ending the debate of SIGG vs. Klean Kanteen

Over the past month we have an above average request for Klean Kanteens and i recently found out why.

Going back over the past few years of this store, there has been a debate over the 2 popular drinking container companies SIGG and Klean Kanteen. Klean Kanteen, what our store has been carrying, is a stainless steel canteen while SIGG is an aluminum one with an interior "epoxy". The core of the debate has concerned on what exactly is in SIGG's epoxy and is it safe.
For as long as i have been following, SIGG has defended their bottles saying that they are safe and nontoxic.
Personally, we as a business have always sold and supported Klean Kanteen. I have never rationalized having a coating to cover aluminum when there was no need to have aluminum (which is toxic) and an additional coating when stainless steel was safe to use for drinks. also, I was against SIGG's narrow mouth which made it difficult to clean (leading you to buy an additional special cleaning brush) only adding to more purchases and work when it wasn't necessary.
So going back to the original debate and the recent rush in demand of Klean Kanteens: it was stated recently that:

Swiss sports and children's bottle maker SIGG has admitted what many consumer advocates have suspected for years, but never proven: That the epoxy lining used for years in SIGG bottles - which they secretly swapped out for a new liner last summer - contained the hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol-A.

In the past year, SIGG has created a new "eco-liner". Why do that when they were safe to begin with?
Steve Waskik, CEO of SIGG made a public apology for the recent findings. Some people accept it, while a number of consumers are enraged. As far as we are concerned:

OUR NEW SHIPMENT OF KLEAN KANTEEN BOTTLES WILL ARRIVE ON SEPTEMBER 14TH.

CSA cooking: tomato tart & cumin carrots

basket inventory: field carrots, rainbow chard, basil, pummelo, cantaloupe, heirloom cherry tomatoes, radishes, dandelion greens, parsley, limes, orange, passion fruit, quince, lettuce, zucchini, cucumbers.

made an amazing tomato tart. practicing the recipe over the past month, but now i have got it down.

TOMATO TART:
ready-made pie shell
2-3 eggs
cream cheese (whatever you have, at least over a 1/2 box)
goat cheese (just make the 2 cheeses = 1 cup)
various spices you like with ingredients
salt/pepper
1-2 toms, more if you want to cover the entire tart

bake the pie shell for 10-15 or until crust is set (it gets,light brown). blend cheeses, eggs and s&p, spices and after pie crust is ready pour into cooled crust. bake at 400 for 10 min add toms 1/2 way. bake another 15-20 min. add basil leaves as garnish.




CUMIN CARROTS

1 bunch carrots (if you use large ones, cut them down)
1-2 pats butter or 1-2 tbs olive oil for vegans
salt
1 tsp cumin
juice of 1 lime

heat oven to 350 (or 400 if you are making the tart at the same time!). in a cast iron skillet, saute the carrots with all other ingredients (add lime last) for 10 or so minutes. transfer to oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the carrots are tender.



i served these on top of a few raw swiss chard leaves.

call me a Pessimist: Opportunity Green

i just received an email today about the upcoming conference for Opportunity Green which is 2 day event that, "emerged to confront this ('business as usual') challenge and bring together the brightest innovators leading the growth of the new green economy."


Guess who are some of the headlining speakers: Clorox, Proctor & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson executives.
Am i totally crazy for thinking that the people organizing the event could have chosen different speakers? Yes you may say that Clorox now has their new Green Works cleaning line, but THEY STILL MAKE BLEACH as well as a large number of toxic cleaners that they market right next to the "healthy" products. And don't forget about Johnson and Johnson whose kids products have been cited to contain various carcinogens. Talk about green washing at its finest!

How about supporting and giving a forum to the hundreds of businesses that have paved the way for these conglomerates to start thinking about their customer's health and the environment? The only reason many large businesses/corporations/manufactures even started responding to green consumerism was a result of recalls, health issues and unflattering reports/press from environmental watchdogs/health/parent groups....now we are calling them "innovators".
And the topper is that you can go to this event for the small fee of $995.

Hatch Chilies: tastes good but a pain in the a**

Have you ever heard of the Hatch Chili??


