I've blogged a few times about my dislike of the taste of quinoa, mitigated only by dousing the stuff in lots of spices.
I finally learned the reason for my dislike. At a recent church potluck, a friend made a quinoa dish. I tried it, like I always do (since quinoa is supposed to be good for you!) -- and loved it!
I asked what she did to make it taste so good. Her answer: it really doesn't matter what you add to quinoa; that's a matter of choice. What counts is what you do before you cook it. You have to wash quinoa really well, because it's coated with a bitter substance called saponin that protects the grain from insects and fungi.
And washing really well is the key, because I had rinsed my quinoa in the past prior to cooking it. But it really needs to be washed out several times, until the water you rinse it in remains clear. This web site gives a few ideas for washing quinoa.
So I made some quinoa today, after rinsing the stuff for about 5 minutes. Wow, what a difference! I sauteed some veggies, made a sauce of lemon juice, curry, garlic and sea salt, and mixed it all together with the quinoa. Good stuff!
P.S. I will come back to my post about recycled paper soon!
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
Perfect pancakes
Have you heard the joke about the woman who cut the end off her pot roast before placing it in the pan every time? When her husband questioned her about it, she couldn't explain the reason, other than that her mother used to do it. So she called her mom to ask the purpose of cutting off the end of the roast. Her mom didn't know either, except that her mother used to do it.
So the woman called her grandmother, and her grandmother explained, "I never owned a pan that was big enough to fit the whole roast."
I have a similar tale. My dad made pancakes every weekend when we were kids. At some point we started to help him, and one of the things I loved most was waiting until the pan heated up enough for a drop of water to roll around the skillet. Dad never explained why this step was necessary, however, so in my young brain I concluded that he did it because it was fun.
I followed the same technique until early in my marriage. That's when my husband freaked out about me turning on the stove beneath a skillet with nothing in it. "You should never, ever do that!" he insisted. And since I had no conscious rationale for doing so (other than the fun of watching a rolling drop of water), I stopped.
And that wasn't really a problem as long as I made pancakes in Teflon pans. When I got rid of Teflon, however, pancake-making became hit or miss for me. Sometimes I made perfect pancakes; on other occasions, they stuck to the stainless steel pan or completely burned. After more than two decades of making perfect pancakes, somehow I had become a failure at this task!
Finally, I decided that accepting my pancake failure was ridiculous, and I Googled "Pancake making in stainless steel" for help.
It turns out, my dad knew what he was doing! When you cook anything in stainless steel skillets (unless you're boiling or simmering the food in water or a sauce), you need to make sure the skillet is hot enough before you add anything (even oil) to the pan. How hot? Well, hotter than when a drop of water simply sizzles in the pan and disappears. Hot enough, in fact, for a drop of water to roll around the pan!
Only then do you add oil (if using it), and then let the oil heat a little as well (30 seconds to a minute) before adding your food. Now I am once more making perfect pancakes*, and cleanup is a cinch! And of course, since my daughter helps me now, I am trying to make sure she knows the reason for this trick.
*This works for scrambled eggs, too.
So the woman called her grandmother, and her grandmother explained, "I never owned a pan that was big enough to fit the whole roast."
I have a similar tale. My dad made pancakes every weekend when we were kids. At some point we started to help him, and one of the things I loved most was waiting until the pan heated up enough for a drop of water to roll around the skillet. Dad never explained why this step was necessary, however, so in my young brain I concluded that he did it because it was fun.
I followed the same technique until early in my marriage. That's when my husband freaked out about me turning on the stove beneath a skillet with nothing in it. "You should never, ever do that!" he insisted. And since I had no conscious rationale for doing so (other than the fun of watching a rolling drop of water), I stopped.
And that wasn't really a problem as long as I made pancakes in Teflon pans. When I got rid of Teflon, however, pancake-making became hit or miss for me. Sometimes I made perfect pancakes; on other occasions, they stuck to the stainless steel pan or completely burned. After more than two decades of making perfect pancakes, somehow I had become a failure at this task!
Finally, I decided that accepting my pancake failure was ridiculous, and I Googled "Pancake making in stainless steel" for help.
It turns out, my dad knew what he was doing! When you cook anything in stainless steel skillets (unless you're boiling or simmering the food in water or a sauce), you need to make sure the skillet is hot enough before you add anything (even oil) to the pan. How hot? Well, hotter than when a drop of water simply sizzles in the pan and disappears. Hot enough, in fact, for a drop of water to roll around the pan!
Only then do you add oil (if using it), and then let the oil heat a little as well (30 seconds to a minute) before adding your food. Now I am once more making perfect pancakes*, and cleanup is a cinch! And of course, since my daughter helps me now, I am trying to make sure she knows the reason for this trick.
*This works for scrambled eggs, too.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
So my daughter planted a potato...
About ten days ago, my daughter was helping me peel potatoes for dinner. She noticed eyes growing on a few of them and asked me what they were. I told her that if you buried a potato, roots would grow out of the eyes and become a new potato plant.
So what did she do? She took a potato with eyes, placed it in a small container, covered it with potting soil, and watered it. Within a week, we had a plant growing that was about 4 inches tall!
Knowing this plant would soon outgrow its little pot, I called the U. Washington Master Gardeners' Program to ask them what to do with it. The woman I spoke with assured me that the hardy potato plant can definitely be transfered outdoors at this time of year. (She was delighted by my story, btw, and said she will have her granddaughter try the same thing!)
My daughter and I replanted the potato plant in a large pot on our balcony, and added additional soil around it (something the Master Gardener recommended we continue to do, because that helps potatoes grow). Last summer, we were only able to successfully grow basil and mint on our shrouded-by-large-trees (hence no sunlight) balcony. But the potato's magic happens underground. So let's see what we grow this summer! (And thank you, little one, for trying something new!)
So what did she do? She took a potato with eyes, placed it in a small container, covered it with potting soil, and watered it. Within a week, we had a plant growing that was about 4 inches tall!
Knowing this plant would soon outgrow its little pot, I called the U. Washington Master Gardeners' Program to ask them what to do with it. The woman I spoke with assured me that the hardy potato plant can definitely be transfered outdoors at this time of year. (She was delighted by my story, btw, and said she will have her granddaughter try the same thing!)
My daughter and I replanted the potato plant in a large pot on our balcony, and added additional soil around it (something the Master Gardener recommended we continue to do, because that helps potatoes grow). Last summer, we were only able to successfully grow basil and mint on our shrouded-by-large-trees (hence no sunlight) balcony. But the potato's magic happens underground. So let's see what we grow this summer! (And thank you, little one, for trying something new!)
Friday, September 30, 2011
How'd my summer go?
OK, I know, it's been a while since I've posted. And after my high school friend, Laura, sent me a birthday card telling me my blog was how she keeps up with my life! (Hi, Laura!)
My excuses... work has been busy, I've been getting used to apartment living, blah blah blah. (Meaning: no good excuse).
So, time to fill you in on my summer:
Still savoring? Not as much: OK, I've fallen off the wagon a few times from my "savor the sweets" diet, and have times when I indulge my sweet tooth more than I should. But still, at a doctor's appointment this week I weighed 153 lbs, down from 160 at my physical in April, so I'm making progress.
Green apartment living
We moved in May from a house to an apartment, and not long after our move, I shared about some of the "green" advantages I anticipated to apartment living. After 3 months, here is my report:
Growing our own food--a challenge: Because we moved too late in the season to start planting seeds, I bought starts. Our apartment is one of a series of buildings that surrounds a courtyard filled with large trees. Our small balcony overlooks the courtyard, and thus gets virtually no direct sunlight.
The starts I bought were for plants that can do well with little sunlight--cilantro, basil, mint, and lettuce. The basil and mint made it through the summer (but weakly), and the cilantro and lettuce didn't make it at all. I have a lot to learn about growing food in our current circumstances, so I'll try again next summer.
Composting--bokashi on the cheap: I had long heard about bokashi apartment composting. A bokashi system is an anaerobic composter--basically a bucket with a drip spout that allows you to drain off the "tea" (the liquid residue of your compost, which can be diluted and used as a fertilizer). Bokashi is a mixture of bran, molasses and microorganisms that, when added to your food scraps, accelerates their decomposition through a fermentation process. It's ideal for apartment-dwellers, because it's compact, it's an anaerobic system so fruit flies and other pests can't get into it, and because of the fermentation process, it doesn't smell. (Well, yes it does. But it smells like something fermented, rather than like rotten garbage).
A bokashi system can be expensive (about $120). But a gallon of the bokashi mixture is pretty cheap (about $15) and it lasts several months. As some experienced composters have pointed out, a bokashi system is just a bucket with a secure-fitting lid. Thus, you can do bokashi as long as you have such a bucket. I use a large container that once held ice cream served at a church social. You can also ask fast food places if you can have their left-over pickle buckets. If you're really ambitious, you can drill a hole in the bucket and add a drip spout to catch the "tea." But if you are like me, you can just add your food scraps to a Bio-bag in the bucket, and the bokashi "tea" will seep through the bag and pool in the bottom.
