More on Screen Time

Congratulations to all our grads!  It’s been a busy few weeks with lots of parties to celebrate the accomplishments of our students.  If you’re having a graduation party or a July 4^th get-together, come on down to the Village Commons for Pathfinder Produce, this Thursday, June 30, from 1 to 5 p.m.

We’ve got a great variety of fresh produce and other items, and our staff is ready and waiting to help you with your purchases.  We hope to see you then!

***

A while ago, I wrote on reducing one’s screen time, and I’ve been taking my own advice to heart.  I’ve tried to look at electronic screens less, not be so hooked into my social network feeds, and become more physically active at home.

To that end, I took on a job I’d put off for too long … leveling out a large pile of soil that sits out back.  The soil, taken from an old barn, was carted in a few years ago for garden beds and fixing spots in the lawn.  I cut back all the wayward weeds, and this Saturday, I started the task in earnest, screening the dirt so that I could use it where it’s needed.  I must say, it was a “grate” work out!

My tools for the task were simple, and all are treasured “friends” that have been relied on many times.  There’s the large wheelbarrow and the sturdy shovel and rake, used on many gardening and concrete jobs.  And the old pick and straight clawed hammer, which I used like a geology hammer to break up compacted soil.

I also used my grandfather’s old cultivator to level the pile and ferret out rocks.  As I used it, I could hear the voices of my grandparents, talking about how dry the weather has been.  But because it has been dry, it made the screening job go much easier – no clumps.

My actual screening tool, though, is a bit of a wonky idea.  I used a beat up tennis racket, which was supported over the wheelbarrow.  I took a half-shovel of dirt, put it on the racket, and sifted out the stems, roots, and stones.  The old racket did a great job in creating a fine, rich soil, although it took time to make a full load.

If you take on a job like this, you will encounter creatures, like mealworms and night crawlers, ants and spiders, and even an occasional millipede (ugh).  But, like an archeologist, you may also find some artifacts -- I found glass and pottery shards, nuts and bolts, baling twine and an old cow’s tooth.

Physically, the sifting provided a sustained workout for my legs, mid-torso (lots of steady twisting), and upper arms.  I got a bit sunburned and bug-bit, and I had to drink lots of water to keep hydrated.  By the end of the weekend, I was sore all over, but I felt mentally relaxed and satisfied with the progress made.

Until next time, unplug, get moving, and enjoy the outdoors,

Lori

Coming Full Circle at Pathfinder School

Coming off of the recent Residents’ Formal, and our Family & Friends Day, our celebrations of summer continue at Pathfinder Village with our school’s Moving Up Ceremonies at the Pathfinder Gym this Wednesday, June 22, starting at 1 p.m.  All are invited to attend this joyous ceremony, which celebrates hard work and achievement, and is a fun way to cap off another year of learning.

We also hope that in preparation for your family celebrations and parties, you will come on down to Pathfinder Produce, at the Village Commons this Thursday afternoon from 1 to 5 p.m. to pick up all your FRESH fruit and veggie items!

****

Our students amaze me.

Truly, each and every day has brought with it a new smile, a shining success, and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment for our students. As I reflect on this last year, I feel so grateful that I have had the privilege of being a part of our students’ education.

A piece of me still cannot believe that it is June already! How is our Graduation Ceremony this week? What will we do without our graduating seniors greeting us each day? But another piece of me is just so incredibly happy for our students, especially Pathfinder School’s Class of 2016. Our students have worked so hard this year—they deserve this honor and I know that each of them is going to change the world in his own way.

With the sunshine out more and more in these last few weeks, I have found myself taking some time to admire our Hoop House. Months ago, with the help of our Transition Coordinator Stephanie Jones and agriculture expert Brian Belknap, our students readied the raised beds, planted seeds, and cared for the seedlings that sprang up from the ground. Each day since, our students have weeded, watered, and harvested the literal fruits of their labor. How proud our students are to see their hard work displayed up at our weekly Produce Market, where it can be purchased and enjoyed by the entire community! A truly “full circle” experience!

To our graduates — Jesse, Nicholas, Maddie, Michael, David, Cassie, Glenn, and Joe — how lucky we are to have had you in our lives and as a part of our community. Pathfinder School is truly a better place because of each and every one of you. Congratulations on all that you have accomplished, and we wish you nothing but well-deserved happiness for the future!

Our 2016 Graduation and Moving Up Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, June 22^nd in the Pathfinder School Gymnasium at 1 p.m. All are welcome to celebrate with us!

Thanks for letting us be a part of it all!

“Mrs. I.” (and Lori)

Above:  Jonny tending to the the Hoop House.

Roots

We hope that everyone will come down to Pathfinder Produce this week, Thursday, June 16, from 1 to 5 p.m., for our next delicious and well-stocked market.  Our Pathfinder Produce Hoop House “home grown” items are now available, and we offer a wide selection of other fresh items, just brimming with flavor and nutrition.  Try to add some fruit and veggie splash to your Father’s Day fun!

***

Recently, my co-worker Martha and I were discussing the recent re-make of the mini-series “Roots” and how it compared to the ABC-TV blockbuster series from 1977, which both elevated LeVar Burton to stardom and created huge interest in family history research. Afterwards, I found my copy of the novel, and now I am tearing through it.  It’s well worth a revisit and offers some great comparative agricultural and food history.

