Coupon Ninja Mommy (and Team Wonderbike)

My, wife the newly christened coupon clipper. We’ve been careful with our moola for a while now. Some might even say frugal. Or cheap. I like to think of it as thrifty and wise.We’re knocking out our stupid debt, you know. (On the FINAL debt in the snowball now! )

But, beleive it or not, we’ve never been couponers. Until now. Blame Jaim’s new-found coupon craze on Oprah, SiouxFallsMoms, or something. So, in honor of our next coupon sorting, cloth bag hauling, organic buying trip to the grocery, Jaimie’s giving you a coupon for a free 100% recycled roll of aluminum foil. Wrap something delicious, and recycle it again. Or, better than that, skip the foil and just make something great and eat it without having to throw anything away…

Finally

New Belgium is coming! To Sioux Falls, May 11. New Belgium Brewing is a great, wind powered brewery in Fort Collins, CO. They make Fat Tire Ale, and other such wonders. Have fun with this bike, and join Team Wonderbike…

It’s Spring, so let’s Drink

A new friend of mine and I are starting a Green Drinks chapter in Sioux Falls. Green Drinks is an international thing, in cities all over the planet. People interested in green stuff gather for a brew once a month, and talk greenie things.

March 20 is the first day of Spring–sounds like a great reason to tip a few back and talk some eco-love. Join us at Latitude 44 in Sioux Falls beginnning at 4.30p–on the corner of 8th and Weber Ave.

Get all the skinny here, or join our Facebook group.

Bread: the Circle of Life

I just watched a TED video while doing the dishes. The talk was by Peter Reinhart, an acclaimed baker, author, teacher and story teller. (Thanks to the wonderful Chris Corrigan for the tip.)

Peter talks about the 12 steps of making bread, and the many transformations that take place through those steps. From living wheat to a death we call harvest. From ‘dead’ flour and yeast to living, breathing, consuming, growing dough. From living dough into the destructive heat of the oven. From dough to bread. From lifeless (but beautiful and tasty) bread to sustaining food for life. A wonderful circle.

There’s something brewing here. The universe is sending all kinds of bread stories into my life. Can’t wait for the next one.

(Speaking of brewing, my brother the home brewer will love the story Peter tells about bread and beer–beer is liquid bread, bread is solid beer.)

Enjoy.

Beer Powered Cars

Beer can fuel a lot of things: parties, hobbies in the garage, indigestion, composting, sex drive, temporarily poor sense of beauty, bad fantasy football drafts, stupidity, aluminum can collections, etc. You know all those (except maybe the compost). I bet you didn’t know that you can run your car on Coors. Ethanol made from wasted Coors, that is. Sounds like the folks in Golden make 3 million gallons a year from beer that gets spilled or isn’t good enough to go into my uncle Joe.  Obama and the Dems will be riding around Denver in beer powered cars in a few weeks. Read all about that beer ethanol here, here or here.

I love beer. Not like a college guy loves beer (quantity wins), but more like a 31-year-old daddy who doesn’t think it’s fun to get hangovers anymore loves beer (quality wins). One, maybe two beers in any setting. And darker the better. It’s the kind of love wine conessiuers have with the vino. A beer can be art. Art that you drink. Or something…

Now back to work.

Bubbly Brewmaster

It’s not quite the same kind of fermenting as my compost–that takes way bigger skills. 

Living in the heart of microbrew country, you’d think he could find everything his beer pallette would need. Nope. Brother Paul is playing brewmaster now. Viva! Chumps Pale Ale coming right up… Check it out here.