Attention All Gardeners: Potential Outlawing of Organic Farming?

I wanted to ask if you'd heard of the two bills just introduced into the House and the Senate (HR 875 AND S 425) that potentially could make all farmers (even small, independent, organic farmers) subject to restrictions, certifications, fees, and require MANDATORY pesticide use? If you haven't seen the video, here's the utube link .
If not, I thought you might be interested in knowing it was out there

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I first heard of these bills while listening to the car radio. I could hardly believe my ears, so I went online to find out what this was all about. There are a lot of rumors regarding these bills circulating on the Internet, mostly con, a few pro. Being a little confused, I decided to find out for myself and read each one.

Here is my conclusion:

Both bills were, obviously, written in legal-ese and their actual message/meanings were sometimes hard to discern. That being said, while reading I understood why people are not only worried, but down-right scared by this potential new "law of the land". While there is no language that specifically prohibits home gardening and owning and cultivating heirloom seeds, in my humble opinion, the language in both bills is far too vague and broad to leave to interpretation by the courts. That is why I contacted all my reps to register my disagreement with these bills, and have urged them to vote against HR 875 and S 425. To paraphrase Socrates, they need to "define their terms" more concisely. The subject of healthy sustenance (and the freedom to grow it) is much too important to leave to chance.

If you care to read them for yourself click Here for S 425 and Here to read HR 875 .

If you’ve already made your decision and want to contact your representative and congressman to ask them to oppose these bills,
the links are posted below.

NOTE: You must act quickly to let your voice be heard. They both will be coming up for review very soon.

To find and contact your congressman:
http://www.house.gov/zip/ZIP2Rep.html

To find and contact your senator(s):
http://www.senate.gov
Click on “Find your senator” at the top right hand side of the page.


FYI: You may need to know your Zip code plus the four digit extension if you live in a large district and/or state. (I found mine on a utility bill.)

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I’m a firm believer in the simple philosophy of “what you focus on grows”. Thus, my focus is on retaining a free society where gardeners can grow healthful, natural food—on their own land—without bureaucratic intervention, fees, and monitoring.

WIN THIS EASTER-EGG-FILLED-WHITE-IRON-URN

TO ENTER…


JUST CLICK HERE and it will pop you over to...


FRUGAL LUXURIES: KINDRED SPIRITS LETTERS & RESOURCES BLOG!

Sisterhood Award from The ECLECTIC CATLADY !!!

Angie at The Eclectic Catlady (hilarious blog and
a kindred spirit regarding soft-touch for anything cute and cuddly with a heart beat) has honored me with a Sisterhood Award.

Angie is much more fun to read than I am. Her writing makes me laugh out loud every time (...well... at least snuffle and snort loudly). Contrary to rumor...laughing is one of my very favorite things to do! Thank you Angie for your amusing and amazing posts...with their very cute pictures of furry creatures (okay...the guy with the hat not included in the thanks). Thank you for making my day more than once. For those of you who haven't visited Angie's blog, you're in for a TREAT.
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NOW...as for giving this award to others...
I will just say, this is a small blog,
thus...
I hear by award this award to each and every one of the followers!!

Charmaine from Beautiful Things to Share
Ellen from The Existence of Ellen
Marie Beausoleil from Trail Mix-Up
Mona (you know who you are...even though you don't have a blog :)
Mary Ellen from Megarden
Heather from Vintage Girl!
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Please feel free to post this award on your blog (or not)
and know that we are all sisters in spirit.

