After two years of being screened at many film festivals and community viewings throughout the world, we have published (in its entirety) our award winning short film Homegrown Revolution for free viewing on YouTube.

It has been a crazy ride and exciting to have an award winning film and we sincerely thank those of you who supported this film in many ways.  A big THANK YOU goes out from our hearts to those  who supported us, purchased this video, screened it, shared it or simply let the film's message lead you to a new way of looking at your yard. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! We really appreciate it.

Our unlikely little film was a surprise success story.  For those of you who don't know the history, I'll recap briefly.  For those of you already know it, go ahead and skip to the end of this post to watch Homegrown Revolution.

Homegrown Revolution was made in a whirlwind three days after a last-minute invite for Dad to speak at Peter Sellars' UCLA class in 2007.  Jules Dervaes was to be the lead-in and local authority on sustainable food to Michael Pollan's presentation.

By now, we had given so many presentations, the explaining of our project and "Urban Homesteading" was becoming a tad redundant - there are only so many clever ways we could explain what we have been doing the last 16+ years.  Plus, the fact that this was a night class had many of us expecting a room of yawning and under-caffeinated students blinking sleepily at their laptop screens and surfing Facebook, content to get class credit simply for being a body in the seat.  Short of handing Red Bull out to everyone, we seriously thought NO ONE would wake up for this Urban Homesteading and sustainable food presentation.

Looking back at the time, I realize how far the movement has come to the point it is today.   It wasn't long ago at all, but in 2007  the movement was just blooming and I was finding out that most students didn't care or know about Urban Homesteading -- or even anything environmental or sustainable.   There's always the usual small but core group of students who were into changing the world and activism but we knew we had to reach to the others in the class that might not even have a first thought about the food they ate or about gardening.

At the family meeting / lunch following the invite, Dad turned to me (since I have unofficially become the tech geek / "electronic gadget whisperer" of the family ) and inquired about a video slideshow we had put together for a virtual tour of the Urban Homestead called "One Step at a Time."  This video brochure had been published on our website at the time  since it was first uploaded in 2004 (soon to be uploaded to YouTube for kicks).

As I am not a video editor and had no training at all, my foray into  messing about with video clips had been a sink or swim experience.   After mucking about in Adobe Premier, I had managed to put together some footage that resulted in One Step at a Time and that short film seemed pretty cool when it was made; but I was now slightly embarrassed about it and wanted to give Dad something newer and peppier for the students.

Anais and I got to work in those three days before the presentation.   We had multiple tapes of footage of the garden, animals and various projects throughout the yard but very little of ourselves.  So, I spliced those with some of the news media interviews for a  narrative effect.

I really wanted to do little interviews on our  own footage; but given the short amount of time and our aversion to being filmed by one another, it just wasn't happening. (NOTE: Seriously, I did try.  I approached Justin with a camera as he did his biodiesel brewing and asked him in  my best TV reporter voice to explain what was doing.   I received an  "are you kidding me?" stare for my troubles.  Turns out, it's hard for  us to be enthusiastic about giving each other interviews.  Try explaining to someone who already knows what you are doing, what you are doing.  It isn't easy. )

For fun and to appeal to the college kids who were my own age, Anais and I added in some well known musical favorites to create a edgy  mash-up type music video.

Turns out, as R.E.M's moody guitar in "Drive" snapped up the students' attention at  the first minute to the final frame of the fist-in-the-sky rallying  image and the drumming strains of "Revolution Cry", we had gained this class' full focus and subsequent and  enthusiastic ovation and shouts.   Yes, even the too-cool-for-school jocks of UCLA's NCAA basketball team were into it.

Later that week, we decided to publish Homegrown Revolution on YouTube (cut to 10 minutes since YouTube wouldn't allow videos of  longer lengths at that time) and it kind of went viral for a time and gained over 500,000 views.

We started to use Homegrown Revolution for an intro to Jules Dervaes' workshops and presentations and considered it a type of "video brochure" or "infomercial" to Urban  Homesteading.  Fast forward to late 2008 and we received a phone call from the awesome  folks at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival asking if we wanted to  submit our film for consideration.

I seriously had no idea what they were talking about!   Film?  What film? We don't have a film, I thought.

