Vigilante Justice

If you haven't looked at Megan's blog in Africa yet, move your mouse that way. My friends Megan and Dave are in Cameroon now, working with Kiva.org on a microfinance fellowship. They recently had the unfortunate experience of witnessing vigilante justice in the form of a dead body in front of their lodging in Cameroon recently. You can read about in their recent posting where they both narrate and reflect on the incident. Part of the internship is to maintain a blog for kiva.org, so if those stories get you down, hop over to their Kiva blog for the sunnier side of life in Cameroon.

Babies and Handmade Frocks

Two new recommended sites:

1. Alternative Gift Registry says "yes" to gifts like homemade meals and "no" to useless tikki sets. The site emphasizes spending time with family and friends over commercially celebrating weddings and babies. Using the Alt Gift Registry can also reduce the environmental impact of your wedding/baby.

2. Etsy provides an online space for buyers and sellers of homemade goods. "Etsy" rhymes with Betsy. Most items on Etsy are very affordable, selling for an average of $20-30.

Bierocks

Great for picnics. I used fake meat in this recipe and some wheat flour mixed with the white.

Bierocks

Dough:
2 1/4 tsps. dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
4+ cups bread flour

Filling:
1/2 medium-sized onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef, pork, or turkey (I used turkey)
1 TB. vegetable oil
1/2 small head of cabbage, shredded
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm milk. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. In a heavy -duty mixer, combine oil, salt and eggs; add yeast mixture. Add 1 cup of flour and beat for 1 minute. Beat in 1/2 cup of flour at a time, until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.
2. Switch to dough hook. Knead on low speed, adding remaining flour 1 TB. at a time, until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
3. Place dough in a well-oiled large bowl and loosely cover. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
4. To make filling, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add meat and onion and cook until meat is browned, stirring to crumble. Add cabbage and cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool.
5. Punch dough down and let rest 5 minutes.
6. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a letter-sized rectangle (roughly 8 by 11) and cut each rectangle into 6 squares. Spoon 1/4 cup filling into center of each square. Bring opposite corners together at the center, pinching corners and seams to seal. Place seam side down on a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise 20 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
8. Uncover and bake until lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Makes 12 bierocks.

View the original recipe here.

Jatropha Curcus and Biodiesel Futures

Around the global village, there is talk that the weed "Jatropha Curcus" could be the future of biodiesel. Jatropha can be used to make biodiesel very cost-effectively--it can be grown in poor soil conditions and needs little fertilizer. The food vs. fuel issue is avoided entirely, as the plant is not edible. To microfinance investors, the plant presents a great opportunity for farmers in poor countries who could benefit from this biodiesel crop that is easy to produce and in high demand.

According to a CNBC article, the Indian state railway's Mumbai-Delhi has been running on jatropha-sourced biodiesel since 2006. Technoserve, a non-profit operating in Latin America, developed a pilot project to test viability of jatropha production for farmers in Guatemala. The organization reported positive results at this stage in the project. Jatropha was a clear winner in their tests in comparison to other biofuel sources such as palm and rapeseed.

Viva Lawrence

Lawrence, KS is getting some nice shout-outs in the blogosphere after the recent NCAA win. Ashley Thompson gives her ode to the city in a recent post on the blog Intelligent Travel. She mentions the vegetarian biscuits and gravy at Aimee's Coffeehouse and the chocolate at Au Marche, both excellent choices.

If I was adding my own selections on this topic, I would recommend the veggie burger at Local Burger, made in-house, crispy with coconut oil and quinoa. On Monday nights, you can drink a locally brewed Ad Astra Ale for $1.75/glass at Free State Brewing Company. You will have to yell to be heard by your neighbor at Free State in the noisy old limestone bar, but you will drink well for cheap. Lastly, for a mere $15-25, the Community Mercantile makes its cooking classes available to the public. This price includes a two-hour cooking class and a meal.

I'm only producing 4.5 tons of CO2 this year

After watching An Inconvenient Truth, I decided to visit their website www.climatecrisis.net and look at my impact. The national average is 7.5 tons a year and since we as US citizens are the worst polluters, this amount of CO2 output does not bode well for our friend Planet Earth.

Talk about alternative transportation! Two friends of mine are going to Quebec from Chicago by bicycle to a UN Climate Change conference this summer. You can read about their journey and contribute on their blog, Nous Pouvons.

Party Like It's 1988

KU Victory! Photo taken of Mass Street last night in Lawrence.

(Lawrence Journal World)

Minnesota to Mexico

These folks are excited about monarch butterflies. Catch the fever at:
http://www.monarchwatch.org/
The program Monarch Watch was established by researchers at the Univ. of Kansas as an educational outreach program. Every fall, monarchs are tagged in Lawrence, and their migration routes and life history are tracked by watchers all over the southern U.S. and Mexico. On their website, you can check out where (usually in Mexico) the butterflies end their long journey. In the spring, they migrate north from Mexico to northern reaches of the United States.

If you live in the Lawrence area, the open house is not to be missed.

Saturday, 10 May 2008 8am-3pm