In the early chapters of the book, Author Alex Haley intertwines the farming practices that were prevalent in the pre-European conquest era of West Africa into the narrative:  The story offers insight into land usage and ownership, the seasonality of food, the division of labor, and illustrates how humans both adapted to and manipulated their environments.  Gambian River Basin crops mentioned include rice, which the village women grew in marshy lands; couscous, a product made with semolina wheat that was another staple crop; groundnuts, which I believe are the same or similar to our peanuts, and yams, which are a distinct species from our sweet potatoes, which are Central American in origin.  Corn, another product out of the Americas, is mentioned briefly, but it wasn’t an important food until later; non-fictional sources indicate that it became an important crop in Africa after the mid-19th century.

The “Roots” tale then segues into Colonial American agriculture, as the young protagonist is brutally enslaved at about the time of the War of Independence.  The southern plantation system was firmly entrenched by that time in Virginia, the Carolinas, and the other southern colonies.  Tobacco and cotton, rice and indigo were commercially grown, and were labor and land-intensive. Tobacco and cotton were planted in large fields, wore the land out quickly, and made it necessary to clear new fields in a never-ceasing cycle that encroached on Native lands and further entrenched slavery.  This brief essay by History Professor Timothy Silver from the website of the National Humanities Center further discusses how three main cultures -- African, English and Native – intersected in the South during this era and impacted the landscape through agricultural activities.

Today’s interest in southern style cooking is revealing its roots in slave cookery, and offers glimpses of how staples – like rice (Oryza glaberrima) -- migrated from Africa to the American South.  More and more upscale restaurants and food historians are re-discovering these cultural ties.  According to the website of membership-based non-profit Southern Foodways Alliance, “African traditions have had the most impact on the flavors and the methods of Southern cookery.”  I also think this resurgence is woven into the current real food and slow food movements, through which ordinary folks celebrate pure, non-processed ingredients and home preparation over commercial processing.

So until next time, savor the stories of the foods you eat, and maybe even trace back some of your favorites’ historical roots.  You just never know what tales there are in the larder!

Lori

Toot Toot! Peanut Butter!

We hope that everyone will come down to our next delicious Pathfinder Produce market, this Thursday, June 9, from 1 to 5 p.m. for the freshest fruits and veggies around.  There’s always something new to try, and our friendly staff is always here to assist you with your purchases. 

****

It’s been a while since I’ve listened to kids’ songs, but recently, I was reminded of the ditty featuring that unfortunate peanut:

A peanut sat on a railroad track, 

His heart was all a-flutter. 

The five-fifteen came rushing by-- 

Toot toot!  Peanut butter!

Peanut butter is one of those staples we were all raised on, and the summer days of my youth were punctuated with PB&Js for lunch.  Even today, we go through a lot (and I mean a lot) of peanut butter at my house.  We typically grab a quick sandwich for lunch on the weekends between chores, and my son eats a PB&J on whole wheat each day at school. 

We buy the natural brands -- those in which the oil separates -- and have two basic ingredients, peanuts and salt.  We find that once you open the container and really stir in the peanut oil (which admittedly is messy) it stays well-stirred when the container is kept in the fridge.

At Pathfinder Produce, we offer Zimmerman’s no-salt natural peanut butter, which, according to the manufacturer, is ground from Virginia #2 dry roasted peanuts (and) contains no artificial sweeteners, and no added oils. Based in Penbrook, Pennsylvania, the company is 101 years old and makes its peanut butter “exactly as it was made” when it was first started by John S. Zimmerman in 1915.  The peanut butter line was actually an add-on to Zimmerman’s coffee roasting business, but in the 1950s, the peanut butter sales really took off, according to Lee Zimmerman, the founder’s grandson.

Many of today’s commercial, non-separating peanut butter brands typically add mixtures of partially hydrogenated oils, preservatives, and extra sugars (which aren’t needed if you are pairing the peanut butter with something like jelly).  My family tries to avoid all partially/fully hydrogenated oils and trans fats – these lipids are whipped with hydrogen molecules during manufacturing to extend product shelf life.  Researchers have linked hydrogenated oils to higher bad cholesterol levels, inflammation throughout the body, and they are believed to contribute to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic diseases.

I always thought that George Washington Carver, the famed Tuskegee University researcher, invented peanut butter as part of his work in expanding agricultural opportunities for southern farmers in the 1920s and 30s.  But apparently, we’ve been making peanut butter since the time of the Aztecs, and it was a Canadian pharmacist, Marcus Gilmore Edson, who received the U.S. Patent for peanut butter in 1884.  Edson wanted to provide a nutritious food for people who could not chew solid foods.  I would speculate that before the age of modern dental care, many people suffered from tooth loss and periodontal disease, did not have access to dentures, and there was a real need for soft foods.

According to Prevention magazine, even though unrefined or natural peanut butter contains lots of fat, it contains heart-healthy monosaturated fat.  And, because it also contains lots of fiber (2 g per serving) and protein (8 g per serving), peanut butter can make you feel full, which helps you eat less.  A serving of peanut butter also has vitamins E and B6, magnesium, and potassium, and one study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that one ounce of peanut butter five days a week can significantly help lower the risk for developing diabetes.

So, as we get into the fun days of summer, revisit your youth and enjoy those
PB&Js!

Lori