WEX

A moment in time:

 

As I reached up towards the beautiful clear box I could only find interest in one thing. Chocolate or Vanilla?!? One question that seemed to warp my mind as I cringed at the thought of leaving one or the other behind. My gut feeling on this one was not helping; was busy providing butterflies. What do I want? It was a question with areas grayer than black and white. It was almost a metaphor of life. Choosing a cupcake; choosing a path. No wrong choices, simply the struggle of leaving a right one behind. My hand was now hovering over the clear box, which resembled a taste haven! My time was out, like so many other experiences in my life I had to choose. Stay safe with chocolate, or risk higher satisfaction with vanilla. It was at that moment which I headed towards vanilla, one of the many risks I will soon be taking in my life.

 

 

 

Conversation:

 

Simple motions seemed delayed as my guilty conscience tried to pinch my ear and drag me into a conversation that was not mine to speak. I could feel my neck trying to shrink into the unseen crease between my shoulders. My fingers fought my hands, trying to claw their way free; even my internal organs tried to shimmy up my throat and escape. My conscience was determined as my brain fought hard to find a single excuse of why I was not responsible to tell my mom about her unfortunate lost money.

 

 

 

Noise:

 

On the ground I lay momentarily lifeless. If I wasn’t knocked out I should have felt the dry cement pressed coldly against my cheekbone. My eyes were shut but my mouth remained barely open in a small slit, leaving only enough room to breathe. I wasn’t crying but somehow when my shocked watery eyes slammed open, a flood of tears were released. My head ached from the harsh slam. The noise behind me escalated, none voices that I recognized, mostly of worried strangers. It was then that I realized what had happened… while I was standing in a legal walking zone, the car the slammed into me was not in a legal driving zone. 

Pecan Pesto!

1/2 Cup Pecans

1/4 Cup Fresh, Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 Cloves Garlic

2 Tablespoons or more Olive Oil

1/2 cup lemon basil

1/4 cup water

Combine all ingredients in food processor and process briefly. Add two tablespoons of sugar is desired. If a creamier texture is desired continue adding small amounts of olive oil until the desired consistency is found. Pesto can be spread on crackers, used on pasta and added to sauces. Pesto freezes well. Experiment with other herbs and nuts. Traditional pesto uses sweet basil and pine nuts. Recipe makes one cup of pesto. ENJOY!

The first step is to grow the plants

as well as maintain them

and eventually harvest them

here our our needed supplies for the pesto sauce!

time to whip out the parsley!

chop off the stems

take out your garlic

peel off the layers. get that core!

perfect! just like that!

OK, now cut up that garlic into small pieces.

than add some cheese!

cut up some basil

then add some basil!

then add some pecans! yum!

don't forget the olive oil...

stuff that blender!

chop chop!



so close!

does that look delicious or what?!?

mmm

try the sauce with some chips...

...or pasta...

MM, maybe not dog food.

Thanks for reading! ENJOY!

Wonder: The point of this post, and in fact of our entire project was to inspire the class to grow their own foods. I think that we did this because it made it easy for us to see how fun and easy planting and growing plants are. Now that we were experienced in make veggies, we made an entire meal so that we could practice using our fresh plants to live sustainably. I think that the point of this process was to convince the class that growing your own foods and living sustainable is possible, and in fact easy. Cooking these herbs answered our essential question, "Why don't people lives sustainably? And how can I convince them to do so?" because we all had our misconceptions of growing food.... Why grow it when you can buy it? But this project convinced us that's its not hard, and therefore we can convince people to grow their own foods by showing them our examples of cooking herbs on our blogs. 

Reflection: Although the recipe was really fun to make, its turn out was definitely not one of my favorites. If you ask me, I think the cheese was a little much. However, the process was easy and fun, and I'd like to use basil in more recipes in my future.  The process did change the way I look at growing herbs. I use responsibility d to think it would be a hassle, but now I look at it more of a responsibility, a fun. Not one that is annoying, but one that your proud of. 

Pecan Pesto
1/2 Cup Lemon Basil Leaves
1/2 Cup Pecans
1/4 Cup Fresh, Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Cloves Garlic
2 Tablespoons or more Olive Oil

Combine all ingredients in food processor and process briefly. Add two tablespoons of sugar is desired. If a creamier texture is desired continue adding small amounts of olive oil until the desired consistency is found. Pesto can be spread on crackers, used on pasta and added to sauces. Pesto freezes well. Experiment with other herbs and nuts. Traditional pesto uses sweet basil and pine nuts. Recipe makes one cup of pesto. ENJOY!

this I believe

This I believe is an incorporation which carries many intriguing stories. After looking through there official website, I found many stories in which I could relate to. However, one story in particular definitely stood out to me.

Kendra Jones' how to survive life's test really left an impression on me. I think that the reason in which I feel I can realate to her is because I too feel that living a strong, tough, steeliness life is what really pulls you through. Since I was born, I was raised in day care. My parents both worked full time and had to travel the world while I was young. I believe that being rasied as a day care baby you learn an important ethic called survival of the fittest. What I mean by this is that if you put everyone before yourself, you're going to end up last. And while it may be important to be self sacrificial, that will get you no where in life.

