Cranberry Sauce

Ballet at 26

I'm not really sure when I decided that I wanted to learn ballet if ever presented with the chance - probably sometime during college. I feel like for most of my life I have had people ask me if I do ballet or gymnastics because I "had the legs for it". I would always reply that I was a runner and swimmer.

I haven't been doing much running or swimming lately, mostly walking, hiking and biking (however I should find a pool....the running I can do without). When we lived in Policka, CZ we had a number of friends who took ballet and other forms of dance, so it was probably there that my goal of taking ballet was solidified. Studios in Erie, PA offered a number of dance classes for children, or adults who already have a background, but none for absolute beginner - which would be me.

After talking a a few people here in Milwaukee I heard rumors of beginner dance classes being offered by the school district and other cultural centers, so the search began. That's when I found Danceworks; a nonprofit that offers a wide range of classes for both children and adults! Perfect!

I'm registered for the full 12 week class, bought a pair of ballet slippers and a pair of tights. I've never taken a dance class and I have a limited sense of rhythm -here goes nothing!

The Market Basket: Health Food Made Afforable

This week we got a super pimped out market basket for the upcoming holiday. Here's what we got for $9: huge head of cabbage (grown local by GP), carrots (again local by GP), peppers (grown local), apples (local), pears (local), onions (local), sweat potato (local), bananas, tangerine, celery and cranberries. As you can see, not all of the basket it grown locally in Milwaukee, however it is still fresh, healthy food being made affordable to everyone.

Let's go for a Walk!

Jamie: Do you wanna go for a walk?
Jeremy: Sure, where go you wanna go?
Jamie: I don't know, do you want to walk down by the lake?
Jeremy: We always walk down there.
Jamie: So where should we go?
Jeremy: I don't know.

This is normally what our conversation look like when it comes to going for a walk or bike ride. Normally we end up downtown or along the lake, but this weekend we found our selves on a section of the Hank Aaron trail,tucked away next to the Menomonee river.

What a gem! This section of the trail wasn't very long, only about a mile, however it was just what we were looking for. The path was was bordered by milkweed, golden rod, bergamot and other fall wild flowers and plants, as well as murals painted by children from a local elementary school. So of course Jeremy and I played with the milkweed pods (doing our part to spread the seeds so more would grow next year) and enjoyed the sunny afternoon. When we thought it couldn't get any nicer, we heard this squeaking and looked up. Right above our head a Downy woodpecker was in the tree hoping from branch to branch, squeaking each time it landed. Fascinated by the adorable little bird, we must have stood and watched it for a good 10-12 minutes before it flew off. What a great way to spead a warm November afternoon!

Spinach Salad (brought to you by our market basket!)

It's Friday! (you know what that means!)

Spinach, corn on the cob, carrots, apples, pears, lemon, oranges, onion, acorn squash, green beans, potatoes and bananas (yum!).

Kale chips.

Kale Chips!
- kale (tons, it shrinks!)
- olive oil
- lemon juice
- salt
- oven

Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees. Wash and rip kale into pieces. Put olive oil, lemon juice and salt onto the kale (I used a big bowl with a lid and shook it up). Place seasoned kale onto cookie sheet and bake until crisp(between 10-20 mins). Enjoy!

Ok, enough about food.

I'm sure that those of you who read our blog are a bit tired of all the market basket posts...sorry about that. I guess I just really enjoy taking a picture of it every week and tel you about the new things I learn how to cook, BUT we need to make sure that there are other things being written about.

It's now November which means we have lived in Milwaukee for just about two and a half months (wow - it feels a lot longer than that). Jeremy is up to his ears in school work and I am learning new things everyday at my job.

Yesterday I worked painting our logo on the side of our building, which made me really happy. I feel that the management staff at Growing Power have a good sense of what people are good at and how they can use those talents to enhance the organization. There are so many unbelievably talented and passionate people working there.

After painting I went to the Urban Ecology Center: Washington Park. Our first week in Milwaukee Jeremy and I rode over there and signed up to be volunteers. Jeremy has been going to the Urban Ecology: Riverside Park every Friday and being a volunteer teacher. This was my first time back to volunteer and I'm really glad I did. It took me back to the root of what I love to do, which is to learn about our natural environment and teach others about it. Every Saturday before the young scientists club starts the staff feeds the animals with the kids (and parents) that come. They have turtles (box, painted, musk, mud), fish (yellow perch, blue gills), an american toad and bull frog, and two different snake (which I can't remember their types). One for the moms next to me verbally expressed her love for turtles, which turned into a conversation about why water and land turtles are shaped different, but also the similarities that all turtles have, and the variety of things different turtles will eat in the wild. Then I answered other questions about snakes. It was so fun!

After watching the animals be fed by the staff, kids and volunteers went into the park and picked up litter. It was so fun watching the them really get into cleaning up the park, but also having teachable moments at the same time. The little girl I was partnered with kept picking up fallen tomatoes when we were cleaning up around the raised beds, but after a few minutes and getting asked where tomatoes come from she figured out that tomatoes on the ground were not trash, but would turn back into soil and we should put them in the compost pile, not our black trash bag.

Then just when I thought the day couldn't get any better the staff took the kids to the rain garden to collect seeds to be planted next spring. After being taught which seeds to collect we split into groups. Never in my life would I have thought that we would collect seeds for 20+ minutes and have kids be so into it that they didn't want to go home! My group collected bergamot, which is a type of mint which is used in making earl grey tea. The stem of the plant is square rather then circular, which is characteristic of mints, and the seeds a found in tiny little tubes which were once the flower. Cool huh?

Another week, another market basket

Another week another market basket! This week we got (drum roll please) carrots, broccoli, apples, pears, bananas, potatoes, hot peppers, oranges, a lemon, an acron squash and mustard greens!

Wait...mustard greens?! What the crap do you do with them? Actually, that was my second question...the first being, what the heck is this? So can you can see I was told the greens we got were mustard greens and that you can steam or saute them.


So I looked online for a recipe and this is what I found. I kinda liked them, but Jeremy didn't really care for them. They were too strong tasting (like mustard!). But hey, I learned how to cook something new!






Mustard Greens Recipe

1/2 cup thinly sliced onions (I used leak)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used garlic powder)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 pound mustard greens, washed and torn into large pieces
2 to 3 Tbsp chicken broth or vegetable broth (didn't have any...)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil (didn't have this...so I threw on some red wine vinegar)

1 In a large sauté pan, sauté onions in olive oil over medium heat until the onions begin to brown and caramelize, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook a minute more, until fragrant.

2 Add the mustard greens and broth and cook until the mustard greens are just barely wilted. Toss with sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4.