Beets are plentiful at the Farmers’ Markets this week. Would you like to be able to enjoy them for awhile? Consider this Refrigerator Pickled Beets recipe – no canning required! It’s easy.
1. Cook 2 lbs. beets (about 2 bunches, yellow or red) in boiling water until just tender. Rinse in cold water. Peel and slice. Place beets in a glass jar with lid or glass container with a cover.
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2. In another bowl or 2+cup measuring cup, combine 1 c. sugar, 1/4 c. vinegar, 1/2 c. lemon juice and 1/4 c. water. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
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3. Pour liquid over beets. Cover and refrigerate several days before serving. Makes 1 quart jar or three smaller canning jars shown here.
Photo R. Meshar
Like pickles – pickled beets will keep in the refrigerator for awhile, because of the acidity of the vinegar & lemon juice in the liquid. If you want add clove, dill or other spices as you like. I use the recipe as shown above.
This article from U.S. News and World Report and this article in Yahoo News both detail new research that shows eating a healthy or nutritious diet is a luxury the poor can’t afford. But access to healthy food is a HUMAN RIGHT.
Keep in mind we subsidize poor eating options (or bad-for-you food) by subsidizing (meaning we give U.S. tax dollars to) corn mega-farmers. This means we are, therefore, subsidizing all businesses that use corn or corn related products such as corn oil, flavorings, flours, syrups and corn animal feeds.
In effect we subsidize soda pops, chicken, beef, corn oil, a myriad of processed food ingredients, restaurants that serve chicken, beef, soda and companies that make foods like corn chips and cereal (can your say Coca Cola, Kraft, McDonald’s and General Foods?). Big business tries to use corn ingredients because corn-based ingredients are cheaper for them to buy.
Dairy farms that feed corn to cows are also subsidized, meaning cheeses, milk, yogurt, eggs and other dairy products are cheaper due to our tax subsidies.
But we could subsidize healthy food. Why don’t we demand subsidies for fruits and vegetables instead?
Similarly, OUR subsidies put farmers in other countries – those whose governments don’t subsidize their produce – out of business. Think about farmers in Mexico and Central America who come north looking for work after our subsidy policies have put them out of business.
When I was in Juarez, Mexico – I actually saw stacks of produce crates at the market stamped “U.S.A.” They were being sold for prices cheaper than Mexican farmers could grow it. We put them out of business in a predatory way. This is what is meant by “economic terrorism.”
People migrate north then – because they can’t feed themselves using their own agricultural products – thanks to us.
In 2006, I spoke with a young couple getting preparing to cross the border. They had a 2-year old child. I asked, “Why would you take a small child on such a dangerous trip?” He said simply, “If we stay here we starve.”
While we have a right to protect our borders, all rights are NOT created equal. Every person has an even higher right, which is to protect his or her own life.
The next time you open your refrigerator and assume food will be inside — realize that this is not true for most of the world’s population. You are rich by their standards. And remember that access to healthy food, like clean water and clean air, is a human right.
When do you play? Most of us played blissfully as children. Play is bliss. We become lost in time, in joy. What brings that back to you today?
For me, play is spending an afternoon with my cousin doing whatever strikes us, playing the piano, cooking with DH, reading and writing, walking, kayaking and swimming. But many other things too, like an evening with friends.
Anything can be a source of play – even Post-it Notes – as you can see in this creative film, Deadline.
Here’s what I encountered this week on the prairie –
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Lots of color! The prairie absorbs heat – meaning the air actually feels noticeably cooler as we walk through it. Natural air conditioning.
Global warming means that weather becomes more extreme (record heat, as in July in 50 states) with more severe storms and droughts. Prairies help to resist global warming by moderating the temperature, taking CO2 out of the atmosphere and moving surface water/moisture down deep into the ground.
If you like, consider planting a prairie of your own. A small group of neighbors can easily create a larger one using open space in your neighborhood.
There are many kinds of prairies to choose from; rainwater, woodland, wetlands, savanna, shoreline and more.
In previous posts I wrote about the importance of how we speak about things as well as the importance of how we frame things.
It’s important because our survival depends on our ability to see reality clearly. The way we frame things helps us to see clearly (or not) so we can make necessary changes.
Here’s an inspiring short film – Story of a Sign – that demonstrates this.
