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The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our<\/span> Sisterhood Merit Badge program<\/a>, now with 5,602 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far\u20147,898 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ<\/span><\/p>\n Wondering who I am? I\u2019m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my<\/span> former life<\/a> \u2026\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n For this week\u2019s Farm Kitchen\/Organic on a Budget Intermediate Level Merit Badge<\/a>, I gave myself a little pat on the back.<\/p>\n Why, you may ask?<\/p>\n I\u2019m so glad you did.<\/p>\n Because I am officially chemical free when it comes to my fruits and veggies, that\u2019s why. And do you know what? It feels good.<\/p>\n Like I knew that it would now.<\/p>\n So good \u2026 so good \u2026 I got \u2013<\/p>\n Well, that\u2019s where my fondness for segueing from vegetables into song lyrics goes awry. No matter, the point is: I have been successful at eliminating those pesky non-food ingredients from my \u201crabbit food,\u201d as Mr. Wonderful likes to call plants. (He\u2019s still working on Level One, let\u2019s say).<\/p>\n At first, I admit to being skeptical. I mean, I\u2019ve never been a veggie girl, let\u2019s face facts here. My poor mom had to drown them in Ranch just to get me to swallow them without making a face (vegetables, that is, not facts. Though facts are better with condiments, too). Basically, as a kiddo, I liked my veg in this order:<\/p>\n French Fries<\/p>\n Potato chips<\/p>\n Dill pickles.<\/p>\n I know, I know. It\u2019s a wee list.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s gotten longer these days, and it\u2019s amazing how broadening my horizons, culinary-ish speaking, has lightened my moods (and waistband). I discovered all sorts of foods I never knew I liked, and realized how much yummier it all tastes when there isn\u2019t an aftertaste of pesticides and fungicides. Scary \u2018cides aside \u2026<\/p>\n I don\u2019t even need Ranch anymore, which my mother would say is a small miracle. A little saut\u00e9 in butter and my peas are delish. A squeeze of lemon on a spinach salad and I\u2019m in heaven. A quick stir-fry of bell peppers and onions enliven my sandwiches, and a splash of apple cider vinegar wakes up my sleepy Swiss Chard. And when it comes to my organic fruit? Mm. I never thought a fruit salad could take the place of dessert for this sugar-aholic, but guess again.<\/p>\n Another perk to earning this badge is all the friends and farmers I\u2019ve met that I otherwise would never have found. It\u2019s much more fun, healthy, cheap, and delicious to buy my organic produce from my local neighbors than it is from the big supermarket. Also, there are more samples from the farmers, which is a definite plus when you\u2019re a try before you buy kind of gal.<\/p>\n All in all, I\u2019d say this badge was a pleasure to earn. I\u2019d tell you more but I\u2019m too busy stuffing my tummy with organic jicama.<\/p>\n Only lightly<\/em> dipped in Ranch.<\/p>\n (But it\u2019s organic, Mom).\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 5,602 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far\u20147,898 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! … Continue reading