Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie - Happy Thanksgiving!

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

Inspired by The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook by Cheryl Day and Griffith Day

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup packed light brown sugar

1 ½ cups dark corn syrup

½ tsp fine sea salt

1 ½ tsp all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

2 Tb bourbon

1 ½ tsp butter, melted

1 ¾ cups pecan halves

½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 recipe Shortcut Piecrust, made with brown sugar, unbaked (See Below)

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together both sugars, the corn syrup, salt, flour and eggs, mixing until completely combined, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Stir in the vanilla, bourbon, and butter until well combined. Fold in the pecans and chocolate chips.

4. Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell.. Bake for 1 hour or until the pie is firm around the edges and just a bit loose in the center.

5. Remove the pie from the oven and cool for at least 1 hour on a wire rack before slicing. It’s best served the same day, but it can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Shortcut Piecrust

“easier than pie!”

From Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook

Makes one 9” piecrust

1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ cup granulated sugar or packed light brown sugar

½ tsp. fine sea salt

11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1. In medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Slowly drizzle in the butter and stir with a fork until the mixture looks moist and crumbly.

2. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie dish. You can crimp the edges decoratively or leave them rustic.

3. If the recipe calls for a prebaked piecrust, preheat the oven to 350°. Line the pie shell with aluminum foil or parchment and fill with dried beans or pie weights

4. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool before filling.

Photo Credit: Karen Hanrahan!

Gratitude - a never ending list, or, further reasons that life at Dancing Rabbit does not suck

The other day I was feeling a bit discouraged. I knew my problem wasn't "real" but was instead a reflection of what I was thinking. Quite frankly, I was having a case of Bad Attitude, so I went online and did a search for "living abundantly." What I found was a blog post suggesting that I go onto my Facebook page and post the following:

Hi friends - I’m in the mood for gratitude. You tell me something that you’re grateful for today and I’ll match it with one of mine.

What happened was astounding. (You can read what my marvelous friends wrote at the bottom of this post). It inspired me out of my slump and got me thinking about my never-ending list of gratitude. Here is just the start!

The beginning of a long list of that for which I am grateful (in no particular order):

1. Being raised as a reader. I had my own library card by the time I was 7, and we went to the library regularly. By the time I got to high school and my dad had meetings every Wednesday evening we’d have “bring a book to dinner” night. Reading remains my  entertainment, my escape, my university, my solace. More about my book obsession here.

2. Glasses. Sometimes, usually when watching a period movie, I try to imagine what it would be like to not be able to see well. As much as I hate the smudges and general annoyance, I’m grateful.

3. Being comfortable outdoors. I had the opportunity to go to “sleep over” camp beginning when I was a Brownie. I loved it. The campfire songs, the clean air, the sheer fun. But the best of all was comfort gained sleeping outside instead of hiding in a tent. Oh, the stars!

4. Seasons. In the winter, when it snows and the flakes landing land on my sleeves look just like the ones I'd cut out of carefully folded paper as a child in snow-less San Francisco, I realize that I love winter. Just when I am quite certain that I can’t stand another moment of the freezing cold, spring appears – the robins arrive, and green is everywhere. The last few years I’ve been making jelly from violets. Before I know it, the tomatoes are starting to ripen and we spend our days sweating. When summer seems like it has been going on forever, and even the pond is no longer cool and refreshing (it is more like old bathwater) the air crisps up, the leaves change color, and the milkweeds explode into fluffliness.

5. BLTs. With excellent bacon, Hellman’s mayo, crispy iceberg lettuce, and dark-purple acidic tomatoes. Heaven on earth.

6. Dogs. Big. Small. Young. Old.

7. Kurt. A kinder, more easy-going, generous, most-excellent companion would be impossible to find. Here’s just one example: one day, when I was whining about cramps and not wanting to do anything he said “Hey. Sit down and read a magazine. Menstruation is a full-time job.”

8. Therapy. I’d be dead, or at least more of a mess, without it. Thank you Judy for all of your help and insights!

9. Harmony. I love songs with harmony, the way the music intertwines…

10. The base part in Fleetwood Mac’s Go Your Own Way.

11. Growing up in the SF Bay Area in the 70’s. The concerts we got to see were amazing. The politics were inspiring. The schools were brand new and had great teachers. It felt like the center of the universe.

12.  Great movies and the lines that come from them. “Fasten your seat belt; it’s going to be a bumpy night” from All About Eve tops the list.

