BLOG 19!!! Project - Food.

Welcome to Farmers Market.

On a cold Wednesday morning i took a crowded train ride to 14 street-Union Square. My mission was to locate the farmers market, walk around taking pictures of all the things that caught my eye, jot down all the things i observe, buy some food to make into a meal, and get a nice experience of tasting fresh, farm grown produce and meats. I say my mission because i was alone and it was an experience all  new to me. Well i got to my destination and before i left the station, home of the number 6, 4, and 5 trains and the letter L, N, Q, and R trains i got to see a performance of street dancers, dancing on the platform to entertain people waiting for their trains to arrive and asking for donations and a round of applause. It was very live and amazing to see young people show their talent all day on a subway platform to support their needs.

Dancers in the subway

 I needed to hurry along and locate the farmers market. Once i arrive, i see all the people who attended to provide the farm grown food for the people who are willing to be outdoors, buying and supporting the farm owners. I walked around, took pictures, jotted a few things i saw being sold. I got stopped by one of the vendors selling potatoes, carrots, apples, pumpkins and other fresh, farm grown food, curious to know why i was taking pictures. I explained about my knowledge on food and what i have learned from my professors lessons in class on food. I told him about my project that needs to be done and why i chose food. He gladly told me about where his produce comes from and how its done. He told me how he don't mind standing out there all day, rain or shine and hopes i continue to buy farm grown food. I decided to buy from him and bought a 5lb bag of small apples for only 1$!!! and they were fresh, round and red. I seen one of the stands with all sorts of nuts and fruits in jars preserved and then notice fresh caramel nuts and got the idea to make caramel apples, I said to myself its not much of a meal but a tasty treat it would be and fun to make. And to go with my tasty treat i bought a few bottles of juice that were healthy and fresh made, cranberry, apple and grape.

Fresh caramel nuts, it was fun to melt.

Caramel apples all done.

Purchase a few bottles for 1$!!!

I also bought a bundle of fresh collard greens and fresh string beans to make a meal for my pets at home for only 2$. It was getting cold and late for me but i definitely made a stop at the little holiday shops set up around the farmers market as well. I also learned that a lot of the things sold where hand made, recycled, and very useful, yes things where a bit expensive but it was fun seeing the things being sold and people enjoying them selves and buying things. I learned a lot attending the farmers market. One important thing is to always read the label of anything you buy to know what you are really getting and putting into your body. These farmers are dedicated in providing fresh food, organic and healthy.

Plants

Meal made for my pet using collard greens, apple and string beans. =]

Sign says it all.

Freshly made goat cheese.

Eggs and great prices.

Whats available.

The good stuff.

Fresh pasta

Fresh collard greens and other greens.

Interesting.

All kinds of pumpkins.

Love this poster.

All kind of berries in jars

Looks way different then meat at supermarkets and more expensive.

Many different apples

Pears, apples, etc.

Interesting.

All sorts of vegetables.

 Even organic grown trees!!!


LINK TO A VIDEO -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPvgkZhrWUA

This is a video i found very interesting, it explains 5 steps to why do farming, and to make it available to people who buy from farm owners.

Blog 18: "2-dollar Camisole"

In the article, " The 2$ Camisole: How cheap is ruining our lives" by Mary Elizabeth Williams discusses about how the price for something material is important. She explains

Blog 17: Reflection on Blogging

Blog 16: The New Industrial Migrants

Part I

          In the first passage "The New Industrial Migrants" from Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser is telling readers that young men and women from Mexico, Central America, and Southeast Asia starting going to Colorado for work. The meatpacking jobs offers poor wages and theres always a replacement of employees. "The average worker quits or was fired every three months." Alot of the workers do not speak English and most of them are Mexican immigrants. Its told health insurance is given after six months on the job and vacation pay after a year, but most of the workers never get that vacation.


Part II

         In the second reading of  "The New Industrial Migrants" from Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser explains  how the company realized that immigrants work for lower wages than AAmerican citizens and they are unwilling to join unions. Most of all meatpacking workers are illegal immigrants. One meatpacking executive joked " If they got a pulse well take an application.".

Blog 15

The link to the Greenmarket Farmers Market website is very interesting. What interested me the most is the large amount of farmers there are and they joined the Greenmarket farmers market to help "promote regional agriculture by providing small family farms the opportunity to sell their locally grown, caught, foraged and baked products directly to consumers, and to ensure that ALL New Yorkers have access to the freshest, most nutritious locally grown food the region has to offer." This program provides healthy, fresh and local food for all New Yorkers, they grow and take care of community gardens, help New Yorkers to recycle more and to reduce waste. The website provides information about environmental education, they work with young people to show them to learn about it, grow it and eat it. I like that it provides a calender for what fruits and vegetables are available throughout the year. This website is very useful.

Blog 14: Ideas for Improving My Performance in the CATW.

Need a good summary, short, in my own words.

Blog 13: CATW # 5: How to Do One Thing at a Time

The authors most important ideas in "How to Do One Thing at a Time" by Nancy Jones of the women's health magazine is knowing multi-tasking is harmful, doing two things at once isn't as good as focusing on one thing so it can be good.
      Talking on the phone while driving is a dumb idea. Even if you have a blue tooth or some kind of ear piece, it is distracting. Driving and talking is a multi-task that is harmful, not only to yourself but others around you. Driving needs full attention and if you are talking, your mind is on the topic you are talking about and not where you are headed. I seen my mother do it all the time. She receives a phone call while driving and answers it using an earpiece, yes, but she ends up missing a turn or going in the wrong way. It could be anything, like getting into a car accident, so its best to just concentrate on where you are going always and not do anything else that will distract you. "A tremendous amount of evidence shows that the brain does better when its performing task in sequence rather than all at once" says Clifford Nass a professor of communication at Stanford university. Earlier I read a passage by Sherry Turkle, a professor from MIT and she says how in many of her interviews children say their parents will pick them up, but their parents would be stuck on their blackberry stuff. I can relate because my mom ignores anyone if she is on her phone. Driving and talking on the phone is not a good thing, you are ignoring whats around you.