Election foolishness (isn't it always?) and more...

With all the election brouhaha, it's easy to forget that the employees of the company contracted to run the county bus service (known simply as The Bus) went on strike yesterday, according to the Washington Examiner. A brave move, I say, in these recessionary times, but, unlike many workers, they're in a union, so they have a bit more protection than other workers. Somewhat. The bad thing is that the possibility wasn't publicized ahead of time, so people using The Bus to get around the county (to polling places, perhaps?) are in a bind, and unsure which lines are not running.

Of course, polling places and the county courthouse aren't the only places The Bus runs near; there's also a stop near the outskirts of this place, where I got some early junk in the trunk:

That's right--pumpkin in mid-September, from Clagett Farm. (It was a gift from an acquaintance whose truck I was helping unload.)

However, the true junk around here doesn't emanate from the farm; it comes from the politicians. I'm not talking about their posturing on various issues (or the lack thereof), or the annoying robo-calls. No, they've added another level of nuisance to the campaign season this time around.

Once upon a time, almost all election signs looked like this (my favorite campaign sign this season):
Now, we have lots of campaign signs pumped up on steroids, blocking views of the street, traffic, etc.:


Ugh. Go away. This could, and should, become a campaign issue. After all, what happened to the "Gorgeous Prince George's" initiative?

Just around the corner...

Thanksgiving, that is. This is the last week of the regular harvest season at Clagett; late next week begins gleaning. At this point in the season, there are pumpkins, sweet potatoes, even peppers, aplenty, as well as greens, glorious greens, which do quite well when washed, torn, and frozen--makes them quicker to cook. (Hint for Thanksgiving!)

Of course, I'll miss walking back from various fields and seeing small delights such as:

Spicebush?

and

* * *

The brouhaha from Jonathan Safran Foer's book, Eating Animals, includes many people proclaiming that if we'd all just eat grass-raised beef and other animals, all would be well. While I respect that position, the fact is that for most people, eating grass-raised animals is even less practical than going vegan.

Clagett itself demonstrates the impracticality of humanely-raised meat for most people. The simple fact is that raising critters this way requires lots of land, and time--time for little calves to grow up. This inherently limits the amount of such meat that can be produced, keeping the price of such an item a luxury. Add to that increasing demand for same meat, and prices go even higher. Organic meats, dairy, and eggs are MUCH higher in price compared to conventionally raised animal products, a much greater price differential than that between organic produce and grains and conventionally raised grains and produce.

Because the supply of such meat will always be low relative to demand (which is why the list for the meat at Clagett is closed, while there are probably slots available for shares for next year there), even people who have no problem with eating meat will be eating it a lot less frequently, if determined to only eat humanely grass-raised meats. Just sayin.'

(I'll be the one avoiding cooking, as well as eating, turkey carcass this holiday. I'll be fixing a vegetarian roast instead, and fending off the meat-eaters in order to eat some myself, as on holidays past!)

Jennifer McCann of the Vegan Lunchbox blog has a wonderful Magical Loaf Studio, where you can insert your favorite ingredients to come up with your own recipe for a vegetarian roast. Stupendous!

Tuesday treasures...a summer edition

As much as I grouse about summer heat, even I have to admit there's a good side to this time of year. The food!

While the heat gets you down, the good fresh food puts a smile on your face. It's the time of year that makes healthy eating almost effortless. Exhibit A is the haul from Clagett, today's share.

Pictured above are squash, green peppers, rainbow lights Swiss chard (which tastes, and is prepared like, spinach), eggplant, four ears of Luscious corn (a bi-color variety), Hungarian hot pepper, couple of garlic bulbs, and two pounds of various types of tomatoes, including the uber-sweet Sungold and the unctuous Paul Robeson, which tastes as rich as its namesake's baritone. Also pictured are flowers and herbs I picked, the latter consisting of sage, mint, and basil. Time to make a tomato salad (just throwing together sliced fresh tomato with slices of pickled tomato)--sooooooo good.

The rooster crows at 10:30, or 12:30, whenever--late spring harvest

Um, there are cows at Clagett, but no sheep. Hmm.

