Butter, Jelly, and Hot Links!

If you dropped by last week's Saturday Market, you noticed the bumper crop of new farmers and vendors, migrating from the now-finished Thursday Bellevue Farmers Market. Enjoying my slice of Veraci's special-of-the-day while I bought my eggs and produce was quite the bonus, except that it led to much juggling when I visited the neighboring stall, Handmade in Seattle by Rome. Handmade features luscious fruit butters and jellies, including a Pear Butter (with or without ginger) to die for. So far I've enjoyed it on cornbread and swirled into old-fashioned oatmeal. More unusual and also worth a taste is Handmade's Sangria Jelly. If you wonder, like I did, what you would do with sangria jelly, imagine spooning it over baked brie and loading the whole thing on a cracker. Uh-huh. That suggestion sounded good to me--I got a jar to share at my next book club meeting. For a complete run-down of flavors and some recipe ideas, check out Handmade's blog.

Speaking of blogs, a friend of mine recently dropped out of the Microsoft grind and has been experimenting with and posting about putting food by, sustainability, and other Pioneer-woman-type activities. She's clever and creative, so check out ContemporaryInsanity.

Eating well doesn't necessarily have to break the bank. Check this link from Eating Well Magazine, temptingly titled, "How to Save $2,997 a Year on Food Without Even Noticing." Thrifty practices include packing lunch and eating leftovers, which you probably will notice, but it's fun to see how many of the suggestions you already implement, so you can feel smug about it. With a score of 5/6, the UrbanFarmJunkie achieved an 83% on the Self-Righteousness Scale. Of course, I could conversely feel depressed by this article. After all, I'm already saving the $3,000, which means this is as wealthy as I get...

And lastly, speaking of depressing and in honor of Halloween, I bring you this article from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, via @unhealthytruth, on Why American Kids Are So Danged Fat (not the exact title). Something to keep in mind as we cast our November ballots, except--oh, wait, that's right--neither political party will touch farm subsidies, no matter how fat and unhealthy we get. All the more reason to vote at the Market with our dollars. Happy Halloween!