I have only started hearing about this chili in the past year...usually from New Mexicans or serious foodies with an inkling for the heat. These chilies are supposed to be the best chili grown in the US, with exceptional flavor and i guess more vitamin C than a glass of orange juice. So what were my boyfriend and i to do when several Southern California grocers decided to sell and roast Hatch Chilies?
Our "adventure" started 3 weeks ago at a La Habra Albertsons. Arriving pretty early on a Sunday morning we were told that the store had ran out, in fact they had sold 12,000 pounds of chilies in a few hours! Who knew!
So to ensure we would be able to get our hands on at least one case, we decided to show up at the next roasting-a Bristol Farms in Newport Beach. There we were, 6am in a deserted parking lot, hair disheveled from only getting 3 hours of sleep waiting for these damn chilies.
Well i guess the residence of Newport Beach still have no idea about how great these chilies are because we were the only people there when the store opened. There was probably more talk of how we sat in the parking lot for 2+ hours rather than the boxes of chilies on display-awesome.






It doesn't end here. It wasn't until after a full day of work, that i realized that i should do something about the chilies as we were not able to start preserving them until the following day. In a panic (of having them spoil or having bacteria start growing on them is not cool), we started peeling as many chilies as we could.
Have you ever seen the movie Dune (i know its bad!)? Remember when Paul (Kyle MacLachlan) puts his hand in the box and his skin started to melt off?
(yes Sting is in it too)

(could not find an image of the hand-box, but if you have seen the movie, you might appreciate this image!)
This is exactly what i started feeling after peeling wet chilies for 30 minutes. It became so bad that i started shaking and sweating from the pain. I could barely type, but i tried to look for a solution on-line. I tried everything: rubbing alcohol, tequila, baking powder/soda, lemon/lime juice, vinegar, eucalyptus/olive/grapeseed oil, frozen whipped cream, ice...basically anything i could get my hands on. Then i became thankful for that gallon of milk we bought last week for that cake i never got around for baking.

How to Get Rid of Pepper-Hands:

Wash hands VERY well (5+ times), in a large bowl, pour 1/2 gal of milk (enough to submerge hands), soak for 30 min. Replace with more cold milk (feels good!) and the pain should go away in about 20 min.

The next day we processed the chilies into a pepper-paste which took 4 people and 4+ hours to prepare. I have to tell you they are a pain in the a@*, but after all of that trouble, they are very good! i have 2 cases of preserved chili paste and after all of this work, it is not cheap.

new addition to blog: what i did with my CSA basket

as some of you know, my store-The Road Less Traveled, has been a CSA (community supported agriculture) drop-off point for Morning Song Farm for the past 2 years. i will be posting a recipe or "what i did" with our basket every Thursday for people to see what it means to live with a weekly basket of seasonal food. please feel free to post your own tips!

tips for the 127 yard sale

since i have been back from my 127 yard sale adventure, i have had a good amount of people asking about the whole experience and what i found, etc... for sure i must say that i will be trying to do this event for years to come, but i did discover some interesting tips as well that i think would be helpful to anyone going out and partaking in this monster of all monster yard sales.

Tips for the 127 Yard Sale
by, delilah snell

1. You will not be able to do the whole sale, so don’t even try it. Start small, do less than 200 miles- ideally 100-150 miles.
2. What to bring-very important as you do not want to spend money on things you could have brought from home: flip-flops/crocs/sneakers you can throw out, sunblock, canvas bags, clothes that you don’t mind stinking up, packing tape. Travel light, you will want to use your baggage for yard sale room!
3. Shipping: unless you have the will power of a god, you will probably buy more than you expected (at least that is what I did). Make sure you know where all the UPS/Fed-Ex/Post Offices are in each major town you will pass. More importantly, make sure you can find where you can get durable cardboard boxes, packing tape, and bubble wrap. The Post Office has a great deal where you can ship items AT ANY WEIGHT in a small $14 box.If you bought a lot of small heavy things- get it!Remember, they are not open on Sunday!
4. Tennessee seemed to have the best deals and the best selection of goods- at least from my point of view. Don’t get too excited at the beginning unless you know your stuff, I am telling you this thing is big and there will be EVERYTHING!
5. Food in general is pretty greasy and not the best for vegetarians and hit or miss. We found decent breakfasts at the chain Cracker Barrel, which are located in all major towns along 127. However, don’t be afraid to ask locals what is out there. Also, Mexican food does not have 2 dishes in one name: Fajita Quesadilla??
6. Speaking of eating- most of Tennessee (and Kentucky) along 127 was dry. What is that you ask?? Well, if you have had a long day shopping and haggling, don’t expect a frosty glass of beer at your local pizza parlor. It took us a few to figure this out. SOLUTION: Get your meal to go, ask for a couple large glasses of ice and go buy yourself a few margarita wine coolers and have your meal at your hotel (for extra-strength, buy tequila in Alabama). There is a winery across the street from the Jordan Hotel, get there before 6PM and you can have the only bottle of wine we could find for miles!
7. PAY ATTENTION TO THE ROAD! We almost got in a few head-ons. People are not paying attention and there are a number of accidents, plus people are stopping all the time to look at the sales.Make sure your pilot is not distracted-get drinks and snacks for them and don’t let them talk on the phone or touch a map-that is the co-pilots job. Bring your I-pod and a car connector and plenty of playlists, talk shows and other things on it so that you don’t even have to touch the radio. Avoid driving long distances at night.
8. Photography: This trip is great for photographers. The natural settings in the morning and evening are beautiful as well as the trinkets, food, people and displays of all of the sales. Another thing that I want to focus on for the next rip: the signs of route 127. You will find below are just a few images that I love.