The challenge of using bokashi is that once the food scraps are well-fermented, you need to bury them. Once buried, the scraps decompose rapidly and supposedly make incredibly rich compost. I bought a large garbage can for my balcony, filled it with potting soil, and I'm adding the bokashi'd scraps periodically. I'm not sure how well this will work. My plan is to take a sample of the soil to the WA State Master Gardeners in the spring and have them test it to see how healthy it is. Stay tuned.
Transportation--still working on it: I haven't walked or used public transportation as often as I'd planned. Mostly, it's a function of time, since it's faster to drive. In addition, because my daughter's daycare teacher asked to participate in our summer staycation adventures, I often needed to drive because I was transporting other children besides my daughter. However, we have walked or taken the bus on several occasions, so I am patting myself on the back as an encouragement to keep it up and do more.
I haven't learned as much about my car as I had planned. I have been tracking my mileage, and I have made a few changes to improve gas mileage. I removed the luggage racks from my vehicle to reduce the weight, I am keeping my tires inflated, and I learned that the click my gas cap makes when I turned it--which I always thought was a warning not to turn it anymore--is actually a good thing. I should keep turning the gas cap until I hear it click three times, and then I know that it is fully closed and unlikely to evaporate gas.
But my biggest challenge is staying within the speed limit of 60-65 on the highway. The average speed of those around me is 70, and I'm often following the crowd (usually to make sure I get to work on time). I have found that my gas mileage can go from a low of 20 miles per gallon to a high of 35 mpg, all depending on my speed. This, and walking or taking public transportation more often, are often functions of my own discipline. If I plan my time better, I can improve in both areas.
Small green steps: I wrote about my switch to a Moon Cup back in June. I still love it, and the switch came just in time. In June, I also had an IUD inserted, which increases menstrual flow.
Otherwise, I've made two changes this summer:
Reusable straws: I purchased stainless steel drinking straws, which my daughter and I both love! They're easy to clean with the straw brush that comes with them, and neither of us have experienced the complaints some have of funny taste or getting too cold. (Those concerns, if you have them, can be alleviated with glass drinking straws. I didn't want to go that route because I was concerned that my daughter might break them, even though they're made from very strong glass).
Homemade air freshener spray: I have used natural air freshener sprays for some time, but I read recently that those may still contain phthalates. So when my last bottle of Air Therapy ran out, I decided to try making my own. Here are two recipes I use. They're more mild than commercial air fresheners, but they smell good and do the job:
Peppermint/orange air freshener: add 1/2 cup of filtered water, 1/2 cup of vodka, and 20 drops each of peppermint oil and sweet orange oil to a spray bottle. Shake before each use.
Cinnamon/vanilla air freshener: Add 1 cup filtered water, 1 cup white vinegar, 2 cinnamon sticks and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract to a pot. Bring to boil, and then reduce to low, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Allow to cool, and then add to a spray bottle. Shake before each use.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The biggest focus of my summer has been my daughter. In another post, I'll share about our summer adventures, and my summer reading about parenting and teaching.
My excuses... work has been busy, I've been getting used to apartment living, blah blah blah. (Meaning: no good excuse).
So, time to fill you in on my summer:
Still savoring? Not as much: OK, I've fallen off the wagon a few times from my "savor the sweets" diet, and have times when I indulge my sweet tooth more than I should. But still, at a doctor's appointment this week I weighed 153 lbs, down from 160 at my physical in April, so I'm making progress.
Green apartment living
We moved in May from a house to an apartment, and not long after our move, I shared about some of the "green" advantages I anticipated to apartment living. After 3 months, here is my report:
Growing our own food--a challenge: Because we moved too late in the season to start planting seeds, I bought starts. Our apartment is one of a series of buildings that surrounds a courtyard filled with large trees. Our small balcony overlooks the courtyard, and thus gets virtually no direct sunlight.
The starts I bought were for plants that can do well with little sunlight--cilantro, basil, mint, and lettuce. The basil and mint made it through the summer (but weakly), and the cilantro and lettuce didn't make it at all. I have a lot to learn about growing food in our current circumstances, so I'll try again next summer.
Composting--bokashi on the cheap: I had long heard about bokashi apartment composting. A bokashi system is an anaerobic composter--basically a bucket with a drip spout that allows you to drain off the "tea" (the liquid residue of your compost, which can be diluted and used as a fertilizer). Bokashi is a mixture of bran, molasses and microorganisms that, when added to your food scraps, accelerates their decomposition through a fermentation process. It's ideal for apartment-dwellers, because it's compact, it's an anaerobic system so fruit flies and other pests can't get into it, and because of the fermentation process, it doesn't smell. (Well, yes it does. But it smells like something fermented, rather than like rotten garbage).
A bokashi system can be expensive (about $120). But a gallon of the bokashi mixture is pretty cheap (about $15) and it lasts several months. As some experienced composters have pointed out, a bokashi system is just a bucket with a secure-fitting lid. Thus, you can do bokashi as long as you have such a bucket. I use a large container that once held ice cream served at a church social. You can also ask fast food places if you can have their left-over pickle buckets. If you're really ambitious, you can drill a hole in the bucket and add a drip spout to catch the "tea." But if you are like me, you can just add your food scraps to a Bio-bag in the bucket, and the bokashi "tea" will seep through the bag and pool in the bottom.
The challenge of using bokashi is that once the food scraps are well-fermented, you need to bury them. Once buried, the scraps decompose rapidly and supposedly make incredibly rich compost. I bought a large garbage can for my balcony, filled it with potting soil, and I'm adding the bokashi'd scraps periodically. I'm not sure how well this will work. My plan is to take a sample of the soil to the WA State Master Gardeners in the spring and have them test it to see how healthy it is. Stay tuned.
Transportation--still working on it: I haven't walked or used public transportation as often as I'd planned. Mostly, it's a function of time, since it's faster to drive. In addition, because my daughter's daycare teacher asked to participate in our summer staycation adventures, I often needed to drive because I was transporting other children besides my daughter. However, we have walked or taken the bus on several occasions, so I am patting myself on the back as an encouragement to keep it up and do more.
I haven't learned as much about my car as I had planned. I have been tracking my mileage, and I have made a few changes to improve gas mileage. I removed the luggage racks from my vehicle to reduce the weight, I am keeping my tires inflated, and I learned that the click my gas cap makes when I turned it--which I always thought was a warning not to turn it anymore--is actually a good thing. I should keep turning the gas cap until I hear it click three times, and then I know that it is fully closed and unlikely to evaporate gas.
But my biggest challenge is staying within the speed limit of 60-65 on the highway. The average speed of those around me is 70, and I'm often following the crowd (usually to make sure I get to work on time). I have found that my gas mileage can go from a low of 20 miles per gallon to a high of 35 mpg, all depending on my speed. This, and walking or taking public transportation more often, are often functions of my own discipline. If I plan my time better, I can improve in both areas.
Small green steps: I wrote about my switch to a Moon Cup back in June. I still love it, and the switch came just in time. In June, I also had an IUD inserted, which increases menstrual flow.
Otherwise, I've made two changes this summer:
Reusable straws: I purchased stainless steel drinking straws, which my daughter and I both love! They're easy to clean with the straw brush that comes with them, and neither of us have experienced the complaints some have of funny taste or getting too cold. (Those concerns, if you have them, can be alleviated with glass drinking straws. I didn't want to go that route because I was concerned that my daughter might break them, even though they're made from very strong glass).
Homemade air freshener spray: I have used natural air freshener sprays for some time, but I read recently that those may still contain phthalates. So when my last bottle of Air Therapy ran out, I decided to try making my own. Here are two recipes I use. They're more mild than commercial air fresheners, but they smell good and do the job:
Peppermint/orange air freshener: add 1/2 cup of filtered water, 1/2 cup of vodka, and 20 drops each of peppermint oil and sweet orange oil to a spray bottle. Shake before each use.
Cinnamon/vanilla air freshener: Add 1 cup filtered water, 1 cup white vinegar, 2 cinnamon sticks and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract to a pot. Bring to boil, and then reduce to low, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Allow to cool, and then add to a spray bottle. Shake before each use.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The biggest focus of my summer has been my daughter. In another post, I'll share about our summer adventures, and my summer reading about parenting and teaching.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Learning to savor
Until I hit my 30's, I was one of those super-skinny people who could eat anything she wanted and never gain an ounce. At 5'7", I weighed about 115 lbs. on average. My low weight came with its drawbacks: I almost always felt too cold, except on the warmest of days; despite what the media tell us, most men aren't attracted to women with "boyish" figures; and I got sick frequently, with sickness taking a horrible toll on my body since I had no stores of fat or extra nutrients to protect me.
I knew even then that my thinness wouldn't last. Throughout my childhood, I witnessed my mom and aunts, almost all of whom had been very thin as young women, struggle with dieting and weight. I knew that one day, too, I would start to gain. I didn't want to end up in that same cycle, so in my 20's, I decided that I needed to eat better.
At that age, eating better meant giving up red meat and fried foods (unless I was being served such foods as someone's guest). Nevertheless, I still started gaining weight when I hit my 30's, and the first 20 to 30 additional pounds were very welcome. I finally had a womanly figure, I wasn't constantly freezing, and I definitely became less sickly.
Over time, I have continued to improve my eating habits. Since I started my green journey when my now 6-year-old was a baby, I eat more vegetarian and vegan meals, more whole and organic foods, and more fruits and vegetables.