They soon convinced us that they were really asking for Homegrown Revolution which one of their members had seen on YouTube.  This touched off a flurry of more video editing.  Since the original version contained a lot that was not our footage, we began to re-shoot a lot of scenes and I soon had Homegrown Revolution up to over 25 minutes long.  But because Wild & Scenic had accepted Homegrown  Revolution into their program as it appeared on YouTube, we knew we  had to keep it to 10 minutes.

In the end, the final product came out  at 15 minutes after we all refused to cut out anything more.  There was also concern from some of Film Festival folks about remaking  Homegrown Revolution so much that it would no longer feel like the  original version so we felt a little restricted in our creativity.     I did try to obtain the rights to some of the footage / interviews that appeared in the original version but with so little time to  remake the film, it turned out easier to just re-speak most of it  instead of dealing with all the paperwork.    Again, all this had to  be done in a short amount of time - definitely not enough time to be at one's full creativity.

Unfortunately, although most of our words as they appear in the 2009  version of Homegrown Revolution had been spoken to interviewers  previously, it was hard getting family members to say the same lines  with enthusiasm and with the same passion as they had when speaking to  someone "new" and curious to what we were doing.  Looking at the film today,  I can see all the mistakes and where it could all have been better.

But this was a collaborative project done by all of us -- with each family member taking part in the filming, editing and structure of the film.  Neither of us had any previous film editing / filming experience but we hope the passion and enthusiasm show through any technical flaws and other problems.

It's also important to note that the film was made entirely in-house on computers powered by solar/green sources.  All transportation was done in a biodiesel-fueled car and all camera/mic batteries were rechargeable and charged with solar energy.  Waste was kept to a minimum – paper composted or recycled and all publicizing materials printed  on post consumer paper.

We are humbled by the impressive impact Homegrown Revolution had in  the film festivals both nationally and internationally. It  was never created for a film festival circuit but has a true homegrown, homemade story behind its creation. Today,  whenever I am frustrated by learning something new or seeing where I fail in trying to get something perfect, I just need to look at where our little film that could has taken us.

I am compiling a  tally of the festivals and known public screenings to be published at HomegrownRevolution.com but here are the AWARDS and HONORS Homegrown Revolution has gained so far:

WINNER

Best Environment & Ecology Film North America,
Swansea International Film Festival, UNITED KINGDOM

Prize of the Mayor of the Capitol City of Slovakia
Ekotop Film Festival of Sustainable Development, SLOVAKIA

Best Short Documentary
Southern Appalachian International Film Festival, TENNESSEE

El Capitan Film Award
Yosemite International Film Festival, CALIFORNIA

Best Sustainability Film
Green Screen Environmental Film Festival, CALIFORNIA

Robert T. Nanninga Award for Excellence,
Cottonwood Creek Film Festival, CALIFORNIA

-----------------------------

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Westpac Award Best Short Film Runner Up
Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival, NEW ZEALAND

NOMINATED - Best Film, Climate Change & Sustainable Technology
CMS Vatavaran Environmental & Wildlife Film Fest, INDIA

FINALIST
European Spiritual Film Fest, FRANCE

Footage aired on Oprah's 2009 Earth Day show

You can still purchase the DVD here for community screenings or to just own a copy. We're still sending the film out to festivals who request it, so if you know of any film festivals or other opportunities, continue to send them our way. Thanks!

Pssst...!

Sharp eyed or observant readers might notice we now have a new YouTube address:  http://www.youtube.com/urbanhomestead

We'll still have the http://www.youtube.com/dervaes one but we might FINALLY be getting into sharing how-to videos.  We are launching this new channel for video clips showing snippets of life from the Urban Homestead as well as some how-to videos.

So be sure to subscribe to this new channel to get all the latest videos - thanks!

This recent article stresses the importance of how we all should start taking gardening seriously.    Growing your own food in the city: it’s a challenge but a good one - an a very important on too!

Garden As If Your Life Depended On It, Because It Will - Alternet

There are at least five reasons why more of us should take up spade, rake and hoe, make compost and raise good soil and garden beds with a vengeance, starting this spring and with an eye toward forever.

READ MORE

It's officially Spring and what a rocky start  weather wise.   We spiked into the 90’s for a few days and then dipped back under 60 with gray skies  and drizzle.  Crazy!

