a ramshackled life

August 2009

2009-09-09T22:46:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since my last post. Life has changed for me and I don't even live at the ramshackle house any longer. I guess I'll just live a ramshackled life instead.

As far as experiments go, this summer didn't hold much in the food and sustainability experiments department. I have been experimenting in other parts of my life -- but I'll leave those parts to your imagination for now.

One of the truths of my August and September is that I haven't bought produce. Not a real level of produce anyway. I have bought the occasional hot pepper, the melon here and there, the necessary lime or lemon. But really, almost nothing.

The CSA has come to my rescue again. I went to my neighborhood farmers market the other week just for fun and it was almost painful. All the beautiful and amazing foods that I couldn't buy because I just can't eat that much produce! A fine problem to have.

It's fun to be swimming in green beans and cucumbers. Then, of course, every two weeks there is another fruit reaching perfection. In Oregon, we do not lack fruits. I guess we are short on citrus, but I prefer stone fruit anyway. First there was the berries, then the peaches, the early little plums, then the cherries, the figs, now the fat plums, the grapes, the pears and the apples are just around the corner. Oh, and what about asian pears -- but it's actually hard for me to tell when those are ever ripe. They're always so hard. But fruit has been falling freely and abudantly into my life non-stop this summer.

The fruits though -- plums especially -- trigger me in an almost manic way. Right now Italian plums are covering the trees in my life by the thousands. So many plums, there are hundreds on a single tree. Hanging there purple black and covered in a white mist of sugary ripeness. Everywhere. I have like 50 plums in my fridge right now -- avoiding the fruitflies. But what do I do. I can, I freeze, I make cake and clafoutis. There are still more.

Something about the fruit on the tree gives me a hording reaction. Take as many as I can carry and I'll figure it out later! Gather Gather Gather. Now I'm drowning and spending every free moment processing plums. For what? 30 jars of plum jam? Strange homemade asian plum sauce? Yet another sugary dessert that my ass does not need. Well, yes.

But I can't say no. I can't just walk away.

What is it about the wasted plums that I hate? I guess part of it is total confusion. Why are there still 200 plums on every tree? Why are these same plums at New Seasons fancy market for $3.99 for a little green box and people are buying them and letting these splat on the grass?
People are dumb I guess. Really I suppose people just don't have the time to pick or the knowledge of the good trees. Bummer.

I don't have the time either -- I need to cut back.

Spending my life as an end of summer food processor is so satisfying but pretty unsustainable.

scientists: charming and disarming.

2008-08-24T16:39:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last few years having an on and off obsession with scientists (also mathematicians.) Primarily because I don't actually know many (if any) scientists or mathematicians. They seems very different from my life and I imagine them to have great stories of banal things that encourage my mind to drift in wonder about tiny details of monstrous proportions.

As I meet these folks, they rarely are able to live up to my very high expectation of personality and charm.

However, ones I read about in books often make me crush out in a serious way.

The book "The World Without Us" introduced me to Dr. Tony Andrady, apparently known as the oracle of plastic's life in our world. He writes 800 page books on the subject of plastic and strikes me as the kind of guy that makes obscure jokes about hydrocarbons in that very endearing way. I think of him dreaming of a bacteria that one day will be able to ingest plastic, pooping out an entirely new substance.

Anyway, I like Tony. I enjoy that he is described as having a "reasonably persuasive voice."

Tony lays it out like this.

The vast majority of plastic that has ever been created -- this primarily means since the 1950's when the whole sha-bang really took off -- is still here. None of it has broken down entirely, none of it has been made into something other than plastic. It's all hanging around, waiting. Waiting for what? Well, he says, there are a couple of answers. It's waiting to be broken down into smaller and smaller pieces for animals to eat or to become more and more clear for animals to get tangled in and die. While, probably all plastic will biodegrate on some level and every permutation of plastic has a different life span --- no plastic has ever died a natural death.

I appreciate Tony's cynicism. It's quite charming.

But the beauty of this scientist -- is his belief in the absolute truth of nature. That everything that comes from it will eventually be taken back to it. Nature will take no defectors.

Tony comes back with the science for us.

