Black Friday Reflections

It's been a crunchy weekend. We had an amazing Thanksgiving with some of our best pals in the area, a refreshing Friday filled with holiday decorating, home made yummies, and generally avoiding the whole situation at the big box retailers.

We used to make a celebratory effort toward not spending a dime on Black Friday. Ad Busters throws their annual Buy Nothing Day, and we've been among the ranks of those who stay home and make crafts for family members and friends each year, enjoying a break from the hustle and letting the tryptophan run its course.

This year, though, we had a little bit of a tough time determining what our role should be. Since moving to Buffalo we've been avid supporters of the Buy Local movement. One of my favorite things about this city is that in the last 50 years, it's pretty much missed the corporate eye. With a steadily declining population, a high poverty rate, and an even higher unemployment rate, most things big box have expressed little interest in starting up here. Even the closest Wal Mart is 20 minutes outside of the city. Those that have come seem to do so at their peril. Since we have moved here, we have watched the city actually undo a Burger King and a KFC. Big victories in our opinion.

Of course, when we support local, we make a key decision in supporting our community. Sixty-eight cents of every locally spent dollar stays in our community. Compare that to the forty-three cents for chain/franchise situations. Local independent businesses give more to charity by over 300%. They also tend to be more responsive to community needs in general. And let's be honest: Local independent businesses create a diverse, interesting landscape.

We have friends who regularly opt out of elections local and national as an act of protest. But the bottom line may be that no one hears that silence. You may have heard it said that you vote with your purchases. This year we made a pretty firm decision.... Buying Nothing was not good enough. Not supporting multi-national corporations was just not enough. I have decided not to vote for the vacuum that would be created if Target pulled out of Buffalo (unlikely). Instead, we decided we'd celebrate the Advent by making sure corporate doesn't squash my community, by seeding as much money as possible into places near our home.

We are so happy to have local organizations like Buffalo First that throw awesome events like Buy Local Week and provide awesome information to make our community that much stronger. So you'll see us out there with our reusable shopping bags, making Christmas Merry. I hope you'll spend some cash local too. :)

Boozing it up, Autumn Style

So, our kitchen is a bit hectic today. The end of autumn has brought on a pretty amazing array of projects. I have never wanted a solar dehydrator more. Our garden gave something like 30 pounds of tomatoes this year, which is pretty awesome given how late they went in. Our community garden spots were finally available really late into the season, but everything we put in gave a lot for the amount of time we had them in the ground. We also tossed in some potatoes that just happened to have eyes when we brought them up from their cellaring. (We know how to do it better next year!) They tripled their weight even in a shallow bottomed raised bed, which is super cool.

This is how excited we are
 about fall produce!

We're so excited about squash, apples, and the variety of pears this year that we went a BIT over board at the market this morning, even with an excellent list on hand.

I made a still life! 

It's "make a lot of crap" day at our house and our first project was a little bit of a booze fest. We have plum wine brewing from red and purple plums that we started earlier this season and seeing how pretty they were we jumped into another batch with the Italian Prune Plums. So easy, essentially its vodka, plums and sugar in a jar and 6-12 months of patience. We decided we'd do limoncella which is pretty much the same deal with lemons when the citrus season hit, but in the mean time, since we were having so much fun we also picked up a variety basket from Tower Farms at the Bidwell Farmers Market. We tossed it all into the jars the same as the plums and since Tower calls them Sunshine Baskets, we have thus named in Sunshine Alky. Lest you think we are total lushes, we do love to entertain, and I don't think there is a better social lubricant available than homemade booze with local fruit and organic sugar. And it is SO pretty looking on the shelf.

Come over in a few months to taste it! 

And we are ending the day with making our own vanilla extract. Admit it: You are always running out, forgetting to pick up, or annoyed at paying for vanilla extract. Well, we heard from the folks at Wilson Street Farm that its as easy as dropping split beans in a bit of 80 proof alcohol. So we decided to go for it. The smell of the beans is sensual and lusty from INSIDE the container.

Then I'm also using some of my yogurt to make the pear custard bars in Simply in Season. BUY THIS COOKBOOK! I am going to cook from it 6 nights this week, and every time I open it I am amazed by how simple, honest, and real every recipe is. Each one comes from a family trying to live on local produce, all year round and it is inspiring. I will share pictures!


Visit them here: http://simplyinseason.org/