Danger! Made in China...

I saw this link on BoingBoing.net recently. Yet another reason to buy locally, buy handmade, buy American... I know a lot of companies and corporations are outsourcing to China because it's cheaper, but perhaps as a consumer you'll think twice before buying that "Made in China" item, especially toys! Check out all the items that are lead contaminated.

On a side note, there are more reasons to think twice before buying "Made in China." I've been reading a book by Isabel Losada lately, "A Beginners Guide to Changing the World." It's about one woman's actions to get involved in changing the world for the better. She highlights her actions in trying to help with and understand the issue of Tibet and China. In the middle of the book, she quotes an excerpt from a book she's been given by Kate Saunders of the Tibet Action Network. It's called "Eighteen Layers of Hell," and it's all about the forced labor camps in China. I want to highlight this, because it's another very good reason to think twice before buying "Made in China."

Suspension by the hands and feet is also common in the labour camps. The "hanging aeroplane" involves suspending prisoners by the arms with their hands tied together behind their back so that the arms are contorted when the prisoners are suspended, causing extreme pain. Suspension can severely damage the muscles and nerves and if prolonged causes dislocation of the arms from the shoulder sockets. On other occasions the guards would grab the prisoners from behind, force their wrists together at the back and yank their arms back and up towards the head, so that the prisoners fall on their knees, as the arms nearly break loose from their sockets. For variation, the wrists could be forced together in front, the arms jerked up over the head and then back in the torture known as the "chicken claws."

"You could be forgiven for thinking that I have scanned the book for the most graphic passage. But I have merely opened it at random. This is what we don't want to know," Ms. Losada explains between passages...

Electric batons are some of the most frequently used torture instruments in Chinese prisons, and they are purchased from trade fairs - sometimes made by European or American companies....At a touch, a shock is released through two prongs at the nozzle of the baton, often emitting a crackling blue light. The batons are shaped in such a way that they can be inserted inside the body, and there is evidence that they have been applied to the soles of the feet, inside the mouth, on the genitals, or inside the vagina or ears of the victims.

I was deeply disturbed by just these two passages, yet there is an entire book full of the torture that occurs in Chinese force labor camps. "Made in China?" Yeah, I'm not interested. Thanks.

Spring Minestrone with Brown Rice

From the book Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson

I was reading the free magazine, "edible San Francisco," when I ran across this delicious looking, asparagus filled minestrone recipe. I can't wait to try this one out! Yummmm...

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup medium-grain brown basmati rice, rinsed
6 cups vegetable stock
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut in half diagonally
8 spears asparagus, trimmed and diagonally sliced into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup green peas, fresh or frozen
Fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, then add the shallots and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes until soft.
Add the rice and cook, stirring for 1 minute, then add the stock and bring to a boil.
Cover, lower the heat, and simmer until the rice is just tender, 35 to 45 minutes.

Add the sugar snap peas, asparagus, and green peas, and season with a few healthy pinches of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Simmer for another 2 to 3 minutes and serve immediately; this way the vegetables stay crisp and bright.

Optional:
1) For an Asian-inspired soup, Heidi suggests adding a couple handfuls of edamame in place of the peas and finish with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil.
2) For a more traditional Italian-style minestrone, substitute shelled fava beans for the peas and finish with a bit of shaved Parmesan, lemon zest, and shredded basil.

Glass-making 101

From Stained Glass Step By Step, by Patricia Ann Daley:

I love this book for its plethora of information, from the process of making glass to types of glass to leading and foiling methods of assembly. The projects focus on different types of assembly. A list of projects includes: a Fleur de Lys Panel (Lead Came Method), a Butterfly Sidelight (Copper Foil Method), a kitchen wall clock, a mosaic-ed vase, a six panel lamp, and an Alaskan Totem Light (Sculptural Element).

The first 10 page chapter tells about the process of glass making, as well as describes the different types of glass...

First and foremost, glass is a liquid. Mind you, it's a solid liquid, because it moves so slowly that we don't notice it. However, if you were to examine a large cathedral window that has been standing upright in the same position for many years, you would notice that at the bottom, the glass has flowed downward and become thicker.
Glass is made from silica sand with 1% iron, soda ash, limestone and borax, plus added metal oxides for color: dichrome=green; copper/cobalt=blue; cadmium=lighter reds, oranges, and yellows; gold salts=deep, rich reds, gold pinks and purples.
Generally, most glass that is on the market today is machine-made. The process begins with a carefully measured dry mixture that is place in a crucible, a large "bowl," and then placed in a furnace to slowly heat the mixture to white-hot temperatures. After reaching the high temperatures, the glass liquid is ladled onto mixing slabs where the glass is twirled with a two pronged fork, similar to the way salt water taffy is twirled to mix it. The color changes to a bright orange and the consistency resembles taffy as the glass begins to cool.
The glass is now ready to be rolled, and this is the point where it is textured. The bottom roller gives the texture to the glass and is engraved with the texture. For standard glass, the thickness is now at 1/8" and the color of the glass mixture becomes a dull orange/red as it has cooled even more.
At this point the glass enters the annealing lehr, a conveyor line that slowly cools the glass by moving it from the hottest end of the "oven" to the cold, room temperature side. The glass is ready to be cut and packed into crates for distribution.

