Coop Scoop: The Spark Issue

ISSUE #426

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

THE SPARK ISSUE

Visit Your Library

Find Enlightenment Locally

Eat Root to Fruit

Zero Waste in the Kitchen

Achieve Your Goals

Writing Them Down is Key

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You don't have to Be a member to shop!

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WE'RE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

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Linda Coolen & Susan Metcalf are Co-op Member-Owners and Co-Managing Editors of the Coop Scoop.

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100 Watervliet Avenue, Albany, NY 12206 (518) 482-2667 [COOP]

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Welcome to the Coop Scoop. The theme to kick-off the New Year is “Spark,” like first light. For you, what comes to mind? For the contributors to this issue the seeds of life, regenerative growth, exploding vocabularies and erupting volcanoes, libraries and clubs, political movements, the stirring of coals, home fire safety, and New Year resolutions. Fitting observations and contemplations for a New Year.

Food is fuel, and fuel sparks life.

From regenerative agriculture to zero food waste—two writers share their thoughts. Another contributor explores how we humans acquire language.

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Co-Managing Editors

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from Our Editors Letter Linda Coolen and Susan Metcalf

As always, we hope to spark your interest and recruit more volunteer members wanting to earn hours and willing to take the leap and submit articles, short stories, poetry, recipes and other content for consideration.

Nervous to take pen to paper or fingers to keyboard? Reach out! Our editors are friendly and supportive, and they are willing to work with you wherever you’re at.

If you are looking for ideas to spark your interest for future submissions, here are the themes for the year.

2019 Schedule of Coop Scoop themes: • March/April: Change • May/June: Create • July/August: Balance • September/October: Sustain • November/December: Joy Warm Regards, Linda Coolen and Susan Metcalf

There happens to be two librarians on the editorial team, but it was our associate editor Ben who wanted to write about how his local public library sparked his dreams as a child. Carol, our assistant editor, contemplates the catalysts of change from early girl clubs to later women’s movements. A contributing poet writes of stirring coals and cultural hurts.

Combine heat, air and fuel, and you have a recipe to ignite a fire. Most house fires occur between December and February, and we share some safety tips. A timely piece offers suggestions on how to keep those New Year’s Resolutions lit (or, alive).

A rice dish simmers on page 22.

Every Coop Scoop issue highlights two producer profiles, and if you missed the biscotti piece, consider it for dessert. Every issue also includes a Kid’s Corner in the back, and if you have children at home, gather in the kitchen, mix up a volcano, and watch for bubbles of joy.

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8am TO 10pm EVERY DAY

Honest Weight Food Co-op is a memberowned and -operated consumer cooperative that is committed to providing the community with affordable, high quality natural foods and products for healthy living.

Our mission is to promote more equitable, participatory, and

Ecologically sustainable ways of living.

Honest weight is open to the public, seven days a week. The Coop Scoop is produced bimonthly by our Education Department and offered free of charge as part of our mission.

To view online, Please visit www.honestweight.coop/coopscoop.

Contributors Associate EDITOR: Ben Goldberg is retired from a 40+ year career in behavioral health care

in the nonprofit sector. He is currently an active volunteer and a freelance writer and editor.

Assistant EDITOR: Carol Reid is a retired cataloger at the New York State Library, where she worked for over 35 years. She wrote a 10-year blog called “Typo of the Day for Librarians” and has been a Co-op member since the 1980s.

Writers: Loren Brown, Erin Donahue, Corinne Hansch, Mecca Johnson, Ellie Markovitch, Jeff Miller, Melanie Pores, Pat Sahr

Designers: Mathew Bradley Holley Davis is a new Co-op member.

When she’s not at the Troy Farmer’s Market or trying new recipes, you can find her running a half marathon in every state.

DISTRIBUTION Assistants: Donna Eastman, Ellen Falls, Bonnie Betz

Interested in Contributing TO THE COOP SCOOP? Contact:

• contests and giveaways • great deals flyers • fresh deals flyers • exclusive promotions and sales • special event notices

CoopScoopEditors@ googlegroups.com

ADVERTISE WITH US! Contact: Kim Morton (518) 330-3262 kim.a.morton@gmail.com Printed with soy ink on recycled paper in Albany, NY

ISSN 2473-6155 (print) ISSN 2473-6163 (online) The Coop Scoop is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing medical or health advice. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider. We are not responsible for errors or omissions. Honest Weight is not responsible for, and does not necessarily agree with, our guest writers' articles.

Cover photo by Warren Wong on Unsplash

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WHAT'S FRESH AT HONEST WEIGHT

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PRODUCER PROFILES

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Pat Sahr

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SPARKS AMONG THE STACKS: PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN AMERICA

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Ben Goldberg

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THE BENEFITS OF REGENERATIVE FARMING Corinne Hansch

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FUEL TO LEARN: A CAREGIVER’S ROLE IN SPARKING VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

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Erin Donahue

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NOTES ON CAMP: SPARKING GIRL POWER Carol Reid

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SEED SPARK Ellie Markovitch

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LET THE NEW YEAR SPARK YOUR GOALS Jeff Miller

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SPARKS Loren Brown

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HOME SPARK SAFETY BY THE NUMBERS Mecca "Magic" Andrades

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MOM’S RICE AND MUSHROOM RING

by Melanie Pores

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KIDS CORNER

by Linda Coolen & Susan Metcalf

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What's Fresh at Honest Weight!

We’re always keeping our eyes and ears open for products and companies that would be a good addition to the shelves and bins at Honest Weight. That means products that fit our strict buying policies with none of the ingredients on our Banned List. Priority goes to local or regional businesses, mission-based businesses and cooperatives, and those who use socially and environmentally conscious practices in their work. Here are four new Honest products to check out!

Mad Hippie Advanced Skin Care “Welcome to the skin care revolution” touts the website, and fans across the world enthusiastically agree.

Awards from big name fashion magazines, celebrity testimonials, and endless positive online reviews claim that Mad Hippie has changed the lives, via clear, even, and youthfullooking skin, of thousands of happy customers. Their Vitamin C Serum is most beloved by users, but all of their antioxidant-rich facial products have devout followers who swear by the absence of harmful ingredients at a drugstore price with high-end results.

Deanna Beyer as Our Education Coordinator In October, Honest Weight welcomed Deanna Beyer to the helm of its education branch.