Busy, busy, busy - bees, biodiesel, soil blocks, picking, packing, watering, planting, building, etc. Where does the time go?  Not complaining; it’s good to have longer days to work on the farm here in the city.

Sis handed me a “to plant list” of things she needs for her home canning operation.    She makes a mean jalapeno jelly and wanted to make sure that I didn’t forget to plant them!

Squash, tomatoes, peppers and beans are all up and ready to transplant into the garden.   The new strawberry starts are filling in nicely. We are expecting to harvest berries in early June and the potatoes are just about ready to be dug up.  I know I’ve been looking forward to homegrown potatoes – they are way better tasting than the store.

The small invasion of aphids is now under control, sweet!  We spotted a couple ladybugs and have already noticed a huge difference on the chard and kales.    Thanks to the exceptionally warm weather last week, the greens seem to have grown a few feet (ok, inches) overnight.  We are now offering a slew of assorted greens at the front porch farm stand.  Sis is manager and CEO ("chief" for short) of the front porch farm stand and she’ll be posting more of what the stand has to offer.   It’s a wonderful feeling to feed the family and be able to offer the surplus produce to folks who are wanting to eat closer to home.

The hennery is cranking out eggs – yeah!

Last week, I helped a friend who manages a few urban bees divide a few hives for spring expansion.  Of course, we had to suit up on the HOTTEST day of the year (so far).   It was sweltering!  Hive work waits for no man, so we both suited up.  Long pants (I HATE long pants), long sleeve shirts and were sweating buckets just after a few minutes work.   I got some delicious honey comb in trade for a couple of hours work. What a treat and worth the (sweaty) effort!

The rescued hive is still here, bees going to and fro. It’s a wonderful site to see bees working the citrus.

March Harvest Tally

252 lbs Produce

Eggs      Chicken 91   Duck 160

2011 Tally to Date

663 lbs Produce

Eggs      Chicken 117   Duck 345

ORGANIC GARDENING

SQUARE FOOT GARDENING

EDIBLE LANDSCAPING

VICTORY GARDEN

SEEDS OF CHANGE

THE PIONEER WOMAN

SIMPLE LIVING

LOCAVORE

HOMESTEAD GARDENS

BACKYARD FARMS

GAIA

VEGE

HONEYBEES

HOMEGROWN

BIODIESEL

BICYCLING

GARDENER

URBAN HOME & GARDEN

COMPOST MASTER

HOMEGROWN HARVEST

LIVING HOMEGROWN

HOMEGROWN HIPPIE

PLANT THE SEED

GARDEN GIRL

URBAN FARMING

HOBBY FARM

URBAN FARM

BIODYNAMIC

GROW BIOINTENSIVE

SLOW FOOD

CERTIFIED ORGANIC BY CCOF

If anyone is offended by these common trademarks, please contact the respective trademark owners!

Looking back on our goals from last year Justin (Jethro) got his fish project underway,  the grey water project too.

Jordanne (Ellie Mae) revamped our two social networks, Freedom Gardens and launched Backyards & Barnyards and did get around to organizing a lot of mess.  Not to forget the launced her super amazing Natural Poultry Supplement Mix which is receiving rave reviews!

As for me (Granny),  the mountain of fabric and yarn still looms like a huge shadow but the craft-music room is coming along nicely.  Not sure if I am talking less and listening more – guess I’ll have to ask my family & friends that.

The 7K bonanza harvest wasn't the only highlight from 2010

We went back to Wild & Scenic located in the quaint mountain town of Nevada City and had a chance to meet our favorite author, John Robbins.  Had a workshop at the Eco Farm conference in lovely grounds Asilomar (didn't get to spend as much time on the beach as we'd like since it was soooo cold and rainy!).   Not to mention numerous articles and video pieces which all were featured here on the blog – our favorite being the recent So Cal Connect piece , I am Los Angeles , Private Chefs of Beverly Hills,  Sis and I were "Cover Girls" & with an article featured in this online magazine and I wrote about my home school experience for another

Our home made film "Homegrown Revolution" won  many awards including : Best Environment & Ecology Film North America - Swansea International Film Festival, U.K.; Prize of the Mayor of the Capitol City of Slovakia - Ekotop Film Festival of Sustainable Development, Slovakia; Best Short Documentary - Southern Appalachian International Film Festival, Tennessee; Honorable Mention: Westpac Award Best Short Film - Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival, New Zealand.  (You can purchase a DVD copy)

We traveled to back to the homestead in New Zealand where I was born (more pics and tales to come) and with our biggest turn out ever to a presentation on urban homesteading!

