Last Spring, I surprised my wife (not in a good way, she was just surprised) by heading out in the backyard in the middle of the night and digging up a strip of grass to do some planting. It wasn’t huge, but neither is our city plot of land. A deal was struck! She got some room for flowers, I got some room for veggies.

I’ve been wanting to grow some of my own food for a while now. Here’s a few reasons why:

1. To Close the Gap.
   When you walk around the grocery store and see boxes and cans and microwavable trays, and each product has 50 ingredients in it, you get a very abstract picture of where food comes from. I wanted to close the gap between the field and the table.  I wanted to cook with veggies and herbs that I could see their whole life cycle.
2. To Teach My Kids About Real Food.
   Those products in the grocery store have dozens of ingredients that I can’t pronounce, much less tell you where they came from. One day my son who was 3 at the time asked me, “Where do Graham Crackers come from?” Not a clue. What does it say on the box?  Well, clearly there’s pyrophosphates in there son. Eat up. – Got me thinking, do I really want to give my kids food that I can’t pronounce the ingredients? Or myself for that matter?
3. I like to cook and I want my food to taste better.
   I’m not particularly that good at it, at least, not to where I’d hope to be…but I love to cook. The garden is inspiration. You can’t help but want to be a better cook when you’ve got access to fresh off the vine tomatoes, lush herbs and crunchy lettuce you just pulled out of the ground. When it comes out of the ground, gets washed and goes right into a meal, it tastes better. period.
4. Saving Money
   I think this is possible. I didn’t run the numbers last year, but conceivably, with the right mix of veggies, the right planting schedule, eating what’s “in season,” it is conceivable that you could actually save money. It doesn’t really cost that much to get up and running. Last year we spent less than $100 and had a serious bounty. I plan to do it again this year with more intentionality.

So, that’s why I started and I want to encourage you to grow something. I’m not saying that you should give up your day job and become a farmer. I’m not saying rip up your whole yard and make the whole thing edible. Here’s a few ideas to get you going though:

1. Grow Something. Anything.
   Head to the bookstore and look at the magazines. There’s a ton of them out right now that give you ideas from a window box, to container vegetable gardens, to 3×6 raised beds, to the works. Buy some seeds and grow!
2. Start at a pace that makes sense for you.
   Don’t rip up the whole yard if you’re not ready to deal with the ramifications of it. Not everyone is as crazy or impulsive as I am. Starting with a 5×20′ garden may not be right for you. But, there is a happy place between nothing and full-fledge farmer that is right for you.
3. Don’t be discouraged by some things not growing.
   Truth be told, at least half the seeds I started last year died before I could plant them outdoors. That sucked. But the other half didn’t. That was awesome. Don’t be discouraged. It’s not all going to grow.
4. Start with plants from the garden store.
   Starting from seed can be a lot more work and a lot more defeating. Start with 3-4″ or 12″ plants from the garden store can be a winning recipe. Most of those plants are bred to live in your local area. You’ll have a greater chance of early success.
5. If you’ve got kids, get them involved.
   Everyday, my boy was out in the garden asking if there were any cucumbers or tomatoes to pick. It’s a great way to get them going in the process and even encourage them to eat more fruits and veggies. My boy loves Thyme. He says it’s his favorite herb. Does your kid have a favorite herb at age 5? They could.

I’d love to have some conversation about your successes and struggles.

A few garden shots from last year…

This week will be foodie week.

Here’s how I’m going to break it down.

Tuesday: Books, Movies, Links, Resources that have changed the way I think about food
Wednesday: Living off the land this summer
Thursday: Cookbooks that I use for inspiration (I rarely follow recipes, so they need to be inspiring…)
Friday: Two of my personal recipes that always get a warm welcome

Eating it. Cooking it. Thinking about where it comes from. Loving it. Hating it.

For the next week I’m going to take a few posts to talk about food. If you’re not a foodie, feel free to tune out or tune in to get a few ideas.

It was Jamie Oliver’s cooking show called “Jamie at Home,” on the Food Network. It was all about getting real food (or growing it yourself) and cooking fresh meals that are relatively easy, sometimes gourmet, always tasty. Admittedly, I was not a cook at the time and I had little understanding about “food” other than what the current diet fad was. We ate Lean Cuisine’s and McDonald’s regularly in the same day as if they offset each other.

Within watching this show about 2-3 times, I was bitten by a cooking bug and a personal food revolution that persists all these years later.

We cook nearly everything we eat from scratch (with the exception of a few quick meals out and some pregnancy emergency foods we’ve got on hand at the moment). We buy vegetables, try to buy our meat straight from the farmer whenever possible. We’ve rid the house of corn syrup and as much of the other crap that gets called food that you can buy at the grocery store. We even dug up a bit of the yard last year and grew some of our own herbs and veggies.

Last week, I watched with anticipation as Jamie Oliver received his 2010 TED Prize and talked about his TED Wish that he wants to mobilize people around. It’s an issue I totally agree with and want to find ways to support.

Take a minute to watch his talk and engage in the conversation around keeping our kids from getting fat and dying from the foods we let them eat.

I would love to hear your thoughts…

Jamie Oliver is on twitter @jamie_oliver

Lately, I’ve been thinking about wanting to dive deeper into my blog and deeper into writing in general. I had the chance to correspond with Daniel Pink, about his evolution into writing and what keeps him motivated.

Me: When did you decide to write?

DP: It was a pretty slow evolution. I wrote for school newspapers and the like, but never envisioned becoming a writer.  In my mid-20s, though, I found that writing was what I was doing during my discretionary time. In law school, I wrote magazine articles and op-eds for newspapers. When I worked in politics, despite some pretty demanding jobs, I also wrote magazine articles on the side. That gave me a hint about what I really wanted to do. But it wasn’t until I left politics to work for myself that I began to consider myself a writer.