Along with our Outreach and Member Services Coordinators, the Education Coordinator is a position dedicated to furthering Honest Weight’s mission through managing our classes, practitioner services, and other fun and educational initiatives at the store. Though new to the position, Deanna is a seasoned member of the Co-op community: she’s been a member for over 12 years and has worked in various capacities in Grocery, the Front End, and, most recently, as Assistant Manager in our Wellness Department. She’s involved with education outside of the Co-op, too: she studies Ayurveda, has taught yoga for 20 years, and assists in yoga and dance programs internationally. Deanna is excited to create more kid-specific programming at the Co-op and to round out our educational offerings to work in the eight dimensions of wellness. See what she’s been working on at HonestWeight.coop/education!

This past year, we added straws to the list of ecofriendly materials used in Honest Weight’s deli.

Plastic straws are one of the most common types of trash to end up in the ocean, and Americans use an estimated 500 million every day—enough to wrap around the earth 2.5 times! Our new straws are made from a compostable resin certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute. Also available for purchase at the Co-op are reusable stainless steel and glass straws (with tiny bottle brushes for post-smoothie clean-up!) and bamboo and metal utensil sets, so you can be plasticfree anywhere you eat or drink!​

Aqua ViTea CBD Kombucha Our favorite Vermontbased kombucha biz has two new flavors of CBDpacked fermented tea!

Try the warming Chaga Chai for a complex and earthy drink with the benefits of wild-foraged chaga mushrooms from Maine or the sharp Green Tea made with smoky, nutrient-rich gunpowder tea. These new ‘booch varieties come in 16-ounce bottles and contain 25mg of organically-grown water- soluble CDB each, which is known to have analgesic, anti-anxiety and anti-inflammatory properties.

Producer Profiles

by Pat Sahr

We truly value the small businesses and dedicated individuals who work hard to create the exceptional goods and products we carry here at Honest Weight Food Co-op. We think these inspirational stories demonstrate the importance of supporting local, and why we’re so committed to it!

BELLA BOUNTY BISCOTTI FOUND IN OUR BULK DEPARTMENT “Biscotti” are traditional Italian cookies that are twicebaked and that contain less sugar and fat and last longer than most cookies.

And to the delight of those of us who are “dunkers,” they also valiantly withstand immersion into a liquid. Although biscotti are now staple items in many bakeries and coffee shops throughout the Capital District, some are good and some are...less than good.

Dana Fowler is the owner of and sole baker at Bella Bounty Biscotti, located on Hoosick St. in Brunswick, NY. She operates the business in partnership with her husband, Chris Brewer, in a building that was a one-room

Our biscotti is special because it has a more tender crumb and snaps when bitten 6

schoolhouse until the 1970s.

When the school closed, Fowler’s father bought the structure and converted it into law offices. When he retired to Florida several years ago, he willed the building and surrounding land to his daughter.

Fowler has been passionate about baking since she was in high school. During her college years, she narrowed her focus to biscotti, and, after earning degrees in culinary arts and nutrition, she launched her career as a baker.

Currently Bella Bounty Biscotti is a wholesale bakery that has been in operation for just over 3 years. Fowler sells biscotti to 11 area businesses, from Delmar to Ballston Spa. Her products are made from local, mostly fair trade ingredients. She also makes a gluten-free option using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Blend that is available upon request. Her offerings include the flavors Anise, Chocolate Chip

Coconut, Chocolate Almond Sea Salt, Cherry Pistachio, Fig Maple Walnut, Mexican Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Raspberry, Lemon Zinger, Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin, and Trail Mix. For 3 years Fowler has focused on developing an outstanding product. According to Fowler, “Our biscotti is special because it has a more tender crumb and snaps when bitten.” Although other bakeries in the area sell biscotti, Dana Fowler is the only biscotti entrepreneur. She has made her mark in the business, and for the most part she is without competition. However, she feels it is time to expand her venture. Within 6 months Fowler will open a small-scale cafe at the Hoosick St. location that will initially offer simple breakfast and lunch items as well as her signature biscotti and locally roasted coffee.

Watch for the opening date on facebook.com/bountifulbella.

Bounty Biscotti is available in the Bulk Department.

Pat Sahr has been a member of the Co-op

since 2005. She contributes to the Coop Scoop as the writer of the Producer Profiles.

Sahr says, “It’s a pleasure being part of the Honest Weight family, and I’ve especially enjoyed communicating with the various producers whose products are sold at the Co-op!”

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LOVIN’ MAMA FARM Found in our Produce Department

Lovin’ Mama Farm is a certified organic, “no-till” farm located near Amsterdam, NY. On 1 acre of land, the farm produces 250 varieties of specialty herbs, vegetables, and flowers. It also has a greenhouse dedicated to the cultivation of at least 27 varieties of microgreens and offers a floral design service using farm-grown flowers.

The farmer-owners are the wife and husband team of Corinne Hansch and Matthew Leon, with assistance from their children Sam, Oak, and Rosemary. The family moved to Amsterdam in 2016 from Northern California traveling cross-country to farm family-owned land in New York. They lease 10 acres from Matthew's dad, Jeff Leon, who also lives with his wife on the land. The property, totaling 120 acres, is a nature preserve with trails that are open to the public.

It has a conservation easement through Mohawk Hudson Land Conservation.

The fact that Lovin’ Mama is a notill farm sets it apart from other organic farms in the area.“No till” means no plowing, discing, or other means of mechanical cultivation. The soil is not disturbed in any way.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Why is soil disruption a problem? Carbon and nitrogen are stored in soil. When a tractor plows a field, this carbon is released into the atmosphere. Consequently, even many organic farms are unintentional contributors to the problem of excessive carbon and nitrogen emissions that adversely affect the climate. In addition, plowing fields prior to

Tending the land in an ecologically responsible way. planting and later mechanically cultivating for weed control add significantly to soil erosion, which is a serious problem in the United States.

The no-till method, on the other hand, involves top dressing four inches of compost on permanent beds, thus sequestering carbon in the soil rather than releasing it into the atmosphere. The soil is thereby enriched with organic matter before planting and the enriched soil produces nutrientdense crops. Water retention is also improved.

Learn more about regenerative agriculture from the Lovin' Mama farmer herself on page 10!

To control weeds, pathways are mulched deeply with straw, cardboard, and wood chips.

Healthy soil and heavy mulch combine to create a rich biodiverse environment for earthworms, beneficial microbes and fungi, and ground-burrowing native pollinators. Jeff and Corinne state, “We are committed to feeding our community nutrient-dense, delicious, and beautiful food and flowers, while tending the land in an ecologically responsible way.”