After the New Zealand trip: Other outreach opportunities included four university appearances by "Farmer D" and a presentation for a public school district's student gardens fundraiser.

On the urban  homestead

Keeping it real.  As with any journey, we had our ups and downs.

Passing of dear old Clementine (the poster chicken & darling of the UH movement) and our duck Amy after freak accident which never fully recovered from.

The cycle of life continued, Though there were sad deaths there was new life with four additions to our flock.  Our southern belles  - Annalee, Lulu Belle, Beulah and Opal.

Pushing the envelope in urban sustainability we added new projects:  hops for beer and 50 tilapia for aquaponics fish farming and wrote about the challenges that we face of growing food in the city.

Wrote about necessary Urban Homestead apparel and "Natural Beauty, "  "Homesteader Hygiene", & Living Without AC,  Washing Clothes by Hand & threw an amazing  "Girlie" Tea Party under $50!

Long time customer, Elements, who featured our many of our homegrown items on his menu unceremoniously dumped us (having money issues)   When one door closed, it opened up our produce to the public with the launch of the Front Porch Farm Stand featuring local foods and goods.

Weather continued to be a problem with a record heat wave in October & record rainfall in December

Though we had one of our best honey harvest in years, Varroa Mites (and early cold weather) wiped out all of our of beehives except one.

I dropped the ball on the Weekly Meal wrap ups (sorry readers) posts but I picked up guitar which I am enjoying relearning – well, except for the sore finger tips.   Ouch!

There you have it!  Some of the highlights of 2010,  I know I just touched the tip of the ice berg otherwise I’d be here all day.

So what our plans/goals for 2011?   That’s certainly a good question and a lot to digest ….  we do know are going to have sadly terminate some projects because of the lack of support.   It’s a bitter pill to swallow put sometimes you got to cut things that are weighing you down.  I’m talking to myself here… have to keep saying that!

Also like to thank all of you readers who have supported us via donations or purchases from our online store.    Not to mention all the wonderful letters, cards and emails.   THANK YOU!

While I try to shake off a awful case writers block, if you are new or a lurker to this blog, this is a good time to swap howdies or better yet TELL US what your FAVORITE post(s) of 2010 were!

So pull up a chair and give us a holler ya hear and hope 2011 is off to a good start for you!

FUTURE FEAR SBS DATELINE (watch video)

Others are approaching the future differently, believing the biggest threats we’re facing are problems that we’ve caused ourselves. Richard Heinberg is one of the world's foremost peak oil experts, who warns that we’re addicted to fossil fuels and must adapt before they run out. David takes us to a Los Angeles suburb to meet the Dervaes family of so-called ‘urban homesteaders’. They've already adapted and are living self-sufficiently and almost entirely off-grid.But are they all being over cautious, or will the rest of us be under prepared?

Heinberg thinks that if we're going to survive, we need to change the way we live.

RICHARD HEINBERG: We've got to work together on this because individual survivalism just isn't going to cut it. You know, if I've got my vegetable garden and my neighbour is starving, then the only way I'm going to be able to continue eating is to stay up all night with my shotgun to make sure no-one goes over the fence. What kind of life is that? We're creating out of this paradise, Earth, we're creating a hell for our descendents. I think it's our duty, not just to somehow try to survive this but to change what we're doing and to create a survivable planet for everyone, for our communities and for our descendants.

I met a family that's doing just that.

JULES DERVAES: Some more tomatoes here, we're about 90% self-sufficient in the summertime because this is all our bounty.

Jules Dervaes lives in Los Angeles, right next to a major highway, but he's turned his backyard garden into a farm.

JULES DERVAES: These are heirloom squash from Italy, and they hang from the trellis here. Just watch your head.

He's got two daughters and a son.

REPORTER: How do you like this yourself?