13. Fabulous names. Monu Tuiasosopo. Atticus, Jem and Scout Finch. Chili Davis. Neda Ulaby. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson. Huckleberry Finn.
14. Memorable words. Flurry, pickle relish, salubrious, archipelago, brouhaha, reconnoiter, discombobulate, plethora...
15. Dave Brubek's Take Five
16. Peter Gabriel. Jackson Browne. Bonnie Raitt. Graham Nash. Joni Mitchell. They stole my heart in the 70's. I've never wanted it back.
17. My nieces. Three of the most amazing young women on the planet. And no, I am not biased!
18.  Modern Pharma. Say what you will; when I have a migraine headache and can be rid of it in one hour instead of three torturous, nausea- and agony-filled days because of a little pill...well, that's something that goes on my gratitude list.
19.  Nick and Nora Charles, the characters in the Thin Man movies.

20. The Sierra Nevada Mountains. They will always be home, where I feel the most comfortable, and where I know the names of all the trees, birds and flowers.
21. Being born where, when and who I was/am. I am only beginning to understand the enormous privilege that I was born with. I am healthy, white, a native Californian born to parents who owned a house, had good jobs and health insurance, who sent me to college and supported most of what I wanted to do. It is humbling when looking at the rest of the world.

22. Learning to play basketball, and playing on my junior college team. I was never very good, and certainly not aggressive enough. But I loved learning to push my body to its limits, sweating like a dog, learning skills like using peripheral vision, and getting a glimpse into hoops strategy.

23.  The books of Beverly Cleary illustrated by Louis Darling. I suspect that this is where I first fell in love with dogs.
24. People who walk their talk, live what they believe, and make the world a better place.
25. Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage and everyone who has ever visited or lived here. It is sometimes difficult to see the forest for the trees, but it is very clear to me that this is an amazing place. Everyone who comes through makes a ripple, which touches each and every one of us. And those who live here have made such an impression on me and how I live...can't imagine my life without my time at DR!


Below is the list posted by friends when I asked them what they were grateful for:

• You.
• Grateful is good
  So I am really grateful right now that the ground isn't a seeping mud pit. While I am not overly fond of cold weather, I don't like mud much either.
  
• Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage!!!
• I am more than grateful for our friends at the Milkweed Mercantile who let my sister and I come down and spend an entire evening eating, visiting, and catching up like we cannot do ANYWHERE else. Truly last thurs night was one of our best yet!! Thank you!!
• Baby tomatoes!
• laughter
• Asbestos Gelos (NOTE from Alline: I didn't know what this was, and so looked it up. SO COOL. Check it out here with Laugh Lady.)
• The support you gave me when I was so sick at DR. I still hear your words sometimes. Thank you, Alline. I am also grateful to have felt well for over 13 years!
• People who push the boundry of what's acceptable and inspire us to challenge our own beliefs and opinions.
• The Sun, which has been hiding for a few days, is out warming the world & my heart! I AM super happy & grateful!!!!
• Greatful I was able to register my kinder and get my books and audiobooks to successfully download.
• Melting snow banks and tiny patches of grass still alive and almost green underneath.
• Grateful for happy healthy grandchildren.
• I'm grateful for beautiful weather today.
• Today i am grateful for sudafed and benydral lol. I give them full credit for my ability to breathe today.
• Swimming in the sunshine
• getting the tires fixed
• Fuck yeah I want another mango! Also, thanks fruit for being fruit (let us note that this author is spending the winter months not in freezing Missouri but instead in tropical Ecuador and Costa Rica. Hence his giddy ode to tropical fruit.)
• my amazing brother
• Grateful for the growing circle of friends I have discovered since moving to this little rural community I call home!
• My kids and wife!
• Friendship
• Taking the time to finish She Got Up off the Couch today. Loved it, Alline.
• Working with my sister and my husband. Could not ask for two people I could trust and be happy to see everyday.
•  my new job!
• A new compost bin that Alexander and Grant built! (Also, all the boards they planed to finish our ceiling!!)
• great friends, great adventures, exciting future!
• my bikram yoga practice, family, friends, blue mountains, pink sunsets, my new chiro office, and a really cool dog
• My health! and my friends, both 2 and 4 legged.
• The Milkweed Mercantile and reading Alline's 48 grateful responses!!!
• I'm grateful when both feet hit the ground and I stay upright. So many of my patients tell me how they didn't know they had a stroke until they stood up, and actually only one half stood, and they fell.
• Grateful you are part of my family. love, Aunt Melba
• i am grateful for that place that offers so many the space to create, in you - that would be the way you phrase things. it's right on ...
• Cold but blue, sunny skies in Chicago.
• I am so grateful for friends who appreciate gratefulness, really! Bringing this quality out in the forefront, exercising this practice is special. You're doing it! I'm grateful!