Me: What motivates you to write and write better?

DP: There are lots of motivation. I sometimes write to figure things out — and the process of discovery is one of my favorite things in the world. I also write in a small effort to influence — to change the way people think and perhaps even how they act. When I get an email from reader telling me one of my books made a difference in that person’s life, I’m motivated for another week!  As for writing better, it’s constantly on my mind. Writing is the sort of undertaking that is impossible to master fully. That’s one of the things that makes it both frustrating and alluring.

I found his thoughts encouraging. I love my job. I love a lot of things. Sometimes that’s a problem for me because I don’t always feel settled being in one place. I want to do some writing though. Even if it’s just on this blog or in a few other places, I want to feel like I have something to contribute to the greater good of this world. I’m definitely motivated by making a difference in people’s lives and I think I can have an impact in some way great or small through my desire to write.

Is there anything you’re itching to do, but have been hesitating to give yourself over to? Are you slowly evolving into that passion? What’s motivating you?

BTW: Read his book. Go get yourself some Drive at Amazon or listen to Dan Pink read it by getting the audio at Audible.

– Cornel West

People and organizations are making a difference. I want to support people who are passionate about making the world a better place. Don’t you?

So start giving. There’s a million ways to do it…

The web has made it so easy to give to people moving organizations. Find a local, regional, and global initiative to make a difference with today.

Here’s some places that get our support:

• Locally (My friend Aaron is running a 5K for an important cause. He’s 3/8 of the way to his goal. Help him out.)
• Regionally (My Father in Law and Brother in Law are directors at TreeHouse. This is an organization that truely makes a life changing impact in the lives of at risk youth. We support them monthly. I support them, even though they are still using the website i made for them 9 years ago.)
• Globally (My wife and I have been wanting do something big. We’ll talk about it in the next post, but Charity: Water is the org we’re supporting)

We support these places and initiatives because they are having an impact on people’s lives. It doesn’t take much. $20 through Charity Water gives water to 1 person for 20 years. I can do that.

What organizations do you passionately support?

What will your logo SAY ABOUT YOU…when you’re not there to SPEAK FOR YOURSELF?

Logos are gossipers. They talk about you behind your back like an 8th grader chatting on myspace about your pimples. So what is your logo saying about you behind your back?

• If your logo says, “I’m complicated.” you lose.
• If your logo says, “I look this way because my owner is too cheap to pay someone to make me look pretty.” you lose.
• If your logo says, “I think I’m adopted because I don’t look like my parent organization.” you lose.
• If your logo says, “I’m the logo for Org A and I look just like the logo for Org B.” you lose.

So, what  can you do to help your logo be on the same team you are?

Simplify.
Your logo can’t say it all; not even if you tell it to. If your logo requires instructions or a legend to map out and make sense of, then it’s not doing your organization any good. In fact, it’s likely a distraction from bringing people to you.

Emotify.
Ok, that’s not a word, but let’s pretend you’re going on a date with this hot new logo. At the end of the night, your hands lightly graze each other and you get all tingly inside. I know, a bit dramatic. But the point is, you want more. You had a great first encounter and you’re ready to go to the next level. This is all about an emotional connection. A desire to go deeper. Deeper, because you don’t know everything about the oganization, but you believe the encounter could be the start of something great. Your logo should share the same energy as your organization. That helps others know whether they want to have anything to do with you. Don’t be afraid to express yourself.

Burn.
You want to burn your image in someone else’s memory. That’s it. Recollection. Recall. Brining it back. That’s what it’s all about.  Like a branding iron leaving its mark, a logo should mark it’s territory in your brain. Don’t let it look like all the others. What’s unique about you that you can easily communicate? Make it plain, and make it memorable.

Staying true to that axiom, for the first time in three elections, I didn’t vote for Ralph Nader. I actually voted for a major party candidate for the presidency. 

Two things that will win my vote no matter what the rest of your platform is:

1. I feel like your telling me the truth. No BS. I vote for the most honest person in the room. The one who has nothing to lose and is a straight shooter. The one who doesn’t just play the game of fame politics, but is driven to achieve goals that are self-actualized in the character of the individual. 
2. Your definition of “Life” is from the womb to the tomb! Abortion is a hot issue, especially for Christians. But in my neighborhood, so is being a teen mom (in 2004, North Minneapolis had the highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation). Life is not just about bringing kids into the world, it’s about what are we going to do with them once they’re here. How will we care? How will we show it? What will we do to support young moms? I tend to think that poverty is the reason the abortion rate is so high, not just because women have the right to have them. A whole-life policy is what we need, not just regulation and restriction. 

Sunday, I leave for France where my wife and I will have vacation, and she’ll undergo life-changing back surgery. The kids are staying at home. For three weeks. Crazy. That takes some planning.

When we get home, our friends Corey and Betsy and their kids Jonathon and Lily will have moved in. To prepare, we have to clear out the playroom, to convert it back into a bedroom, and clear out my office to convert it into a bedroom. We’re purging our stuff, cleaning out the basement. Getting rid of our junk, and preparing to live in tighter corners with tighter community. This is a big step. One I’m both excited and apprehensive about. 

We’ve given the situation until the end of summer, then we’ll have an evaluation of how things are going…

Needless to say, all the stuff above, and the reality of handing my job over to 5-6 committed volunteers whom I’m very grateful for, has been a ton of planning and extremely time consuming…Not to mention that backyard landscaping project that i decided to start in the middle of the night a while back.

Anywho…I can’t wait to start blogging again, but It might not really come back until week 2 of France. I will probably have a lot of time on our hands while Sarah is cooped up in the hospital…