Give it 100,000 years -- Earth will either hustle some microbes to evolve so that they can eat plastic. They have, apparently, recently learned to eat oil -- very exciting. Go team. Or if biologic time can not meet plastic where it is at then geologic time will be the victor. Tony hypothesizes that something will happen and the Earth will take in the 1 billion tons of plastic we've made so far (no hyperbole, serious number) and it will turn the plastic into magic. Just like dinosaur bones and petrified trees of the past -- the plastic particles, the polymers and hydrocarbons, will emerge to our distant homo-sapien relatives as some new and clever resource.

Tony says, "Change is the hallmark of nature. Nothing remains the same."

Until the next geologic era?

Well, the science is fuzzy.

bioplastics

2008-08-12T00:03:00.000-07:00

To me, bioplastics sounds a lot like biofuels -- maybe a good idea or maybe just a tech fix that will have merciless repercussions in the near future.

A tech fix is the process of solving a problem with a technological invention only to have that fix create an entirely new problem that now, again, needs to be fixed. Tech fix is often based on industry and usually lacks a holistic approach to problem solving.

Plastics though were originally made from bio or organic materials. The strictly chemical, petroleum based polymer strands of today are a relatively new invention.

Bioplastics are long strings of polymers made from soybeans, cornstarch, and potatoes. The first plastics were made from cellulose -- pure vegetable fiber. The great US advocate of rubber & plastic -- Henry Ford -- made plastics from soybeans.

So when we see natural food stores busting out the corn-based plastic fad, we know that this is not new science. It is just a convenient time for them to be green.

In the end, will it be a better solution than petroleum based plastic products -- especially one time use plastic products? Maybe. My instinct is to say - Of Course! But I wonder, what will happen when we try to replace the existing plastic reality with corn-based reality (not to mention gas with ethanol)? That is a lot of farm land, that is a lot of food going into the landfills instead of peoples' bellies.

The sheer volume of food being used in such a way makes me recoil and long for a simple juicy butter dripping bite of corn-on-the-cob.

Dreaming of yummy corn does not move us toward a solution. How can anything move us? When the density of consumption is at max capacity and creates a situation where nothing can be done to replace all the plastic we use. Nothing is reasonable or good in that large a quantity -- not corn, not cotton cloth, not glass jars, nothing.

Really, I think, we all know what we have to do -- and it's not making everything out of soybeans -- it's just that most of us aren't ready to admit it.

1979

2008-08-11T23:54:00.000-07:00

From Plastic: The Making of a Synthetic Century

Our postindustrial epoch frequently goes by the handle Information Age. But it could just as easily be called the Plastic Age. Plastic provides us with the material prerequisite for information storage and retrieval, both analog and digital. ... Plastic not only imitates natural materials, it allows us to recreate an entirely new world of the visual and aural imagination.

In 1979, the global volume of plastics production outstripped that of steel. At precisely that point in our industrial development, we entered the Plastic Age.

The ultimate triumph of plastic has been the victory of package over product, of style over substance, or surface over essence.

The Tower Challenge

2008-08-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

No plastic huh?
wellwell, here's my challenge as I head off to work at the Flag Point fire tower, just east of Mt. Hood. I shopped today for my delicious tower purchases....."ah, nope...not that. ah.....nope, shit....no no, yes, no....no cheesepuffs? moving on....ah, put back the Thai Noodles! poop." and goddamn I didn't bring enough bags to fill up from the bulk snacks so I had to use NEW PAPER? God, that's stuoopid.
At first, I exempted myself from having to do this whole no plastic game during my tower hours.
I said a big NO at the house meeting becuz imagine yourself out in the middle of it with no stores to bumble around in to find non perishable plastic replacements at whim. My food stash is a big deal at the tower. It's lonely out there and I guess having the food I want is part of the comforts I take with me along with everything else I pack....delicious beverages, so many books, a guitar, yoga matt, hand crank radio, art supplies..to name a few.
But today, I think I felt the Drastic Plastic spirit biting at me and I said, like the rooster,
"fuck it motherfucker" .....NO PLASTIC!
I'll let you know if it sux'd at the tower without my plastic covered goodies or was no big deal.
Until then,
Jenn

drastic plastic reduction theory

2008-08-03T21:08:00.000-07:00

Drastic Plastic Reduction is in full effect.

We recognize our lives revolve fully in both the information age & the disposable age.

