Frisky FitH Friday is here!

We also raised $120 for the Santa Cruz Grows Seed Library. Here are some of the lovely photos of Jen Norton's art work. You can see it now in its new home at the Museum of Art and History, or ogle it at the Reskilling Expo there on September 24th where I'll be introducing the Six Levels of Preparedness for Earthquakes (SLoPE).

This past week I caught up on sending past donation checks, which reminded me who I haven't supported lately. The media flashlight has moved on from Honduras but they continue to push back against a harsh and repressive government set up by the coup regime. My friends Tom Louden and his wife Jenny Atlee are maintaining a constant international accompaniment to discourage and document violence. Tom is part of a Commission of Truth that has been the targets of threats and intimidation.

Now that ex-President Zelaya is back in the country, the US has rushed to declare Honduras "Open for Business" and to court multinational companies and predatory investors. Ignoring 87 members of Congress who called on Obama to suspend aid, $40 million more has been given to the Honduran military. This week I would like to support the Friendship Office of the Americas to expand the accompaniments that buffer the impunity the military operates under, and to provide trauma healing to those for whom it came too late.

On a more cheerful note, the recipes are again from Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin and dinner is at 6:30.

Edible Garden Walkabout for the Cleveland Avenue Neighborhood

Visit Batish.com

Our music school activities include teaching instrumental and vocal music of North India. Intruments taught include the Sitar, Tabla, Harmonium, Dilruba, Dholak, Violin, and Vichitra Veena, tanpura (tambura).

A special East-West fusion class including a raga jazz, raga rock workshop will be held and students with adequate instrumental skills are invited to sit in and participate.

Then we'll go up Laurel and across Rigg, coming back to my house by 11:00 for a casual brunch. Donations from the brunch will benefit the Santa Cruz Grows Seed Lending Library. This is one of three seed libraries being established in Santa Cruz. Founder Bonnie Linden writes:

The brunch recipes are from my current favorite cookbook: Super Natural Every Day. Heidi Swanson has convinced my family that exotic whole grains and natural sweeteners are far from boring.

Her excellent blog 101 Cookbooks is worth subscribing to, for the photos and links if not for recipes like the Buttermilk Lillet Milkshake we'll be sipping at the brunch. Check out the links to the recipes below - they go to adorable sites like lemonyzest, The Flour Sack, dizzy swallows, and smitten kitchen – all of whom are fans of Heidi. I love food blogs!

Bringing Education to Children Everywhere

They operate a "school on wheels" which goes to marginalized and transient worker communities, bringing portable libraries and classrooms. Through a postal service mistake, our check for $150 came back in the mail. I'm taking this as a sign that we should send it back with more. So this week, as we send Veronica off to college, we'd like to bring education to other children. Checks can be written to the Maharshtra Foundation, with Door Step Schools written on the memo line.

Another successful model of bringing education and equality to pavement-dwelling children in Calcutta is demonstrated in this story of an Irish nun named Sister Cyril.

We haven't done an all-vegetarian meal for while, so all of our items this week are from Deborah Madison's Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets, except for the blackberry-raspberry sherbet, which is courtesy of Lindsey Johnson at Cafe Johnsonia.

Visit her web site deborahmadison.com or Read about Deborah at Culinate.com

How can we resist when the markets are bursting with perfect, lush fruits and inviting, delectable veggies?

Food in the Hood ROCKS!

It's now been two years that we've officially been doing Food in the Hood. Our semi-annual report is below:

See Cuba for Yourself and Challenge the US Blockade!

http://www.ifconews.org/node/948

There was a time when challenging the blockade was a more risky and dangerous endeavor. The flotilla to Palestine is reminiscent of that time. Our best wishes are with the brave emissaries of peace on The Audacity of Hope, carrying their precious cargo of letters.

Helping to serve our dinner will be the Girls Up middle-school group that meets here weekly to discuss global issues. They've been watching films about Cuba. We might coax them to say a word or two on what's struck them the most. You'll know the servers by their frilly aprons.

After the dinner we'll watch some film clips on Cuba. Then we'll be joined by the caravanistas for Q & A over dessert. With luck we'll also get a glimpse of the newly-painted bus that our donations will be fueling for the long journey.

FitHies, my FitHies, lend me your ears

Betsy McNair, our chef extraordinaire, has the number $1000 singing in her head. While we're waiting for fiscal sponsorship so the donation can be tax-deductible, we'll be donating this Friday's gleanings along with all bread and goat milk profits to Sergio's cause. We'll get there yet!