JUSTIN DERVAES: I love what I do, so I can't complain. I've got a green thumb.

They grow 350 different fruits, vegetables, herbs and berries. They all survive on what's grown here.

JULES DERVAES: This is our barnyard. It's in the city, so we've got a nice little animal enclosure here. We've got five ducks, eight chickens and two goats.

And while I'm there looking at these goats and chickens, I can hear the traffic next door, whoof whoof up and down the highway, but you could be in the middle of the countryside.

JULES DERVAES: We're looking at a planet that has run amok. So you have to be sensitive about which direction you're going. If it's going the wrong direction, it's either you're going to turn around early or you turn around at the edge of the cliff.

Come up here to our store on the front porch - Nice to meet you.

They obviously had a fear for the future too of what's going to happen. But they're going around it in a different way.

JULES DERVAES: This is a completely different dream, we're talking about self-sufficiency, we're talking about neighbourliness, we're talking about a community of helping one another.

ANAIS DERVAES: It has the herbs from the garden. And we've already made some ice-cream. Yeah we have a hand-cranked...

JORDANNE DERVAES: It's cool, yes, it works for us. But it's a little scary because out there, it's no. It's, you know - you could actually forget about the bad things out there.

There seems to be this common strand running through America right now - A fear of the future, and a sense of doom. But I saw people responding in very different ways - from preparing to hide from change, to preparing to make change happen.

JULES DERVAES: So we figure we're preparing ourselves to live simply. I mean this here is riches, but people don't understand. If you look around, you'll see riches here but it's in the form of tomatoes and peppers and animals. So we're going backwards, and I say a step backwards is progress.

Afterthoughts

Though Mr Brill was here for well over four hours, tis a shame that the piece didn't capture the entire workings of the urban homestead - we'd need a whole show or two, there! A seasoned and well traveled journalist, was really taken with the place and after the filming as the sun set we sat down to a homegrown meal (which he enjoyed) there in the garden while Blackberry and Fairlight looked on.

We received an email from one of the SBS staff which said:

"We had so much wonderful footage and it was such a such a shame that we couldn't have included much much more of the Dervaes' in our piece (especially for me as a Researcher who sets up stories and then hands over the reigns to a producer and editor)."

Perhaps if enough folks write in?

The debate continues, what happens when the times turn bad? Escape or take a stand? There are the extreme preppers and practical preppers - what's the future going to be? Is sure is a scary thought, especially for us in the city who have, as urban homesteaders, taken practical steps towards positive change. Of course, it's not just an American problem like it sounded in the piece, we are all are on the same train - though some countries may be slightly behind we are all traveling the same track. One day we are going to have to deal with the future because it's happening now.

So what are you doing to prepare for an uncertain time? Which side are you on?

Growing Right Along

Though I know it really has nothing to do with the title of this post, there's so much news and projects in the works I don't even know where to start.

Some important things to mention so listen up and listen carefully!

Jordanne's working on a couple "top secret" projects. HINT: has to do with one of her favorite things.

I know ya'll have be clamoring for recipes so she's also working a a recipe sharing sort of thing that will feature recipes from LHITC.

Not only that but upgrades to our gardening social network, Freedom Gardens, is in order and so to with the popular photo gallery. The most hit page on our website is getting yet another face lift and even more photos!

Are you totally excited and impressed like I am?

Well then, here's where I am going to add a gentle reminder that LHITC is ad free. If you enjoy daily reads here, gleaning information and inspiration here's how you can go about supporting our growing outreach. Or send a big box chocolate to keep this girl going as she works into the wee hours of the night to tackle some of these projects.

After a cool start weather wise, the summer harvest is now just started to pour in and what a blessings. We are so thankful for the bounty that the earth provides.

Now for some incredibly yummy photos. Going to mix in a few shots of what we harvested (many of the seed varieties can be purchased from our seed store Freedom Seeds) along with what we have been eating.

Heirloom tomatoes

Basket of peaches

Apples

and more apples!

