Make Breads from Scratch

written by an EcoDeaf contributor, Anthony Brucato

(Four Potato Breads - two hearth loaves and two regular loaves)

The two books that I highly recommend for making breads from scratch are:

The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book: A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking
with a New Chapter on Bread Machines by Laurel Robertson.


and

The Tassajara Bread Book by Edward Espe Brown.

Those two books will get you started in making your own loaves. Both books have recipes for yeasted breads, unyeasted breads, pancakes, muffins and quick breads. I found those two books very clear and quite interchangeable that I will not need to buy another book on how to make breads again. I guarantee you will succeed in making a loaf of bread for the first time if you never made one from scratch before.

The benefits of making your own breads from scratch :

• Save money

• Reduce buying breads in packaged bags

• Homemade breads = zero transportation emissions
  

• Know the ingredients are natural and additive free

such as no High Fructose Corn Syrup or artificial flavors

• The smell of baking breads is aromatherapeutic

• It's a-hecka-lotta fun to make yummy and scrumptilicious breads!!

HAVE FUN MAKING BREADS!
Namaste!

Earth Day Video - Proof CFL Bulbs Rock!

On recent Earth Day (April 22), Jennifer Nasukiewicz, Summer Crider and myself went to the Mall (not an indoor shopping mall, but a outdoor area between the U.S. Capitol and the Lincoln statue). There was an Earth Day celebration, and this awesome hands-on bike shows why CFL's trumps regular light bulbs hands down. 

Go to your nearest hardware store to replace your bulbs at home!  And don't forget to recycle your bulbs- not sure how or where? Type your zipcode here: www.earth911.org

Book Review: The Four Agreements

A book recommendation by Diana, a regular EcoDeaf contributor.

I came across this website Miguelruiz.com page and thought of sharing this. While you might have read this book, "The Four Agreements," I find this a great reminder that we're THE Director of our own life. Aren't we? See below.

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don't Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don't Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

Everything we do is based on agreements we have made - agreements with ourselves, with other people, with God, with life. But the most important agreements are the ones we make with ourselves. In these agreements we tell ourselves who we are, how to behave, what is possible, what is impossible. One single agreement is not such a problem, but we have many agreements that come from fear, deplete our energy, and diminish our self-worth."
"In these agreements we tell ourselves who we are, how to behave, what is possible, what is impossible."

In this powerful book that has remained on The New York Times Bestseller List for over eight years, don Miguel reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. When we are ready to change these agreements, there are four deceptively simple, yet powerful agreements that we can adopt as guiding principles. The Four Agreements® offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love.

Go to the nearest library or a used book store to pick up a copy of Four Agreement written by don Miquel.

EcoNews: The Carbon Footprint Of Spam

"It appears that even e-mail spammers have a carbon footprint.

According to a new study, spammers are not only pests to e-mail inboxes, they are also massive energy hogs.

Spammers produced 62 trillion junk e-mails in 2008, which translated into enough energy to power 2.4 million US homes for a year or the same GHG emissions as 3.1 million passenger cars using 2 billion gallons of gasoline, according to researchers from computer security firm McAfee Inc and climate-change researchers ICF..." Read the full article here

Thank you, Red Orbit.com, for sharing the article.
Much Eco-preciated!

Denver Green Festival: Ticket offers for Colorado EcoDeaf Readers!

Green Festival is coming to Denver, the weekend of May 2 and 3

Come learn about sustainability, reducing your carbon footprint, recycling, organics, avoiding sweatshops, socially responsible investing, and more. You'll find kids' activities, an organic and vegetarian food court, a Green Home Pavilion, Green Teen Pavilion, bike fashion show, and Fair Trade producer tour -- plus hundreds of green businesses offering everything from recycled elephant-dung paper to organic hemp clothing to solar roofing tiles.

Main stage speakers like Gov. Ritter, Mayor Hickenlooper, environmental hero Hunter Lovins, author Alan Weisman, actor/activist Mike Farrell, and ten others will all be ASL-interpreted, with additional interpreters on-site for smaller workshops or one-on-one, as availability permits.

Special for our first-ever Denver Green Festival, a local interpreter has donated ten free Green Festival tickets to the Deaf community. The first ten EcoDeaf readers to write to me (andrew@greenamericatoday.org) can claim these free tickets (limit two per person).

To learn more about Green Festival, visit the Web site (www.greenfestivals.org), or see what one visitor to the DC Green Festival had to say about his experience last fall by reading this EcoDeaf post.

See you there!
Andrew

connecting with global activists

written by EcoDeaf contributor, Shay Bertling


probably the most useful, convenient and powerful activism website I came across in my exploration of greener pastures is the action network (www.actionnetwork.org)

their mission statement:

“With over 800,000 members, Action Network is a gateway to online activism centers for over 170 leading environment, health and population advocacy organizations. Action Network ensures that the power to change our world is only as far away as your computer.

