Green Austin Texas » Food.Beverages

Austin Texas Christmas Traditions

Betty Saenz — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:35:23 +0000

Swedish Christmas candle holder set

Christmas traditions and customs vary from family to family and land to land. I enjoy reading about many different traditions in Texas by reading the book “Christmas in Texas” by Elizabeth Silverthorne. My Austin, Texas forefathers came to east Travis County from the Småland, Sweden area about 1870 or 71. Småland is the land of IKEA, which we now have in the Austin area at 1431 and IH 35 in Round Rock, Texas. Growing up, I became familiar with dishes like Ostakaka, a Swedish cheesecake type dish served with Lingonberries. Lutefiskis another Swedish dish that I made for my grandmother and we ate at Christmas gatherings. I remember buying the fish for the dish somewhere around my grandmother’s house at 608 Texas Avenue in Austin, Texas at a neighborhood grocer that is no longer there. Now the only local place I know to buy Lutefisk is Quality Seafood Market on Airport Blvd. We also had my grandmother’s homemade rolls and bread. I miss those days with my parents, grandmother and other Swedish Austin area relatives. Pictured are my mother’s handpainted Swedish candleholder set that I set out at Christmas. The book “The Swedish Texans” by Larry E. Scott is a great book about the immigration to Texas from Sweden that began in 1848.

Travis County Swedish Settlers

New Sweden Church at 12809 New Sweden Church Road, was organized in 1876 and is is steeped in Swedish tradition. The church’s copper spire is 104 feet high and has been an Central Texas Austin area landmark close to Manor, Pflugerville, Elgin and Taylor, Texas since the 1800′s. December 24th at 7:00pm they are holding the Christmas Eve Candlelight service and Christmas Dawn at 7:00am they hold the Julotta candlelight program. I love history and geneology as well as old historic buildings and homes. I hope to attend one or both of these services to touch my ancestry as well as enjoy a local historic landmark. Turns out that my great, great grandfather Gustaf Ax aka Corporal Ax and his wife Johanna Swenson Ax were the first to be listed in the New Sweden church book. I find it interesting to research local history about relatives from so long ago that I never knew. New Sweden, Texas back in those years was a thriving community full of local businesses. Now it is more desolate farmland and the site of the Pflugerville Solar Farm.

New Sweden Church

The United States is a wonderfully diverse land full of many wonderful cultural traditions and foods. Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanza, or none of the above, I’d love to hear what special traditions, dishes and buildings are part of your family’s celebrations. I’d also love to hear about other cultural events in the Austin area that you enjoy. Please comment using the form below.

Fair Housing for All

Renewable Energy Roundup Coming Soon

Betty Saenz — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:32:02 +0000

Our beloved annual Renewable Energy Roundup and Green Living Fair is coming up soon. Put on by the Texas Solar Energy Society, the Fair is now in it’s 11th year and coming to historic and fun Fredericksburg, Texas September 24th through September 26th, 2010. I go every year and am never there enough time. There is always so much to see, do and learn for people of all ages. Children 12 and under are FREE. Tickets are $10.00 to $12.00 and available at the gate. There are so many booths set up to learn about so much. There are food vendors, talks about any green living topic you can imagine and all at a very reasonable entry fee.

This years talks include information on small wind systems, saving water, rainwater collection, city gardening, aquaponics, wild plants, compressed earth block building, Net Zero homes, Geothermal Systems, organic farming and ranching, solar cars, solar cooking, photovoltaic systems, greenwashing and more!! There are natural cooking demos and I guarantee you will learn a lot about many topics. I hope to see you there!! I’ll probably wear my TOFGA, Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners t shirt I got at the fair last year when I joined that great organization. There is usually a ride share set up to share rides to the fair from the Austin Texas Metro Area. I am looking at all the talks now and having a hard time deciding which day to go, I think I will go to all three!!!

My Front Yard Organic Grocery Store

Betty Saenz — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 05:56:53 +0000

Sweet Red Peaches

I just love my front yard organic grocery store. I enjoy picking my own fruits of my own labor knowing they were produced without being sprayed by some harmful chemical and my fruit is not waxed or picked green to gas ripen after shipping in some cold gas chamber. Geez! What has happened to our food supply?! One has to only watch “Super Size Me” and “Food Inc” to understand our dilemma in the United States. That is why I am so happy to grow some of my own. Gardening in Central Texas is not hard. I am no rocket scientist and I manage easily enough. It’s easy to grow some of your own food.

Nature's Bounty

I started my 2010 year with the sweetest, tastiest most melt in your mouth apricots!!! Picking fruit is easy! Next it was the reddest, juiciest, sweetest large red-skinned freestone peaches and also blackberries. For 4th of July we had homemade peach ice cream out of our old White Mountain ice cream freezer. Then on to sweet little figs! Getting a second fig crop now. Yum! I always share some fruit with the birds who visit my National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat yard. Currently it is a great apple harvest. Delightful juicy sweet and slightly tart green apples. The tree was bowing down it is so laden with fruit!! Fresh apple pies baked from scratch this weekend!! Next will be pomegranites. And I always have plenty of herbs – two kinds of oregano, mint, parsley, rosemary, thyme, lemon grass, dill, basil and more…

Luscious Peaches

Next year I bet my nectarine and plums will come into full bloom and subsequent production!! I have some papaya and citrus trees too. And guess what?? I am raising catfish and crappie in my backyard pond. All this organic produce and food on a 60′ cty lot in Leander, Texas, Williamson County. Yippee!!!

Contact the organic gardening REALTOR Betty Saenz to buy or sell a home, farm or ranch. I’ll help you get your own organic garden growing on your own piece of Real Estate!!