Part of the winter squash harvest Pumpkin, Baby Blue Hubbard and Burgess (www.FreedomSeeds.org)

Chantenay Red Core Carrots (www.FreedomSeeds.org)

Eggplant, tomato and basil bruschetta with tabouleh

Peacevine Cherry Tomatoes (www.FreedomSeeds.org)

Veggie patty with beans and carrots

Double Yield Cucumber (www.FreedomSeeds.org)

A whooper! Cherokee Purple Tomato (www.FreedomSeeds.org)

Tabbouleh with tomato and summer squash pasta

Homemade/handcranked peach ice cream

Homegrown toppings for pizza

Sun cooked pizza in sun oven (www.PeddlersWagon.com)

Provider Green Beans (www.FreedomSeeds.org)

Homemade/handcranked strawberry ice cream

Vegetable pot pie with cucumber and tomato salad

Tomato, cucumber soup with herb croutons

WEEK OF EATS AT THE URBAN HOMESTEAD

All food items are homemade/homegrown/home preserved unless otherwise specified

Our Food Pledge

If not from backyard, then locally produced
If not locally produced, then organic.
If not organic, then family farm.
If not family farm, then local business.
If not local business, then fair trade.

SATURDAY

Breakfast - blueberry pancakes with strawberries
Dinner - flour tortillas with spanish rice, topped with sauteed green peppers and red onions

SUNDAY

Breakfast - apple crumble
Lunch - Saturday dinner leftovers
Dinner - avocado and tomato sandwich

MONDAY

Breakfast - apple crumble
Lunch - tomato and squash pasta with tabouleh
Dinner - tomato and squash pasta with green beans

TUESDAY

Breakfast - apple crumble
Lunch - veggie pot pie with cucumber and tomato salad
Dinner - leftovers

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast -apple crumble
Lunch - tomato and cucumber salad with herb croutons
Dinner - leftovers

THURSDAY

Breakfast - apple crumble
Lunch - vegetable patty with carrots and green beans
Dinner - herb pizza dough topped with tomatoes, basil, peppers, garlic with carrot, raisin citrus dressing salad

FRIDAY

Breakfast - french toast and honey
Lunch - roasted eggplant, tomato and basil bruschetta with tabouleh
Dinner - no knead bread, fresh tomato sauce (tomatoes, onions, peppers, parsley, basil) over spaghetti with salad

What summer time treats/feasts are you enjoying in your neck of the woods?

Tell me, I'll forget.  Show me, I may remember.  But involve me and I'll understand. -- Chinese Proverb

As folks around the nation celebrate with friends and family,  how about we all take this opportunity to share with one another what baby steps (or giant ones) that we have taken to become more independent from mass consuming culture and the corporate controls of our food, energy, fuel, water and our lives.

As Americansm we value our freedoms; however, these days we find ourselves entrapped, tied to system that is set on keeping us dependent.

A helpful guidepost for a more sustainable lifestyle is found at 10 Elements of Urban Homesteading

We'll kick things off.   So far, the small changes made this year (I am sure, um, I know there's more but it's a start:

1. Reclaimed time, stepping back and gaining more hands on experiences

2. Reduced water with installation of graywater to garden

3. Creative re-purposing.  Bed sheets to aprons.

5. Buying wisely - goods for life.    Make conscious purchases.   Do we really need that, how long will it last or can I make that myself.

6. Homegrown economy,  less dependent on restaurant sales, which could turn out in the long run to be a fickle source of income.  Instead, focus on more the front porch farm stand.

Small steps have a large impact.

Care to share what steps you have taken or would like to take in 2010.

How are you bringing the revolution home?

Basketful of carrots

All washed up

Bowl of strawberries

Bowl of blueberries

Beets

Homegrown fruit bowl: peaches,strawberries and blueberries

Special Father's Day dessert, peanut butter chocolate pie

Tomato, lettuce, avocado sandwich with carrot, citrus salad

Vegetable patty mix (onions, herbs, squash, peppers)

Veggie patties with salad

Squash blossoms

Stuffed with herbal cheese

Frying in oil

Warm and ready to eat

Summer squash herb rice

Homegrown pizza toppings

Vegetarian pizza

Carrot, apple rice salad

Blueberry pancakes

Sauteed onions, peppers, fresh avocados, cilantro and tomatoes top spicy spanish rice

The wonderful food from the garden keeps coming.   What a tremendous blessings it is to enjoy such bounty that are grown just feet from our table!