How is your day going? And what are you grateful for?

love,
Alline

You Are Welcome Here (at the Milkweed Mercantile and Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage). Period.

It is 2014. I hate that people (kids!) are still being ostracized for any number of things, but especially for their sexual/gender orientation. For who they are.

Sheesh. Come on!

Just for the record, you are welcome here. Queer, straight or anywhere on the very fluid spectrums we call gender and sexuality. You are loved. You are respected.

One of our beloved former work exchangers just posted this song on Facebook, and I thought it was worth sharing.

Click here to hear Same Love by Angel Haze (Macklemore's song with different lyrics).


Lyrics:

Hi Mom, I’m really scared right now, but I have to
At age thirteen, my mom knew I wasn’t straight
She didn’t understand, but she had so much to say
She sat me on the couch, looked me straight in my face
And said you’ll burn in hell or probably die of AIDS
It’s funny now, but at thirteen it was pain
To be almost sure of who you are and have it ripped away
And I’m sorry if it’s too real for some of you to fathom

But hate for who you love is not exactly what you’d imagine
And I guess it was disastrous
Because everything that happened afterwards was just madness
Locked away for two years to keep me on the inside
Because she’d rather see a part of me die than me thrive
And it’s tougher when it’s something you can’t deny
And ignorance teaches us it’s something you decide
You’re driven by your choices, an optical illusion
Here’s to understanding it’s not always confusion

And I can’t change even if I tried, even if I wanted to
And I can’t change even if I tried, even if I wanted to
My love, my love, my love
She keeps me warm, she keeps me warm
She keeps me warm, she keeps me warm

I’ve walked the halls of my school
And I’ve seen kids hide behind walls and footballs and things like pride
I’ve seen innocent children suffer beneath bruises
Suffer beneath every single hand that chooses
Ignorance, fuck your religion
Fuck constitutions, fuck superstitions
There are no lakes of fire; they’re here on earth
And the only thing to do is put love first
And so I stand for the boy who died by his hand
To the sound of his father screaming “woman loves man”
This is Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve

And I stand for the girl with the cuts up her sleeve
And the heart in her hand and a chip on her shoulder
And I stand for it all until ignorance is over
This is for you, for knowing who you are
For never letting your magic outside of your heart
Be you, be brave and understand that things do change
I accept you for you when I don’t understand
And I love you for you cause this is who I am
I accepted you for you when I didn’t understand
Now love me for me cause this is who I am

Here’s a message to the people who just don’t get it
Love is love, there is no difference
Not a medication to fix it
There is no prescription
No rehab to visit, it is not an addiction
It’s love and it’s selfless
It’s yours and everybody else’s
So don’t badger and abuse the solemnly defenseless
See us as yourself, there’s no equality in difference
Until we all get it, we’ll be drowning in the same blood
Despite orientation, we all feel the same love
We’ll be drowning in the same blood
Despite orientation, we all feel the same love

We are boxed in and labeled
Or who we dream we'll become
Like drum beats forever changing their rhythm
I am living today as someone I had not yet become yesterday
And tonight I'll only borrow pieces of who I am today
To carry with me to tomorrow
No, I'm not gay
No, I'm not straight
And I sure as hell am not bisexual
Damn it I am whoever I am when I am it
Loving whoever you are when the stars shine
And whoever you'll be when the sun rises
So here's to being able
Here's to love
Here's to loving just because
Here’s to acceptance
Here’s to never fearing the fear of rejection
Here’s to love and never neglecting who you feel you are
Here’s to bullies because beatings cannot last forever
Heres’ to the moment you realize things do get better
Here’s to the parents who will get it when its too late
Here’s to second chances
Here’s to new fate
Here’s to every single moment you’ve ever had to hide you
Here’s to the single star shining bright inside you, asking you to guide you
Here’s to who you’ll be when you figure it all out
Here’s to momentary doubt
Here’s to feeling, because we all feel it the same
Here’s to the moment that things will change
Because we all feel love, we all feel it the same
Here’s to love, here’s to change

What Everyone Thinks They Know: Assumptions about Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, part 1

Each of us approaches the world from our own unique angle. Regardless of how aware or open-minded we are, we each view life through our own set of filters, preferences, biases and assumptions.

