tender mercies

Today is the second to last day of the month. So of course I haven't done my visiting teaching. And my companion Summer is harder to track down than a vegetarian at a hoe down, so I decided I would go on my own. Instead of baking cookies and writing a note that says, "Sorry we missed you, enjoy these cookies" I felt inspired instead to put together an elaborate cornacopia of produce and deliciousness that I acquired today at two of my favorite food suppliers: the food co-op and the Farmer's Market. (Anyone who knows me even a little knows that I love these two things very very much. And if you didn't, you do now.) So, if you'll kindly look below you will see my twin creations. I think they turned out pretty well. And yes, those are cereal boxes that they are in. Or rather, one cereal box cut in half and lined with grocery bags. I was pretty proud of myself indeed... Also included was a note slipped under the ribbon around the bread that said, "Sorry we missed you, enjoy this food" (well, not really, but kind of).

As I was on my way over to deliver said goodies, I was walking across the parking lot and I heard my name yelled from above. I look up saw that it was Celeste Cummings. Celeste used to live in Campus Plaza, but has since moved on to bigger and better things. And by that I mean she moved down the street which, by the way, puts her in a different ward and stake. Oh Provo. But there she was on the third floor of Campus Plaza yelling my name. So I said hi back and we chatted a bit from a far, then I went and dropped off my food to my girls on the south side of the building. On my way back home I decide to swing around to the north side of the building instead of just walking down the south side stairs so that I could actually talk to Celeste from a distance of less than 100 feet. Sadly, as I rounded the corner I saw her already walking away with John Taylor and another friend in tow. 

Normally, seeing that I was too late to catch her, I would have just let it go, but for some reason I hurried after them. I caught up with them at Celeste's car and she came over and gave me a hug and invited me to dinner. What? I was worried that I was intruding on a pre-planned dinner party (which I have learned in the past is never a good idea, even when invited) but when she said that it was all spur of the moment I said, "Sure!" and got in the car. My plan of saying yes was again put into action. 

So we went to Celeste's house. And made delicious tinfoil dinners which included potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, garlic, and BACON! They were so good. We grilled chicken on the side. While we waited for them to cook we played the card games Blink! and Zeus on the Loose. I liked them both a lot. And not just because I won. Celeste, John Taylor and Celeste's friend Carrie are fabulous people. They really are. They are the kind of people that you just love to be around because they are cheerful and encouraging and just nice. And that's just how they are. They aren't pretending. Celeste was always sure to include me in any conversation, explaining about people or events if I didn't know what they were talking about. I love people like that so much because I think that is just so considerate and I like feeling included.

After dinner there was talk of going to Celeste's ward activity to watch a movie in the park. At this point I almost excused myself because the movie was one I'd never heard of before (Paul's Neighbor, or something to that effect) and I was afraid it was going to be lame, but I reminded myself that I really had nothing else to do (and besides, I was having a great time) so I went. The movie ended up being Madagascar 2 (which was surprisingly good) and again, with Celeste, Carrie and John Taylor it was 10 times better. 

All in all it ended up being a great night. A fabulous night! One for the history books. Or rather, blog annuls...

Moral of the story? Always do your visiting teaching, even if you feel lame going by yourself with only food and no message. Okay, maybe that's not a great moral. What about: when people you don't really know invite you into their cars and into their homes, you should always go. That's much better.

i am a hippie but so is jen

Today Jen and I went to the Farmer's Market! I thought it didn't start up again until June, so I was extra excited when Jen texted me last night and asked if I wanted to go this morning. It is one of my favorite things about the summer. Today I bought a loaf of sourdough bread from Flour Girls and Dough Boys, amazing goat milk yoghurt from Drake Family Farms, and the best granola in the whole world from Bryan's wife Katie. What? Yes. The granola that I have loved since I first tasted it last summer but was then wrenched away from my taste buds when they disappeared from the Farmer's Market mid-summer was made by none other than my fabulous co-worker Bryan's wife. And probably him too. Who knows. I love them even more now than I did before. If that is possible.

