Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,000 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 50 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

A happy New Year! Grant that I
May bring no tear to any eye
When this New Year in time shall end
Let it be said I’ve played the friend,
Have lived and loved and labored here,
And made of it a happy year.
~Edgar Guest

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

This month I deviated from my usual routine of just picking up my UNFI order to that of helping with the divide. So I snapped a few pictures of our club members working hard to get the job done.

It is good to help with the divide every now and then, even if it isn’t my job. It reminds me of just how much hard work and dedication go into this club, to keep it functioning properly.  It also reminds me of how thankful I am for all of my fellow club members!

Our buying club annual meeting will be held soon, after the new year. Be thinking about your role in our club and how you can continue to use your talents to keep our club running smoothly! Remember that working members get a discount in addition to lower annual fees.

Neti pots have been in the news recently for causing two deaths in Louisiana. I would note that the neti pots were not the actual offending cause, the tap water was. (hello! don’t drink the stuff!!) So health authorities are stressing the use of sterilized water (distilled or boiled) in your neti pot as a precaution.

Nasal Irrigation

I use a neti pot occasionally as do several of our club members. I thought that it would be a good refresher to go over proper use and care of the neti pot.  You can read a good written instructional here or view a video here.
Most of the instructions for usage I could find on the internet suggest tap water however, it was unsafe tap water that led to the infection of these two individuals in Louisiana with naegleria fowleri. I use RO filtered water in my neti pot. The pores in a reverse osmosis membrane are only approximately 0.0005 micron in size (bacteria are 0.2 to 1 micron & viruses are 0.02 to 0.4 microns).  Otherwise, I would use distilled water, or boiled tap water.

This nasty little critter can be found in fresh water lakes, swimming pools and soil.  It is not found in sea water however, thus the importance of using salt in your neti solution.  N. fowleri invades the body of the host usually through the nasal passages and attacks the nervous system. Thus the sensational name of  ”the brain-eating amoeba”. Death is certain once infected, with a mortality rate of 98%. Yikes!

To clean your neti pot, you should hand wash in warm soapy water, or if you have a porcelain pot you can wash it in the dishwasher. And let it air dry before using again. It’s important that you don’t share your neti pot. At least sterilize it if you have had to share yours.

So be safe when irrigating your sinuses!

Fast forward to my teen years when my Grandparents were using H2O2 internally for its health benefits. Back then the Natural Food Center sold quarts of specially diluted and flavored H2O2 for consumption.

Then once again, in my grown up years, I learned about the uses of H2O2 as a bleach alternative and sterilizing agent, adding to the health benefits I already knew about.

More recently peroxide has been our mainstay for treating our swimming pool and keeping it algae free without harsh chemicals.  I’ve also experimented with H2O2 as a health boosting soak combined with Epsom Salt.  20 minutes of soothing, better than Calgon.

Once in a while I toss a 1/4 – 1/2 cup in the laundry if something is in need of whitening or I feel that it needs to be a little bit more “clean”.

Food grade hydrogen peroxide is 35%.  Common (medicinal) hydrogen peroxide in the brown bottles comes in at 3%.  Hair bleach is around 6%.  See dilution chart here. For cleaning, H2O2 is the best alternative to bleach and other caustic cleaners that off-gas nasty fumes. Caution must be used when dealing with undiluted H2O2 as it is a strong oxidizer. If spilled on your skin, you should immediately flush with copious amounts of water. It will turn your skin white, and feel like hundreds of tiny needles pricking into your skin.  It is quite uncomfortable, so please be careful. “In high concentrations, hydrogen peroxide is an aggressive oxidizer and will corrode many materials, including human skin.”  H2O2 should be stored in a cool, dark location, and kept in a child-proof container (with a child-proof cap, such as it comes in from the supplier).

Hydrogen peroxide 30 percent on skin.

I often use peroxide for cleaning my fresh greens and grapes. I just fill the sink, or container with cold water, add a splash of food grade peroxide (I don’t measure it) and let it soak for at least 15 minutes. When I’m ready to rinse it, there will bubbles collected on the surface from the H2O2 working.

For the unfortunate canine that has a run-in with Pepe Le Pew…

Mixed with baking soda and a small amount of hand soap, hydrogen peroxide is effective at removing skunk odor.

For more interesting and geeky information (like how they make those glow sticks) on peroxide, check here.

H2O2 is a great addition to a healthy, green home!

By 2013, new international standards for labeling maple syrup will come into effect with Grade B no longer used.   The new system for categorizing maple syrup is designed with the express purpose of eliminating discrimination against the darker syrup.

