inaugural thoughts

Four years ago, despite the almost crippling cold, PapaQ and I bundled up our one year-old daughter and headed out to the national mall to watch Barack Obama be sworn in as president of the United States.

Inauguration Day 2009

This year we stayed in. We love the excitement of being there live, but we also love the ease and convenience of watching it on TV in a warm house.

Despite living in Washington DC, where it can sometimes seem that politics are a way of living, I'm sometimes embarrassed that I don't know much about policy, economics or other politically savvy subjects. Many of the people I know work for the government or for a particular senator or congressperson. PapaQ himself is a civil servant (and despite how easy it is to criticize the waste and redundancy in the government, the people I know who work for Uncle Sam are honest, hard-working, capable, if not brilliant, employees. PapaQ supervises a barebones staff and is still expected to move mountains... and by-and-large he does). Our friends (and family) span the political spectrum and I'm always learning new things from them. But despite differing beliefs I think we all just want what is best for our families and for our country and we're doing what we can to make that happen.

I think the president's inaugural speech touched on some of those things. Some of my favorite excerpts:

We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names.  What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”...
We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship.  We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own...
...we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes:  tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice. 

But let's be honest, my favorite part was my Obama Cake Redux. A sweet way to start the next four years!

Obams cake 2009

Obama Cake Redux 2013

This is a cake fantasize about. Our absolute favorite chocolate cake (from Barefoot Contessa Home cookbook). I had quite forgotten about Obama cake though until later in the day and I kind of threw this together. I didn't have enough cream cheese to frost the entire cake, so the filling is cream cheese frosting and the outside is simple whipped cream. But, ohhhh, we really like it. 
Happy Inauguration Day everyone.

{this moment}

A Friday ritual (inspired by Soulemama). 

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. 

A simple, special, extraordinary moment. 

A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

giving thanks

Hope your home is full of loved ones, good food and the happy recognition of abundance and blessings. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

candy for the eyes and tummy

My friend sent this podcast/article from NPR about Japanese Omanju. If you're a fan of unique sweets, and haven't tried anything like this, I highly recommend it. I'm particularly a fan of chestnut manju. But where to find such treats on the east coast? If you find out, let me know!

via

Noodles and Tanabata

Few "holidays" are more evocative of summer for me than Tanabata, the Japanese star festival. When we're in Japan we enjoy the festive bamboo decorations with colorful tanzaku (small pieces of paper with wishes written on them) fluttering from the branches. Every town seems to have their own matsuri festival with carnival games, treats and performances... I'm filled with nostalgia just thinking about it and longing to find one in our area.

via

Though we'll miss out on attending a matsuri this year, at least we can indulge in some summery Japanese treats. One of our favorite summertime dishes is hiyashi somen, a delightful cold noodle dish. There is a great recipe on La Fuji Mama that I am excited to try, mostly because I like the idea of making my own dipping sauce as opposed to purchasing a ready-made sauce (full of MSG).

via which also has a recipe for dipping sauce sans MSG.

In the midst of this excruciating heat wave (am I allowed to be that dramatic? I am 5 months pregnant with twins after all...) this seems like the perfect food to prepare and eat. Minimal time over a hot stove and maximum cooling power. A must for tonight's dinner.

Spiritual Food

A few weeks ago my friend, Katie, sent me this article on Mormon food from the New York Times. It was fascinating to read and got me thinking about how my Mormon cultural background has influenced my food choices and preparations. Of course, there is the avoidance of coffee, tea and alcohol. And the propensity to store food, grind my own wheat (something new for me!), can my own produce and make my own bread.

But as much as I'd like to congratulate myself on my sophisticated and healthy eating habits and be snooty about how I generally avoid Mormon mid-western fare, I have made a recent re-discovery. A new guilty pleasure. A return to traditional Mormon roots.

JELLO!

What?! I forgot how tasty and easy to make this stuff is!

Okay, granted it is not GREEN and there is no sign of COOL WHIP anywhere. And though I found some old boxes of actual Jello, I've actually been making the Natural Desserts brand kind (because I'd rather avoid the artificial colors and flavors), but I have to admit that I have become a fan of this little culinary throwback. And while I may not be casting my vote for Mitt anytime soon, I'll jump on the Mormon bandwagon when it comes to this simple little treat.