But of course, I had given birth, with all its changes to a woman's body. And then I turned 40, with all its changes to a woman's metabolism. So I was still gaining weight.
At my last physical in April I weighed 160 lbs, which is right over the edge into "overweight" BMI. I've never officially dieted, but I know that I now have to do something to manage my weight.
I decided that I need to do two things: 1) manage the amounts of food I am eating. What I am eating (for the most part) is not a problem, it's how much; and 2) manage my sweet tooth.
With the former, I am using the "smaller plate" method of managing portion sizes, and writing down everything I eat. Writing it all down is a great tool, because it makes me very aware of what I'm putting into my mouth. No more mindless grazing, or going back for seconds without thinking about it.
The sweet tooth is the bigger challenge. I love sweets, especially chocolate. I have often had days in which I eat, say, oatmeal and OJ for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and salmon, broccoli and brown rice for dinner. And that same day, throughout the day, I would polish off an entire bag of chocolate chip cookies. Most of my weight gain is probably the result of my sweet tooth.
I couldn't imagine giving up sweets or chocolate altogether, so this is how I've decided to deal with it: I am learning to savor. For example, Safeway sells bags of "Dark Chocolate Covered Mint Cups," a transfat-free candy about the size of a mini Reese's cup. A serving is 3 pieces, but after lunch I am eating one. One piece contains about 63 calories, 3 grams of fat and 2 grams of saturated fat. I take a tiny bite and let it sit on my tongue until it melts, moving it around so I can fully taste it. Then I wait a while and do it again. I can make one piece last an hour, and I'm working on extending that time.
After dinner, I am doing the same with, for example, about 2 ounces of homemade tofu chocolate mousse (made from silken tofu, melted semi-sweet chocolate chips, a little mint or almond extract, and enough almond or rice milk to make it smooth, blended in a blender and chilled). I take a small spoonful and savor it.
In this way I'm getting the same joyful thrill I always get from eating chocolate, without all the calories I used to consume because I couldn't stop eating more and more.
I'm seeing a secondary benefit: perhaps because I am consuming less sugar, fruit is becoming more satisfying to my sweet tooth. I've always like fruit, but given a choice between fruit or cookies, I would almost always go for cookies. But now I'm starting to choose fruit, knowing it can give me a thrill, too.
So far, my "diet" plan is working. I'm down to 155, and my goal is 145.
I knew even then that my thinness wouldn't last. Throughout my childhood, I witnessed my mom and aunts, almost all of whom had been very thin as young women, struggle with dieting and weight. I knew that one day, too, I would start to gain. I didn't want to end up in that same cycle, so in my 20's, I decided that I needed to eat better.
At that age, eating better meant giving up red meat and fried foods (unless I was being served such foods as someone's guest). Nevertheless, I still started gaining weight when I hit my 30's, and the first 20 to 30 additional pounds were very welcome. I finally had a womanly figure, I wasn't constantly freezing, and I definitely became less sickly.
Over time, I have continued to improve my eating habits. Since I started my green journey when my now 6-year-old was a baby, I eat more vegetarian and vegan meals, more whole and organic foods, and more fruits and vegetables.
But of course, I had given birth, with all its changes to a woman's body. And then I turned 40, with all its changes to a woman's metabolism. So I was still gaining weight.
At my last physical in April I weighed 160 lbs, which is right over the edge into "overweight" BMI. I've never officially dieted, but I know that I now have to do something to manage my weight.
I decided that I need to do two things: 1) manage the amounts of food I am eating. What I am eating (for the most part) is not a problem, it's how much; and 2) manage my sweet tooth.
With the former, I am using the "smaller plate" method of managing portion sizes, and writing down everything I eat. Writing it all down is a great tool, because it makes me very aware of what I'm putting into my mouth. No more mindless grazing, or going back for seconds without thinking about it.
The sweet tooth is the bigger challenge. I love sweets, especially chocolate. I have often had days in which I eat, say, oatmeal and OJ for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and salmon, broccoli and brown rice for dinner. And that same day, throughout the day, I would polish off an entire bag of chocolate chip cookies. Most of my weight gain is probably the result of my sweet tooth.
I couldn't imagine giving up sweets or chocolate altogether, so this is how I've decided to deal with it: I am learning to savor. For example, Safeway sells bags of "Dark Chocolate Covered Mint Cups," a transfat-free candy about the size of a mini Reese's cup. A serving is 3 pieces, but after lunch I am eating one. One piece contains about 63 calories, 3 grams of fat and 2 grams of saturated fat. I take a tiny bite and let it sit on my tongue until it melts, moving it around so I can fully taste it. Then I wait a while and do it again. I can make one piece last an hour, and I'm working on extending that time.
After dinner, I am doing the same with, for example, about 2 ounces of homemade tofu chocolate mousse (made from silken tofu, melted semi-sweet chocolate chips, a little mint or almond extract, and enough almond or rice milk to make it smooth, blended in a blender and chilled). I take a small spoonful and savor it.
In this way I'm getting the same joyful thrill I always get from eating chocolate, without all the calories I used to consume because I couldn't stop eating more and more.
I'm seeing a secondary benefit: perhaps because I am consuming less sugar, fruit is becoming more satisfying to my sweet tooth. I've always like fruit, but given a choice between fruit or cookies, I would almost always go for cookies. But now I'm starting to choose fruit, knowing it can give me a thrill, too.
So far, my "diet" plan is working. I'm down to 155, and my goal is 145.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Parenting advice that works!
I love reading parenting books. I feel like I need a lot of help, and many books out there have great advice. (In a later post, I'll share some of what I've been learning this summer).
But of course, there are so many parenting books out there, and some give differing or contradictory advice. How do you decide which advice to follow?
I have a good friend whose daughter was born a year after my daughter, and I wrote her a letter upon her daughter's birth titled something like, "The Ten Lessons I Learned from My First Year as a Parent." I don't remember all 10, but I do remember that I wrote something like the following about parenting advice: "Take it all in, weigh it, and decide whether it makes sense to you based on your experiences and what you know about your child. And if you're not sure, try it out and evaluate the results." In other words, parenting advice is just that--advice, not truth etched in stone. Advice can be weighed, examined, tried, evaluated, and even rejected.*
One piece of advice I have often read is about children who are picky eaters. The general consensus is that you shouldn't force children to eat anything, just encourage them to try new foods, and eventually they'll eat a variety. Other tips are offered: for example, having children help you grow, cook or prepare foods, and setting a good example by eating healthy foods yourself are recommended.
Still, there are some dissenters from this advice, those who say that kids learn to eat all kinds of foods only when not given a choice about whether or what to eat or not. And sometimes I struggled with whether or not that was true. Here is my tale...
My stubborn mama: My mom grew up with Depression-era parents who were of the mindset that you never waste food and you eat what's put before you or else. My mom, however, was both a very picky eater and very stubborn, and she fought them tooth and nail in this arena. If she was told she couldn't get up until she cleaned her plate, she sat at the table all day. If she was told that she could leave the table but would have to eat the same plate at the next mealtime, she'd go hungry. When faced with a kid that stubborn, parents either have to give in or become abusive (force-feed the kid, beat them, or starve them). Since my grandparents weren't abusive, eventually they'd give in.
But my mother never forgot those battles, and never really overcame her aversion to many foods, either. To this day, she hates oatmeal and most vegetables, except for sweet potatoes, green beans and iceberg lettuce.** And she decided that she wasn't going to battle with her own kids at the table.
She'd serve vegetables, even though she didn't like them, because she knew they were good for kids. But she'd make deals with us: we had to eat as many bites as we were old. Or, if a nutritional equivalent was in the fridge (a salad, or a leftover vegetable we liked), we could exchange it for what was on our plate. Because of this system, there weren't any dinner table battles in our home. But there might not have been anyway, since my siblings and I weren't very picky eaters. (I only disliked peas and lima beans).
My picky daughter: I had hoped for the same with my daughter, but alas, it wasn't to be. While she happily accepted baby food veggies at first, at about 18 months she started spitting them out. By age 3, the only vegetable she would eat was French fries with ketchup. And that bit of advice about how after 15-20 tries of a new food a kid will eat something? Not my kid. I tried hard not to compare her to my niece, who at age 3 was happily ordering bowls of broccoli for lunch.
At this point, I began to doubt the "don't force them, give it time" advice. Only the realization of how forcing a kid to eat backfired with my mom held me in check.
You know what? It eventually paid off. It took a lot more than 15-20 tries, but by age 4, she was gradually accepting vegetables again. First carrots, then celery, then salads, and so on.
Success! On Sunday afternoon, my 6-year-old daughter asked to make her own lunch, and I said yes. Usually when she makes something for herself, it's a sandwich or a bowl of cereal. This Sunday, however, was different: she made a salad. And not just a basic lettuce salad, either. Her salad (in a big bowl, btw!) contained romaine lettuce, broccoli, cucumbers, celery, green beans and carrots. She added ranch dressing and ate the whole thing! Patience and a good example paid off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* One piece of advice I rejected when my daughter was an infant: read to your baby 20 minutes a day. Whose infant can sit through a 20-minute story??! Not mine. She'd either fall asleep after a minute or two, or grab the book and chew it! By age 2, however, she loved to have stories read to her.