As we interact with the world, most bits of data & goods fly through our lives in a split moment, barely pausing for us to take notice, rarely staying long enough to appreciate. Attachment to things, in this post-industrial United States, is a baffling dissonance. We are infinitely attached to consuming things and at the exact some moment throw out as much as possible. The cycle continues ad infinitum. Until Now.

For the next month, our five lives in this old house will intersect & deconstruct these ages. The Ramshackle rejects easy disposal, embraces information & ditches plastic. goodbye plastic & all the baggage that come with it.

Looking for a break in our ever-growing consumerism and our increasingly large garbage haul, the ramshackle is going plastic free. We’ve committed to not buy or consume any new plastic, especially not bringing plastic into the house, for the month of August.

This is a rough game and we don’t expect perfection. But we do want to take note. Our collective adventure and subsequent tales will be posted here for public consumption.

the night before

2008-07-31T22:39:00.000-07:00

So we agreed as a house not to stock up on plastic in the days leading up to the start date. Even though some were tempted to buy a gallon tub of rainbow sherbet, we kept our heads and committed to the project.

That is until July 31st. While Trillium and I have a meeting on the front porch, Shizuko drives up to the house and unloads bags full of plastic products. Her family is coming to town tomorrow and she is preparing to feed them while they are staying with us. We knew families would be a challenge and have agreed not to utilize shame as a tool in Drastic Plastic Reduction. Shizuko decided to put us to the test in these final hours -- walking into the house with gallon plastic jugs of juice and plastic milk containers and huge blocks of plastic wrapped cheese.
Always the rebel.

So even though, I cringed and steamed at the yogurt containers and milk jugs -- families get a free pass. Visiting loved ones get a comfortable, warm, shamefree environment -- full of the plastic products that make us all feel safe, warm and at home.

my life in cellophane

2008-07-31T21:51:00.000-07:00

August is a great month to explore lifestyle & to minimize. It's one of those rare months where not much is needed to survive and enjoy the world.
The weather is nice, the sun is shining, ice cream trucks are ding-a-linging. Gardens are exploding, lemonade is abundant & being inside of a store to shop seems anti-adventure.

This month, August 2008, the Ramshackle House will go above and beyond pure enjoyment and summer break laissez-faire. We will challenge our consumer habits, which have gotten quite serious, while proactively embodying our beliefs. We will not buy anything plastic for the entire month. This crew of five is looking to get a clear assessment of our dependence on the petroleum baby, while everyone is committed to not consuming new plastic, some folks will avoid using plastic in all reasonable ways.

As a lover of rigidity, I was originally going to pursue not using plastic at all for the month. But as I began to investigate and notice the world I live in, it became clear that I might not be able to function at the most basic level if not for plastic parts. This computer, key bike components, telephones, the soles of my shoes, light switches, the lenses of my glasses are just a few daily critical plastic pieces of my life. Pervasiveness seems to have made plastic essential, at least irreplaceable.

An even trickier reality is that the more I take in my surroundings, the more I gain clarity that plastic is not inherently a problem -- plastic provides unequaled benefits in terms of flexibility, weight, durability all rolled into one. It's monopoly & mass production that present the problem. This is where I feel uneasy and resentful toward plastic.

Plastic is not black & white, it's complicated. There are benefits at the same time that there are devastating consequences. Which is why Project Plastic has a unique appeal to me -- the nuances of tough choices, the admission of addiction, the complication of need vs distress. This is the value of Project Plastic. Let's get to the bottom of how much we rely on this unsustainable, toxic & critical substance made from petroleum and destined to outlive us all in the middle of a landfill.

The guidelines are simple -- members of the Ramshackle will not purchase anything made of plastic, containing plastic parts, plastic packaging or plastic inerds for the month of August. We won't stock up on plastic items before August but we are willing to use things that we already own that might contain plastic. Plastic is a broad term -- there are entire volumes of books dedicated to the various wonders and incarnations of man-made threaded polymer strands [aka, plastic]. For our purposes, plastic is the obvious, visual, commonly identifiable substance that takes a million different forms.

We've been collecting all of the new plastic we've brought into the house from the month of July. It's not comprehensive -- i threw away too many iced coffee cups to count. But it does give a good sense. We'll also collect all the plastic that we bring in for August to compare.