I used to think I was extraordinarily tolerant, until I realized that I had an appalling knee jerk reaction to anything Republican. Whoops. I am working on that.

Julie recently wrote a column for the local weekly paper, The Memphis Democrat (if you'd like to read the column it can be found on Dancing Rabbit's blog, The March Hare). In it she mentions eating chicken. Her attitude was respectful of both the chicken and the audience - she wrote about how grateful she felt to be able to eat meat that had been raised in a way that was healthy for the chicken and therefore, for her and the environment.
 

The Dancing Rabbit email account was instantly inundated by letters haranguing the entire populace of Dancing Rabbit. Why? Because some of us are eating meat, and because all of us are not vegan, or even vegetarian.

This is a trap members of Dancing Rabbit Ecoviilage are constantly tripping over and falling into: the assumptions of others about our lives.

People hear about Dancing Rabbit and often assume they know all about us and understand how we live our lives, why we make the decisions we do, and, most egregiously, that we are all the same and agree with one another.

This is in direct contradiction of one of the things I hold most dear about DR. Believe it or not, each person here has a distinct and separate personalitiy from others. We. Are. All. Different. Sustainability is not a given, nor is it a hard fast rule. Sustainablity is a moving target, a line in the sand, hundreds of miniscule decisions and compromises that make up a person's viewpoint, his or her way of being.

I knew we were in for a lot of misunderstandings when, while leading one of my first tours of Dancing Rabbit, someone asked "Since you are all vegetarian, what do you feed your dogs?" I was, momentarily, speechless (which, if you know me, doesn't happen very often). It reminded me of the joke that goes something like "so, Mr. Jones, when did you stop beating your wife?"

Assumptions are dangerous because they imply understanding where there is none. And that maxim about ignorance being bliss? Wrong.

In the next few posts I'll explore a few of the most common assumptions about Dancing Rabbit and the people who live here - at least the assumptions that we know about - and a brief explanation of what I believe the reality is.

Today: Food assumptions
Ah food. The land of dogma, trends and strident opinions.

Assumption #1- everyone at Dancing Rabbit is a vegan
Assumption #2 - everyone at Dancing Rabbit is a vegetarian

Let's start with the very first word: everyone. There is not a single issue on which I could be 100% certian of acheiving unanimous agreement. Everyone agreeing on one thing? Never gonna happen.

Veganism and vegetarianism - The founders of DR were vegan, and 17 years later they still are. They knew, however, that if ecovillage membership were restricted to vegans that Dancing Rabbit's growth would be slow. As part of DR's mission is to grow and to educate, people are "allowed" to eat whatever they want.

That said, all agriculture (including small home gardens) must be organic (see Ecological Covenant #3, here). We encourage one another to eat as locally as possible. "Local" is another term with broad interpretations, ranging from food co-ops with strict local produce guidelines to those who do the best that they can. We are always weighing the pros and cons of everything. For example, is it better to purchase organic food (from a grocery store) that has been flown in from California (or Mexico, or Central or South America) or to purchase produce that has not been grown according to organic standards but was grown in Scotland County?

The answer is: it all depends.

What is more important to you? Energy use to get organic food to where you are? Or the health benefits of organic food? Some folks eat exclusively organic while some pick and choose as some produce has a higher "toxic load" than others (read more about the "dirty dozen" here). Still others choose to eat locally for environmental reasons, to avoid adding to the food miles that food travels. 

In the growing season you'll find most kitchens at Dancing Rabbit buzzing and boiling, drying and processing ("canning") the fresh organic produce that we grow here ourselves, and that we purchase from our neighbors. By preserving this bounty we are able to feed ourselves all year 'round with food we know to be organic and healthy. SIDE NOTE: For those of you who are interested in learning to can, the Milkweed Mercantile is offering five hands-on sessions this summer & fall. Click here for more info on our 2014 canning classes.

It is exciting to note that as more people move to Dancing Rabbit (and the surrounding community) and get settled that we are producing more and more delicious, organic produce. A few years ago Dan put in a hoop house and now grows salad greens year 'round. Many folks keep chickens and are just about at the point of having an excess of both meat and eggs to sell.

What about all that Junk Food?
When visitors come in to the Milkweed Mercantile, they come face to face with a wall of what they perceive to be junk food. In reality, the "junk food" in Mercantile not very junky. The cookies are organic Newman-o's, the coffee is Fair Trade and Organic Peace Coffee, and the chips, while not organic ARE non-GMO and owned by a small company instead of a large conglomerate. All of the candy is sweetened with cane juice instead of high-fructose corn syrup. None of our sodas use high-fructose corn syrup, either.

