gardens in Tallahassee — at churches, schools, or just your yard. Not only that, he’s good at it. Check out his site and enjoy the video below. Or head on over to his Facebook page here. And whether in Tallahassee or elsewhere, remember supporting the local food movement helps the environment, the local economy, and even your waistline.
Starbucked?
Anybody out there read “Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture” by Taylor Clark? I ask — and will add it to my wish list — because it seems to examine the sorts of questions behind Starbucks that I’ve wondered about. Here’s a few assertions of mine, I wonder if Clark backs up.
- A Starbucks coming to your community is a boon to business of other (local) coffee shops. I’ve read articles asserting this claim, and it just makes sense. When a Starbucks opens, people just “think coffee” more often and if your local shop has a good product and atmosphere, they’ll come.
- Starbucks, through its Ethos Water campaign has done a lot of good in the world, given millions to water projects in Africa.
- If we can get Starbucks to use more fairtrade, shade-grown beans, the world will be a better place more quickly than if we buy Folgers at home and just feel guilty about how their beans are grown.
Now these are mostly uniformed assertions, and I’d be interested in reading Clark’s book. I know these things are really complicated and don’t pretend to understand much of anything about the ethics of multi-national corporations. But heck, in the back of my mind these days is the knowledge that Starbucks has good insurance benefits — much better than what I have now — and they’re not too proud to hire workers with masters degrees. Mostly, though, I frequent many (and I mean MANY) a local coffee shop in Decatur. Cheers.
I make good hummus, and you can too…
Yum. Hummus. Healthy and tasty. Good on sandwiches, great as dip with carrots, crackers, green peppers. Yum.
A small tub at Kroger is about $4. You can make it at home for about $1. (That’s a savings of $3.)
Simple stuff. Just buy the ingredients, pop them into a blender, and serve.
Adam’s Hummus Recipe
(I sort of stole the recipe, but it was Scottish and in grams so I didn’t know what it meant and just made up American amounts myself. It works.):
- 1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans)
- 2 tbs lemon juice
- 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbs orange juice
- 2 tbs tahini (most difficult ingredient to find, it’s Middle-Eastern–ground sesame seeds)
- if you want…salt, pepper, chili powder
Directions: Separate the chick peas and chick pea juice. Pop all the ingredients in a blender. Add a slug of chick pea juice. Blend. Add more chick pea juice till desired consistency. (Quality tahini is the key. If you haven’t used your brand before, err on the side of caution and then add more for taste.)
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