9. Bring a small cooler with snacks and drinks. It gets HOT and if you are watching your weight or have a certain diet, you should bring those special things along with you. Road-side food is meat and fried only…(except the occasional fruit stand)-it’s good, but not the healthiest.
10. Don’t tell people you are from California:I guess they think we are all rich and famous and can afford everything at full price. Before you leave, find a small town in a state next to where you are…find out a little bit about it- guess where you are going to be from??? About deals and where you are from:I only say this for the larger sales where there are dealers and people who are doing this for a living. There are tons of small tiny yard sales where they would love to talk and know where you are from, here you will get the best deals and met great folks.
11. Talk to people: the great people along 127 are super friendly folk and great conversation is not only a way to know who makes up the sale and area, but a great way to lead into bargaining. Ask them about how to know about items, where to find them and why they do what they do… it will enrich the whole experience.
12. Make at least some sort of list of things that you want: I am telling you, this event can become overwhelming very fast and if you do not have some sort of guidance you can easily get off track. Set aside about $50-100 (depending on your budget) for that one thing that you were not expecting to find or event think about until you saw it-much like an old-school bottling contraption that i found for $30-man I was pissed that I could not buy it!

The last tip I would give is to go with people who you don’t mind walking around in the hot and humid environment and are not advert to junking it whether by road or shopping-this trip is all about the experience of finding things…and the work to look for them.

route 127 yard sale

i have always wanted to do the Route 127 yard sale, also known as the largest yard sale in the country. my mom and i decided to not only celebrate her upcoming b-day, but also my first vacation from the store by doing the route and getting some great deals. the following is a summary of the event and i will follow up with some tips in case you decide to do this:We started our adventure in Gadsden, AL...where the sale basically starts, but i have to let you know right now that 127 does not start at 127 in Alabama, but rather another highway that will eventually lead to 127, so make sure you ask around or get a very good map.

If you are into antiquing or yard/junk sales of any kind, I definitely suggest this event at least once in your life. We drove all the way to Danville, Kentucky from Gadsden, Alabama (which was quite overwhelming, but good to know as far as seeing as many major areas for future visits). But really a good trip you need not go more than 100-150 miles of the 650 mile stretch....yes it is that crowded. There is everything from the 50-60 booth mega-fair with fried pies and BBQ to the small 2 table sale with a quilt sitting on a old farm fence. There are sales, deals, squeals and rip-offs waiting to be had and we met a little of each.

(my first score: a taters box for $10)

(second purchase: a teal Ball jar and a old-tymie mayonaise maker)(beer cans, with beer still in it!)

(someone selling pepper jelly-my fave!)
(road possum anyone??)(lots and lots of odds and ends)(this place had the best displays-i bought a beautiful rolling pin and a book here)(my mom bought 2 of these old chairs with hand woven seats)(stagecoach anyone??)
(antiquing school is now in session)(swamp cabbage and fresh lemonade where a hit)(our hotel in Jamestown had burnt down-too bad they didnt tell us- we almost spent the night in the car!)

I will be posting some tips next from the event, but i do have to throw aout some thanks and praises to the very kind people in Tennessee and Kentucky. The owner of the Jordan Hotel in Jamestown was incredible- super nice and gave us the only room she had left when we where left homeless after our hotel burnt down (i guess this happened the weekend before). The people of Jamestown TN were also incredible kind, helpful and nice...definitely worth a visit and stay if you are doing this trip.