** My mom, of course, waited until we were adults to tell us this.
But of course, there are so many parenting books out there, and some give differing or contradictory advice. How do you decide which advice to follow?
I have a good friend whose daughter was born a year after my daughter, and I wrote her a letter upon her daughter's birth titled something like, "The Ten Lessons I Learned from My First Year as a Parent." I don't remember all 10, but I do remember that I wrote something like the following about parenting advice: "Take it all in, weigh it, and decide whether it makes sense to you based on your experiences and what you know about your child. And if you're not sure, try it out and evaluate the results." In other words, parenting advice is just that--advice, not truth etched in stone. Advice can be weighed, examined, tried, evaluated, and even rejected.*
One piece of advice I have often read is about children who are picky eaters. The general consensus is that you shouldn't force children to eat anything, just encourage them to try new foods, and eventually they'll eat a variety. Other tips are offered: for example, having children help you grow, cook or prepare foods, and setting a good example by eating healthy foods yourself are recommended.
Still, there are some dissenters from this advice, those who say that kids learn to eat all kinds of foods only when not given a choice about whether or what to eat or not. And sometimes I struggled with whether or not that was true. Here is my tale...
My stubborn mama: My mom grew up with Depression-era parents who were of the mindset that you never waste food and you eat what's put before you or else. My mom, however, was both a very picky eater and very stubborn, and she fought them tooth and nail in this arena. If she was told she couldn't get up until she cleaned her plate, she sat at the table all day. If she was told that she could leave the table but would have to eat the same plate at the next mealtime, she'd go hungry. When faced with a kid that stubborn, parents either have to give in or become abusive (force-feed the kid, beat them, or starve them). Since my grandparents weren't abusive, eventually they'd give in.
But my mother never forgot those battles, and never really overcame her aversion to many foods, either. To this day, she hates oatmeal and most vegetables, except for sweet potatoes, green beans and iceberg lettuce.** And she decided that she wasn't going to battle with her own kids at the table.
She'd serve vegetables, even though she didn't like them, because she knew they were good for kids. But she'd make deals with us: we had to eat as many bites as we were old. Or, if a nutritional equivalent was in the fridge (a salad, or a leftover vegetable we liked), we could exchange it for what was on our plate. Because of this system, there weren't any dinner table battles in our home. But there might not have been anyway, since my siblings and I weren't very picky eaters. (I only disliked peas and lima beans).
My picky daughter: I had hoped for the same with my daughter, but alas, it wasn't to be. While she happily accepted baby food veggies at first, at about 18 months she started spitting them out. By age 3, the only vegetable she would eat was French fries with ketchup. And that bit of advice about how after 15-20 tries of a new food a kid will eat something? Not my kid. I tried hard not to compare her to my niece, who at age 3 was happily ordering bowls of broccoli for lunch.
At this point, I began to doubt the "don't force them, give it time" advice. Only the realization of how forcing a kid to eat backfired with my mom held me in check.
You know what? It eventually paid off. It took a lot more than 15-20 tries, but by age 4, she was gradually accepting vegetables again. First carrots, then celery, then salads, and so on.
Success! On Sunday afternoon, my 6-year-old daughter asked to make her own lunch, and I said yes. Usually when she makes something for herself, it's a sandwich or a bowl of cereal. This Sunday, however, was different: she made a salad. And not just a basic lettuce salad, either. Her salad (in a big bowl, btw!) contained romaine lettuce, broccoli, cucumbers, celery, green beans and carrots. She added ranch dressing and ate the whole thing! Patience and a good example paid off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* One piece of advice I rejected when my daughter was an infant: read to your baby 20 minutes a day. Whose infant can sit through a 20-minute story??! Not mine. She'd either fall asleep after a minute or two, or grab the book and chew it! By age 2, however, she loved to have stories read to her.
** My mom, of course, waited until we were adults to tell us this.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
A bunch of cheap (and sometimes green) tips
Thrift store finds, repurposed for fruits and veggies:
~ Crocheted cloth squares, probably created as trivets or potholders, for scrubbing veggies, in place of plastic veggies scrubbers. I had tried a natural coconut coir veggie brush, but disliked it because it shed bristles and often bruised or damaged my produce. These squares are soft enough to prevent damage to produce, but have enough texture to scrub fruit and veggies well.
~ Cloth diapers for patting fruits and veggies dry after washing. They’re very absorbent, and it saves paper towels.
Cough medicine: In the moldy Northwest, I have been plagued by long-term coughs. This recipe is a great cough reliever: mix 1/2 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon of honey in 8 ounces of warm water, and drink.
Car dehydrator: I found this wonderful tip at The TangledNest.com blog. I had long wanted to try Condo Blue’s recipe for making orange essential oil, but couldn’t prevent my orange peels from molding while I was drying them out. Now I just place the peels in my car dashboard window on sunny days, and by the end of the day, I have hard, dry orange peels. And the car smells great while they’re drying! (Of course, in Washington State, I can only do this in the summer).
Reduce fat and sugar with water: Sometimes the most natural products in the store (not counting meat or produce), with the least additives, contain the most fat and sugar. Natural mayonnaise, for example, or real maple syrup. I have found that adding water to these is a good way to reduce the fat or sugar content, without the additives of the "lite" version. (I even read a suggestion on another blog recently: buy a half gallon of whole milk, pour it into a gallon jug, and add water. Presto, a gallon of reduced fat milk at reduced cost! It's one way to better afford organic milk).
Btw, you’ll often notice that in “lite” versions of products, water is the first or second ingredient anyway. All the additives are added in order to give it the same thickness or taste as the original product, or to prevent separation. So if you’re going to add water, it’s important to only do so with the quantity you’re going to use, right before you use it. It will be thinner, but if you eat it right away, it generally doesn’t separate or affect taste. Experiment to find out the ratio you like best: 4:1 (where 1 is water), 3:1, 2:1 or 1:1. Whichever you choose, you'll be stretching your budget by making the food item last longer, and you'll be reducing fat and/or sugar.
Homemade chocolate sauce: Add 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/4 cup milk of your choice (regular, soy, almond, rice, etc.), and 1 tablespoon of a mild oil (I use canola) to a small glass bowl. Stir gently to coat the chips. Microwave on high for one minute. Remove from microwave and (optional) add 1/2 teaspoon of flavoring (I usually add peppermint extract). Stir until smooth. Serve immediately over fruit, ice cream, cake or other dessert of your choice. Yum!
~ Crocheted cloth squares, probably created as trivets or potholders, for scrubbing veggies, in place of plastic veggies scrubbers. I had tried a natural coconut coir veggie brush, but disliked it because it shed bristles and often bruised or damaged my produce. These squares are soft enough to prevent damage to produce, but have enough texture to scrub fruit and veggies well.
~ Cloth diapers for patting fruits and veggies dry after washing. They’re very absorbent, and it saves paper towels.
Cough medicine: In the moldy Northwest, I have been plagued by long-term coughs. This recipe is a great cough reliever: mix 1/2 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon of honey in 8 ounces of warm water, and drink.
Car dehydrator: I found this wonderful tip at The TangledNest.com blog. I had long wanted to try Condo Blue’s recipe for making orange essential oil, but couldn’t prevent my orange peels from molding while I was drying them out. Now I just place the peels in my car dashboard window on sunny days, and by the end of the day, I have hard, dry orange peels. And the car smells great while they’re drying! (Of course, in Washington State, I can only do this in the summer).
Reduce fat and sugar with water: Sometimes the most natural products in the store (not counting meat or produce), with the least additives, contain the most fat and sugar. Natural mayonnaise, for example, or real maple syrup. I have found that adding water to these is a good way to reduce the fat or sugar content, without the additives of the "lite" version. (I even read a suggestion on another blog recently: buy a half gallon of whole milk, pour it into a gallon jug, and add water. Presto, a gallon of reduced fat milk at reduced cost! It's one way to better afford organic milk).
Btw, you’ll often notice that in “lite” versions of products, water is the first or second ingredient anyway. All the additives are added in order to give it the same thickness or taste as the original product, or to prevent separation. So if you’re going to add water, it’s important to only do so with the quantity you’re going to use, right before you use it. It will be thinner, but if you eat it right away, it generally doesn’t separate or affect taste. Experiment to find out the ratio you like best: 4:1 (where 1 is water), 3:1, 2:1 or 1:1. Whichever you choose, you'll be stretching your budget by making the food item last longer, and you'll be reducing fat and/or sugar.
Homemade chocolate sauce: Add 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/4 cup milk of your choice (regular, soy, almond, rice, etc.), and 1 tablespoon of a mild oil (I use canola) to a small glass bowl. Stir gently to coat the chips. Microwave on high for one minute. Remove from microwave and (optional) add 1/2 teaspoon of flavoring (I usually add peppermint extract). Stir until smooth. Serve immediately over fruit, ice cream, cake or other dessert of your choice. Yum!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Move over, quinoa, I'm in love with farro!
At a conference I attended recently, I requested vegetarian for dinner. The meal I was brought consisted of grilled veggies in a creamy sauce, served over a grain that looked like unpopped popcorn kernels.