Visit the Produce Department to see what organic vegetables are on hand from Lovin’ Mama Farm. On the website, www.lovinmamafarm. com, you will find the list of microgreens that are grown in the greenhouse, and can learn about the farm’s floral design business.

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Sparks Among the Stacks: Public Libraries in America

by Ben Goldberg

I recall, as a kid in 1950s working class New Jersey, getting my first library card. I found it hard to believe that anyone—even me!—could take out all that magical material, borrow and read practically anything I wanted at no cost! That card opened up a whole world to me and many of my friends, some of whose parents could barely read (or barely read English). Talk about sparks! Information, understanding, knowledge—fuel for a young fire.

Public libraries and public schools—as flawed as they were and may still be, by both blatant and subtle forms of racial and class segregation, bias, and prejudice—were the foundations for 20th century democracy, and they developed at around the same time, propelled by the same social and historical forces.

Libraries appeared in the ancient world as early as 5th and 6th century BCE as archives to accommodate growing numbers of documents, including those on clay tablets and papyrus. But of course, with very few exceptions, those libraries could be used only by the elite. Even as libraries were later developed in Europe and early America, for the most part they were not open to the general public, were not financed by public dollars, and were not, therefore, “public libraries.” In America, for example, religious (parochial/parish) libraries and so-called “social libraries,” which operated by subscription for the fledgling middle class, represented movement toward the secular public library model. By the early 1700s some genuinely public or “free lending libraries” were established in some parts of the colonies. The following represent a few more— some unique and idiosyncratic—examples of the 8

development and proliferation of public libraries in the United States. ●● Public lending libraries were established in Boston and New York City early in the 18th century. ●● In 1731, Benjamin Franklin and colleagues formed the Library Company of Philadelphia, which continues today as an independent research library, free and open to the public. ●● In 1804, in New Lebanon, NY, at the age of 17, Jesse Torrey, Jr., an advocate for free public libraries, created the New Lebanon Juvenile Society for the Acquisition of Knowledge, a library that was supported by “a suggested user fee” and was open to any person aged 12 to 21. ●● Historians believe that the modest Peterborough Town Library, established in 1833 in New Hampshire, was the first public library in the United States to be supported by taxes. ●● In the late 19th century, Melvil Dewey, inventor of the Dewey Decimal System, developed a traveling library system in upstate NY. By the turn of the century, there were more than 500 such traveling libraries in New York State alone. ●● During the Depression, librarians on horseback— primarily women—provided books to residents in Kentucky to help support literacy and education for impoverished families.

By the close of the 19th century, two trends merged to spark the proliferation of public lending libraries across the United States. First, there was the general acceptance that public libraries could and should be open to all and be supported by taxes, typically COOP SCOOP

local taxes. Second, unbelievably wealthy Gilded Age philanthropists (a.k.a. “captains of industry” and “robber barons”) supported the establishment and development of educational institutions, such as colleges, universities, and public libraries.

Interestingly, with these grand gestures of largesse came a basic conflict regarding whether such institutions should be established as grandiose monuments to wealth, power, and paternalism that would have to be supported and maintained in perpetuity by public taxes, or whether the edifices housing these schools and libraries should be more modest in size and scope so as to be more sustainable over the long haul through public revenue. Ultimately some of both models were built. Thankfully, modern libraries can vastly expand their offerings digitally using minimal (if any) space, except on server hard drives.

The politics of wealth inequality aside, Carnegie and his wealthy brethren made massive contributions to the U.S. library system in their time. Between 1883 and 1929, Carnegie alone funded almost 1,700 libraries, practically half the public libraries in the country. This too was the time when libraries became centers for the community, much as they are today, offering free services, events, and tools; meeting rooms for public use; classrooms, courses, workshops, and other activities.

As the number of libraries in the United States has grown, many have also specialized beyond the public lending library into sub-categories such as: national libraries; academic libraries; children’s libraries; reference libraries; research libraries; and digital libraries. Libraries have also expanded their capacities by partnering with one another so that library card holders can conveniently access the holdings of many member libraries in an interlibrary loan system, some of which are local, some regional, and some national in breadth.

In 1939 the American Library Association adopted a Library Bill of Rights, a concise document that has been amended throughout the years in order to address changing social conditions and concerns.

Here are some of my favorite sections: I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Libraries...provide materials and information presenting all points of view II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

The responsibility of the library, then, is to “provide information and enlightenment,” necessary ingredients for any truly democratic society. There are sparks among the stacks, sparks of information that might become knowledge and understanding, and might—just might—light the way to some modest wisdom.

Librarie From the Library News | December 3, 2018 “Starting on Jan. 1, overdue books, DVDs, CDs, and audiobooks will no longer accrue late fines. Previous late fines for these types of materials on patrons’ accounts will be waived.

Albany Public Library (APL) will eliminate late fines…in an effort to decrease barriers and increase access for patrons.

‘Albany Public Library is…removing fines for overdue items to make it easier for people to borrow books, DVDS, and other materials for education and entertainment,’ said Scott C. Jarzombek, APL executive director.

‘Late fines are a poor incentive for people to bring books back on time. And, they keep people who are unable to pay those fines away from the library. By eliminating late fines, we hope to bring people back to the library and make it easier for them to borrow and use our collection,’ he said.”

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The Benefits of Regenerative Farming

by Corinne Hansch

Regenerative agriculture is a style of farming that benefits and restores local ecologies and watersheds, and helps to heal the global climate as a whole.

It also focuses on regenerating human communities by offering living-wage jobs for small-scale farmers and farm workers, while providing nutrientdense, responsibly grown food.

Regenerative farming provides a spark of hope in a world troubled by poverty and food insecurity, climate change, and environmental devastation.

Some of the principles used by regenerative farmers are no till (i.e., not plowing or cultivating); rotational grazing (i.e., moving livestock between grazing sites) and holistic management for livestock; perennial plantings; organic practices; emulating nature; and adding large amounts of compost to growing areas. One common theme among regenerative methods is 10

building soil with organic matter and sequestering carbon into the crops and soil. Deep mulching, no till, and responsible grazing ensures that the soil stays intact and covered, thus reducing soil erosion and carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.

high time we take the impact of agriculture into the equation.

The impacts of tillage are profoundly destructive to the soil ecology, even when done in the right manner (i.e., waiting for the fields to dry out).

regenerative farming benefits and restores local ecologies

Tillage breaks down the soil structure and makes it susceptible to soil erosion by wind and rain.