More importantly, though, is that this "junk food" is viewed as a treat by most Rabbits. Our diets consist mainly of whole foods (i.e.: grains, beans, vegetables and fruits all prepared from scratch). The only prepared food (in a box) that the Mercantile sells is Annie's Mac & Cheese and Organic Ramen (who knew?). This is also my opportunity to support companies that I believe in and know to be doing a great job, like Clif Bar.

But we do our best. We try lots of things; some work beautifully, some fail spectacularly. We appreciate the open hearts and enthusiasm of our guests, and hope that they, in turn, will be patient and leave their assumptions at the door.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more misconceptions and assumptions about our lives here on the prairie!

Love,
Alline

Sometimes Pecan Pie Needs a Little Kick in the, um, a Little Kick

 When our friends Bob and Angie invited us for Thanksgiving dinner, Angie said she was making a pumpkin pie but that she'd leave the pecan pie to me. Yehaw! Time for my new favorite pie!

Unfortunately, we ate half of the pie before I had time to take a photo. The other half was whisked away for the Feast of Gloria Tubman (Harriet's under-achieving younger sister), traditionally held the day after Thanksgiving and featuring all the leftovers.

Anyway, Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie comes from my new favorite cookbook, The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook (below). How could you NOT love this book? Look at those two - they clearly love their jobs!

And with good reason. I've not yet had the opportunity to visit their bakery in Savannah, but I have tried about 1/4 of the recipes in the book, and every single one totally kicks some bakery butt.

Here's the best part - this pie is SO easy. You don't even have to roll out pie crust - you just press it into the pie plate. 

Below is the recipe. I've made a few small changes.

Bourbon Pecan Pie
Inspired by The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook by Cheryl Day and Griffith Day.

½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
1 ½ cups dark corn syrup
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 ½ tsp all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tb bourbon
1 ½ tsp butter, melted
1 ¾ cups pecan halves
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 recipe Shortcut Piecrust, made with brown sugar, unbaked

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together both sugars, the corn syrup, salt, flour and eggs, mixing until completely combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, bourbon, and butter until well combined. Fold in the pecans and chocolate chips.
3. Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell.. Bake for 1 hour or until the pie is firm around the edges and just a bit loose in the center.
4. Remove the pie from the oven and cool for at least 1 hour on a wire rack before slicing. It’s best served the same day, but it can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Shortcut Piecrust
Makes one 9” piecrust.
Cheryl and Griffith say “This pie crust is revolutionary. It’s a press-in crust, with no rolling or chilling required. Plus, it’s buttery and flaky and so easy to prepare.” Alline says "they're not just whistling Dixie!"

1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ cup packed light brown sugar or granulated sugar
½ tsp fine sea salt
11 Tb unsalted butter, melted (1 ¾ sticks)

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Press into a pie plan, trying to keep the dough as evenly thick as you can. Press it up the sides of the pie pan and make it pretty! You can't go wrong - it's kind of like play-dough that actually tastes good.

Livin' the Good Life at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage - Food Coops

Oh, dear. Everyday I start a blog post and yet never actually post it. Day after week. I feel a tremendous weight to get it all right, to speak the definitive truth, to not lead anyone astray.

I'm probably quite clearly taking on more responsiblility than anyone expects me to take on. So today I'm just going to write about what's been going on (and those other posts on food dogma, trying to make the right decisions, living true to oneself, more favorite books, and an ecovillage update will just have to wait...)

When Kurt and I first came to Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in 1999 we participated in a food cooperative. What's that, you ask? Well, it is a very, very cool concept. $5/per person per day and the willingness to cook a few meals were enough to gain membership. The funds went to purchase the ingredients, propane and cooking supplies. By the time we arrived there were enough folks so that each of us only had to cook one day a week. A cook shift consisted of dinner and then lunch the next day - you were responsible for making sure that there was enough for both meals. When it wasn't your cook day, you simply showed up and Voila! a fabulous meal awaited!