REMAINS OF AN IRISH FEAST: THE CLASSIC REUBEN SANDWICH

Please Note these Vegetarian/Vegan alternatives:

This sandwich recipe, as well as the Traditional Saint Patrick's day feast meal (posted below this--from which this sandwich is derived) may easily be adapted to a vegetarian and vegan meal. For the vegetarians and vegans in our household we simply omit the the meat and/or cheese and add a layer of simple garlic hummus (sounds icky, but it's really not bad--and the yellow mustard adds a surprisingly tasty tang). For the St. Pat's day meal, simply cook the vegetables separately from the meat and serve with a side of meatless protein such as small bowl of white beans or, serve hummus as an appetizer with organic flax seed chips, corn chips or cucumber slices, or....
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Excerpt below taken from:
Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons, by Tracey McBride;
published by Bantam Book, NY, NY, 2000.


REMAINS OF AN IRISH FEAST

“Small cheer and great welcome make a merry feast.”
--William Shakespeare

When I was a young girl, my father would make sandwiches from leftover corned beef in one of two ways: steamed and served hot on a soft French roll (with lots of yellow mustard and a garlicky dill pickle on the side); or as a type of Reuben sandwich (on toasted rye bread, with lots of cheese, sauerkraut, and mustard). The secret to either of these delicious sandwiches was the proper draining and chilling of the corned beef itself. Papa would put the remaining hunk of cooked meat inside a colander (with a pie plate beneath to catch any drippings) and refrigerate it for two or three days. This allowed the excess moisture to drain away from the meat, thus drying it out so that when he finally sliced the corned beef we were rewarded with tender, wonderfully thin, deli-style sandwich slices.

While my own children are not always enthusiastic about the traditional corned-beef-and-cabbage meal of Saint Patrick’s Day (I believe it has something to do with the cabbage) they are more enthusiastic when we serve these delectable corned beef sandwiches from the remains of our feast-day meal.

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Papa's Reuben Sandwich



This sandwich, inspired by our favorite delicatessen, was sometimes accompanied by a cup of soup and dill pickles, but most of the time it was a meal in itself.

Ingredients:

• Rye bread slices (we liked to use the rectangular-shaped rye loaves, as those slices seemed to hold the sandwich ingredients together well)
• Mustard (Papa preferred the spicy brown mustard, while we children put on lots of the vinegary yellow mustard)
• Swiss cheese, sliced (enough for at least one generous slice per sandwich)
• Chilled corned beef (be certain that it is as lean as possible--trim all fat before slicing) sliced thin--enough for three to four slices per sandwich

Butter the bread slices on one side and place them on a baking sheet. Lightly toast the bread about four inches from the broiler (1 to 2 minutes). Remove from heat. Spread mustard on all of the bread slices. On half of the bread slices continue to add cheese, drained sauerkraut (about one tablespoon0, and sliced corned beef that has been warmed in a microwave or steamer. Top sandwiches with remaining pieces of toast and halve. Serve immediately with crunchy dill pickles, soup, and/or fried potatoes, French fries, or onion rings.

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Reuben sandwich at the Manhattan Deli at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.

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Celebrating the Feast of Saint Patrick: Papa's Corned Beef Dinner

"People will not look forward to posterity
who never look backward to their ancestors."
--Edmund Burke

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Corned Beef, a brine-cured savory meat, is the mainstay of many a Saint Patrick's Day boiled dinner. In old-time Irish households, a platter of this delicious meat was the centerpiece of the evening meal, served with boiled potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. After dinner sweet songs of Ireland were heard throughout the house, as well as the sound of feet that danced a jig, proclaiming Gaelic heritage.
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Excerpt above taken from, Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons, by Tracey McBride;
published by Bantam Books, NY, NY, 2000.



Last weekend, when visiting my Dad,
we enjoyed our traditional corned beef dinner a little early.
This photograph was taken right before he served it forth.
While not the prettiest dish in the universe,
it certainly is a delicious memory food.

Why does food always taste better when your parents cook it??
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Happy Feast Day!!

Frugal Gourmet Eating

I came across this listing for the top 100 Frugal Gourmet blogs and had some fun browsing through them... thought I'd share the joy!
Bon Appetit !

http://www.culinaryschoolguide.org/blog/2009/top-100-blogs-for-the-frugal-gourmet/