anotherkindofdrew blog

Did I ever tell you about the time I bought a loud bag of chips from the camp store in Panama City, Florida, primarily on the premise that for a few cents more the bag was 100% compostable and environmentally friendly? No? Well, let me tell you about it.

It all started in May when Pan and I went camping in Panama City, FL and found a bag of SunChips in the camp store. Colored in a very social media ‘esque’ and environmentally sound orange and green and earthy neutral, the bag was noticeably louder to the touch and appeared to be a new package all around for the Frito-Lay brand.

On June 7, I decided to try out the compostable claims and cut the bag into three portions, burying each portion in the same conditions. Granted my middle Georgia land is no commercial composting facility, it is a a very dry, hot heat providing soil with fine iron and sulphur properties. And perhaps this was my problem all along. Perhaps the bag was designed ONLY to compost in commercial composting facilities (of which there are only 8 in the state of Georgia.) Whatever the case, I proceeded in an effort to find out how compostable, recyclable, bio-degradable this bag may be.

July 20th found me digging up the first bag. You can read my results. NOTHING. The portion of the bag looked as it did the day I buried it save a few dirt spots and some dustiness. The odd part of the first dig though was that within hours of posting my results I received personal emails from the R&D team at Frito-Lay as well as the public relations team at SunChips. They essentially wanted to know all about my experiment and how I had arrived at the results I had. I was happy to speak with them and they promised they would get back to me as my experiment progressed. I must admit though that I have not heard back from them. Nonetheless the second dig took place on August 16, 2010.

Again, no change in the bag. Light passed through it the same way it did several months previous. It even looked identical to the first portion unearthed weeks before. I had been greenwashed and I was beginning to feel the SunChips claim were bogus, at best. I kept going back to the “commercial composting conditions” claim. I was convinced this was my problem. I HAD to take the bag to a commercial composting facility in order for it to pull a David Copperfield. But that didn’t please me.

If Joe Smith eats a bag of SunChips and then discards the bag out the window thinking to himself, “Oh, it’s one of those tree-hugger bags. It’ll just disappear like the bag shows,” and the bag claim is bogus, then isn’t the compostable bag just another piece of trash? It is for at least the 14 weeks it sits idle on standard soil under standard conditions.

So last week I went back to my burial ground, shovel in hand, ready to unearth the third portion. I have to admit I expected SOMETHING. I expected it to at least be thinner in appearance. But it wasn’t. In fact, it strongly resembled every other piece. After being buried in the hot, middle-Georgia soil (composted and ag. extension tested soil, mind you) for right at 3 months, nothing had happened; no sign of composting.

I have nothing left to say to SunChips. I am disappointed and if we must go to a commercial composting facility to allow for proper composition of our bags, then I consider their experiment to be one of marketing proportions rather than environmental ones. I am sorry Frito-Lay. You fail.

I am a sucker for Farmers Markets. I love the idea of communities supporting local agriculture; be the farm large or small. So I was delighted, of course, when Pan told me she had found an established FM in Charleston, SC.

Founded by Mayor Joe Riley in 1989, the Charleston Farmers Market is produced by the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, in cooperation with the City of Charleston Parks Department. Over the years, the Charleston Farmers Market has received numerous awards: In 2005, the Charleston Farmers Market, newly revitalized and relocated back in the renovated Marion Square, received the Three Sisters Award from the Charleston Save the City Committee. In 2008, the Market was ranked by Travel and Leisure magazine as one of the top 10 best Farmers Markets in the nation. In the Charleston City Paper reader’s poll, “Best Of,” the Charleston Farmers Market was named 2009 Best Outdoor Event. Now permanently located in Marion Square, in the heart of historic downtown Charleston, S.C., the Farmers Market is open each Saturday, from April 3 to Dec., 19, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Farmers Market is dedicated to the support and advocacy of Lowcountry farmers and growers and offers a variety of local produce, plants, herbs and cut flowers as well as breakfast and lunch vendors, live entertainment and an assortment of juried arts and crafts from local artisans.