What better way to celebrate this new discovery then to create something that combines both my Mormon and my Japanese heritage by making... Grapefruit Jelly!

Japanese Grapefruit Jelly

Ingredients

1 ruby red grapefruit
1 T gelatin powder (1 packet)

1 cup water

1 T honey

1 T sugar

Directions

Peel grapefruit and cut them between the membranes, keeping the juice in a bowl. Dissolve gelatin powder in 4 T of water, whisking briskly. Bring 3/4 cup of water to a boil in a pan. Remove from heat and dissolve sugar and honey in the boiling water. Add gelatin mixture to the pan and stir well. When the liquid has cooled off somewhat, add about 4 T of grapefruit juice and stir well. Pour the liquid into four cups and arrange grapefruit pieces on the surface. Cool them in the refrigerater.

*Makes 4 servings

Enjoying the Bounty

A morning at the berry patch yielded many happy memories and 12 pounds of strawberries!

After eating as much fresh fruit as we can stomach, we made some strawberry shortcake. Why is this the first time I've ever made the biscuits myself from scratch? If I'd known how easy and delicious it could be I would've done this so much sooner!

 

Even bunny got to benefit from all the hulled tops - she was in heaven!

I still have a few berries left, but I don't think it's enough for a batch of jam (I want to try the strawberry lavender jam from Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff). Hmmm... this may require another outing to the orchard!

Mindful Eating

In the wake of my detox I'm trying to discern the lessons I've learned from the entire experience. As far as cleanses go, the CLEAN program is relatively mild. There was no serious fasting, I got to eat solid food every day, and the list of allowable foods was not so restrictive that I couldn't maintain the challenge for four weeks. That being said, it was still a struggle at times as I found myself staring longingly at forbidden foods and craving bread, sugar and eggs (brioche bread pudding, anyone?).

I read an article in the February issue of Yoga Journal about one woman's experience with reducing the quantity of food she at, which in turn helped her to become more aware of her own body's needs and more mindful of the food she was actually eating. (I cannot find the online article, but here is a link to an interview with her about her book Ravenous: A Food Lover's Journey from Obsession to Freedom. I really related to what she was talking about as far as mindfulness and awareness go. Here are the lessons I've learned:

1. I am more discerning about what "hunger" means to me. I used to think I was hungry all the time, so I was constantly snacking and never giving my digestive system a break. Now when I feel the urge to snack, I take some time to re-evaluate what I'm feeling. I drink water and if I still feel the need to eat I try to have something small and nutritious, like a few apple slices with almond butter or a sheet of nori. I thought I would experience a lot of hunger during the detox, but the truth is, I was surprisingly satisfied with the small amount of food I ate.

2. I'm more aware of the need to eat vegetables as my main source of nutrition. I used to think I was eating a lot of vegetables until I started this detox. I found myself needing to go to the market three or four times a week (instead of my once-a-week visit) to restock on veggies and fruit. Instead of filling up on carbs I am eating way more plants. Despite feeling a bit like a rabbit sometimes, it has been wonderful and mind-opening to be getting so much nutrition.

3. I used to take pride in my appetite and the fact that I didn't have to worry about my weight and could eat anything I wanted (I am not a junkfood eater, but I also don't shy away from high-caloric items like cream, eggs, or oils). I've realized that my pride was driving some of my food choices and now I'm more careful about keeping it in check.

4. I'm more careful about avoiding acidifying foods (dairy, meat, sugar and most grains) and focusing on alkalizing foods. It's been an experiment in self-control and self-understanding to acknowledge my desire for the kinds of food that are not in my best interest and then to either forego them or eat them sparingly. I feel more empowered now as a result of the combination of knowledge and the power to act on that knowledge.

5. Obviously, I've become much more mindful about what and how much I am eating. I am trying to take the time to really enjoy my food and think about where it came from and what it is doing for my body. I have always loved eating, but now it is almost a spiritual experience. (Can you believe I just said that?)

I started this detox in an effort to re-balance my body. I've struggled with excruciating pelvic pain (attributed to endometriosis and mittelschmerze syndrome) and infertility (due to a luteal phase defect?) for most of my adult life and the traditional western modes of medicine just don't mesh with my world view. It just didn't make sense for a healthy young woman like myself to have these issues and I couldn't help thinking that there is something I'm doing to myself, something in my environment, that is unbalancing me and causing these problems. I was angry at my body for a long time and then I had a revelation that I needed to channel that anger into working to make a change in my body, to do as much as I can and then once I can literally go no further, to then call in the big guns (IVF is my last option). So, this detox fell in line with the things I've learned in traditional Chinese medicine and I decided to try it out.