Here's the fun obstacles that we are facing with Drastic Plastic. Families are coming to town! Moms, dads, sisters and brothers and staying at our house and may or may not be excited about the idea of leaving their water bottles at the door. Many people will be gone for weeks in August, will Drastic Plastic survive on the road and over vacation? Will smokers go to great lengths to get non-plastic encased tobacco or will they be extra moody this month from severe withdrawals?

With drastic plastic there are adventures and drama ahead of us, no doubt.

Total Local in the flesh

2008-07-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

So Total Local is a zine that I put out last October after the culmination of all our efforts and adventures.

It's inclusive of what's on this blog and so much more.

You can check it out from the Multnomah County Libraries.
You can come to a reading that I'm doing of the zine at the North Portland Library on September 9, 2008 at around 6:30 p.m..
You can probably buy a copy if you email me : ramshackle.house@gmail.com

The next generation of Total Local will be called ----- Plastic Project.
Launch date: August 1 2008.

the goods.

2007-08-29T18:58:00.000-07:00

Images from the food markets of Maine -- local deliciousness.

destination : maine

2007-08-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

Maine seems to me a cross between Oregon and a cold-weather island. Wind swept shores lead into deep forest tones that rake up the hillsides away from the ocean over colonial homes and crab-apple trees. Plants grow, bugs flourish and the small towns creep up and down the sparse highways.

Despite the incredible back-woodsiness of Maine, there are hippies aplenty. The small town I am in, Belfast - population 3000, houses a Co-op, a farmers market, a fish market, a direct-from-farm worker-owned cafe & innumberable fruit stands. For a moment, when I first arrived, I took in this beautiful side of food and thought that this little coastal town might be a foodie mecca.

I'm staying in an apartment building with my mom on the working class strip in West Belfast. During a few porch sitting, beer swilling evenings her neighbors tell me about what food is really like for Maine folks. These locals, they know a thing or two of the grit and reality of food -- a potato processing plant houses most of the working class jobs in the county, an expired chicken processing plant sits nestled between a city park and the Penobscot Bay. Abandoned archaic seafood refridgeration warehouses stagger along the weeded railroad tracks. The tourists attend the farmer's market, swoon for local organic beers and spicy blueberry chutney; while the homestead families pull shifts at the plant, hoping the potatoes they grate and freeze for Mcdonald's don't go the way of the poultry industry.

The food and it's politics bear striking similarity to Oregon.

I am doing my best, thought not incredibly strict since i am on vacation, to go total local Maine, Vermont, NH style. But eating out is taking it's toll and the missing time committment shows. The bonus is that I get to eat maple syrup and salt. Although sea salt is absurdly expensive and maple syrup only goes well on so many dishes. Nevertheless, I have found yogurt, fruit, veggies, cheese, meats and beer here in my upper new england, practically canada, home.

Though fruit is limited to blueberries and russetted apples. California is still the fruit garden of choice. If I thought it felt bad before to eat fruit from California, when I was only one state away. It seems an ultimate travisty to eat California produce in maine -- 12 hours on a plane and a weeks drive away. That's a great deal of energy for such a little plum to bear. So I pass, despite my wanting variety desperately.

Now, blueberries, those are in abundance, of course. However much I'd like not to compare Oregon and Maine blueberries - i will. Maine produces millions of tiny dot blueberries. Not usuallybigger than a 3-D version of a nail head, they are small and lack-luster in appearance -- especially when stacked against voluptuous plump Oregon blueberries. They are so small, in fact, that i expected tartness and sour. Instead finding them little pockets of sweetness. These berries are delicious in their own way, I would never discount that. However, they seem almost heartier, less springy, less sun-drenched, sadly almost juiceless. But i think that may be the way they like things in maine, tougher around the edges.

California

2007-08-18T22:22:00.000-07:00

So, I'm on vacation in Oroville California visiting my brother, Luke, and his wife, Erin. I left Portland days ago resolved to continue exploring the great food experiment. California is a whole different story when it comes to local. Processed foods are still out for the most part, but avocados are in. So is rice. We went to the farmers market today and bought a large bag of bell peppers for $2.00. We bought chard and chinese flowering broccoli. Honey. Almonds. Peaches. Tomatoes. Basil. There were almost no leafy greens--so much harder to grow in the heat, but there was mozzarella, the real kind, made from local water buffalo, and crates full of melons sold for a dollar each. I have enjoyed limes and lemons and all wonders of citrus drinks. I am becoming certain that my palate is Mediterranean. Did I mention olives? As one of my favorite authors, Ellen Meloy writes, if the end of life as we know it came (good-bye big semis, florida grapefruit, wheat gluten from across the world), Californians would still be floating in hot tubs sipping local wine and dipping their fingers into bowls of olives and other fancy fruit, nuts and cheeses. Still, California has its drawbacks...but ah, the food!

