Wild Maine Blueberry Jam!

6 big ones for us, and 6 little ones for gifts! Yummo!

Common Ground Country Fair

We were at the fair this weekend.
Here's a photo essay of some of my special finds.

Fresh Maine Blueberries (which I had missed earlier in the season)













This Feta cheese from Long Fellow's Creamery was fabulous in my Chicken Feta Wonder





















And last but not least... meet Broodus.
He is my first angora bunny and will be my stud.
I got him from Beth at Akers Angora's

Restore Organic Law

My trip to the farmers market this weekend yielded three wonderful pints of organic wild blueberries. I promptly vacuum sealed them and put them in my freezer, for a winter full of yummy berry dishes for the family. Each quart of blueberries came with a sticker on it that identified that they were certified organic by MOFGA, picked on Arthur Harvey's blueberry farm in Hartford Maine, and packaged by Betsy’s of Maine. But the most interesting tidbit on the small sticker was the link to this website where I discovered the danger organic standards are in. In essence, lobbyists allowed the inclusion of non-organic substances to be allowed into foods that can still be labeled as organic. Harvey, a 72-year-old organic blueberry farmer and inspector, then sued Agriculture Secretary, alleging that the National Organic Program was overstepping the bounds of the Organic Foods Production Act. This change in the standards of organic foods and processing, "is to allow synthetic ingredients in manufacturing foods to be labeled organic. Prior to this change the words quoted above served as a firewall for organic products, preventing the addition of synthetics. But now, only the discretion of USDA will determine which synthetics are used---mostly without being named on the labels." If you are interested in preserving the purity of organic foods, please go to the website and see what you can do to help. A sample letter that you can send to law makers can be found here. Another website to visit is Organic Consumers. One thing I know for sure, I am proud of who and where my blueberries came from!

I have to buy jelly today.

I am officially out of jelly but will proudly go buy jelly tonight while B is at hockey. Why would I feel proud about that? Well, because of all the apple preserves and jelly's I made this fall, I have supplied 5 months of sustainable PB&J's. It makes me smile to have accomplished that with three young kids. On tonight's grocery list, I added a big bag of the frozen Wyman's blueberries. I need to make more jelly and fill up all the empty jars I have brought back down to the basement!

http://www.wymans.biz/about/sustainability.php