I had never seen the grain before, but when I tasted it, it was phenomenal! The same grain was served as a crunchy topping on our salads the next day, and was just as good that way. I asked one of the waitstaff about it, and he told me it was farro, a "super grain" that is originally from the Middle East, but is now grown organically in Washington state. As this web site which sells it describes it,
So now I don't have to eat quinoa to benefit from a super grain--I can eat farro! Even better, it's a local food for me!
(*I have to admit, though, quinoa has grown on me--just a little--since I wrote this post).
I had never seen the grain before, but when I tasted it, it was phenomenal! The same grain was served as a crunchy topping on our salads the next day, and was just as good that way. I asked one of the waitstaff about it, and he told me it was farro, a "super grain" that is originally from the Middle East, but is now grown organically in Washington state. As this web site which sells it describes it,
It's high in fiber, protein and nutrients, and absolutely delicious - nutty, full-flavored and with an appealingly chewy texture.
So now I don't have to eat quinoa to benefit from a super grain--I can eat farro! Even better, it's a local food for me!
(*I have to admit, though, quinoa has grown on me--just a little--since I wrote this post).
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Gourd watch and garden update
Nada. Yup, that's what my experiment in growing squash plants has produced.
This year, we kept all of our plants in pots on the deck, except for the few that like to spread long and wide: the mints, the cucumbers, pumpkin, zucchini and butternut squash.
As I had noted in an earlier post, for some reason the deer had left our yard alone this year. Until my birthday in late August, that is. We were celebrating on the deck when a deer decided to visit. Hubby scared it off, and I then told him he needed to make his "deer-be-gone" again (a mixture of urine, garlic and cayenne).
It was too late, however. The next morning, everything except the mints and the pumpkin were gone. The rest of the vines were completely stripped of all leaves, bulbs and flowers.
Why the deer left the pumpkin alone, I don't know. And now I know that if we try to plant pumpkin again next year, I do need to hand-pollinate (here is a handy set of instructions, complete with photos), since the pumpkin plants produced flowers but no fruits.
Nevertheless, I think we still had a pretty good year for the garden. We successfully grew spearmint and peppermint in the yard (not hard at all--mints grow like weeds), and in pots on the deck, we've grown tomatoes, green beans, lettuce, basil, collard greens, and for a short while, Swiss chard. Surprisingly, we've even picked a few cucumbers from the yard--apparently the deer missed a few. As a result, fresh salads have been a favorite meal for us this summer.
We did fail at growing a few other random herbs and once again, spinach. However, on a visit a month ago to an otherwise verdant urban community farm, I noticed that their withered spinach patch looked much like my poor spinach pot. A farm staffer informed me that spinach is very tough to grow, so I don't feel so bad about it.
Add to this the joy of discovering fresh blueberries, blackberries and plums growing in our yard this year. The plums, sadly, were ripe for only about two weeks and then withered into prunes right on the branches. The blackberry bush, I have also learned, is considered an extremely invasive plant that can easily choke out other plants growing around it, so we may at some point have to try to get rid of it. Still, eating freshly picked fruit all summer has been wonderful.
I know we have a long way to go in being gardeners--for example, we have yet to grow enough to not only feed our family but to share with neighbors or food pantries; grow a winter crop; or learn how to preserve/can foods and save seeds. Still, for year 2, after being afraid I couldn't grow anything during year 1, I'm pretty satisfied.
This year, we kept all of our plants in pots on the deck, except for the few that like to spread long and wide: the mints, the cucumbers, pumpkin, zucchini and butternut squash.
As I had noted in an earlier post, for some reason the deer had left our yard alone this year. Until my birthday in late August, that is. We were celebrating on the deck when a deer decided to visit. Hubby scared it off, and I then told him he needed to make his "deer-be-gone" again (a mixture of urine, garlic and cayenne).
It was too late, however. The next morning, everything except the mints and the pumpkin were gone. The rest of the vines were completely stripped of all leaves, bulbs and flowers.
Why the deer left the pumpkin alone, I don't know. And now I know that if we try to plant pumpkin again next year, I do need to hand-pollinate (here is a handy set of instructions, complete with photos), since the pumpkin plants produced flowers but no fruits.
Nevertheless, I think we still had a pretty good year for the garden. We successfully grew spearmint and peppermint in the yard (not hard at all--mints grow like weeds), and in pots on the deck, we've grown tomatoes, green beans, lettuce, basil, collard greens, and for a short while, Swiss chard. Surprisingly, we've even picked a few cucumbers from the yard--apparently the deer missed a few. As a result, fresh salads have been a favorite meal for us this summer.
We did fail at growing a few other random herbs and once again, spinach. However, on a visit a month ago to an otherwise verdant urban community farm, I noticed that their withered spinach patch looked much like my poor spinach pot. A farm staffer informed me that spinach is very tough to grow, so I don't feel so bad about it.
Add to this the joy of discovering fresh blueberries, blackberries and plums growing in our yard this year. The plums, sadly, were ripe for only about two weeks and then withered into prunes right on the branches. The blackberry bush, I have also learned, is considered an extremely invasive plant that can easily choke out other plants growing around it, so we may at some point have to try to get rid of it. Still, eating freshly picked fruit all summer has been wonderful.
I know we have a long way to go in being gardeners--for example, we have yet to grow enough to not only feed our family but to share with neighbors or food pantries; grow a winter crop; or learn how to preserve/can foods and save seeds. Still, for year 2, after being afraid I couldn't grow anything during year 1, I'm pretty satisfied.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Cheap green tip: substitute flax seed for eggs in baking
By now, I'm sure you've heard about the massive egg recall taking place in at least 14 states due to salmonella contamination. If you're an egg eater in an affected area, you currently have to forego eggs for a while or pay the much higher prices for uncontaminated organic, free range eggs.
Well, I have a cheap green tip for you! It won't help if you like eggs for breakfast, but it will certainly help if you love to bake like I do.
Purchase a bag or jar of milled flax seed, milled meaning pre-ground. (If you purchase whole flax seeds, you'll have to grind them yourself in a coffee grinder). For each egg you want to replace in a baking recipe, add 1 tablespoon of milled flax seed and 3 tablespoons of water to a blender. Blend about one minute until smooth. Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to three days.
You'll notice no difference in the taste or texture of your final product, you'll have added some excellent fiber and Omega-3 fatty acids to your recipe, and as an added bonus, you can give the spoon or beaters to your kids to lick without worrying about making them deathly ill.
Is this really a cheap green tip? I did some calculations, and yes, it is. I buy 12 ounce bags of milled flax seed for $2.99 from Grocery Outlet. According to the serving size information, the bag contains 48 tablespoons, or the equivalent (when blended with water) of 48 eggs. That's an average price of 6.2 cents per (substitute) egg.
Regular, non-organic large eggs range in price across the country from $1.39-3.99 a dozen. That's an average of 11.5 to 33.3 cents an egg. So the milled flax seed egg substitute is much cheaper than regular eggs.
OK, you may not have a Grocery Outlet around. Where else could you buy milled (or possibly whole) flax seeds? I'm pretty sure any store that sells natural foods, such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Fred Meyer, will carry it. I've never checked, but it's possible that ordinary grocery stores might have it as well. If you still can't find it, you can always purchase it online (see below).
Will it be as cheap as at a discount store such as Grocery Outlet? I think so, or at least comparable to regular eggs. This is a list of flax seed products sold on Amazon.com. Here are my calculations for just the first two:
Hodgson Mill Milled Flax Seed, 12-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 8), for $15.20. That's $1.90 for each 12 oz box, or about 4 cents per tablespoon (and remember, each tablespoon makes one egg).
Flax Usa Cold Milled Flax, 40-Ounce Canister (Pack of 2), for $25. That's 80 ounces of milled flax seed, or about 320 tablespoons. So the price is about 7.8 cents per tablespoon/replacement egg. In both cases, it's still much cheaper than buying regular eggs.
Another added benefit: while you have to use the flax seed/water mix within three days, the unmixed flax seeds themselves can be stored in your refrigerator for a couple of months, or your freezer for even longer (and yes, you must refrigerate or freeze the bag or container once it's been opened. Milled flax seed will go rancid otherwise). Try doing that with a dozen eggs!
Well, I have a cheap green tip for you! It won't help if you like eggs for breakfast, but it will certainly help if you love to bake like I do.
Purchase a bag or jar of milled flax seed, milled meaning pre-ground. (If you purchase whole flax seeds, you'll have to grind them yourself in a coffee grinder). For each egg you want to replace in a baking recipe, add 1 tablespoon of milled flax seed and 3 tablespoons of water to a blender. Blend about one minute until smooth. Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to three days.
You'll notice no difference in the taste or texture of your final product, you'll have added some excellent fiber and Omega-3 fatty acids to your recipe, and as an added bonus, you can give the spoon or beaters to your kids to lick without worrying about making them deathly ill.
Is this really a cheap green tip? I did some calculations, and yes, it is. I buy 12 ounce bags of milled flax seed for $2.99 from Grocery Outlet. According to the serving size information, the bag contains 48 tablespoons, or the equivalent (when blended with water) of 48 eggs. That's an average price of 6.2 cents per (substitute) egg.
Regular, non-organic large eggs range in price across the country from $1.39-3.99 a dozen. That's an average of 11.5 to 33.3 cents an egg. So the milled flax seed egg substitute is much cheaper than regular eggs.