NOTE: in the early years Dancing Rabbit had only one food cooperative;. Now, including the Mercantile co-op, there are at least six:

• Bobolink, which eats in Skyhouse and is vegan and locally-food-focused; 
• Ironweed, which has it's own kitchen complete with chickens and a fabulous peach tree right outside the front door and a huge garden supporting their eating habits; 
• The Magic School Bus, primarily for the crew helping build Dennis and Sharon's house; 
• the Critter Collective which cooks it's meals in the newly constructed strawbale building and which is currently raising goats for milk and meat, chickens and muscovies for eggs, meat and profit, and has a miniature donkey to guard the herd; 
• and Thistledown, the co-op "with all the kids," which also has a huge garden, both surrounding the house and down in the Osage Community Garden. 

The kitchen in the Community Building is not currently being used, but I imagine it will host another food co-op again soon. Not everyone eats in a co-op - some families and individuals choose to eat on their own.

Here at Dancing Rabbit we primarily used (and continue to use) whole foods, the cook would begin around 2:00 p.m.; more importantly, the cook always got the choose the music. At 6:30, everyone would show up and eat a (usually) delicious meal together, comparing notes of their days, brainstorming solutions to problems, consoling those who needed it, and generally just enjoying each others' company.

For me, the cooking part was absolutely terrifying. We arrived at the end of June, which meant that the intern/work exchanger season was in full swing. Between interns and members there were about 35 people here. We all ate together in the Outdoor Kitchen, at a table constructed of sawhorses and 20' long boards. Rachel's (or Tony's?) parents had given us a huge tablecloth so it at least looked fairly civilized.

 Our stove looked something like this, only not as clean or shiny. Imagine a black sooty front and a little more grime all around and you've got a more realistic picture. Oh. And no white tile. I can't even imagine white tile out in the OK...

The kicker, though, was that we cooked on an old-fashioned wood cook-stove. It was like being a character in Little House on the Prairie or Green Acres. The flat stove top had four plates (in place of "burners") which could be removed to increase the heat under a pan. It also had a small oven next to the firebox, and a stainless steel tank that held about 5 gallons of water, which heated up the washing up water while one cooked the meal. Ingenious! We learned where the hotspots were, where to place pans we just wanted to keep warm, and how to bake bread without completely incinerating it. Oh, did I mention that all meals were vegan, and were made with whole foods? Beans that had to be soaked before cooking, wheat that had to be ground into flour, veggies chopped, etc... Before I arrived I could cook for about four people, and had a vague idea of what vegan was. But vegan, for 35, on a wood stove using whole foods? Ack!

Fortunately, new folks got to help a more experienced cook the first few times around. Not only was this educational and fun, it also helped ensure that the meals cooked by newbies were edible. I still remember Jenn Corbin teaching me the words to "Tis a Gift to Be Simple" as we cooked out in the OK. I will always be grateful for her patience in helping me learn the systems.

We ate with the co-op for 1 1/2 years, until our house was finished enough to move in. We dropped out of the co-op and went back to cooking on our own. We loved the independence but found that we were a bit lonely, plus were missing out on all of the "dirt." Fortunately every Tuesday there was (and still is) a potluck with the neighboring communities (first just Sandhill Farm, now Red Earth Farms, too) and a Friday night bring-your-own-plate-but-eat-together Community Dinner.

Fast forward nine years. When we first opened the Mercantile Kurt and I continued to use the kitchen in our house. But as time went on, it seemed that whatever tool or ingredient we needed was always in the other place - I'd be making cupcakes in the Mercantile and the pans were in the house, or I'd be making an angel food cake at home and the pan was in the Mercantile (gee, Alline, do much baking?). So when the fridge in our house "shot craps" (as Kurt says) we decided to decommission the home kitchen and do all of our cooking in the Mercantile.

 Althea and Ben discuss the finer points of pizza, while Kurt waits for a drink order (photo taken from the dining room looking into the open Mercantile kitchen. Katherine's behind Ben's hat crafting dreamy pizza pies)

The Mercantile kitchen is a a home cook's dream come true. The commercial range is a Ferrari compared to the little teeny stove in our house. The Hobart mixer could mix cement and not bat an eye. And of course, there is every little ingredient I could dream of, just waiting to be put to use. Plus, since the kitchen is open to the dining room, it feels very social, and is fun to cook and talk. (The only downside - people can see when you drop stuff on the floor, which means that the 10-second rule no longer flies...)

When we opened the Mercantile we had work exchangers join us for meals during the summer months, but it was just me and Kurt in the winter. It seemed impossible to separate cafe food from food coop food, and I couldn't figure out what to charge (DR food coops charge anywhere from $5 - $8 a day, per person, which pays for the kitchen space, food, cookware, propane if it is used, etc.). To be honest, I was also a little territorial about my kitchen.

