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.

Data Collection

What struck me about the data my group collected was that a lot of people seemed to think that they were educated about the products they ate. Personally, I believe that their claims were false because if they were really educated on what they eat, then I am sure they wouldn't be as over weight as most of them were. I would like to pursuit their claims with a follow up question to ask them if they know certain common products in their food in order to test their knowledge. 

I however was surprised by the large amount of people that considered Trader Joe's their home store. I didn't think that the numbers would come so close to those who considered Von's their home store. These results did not match my expectations. To my surprise, I was very pleased with the outcome of number of people with Gardens. I didn't expect so many people to be pro home planting. This result was a nice change.

Based on my data I would like to run a campaign that targets the OB farmers market as a great candidate for a grocery store. I shop at the OB farmers market and I am very supportive of the cause. I would like my campaign to target people who are putting "crap" in their bodies. I want to make the consumers aware that the farmers market is a fresh and healthy place to buy locally grown foods. 

The Dervaes Family

Today in class, we watched a video about a very special family. This is a family who has dedicated their modern life to being 100% independent on nothing more than their backyard. This family lives on not what they need, but what they have. They are still a very happy and successful family, they simply just don't apply the term 'want' into their lives. In class we are reading a book titled My Ishmael. This book is about a deep philosophy on how the world came to be through agriculture. I believe that in the book they are trying to convey a meaning to the reader that we are destroying our world and it doesn't have to be this way. Through this film we watched a family in a regular san diego home transform their small yard into their personal farm; the movie was very inspirational. They are trying to show their ways of life through various websites like this, this, and this. I think that their attempt to reach the world is making an important difference in showing people that change is possible even in a world like this. Their outreach is growing and they are setting an important example to the people of our future. 

Eratic Retaliation

Anthropomorphism

An`thro*po*mor"phism\, n. [Gr. ? of human form; ? man + ? form.]1. The representation of the Deity, or of a polytheistic deity, under a human form, or with human attributes and affections. 2. The ascription of human characteristics to things not human.

1. When Ismael talks about Anthropomorphism on page 82, he is referring to the fact that humans put their own emotions, feelings, or characteristics into a thing not human. It is like how Ishmael describes the dogs marking its territory and humans assuming that its because it wants to feel like it has a "home". But in reality it is just marking its possessions, not the land itself.

2.

My Ishmeal Questions

1. What are Ishmael’s two general rules on how to identify people from our culture? Do you agree with Ishmael when he says that people from all over the world are part of the same culture? Why or why not?

His two general ways of recognition to their culture is first, The food is always under a key and a lock... And second, they perceive themselves to be part of a race that is fundamentally flawed, and that wisdom is a rare commodity, and because they are flawed they are not surprised to be living in a world with poverty and corruption. This culture is only one of many cultures across the world, states Ishmael. I agree with his statement because still today after millions of year you can find tribes in the middle of the forest who treat the earth and their bodies as blessings rather than junk. I felt very strongly about when he says we accept that we are not fundamentally flawed. I felt strongly because my whole life I have been accepting that fact that we were just born wrong, but Ishmael brings it to a whole new perspective when he says that we are not fundamentally flawed, we just point the finger at anything but ourselves and because of this, we cannot save ourselves because we are too lazy.

2. Ishmael disagrees with Mother Culture’s voice that says that humans are inherently flawed. After reading through page 66 of My Ishmael do agree or disagree with him? Why?

I agree that humans are not inherently flawed, but that mother culture is teaching us to accept our mistakes and point the blame towards anything but ourselves. The reason why I agree with Ishmael's reasoning is because I believe that humans are capable beyond much more than we claim. I KNOW for a fact that we could do something to change the world and possibly save it, but it is our culture to be lazy and not do anything about our problems. In fact, we are so lazy that we would rather except our failure than try to fix it while there is still time.

3. Ishmael uses a parable of Tunes and Dancers to explain his idea of Takers and Leavers. Who are these Takers and Leavers and how do they relate to American culture?

Takers and Leavers represent dancers. The Dancers were happy with only a little dance each month and they worked with what they had rather than trying to perfect dance; just like the leavers were happy with what they had, and they left everything to the Gods and Nature to take care of them. On the other hand the more serious dancers wanted to devote all of their time to learning the best dances and doing things humans shouldn't naturally be able to do; just like the Takers wanted to devote their time to growing food. By doing this they took their fate into their own hands, making them takers. When the more serious "Dancers" got with the less serious "Dancers" they used their culture to persuade them to let the more serious dancers show them how its done.

Sustainable

What does it mean to live sustainably?

To live a sustainable life mean to keep order and consistency in ones life. I think that in order to live a sustainable life you must lead one. For example, you will not be stable if you go around creating drama or making bad decisions in your life. You must act with responsibility rather than stupidity. "With freedom, comes responsibility" a popular quote from spider man states. I believe that sustainability comes from your characteristics. Another popular quote states "Watch you thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions they become habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. And watch your character, for it will decide your destiny." I think that this quote has a lot to do with sustaining a healthy life style.

How much freedom do you have at age 14-16?

At the age of fourteen, freedom comes with trust, and trust will only come through strong character and good decision making. I think that at age fourteen, in our society we are not trusted. It is not to blame on parents for being paranoid, the only ones to blame is ourselves. In teenage ages, wisdom is not part of us... therefore we must be molded into responsible beings and learn how to be wise as it comes.

As a fourteen-sixteen year old how can you live your life more sustainably?

As a kid, sometimes it can be hard to live sustainably. Most children lack in motivation and responsibility, because they don't understand its importance. One way that I could live more sustainably is to prove myself responcible by continuing to make good grades. If I continue to prove that I am able to be independent, then I will be given more independence.