OK, you may not have a Grocery Outlet around. Where else could you buy milled (or possibly whole) flax seeds? I'm pretty sure any store that sells natural foods, such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Fred Meyer, will carry it. I've never checked, but it's possible that ordinary grocery stores might have it as well. If you still can't find it, you can always purchase it online (see below).
Will it be as cheap as at a discount store such as Grocery Outlet? I think so, or at least comparable to regular eggs. This is a list of flax seed products sold on Amazon.com. Here are my calculations for just the first two:
Hodgson Mill Milled Flax Seed, 12-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 8), for $15.20. That's $1.90 for each 12 oz box, or about 4 cents per tablespoon (and remember, each tablespoon makes one egg).
Flax Usa Cold Milled Flax, 40-Ounce Canister (Pack of 2), for $25. That's 80 ounces of milled flax seed, or about 320 tablespoons. So the price is about 7.8 cents per tablespoon/replacement egg. In both cases, it's still much cheaper than buying regular eggs.
Another added benefit: while you have to use the flax seed/water mix within three days, the unmixed flax seeds themselves can be stored in your refrigerator for a couple of months, or your freezer for even longer (and yes, you must refrigerate or freeze the bag or container once it's been opened. Milled flax seed will go rancid otherwise). Try doing that with a dozen eggs!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
A party and plums and an almost non-existent utility bill
Hubby threw a birthday cookout for me this weekend, and we used the same things as for my daughter's bubble party in July: reusable plastic plates and cups and cloth napkins. We also gathered all the leftover corn husks and cobs for composting.
Even better, as snacks, I set out plums and blackberries from the yard. Alas, the blueberries are all gone for the season, but the plums are now ripe and sweet! I realize the mistake I made earlier: I was trying to eat the plums when they turned purple. I need to wait until they're so dark they're almost black. That's when they're perfect!
We received our latest bimonthly utility bill (water and electric). You may remember that our April bill was twice as high as February's, and we discovered in June that they had overcharged us. The credit to our account was enough to wipe out the June bill and give us an additional credit of $91.
This bill was just as amazing. We had successfully brought down the bill from $600 every two months, to $400, to about $250. This bill was $118. In other words, it breaks down to an average cost of usage of only $29 per month, per utility. We're definitely doing something right. Each bill shows a comparison chart to the same billing period the previous year. Our water and energy usage is less than half of what we were using at this time last year -- which was less than half of what we had used the year before. Best of all, given that we still have the $91 credit, we only have to pay $27 of that $118!
Even better, as snacks, I set out plums and blackberries from the yard. Alas, the blueberries are all gone for the season, but the plums are now ripe and sweet! I realize the mistake I made earlier: I was trying to eat the plums when they turned purple. I need to wait until they're so dark they're almost black. That's when they're perfect!
We received our latest bimonthly utility bill (water and electric). You may remember that our April bill was twice as high as February's, and we discovered in June that they had overcharged us. The credit to our account was enough to wipe out the June bill and give us an additional credit of $91.
This bill was just as amazing. We had successfully brought down the bill from $600 every two months, to $400, to about $250. This bill was $118. In other words, it breaks down to an average cost of usage of only $29 per month, per utility. We're definitely doing something right. Each bill shows a comparison chart to the same billing period the previous year. Our water and energy usage is less than half of what we were using at this time last year -- which was less than half of what we had used the year before. Best of all, given that we still have the $91 credit, we only have to pay $27 of that $118!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
It's amazing what you discover in your own yard
Sometimes I wonder if I'm so much of a city kid that it takes a long time for me to notice natural things. Or maybe, just maybe, my yard is changing before my eyes.
Last summer, our friends Johnnie and Michele came over when we were planting our garden in the yard, and pointed out that the two bushes near the garden spot were blueberry bushes. I couldn't figure out how I had missed that the year before, since I love blueberries.
Last year most of the blueberries that grew were eaten by the deer as soon as they started to ripen, and those that weren't eaten by deer were rather bitter in taste. It's possible the deer had eaten them all the year before, so we hadn't noticed.
This year, the deer have oddly left the berries alone (and we've seen them running around the neighborhood, so they're still here). Not only that, but the berries that ripened have been nice and sweet. I've already speculated that the deer dislike the smell of the coffee grounds we used to fertilize the garden--which also may be the reason for the improved berry crop. My daughter found a bush in another part of the yard that still bears a tag reading, "blueberry plant." The latter grew no berries, so I definitely think our cultivation of the general area of the two fruitful bushes has had an effect.
My daughter found something else this year: a tree in our year bearing what my neighbor informs me are Italian plums. Again, how did I miss this the past two years? Unpicked fruit trees usually results in rotten fruit on the ground, and I certainly have done my share of raking and yard work! So far, the plums are hard and bitter, even the purple ones, so we'll see if they improve as fall approaches.
And best of all, my husband discovered a blackberry bush when he was mowing the lawn! It's growing up among the shrubs that border our yard, so he's pretty sure they're wild berries that weren't intentionally planted. He used his garden gloves to pull a bunch of braches out of the shrubs and into the yard. Daughter and I collected enough to make two dozen blackberry tarts!
Discovering all this fruit growing in our yard has been a delight. I think of the words from the movie Jurassic Park (used in an entirely different context, of course, but they can apply here): "Nature always finds a way."
Last summer, our friends Johnnie and Michele came over when we were planting our garden in the yard, and pointed out that the two bushes near the garden spot were blueberry bushes. I couldn't figure out how I had missed that the year before, since I love blueberries.
Last year most of the blueberries that grew were eaten by the deer as soon as they started to ripen, and those that weren't eaten by deer were rather bitter in taste. It's possible the deer had eaten them all the year before, so we hadn't noticed.
This year, the deer have oddly left the berries alone (and we've seen them running around the neighborhood, so they're still here). Not only that, but the berries that ripened have been nice and sweet. I've already speculated that the deer dislike the smell of the coffee grounds we used to fertilize the garden--which also may be the reason for the improved berry crop. My daughter found a bush in another part of the yard that still bears a tag reading, "blueberry plant." The latter grew no berries, so I definitely think our cultivation of the general area of the two fruitful bushes has had an effect.
My daughter found something else this year: a tree in our year bearing what my neighbor informs me are Italian plums. Again, how did I miss this the past two years? Unpicked fruit trees usually results in rotten fruit on the ground, and I certainly have done my share of raking and yard work! So far, the plums are hard and bitter, even the purple ones, so we'll see if they improve as fall approaches.
And best of all, my husband discovered a blackberry bush when he was mowing the lawn! It's growing up among the shrubs that border our yard, so he's pretty sure they're wild berries that weren't intentionally planted. He used his garden gloves to pull a bunch of braches out of the shrubs and into the yard. Daughter and I collected enough to make two dozen blackberry tarts!
Discovering all this fruit growing in our yard has been a delight. I think of the words from the movie Jurassic Park (used in an entirely different context, of course, but they can apply here): "Nature always finds a way."
Monday, August 9, 2010
Weekend news and basil-mint pesto
Besides swimming, we had other outdoor experiences this weekend. Our good friends Johnnie and Michele are living on Vashon Island this summer and caretaking at a cottage there. It's a pretty rustic cabin right on the water. We joined them for dinner on Sunday evening.
The last time we were there, on July 4th, my daughter and I picked up seashells off the beach (which the kids painted at my daughter's bubble party). This time, the tide was high and there was no beach.
However, there is a long, thick rope hanging from one of the trees in the yard. Michele said it was once a swing, but the seat broke off at some point. No matter: my daughter used the rope to play Tarzan and swing all over the yard.
They also have wild blackberries growing in the yard. I spent some time picking them (mmm, I love blackberries), and I have scratches all over my arm to prove it!
Johnnie and Michele's dinners are usually open potlucks for their friends. My contribution this time was a basil-mint pesto, made from the basil, spearmint and peppermint growing in our garden. It was a big hit with everyone, "addictive," as one woman called it. Here is the recipe I made (modified from this one at Post Punk Kitchen):
BASIL-MINT PESTO
Ingredients
-1/4 cup each almonds and pine nuts
-2 c. basil and mint leaves (I cut off two tall stalks each of basil and spearmint, and five or six short stalks of peppermint, and pulled the leaves off the stems)
- juice of one lemon (tip: firmly roll the lemon around on a hard surface for about 10-20 seconds, and the juice will squeeze out much more easily)
- 3 T olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Directions
- Using my Magic Bullet blender, I chopped up the almonds and pine nuts until they they resembled coarse crumbs and set them aside.
- I added the basil and mint leaves to the blender, along with 1 T of the olive oil, the lemon juice and the garlic, and blended until smooth.
- I added the chopped nuts, the rest of the oil, the parmesan cheese and salt to the basil-mint mixture and blended. The resulting mixture is lumpy.
- I served with whole wheat crackers.
For a vegan variety, you can replace the parmesan cheese with 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast flakes.
The last time we were there, on July 4th, my daughter and I picked up seashells off the beach (which the kids painted at my daughter's bubble party). This time, the tide was high and there was no beach.
However, there is a long, thick rope hanging from one of the trees in the yard. Michele said it was once a swing, but the seat broke off at some point. No matter: my daughter used the rope to play Tarzan and swing all over the yard.