As a result, all maple syrup will be labeled Grade A with four identifying colors:  Golden, Amber, Dark, and Very Dark.

With all syrups labeled the same, equality in pricing is the anticipated result.

Sounds like a stock up order may be a good idea! Since this law must be in place by 2013 I suspect that we still a few months to stock up on true Grade B if we so desire.

For a thorough history of Maple Syrup click here.

For information about Maple Syrup in the realm of Politics, click here and here.

Have you read Nourishing Traditions yet? That’s the book that started me down my whole traditional foods,/fermented foods journey. It’s very informative and inspiring. But I’ll admit that after I read it, I was a bit overwhelmed at making these sort of changes to our diets.
Cooking traditional style foods can be intimidating to those who are just starting out or who are lacking in the culinary department. Also for moms who are just busy, this style of cooking does take longer. BUT there is help for those of you who feel this is too daunting to take that first step.
There is a blog called Cooking Traditional Foods and right now they are hosting a giveaway for  a free year of Menu Mailers and the Recipe Archive. This is a generous giveaway and a great value! I’ve subscribed to KerryAnn’s menu mailers in the past (and I really need to again!) because she not only makes cooking traditional style fun and easy, she does all the leg work of making out your shopping lists for you. She even gives you reminders about taking out your meats to thaw, or soaking your grains/beans. It’s great for those of us who easily get sidetracked.

The other bonus with these mailers is that KerryAnn always puts in gluten-free, casein-free options with each meal. And for those who don’t eat pork, she offers easy substitutions there too! It’s great!

“CTF has the longest running Traditional Foods Menu Mailer on the internet. KerryAnn Foster, the mailer’s author, has over nine years of traditional foods experience and is a former Weston A. Price Foundation chapter leader. Founded in 2005, CTF helps you feed your family nourishing foods they will love. Each mailer contains one soup, five dinners, one breakfast, one dessert and extras. You can learn more about our Menu Mailers at the CTF website. For a free sample Menu Mailer, join our mailing list. You can also join our forum to chat with other traditional foodists and learn more.”

I encourage anyone who is even remotely interested in doing something positive and life changing with their diets to try out CTF menu mailers. Ask for your sample today!

Have you ever wanted to learn how to make your own herbal tinctures, but think it was too hard or time-consuming? Well I’ve got good news for you! Making an herbal tincture is one of the easier things to do!

There’s a few preparatory steps that will probably take more time than actually making the tincture though, like going to your local liquor store to buy some high-proof vodka (100 proof) or everclear.  And of course procuring your herbs. If you’re using purchased herbs, simply get your herbs and cut open the bag. If you have to harvest your own herbs then this of course will take longer but may yield you a higher quality product besides yours sense of accomplishment of having made your tincture from scratch!
I have made many herbal tinctures in the past and it’s simply filling your  mason jar half full of your herb, filling with the menstruum (the vodka or sometimes vinegar), stirring, and letting it macerate for  4-6 weeks, depending on your herb type (roots take longer than leaves).

Food Matters has a great instructional video on making herbal tinctures. There’s written instructions too if you can’t access the video.  Show your tincture some love and give it a shake once in a while it’s macerating.

Another site suggest making tinctures based on moon cycles to get the best quality tincture. The new moon is the suggested starting time and makes it easy to remember when your tincture is finished, on the next new moon! Then all you have to do is strain our your herb, re-bottle and store in a cool, dark place.

Black walnut tincture is a great one to have on hand for a variety of uses, mostly when I think of black walnut I think of killing parasites. Here is a list of uses for black walnut tincture.  Since the black walnuts are already dropping from the trees here locally, this would be a good time to consider making your own black walnut tincture. Remember, tinctures keep for years if stored in a cool dark space. In theory, you can make enough tincture to last a decade in only one season.

To make black walnut tincture, you use the green hulls. So you must harvest your walnuts while the hull is still green. You’ll want to wear gloves unless you want you hands stained for the next moon cycle! Here’s a great instructional on making black walnut tincture in print.

If you’re extra hardy and want to further the process then crack those shells open after you’ve harvested your hulls, and harvest the tasty meats. Just be prepared for a fight. “Harvesting, hulling, cleaning, and cracking black walnuts requires considerable labor and patience.”  This site suggests soaking the nuts in order to soften the very hard shell.

If anyone wants to make black walnut tincture and doesn’t have any walnut trees you’re welcome to harvest some of mine. We have two large walnut trees and there’s plenty of green hulls out there right now. Although they are dropping fast. I’m not sure they will wait two more weeks to the new moon though.

I know that some of you have been wanting to make your own tinctures, so go ahead and give it a try! It’s easier than you think.