MPFS: A Great Organization, Makes Me Proud

I Have a Daughter, I Work for a Food Bank, This Kills Me

Yes, this kind of stuff happens more often in these times.
Be careful. Shun false pride.
Seek help when needed (usually, before you think it is).

White House Farmer

Yep. That's it. White House Farmer.
See what it means here.
Verily Prosaic endorses the idea.
Whole heartedly.

Thinking About Good Things

Misplaced Subsidies and Obese Children

The Edible Schoolyard Program may take a long while to catch on in every corner of the country. In the meantime, the present ailing economy will likely induce most school districts - and, indeed, most consumers - to make poor food choices in the interest of maximizing their food dollar. Our exceedingly strange system of agricultural subsidies (corporate welfare) supports just those poor choices, favoring producers of such things as processed grain, corn syrup, and livestock while discouraging producers of fresh produce and fruits, such that the more "energy dense" a food is - the more laden with sugars and fats, that is - the cheaper it will be per calorie on the supermarket shelf. It is possible, at least in the short term, for an adult American to get his required calories for under a dollar per day, consuming a diet of, say, prepared cereal or canned chili, whereas a diet that delivers the same calories in a moire healthful and various form can cost orders of magnitude more. As one report notes, for instance, the sugar in fresh raspberries costs nearly 100 times more than refined sugar cane - but imagine the savings in long-term health care costs.

Do yourself some good: read this.

Drambuie

I am a big fan of Drambuie: Scottish royal drink (imported, of course). Watch and see why:

HBR's

A useful recipe for this time of year:

Hot Buttered Rum Mix

1/2 gallon premium vanilla ice cream (Tillamook), softened
1 lbs butter, softened (no substitute)
1 lbs powdered sugar
1 lbs dark brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Place in freezer-safe container and store until ready to use. To serve, place a liberal quantity of rum (I like Cruzan for the big and creamy, earth and spice distinctiveness of rum), in mug with two heaping teaspoons of mix; fill mug with boiling water, and top with a sprinkle of nutmeg.