No miraculous results yet (aka, I'm still not pregnant) BUT I feel lighter and cleaner, more emotionally stable, and the debilitating cramping seems to have lessened, if not disappeared. So, I'm kinda converted to this now... and I'm proselyting!

Produce and pesticides

A couple months back, I committed to eating better, including buying organic food. I've really been trying to stick to that commitment, but it is difficult to find organic produce where I live. I've been searching for a way to effectively clean my non-organic produce (especially those that are known to have the highest levels of pesticides) and discovered a few things (to learn more about #1 and #2, read this New York Times article):

1. Rinsing with tap water is just as effective as rinsing with a veggie wash--so do don't waste your money! Do be sure to rub the produce when rinsing; a study showed that friction was key to removing contaminants.

2. Even better than washing with tap water or veggie wash is soaking produce in vinegar. A 10% vinegar-to-water mixture has been shown to reduce bacteria by 90%, viruses by 95% and pesticide residue, although I couldn't find a percentage for that one.

3. Discard outer layers. Although pesticide sits on produce so long it often seeps through the outer layers, it can still be beneficial to peel the skin or toss the outer leaves of fruits and vegetables.

4. Even if your produce is organic, you should wash thoroughly. Who knows how many dirty hands have touched it in transit!

I tried out the vinegar wash on blueberries, Asian pears and apples and am happy to report that a good soak plus tap water rinse left no vinegar-y taste.

I like it raw

Honey, people. I'm talking about honey.

Some of you may remember a post I did back in November about eating better. One way I'm trying to do this is by eating more "supefoods," including raw honey. I didn't even know what raw honey was until recently when the hubs and I found a local company that makes it.

The owner educated us about the differences between raw honey and processed honey, and why the former is superior. Processed honey ("regular" honey) goes through a pasteurization process that heats it up to very high temperatures to get rid of impurities and make it easier to package. However, this pasteurization process also kills the yeast and enzymes that are beneficial to your body.

Raw honey, on the other hand, is not pasteurized and maintains high levels of antioxidants and enzymes that are good for you.

I'm actually not a honey lover--processed or raw (which really don't taste that different)--but mix it frequently into green smoothies or other foods where the taste is somewhat masked.

This is just a very small step in my renewed efforts to take better care of my body. Thought I'd share for those of you interested in doing the same!

Food matters

I recently watched a documentary called Food Matters that talked about what it calls the "sickness industry" rather than the "health industry," as it's more commonly known. It discussed how we eat too much processed, chemical-laden food rather than fresh, whole-grain foods, but it also focused a lot on vitamins and their ability to heal the body.

A lot of the information was rather intuitive--we know the foods we should be eating, we know organically grown food is better than chemically grown food, we know prevention is better than treatment--yet we ignore it and continue poisoning our bodies. The movie made me realize that I have been far too lax in my eating habits. And now that I have a child to feed, I want to make sure she eats the best food that will provide her optimal nutrition.

One excellent point the movie made was about how we don't have our priorities right. We spend lots of money on things like houses, cars and gadgets, but when it comes to what we put into our bodies, many of us are not willing to fork over the money it takes to eat right. And it is expensive! But our health should be a top priority.

I  think it was finally the kick in the pants that I needed and, as such, I have committed to learn more.

I have a lot of research to do, but some of the steps I'm committing to take now include:

1. Drinking water. I know--sounds so simple, but what a difference it can make. I fee like I already drink a lot of water, but this documentary emphasized its importance in helping with digestion and flushing toxins out of the body.

2. Eating more raw food. Many vegetables lose half their nutrients once cooked, on top of the nutrients they've lost by days of transport and sitting on a shelf in a grocery store. Fruits and vegetables are so much more nutritious in their raw state that it seems a waste not to eat more of them this way.

3. Buying organic. There aren't many organic options where I live and I've been content to just buy organic when I can or when the price point is right. But I realized that it makes no sense to try to eat healthy foods when those benefits are negated by the chemicals that the food is covered in. I'm making a commitment to buy more organic food, even if it means driving to the expensive grocery store a few towns over.