Kate

Food Stress

2007-08-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

The first I heard the term "food stress" was leading backpacking trips with teenagers. I was one of four guides who would take students of the Ashland High Wilderness Charter School out into the backcountry of southern Oregon and northern California on 14-day trips that included a 1-3 day solo experience for kids. The most remarkable adjustments that students had to face were not the discomforts of blisters, 45 pound backpacks, or voracious mosquitoes. The real adjustments came from technological withdrawl (tvs, ipods, movies, etc.), and, fear of being alone, and, the sense of food deprivation.
No matter how much food we packed, there were always circumstances in which the notion of food limitation combined with the exertion of hiking unraveled students into a tizzy of starvation accusations. They were sure we hadn't packed enough food, certain that we were unjust and malicious in forcing them to abstain from bringing their own food supplies, and positive that other students were taking more than their fair share from the food pot. Food-stress was akin to a fever that swept through camp. It spoke of the sense of deprivation the students were feeling from the familiar foods they knew in their home lives, I mean, let's face it, backpacking food doesn't delight everybody. For example: they didn't like lentil soup, they were"sick of trail mix" or they felt like they needed more meat. We would sit down with them and provide examples of abundance, show proof of our planning and make a list of steps students could take to fulfill their dietary needs. As we became more savvy guides we were able to address this problem early on and head it off, ultimately learning how to avoid the conflict altogether.
The ramshackle experienced something akin to this. We were a bit more subtle in expressing the stress, but it arose in comments about "rules" (none of which had been thoroughly outlined), and it arose in our apathy towards our food choices. Food stress led to "cheatings" and later to confessions to one or another housemate. There were instances of takeout food showing up mysteriously in the refrigerator, speculations about who was on board and who wasn't, followed by renewed efforts to provide delicious snacks and dinners. All of this came to a head and resulted in the acceptance of salt as a part of our diet again. And olive oil. Neruda says: essential child of the olive... I have to agree with the essential part. So much butter for a 7-year vegan was a radical adjustment.
These small compromises and the tension that led up to them provided me with the best learning of this project so far. It created fabulous dialogue about what exactly we are doing, why and for whom, the questions and sometimes criticism we have faced from friends as well as the support. We came around to focusing on the abundance of our food choices and laughed at ourselves for lamenting our limitations. We have become so accustomed to the choices provided us by the global food market that it was surprisingly hard to see how many options we have, even at this time of year.
As a result of the local diet, we are eating less processed food. There are simply too many ingredients--Tofurky produced by Turtle Island foods, for example, relies on wheat gluten from New Zealand so it's definitely not an option. This means that for protein we have been reliant on the one bean we can buy--black beans, and the one grain--barley. With these options, and, for a few of us, meat and eggs, we are able to build a simple, and now salted, diet high in fiber, minerals and protein sources.
We, like the teens, needed to be reminded by each other through our ongoing discourses, of the abundance of August foods in the Pacific Northwest. As we crunch away on hazelnuts, or Kari reminds us that she has cracked one too many walnuts, and Shizuko forms perfect wheat tortillas ready for the hot,cast iron skillet, we come into a deeper knowledge of the richness of our home foods. Certainly, I lament any amount of time away from Avocados, limes, and the sticky mess of mangos, and yet, this month is teaching us not just to ride our bikes under plum trees while the fruit gives over its dark sugar to the sidewalk. Instead, we stop, gather several, bring them home and remember where the tree is to add to our list of food sources. We experiment with our strangely cross-pollinated squash; we soak and praise barley. I barely miss tofu. I only sort of miss bread. I miss my vegan identity, but I like looking at what is here, is regional, is not soy-based.
It has been a lovely experiment and a good test of our relationships to food, our homeplace, and each other.
Kate

Nut cracking.

2007-08-10T14:50:00.001-07:00

Traveling snacks.

2007-08-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

Sometimes lunch is the hardest moment.
You are out in the world with only what you made early that morning to get you through til dinner time.