Conventional and even many organic farms use tilling as a major management technique to prepare a field for a new crop and/ or to weed. Unfortunately, the processes that occur after tillage lead to a release of atmospheric carbon and nitrogen, and there is additional damage caused by the fossil fuels burned to run the tractors. In an industrialized world, where greenhouse gas emissions and the global climate crisis are major concerns, it is

Tillage also stirs up weed seeds, thereby encouraging weed growth, which leads to increased herbicide use for conventional farmers and more tilling or hand weeding for the organic farmer.

Other detrimental effects of tillage include hardpan (a compacted layer of soil which forms due to tillage), breakdown of the natural soil structure, and eradication of biological life present in the soil.

Fields treated in this manner will be increasingly more susceptible to erosion and will lack the COOP SCOOP

beneficial biological populations of soil microbes that are key to healthy plants.

There is a growing movement of dedicated no-till farms working to change the way modern and particularly largescale agriculture is negatively impacting the earth.

In no-till farming, farmers emulate nature by using thick layers of mulch to suppress weeds and build “tilth� or soil fitness.

Small-scale, no-till vegetable farms use permanent beds that are deeply mulched with compost, straw, leaves, and cardboard to build organic matter in the soil.

When the soil is left whole and not (roto)tilled, the living soil food web (i.e., earthworms, bacteria, nematodes, etc.) creates soil aggregates that develop a soft and lofty soil that you can stick your hand down deep into! Intact soil full of aggregates and organic matter also helps the soil to deal with both storms and drought, thus making no-till systems much better at dealing with the extreme weather events brought on by climate change.

Larger-scale farms are also increasingly using no-till methods with cover crops.

A cover crop is rolled and crimped with a special implement so it lays down in a flat, thick layer in the field. The farmer then drills seeds directly through the cover crop, or tills one small strip for transplants. The cover crop feeds the soil and acts as a mulch, suppressing weeds while the crop is growing.

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Small-scale, no-till farming brings hope to beginning farmers Looking to make a real livelihood Farmers raising animals also play a role in regenerative agriculture.

Using rotational grazing methods and maintaining healthy pastures can create a carbon sink while creating nutrient-dense eggs, milk, and meat for us to eat. When animals graze in small areas of the pasture at a time and get moved periodically throughout the field, the farmer can ensure that the pasture does not get overgrazed, and the animals contribute fertilizer/manure to the field to stimulate growth. Healthy grasslands can sequester huge amounts of carbon.

Many regenerative farms are finding that their production methods bring much higher yields per acre with a much lower overhead.

There are many examples of smallscale no-till farms bringing in gross yields of $150,000 per acre, while comparable organic farms at their best bring in $40,000 per acre, all the way down to only a few hundred dollars per acre for largescale commodity crops. Smallscale, no-till farming brings hope to beginning farmers seeking to make a real livelihood and has the potential to spark revitalization for rural communities.

Small-scale/no-till is also a great solution for urban farming, since farmers can realize huge yields on small spaces.

There is currently a movement with leaders, such as Eliot Coleman and the Rodale Institute, looking into a certification for regenerative organic farms. For now though, the only way you can truly know if the food you are eating is from a regenerative farm is to know your farmer. Seek out and support no-till farms. Look for grass-fed meats and dairy, and pasture-raised eggs. Not only will these products be much more nutrient-dense for your body, they also have an impact on climate change.

healthy grasslands can sequester huge amounts of carbon.

Though there is not yet a label for regeneratively grown produce, shopping at stores that have a food policy or a food/product manual that prioritizes buying from local, organic, diversified small growers is a step in the right direction.

Capital District residents are lucky to have a thriving, yearround farmers market culture and the Honest Weight Food Coop, which seeks out and supports regenerative farms!

Corinne Hansch farms 1.25 intensive acres with her husband Matthew Leon in Amsterdam, NY. She is also a homeschooling mama to three wild (and happy) farm kids. Learn more about her work at www.lovinmamafarm.com.

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Fuel to Learn: A Caregiver’s Role in Sparking Vocabulary Development

by Erin Donahue

Although many animals use vocal sounds and nonverbal signs to communicate, language acquisition is an exclusively human trait.

Adults may hear baby talk like gu-gu and ga-ga as nonsensical gibberish, but producing distinctive speech sounds (also called phonemes) like /g/, /u/, and /a/ are significant language developmental milestones. Babies are born with a phenomenal ability to learn, and after spending their early lives listening to others, a child eventually starts to put phonemes together to make words, sparking an explosion of vocabulary.

The key to language acquisition, and early childhood development in general, is humanto-human interaction.

The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University estimates that more than one million neural connections are formed in the brain every second during the first few years of a child’s life.

These connections form as the child experiences and interacts with their environment. Serveand-return interactions with adults—especially caregivers—are essential to the developing brain.

The term “serve and return” describes the backand-forth nature of positive early interactions and encourages child-directed conversation and play.

The child “serves” in the form of babbling, pointing, smiling, etc. Then, the adult “returns” or responds to the behavior with words of encouragement, a hug, or eye contact. Unreliable, inappropriate, or absent adult responses have the potential to disrupt 12

development and risk the child’s future health. When serve-and-return interactions are missing from a child’s life, the brain misses much-needed positive stimulation, and stress hormones that are released in response to unmet social needs are harmful to the developing brain. Many factors, including financial problems and health issues, may affect a caregiver’s ability to engage in serve-and-return interactions.

Addressing the needs of caregivers who may have challenges that affect the frequencies or quality of their interactions with babies in their care, and providing them with tools and resources to support and guide them toward positive parenting and nurturing language-rich environments, are essential However, parents should not worry about occasional lapses in attention. According to the Center on the Developing Child: “If diminished attention occurs on an intermittent basis in an otherwise loving and responsive environment, there is no need for concern.“

Babies acquire language through a process called statistical learning, in which they “catalog” or acclimate to regularities and patterns in the speech they hear.

Unlike written language, spoken language does not always show clear boundaries between words and sounds. This may help explain why babies show a preference toward infant-directed speech, also known as “parentese.” The characteristics of parentese—exaggerated sounds, over-articulation, and a sing-songy tone—are universal across languages and play a vital role in a child’s language COOP SCOOP

acquisition by allowing them to isolate and analyze individual phonemes and, eventually, words. From the outside, the process of language acquisition may appear almost effortless. But the developing brain of a baby is working diligently, taking careful statistics of the sounds and utterances they hear. Babies rely on the people around them to provide the data.

Between 6 and 12 months, most babies begin to babble in speech-like gibberish that includes both vowels and consonants from their native language.