As I educate myself, I hope you don't mind if I share some information with you--and if you have any insight, please share as well! I especially hope to learn more about working "superfoods" into my diet and treating colds and other ailments with vitamins rather than drugs.

Some of you might think I sound overzealous. That's how I felt for a long time when Mama Q, my mom or others would proselytize about organic, buying local, yaddah, yaddah. But I'm suddenly realizing how vital my health is. I only have one body and I need to take care of it! And don't get me wrong--I likes me my sugar, treats and MSG just as much as the next person. I'm sure I won't be able to completely eliminate these from my diet, but I think even small, incremental changes can make a huge difference.

If you're interested in learning more, here's the trailer to the documentary. You can also visit the Food Matters website.

Lunch Appeal

My little one seems eons away from being in school (although it will probably come quicker than I can imagine right now) but I hope that I can be as ambitious and creative in preparing her school lunches as this mom.


Just take a look at her fantastic blog, Another Lunch. How adorable is that!? The food itself is actually pretty simple but the presentation of it is fantastic.

I guess that I could start practicing at home using muffin tins like this other blogger, Muffin Tin Mom. My once "good eater" baby is turning into a "picky eater" toddler. But who wouldn't want to eat food presented in such a way?




The rational side of me may have thought at one time that it was a waste of time to make a meal cute. But the wiser adult (and mother) in me can see that food represents so much more than just the function of obtaining calories; it creates memories.

And the aesthetic appeal of food is incredibly important. I think that we all can appreciate when food looks really, really good, whether at a restaurant or at home or in a picture from a blog or magazine. But for those whose practical side always win, think of it this way: the practicality in taking the time to make your food more aesthetically appealing would result in your picky little ones actually eating the food you prepared!

I also love that for the school lunches, using a bento box (or similar container) reduces the waste of using ziploc bags or washing a million little containers. So there are so many pros to all this - you can have the control to provide nutritious meals to your children, made with love and creativity ('cause seriously, you would be the most awesome mom or dad if you did this) all while reducing waste. I guess the only con is that it takes up a little extra time in your day.

But aren't these little ones worth it!?



I totally remember the wonderful lunches that my mom used to make for me all the way through high school - always with a sandwich (with the lettuce, tomato, and avocado wrapped separately so as not to make the bread soggy), fruit (always peeled or cut up for easy eating), veggie, and some treat. My friends would actually be envious and when my mom found out, she made an extra lunch for one of my best friends so that she could enjoy it too!

I guess I better start investing in some cookie cutters!!

Not so oishii

Faithful readers know we have an occasional section called Oishii (Japanese for "yummy!") in which we post recipes and other food-related thoughts. While my wabisabi sisters always seem to make delectable fare, I've had much less luck in the kitchen. Some examples from just the past few weeks:

• Using 1.5 tablespoons of salt instead of 1.5 teaspoons for chicken taco meat
• Forgetting to add the mandarin oranges--the best part!--to my teriyaki pasta-spinach salad
• Adding 1 cup instead of 1/2 cup of water for a peach cobbler, then baking it longer to cook some of it off, only to have the dish turn out very gummy
• Using parsley when the recipe called for cilantro, making for some very weird-tasting enchiladas

My husband doesn't understand how I keep making such mistakes. When he rather unwisely asked why I put extra water in the cobbler, I gave him a look of death and snapped, "I didn't do it on purpose." 

I'm really a very detail-oriented person, so I don't know why I can't follow recipe instructions. Am I alone on this? I guess I'll just have to keep plugging away...

Freeze!

One of my favorite cookbooks is The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. Most of the recipes are pretty good because of their strict testing methods. From the preface:

"We begin every recipe project with a blind tasting of recipes from other cookbooks, then we develop our own approach, and we continue testing and tasting until we feel we have the best version. It's a group process. Everyone from a new test cook to the most senior editor has a voice. Then we take one final step: we use the wrong equipment or ingredients to see just how much abuse a recipe can take."

But the tried-and-true recipes aren't the only reason I love this cookbook. I also love it because it provides tons of tips, instructions and best brand recommendations--very important for an amateur like me!

Periodically (probably not as often as I should) I clean out my freezer and find stuff that looks like this.