With just a click of the mouse, activists can make their voices heard. Action Network partners mobilize activists by e-mail, inviting you to weigh in when it counts by sending a personalized messages to key policymakers–locally, nationally or around the world. Simply reply to that email or click on the web site, personalizing a sample letter that is included. Action Network does the rest, sending handcrafted fax or e-mail messages to elected officials, corporate leaders and other important decision makers.”

So, if you want to reach out and actually do something, rather than only adjust your lifestyle to be friendlier, then this is the site that will either lead you to where you want to go or help you blaze your own green path towards a better future. It connects you with people in powerful positions and enables any individual to be heard, no matter their background, history, or even appearance. Explore the site, and you might be able to figure out whether you’re more of a grassroots activist, or an advocacy activist.

Honoring Mother Earth, Cherishing Our Future

Thus was the theme of the Deaf Women of New England (DWNE) 2008 Conference held in Burlington, VT from November 14 to November 16th.

Women from New England convened that weekend for what Keri Ogrizovich, the organizer, had designed to be an eco-friendly conference. Amidst recycled paper, beverage glasses that were reused, and vegetarian meals, the women in attendance reunited with old friends, met new people, and had lively conversations throughout the event.

After the interactive Keynote presentation about old growth forests and the analogy between old growth forests and women, the rest of the weekend was filled with a range of interesting presentations. The presentations topics ranged from spirituality to going green, and from vegetarianism to alcoholism, with an hands-on aromatherapy workshop to wrap it all up.

Check out the DWNE 2008 conference website to learn about the green efforts and the presenters who were there. The presentations also have powerpoints for you to look through!

Keri's vlog below describes the conference and how it was a "green" conference in the Green State of Vermont.



http://dwne2008.wordpress.com

Stop Monsanto from Outlawing Organic Farming!

A bill to outlaw organic farming next week?

US House and Senate are about (in a week and a half) to vote on bill that will OUTLAW ORGANIC FARMING [ Bill - HR 875 ]. There is an enormous rush to get this into law within the next 2 weeks before people realize what is happening.

Main backer and lobbyist is (guess who) Monsanto (aspartame maker) - chemical and genetic engineering giant corporation. This bill will require organic farms to use specific fertilizers and poisonous insect sprays dictated by the newly formed agency to "make sure there is no danger to the public food supply". This will include backyard gardens that grow food only for a family and not for sales.

If this passes then NO more heirloom clean seeds but only Monsanto genetically altered seeds that are now showing up with unexpected diseases in humans.

The name on this outrageous food plan is:

“Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009” – [ Bill HR 875 ]

Take Action with the Grassroots Netroots to defeat Bill HR 875!
Start by typing in your zip code on the top right corner of the web page:
Click Here

Picture source

Sina McCarthy

Sina McCarthy was born and raised in New York City. Sina was always in the kitchens most of her life, whether it was at home, hotel, restaurants or summer camps. Sina spent most of her summers away from the city with her mother who is now a retired Chef. The earliest summer memory that Sina has was from when she was 3 and stayed in a hotel for the whole summer where her mother prepared meals for the guests and Sina’s aunt was hired to watch her. Sina spent three summers in beautiful camps in Vermont and six summers in Connecticut. During the rest of the school year, her mother worked in Manhattan. Sina grew eating meat, dairy, fried food and sweet pastry. She also ate a lot of vegetables.

When Sina turned 18, she experienced an ordeal pain in her abdominal area which prompted her to visit the emergency room. The doctor said it was a stomach bug and handed her a prescription pad. When she told him that she didn’t think it was a stomach bug, he became furious and stormed out of the room. One week later, she went back to a different emergency room and was hospitalized for one week. She had series of test but they couldn’t find the core of the pain. Her primary doctor recorded on her chart that it was from her head. She was sent home with the painkillers and was out of school for one month during her senior year in high school.

The next five years through out colleges, Sina was living and depending on the painkillers (unlimited refills); more visits to different ERs; changed doctors; misdiagnosed; and bedridden frequently to the point that Sina did not want to go on living. The last trip to the ER, the doctor declared that it was a bladder infection. She insisted that it was not a bladder infection and requested for more tests. The doctor agreed to schedule an ultrasound the next day (her first ultrasound). Sina was finally diagnosed with the total of 7 cysts on the ovaries. She was admitted to a hospital in the following week and had her cysts surgically removed. The size of the cysts on the right ovary was 7cm (a large orange), 2 cysts on her left ovary were also removed and the cysts were benign. The doctor confirmed that the cysts were very old and Sina had it for a long time. She had her first major surgery at age of 24 and it was not her last. Based on her experiences, Sina realized that the doctors do make mistakes and she decided to take control of her health. Throughout the years, Sina developed few more cysts in different areas and had them removed. She learned to get in touch with her organs by listening to it. She eventually became expert on certain foods that wreaked havoc in her body, i.e., foods that cause headaches, indigestions, allergies, fatigues and even depression.