Bring on the Potato [or Zucchini] Latkes -- quick to make, totally substantial and travel well for mid-day nourishment.

Potato Latkes

1 grated potato [or zucchini!]
1 egg
as much garlic as you can stand [i like 3 cloves chopped fine]
1 T chopped rosemary [or parsley!]
1 C. whole wheat pastry flour
butter in the skillet.

combine and fry some patties up.

Our Pearl

2007-08-10T10:50:00.001-07:00

Barley. Barley is going to save our life.

Members of the Ramshackle are beginning to feel the pain of no rice, no pasta, no quinoa. Nothing, it seems, substantial enough from people to get their fill -- people are rallying for something hardy, something that will make the meal, something that will provide energy after the initial fruit juice and vegetable remnants run through you.

Barley.

Bob's Red Mill gets their Pearled Barley from Oregon and Washington. It's delicious.

Here's something to make --
Barley Risotto.

5-6 cups veggie broth or water
Put this is a pan. bring to a boil then turn to simmer while you do the rest of this.

1 TB Butter
4 Shallots or 1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 large carrot [chopped fine]*
1 cup mushrooms [chopped]*
1 1/2 cups barley
3 TB fresh parsley [chopped]

In a deep skillet [big enough to eventually hold 6 cups +] melt the butter, saute the shallots/onions for 5 minutes. add the garlic, carrots and mushrooms. Saute 5 more minutes.

Add the barley, stirring the whole time, saute for 2 minutes.

Ok this part is serious --- Add the broth 1/2 - 1 cup at a time until you've used it all. But the TRICK is that you add 1 cup then stir it and wait for the broth to be absorbed until you add more. So this whole process of adding the water and what not will take about 45 minutes.

It's worth it. Sometimes I stopped stirring, put the lid on a came back in 5 minutes to add more water and stir more.

Then after the barley is soft and chewy -- stir in the fresh parsley. You could also add Parmesean cheese and a squeeze of lemon at this point. [though local lemons are tough to come by].

*We didn't have either carrots or mushrooms in our fridge. So I used a green bell pepper and fresh green beans. Still real good.

recipe :: scone cracker biscuits.

2007-08-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

scones, which without baking powder come out like nice crackers.

2 C whole wheat pastry flour.
2TB Butter.
1/2C milk.
1/3C H2O.

cut the butter into cubes, press it into the flour with your fingers. then with a knife mix in the liquids. don't over mix.
put on to floured surface. roll out. cut out circular elements.
bake on a greased up cookie sheet at 415 for 10 minutes.

good with butter and jam.

Note: be gentle. don't handle these too much or they'll get tough.

the booze problem.

2007-08-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

We all have made exceptions to the Total Local initiative. Things we need to keep us going mid-day, things we need to help keep us sane. Primarily our exceptions are coffee, tea, and, for the lucky few, cigarettes. But not booze.
I had originally thought about exceptioning it, but then decided that there should be enough local options to keep me from flinging myself overboard into the sea of dive bars and cheap beer on that first weekend in august.

So I did a little bit of research and discovered that Full Sail beer out of Hood River, OR uses all local ingredients. I have never been one to limit myself in the range of potential beers or drinks, but for August Full Sail will be my drink of choice. For some reason, I didn't look further.

On Friday I went out with my friends after a conference. We were in Woodstock, far away from our homes in NE Portland. One gal suggested we go to the Delta for food and libations. We get there only to find no Full Sail. I try to decide whether to go home, find somewhere new or break my local pledge. Standing on the street corner weighing my moral obligations, I spotted a dive down the street. I alerted my friends and darted over to find a Full Sail -- or potentially a local gin, though that seemed unlikely.

The no name dive bar crushed my moment of hope by saying no, no Full Sail and that they didn't even know there was local gin.

I walked back to the Delta, deflated. I was about to give up -- let my friends either talk me into drinking or the off chance they would be excited to go looking for a third bar option. Back at the Delta, there was good news. The bar keep at the Delta called a bar down the street after hearing of my plight. This new bar had full sail. We trucked on down and drank glorious pitchers of Full Sail beer.