Perhaps what was coolest though is that the market has attained “Green Status” which is quite rare. Essentially the title means that they have invested time and resources into making their vendors more eco-conscious to the extent of using recycable, reusable, and renewable products as well as helping maintain recycling locations and waste areas. I didn’t take many pictures but I did snap these two which show the small recycling cans located throughout the square as well as a vendor selling THE most amazing grass-fed beef. If we had a cooler I would have bought him out!

What about your community? Do y’all have an exceptional FM? If not, would you be interested in helping petition the city/town to begin one?

I must admit to all readers of anotherkindofdrew. I am in love with cast iron cookware.

While I don’t know when cast iron cookware was first invented (although I assume early predecessors were hand-forged in the blacksmithing shoppes of Europe) I do know that they are such fine pieces of cookware that you can use a single cast iron frying pan or skillet for just about any cooking task from baking a cake to searing a filet to roasting and/or frying a chicken, to frying potatoes to stir frying vegetables. It is the original all-purpose cookware. The ebony gems have excellent heat retention and diffusion properties and can be produced and formed from a relatively low level of technology (read: melt metal over a fire and shape.) Cast iron also requires seasoning which protects the bare cast iron from rust and also creates a – albeit primitive – nonstick surface.

While on this road trip Pan and I are using a cast iron dutch oven and a 15-in cast iron skillet. Both are used over open flame and produce a most excellent taste.

What other pot or pan do you know of that heats evenly and consistently, is inexpensive and will last a lifetime (actually several lifetimes) with proper care? In fact, cast iron pans and skillets are so terrific that foods glide out smoother than they would on Teflon, they go from stove to oven, you don’t need any special utensils to cook in them, they won’t warp, and clean-up is virtually non-existent since they require seasoning anyway. They simply get better with age and can easily be in a family for 100 years or better.

So why all this talk of cast iron and why am I singing praises to such a material? Because Pan and I are camping each night and have use of only a propane cook stove we have to be resourceful in our “baggage.” No cookware that I have ever come across can so easily fit so many needs. Yes, it is heavy. Yes, it can produce larger amounts of iron in the diet. Yes, they are antiquated. But, yes, they are almost perfect.

What do you think? Do you use cast iron cookware? If so, do you have a favorite pot/pan or a favorite cast iron recipe?

I am not going to be able to post much in the next few days as Pan and I have taken to the open road. I have some work things to tend to and so we are making a road trip/camping trip out of it. In the next month we’ll be stopping in Charleston, SC > Fayetteville, NC > Raleigh, NC > Pink Hill, NC > Wilmington, NC > Myrtle Beach, SC > Chattanooga, TN > Columbus, GA.

I’ll be doing some posting as I see things that interest me or if we can squeeze a video out. So don’t leave me just yet. It won’t be long. Until then…I’m on the road again!

You just never know who you are going to work with I tell you. I deal with a number of people each day and not one of them has ceased to surprise me. We oftentimes forget that outside of 9am to 5pm our colleagues are people too; hobbies and all.

One of the IT guys I work with and speak to on a regular basis got to talking to me one day about the kind of potatoes we grow here. When I mentioned Russet’s he insisted on sending me a recipe he favored. And while I have yet to prepare it or pass it to Pan to give a shot at, I am sure it is going to be fantastic. So I thought it only right to share my buddy Alan’s recipe with y’all. Bon apetit!

• Preheat the oven to 425
• Cube either 2-medium size Russet potatoes or 4-red skinned new potatoes
• Each Russet should yield 24 or so cubes
• Mix cubes with 1 tbsp. of EVOO in a large-size bowl
• Toss the potatoes to coat
• Add 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• Add 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
• Toss the potatoes again to coat thoroughly with the salt and pepper
• Add 1/4 teaspoon each of dried Oregano, Rosemary, and Parsley
• Spread parchment or wax paper on a baking/cookie sheet
• Spread out potato cubes on the sheet making sure they only make one solid layer
• Bake for 25 minutes
• Remove and flip over
• Continue to bake for 15 additional minutes
• Just before they are finished, remove and grate fresh, Parmesan cheese on top with a microplane grater
• Put back in oven on Broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese is just melted

This past year I have been fortunate enough to write for several publications including Farmers’ Almanac online. My work there led to an invite to write for the 2011 print edition; American and Canadian editions. And now, as of Monday, my article will be on newsstands everywhere.