So I was interested in Test Kitchen's section on freezing and defrosting. Here's the summary:

• Four months is the limit for storing frozen food
• To prevent freezer burn, wrap food tightly and wrap it twice
• Leave expansion room for liquids
• Cool food completely before freezing; otherwise, steam will create ice crystals that affect the texture of frozen foods
• The best way to defrost is in the refrigerator, not at room temperature
• Nuts stay fresh longer in the freezer, but can be chopped frozen just as easily as fresh

Maybe this is common knowledge to you veteran cooks out there, but much of it was new to me.

GIVEAWAY! Real Salt

I would never use the word "gourmet" to describe myself. Words like rational, pragmatic, and dare I say, cheap might better describe me. But I am kinda a sucker for "gourmet" food products. I love to eat good food and am willing to pay a little more every once in a while for those really special ingredients that make a big difference like chocolate or cheese or olive oil.

One ingredient that I didn't necessarily think would make a big difference in my cooking was salt. We switched from regular table salt to a coarser Kosher salt and I'm not sure I tasted much of a difference - it just felt a little bit fancier to throw pinches of salt from a crock into my food. But then, at my local grocery store (Harmons in Utah) I saw this huge display for Real Salt. It looked so pretty because it was pink but it was also pretty expensive compared to what I usually bought. I thought it was cool that it was local and produced right here in my state but I passed it by. After a few more trips, my curiosity got the best of me and I leafed through the pamphlet that accompanied the display.


Another word to describe me might be skeptical (although I've had my share of gullible moments). But as I looked through that pamphlet, I thought it didn't sound too far-fetched. Mainly, it was saying that your everyday salt is overly processed and bleached but that Real Salt maintains a lot of trace minerals that are lost in that refining process. And because of the location from where it is mined, there are even more trace minerals than normal. So all that I could believe - it made sense to me. But did it really taste different? One of the workers from the grocery store was passing by and commented, "It really does taste different!" So I thought I would try it out.

Conclusion: It does! I didn't notice it at first because I was just throwing it in sauces and soups where I didn't readily notice the subtle flavors, but when I put it on my broccoli (that I just like to steam or boil and top with EVOO and salt) I felt like it tasted tastier - more flavorful or savory. It didn't just taste salty - it was a little more complex than that. I also felt like I didn't need as much to flavor my food.

The website describes it as enhancing the flavor of your food, not masking it. I don't know about the whole testimonial section that practically makes it sound like it can cure cancer (just kidding - more like high blood pressure) - it's a little too close to some of the crazy multi-level marketing claims of the dietary supplement industry here in Utah. But I think that if you take those claims with a grain of salt (pun certainly intended), you'll be okay.

So anyway, want to try it and taste for yourself if it really is better than your normal salt? We'll be doing a giveaway of Real Salt and you can choose if you want the 26 oz granular



(which comes in an earth-friendly pouch too),



16 oz Kosher,



or 16 oz coarse grind salt



(they even have a powdered form that I am just too lazy to post with the link and the picture right now...). And this is open to everyone, not just local Utah residents (although I know, it kinda defeats the purpose of supporting local but some things are worth shipping). Just leave a comment about which type of salt you would like and what your favorite foods are to salt. Also, for an extra entry, become a follower of our blog and leave it in a separate comment (or let us know if you're already a follower). The giveaway will be open until Sunday, July 18th at 10:00 PM Mountain Standard Time.

Disclosure: I was in no way compensated by Redmond Real Salt for this post and the statements made are 100% mine. I wasn't even provided a free sample of the stuff - I just really like the stuff (but I not-so-secretly hope the company will somehow see this post and maybe send me something or at least give me a coupon ;)

Recipe rankings

\What should I make for dinner?

I ask myself this question as I plan out the week and get my grocery list together. We have lots of cookbooks and I often just flip through them, looking for the ones that look really yummy in the photos or really easy by the ingredients list. I also look for the ones I've given rankings, a method I've been employing for the past year or so.My scale is 1-5: 1 being "disgusting, never make again," and 5 being "delicious! delectable! a sure crowd-pleaser."

The problem is that I've only ever ranked the recipe on its page and didn't transfer the ranking to the table of contents or index, thus it was like finding a needle in a haystack. I only recently got around to accumulating all of the rankings so I can more easily find my favorites.

