I read something today that totally resonated with me. It was the motto of the Kitchen Sisters, who are featured on NPR.

Talk with strangers.
Especially strangers bearing produce.

As we approach farmers market season, I plan on taking this advice to heart. Go visit your farmers markets and do the same! I am anxiously awaiting our farmers market open date. I thought I stocked up on enough of Noel's Huckleberry Jam to last all winter, but alas we ran out a month ago.
I was reading another article on NPR's website this morning. I love their food section. The article was about gourmet cooking with items from the dollar store. You can read it here. Who knew I was cutting edge?

I enjoyed reading about the revelation of food shopping at the dollar store. We may not shop at an official dollar store (I do not think I have ever been in one, to tell the truth), but I do hit the local bargain store every week for groceries. It is my go-to place for cereals and refried beans. I know that I can find organic salad dressing there for $1 or less, coconut milk for 35 or 65 cents, Annie's macaroni and cheese for 35 cents, Fruitabu for 10 cents. The range of organic foods can vary greatly, but if I am willing to look, it is surprising what I can find. Just yesterday I picked up organic microwave popcorn for $1.25 (no, we did not buy a microwave, Vincent likes it for art class), organic chips for 75 cents, Kashi cereal for $1.75, homeopathics for $1, and a small bottle of olive oil for $1.75. I have to take a minute to check dates, but the bargains are fantastic. Once I bought a bottle of 12 year old balsamic vinegar for $2, and I pay only $7 for a gallon of olive oil.

I have a friend who jokes that there are two types of people who shop the bargain store. There are the ones simply looking for standard american diet foods at a lower price and then there are the foodies who know what a great bargain those Mi-Del gingersnaps and balsamic vinegar are and who know what to do with oyster sauce or that coconut milk.

I do take issue with their statement that it is difficult to make a three course meal for a family of four for less than $20. If using convenience foods, sure it could be tricky. However, a three course meal made from scratch for a family of six usually costs me less than $10, $15 tops if we are having something pricey. Flour, sugar, eggs, seasonal vegetables, meat bought in bulk are not that expensive, even organic. However, you have to know how to cook them. I abhor the loss of cooking skills in our country, but that is an entirely different post.

Welcome to double digits, peanut butter! I love the young woman you are growing to be.
As for you, my darling baby boy, I swore that I would savor every stage of your babyhood, knowing how fleeting it would be. Still, I cannot believe how time has flown and that it has already been a year.
Happy birthday to my birthday buddies! May you celebrate many more together though the decades.

Just a preface ~ Whooo boy, did I ever ramble tonight! Seriously, this one came out of left field and it not at all what I sat down here to type. The fingers have minds of their own sometimes.

I was reading an article this evening about the global spread of the English language. I had not thought about that more than in passing before. Sure, it registered that English was being taught in schools around the world, from dusty barely equipped schools in Ghana to elite academies in Hong Kong. I had never stopped to consider the ramifications of this though.

Apparently no other language ever has dominated the world like this. In countries like India and China, the population is starting to consider knowledge of English a basic skill rather than foreign language learning. Really. A basic skill for people in Asia. That blew my mind. The flip side is the implications for people in native English speaking countries. Are we at a disadvantage because so many of our people do not speak 2,3,4,5 languages, even haltingly?

Many in the US, too many, have a superiority complex with language skills that is completely unwarranted. I know people who get upset about immigrants who do not possess excellent English skills. This makes me shake my head in frustration. That immigrant who is being mocked by the US citizen is making an effort to learn a second (or third or fourth) language. The number of adults I know who possess even halting language skills in a second language is minuscule. The average US attitude towards languages is egotistical and absurd. As English becomes more common in the global community, it will be even easier for native English speakers to communicate anywhere, but at what price? Something common has low status.

One of my goals for this year was to become proficient in Spanish again. After tonights reading and giant tangential leaps, my desire has redoubled. Maybe I will think about boning up on my German too.

Random thoughts on a Friday evening

~ Giving away clothing because it is too big is a wonderful feeling.

~ Giving away your children's clothing because it is too small is bittersweet.

~ Can you feel Spring? I can. It is in the starting gates, chomping at the bit waiting for those gates to open.

~ I adore the Habitat for Humanity Restore. It may be hit or miss, but I can find some lovely things there and feel good about supporting a good cause. If only there was one closer to me.

~ There are far too many recipes for chocolate cake out there. I am trying to find one that I had saved somewhere for a bittersweet chocolate buttermilk cake with a chocolate and mascarpone frosting. Where could I have put it? I need a chocolate cake for the party tomorrow and I want to make this one. It seems like I can find every recipe but this one.

~ Two more weeks until I can start my seedlings for the vegetable garden. Two! Hurray! Itty bitty broccoli and tiny tomato plants! Little basils stretching to the lights next to diminutive pepper plants. I have been reading the Jung's catalog, but I keep changing my varieties. Decisions, decisions.

~ I made some bread earlier this week that was out of this world good. I might still be working on my rye techniques, but wow, the sourdough baguettes I am making these days are on par with anything I have ever purchased from an artisan bakery. My father-in-law requested that I make him some Cuban bread, which made me feel fantastic.

~ I wish the family was more adventurous with their palates. I have been playing around with non-Italian Mediterranean and Indian foods, but the only one who really likes them is me. Sure I will cook for myself, but it takes the fun out of it. I truly enjoy cooking for others. At least the kids are enjoying fried sweet potato chunks when they would not eat sweet potato before. Luis likes some of the Indian dishes, but mostly prefers pasta dishes with simple butter/wine/garlic sauces and meat of some sort. And his eggs. That man can eat eggs more often than anyone I know.