The article, 5 Gardening Trends for 2011 and Beyond, is three pages of advice, trends, and tips for the upcoming year in the garden. I can hardly remember what I wrote, to be honest, but I am sure that one day soon I’ll make myself sit down to reread my thoughts.

Published every year since 1818, the Farmers’ Almanac is the go-to source for inspirational and useful tips. Time tested and generation approved, each edition of the Farmers’ Almanac is a compendium of knowledge on weather, gardening, cooking, remedies, managing your household, preserving the earth and more.

And to celebrate the publishing I am going to be giving away a copy of the American edition. To be eligible you need only:

• Comment on this blog post
• Post about my entry on your own blog (and provide me a link)
• Promote this contest on Twitter (and hashtag it with #farmersalmanac
• Post a status update on Facebook (and tag me)
• Send me a personal email including your social security number, bank account number, and PIN

The winner of my most recent give-away (remember…it involved a book and Ball jars?) was my dear blogging friend Tara Wagner. Some of you may know her as The Organic Sister either on her blog or on Twitter.

Tara – along with her husband Justin and her son Zeb – are nomads, if you will. They currently live full-time on the road out of their 22-foot, veggie-oil powered, solar driven, Winnebago. Why, you ask? They travel for two reasons: 1) To find a place that feels like home, and 2) to absorb what they can along the road.

Well just recently Tara announced that she is now selling her photography. While she freely admits she is not the world’s best photographer, I think she has quite an eye and always comes across with beautiful shots of life – as it happens and where it happens. One of my favorite prints of hers is also the header image for Justin’s blog. It’s called ‘The Open Road’ and her version (for sale here) features a wonderful quote by William Least Heat Moon.

To celebrate her new passion (and form of income) Tara is hosting a give-away here.

She wants to share her prints with TWO lucky winners:

• The first winner will receive an 8×12 laminated print: you choose your fave photo and border color.
• The second winner will receive a collection of each of my cards: you choose either postcards or notecards or a combination of the two!

If contests aren’t your thing though you can simply view and purchase her photography by visiting her RedBubble site.

Congratulations Tara on sticking with your passion and finding a market for it. May you have many successful sales!

Today brought about a bittersweet time at the raised beds.

For the last week I have spent a little bit of time each morning before work weeding a little, clipping dead growth, and outright pulling tomato plants. This morning I pulled the last plant and I have to admit I was a bit sad as the spring/summer season has been extremely good to us in terms of toms and bell peppers (both planted in the raised beds).

But as all things tend to go, the old had to make way for the new. So by 10am or so Pan and I had finished weeding the beds, turning over the old dirt, adding in some Black Kow topsoil, putting in a little organic plant food, and laying in new seed.

The three beds are now home for what will be a great harvest of Georgia Creole Collards, Lolla Rossa Lettuce, Swiss Chard, Kale, and Beets.

What about you? Have you planted for the fall yet? Are you still harvesting spring/summer crops? If so, what are you planning for the fall?

Congratulations to Tara Wagner (otherwise known as theorganicsister or @OrganicSister) who is the winner of the 100th Ball Blue Book® Guide to Preserving. Tara’s name was picked randomly from all the entries submitted.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Organic Sister (as well as her husband Justin and her son Zeb) you should take a look at her blog. The Wagner currently live full-time on the road out of our 22-foot greened-out Winnebago. Tara blogs about living “beyond green”, mindful parenting, and the adventures of living simply, radically, authentically and in full embrace of Life and all its offerings.

Tara, just email me and let me know where I can send the book or if you want me to hold it until y’all are “docked” somewhere or even if you want to “regift” it directly.

Thank you to each person that entered. More give-aways are coming. I like giving things away!