The other day was a nicer one than there's been in a while, with the sunshine and all. Thus, a great day to mozie down to Clagett Farm to help with harvest and other tasks (such as hoeing a row of potatoes, for the first time).

An interesting surprise--there was a crew from the Emeril Green show at the farm, which was on-site the entire day. For most of the day, they were at a distance as we picked the humungous and fragrant Siberian kale (with a scent mildly reminiscent of dill) and Russian kale, etc. However, the pleasant crew and the affable show host did briefly shoot us a bit when we were preparing the day's haul for customers, who pick up their shares in the afternoon--splashing and cleaning the bok choy and lettuce so that they'd be beautiful for their closeup.

After the fuss was over, it was time to settle down and pick herbs and strawberries before heading home (with plenty of kale, lettuce, and garlic scapes, as well as some asparagus). I'm always amazed at the variety of herbs that can flourish in a wide range of temperatures. For instance, the sage was as plentiful and healthy looking in the hot June sun as it was last November. However, I am more intrigued by the flowering herbs of summer, such as chamomile and lavender (pictured above), two plants whose mere appearance are simultaneously cheering and calming.

More reasons to eat your veggies!

Recently, a nice article on the health benefits of various common fruits and vegetables appeared in the Huffington Post, by David H. Murdock of Dole Foods. While he is, of course, not an entirely unbiased source, his chart mentioned a range of health benefits that I've never heard of, such as that strawberries protect against Alzheimer's, that bananas reduce symptoms of asthma in children as well as increase fat burning, and that kale counters harmful estrogens that can feed cancer (as well as increase bone density), among the foods mentioned there. (Oddly though, it seems from the article comments that some of his employees labor under the impression that papayas and pawpaws are the same fruit, when Dole only sells papayas, and pawpaws are native to the eastern US.)

Whatever. It's time to dive into a fat-burning banana right now, followed by some of those tiny strawberries I picked from the farm. Mmmm.

City, Country, City

Like every other week, there have been good and bad things going on. In Arlington at a cattle call, aka job fair, earlier this week, there were lots of applicants. Who all seemed to come at around the same time, like a tsunami. What was surprising was that even the vaunted healthcare sector had few exhibitors. On the way back to the subway, I spoke with one of the hopefuls, who unfortunately emigrated from the UK to the US, thinking that, regardless, there are always jobs in America. Not.

* * *

Well, a few folks in Arlington have shown foresight, at least regarding gasoline usage, as they set up the Envirocab company, which tools around town in those spiffy painted Camrys (and other) hybrids.

As the Envirocab company is relatively new, it would appear that one perk of using one of its cabs, in addition to their spewing little to no pollution, would be that they're not on the verge of falling apart! That alone is change worth bringing.

* * *

Back in D.C., I decided to treat myself to Sticky Fingers Bakery, which was playing music appropriate for my mood--the blues. I didn't partake of one of those scrumptious cinnamon buns, but a more recent temptation, cupcakes topped with creamy frosting. I searched for the orange creamsicle ones, but they were not to be seen. I greedily decided on two others, the strawberry cream cupcake (which I had drooled over previously), and a lemon-filled one.

The strawberry creme beauty above was just as tasty as I had imagined it would be--moist, with a fluffy sweet frosting on top, lots of it. However, the lemon-filled one was a disappointment; seems like there was lots of lemon juice used, but not much lemon zest (certainly not in the frosting). I wish I'd chosen the chocolate-chocolate cupcake as my second choice, as that's usually a moist, tasty treat. Oh well. The cakes were nice washed down with a large cup of the excellent Intelligentsia green tea that Sticky Fingers serves--I forgot how good that tea is. All in all, the friendly staff, good street view, tasty snacks and drinks, and good music make Sticky a good place to hang out.

* * *

Treated myself to hard work, friendly people and dog, great views, and kites (?) flying about at Clagett Farm. As it's not yet harvest time, it was time for the decidedly unglamorous task of weeding and digging up various fields. However, you know it's spring when you look up and get a glimpse like this...
With a blissful view like this, who would think that you're within five minutes of noisiness (particularly this week, as the air show's this weekend) of all the graceful jets and other aircraft swooping in and out of Andrews?