Potentially it's weird to tell such a long story about tracking down beer. So let me say this, the chase was an enlightening moment about the lengths that we must go to stay Total Local. And the level of dedication it requires. But, perhaps most of all, if you don't hang around supportive people -- total local will die in it's tracks. Potentially you can be a lone total local-er if you have a will of steel, but for me -- I would have given in under the slightest pressure multiple times.

August 13. Update on this since i drafted it almost 2 weeks ago. ----

We've done our research and expanded our drinking options so that almost every place can accommodate Total Local Standards. Now included: Widmer beers [except their German], Alameda beers and Aviator Gin [Juniper berries from just east of the Cascades].

Another valid point on this issue is that the TL is not necessarily about being the healthiest people ever or restricting ourselves into misery. I don't want this campaign to be so horrible, strict and miserable that after August we all dart back to our chocolates and cumin. I want this to be sustainable and enjoyable -- that means moving slowly, not buying into rigidity and allowing ourselves the space to go out and drink beer with our friends.

The Value of Experiments Such as This

2007-08-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit it - I was freakin' out and raging on Day 2. I tried to get Kari to quit the Total Local campaign, so that I could.
I had a particularly long wait on a bus stop, after a long day, where, with plummeting blood sugar, I came up with plenty of angry rationalizations about why this experiment was just plain DUMB. We are spending lots more money. Yep, it's frequently cheaper to eat apples from Argentina and our choices are limited anyway, because the majority of food, even at our co-ops and fancy food stores comes from far away.

Besides, I rejected holier-than-thou lifestyle choices a long time ago. I do believe that the personal is political, but being this focused on food couldn't help but focus me on my privilege. The privilege to take up some crazy experiment involving food, when people are frickin' starving and malnourished all over the world.
I was more than relieved to give up the "I don't eat (fill in the blank)..." lifestyle to the "Thank you for this lovely meal of chicken feet or beans and rice or..." I was happy to give it up, not because I enjoy sucking the gummy flesh off chicken's toes, but rather because my hostess did. I was happy to give it up because it helped me to connect, to be humble, to be grounded in my surroundings and grateful for what I was offered. But then, maybe you can tell from the foods I mentioned that I gave up that lifestyle where going local was much more a way of life. I was in Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras - and much of the food we were eating was local, especially in the smaller towns. In San Marcos, we'd hear the cow's long moans, as each Friday night, one was slaughtered to be sold for the next week. In many places, women walked from kilometers away with baskets of food on their heads, to sell in the larger towns. Primarily locally based diets in these countries are under attack from Pepsi and Pan Bimbo to be sure. Chiles are being shipped into Mexico from India, and corn from the United States. Globalization is screwing small farmers and the environment everywhere. We are all in grave danger from this process. But you probably already knew that...

Today is Day 5 of our Total local experiment. I have gone through some ups and downs with this experience and I really value that. I am learning how to make new things in the kitchen. I made tortillas from scratch with local spelt flour, and just this morning I followed a recipe for crepes - they turned out delicious! I'm more aware of what is in season, and more elated than ever when I come upon a plum tree or blackberry bush. I think we may even figure out the economics part of it - as we order large bags of flour and our tomatoes ripen, we won't be shelling out so much at each visit to the grocery store.

I'm glad that I have had my freak outs, and thought about what privilege I carry - wherever I go in the world, and whatever food choices I make. Like my house mate said, growing food is hella' difficult, back breaking work. I want to support people who are doing it, and doing it sustainably.
The value of experiments such as this - deep reflection and transformation. We'll see where it takes us.

Here is the recipe for crepes!
2 eggs from your local chicken coop
1 cup flour (we used wheat pastry flour from Fairhaven cooperative in Washington)
1.5 cups milk (Sunshine dairy - our source of NW cow milk at the moment)
.5 cup water (from our tap)
2 TB honey (I think this honey came from bees that used to live in our yard)
2 TB butter (we are using Tillamook unsalted butter)

Beat the eggs, milk, water
Combine honey and butter to melt honey.
add to egg mixture. add flour. don't over blend. add several spoonfuls of batter to a buttered skillet. cook til almost dry on top. flip and cook 15 more seconds. enjoy with plum sauce or apple sauce, fresh fruits, or sautéed veggies. Yum!

use butter, i guess.

2007-08-02T23:46:00.000-07:00

We have no fats other than butter. It's unclear to me if my heart might stop working due to copious amounts of butter eating.