Also tonight Megan and I went for a bike ride to rent Lost from Hollywood Video. We haven't ridden our bikes together since last summer and it is one of my favorite things in the whole world. Megan made me buy a bike last year so that we could bike together and I am so glad that she did. I rode Chaela's bike that she left here until June and I am in love with it. It is a real beach cruiser, not like my fake beach cruiser that has mountain bike tires, hand brakes and gears, and it is my favorite. If I knew that I would be living someplace flat, like it is here in Utah, I would buy it from her no questions asked. As it is I will most likely end up someplace mountainous where gears are a must. But we'll see how long I can resist its siren call.

Speaking of biking, Jen and I have been talking a lot about saving the environment recently (because that's what we do) and today we were saying how just doing little things like changing your light bulbs to energy-saving ones or only running your dishwasher when it's full don't really make that big of a difference in the big picture. You can't just change one thing and then continue to live your life the way you always have: you need to make a big change. One example Jen gave was walking or riding your bike everywhere within a 2 mile radius instead of driving. That'd be a pretty big change, at least for most people. I try to do my best at not driving when I don't have to, but when the whole journey to work every morning traverses 9th East and is uphill the whole way I am hesitant to make that kind of commitment. But I try to justify my driving by carpooling which is also good for the environment, right? And I do recycle, bring my own grocery bags whenever I go shopping anywhere (not just for groceries), try to walk most places, and use tupperware instead of zip lock bags whenever possible. I try not to buy food that comes with lots of extra packaging. A lot of my clothes come from thrift stores, I don't shower everyday (though that's more out of laziness than environmental reasons...) and I support local organizations like the Food Co-op and the Farmer's Market that promote local produce/products. That's a lot more than I used to do.

However, I do want to do other things too, like start my own vegetable garden, use homemade cleaning products, and start a compost heap. But some things are just hard when you're a college student and you don't really have a home of your own. Perhaps one day I'll move into a hippie commune where everyone is crazy about being green and I will realize why everyone thought I was weird. But maybe I won't. And maybe I'll love it and maybe I will have found my niche in society. Maybe. 

food co-op

So I think that everyone should belong to the food co-op. Where ever you happen to live, I'm sure there's one already in existence. If you happen to live in Utah, you can take advantage of the Utah Community Food Co-Op. That's what I do. What you do is once a month you order your groceries through them and then go pick them up. They have different order options, like Full Share, Half Share or Harvest Share which each offer different amenities. For example, the Full Share gives you 4 different kinds of meat, 7 different kinds of vegetables, 4 different kinds of fruit, a loaf of bread and bag of rice, all for $21. Because I am only one person, not a whole family, I usually get the Half or Harvest Share which give you less for $14. It is really a ridiculously good deal. The fruits and veggies vary depending on what is in season and a lot of it is obtained locally.

Let me give you a specific example of how awesome it is. This month I ordered the Harvest Share, which means no meat and extra veggies. For $14 I got a head of broccoli, a head of cauliflower, a head of lettuce, 6 tomatoes, 4 cucumbers, 10 bananas, 6 oranges, a bag of red potatoes, a loaf of bread and a bag of rice. I know you are jealous.

So let's review: it's only $21 or $14, you get TONS of delicious food. The only catch is that 1) you have to pick it up yourself (which you would be doing anyway if you were grocery shopping) and 2) you are expected to do 2 hours of volunteer work at some point during the month. I fulfill my hours by going early on pick up days to help set up and distribute the food. It's a great way to help out this awesome organization and fulfill that part of the deal. I really wish I had known about it sooner.

alchemy

Recently I've been doing a lot of alchemy. Here are a few of my favorite creations:

This chicken noodle soup, made from scratch, is displayed attractively in a local, handmade bowl bought earlier this month at Bowls For Humanity. It tastes really good with saltine crackers, apples, and Colby Monteray Jack cheese.

This is beef stew that I made with my mom when she was visiting this weekend. It is one of my favorite meals. The bread and beef are both from my monthly order from the Utah Community Food Co-op. I highly recommend it. Both the stew and the food co-op. Also, I can you tell that I love this bowl?

I've also made some delicious banana bread, but I do not have a picture of it. My friend William gave me the recipe and he is quite a baker. His recipe makes 5 mini-loaves and one big loaf. Great for giving to people who you love. Or who you want to love you...

Granola is also good but sans photograph. It gets eaten so fast it's gone before I remember to take a picture. It is one of Megan's favorites. Even more than fancy trail mix.

Perhaps someday I'll give you the recipes.