Hedge fund managers are hedging their bets in this economy — stocking up on MREs and canned food.

Tips on storing food outside when you don't have a root cellar.

Interesting thoughts about slowing global climate change by painting roofs and other surfaces white.

Senator Pat Roberts recently said some pretty ridiculous things about small farmers, and in response, The Ethicurian is calling for photos for their flickr group to show Senator Roberts how wrong he is.

Natural Home magazine has an article about Putting Your Life on a Diet with tips for reducing your impact in lots of ways.

Re-Nest reminds us that it's time to start some of your seeds for spring if you live in the Northern Hemisphere. Check their links for more info.

And, for the Pollanesquer who was looking for casseroles and comfort foods, Cheap, Healthy, Good has an exhaustive list of comfort foods and one-pot meals.

Quick, easy (well, especially if you have an ice cream machine), good for that rhubarb you picked up at the farmers' market, requiring very few ingredients and with an all-local version, very tasty, and just the thing for hot days. Based on this recipe from Sugarlaws:

( Rhubarb Ice CreamCollapse )

Hello All,

Like scooterlaru, I'm another long time lurker - who loves food. Unlike the rest of you whom I can see on here - I live in England, with access to fresh fruit and vegetables whenever I require. The problem is that I am a notoriously lazy person, who would much rather order organic stuff from Sainsbury's than actually take a trip to the local farmer's markets. Besides sheer laziness, there is a reason for this. There is cake. And biscuits. At least shopping online does not expose me to the heavenly scent of those confections.

In 9 weeks my better, slightly saner, half will be moving in with me - which means that I am more likely to go out and forage in the wild. (Farmer's markets). In preparation for this life changing event, I'm trying to get together a stock of simple recipes that are healthy and still filling, and most importantly from my point of view, have a list of ingredient that does not include cake!

I love to cook. I cook for myself every night - but I cook strange and wonderful things based on whatever seems to be closest to expiring in my fridge. The highlight of this week's oddness was a sort of indian-curry-stirfry with leeks, mushrooms, onions and chicken. I try not eat what I classify as "pure carbs" (potatoes, pasta, rice) more than twice a week, as I have cereal in the mornings, and have found out due to blood tests that my body is not particularly amenable to carbs. At all. I love cooking from scratch, though I have found trick for those days that the office keeps me ridiculously late - probably not in the spirit of this community but will stick it in anyway - precooked, prefrozen children's meals. There is a brand over here called "eat fussy" - no e numbers, no preservatives, no additives - the ingredients list at the back looks like something you'd use for a recipe, not for a shuttle launch! One of those with a nice fresh salad, and I have the convenience of pre-packaged meals without worrying about what I'm putting into me.

I also have a proto-hobby attempting to learn how to make japanese bento boxes... the supplies are just arriving, but it seems an excellent way to have inbuilt portion control and all the fun of actually designing and presenting a lunch! If anyone is interested, I will post pictures with ingredients when I actually begin.

Now, onto the interesting part - a link to one of the most convenient curries I've ever eaten - absolutely perfect to make in bulk for most gatherings, as it is vegetarian (but not vegan) friendly and looks lovely on a plate.

BBC GOOD FOOD: Cauliflower and Egg Curry

It may sound strange, but I really reccomend it.

Okay enough waffling, time to tidy up the house in preparation for fresh fruit and veg!

All the very best,

tst

First of all - awesome idea for a community! 

My friend and I have been housesharing for two years now, in two different houses, and have developed our own portable gardens.  We grow a variety of things: herbs (fennel, basil [sweet & greek], french tarragon, vietnamese mint, oregano, marjoram, chives, parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary), chillies, beetroot, silverbeet, lettuces, chicory, tomatoes, rhubarb, rocket [arugula], and edible flowers (for adding to salads).

While it does require a bit of investment from time to time in some decent potting mix, you'll save money as well, by being able to make meals from what you've grown - or at least supplement your meals. Most of our garden has been done the super-cheap style - we've collected polystyrene boxes from the local grocery store (the kind their fruit and veg are packed in when they arrive at the store) for use as planting boxes. These are free, and come with ready-made drainage holes in the bottom. Also, it means they are being utillised, rather than just going straight to landfill. Another great thing about them was that when we left the last house, we were able to take most of our garden with us!