 A little salad Jayson whipped up

But now it's winter again - the crowds are gone, as are most of the Work Exchangers, and long story short; we've returned to the world of food co-ops. The guys who are renting rooms this winter are not only great cooks but made us an offer we could not refuse, and so here we are. It is divine. We gather at lunch and dinner, and it feels like a community. Because others are sharing the responsibility, cooking now seems less like a chore. Since it's me and four men, testosterone often runs high; I do sometimes have to bring the conversation back to civilization, but all in all they're pretty well behaved. I'm thinking of renaming the co-op  "The Barbarian Gourmands."

I'll keep you updated on how things are going. Thanks for reading!

love,
Alline

 The Barbarians on their way to lunch at Zimmerman's. They may lock the door when they see us coming next time...

Lead: A Nightmare on Your Street - Have You Checked the Children?

I love my life. I sometimes hate the weather in the summer, but every single day I learn something new. Some days it is something literary (Thoreau's Walden pond was located on land owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson -  how did I miss this the first time 'round?), some days it is something about baking (one can make biscuits and/or muffins and freeze them before baking - when it's time to serve them, simply pre-heat the oven and bake as usual), and some days it is about green living.

 Flickr Photo Credit

Though a Green blogging group and the resulting (inevitable) Facebook page, I was reminded today about how prevalent lead poisoning is among children. Still. Right now. In your neighborhood. Even more frightening? You cannot see lead dust.There is no way to know if your home, yard, and other places  are contaminated unless you have them tested.  (Thanks to Tamara Rubin for much of the info in this post!)

Today's at-risk population for lead poisoning contains a surprising a demographic - children of middle and upper income homeowners renovating "classic" (older construction) houses. Pediatricians don't routinely test all children for this increasingly common and preventable disease, supposing, as many of us do, that lead poisoning exists solely among poor children in sub-standard inner city housing. This stereotype is clearly outdated. With the ubiquity and levels of microscopic lead dust present in and around today's older buildings (our homes, schools, libraries, stores, etc. an incalculable number of sources), it is prudent that all children—including yours—be tested.

 Flickr Photo Credit

Lead poisoning does not discriminate but many healthcare providers do, a sort of reverse-discrimination. If you are not a low-income minority (or you belong to an HMO plan like Kaiser) it is very likely that your doctor has not considered testing your child for lead - either with a routine check up or in response to reported symptoms (headache, gastrointestinal distress, diarrhea, vomiting, etc.)   The medical establishment is under the common misconception that lead poisoning is a disease of the past and there is no longer a need to test for it.  They have not made the connection between new cases of lead poisoning and the further deterioration of a home stock. Think about it - homes are now 30 years older than they were in 1978 when the lead paint ban was first put into effect, and these homes now have deteriorating lead paint for the first time.These aren't inner city tenements - these are suburban dream homes.

Tamara Rubin has been a lead poisoning prevention and awareness advocate since her children were poisoned by the work of a painting contractor in Portland, Oregon in 2005.  The contractor used un-contained pressure washing, dry scraping and open flame torch burning to prepare the exterior of our home for painting. He assured her these methods were safe. She later learned that not only were the methods not safe but they are all illegal on both a State and Federal level (along with dry sanding/ power sanding.)



She now has a website, called My Children Have Lead Poisoning, a foundation (Lead Safe America) and a movie in production. Her site is quickly becoming a comprehensive resource for parents, teachers, pediatricians, contractors and others impacted by this problem in their work and daily life.

It's ironic, and a bit scary, that here at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage our kids are sometimes just as likely to be exposed to lead as kids in cities. We do a lot of building demolition and often re-use old windows and lumber. Some parts of our soil have tested positive for lead. Once we became aware of the problem and what was causing it, we drastically changed our behavior and became far more choosy about what wood and windows we reclaimed.

 Flickr Photo Credit

A few of the things I learned by scrolling through Tamara's website:

1. Lead paint is everywhere. Everywhere. Especially for folks interested in DIY, who value re-use over purchasing new, and who seek to utilize all parts of something before sending it to the land fill. Fro example: those really cool "barn wood" picture frames and old windows reused as cold frames in gardens? If they have crackled white paint and are not reproductions, chances are 
2. Most cases of childhood lead poisoning are caused by contaminated soil and house dust.  
3. Lead in water sources (pipes and fixtures) is another significant source of concern. 
4. The City of Portland Lead Hazard Control Program can grant up to $15,000 to take care of lead hazards in a home where a young child spends 60 hours or more a year. Maybe your city also has a grant program.

