I'mmmmmmmmmm Baaaaaaaaack!

.
Happy Happy New Year!!!

I'm easing back into the blog world after a chaotic holiday season. I'll start slow and work my way back up to regular posts. I'll start with a few things today... a quote of the day, an interesting article, my new favorite dessert and a cooking tip.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Cheat the earth and the earth will cheat you."
- Chinese Proverb


ARTICLE OF THE DAY

There is a high price to cheap food and this article addresses one of the many issues... the poor working conditions for migrant workers. When I was in middle school my youth group babysat migrant workers' children in Lynden, Washington while the parents worked in the fields. When free childcare isn't available, many children (even school age children) spend their days out in the farms, playing or working with their parents. It was one of the most eye-opening experiences I had as a teenager. We met the families and saw their working conditions, their temporary housing (for some it's their cars), their extreme poverty and high work ethic, taking them from one state to the next as different crops are in season. This article was interesting to me because of that experience and because everyone deserves safe and fair working conditions. Help right this wrong by shopping at stores like PCC who support farmers doing the right thing.

Article: "Justice for Farmworkers"


RECIPE OF THE DAY

On a lighter note, for New Years Eve I made Chocolate Almond Butter Cups and served with a scoop of Bluebird's Caffé Vita Coffee. It is now my daily dessert addiction. It's just the right size, oh so rich and a great flavor combo.


TIP OF THE DAY

I took a cooking class awhile back and was told that when making soups, stews or sauces, don't add the pepper until closer to the end. "They say" if you add it too early and it simmers for many hours, the pepper can turn bitter. I've never noticed a difference but I pepper toward the end now anyway, just in case.

I'm not going to update all my recipes so if you see that a soup recipe that calls for pepper early on, just postpone.
.