UK Puts Money Where Mouth Is

[The Times of London](http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/gardens/article5761956.ece) reported today (to me via [Kitchen Gardeners International](http://www.kitchengardeners.org/2009/02/uk_allotment_gardens.html)) that the UK National Trust (sort of the like a sierra club meets meets historical society) is pushing a list of 40 sites that they want to turn into found agricultural allotments (and more on the horizon), plus they are officially seeking to have Gordon Brown plant a vegetable garden at 10 Downing St (just like we used to have at the White House).

DILF Brit TV gardener Monty Don is on board, saying politicos should have compulsory vegetable gardens “and if they don’t keep it up properly they should lose their jobs and I promise you the country would be better run…. Allotments connect ordinary people to the beauty and richness of growing things. In an age of deceit and spin and collapse there is absolute integrity in growing food.”

Here here.

And if you haven’t seen [This Lawn Is Your Lawn](http://www.kitchengardeners.org/2008/07/this_lawn_is_your_lawn_video.html), check it out, then go check out [Eat the View](http://www.eattheview.org/) and get involved.

Listening: “This Land Is Your Land” sung by Woody Guthrie (from the video) and “Peggy O” sung by [Hardy & Massengill](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehn2AY0zdEk), both great songs of the American experience, sung by three heroes of real American folk music.

Snapple Realizes It’s Garbage

In a rare moment of clarity, [a soda company came to the conclusion that their popularity has waned because their product is made of poison and tastes like crap](http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/reading-the-tea-leaves-snapple-refreshes-itself/).

Focus groups say- surprise- that snapple doesn’t taste as good as products that are made out of **food**. Honest Tea or [preservative free] Lipton fare better with peeps and in sales these days, as people realize they can have a bottled beverage that doesn’t taste like drain cleaner.

On the Road Again

The Omnivorous Fish is going back on the [road](http://www.mamma-mia.com/ustour/ustour.asp) for a while. After working on the worst show of my career (not exaggerating), I am going to head back out on the road for a brief stint to make some cash and, more importantly, keep up my benefits. (In my particular world, I need to work so many days in so many months to stay in the black for insurance.) The Agent is not thrilled, but we maintain *constant*, open communication, so I think we’ll be aok.

The state of flux I mentioned in the earlier [post](http://omnivorousfish.com/node/4) is still underway, but when I return from eight weeks of travel, that situation will magically be mostly resolved. Seeing as how I can’t set foot in the kitchen due to unbearable filth and the overwhelming smell of garbage, it’s just as well from a cooking and blogging standpoint. Especially so, seeing as how I started this blog partially as a way to archive recipes (note how many recipes to date: zero).

So, until October Omnivorous Fish will delve into the indigenous cuisines of the southeast, plus stops in Toledo (chili?), Baltimore (crabs), Hartford (???), and Providence (oysters?). Anyone with restaurant recommendations for the following cities, please bring them on, especially if they’re open late.

Knoxville, Greenville, Toledo, Huntsville, Baltimore, Providence.

Thanks in advance!!

Also, I am going to add a feature to Omnivorous Fish, starting now (and continuing when I remember to). I’m going to mention what I’m listening to. I often listen to music when I’m online, and my taste is pretty diverse, so we’ll see what you think. I love suggestions, too, bring them on.

Song of the moment: *Karen By Night* by Jill Sobule. If you like humor in your music, it’s worth ninety-nine cents.