After doing several years of researches and experiments, raw food diet made much more sense than any other diets. After going on raw food diet she noticed that her health improved. She was able to breath through the nose with ease. Her IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) resolved naturally, her mind became much more clear, her moods improved and she got rid of her negative thoughts. Her severe PMS went away. Her 4X-a-week-headaches -which-gradually-became-migraines also went away. Consequently, she felt harmony every day and even her polyp in the cervix and the cyst in her thyroid disappeared naturally. She changed her diet from eating meats, dairy and fried foods to vegetarian; from vegetarian to raw food; from raw food back to cooked food; cooked food to vegan/raw. She also realized that everybody is different and there is no one diet that fits all.

Her diet does not include dairy, meats, man-made sugar goodies, flour-based gluten and gluten-free items, fried food and beans. Her daily raw food intake is about 70%. She drinks large amount of fresh fruits smoothie at around 10 to 11 AM every single day and her dinner varies from sauteed vegetables (using vegetable broth instead of oil), raw vegetables in rice paper, homemade vegetable soup, lightly boiled vegetables with small amount of rice, and vegetable sushi rolls. Although she is not perfect but she will always continue to try to her best. Sometime breads are hard to stay away from. She learned that the less you eat, the longer you will live. Plagued with severe fatigue most of her life, she has noticed that the less she eats the more energy she has for herself.

(Part 1 of 3 Series: EcoDeaf Bios of Sina McCarthy and Judi Fruge, and a story about their establishment of Deaf Natural Living Newsletter)

DEAF AYAHUASCA RETREAT: Summer 2009

Meghan Shannon shares an exciting opportunity to engage in ayahuasca shamanism in Peru this summer. Visit Infinite Light and read the description of the trip below to get more information!

DEAF AYAHUASCA RETREAT!

Spiritual Healing and Wisdom in a Village in the Sacred Amazon Jungles of Peru! June 28 - July 7, 2009

Welcome to the wild world of ayahuasca shamanism! This ancient plant medicine opens us up to be able to rapidly clear out dark, lower energies that normally hold us down, allowing us to transcend to higher levels of spiritual work. It re-balances the body, energetically and physically, realigning us with health and understanding. In time, psychic abilities increase, addictions are released, and we tap into a new level of joy and spiritual understanding we never thought possible!

The program is run by Meghan Shannon (professional interpreter from the DC area, Gallaudet Hearing Undergraduate Class of '03) and her partner, Eloy, a native peruvian shaman with over 25 years experience with this life-changing medicine.

Together, they bridge the Peruvian shamanic culture and Deaf Western world, allowing access to Light and Love at levels untouched by most on the physical plane.

Cost of Program: $1000

Includes: Five ceremonies, housing, food, transportation to and from the village, airport pickup, interpretation from ASL to English and Spanish, and optional Spiritual Life Coaching, Jungle Survival and Plant Identification training, Spanish tutoring, and Weight Release support.

Does not Include: Airfare to and from Iquitos, and hotel, food, etc before and after the program while in Iquitos

The retreat is open to all fluent signers (hearing too) but will most likely be mostly Deaf. There may be a couple of long-term hearing (non-signing) apprentices there, and we will have interpreters ready for full communication with them.

Visit www.infinitelightperu.com for more info! You can apply online there. Email me with any more questions at infinitelightperu@gmail.com, or to be added to the mailing list. You can also search for my facebook page with that address! Feel free to forward this to anyone who may be searching for it:)

Our YouTube video (CC, you may have to turn them on in the lower right-hand corner):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZi8fbWuKoI

Stokemonkey Human Electric Hybrid Drive

Quoted from the Cleverchip website, Stokemonkey bicycles are for:

"...people who want to transport their spouse, their child, and their camping gear dozens of hilly miles offroad and back. It’s for picking up a friend with two checked bags at the airport. It’s for your knees. And if there are thousands of vertical feet between your farmers’ market and your family kitchen, now you can pedal those couple dozen melons home without qualifying for charitable sponsorship.

...people who commute twenty-five miles each way, can’t shower at the office, and never want to sit in traffic.

...people who understand that vehicles heavier than what they carry are inefficient almost by definition; that fiddling with their fuels comes at sustainability problems from the wrong end, and ignores the social and health problems of car dependence in built environments altogether."

How does Stokemonkey bicycles work?
Read more and see videos at Cleverchimp

Thank you, Aaron Stribling, for sharing the website with EcoDeaf.