However, on the contray, I feel in disagreement with Kendra. Although you should be strong, you dont have to be mean to push yourself to the top. You can be aggressive and assertive, but dont eliminate your competitors for your own sake. While day care may have taught me to be aggressive, it never taught me to be hurtful.

links to more basil recipes!

More lemon basil recipes:

the first one is homemade lemonade

the second one is lemon basil chicken

Here is a link to a delicious food website:

food network

Here is a link to a video of how to make my favorite dinner:

Penne with Chorizo and Baby Spinach

recipes (lemon basil)!

1.
Pecan Pesto
1 Cup Lemon Basil Leaves
1 Cup Sweet Basil Leaves
1/2 Cup Pecans
1/4 Cup Fresh, Grated Parmesan Cheese
2-4 Cloves Garlic
2 Tablespoons or more Olive Oil

Combine all ingredients except olive oil in food processor and process briefly. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and process. If a creamier texture is desired continue adding small amounts of olive oil until the desired consistency is found. Pesto can be spread on crackers, used on pasta and added to sauces. Pesto freezes well. Experiment with other herbs and nuts. Traditional pesto uses sweet basil and pine nuts. Recipe makes one cup of pesto.

2.
Lemon Basil Muffins

1 Cup Unbleached Flour
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
3 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Milk
1 Egg
1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
3 Tablespoons Plum Flavored Baby Food
1/4 Cup Chopped Lemon Basil Leaves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the bottoms of 12 muffin pans or line with cupcake papers. Make a dry mixture by combining fours, baking power and sugar. Make a wet mixture by combining remaining ingredients. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir only until all flour is moistened. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into a muffin. Recipe makes 12 muffins.

3.
Cinnamon Basil Sorbet

3 Cups Apple Juice
2 Cups Sugar
4 Large Sprigs Cinnamon Basil
Juice of 1 Lemon
Grated Rind of 1 Lemon

Combine apple juice and sugar in a sauce pan and heat until sugar is just dissolved. Add cinnamon basil and cover. Let steep 30 minutes. Strain out basil. Add lemon juice and rind. Chill thoroughly. Prepare in ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions or pour in a shallow dish and place in freezer, stirring about every 30 minutes, until frozen. Recipe makes 4-6 servings.

Sustainability Visit!

ME AT THE FARMERS MARKET VVVV!



Interview Transcript:

Do you think you are educated on the foods you eat?

response#1: yes, I think I am somewhat educated on food because I have attended multiple health classes and I try to stay trim.
response#2: no, I think I could be more educated on products I eat but I don't have much of a will power when it comes to cookies and brownies
response#3: yes, I believe that I am educated in the products I eat because I try to filter out foods with high levels of glucose from my diet.

What is your favorite grocery store?

response#1: I like to shop at Albertson's because its close to my house and I know that I am getting decent products even if it isn't supporting the local living economy.
response#2: I usually go to the farmers market for more of my fresher foods because I don't trust industrial stores like Von's or Albertson's to give me the best products.
response#3: The Earth!

Do you own or have you ever owned a garden?

response#1: yes, I grown tomatoes, lettuce, basil, and strawberries all from my backyard.
response#2: no, I just come here (farmers market) to buy most of my fruits and veggies.
response#3: yes, I used to own a garden but when I moved out to San Diego I just never got the time to start re growing one.

1. What struck you about the location you visited?

The location I visited was very pact full of people. I didn't expect so many people to be interested in the local living economy, but I was wrong. People from all over San Diego reach out in order to take part in this event every Wednesday.

2. Do you think you will start attending the Farmers Market?

Yes, I have been attending on a regular basis for quite a while. I usually make it about once a month but I think that I will start to go more and more often as I continue learning more about the local living economy through this project.

3. Do these places fit into our essential questions?

Yes, these place definitely help San Diegans live more sustainably. I think that through my project I have created an ad campaign targeted toward a great place and I definitely think that i chose a great cause to help. These places are perfect for a great example of how easy it is to grow fruits and veggies within your community!

Ecological Intellegence

Ecological intelligence is our ability as humans to understand that buying and wasting products on a non infinite planet is unrealistic. As stated from Coleman, "We no longer have the luxury of living life without making an impact on our planet". This is important because we must take care of our planet and keep resources available to our future children.
This project connects to our essential questions in humanities class because it is showing people not only a problem, but a solution. It is creating awareness through media (newspaper) just as we are creating awareness through our ads campaign! I also think that this article targets the question... "How could we live more sustainably?", through various solutions!!
I think that I am doing an excellent job at raising my ecological intelligence through my humanities class; however although I am educated on the subject, I am still in the process of moving from thinking about the problem... to helping create a solution. I think that I could definitely become more active in this subject because I have a passion for it. If I got off my butty and started to put my thoughts into action, I could do a lot to not only help my community, but to help others help theirs.