Some of the most common sounds in this early stage are /m/, /n/, /p/, /b/, /t/, and /d/. The sounds /m/, /p/, and /b/ are all pronounced by putting the lips together. The other sounds, /n/, /t/, and /d/ are all pronounced by touching the tongue to the roof of the mouth. It is not a coincidence that across world languages, most nursery terms for mother and father include one of these sounds. In his 1962 article Why Mama and Papa?, linguist Roman Jakobson noted that the terms mama and papa “reflect the tendencies of children’s speech development.”

English

Maternal Nursery Term mama

Paternal Nursery Term papa

Persian

maman

baba

Welsh

mam

tad

Mandarin

māmā

bàba

Tagalog

nanay

tatay

Swahili

mama

baba

Yupik

aana

aata

Iñupiat

aana, aaka

taata, aapa

Language

Babies spend their second year of life taking a lot of statistics. Their vocabulary explodes, and although they’re probably not pronouncing everything correctly, their intent to communicate is clear. By 15 months, most babies can understand 120 words and say 14. By 18 months, most babies can understand 200 or more words and say 68. Around 23 months, the average toddler can say about 200 words.

A baby’s community of family and friends plays a vital role in their language learning.

The best way to help them learn is to provide more statistical data for their little, hard-working brains to process. Talking, reading, and singing with them daily create a language-rich environment in which they can thrive. While the developing mind of a child is equipped with an innate ability to acquire language, it is the interpersonal interactions— providing all of the data, love, and care—that ignite the spark.

Erin Donahue is a proud new member of the Honest Weight Food Co-Op. She lives and works in Albany. She can be reached at erind589@gmail.com

(518)465-0241 www.albanyfamilylifecenter.org

Hands-On, Hearts Open

Care During Your Entire Childbearing Year Betsy Mercogliano, CPM, LM (518)449-5759

Jess Hayek ,CE, Doula (518)727-8219

Tisha Graham, CPM, CLC, Doula Rose Mitchell-Tenerowicz, Doula Laura Simpson, RN, NMT, Doula

Professional homebirth midwifery, Doulas, education and more!

Locations in Albany & Saratoga

Stop Energy Waste and Save!

Get a free Home Performance Energy Assessment which can qualify you for incentives and low interest financing to make home improvements. Have an expert show you where you may be wasting energy- and how to fix it.

We’ll help you take the first step to a greener and more comfortable building with lower utility bills.

Homeownership Center www.ahphome.org

Notes on Camp: Sparking Girl Power SCOUTING HISTORY

by Carol Reid

I come from an outdoorsy family chock-full of “scouts”—Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, troop leaders, counselors, campers. My two sisters, along with some chummy Girl Scout alums, even saved the glorious Camp Little Notch in the Adirondacks from corporate decimation after the GS Council divested and threatened to sell it in 2008. The youngest Girl Scouts have cute monikers like Brownies and Daisies—the latter named for their founder, “Daisy” Low—and the littlest Camp Fire Girls (CFG) were once called Sparks. Before these fired-up kindergartners were admitted to the CFG in 1983, the smallest among them were the Bluebirds—which, coincidentally enough, was the “nom de plume” I’d long ago chosen for myself at a Girl Scout day camp in East Greenbush called "Is-Sho-Da".

(Happiness, see Bluebird of...)

“Girl Scouts of America” was started in 1910 by Clara LisetorLane of Des Moines, IA, but proposed mergers with emerging Girl Guides in Spokane, WA; Camp Fire Girls in Vermont and Maine; and Girl Pioneers of America,

in New York, didn’t pan out.

Juliette Low had gotten bit by the scouting bug in 1911 after meeting the progenitor of scouting in England, Lord Robert Baden-Powell, and helping to form a group of Girl Guides there. (Story goes that at the first Scout Rally in 1909, a small coterie of young women in uniforms showed up at the Crystal Palace in London declaring: “We are the Girl Scouts!”) Failing to persuade the CFG to join them, Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA) was founded by Low in Savannah, GA, just 5 days before the CFG (March 12 vs. March 17, 1912). Girl Pioneers had also set forth in 1910 and held their first official meeting in Flushing, NY, on February 8, 1912.

Decades earlier, in 1869, Mormon leader Brigham Young established the Young Ladies Improvement Association, which eventually gave rise to the perhaps more boisterous Bee-Hive Girls (B-HG) in 1913. The B-HG was open to both LDS and non-LDS members, and their unusual challenges

It’s never too soon to start buying cookies, looking into the camp of your dreams, and sparking the stir-crazy dreams of your own restless kids.

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included: “Learn to float in the Great Salt Lake. Propel yourself 50 feet. Learn to get on your feet unassisted”; “Without help or advice, care for and harness a team of horses at least five times.

Drive 50 miles in one season”; “Care successfully for a hive of bees for one season, and know their habits”; “Build a treehouse sufficiently large for two girls to sleep in”; and “Pick 800 pounds of cherries or their equivalent in any 6 days.” (I also love that the older girls for a time were dubbed the “Junior Gleaners.”) The B-HG survived into the 1950s, and remnants of it persist today.

Did one of these nascent girl groups somehow spark all of the other ones?

Or was it more like a case of s imu l t a n e ou s s p ont ane ou s combustion, born of the burgeoning feminist movements in both the United Kingdom and the United States? Suffrage was still a decade off, but the subject of equal rights for women COOP SCOOP

was bound to have ignited some very lively dinner conversation.

The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) had been around since 1855, but it was only after the 1910 World Conference in Berlin that it began to address the true concerns of workingclass women and to spur further organization. Plus this was wartime, with plenty of need for female volunteers stateside. Girls swelled the ranks as many seized these opportunities for lifelong learning, patriotic service, and hardy self-sufficiency. And in the Spring, their fancies lightly turned to thoughts of Camp...

It’s an all-girl learning space that fosters a lifetime of sisterhood Summer camps have long been all about the song—sung in circles and in rounds, on the bus and ‘round the campfire, for working through the day and for winding down at night. They’re communal and comforting, infectious and inspiring. One song called “Pass It On” begins: It only takes a spark to get a fire going And soon all those around can warm up to its glowing...

I remember another one that went: The flicker of the campfire, the wind in the pines The moon in the heavens, the stars that shine A place where people gather to make friends of all kinds A place where all man’s troubles are always left behind.”

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

One CFG leader recalls a young camper who was “far away from the city lights she was used to.” The girl gazed up at the twinkling night sky and murmured, “So this is where they keep the stars.”