They also have wild blackberries growing in the yard. I spent some time picking them (mmm, I love blackberries), and I have scratches all over my arm to prove it!
Johnnie and Michele's dinners are usually open potlucks for their friends. My contribution this time was a basil-mint pesto, made from the basil, spearmint and peppermint growing in our garden. It was a big hit with everyone, "addictive," as one woman called it. Here is the recipe I made (modified from this one at Post Punk Kitchen):
BASIL-MINT PESTO
Ingredients
-1/4 cup each almonds and pine nuts
-2 c. basil and mint leaves (I cut off two tall stalks each of basil and spearmint, and five or six short stalks of peppermint, and pulled the leaves off the stems)
- juice of one lemon (tip: firmly roll the lemon around on a hard surface for about 10-20 seconds, and the juice will squeeze out much more easily)
- 3 T olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Directions
- Using my Magic Bullet blender, I chopped up the almonds and pine nuts until they they resembled coarse crumbs and set them aside.
- I added the basil and mint leaves to the blender, along with 1 T of the olive oil, the lemon juice and the garlic, and blended until smooth.
- I added the chopped nuts, the rest of the oil, the parmesan cheese and salt to the basil-mint mixture and blended. The resulting mixture is lumpy.
- I served with whole wheat crackers.
For a vegan variety, you can replace the parmesan cheese with 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast flakes.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Pumpkins, zuchinni and squash, oh my!
This year, my daughter planted pumpkin seeds as part of a kids' project led by the Master Gardeners program at the Puyallup spring fair. Given the size they grow to, they were the first of our plants to be transferred to the yard this year.
About a month ago, I bought some zuchinni and butternut squash starts and planted them outside also, because these are my two favorite vegetables.
When each of her two pumpkin planted sprouted one flower about two weeks ago, I proudly told my daughter that the spots with the flowers would turn into pumpkins. Then I read this post by Crunchy Chicken. Pumpkin plants need male and female flowers? (And how do you know which one is which?) The male and female flowers need to pollinate to actually produce a pumpkin? Sometimes the gardener needs to help the pollination process along by hand? (And how in the world do you do that??!) Huh??!!
So when the two little flowers died, I despaired the possibility of my daughter's pumpkins ever growing.
But not so fast. I was listening to "Gardening in the Northwest" on radio station KPTK-Seattle on Saturday, and someone aked about squash plants and pollination. Scott Conner, who leads that show, answered that pumpkins, squashes, zuchinnis, etc. tend to produce a few early flowers that die, and then produce a boatload of flowers again during the hottest month of summer, August. The second batch, he assured, will most likely pollinate and produce fruit. He added that zuchinni, in fact, can go from nothing to fruit in a matter of hours.
When I woke up this morning, my zuchinni plants, which had NO flowers yesterday, had about a dozen flowers on them this morning, and the pumpkin plants have re-flowered. (Nothing yet on the butternut squash). So I still have reason for hope! I'll keep you posted as "gourd watch" develops.
About a month ago, I bought some zuchinni and butternut squash starts and planted them outside also, because these are my two favorite vegetables.
When each of her two pumpkin planted sprouted one flower about two weeks ago, I proudly told my daughter that the spots with the flowers would turn into pumpkins. Then I read this post by Crunchy Chicken. Pumpkin plants need male and female flowers? (And how do you know which one is which?) The male and female flowers need to pollinate to actually produce a pumpkin? Sometimes the gardener needs to help the pollination process along by hand? (And how in the world do you do that??!) Huh??!!
So when the two little flowers died, I despaired the possibility of my daughter's pumpkins ever growing.
But not so fast. I was listening to "Gardening in the Northwest" on radio station KPTK-Seattle on Saturday, and someone aked about squash plants and pollination. Scott Conner, who leads that show, answered that pumpkins, squashes, zuchinnis, etc. tend to produce a few early flowers that die, and then produce a boatload of flowers again during the hottest month of summer, August. The second batch, he assured, will most likely pollinate and produce fruit. He added that zuchinni, in fact, can go from nothing to fruit in a matter of hours.
When I woke up this morning, my zuchinni plants, which had NO flowers yesterday, had about a dozen flowers on them this morning, and the pumpkin plants have re-flowered. (Nothing yet on the butternut squash). So I still have reason for hope! I'll keep you posted as "gourd watch" develops.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Why quinoa is like liver
Did your parents ever serve you liver as a kid, "because it's good for you"? Whether it is or not is debatable, but what isn't debatable is that liver is one of the foulest tasting things you can eat. My siblings and I learned, however, that if you smothered liver with enough bacon and onions, it became edible.
Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") is one of the healthiest grains you can eat. I learned about it during pregnancy, reading something or other about the best foods to eat for your baby. So I bought it, cooked it, ate it--and promptly upchucked all of it. Like liver, quinoa was one of the foulest tasting things I'd ever tried. (Although quinoa's health benefits are much more certain!).
I couldn't stomach the thought of eating quinoa again during pregnancy, nor a year later when it was served at a luncheon I attended. But my daughter is now five and morning sickness is a distant memory, so I decided it was time to try it again. (Because it's good for me, of course!). No, I didn't throw up this time. But I decided that as with liver, you need to smother quinoa to make it edible. In this case, I used curried tofu and vegetables. As long as each bite had enough tofu and veggies to overpower the taste of the quinoa, I was fine. But without it, blecch!
Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") is one of the healthiest grains you can eat. I learned about it during pregnancy, reading something or other about the best foods to eat for your baby. So I bought it, cooked it, ate it--and promptly upchucked all of it. Like liver, quinoa was one of the foulest tasting things I'd ever tried. (Although quinoa's health benefits are much more certain!).
I couldn't stomach the thought of eating quinoa again during pregnancy, nor a year later when it was served at a luncheon I attended. But my daughter is now five and morning sickness is a distant memory, so I decided it was time to try it again. (Because it's good for me, of course!). No, I didn't throw up this time. But I decided that as with liver, you need to smother quinoa to make it edible. In this case, I used curried tofu and vegetables. As long as each bite had enough tofu and veggies to overpower the taste of the quinoa, I was fine. But without it, blecch!
Monday, June 14, 2010
The confusing, the good and the even better
The confusing: a news story on the radio yesterday reported that gas prices have decreased an average of 15 cents a gallon over the last three weeks, and now average $2.72 a gallon across the nation. Now the cheapest price around here is Arco/BP, at $2.75 a gallon. That's not that surprising; averages are averages, and different regions will have different prices.
But there is no way gas prices have declined here in Tacoma. I've been watching the gas prices very carefully and they've all been going up at stations other than Arco/BP, from $2.79-$2.85 a gallon a few weeks ago, to now $2.86-$2.99 a gallon. It makes sense that our prices might be higher than other regions, but not that they are going up when others are going down. Can anyone explain this?
The good: Thanks to Aimee for her suggestion of the eco-friendly Rome's Old-Fashioned Cast Iron waffle iron, available at Amazon for only $19.99! Check out the informative Amazon reviews, too--this iron makes better waffles, but it takes a little more care to do it well, especially pre-seasoning it.
Even better: Our veggies are reviving! Despite the chilly springtime, our collards, kale, lettuce, rasishes and herbs have strengthened and are just about ready to pick! My spinach is still pathetic, though. I can't seem to get spinach right. My daughter is also excited because the seed she planted this year--a pumpkin--had outgrown its pot and is now flourishing in the yard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Update, 24 hours later: Gas at my local Arco/BP station is down again, to $2.69 a gallon for regular. The other stations around me? Haven't gone down a cent.
But there is no way gas prices have declined here in Tacoma. I've been watching the gas prices very carefully and they've all been going up at stations other than Arco/BP, from $2.79-$2.85 a gallon a few weeks ago, to now $2.86-$2.99 a gallon. It makes sense that our prices might be higher than other regions, but not that they are going up when others are going down. Can anyone explain this?
The good: Thanks to Aimee for her suggestion of the eco-friendly Rome's Old-Fashioned Cast Iron waffle iron, available at Amazon for only $19.99! Check out the informative Amazon reviews, too--this iron makes better waffles, but it takes a little more care to do it well, especially pre-seasoning it.
Even better: Our veggies are reviving! Despite the chilly springtime, our collards, kale, lettuce, rasishes and herbs have strengthened and are just about ready to pick! My spinach is still pathetic, though. I can't seem to get spinach right. My daughter is also excited because the seed she planted this year--a pumpkin--had outgrown its pot and is now flourishing in the yard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Update, 24 hours later: Gas at my local Arco/BP station is down again, to $2.69 a gallon for regular. The other stations around me? Haven't gone down a cent.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Anyone know of an eco-friendly waffle iron?
One of my fondest memories of childhood was my dad making pancakes for us on the weekends, and it's a tradition I've continued with my daughter, only I make them from scratch (so I can add good stuff like whole wheat flour and milled flax seed) instead of a pancake mix.
I've added waffles to this tradition because I love waffles. We left a fairly nice waffle iron back in Boston, and so, given our tight finances here in Washington, I bought a cheapo $9.99 waffle iron at the drugstore.