Urban Beekeeping in Austin Texas

Betty Saenz — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 04:31:07 +0000

I have a love of bees because of what they do for us. Besides providing pollenization that our food supply needs, they also provide honey for sweetening which I also ingest for the purpose of warding off local allergens. My late husband was an accomplished beekeeper. I enjoyed learning beekeeping by working the bees with him. This was in the early 1980′s. He had the traditional white wooden bee boxes with frames inside to hold the honeycombs. We used a hive smoker to help us “work” the bees. We would smoke them by blowing smoke from this smoker onto the bees. This served to make them “drunk” and then we were able to “work” them. We took the frames out, cut the caps off the wax which held the honey in and put the frames full of beeswax filled with honey in a large, steel tank on a support system inside the tank made for the frames called an extractor. We put the tank lid on and then turned the hand crank. This movement of the frames around the inside of the tank slung the honey out by centrifigal force. Yes, I might get stung once or twice while doing this, so don’t try working bees if you are allergic to bee stings. I did not have “real” beeking clothes myself so I would wear a long sleeve shirt and long pants and put rubber bands around my sleeve cuffs and pants legs at the bottom. This was done to try and prevent the smoke drunk bees from crawling onto my skin under my clothes. Sometime they would get past the barrier I tried to create and eventually sting me. They crawl all over you but don’t sting when you are working them because of their drunkenness. It’s interesting what the smoke does to them.

Now, honey bees are in trouble. They need your help more than ever. Without honeybees pollinating US agricultural crops our food supply will be in trouble. “Colony collapse disorder” has decimated entire populations of honeybees. Thankfully some people are concerned enough to educate the public and help the bees. There is a new movie called Nicotine Bees about how huge agribusiness is coating their seeds with chemicals called neonicotinoids that end up in pollen and on leaves that may be a factor in “colony collapse disorder”.

In the Austin area there is a new Austin – Urban – Beekeeping MeetUp Group to help the bees. Our first meeting is soon. I’d love for you to join us! Go to MeetUp.com and join up!

Austin Green Holiday Social

Betty Saenz — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:31:17 +0000

The Second Annual Austin Green Holiday Social is being held Tuesday, December 15th, 2009, 6:00 -10:00 pm at the beautiful and organic Barr Mansion. Tickets are $22.00 in advance by credit card or PayPal on-line and $30.00 at the door. The event is co-hosted by Net Impact Austin, Public Citizen, Design-Build-Live, the Austin Eco-Network, Eco Series, Texas Green Network and the Sierra Club. The Barr Mansion at 10463 Sprinkle Road, Austin, TX 78754 is a showcase for sustainability being the first USDA certified organic events facility in the United States. The Barr Mansion grounds are a NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat. Music for the event will be world fusion by Nelson Saga. The Barr Mansion will be providing organic food for the event. There will also be Theo organic chocolates, New Belgium beer as well as various wines and teas. Guests are bringing canned food items for families in need. There will be a raffle benefiting Mobile Loaves and Fishes.

Avoid Eating Pesticides: Buy Local & Organic Fruit & Veggies

Betty Saenz — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:38:36 +0000

Consumers can avoid eating pesticide residue on fruit and vegetables by buying organically grown at local farmer’s markets or growing your own. According to the report on Yahoo below, there are many pesticides and chemicals that remain in our fruit and vegetables even after peeling them!

It’s not hard to grow your own and Farmer’s Markets are popping up everywhere. Let’s all try to be as healthy as we can.

NEW Terra Burger Restaurant in Austin, Texas

Betty Saenz — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:18:33 +0000

A new natural & organic restaurant opened recently in Austin, Texas called Terra Burger.

With 2 Austin locations, Terraburger allows you to get healthier choices in fast, convenient food. I visited the location at 10611 Research Boulevard (aka 183) on the northbound access road in between Great Hills Trail and W. Braker Lane near Costco. They have a drive thru as well as eat-in and outside play area replete with a water spray fountain for the kids to cool off in.

Terra Burger uses 100% Recycled Earth Wise napkins as well as a full organic foods and beverage menu. The day I tried it I ordered a Terra Burger with a white cheese, 1 regular sweet potato fries, 1 large size cream soda as a combo for $11.26. This meal was enough for 2 people or 2 meals.

Betty Saenz — Sun, 24 May 2009 20:40:54 +0000

: Artichoke Plant in My Organic Front Yard Gardens

I am so happy that one of my artichoke plants is now budding out. In the artichoke world this means “bearing fruit”, or “putting on artichokes”. I am so excited since this is a long awaited event. I have had the plants a couple of years and this is the first time I have grown them. I am surprised they are not more popular here in Texas. A Native Texan, and organic gardener, I have not seen them much here. The Leander nursery and greenhouse where I bought them has since closed. The Natural Gardener had some growing in their garden last time I was there.

Making Jamaica Tea

Betty Saenz — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:59:23 +0000

Just steeped & poured- see the deep claret red color

Jamaica Tea packaging paper

Jamaica Tea- dry tea

I buy my Jamaica tea at HEB Plus in Leander in the Mexican products section with the tamale husks, dried shrimp, & spices. At only $1.29 for a 3 oz. packet- it’s an amazing buy. Just bring some water to a boil. While the water is coming to a boil, rinse your Jamaica flowers. Next, take the water off the burner, add the Jamaica tea, let steep 30 minutes to 2 hours. Sweeten to taste or drink as is. Can be served hot on a cold day or iced in Summer. It is a tart, red tea, high in Vitamin C.

Prononunced ha-mike-uh, Jamaica is made from a special variety of hibiscus flowers H. sabdariffa var. sabdariffa