Types of Stained Glass...

from Creative Stained Glass - Modern Designs & Simple Techniques:

There are two main categories of stained glass: cathedral and opalescent.
Cathedral glasses are clear or transparent, while opalescent glasses are, well, opal.

Antique Glass is made to look old. If it is machine-made, it will have a slightly distorted texture but be fairly even in color and thickness. If it is mouth-blown, it will be more varied, and show distortions, some bubbles, and differences in color intensity.

Bevels are thick, flat, precut glass shapes that sometimes come in prepackaged clusters for inclusion into stylized designs. They act as prisms, refracting the light that passes through them into rainbows. Bevels are usually clear, but may be glue-chipped.

Glue-chip glass is a textured cathedral glass that has been treated with hot glue, which then peels away to create a pattern.

Iridescent glass can be cathedral or opalescent. It is coated with metallic oxides that produce a rainbow effect when light reflects off of it.

Hammered texture glass also comes in cathedral and opalescent. The "texture is similar to that of hammered copper."

Glass nuggets are small globs of glass which are flat on the bottom and rounded on the top. You've probably seen these in your local craft store in the floral aisle.

Ring-mottled glass is an opalescent glass that is mottled with small, circular patterns, similar to a tortoise-shell.

Ripple glass can be cathedral or opalescent and has a rippled texture.

Rondels are mouth-blown glass pieces spun into a flat circular shape. They are similar to the bottom of a wine bottle and are usually transparent.

Seedy glass has many seed-like bubbles trapped below the surface.

Wispy glass is made by mixing cathedral glass with another more transparent color.

Streaky glass is made up of one or more cathedral colors mixed together with a white opalescent color, creating a thinly streaked, multi-colored glass.

Wavy glass has the appearance of a "gently rippled lake".

So that's about it for the types of glass section of this book. I'm actually fairly disappointed with the descriptions given for the types of glass. I have been reading another book, "Stained Glass Step By Step" by Patricia Ann Daley, and I think I'll have to do another post that gives some of her explanations. They are a little more explanatory and make much more sense.

"Creative Stained Glass - Modern Designs & Simple Techniques" by Christine Kellmann Stevenson has a few intriguing patterns towards the back of the book and is heavy on leaded glass patterns that seem to mimic one another. All around, I wouldn't recommend this book, although it has gotten one (of one) good review on Amazon.com.

How to Make Nourishing Herbal Infusions

Susun Weed started the Wise Woman Series and Ash Tree Publishing. She teaches classes at the Wise Woman Center in Woodstock, NY. My introduction to Susun Weed began with her book, Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year.

From an article by Susun S. Weed.

An infusion is a large amount of herb brewed for a long time. Typically, one ounce by weight (about a cup by volume) of dried herb is placed in a quart jar which is then filled to the top with boiling water, tightly lidded and allowed to steep for 4-10 hours. After straining, a cup or more is consumed, and the remainder chilled to slow spoilage. Drinking 2-4 cups a day is usual. Since the minerals and other phytochemicals in nourishing herbs are made more accessible by drying, dried herbs are considered best for infusions.
I make my infusions at night before I go to bed and they are ready in the morning. I put my herb in my jar and my water in the pot, and the pot on the fire, then brush my teeth (or sweep the floor) until the kettle whistles. I pour the boiling water up to the rim of the jar, screw on a tight lid, turn off the stove and the light, and go to bed. In the morning, I strain the plant material out, squeezing it well, and drink the liquid. I prefer it iced, unless the morning is frosty. I drink the quart of infusion within 36 hours or until it spoils. Then I use it to water my house plants, or pour it over my hair after washing as a final rinse which can be left on.
My favorite herbs for infusion are nettle, oatstraw, red clover, and comfrey leaf, but only one at a time. The tannins in red clover and comfrey make me pucker my lips, so I add a little mint, or bergamot, when I infuse them, just enough to flavor the brew slightly. A little salt in your infusion may make it taste better than honey will.

Roots & barks: Use 1 oz (30 grams) per pint (500 mL) of water for 8 hours minimum.
Leaves: Use 1 oz (30 grams) per quart (liter) of water for 4 hours minimum.
Flowers: Use 1 oz (30 grams) per quart (liter) of water for 2 hours minimum.
Seeds & Berries: Use 1 oz (30 grams) per pint (500 mL) of water for 30 minutes minimum.