As it happens a lot here on the urban homestead, this week we made up a new dish  (well, at least it's new to us!).  As matter of fact,  we "make up" quite a few dishes as we go along .  Using up what's growing in the garden is a fun food challenge.  This week ,there was a surplus of apples and carrots sitting on the kitchen counter.  Of course, lots are devoured fresh, much is "put up" but sometimes culinary inspiration strikes and you think "hey, why not try this mixed with that."     For this "instant inspiration" dish, we chopped up apples, grated carrots, added leftover brown rice and a bit of spices.   Not bad, actually, it was quite good!

Next on the homegrown food front, we are (right now) vegetarian and have been for nearly 20 years.  But, when it comes to meat-less products, there's a lot more to choose from these days.   However, these so called health/organic foods are not always what they seem.  This recent article warns of the hidden toxin found in the  "fake meat" products that are on the market  -- Which Veggie Burgers Were Made With a Neurotoxin?

The food and agriculture nonprofit found that most non-organic veggie burgers currently on the market are made with the chemical hexane, an EPA-registered air pollutant and neurotoxin.

In order to meet the demands of health-conscious consumers, manufacturers of soy-based fake meat like to make their products have as little fat as possible. The cheapest way to do this is by submerging soybeans in a bath of hexane to separate the oil from the protein. Says Cornucopia Institute senior researcher Charlotte Vallaeys, “If a non-organic product contains a soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, or texturized vegetable protein, you can be pretty sure it was made using soy beans that were made with hexane.”

BLECH,  if that's the case - give me a free range MEAT burger.  At least I know it came from a cow!   Well, you can tell the cows not to worry because we actually do a pretty good job making our own.  With the summer cornucopia of vegetables, we like making our own "meat-less" patties that contain brown rice and veggies - no gasoline byproduct included!    Once again, we really don't follow a recipe, just using up what we have on hand.  But you could also use mushrooms or dried beans to make your own veggie patties.    There are tons of recipes on the internet  - Three Easy Ways to Make Your Own Veggie Burgers

Time saving tip: make up more and put into freezer!

WEEK OF EATS AT THE URBAN HOMESTEAD

All food items are homemade/homegrown/home preserved  unless otherwise specified

Our Food Pledge

If not from backyard, then locally produced
If not locally produced, then organic.
If not organic, then family farm.
If not family farm, then local business.
If not local business, then fair trade.

SATURDAY

Breakfast - blueberry pancakes with strawberries
Dinner - flour tortillas with spanish rice, topped with sauteed green peppers and red onions

SUNDAY

Breakfast - grapefruit
Lunch - special Father's Day eats (vegetarian "hamburgers with organic french fries)
Dinner - fruit bowl (apricots, peaches, strawberries, blueberries) with cereal and yogurt

MONDAY

Breakfast - skillet granola (organic oats, sugar and oil) with strawberries and yogurt
Lunch - Saturday dinner leftovers
Dinner - avocado, lettuce, tomato sandwich with carrot, raisin citrus dressing salad

TUESDAY

Breakfast - french toast with honey
Lunch - veggie patty (onions, herbs, squash, peppers) with salad
Dinner - veggie patty (onions, herbs, squash, peppers) with salad

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast -skillet granola with strawberries and yogurt
Lunch - avocado, lettuce, tomato sandwich with carrot, raisin citrus dressing salad
Dinner - herb pizza dough topped with tomatoes, basil, peppers, garlic with roasted beet and apple salad

THURSDAY

Breakfast - french toast and honey
Lunch - stuffed squash blossoms (herb cheese) with summer squash herb rice
Dinner - herb pizza dough topped with tomatoes, basil, peppers, garlic with carrot, raisin citrus dressing salad

FRIDAY

Breakfast - grapefruit
Lunch - carrot, apple rice medley with salad
Dinner - no knead bread, fresh tomato sauce (tomatoes, onions, peppers, parsley, basil) over spaghetti with salad

Care to share what you've been enjoying, eating recently? Are you making more meals from scratch or homegrown ingredients. What new dishes have you tried and liked?

