CHORES

For the past few days I have forced myself to put off pleasurable pursuits, (such as blogging and playing on facebook) until several household tasks are completed. The dreaded dish washing task and kitchen cleaning must be done first and then a planned list of projects follows.

Today it was window washing. Yesterday it was bread baking and ice cream making. Yes, we had home made ice cream last night and it was very good. It was made from a Waring Ice Cream Parlor found at a thrift shop.

The recipe is from allrecipes.com and has a five star rating. Flavor for our first attempt was cinnamon and vanilla. It turned out so well that we will be making ice cream again, and trying new flavors, such as fresh strawberry, cherry and walnut banana. Can't wait for the grand-kids to come and share this adventure.

Somehow, making food from scratch lifts my spirits, and lends a sense of achieving a goal. The central driving force, (call it a passion), and motivation is the reaching for something that has been lost to many of us, a wholesome, natural, self sustained lifestyle.

I like to know what's in the food that is placed before my family and friends. Preservatives, additives, contaminants are to be avoided, and whole grains and organic produce provided.

Ideally, home grown produce is the answer, and/or buying locally from organic farmers.

Google organic produce, and put in your zip code and you will find a list of growers in your area that are certified organic. Link is: www.localharvest.org.

Other links of note are: www.grinningplanet.com and www.consumer reports.org/cro/food/diet/nutrition/organic products/.

A local (Western Washington) grower that provides home delivery is Terra Organics, located in Enamclaw, WA. We have enjoyed their produce very much.