After finishing this little project, I've come across another problem: I don't have many 4- and 5-ranked recipes. Guess I'll have to keep plugging away at new recipes to get up to the two dozen or so go-to meals I'd like to have in my repertoire. I'm taking suggestions, so let me know if you have a favorite recipe or cookbook that could help an amateur chef like me!

Really McCormick?

No one in your research and development department has thought of putting the label on the TOP of the jar?

Produce and pesticides

As a continuation of MamaQ's post yesterday, I found this list in American Baby magazine about produce with the most and least amounts of pesticide. Maybe it will help you prioritize what types of produce on which you should splurge and go organic, or at least take extra care in washing before eating.

Produce with the highest pesticide levels
1. peaches
2. apples
3. bell peppers
4. celery
5. nectarines
6. strawberries
7. cherries
8. kale
9. lettuce
10. imported grapes
11. carrots
12. peas

Produce with lowest pesticide levels
1. onions
2. avocado
3. corn
4. pineapple
5. mangoes
6. asparagus
7. sweet peas
8. kiwi
9. cabbage
10. eggplant
11. papaya
12. watermelon

Another Reason to Go Organic!

By now almost everyone I know has made the switch to organic.  You have, right?  (If not, please check out this article from CBS).

Organic produce and foods are so much more expensive than the conventional stuff (which I can't understand how it is still legal to grow food that way when the evidence is mounting and mounting about the damage exposure to pesticides).  But when you weigh the health benefits, it seems like a necessary expense.  As if I needed another reason, some new research has shown that exposure to pesticides is linked to an increase in ADHD in children.  In an excerpt from the article:

The population is typically exposed to pesticides through food, drinking water, and residential use. Major sources of exposure for children and infants is through the diet, as some fruits and vegetables have been shown to have pesticide residue.

The potential harm from pesticide exposure is greater in children because the developing brain is more vulnerable, and doses per body weight are likely to be higher than in adults.

Ahhhh! Okay, let's not get too alarmed.  But seriously, my friends.  Buy local, organically grown produce, join a CSA or better yet, grow your own veggies with your kids. For the sake of our children, right?

Oishii: Raw Milk

For the past year or so we've been ordering raw milk products from Farmer Dan, an Amish farmer in Pennsylvania.  Both Mr. Q and Mayumi love the taste, and after reading about all the benefits of raw milk (and understanding the rare but possible dangers) we became avid consumers and advocates for it.  We hear first-hand accounts of how our friend's children exhibited allergies to regular store-bought milk, but they have no averse reactions to rawmilk.  And we feel good that we are supporting a small, local farmer who engages in humane, organic, pasture-fed practices in raising his cows.

For some reason, the FDA is not a fan of raw milk.  In fact, they have made it illegal for farmers to sell it (in their efforts to regulate and control food safety, which in some cases is a complete joke.  Anyone want salmonella with their spinach?). They've increased their persecution of farmers who sell raw milk products.  Farmer Dan's family farm was raided by federal agents at five in the morning and is now facing possible prosecution.  My access and my educated choice to drink raw milk has been denied.

One of the women in our buying club wrote these wise words:

Many years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said "Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal" While I really understand those of you who feel that signing the contract will put you in some jeopardy of following the law, please remember that it used to be illegal to help a runaway slave. Would you follow that law? It is used to be totally legal to ban people of certain backgrounds to eat at the same lunch counters as people of other backgrounds, use the same bathrooms, go to the same schools, take seats in the front of the bus, etc. And people took that really seriously and followed those laws. Would you not challenge that law? In some cases, laws are tools of mob rule. As the Declaration of Independence states: "and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." I think we all need to be aware of our own limits. At what point do you say "that is enough!" and begin to challenge the status? Perhaps an armed FDA raid of a peaceful Amish farm is not your limit. What is your limit and at what point do you stand up for what you believe is right?

I'm not sure if this is an issue that any of you care about, or are even aware of, but I just wanted to put it on your radar.  I try to conscientous about the food I put into my body and into my family's mouths, as well as the political implications of my decisions.  I will be writing letters to the appropriate leaders, joining organizations that are fighting for freedom of food, and if I ever get the chance, I'll stand in picket lines to protest these kinds of regulations that do more harm than good.  So, if you're of the same mind, mamas of the world unite!