]]> http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2010/06/27/real-food-real-simple-urban-homestead-weekly-eats/feed/ 28 http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2010/03/02/weekly-meal-wrap-up-x2-5/ http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2010/03/02/weekly-meal-wrap-up-x2-5/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:03:55 +0000 Anais Dervaes http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/?p=18727 Our readership is growing by the day, so a warm welcome to all you new readers.

For those of you who are internet savvy you can follow happenings on the urban homestead on FACEBOOK and TWITTER!

Weeks are going by so fast, by the time I turn around I am already behind in posting our week's worth of meals.   Oh well, better late than never I suppose.

A reader had a suggestion (a good one) so will take his advice.  He suggested have a disclaimer on each weekly meal wrap up that says something to the effect:

"All food items are homemade/homegrown/home preserved unless otherwise specified"

Will save some time and repetitiveness - a good thing, so thanks for the tip Cody!

Oh and once again I did a rather pathetic job at photographing the meals (too busy taking critter and garden photos!)  I'll do better next time (I hope)

I know many of you will be shocked that we changed breakfast eats.  Yep, I told you change was coming - gotta use up all those jars in the cupboards.

Guess you can tell by the menu what was in season, surplus this week - broccoli!!!!

SATURDAY

All food items are homemade/homegrown/home preserved unless otherwise specified

Breakfast - pancakes with strawberry sauce
Dinner - flour tortillas, spanish rice with organic black beans

SUNDAY

Breakfast - fruit preserves & organic peanut butter on bread
Lunch - leftovers from Sat dinner
Dinner - broccoli, green onion soup

MONDAY

Breakfast - fruit preserves & organic peanut butter on bread
Lunch - broccoli, green onion soup
Dinner - broccoli with herb butter with CA grown, organic rice

TUESDAY

Breakfast - fruit preserves & organic peanut butter on bread
Lunch - broccoli, green onion soup
Dinner -broccoli cheese casserole with salad

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast - fruit preserves & organic peanut butter on bread
Lunch - broccoli with herb butter with CA grown, organic rice
Dinner - broccoli cheese casserole with salad

THURSDAY

Breakfast - skillet granola
Lunch - baked squash with salad
Dinner -herb pizza dough topped with tomato sauce, pickled garlic, peppers and broccoli

FRIDAY

Breakfast - skillet granola
Lunch - broccoli with herb butter with CA grown, organic rice
Dinner -  no knead bread, tomato sauce and pasta with salad

-----------------------------------------------------------

All food items are homemade/homegrown/home preserved unless otherwise specified

Thanks to a recent gather we had loads of extra organic split pea soup (thanks Harold!)  and guess what was for dinner?  Yep, you guessed it - soup!

SATURDAY

Breakfast - pancakes with strawberry sauce
Dinner -potluck

SUNDAY

Breakfast - fruit preserves & organic peanut butter on bread
Lunch - leftovers from potluck
Dinner - leftovers from potluck

MONDAY

Breakfast - fruit preserves & organic peanut butter on bread
Lunch - leftovers from potluck
Dinner - leftovers from potluck

TUESDAY

Breakfast - fruit preserves & organic peanut butter on bread
Lunch - leftovers from potluck
Dinner - leftovers from potluck

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast - fruit preserves & organic peanut butter on bread
Lunch - broccoli with herb butter with CA grown, organic rice
Dinner - avocado, lettuce, squash pickle raw cheese sandwich

THURSDAY

Breakfast - fruit preserves & organic peanut butter on bread
Lunch - broccoli with herb butter with CA grown, organic rice
Dinner -herb pizza dough topped with tomato sauce, pickled garlic, peppers and broccoli with salad

FRIDAY

Breakfast - skillet granola
Lunch - broccoli cheese casserole
Dinner -  no knead bread, tomato sauce and pasta with salad

We really weren't needed for most of the filming but thanks to a few friends who dropped by to help pass the time and pitch in when needed!

The episode should air on the Food Network in Spring.   Of course, being that we don't have cable we'll have to get one of our friends to tape it for us.

Our Living Room was turned into "MISSION CONTROL" for the Food Network. Julia and Jordanne look in on the action

The chefs in the kitchen need radishes so Jordanne and Sergio go pick it for them

Since most of the yard was "off limits" with camera guys running round and our home invaded by wires, monitors, lights and even more cameras, passing the time hanging with friends in the front yard.