I hope that this post feels helpful and not doomsdayish. It's just the thought of children at risk makes me nuts.

Sigh. Go hug your kids. And test for lead (click here for a link to Consumer Reports' evaluation of Lead Testing kits.)

LATE BREAKING ANNOUNCEMENT:  Just heard from Tamara who said that if you'd like a free lead-check test kit (donated to her by the manufacturer) you can just e-mail her: leadsafe AT me DOT com - She has the ones with 8 swabs that normally cost $27.95 ones.

The Wind Turbine Goes Up! And Then, Comes Down...

This is the tower arriving way back in February 2010. It was very cold that day.

Here's Kurt unloading the tower. He has a good time no matter what he's doing. I like that in a guy.

On July 13, 2011, after a two years of planning (we tend to multi-task so stuff takes a while - see photos, above), we finally raised our wind turbine. It was an amazing, exciting, eagerly awaited event – those in the community who weren’t helping were watching, which was easy to do, as it went on for several days.

We purchased a 100’ tower, which in its previous life was a radio tower at the local hospital. While the tower came with a gin pole (essentially a lever designed to help raise the tower) we still had to figure out how to get the whole thing to work.

Everything at DR is essentially an experiment – when it came time to raise the tower the crew found that there wasn’t quite enough cable to raise it. So with the gin pole alllllllllmmmmmost there, a series of cable extensions were added. It was quite a show.

Below are a few picture with details. I realize that is it not a very comprehensive explanation of how to raise a tower, but it's the best I've got.

The 100' tower rests on the ground. The gin pole is that thing sticking straight up in the air. Welded to the tower at a 45-degree angle, it is used as a lever to raise the tower. At the far end, in the DR driveway, the turbine is being installed.

Robby and Tom work on attaching the blades of the 3,000 watt turbine. Tamer and Armand, visiting while making a documentary on communities, film it all.

This sucker is BIG. At least for us. And no matter what they say, size DOES matter.

Lots of folks took turns ratcheting the tower up. No wimpy fuel-powered winches for us, no sir-eee! Here Robby demonstrates his manliness.

Slowly the tower went up and up and up. It was very cool to watch. And then, it stopped.

We had run out of cable.

By now the gin pole was really high, and pretty much out of reach. The Mercantile Tower Brain Trust went to work. How to get someone up high enough to attach more cable? Hmmmm. What if we brought out the tractor and put Tom on the bucket? FANTASTIC idea!

Thomas and Kurt providing ballast while Tom climbs.

Tom, defying death at every turn, perches (happily) on the tractor bucket to add yet another length of cable. The gin pole is to his upper right, and soooooooo close to the ground.

I secretly think that they (Tom, Thomas, Kurt, et. al) LIKE the drama of projects like this - finding ways to make seemingly impossible situations work out just dandy. They were psyched, and having a good time.

The crowd looks on anxiously. L-R Kristen, Claire, Haley, Meghan, Armand.

They scrounged up more cable and attached it. We continued to ratchet up the tower. And we ran out of cable. Again.

So they attached more.

Dave and Thomas connecting the cable extension.

After fiddling around a bit, the tower was up, the blades were turning in the breeze and power was being collected. It felt like a freaking miracle.

It was an incredible high to look up and see those blades turning, generating power (remember, we don't have TV and so tend to be quite easily amused). We designed the Mercantile's power system to run on both solar and wind - in tandem they are a great duo. Where we are located in Northeastern Missouri it is almost always windy when it isn't sunny. Because the system is fairly large (we have 28 batteries to fill) the power grew incrementally - at first we weren't even sure that the system was working. But it was, and slowly the batteries filled up.

And then came a big storm. On July 28th, the wind blew over the top portion of the wind turbine. Normally we would have been devastated, or at least tremendously bummed. But that morning when we woke up we realized that Baloo was dying, and the wind turbine seemed a lot less important. It was a good lesson in priorities. And also a lesson in the need to make sure the tower one uses is strong enough to hold the turbine placed on top.

Don't let this happen to you.

So now, a few weeks later we're making the time to work on the turbine yet again. We ordered more blades (to the tune of $2,090 - eek!) and they're waiting to be installed. I'm not quite sure how the crew plans on taking down and putting up the whole thing again. But they'll think of something, and it will definitely be entertaining. I'll keep you updated!