Other “stars” who were CFGs i nc l u de M a r ia n An de r son , Shirley Temple, Beverly Cleary, Janis Joplin, Gladys Knight, Rita Moreno, and Madonna. Girl Scouts can point to Hillary Clinton, Sally Ride, Venus Williams, Queen Latifa, Queen Elizabeth II, Lynda Carter, Lucille Ball, Bette Davis, Martha Stewart, Mary Tyler Moore, Ann Landers, and Gloria Steinem. Camp Fire (as it’s currently known) and Scouts BSA (they claim to have dropped the word Boy from their name, but it’s still there in the “B”) are currently co-ed, at least to some extent. The Girl Scouts, however, are drawing a line in the sand. “Girl Scouts has been the premier girl leadership development organization and the girl expert for over 100 years...

It’s an all-girl learning space that fosters a lifetime of sisterhood," firmly states one of its chief operating officers.

Whether cocooning at home with a wood burning stove, electric fireplace, and pine-scented candles, or outside facing the bracing winds, slippery slopes, and frozen waterways, remember this: It’s never too soon to start buying cookies, looking into the camp of your dreams, and sparking the stir-crazy dreams of your own restless kids. And to prepare them for all the hiking and solidarity that awaits them this summer, why not head down to the nearest Women’s March on January 19,

It’s an all-girl learning space that fosters a lifetime of sisterhood 2019? This year marks the 100th anniversary of Congressional passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote on the national level. (New Yorkers won the vote in 1917.)

Two years ago, we witnessed the first woman ever to get the most votes for president, and last year delivered a “blue wave” of diverse women to Capitol Hill.

Century-old sparks are now a steadily burning flame.

Progress, thy name is Girl Power!

painting By Nancy Brossard 15

Seed Spark

by Ellie Markovitch

There are many things we can do to help stop food waste while getting extra nutrition and having a lot of fun in our own kitchen. Some activities to keep food waste from going into landfills include: eating imperfect produce (sometimes called “seconds” or even “thirds” by farmers); gleaning; understanding food expiration dates; and, last but not least, composting. But before that last step I always ask myself: “Can I eat it? What can I do with this...?”

I believe zero food waste starts in the kitchen, with small daily acts, such as eating the whole vegetable.

This kind of eating is often described as “root to fruit” eating—skin, stems, and seeds. There are so many flavors and textures to explore. Winter squashes are wonderful vegetables to give “root to fruit” eating a try. We can eat the green leaves, the orange flesh, the skin, and the seeds.

This way of eating requires getting used to a new way of cooking. I remember the first year we grew our own carrots and potatoes. I wanted to eat even the dirt on them! I was so excited that I didn't want to see anything go to waste. When it came time to prepare a meal, I had to fight the urge to peel them because that was what I had always done.

Toddler • eArly CHildHood • eleMeNTAry • Middle sCHool • suMMer ProGrAM

AdMissioNs oPeN House for Fall 2019 entry

A few years ago, I decided to start saving and using my squash seeds. Trying to figure out how to use fresh seeds from fruits and vegetables has been a humbling exercise, but it’s also opened up my cooking to new flavors and new methods, and it has added a spark to my cooking. If you have not considered eating winter squash seeds, here some ideas: Make seed milk, truffles, and spice mix.

On my last trip home to Brazil, I learned to use melon seeds by blending fresh seeds from a melon with water to get a “seed milk.” That provided the inspiration to try to make “seed milk” with winter squash seeds.

WINTER SQUASH SEED "MILK” The ratio is about 1 cup of seeds and guts blended with 2 cups of water. If it's too thick or too strong, add a bit more water. Strain and drink!

I add the "squash seed milk" when I make a cup of spice chai or mix it with spices for a quick cup of soup. Save the seed mush in the freezer for bread baking or soup making if desired.

Meet the faculty, tour the campus and discover how the proven excellence of a Montessori education can help your child achieve a lifetime of outstanding results.

Montessori 101 session 1:30 pm Pre-registration is requested 518.283.5400

Saturday, January 12, 2019 12:30-3:00 p.m.

Snow date: January 26 16

100 Montessori Place • North Greenbush • woodlandhill.org

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GOLD POWDER I started making this "gold powder" a few years back when I got a large donation of winter squashes for a community meal.

I was left with cups of pumpkin seeds, and that was a great motivation to find new ways to use them. Before that I would occasionally roast them in butter or coconut oil, and that is a simple and delicious option. I had also used the roasted seeds in breads and soups. But when I needed an intense squash flavor for a dessert, I decided to try making a powder of them.

Here are some sweet and savory versions, to eat with a spoon, put on cereals, and sprinkle over desserts for fanciness, or even to give as food gifts from your kitchen. You can try a mortar and pestle, but I have gotten the best results by using a coffee grinder or blender to grind the roasted seeds.

Photos by Ellie Markovitch

You Can Help Save Honey Bees With Our Exceptional

Gold, Pumpkin Seed, and Caramelized Seed Powders 1. Roast 2 cups seeds with guts and all on a cookie sheet in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes.

2. In a saucepan, melt ¼ cup of sugar over medium heat.

When the sugar is caramel in color, add seeds and stir until coated. Let it cool on a baking mat or parchment paper.

3. Grind the caramelized seeds in a blender or coffee grinder.

4. Strain through a sieve a few times to make a fine powder.

5. Store in a jar.

Winter Squash Seed Truffles 1. Roast 2 cups seeds with guts and all on a cookie sheet in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes.

2. In a food processor or blender, add 1 cup of roasted seed powder, 15-20 baking dates, and 1 to 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Process until the mixture can be shaped into balls.

BEE NUCs.

With over 50 years beekeeping experience in the Capital Region, we run close to 150 hives, many on organic farms and none using pesticides. We don’t stress our bees by moving them for pollination, and all NUCs (Nucleus Colonies) are made from hives that have wintered successfully. April NUCs are overwintered as NUCs. May NUCs are split from full hives that overwintered. Each NUC contains five frames – at least three frames of brood and one frame of honey and pollen. The Fifth frame is fully drawn containing a combination of brood, honey and pollen.

For more information and to order please email beegood@gmail.com or call/text to 518-573-8246.

NUCs ready in late April $220. NUCs ready in mid-late May $190. $50 per NUC deposit, fully refundable on cancellations before April 1.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

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Winter Squash Seed Mole Poblano Mix Traditionally, mole sauce is served with turkey or chicken, but it is also delicious over rice, beans, and vegetables. I am replacing the almond meal.