Today, day two, was our biggest challenge yet.
We're barely out of the gate and there is already willful cheating and vicious bouts of mid-afternoon low blood sugar rage.

The momentary freak out subsided, we got through the day and made sure to pack extra food for work tomorrow.

****
::: discussions :::

One housemate brought up a good point about the range of our strictness when offered free food or waste-destined food? When food not bombs gives us peppers, clearly from ultra far, do we take them because they were saved from the trash to feed us? In principle we support that work and that notion. But how does that fit with Total Local? What is the point? If that point is simply to save resources by avoiding long haul foods -- then it makes sense to take the free foods or waste. But if the point is to experience what is grown in the region, to get to know your food process, to be conscious of all the morsels we take for granted and watch your resource use -- then the free food doesn't fit. But it's recovered waste and free, maybe that changes the debate?

my romantic notions

2007-08-01T23:22:00.000-07:00

I recognize that there is something more than a little romantic about eating only food from near our home -- even if it is a reasonably large area -- hanging out with farmers, touching the dirt, noticing our food, reaping the local bounty.

I observed and learned farming to be a brutal, oppressive life - distinct in its hardship and unhappiness. Always in Black & White with a dust covered man in overalls sternly glancing at his wheat, willing it to grow. Too many ugly dust bowl images in the collective memory, i imagine. Nothing seemed at all beautiful about the process or the lifestyle of growing and understanding food.

Farming was the life of poor old men -- a dying breed.

Never had I seen a bright woman, sparkling eyes and mischievous smile, raising a fist full of dark hearty greens, standing amidst damp sunny colorful fields of edibles.

I don't know if I've actually ever seen that, but that is my mental image now. I know it is trying work, difficult at best, poverty inducing almost always. But happy and brilliant, nonetheless. I want to support that vision of food growing. Local people who work hard, love the dirt and cultivate the kind of food that everyone should have access to.

Local eating is about me reaching out to the growers, the producers, the people who see the food through the process all the way to my door. Building a community around something so simple, honest and fucking critical.

It is going to be hard for me -- I am a sugar addict. I generally eat a lot of food that is kind of gross if you think about it too much. Even if the food is delicious -- I don't want to be disgusted when i think about what i am putting in my mouth and digesting into my body. so here I go, armed with excitement, a clean palette and four other brave ladies who will face the challenge with me.

kari

our press release.

2007-08-01T22:39:00.000-07:00

Portland, Or – The great experiment of the post-modern global age is evolving into practice at this Northeast Portland residence. While committed to radical politics and serious notions, this communal house of five women still indulged in tofutti cuties and Chilean pears as though these treats magically appeared on their doorstep with little effort. After careful consideration, generous thought and fervent discussion, the Ramshackle has decided to try the newest food commitment – all local.

This home will only purchase and consume food that was created or grown in the states of Oregon or Washington for the entire month of August. Five women will be changing their lifestyles and adjusting their impulses; scouring store shelves, adopting farmers markets as their second homes and calling companies to inquire as to their ingredient places of origin. Food must be distributed locally, manufactured locally [if necessary to do such things] and grown locally. Even if Ota tofu makes a mean bean curd in the heart of Portland, those soybeans are grown ‘round the country and trucked to town – that doesn’t fit ‘Total Local’ standards.

One member of the Ramshackle quintet theorized, “Total Local is about remembering that those cherries I eat come from somewhere, someone grew them, picked them and got them to a store for me to buy. If nothing else, I don’t want the process that feeds me to be invisible.”

The newest fashion among the high-politict and the foodie movement is going local. Regaining connection with your primary source of energy, your second biggest expense [after rent] and a critical part of life has become the fad. Discovering regional farms, buddying up with neighborhood farmers and experiencing the wonder of unusual local produce is revolutionizing peoples’ lives. One Ramshackle lady quipped, “I love the process. Scouring, searching, detecting. It’s fantastically complex and bizarrely fun, but more of a time commitment than you ever realized.” Going local has, indeed, become a pastime in itself.

At its heart, Total Local is about having fun, being spry and getting creative. The Ramshackle intends to take full advantage of living in an abundant and ridiculously fruitful place – going to pick their own food when possible, harvest eggs and play in the dirt.

The ladies hope to inspire their community and comrades. The Ramshackle will be recording their adventure for public consumption.