Sometimes pepitas are used with winter squash seed powder to create this rub.

1. Roast 2 cups seeds with guts and all on a cookie sheet in a 350F oven for about 20 minutes.

2. In a blender add 1 cup of the warm roasted seeds and blend to get a fine seed powder.

3. Add to the seed powder: ◊ 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds ◊ 1 tablespoon of dried cilantro or parsley ◊ 1 cup of sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped ◊ 7 tablespoons of mild chili powder (about 2 ounces of mulato or ancho peppers) ◊ ¼ teaspoon each: cumin, cloves, cinnamon, coriander seeds, anise star, sugar ◊ 1 teaspoon salt

Party With The Arts Center BIRTHDAY PARTIES AVAILABLE Our talented teaching artists will provide a variety of engaging art activities that can be enjoyed by family and friends!

We are also happy to individualize parties to suit your tastes!

Themes:

Cupcake Wars- Ages 10-17 Painting Party- Ages 7-17 Treasure Chest Scavenger Hunt- Ages 5-10 Fabric Printing Party- Ages- 5-10 Studio Sprouts- Ages 2-5

Studio Sprouts celebrates children and their imagination with creative art exploration, music, and handson experiments. Our educators are artists that believe in creating a caring and safe community to make friends, play and have fun.

Drop in a session OR Have a Studio Sprouts Birthday Party!

*Details for Studio Sprouts: For 2-5 Year Olds Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00AM- 11:30AM At The Arts Center of the Capital Region Drop-In Rate: $15 each session OR 8 Session Drop-In Rate: $96 ($12/session) You can drop-in, preregister, or purchase an 8 session punch card.

THE ARTS CENTER OF THE CAPITAL REGION 265 RIVER ST, TROY, NY 12180 | 518-273-0552 | www.artscenteronline.org 18

◊ 3 heaping tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder ◊ 3 tablespoons of Masa Harina (a type of traditional flour used in many Mexican dishes) ◊ ¼ cup raisins 4. Re-blend and store the mix in a jar until ready to use as a rub or to make a sauce.

To make the sauce, place all ingredients in a blender with 3 cups of water or broth. Add 3 garlic cloves, 1 medium onion, chopped, and blend until smooth.

Add the sauce to a pan and bring it to a gentle boil.

Simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring to prevent burning, until thick. Add more water to desired consistency.

For more ways to use whole winter squash, see Ellie's hashtag #storycookingwintersquash on Instagram.

Ellie Markovitch (storycooking.com) is a multimedia artist, educator,

and cook who uses food as a starting point for conversations and community building. Story Cooking is an online record of improvising with food, people and place. Follow her at @elliemarkovitch.

3 acres of farmland are lost to development every minute in the United States.

American Farmland Trust

ACT TODAY before your Capital Region farmland disappears forever.

Join the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy in the fight to save local farmland.

Your help will make it possible!

WWW.MOHAWKHUDSON.ORG /farmland-protection COOP SCOOP

Let the New Year Spark Your Goals

Write them down and set a deadline

by Jeff Miller

It’s common knowledge that most people make some New Year's resolutions, but very few stick with them. How can we improve our ability to keep our commitments to ourselves?

Making a new year's resolution is just a seasonal way of saying "setting a goal." Setting and sticking to goals is a very important skill to learn, and there are a few techniques you can use to help you reach yours:

1. Write the goal down It may not seem like much, but just the act of writing a goal down makes it 80% more likely that you will accomplish that goal.

According to Mark McCormack in “What They Don’t Teach You in Harvard Business School,” in 1979, Harvard asked its MBA class if they had set clear, written goals for their future. Only 3% of the graduates had written goals.

Thirteen percent had goals they had not written down, and 84% had no goals at all. Ten years later, they interviewed the class again, the 13% who had unwritten goals were earning an average of twice as much as the 84% who didn't. The 3% who had written goals were making an average of ten times as much money as the other 97%. It's that important.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

2. Set deadlines If you make a commitment to yourself, make it as specific as possible. A deadline is a great way to increase your level of commitment and the likelihood that you will accomplish your goal. Still, don't set yourself up to fail by making an unrealistic deadline. Give yourself the time you really think you might need.

Even if you miss the deadline, keep going. It may just mean that the deadline wasn't realistic. Only you can know if you're putting in the necessary effort.

3. Remember that goal setting is an important key to happiness Radio speaker and author Earl Nightingale writes: "Happiness is the progressive realization of a worthy goal." Your sense of happiness is often directly related to your sense of progress or growth and your sense of control over your destiny. You can only have meaningful control over your destiny if you choose what your destiny will be. In other words, set goals and stick to them!

Jeff Miller is a certified personal trainer with 20 years of experience in the fitness industry. He holds multiple health and fitness certifications, including that of Titleist Golf Fitness www.FunctionFitness.com.

Sparks

by Loren Brown

Sometimes when I stir the sleeping bed of black coals in the wood stove, a shower of sparks explodes at me like dragon's breath.

Sometimes when I speak my heart I stir a sleeping coal bed of cultural hurts, and you, my dear dragons, startle awake, your fearful sighs filling night skies with orange embered meteor showers.

Be at peace, for the ground is puddled with recent rains, there will be no fire.

We can sleep the sleep of dying embers.

Be still, my heart, truth doesn't die, it waits.

Loren Brown identifies most with being a person, learning, growing, seeking, and trying to capture the aesthetic of thoughts in writing so she can share with others. She has been a member of the co-op since the days of the Quail Street start-up. Which means, she is getting old.

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Home Spark Safety by the Numbers

by Mecca "Magic" Andrades

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, a branch of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), there were 1,319,500 fires in this country in 2017, resulting in 14,670 injuries and 3,400 deaths.

Common causes of fires include unsafe smoking, unsafe cooking practices, faulty electrical wiring and equipment, heating sources, and children playing with matches.

The latest statistics from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) show that every day seven people die in house fires across the United States.

Smoking is the leading cause of these fires, most often resulting from individuals falling asleep while smoking in bed. Heating devices are responsible for one in five home-fire-related deaths and half of all these fires occur during the winter months, between December and February. With winter now upon us, we may find ourselves relying upon a variety of heating devices. Check electric blankets for faulty wiring, and always check and maintain, as needed, space heaters, wood stoves, and fireplaces. Secure cooled ashes in a metal canister outside, at least 10 feet away from any wooden structure. How far away from heat sources should you keep flammable items, such as gloves, scarves, newspapers, and books?

Three feet. (How many of us leave our gloves on the radiator to dry?) How many heating devices should you plug into a single outlet? Only one. 

Overloaded extension cords and electrical devices with frayed or taped wiring are major causes of electrical wall fires. Cooking is the leading cause of home fire injuries, primarily related to unattended cooking or grease fires that people tried unsuccessfully to extinguish themselves. According to FEMA, only use a fire extinguisher if you are trained in how to use it; you have the right kind of extinguisher; the fire is small and can be put out in less than five seconds; there is nothing flammable close by; and you have two exit routes in case you fail to extinguish the fire. The City of Albany Fire Prevention and Safety website (www.albanyny.gov/ Government/Departments/FireDepartments/) provides a number of informative, easy-to-read flyers on cooking, home heating, and candle safety tips, to mention just a few.

If there is a fire at home, how much time do you think you have to exit the building? In November 2017, the Washington Post reported on an Underwriters Laboratories (UL) study (wapo.st/2zTBom2) showing that 80% of Americans thought they would have 5 to 10 minutes to get out. This is not the case.

Thirty years ago you may have had up to 17 minutes to get out, but with many of today’s homes, “open floor plans provide oxygen and don't provide barriers.

And synthetic building materials and furnishings

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    

    

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 

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COOP SCOOP

burn at a much faster rate than the natural products used decades ago.”

UL has posted an interesting YouTube video (youtu.be/D7T43OmErmU) that demonstrates how long it takes a fire to fully engulf a room with synthetic furnishings, compared to one with natural furnishings.

What can you do to keep safe? To avoid a potential house fire, here are some precautions to consider: 1. Have an escape plan and rehearse it. Depending on the size of the fire, you may have less than 2 minutes before you lose the ability to see and breathe. Ideally, you should have two alternative exit routes. If you live with others, decide together on a meeting place outside and away from the house.

2. Regularly inspect wires, cords, and extension cords. Wiring behind furniture, for example, may have been damaged or chewed and thus be a potential fire hazard. Dispose of such items.

in size every minute," said Boyd. "You may think you can manage it, but I've seen people who have perished in the heat and gases, trying to fight the fire themselves."

Steps to take during a house fire 1. Call 911.

2. Because smoke rises, get low to the ground. Smoke kills more people than fire.

3. Approach closed doors cautiously. If the door feels hot and/or smoke is coming through, seek an alternative exit route.

4. If your clothes catch on fire (and synthetic fiber will tend to melt and stick to your skin), drop, cover your face with your hands and roll to smother the flames.

5. To reduce the oxygen available to fuel the fire, close all windows and doors tightly behind you.

6. If you need to climb out a window, do so backwards.

If possible, hang from the sill and drop.

3. Test your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms monthly and change the batteries annually.

7. Finally, after getting yourself and your family out, don’t go back in.

4. Make sure that the lightbulbs in lamps do not exceed the maximum wattage.

8. And if you are trapped, take these steps: Don’t panic. Call 911. Close all doors, vents, and cracks to keep smoke out as much as possible. Wait for help.

5. Annually, have a professional inspect and clean vents, furnaces, and chimneys.

6. Avoid leaving food cooking on the stove unattended.

Let’s all do what we can to spark fire safety!

7. Avoid leaving burning candles unattended or on flammable or unstable surfaces.

Mecca "Magic" Andrades is known by her friends and family for

8. If you smoke, consider smoking outdoors if possible, and be sure to extinguish cigarettes safely. If you smoke indoors, do not smoke in bed.

writing poetry and spoken word performances. More recently, she has developed a love for writing in general and is working on a monthly motivational activity planner. When she is not writing, she is working as a nurse with the geriatric population and spending time with her two daughters and granddaughter swimming or at amusement parks. You can connect with Mecca on her website, mandrades8.wixsite.com.

9. Keep bedroom doors closed when you go to sleep.

10. Check your outside street address number and make sure that it is clearly visible at night.

11. Teach children that fire can be dangerous and that it is not a toy to play with.

And if there is a fire in your home, the main objective should be to get out—not to put it out.

The Washington Post quotes Montgomery County, MD, fire investigator Donny Boyd who “has seen the aftermath when people fail.” "Fire doubles JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

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Recipe Corner Mom’s Rice and Mushroom Ring

by Melanie Pores

Notes Mom’s Rice and Mushroom Ring is a special family recipe that my mom, Anne Pores, used to prepare for our family. When I was a child, my mom would prepare her yummy rice and mushroom ring dish for holiday gatherings. It was so popular that we’d eat it all up! I have modified my mom’s original recipe to make it vegan-friendly by replacing butter with vegan margarine and/or coconut oil.

Ingredients

Directions

2 cups rice, well-rinsed

1. Cook rice until nearly done.

2 large onions, chopped 1 lb mushrooms, ground 1 garlic clove, minced 1⁄4 lb of vegan margarine and/or coconut oil Salt and pepper to taste 22

2. Sauté onions in margarine and/or coconut oil until golden. Add garlic and mushrooms and sauté for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. 4. Grease a large ring mold (or casserole dish) and line loosely with foil.

Put rice in layers, alternately with mushroom mixture, beginning and ending with rice. Cover with foil.

5. Put ring mold (or casserole dish) in a water bath and heat for 25-30 minutes.

COOP SCOOP

Kids Corner Have Some Fun with Stevie's Delight

named after a neighborhood boy from our youth who loved this!

by Linda Coolen & Susan Metcalf

SUPPLIES NEEDED: ●● Vinegar (white or cider) ●● Baking soda ●● Food coloring (optional but very cool) ●● Liquid dishwashing detergent ●● 10 oz. cup or mug ●● Large plastic basin or sink (to do the experiment in)

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Put the cup in the middle of the basin or sink.

2. Put 3-4 teaspoons of baking soda, ½ cup of water, a couple squirts of the detergent, and a few drops of food coloring into the cup.

3. Quickly add ¾ cup vinegar and watch the foaming begin!

4. You can continue to add small amounts of vinegar and see how long the mixture will continue to bubble.

5. For added fun add glitter or washable paint to your experiment.

Why it works Vinegar (diluted acetic acid) is an acid. The baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is an alkaline salt that reacts with the vinegar when they are mixed together. The reaction creates carbon dioxide gas, which forms the bubbles.

Cautions This activity should be supervised by an adult.

This mixture is safe to touch, but take care to avoid contact with the eyes. If contact with the eyes occurs, rinse thoroughly with clear water.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

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GRANOLA DRIED FRUIT TRAIL MIX NUT BUTTER

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R

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