Bad move. It's teflon and the teflon is starting to wear off. The waffle iron we had in Boston was also teflon, but because it was of higher quality, it hadn't experienced the visible wear and tear. I've read a lot about the dangers of teflon and other non-stick coatings (made worse if it's wearing off) and so I no longer use any such pots and pans, switching to stainless steel and cast iron instead... except for said waffle iron.
But it seems to me that all the waffle irons I've seen for many years have only had non-stick coating. Does anyone make them without non-stick coating anymore? And if not, are any waffle irons more eco-friendly than others? If so, please let me know! I may not be able to afford it right now, but it can join the wish list (along with a bicycle, rain barrel and compost tumbler)!
I've added waffles to this tradition because I love waffles. We left a fairly nice waffle iron back in Boston, and so, given our tight finances here in Washington, I bought a cheapo $9.99 waffle iron at the drugstore.
Bad move. It's teflon and the teflon is starting to wear off. The waffle iron we had in Boston was also teflon, but because it was of higher quality, it hadn't experienced the visible wear and tear. I've read a lot about the dangers of teflon and other non-stick coatings (made worse if it's wearing off) and so I no longer use any such pots and pans, switching to stainless steel and cast iron instead... except for said waffle iron.
But it seems to me that all the waffle irons I've seen for many years have only had non-stick coating. Does anyone make them without non-stick coating anymore? And if not, are any waffle irons more eco-friendly than others? If so, please let me know! I may not be able to afford it right now, but it can join the wish list (along with a bicycle, rain barrel and compost tumbler)!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Making it work for everyone
OK, confession time: I watched about half of the No Impact Man movie when I first got it from the library. It was due yesterday and remembering how long I waited for it on the request list, I watched the second half before returning it.
The second half was very thought-provoking. I really respect Colin Beavan and his wife, Michelle Conlin, because they were very upfront not only about the challenges of trying to spend a year making as little impact as possible, but also about the strain that it put on their marriage. They also went through the painful time that year of Michelle getting pregnant and losing the baby.
It was helpful to see some of the things that went wrong for them, or that were just plain frustrating, because it gave me encouragement when things don't go as well as I'd like (like my garden so far this year). For example, flies started breeding in their worm bin and then spread throughout the house. (At the end of the movie, as they discussed the new practices they'd keep and the ones they'd get rid of, Michelle said, "Worm bin goes!") They also tried, after shutting off their electricity, to use a "pot in a pot," a system for keeping foods cool developed in Nigeria, and it didn't work very well.
At one point, when Colin is installing a loaned solar panel on the roof of his building, he comments that he now realizes, "It's not about using as little as we can use, but about how to get people what they need in a way that doesn't harm the planet." In other words, how do we make living more environmentally work for everyone?
This came up for me in the context of a conversation on an online forum about eating locally. One woman who is lactose intolerant and can't absorb gluten (a substance in many grains, including wheat, oats and barley), said that eating local for her would mean not getting the nutrients she needs to live. In earlier times when local food systems were all that most people had, people with dietary restrictions like this woman often died young. I don't believe we should sacrifice people in the name of doing something environmentally good, such as more local eating. But, as someone in the same conversation pointed out (as do most locavores), our current non-local food production system isn't sustainable. So once more, we come back to Colin's question: How do we get people what they need in a way that doesn't harm the planet?
Mayer, a lifelong activist who mentors Colin about urban gardening, thinks that individual action isn't the way to go at all. He argues in the film that doing things like changing your lightbulbs fools people into thinking that's enough, and lets politicians and business off the hook for making the big societal changes that need to happen. Colin counters that "walking the walk" is the best way to get people to listen to you as you fight for the larger changes needed. I would add that just because big changes are what's needed shouldn't be a reason not to make the small changes. But Mayer's point is well-taken: I can't grow complacent and think that small changes are enough, or that, "At least I'm doing something!"
Colin later says, "Using less is NOT enough; we need to demand that our systems become sustainable." That takes action. In response to a question asked by a college student about the most important thing one could do for the environment, he answers, "Volunteer for an environmental organization." These groups have been on the frontline for years in trying to make our systems more sustainable, both through their actions and their advocacy.
The second half was very thought-provoking. I really respect Colin Beavan and his wife, Michelle Conlin, because they were very upfront not only about the challenges of trying to spend a year making as little impact as possible, but also about the strain that it put on their marriage. They also went through the painful time that year of Michelle getting pregnant and losing the baby.
It was helpful to see some of the things that went wrong for them, or that were just plain frustrating, because it gave me encouragement when things don't go as well as I'd like (like my garden so far this year). For example, flies started breeding in their worm bin and then spread throughout the house. (At the end of the movie, as they discussed the new practices they'd keep and the ones they'd get rid of, Michelle said, "Worm bin goes!") They also tried, after shutting off their electricity, to use a "pot in a pot," a system for keeping foods cool developed in Nigeria, and it didn't work very well.
At one point, when Colin is installing a loaned solar panel on the roof of his building, he comments that he now realizes, "It's not about using as little as we can use, but about how to get people what they need in a way that doesn't harm the planet." In other words, how do we make living more environmentally work for everyone?
This came up for me in the context of a conversation on an online forum about eating locally. One woman who is lactose intolerant and can't absorb gluten (a substance in many grains, including wheat, oats and barley), said that eating local for her would mean not getting the nutrients she needs to live. In earlier times when local food systems were all that most people had, people with dietary restrictions like this woman often died young. I don't believe we should sacrifice people in the name of doing something environmentally good, such as more local eating. But, as someone in the same conversation pointed out (as do most locavores), our current non-local food production system isn't sustainable. So once more, we come back to Colin's question: How do we get people what they need in a way that doesn't harm the planet?
Mayer, a lifelong activist who mentors Colin about urban gardening, thinks that individual action isn't the way to go at all. He argues in the film that doing things like changing your lightbulbs fools people into thinking that's enough, and lets politicians and business off the hook for making the big societal changes that need to happen. Colin counters that "walking the walk" is the best way to get people to listen to you as you fight for the larger changes needed. I would add that just because big changes are what's needed shouldn't be a reason not to make the small changes. But Mayer's point is well-taken: I can't grow complacent and think that small changes are enough, or that, "At least I'm doing something!"
Colin later says, "Using less is NOT enough; we need to demand that our systems become sustainable." That takes action. In response to a question asked by a college student about the most important thing one could do for the environment, he answers, "Volunteer for an environmental organization." These groups have been on the frontline for years in trying to make our systems more sustainable, both through their actions and their advocacy.
Friday, April 23, 2010
The Healthy School Meals Act--will it help?
My brother alerted me to HR 4870, the Healthy School Meals Act of 2010, sponsored by Rep. Jarod Polis, D-Co. At first glance it seems like a great idea, but after reading the key provisions of the bill, I feel more than a little concerned.
One of the main provisions is this (emphasis mine):
The highlighted phrase above is troubling. It sounds like the bill would make it more possible for schools to provide soy burgers and soy milk, which is helpful for kids with milk allergies or who are vegetarian. However, this bill won't necessarily make kids healthier. It makes NO explicit provisions for increasing the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables served to kids, which is what so many of our children really need. In addition, there are many who have concerns about soy, which is a heavily subsidized crop in the U.S., is already added to many processed foods, and is a suspected hormone disrupter.
There is a provision to provide additional funds for schools to purchase "plant-based commodities," but again, that doesn't specify fresh fruits and vegetables. Schools and school districts on tight budgets often have to maximize the return on their dollars, and funds go further for canned and processed foods than they will for anything fresh.
My brother suggested "use your mojo" with this, encouraging me to contact Elizabeth Kucinich, wife of Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-OH, and the director of public affairs for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), one of the main organizations pushing for the passage of this bill. My "mojo" is the fact that our dad, who was a horticulturalist, worked for Cleveland's Department of Parks and Recreation back in the 1970s when Dennis Kucinich was mayor. I think I will--I have lots of questions about this one!
One of the main provisions is this (emphasis mine):
The Healthy School Meals Act directs USDA to conduct a pilot program in which the Secretary provides to selected school food authorities at no cost plant‐based alternate protein products and nondairy milk substitutes. The USDA shall conduct an evaluation of the pilot program and shall be allocated an amount of $4,000,000 for program implementation.
The highlighted phrase above is troubling. It sounds like the bill would make it more possible for schools to provide soy burgers and soy milk, which is helpful for kids with milk allergies or who are vegetarian. However, this bill won't necessarily make kids healthier. It makes NO explicit provisions for increasing the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables served to kids, which is what so many of our children really need. In addition, there are many who have concerns about soy, which is a heavily subsidized crop in the U.S., is already added to many processed foods, and is a suspected hormone disrupter.
There is a provision to provide additional funds for schools to purchase "plant-based commodities," but again, that doesn't specify fresh fruits and vegetables. Schools and school districts on tight budgets often have to maximize the return on their dollars, and funds go further for canned and processed foods than they will for anything fresh.
My brother suggested "use your mojo" with this, encouraging me to contact Elizabeth Kucinich, wife of Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-OH, and the director of public affairs for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), one of the main organizations pushing for the passage of this bill. My "mojo" is the fact that our dad, who was a horticulturalist, worked for Cleveland's Department of Parks and Recreation back in the 1970s when Dennis Kucinich was mayor. I think I will--I have lots of questions about this one!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Connections
Once more, I don't have enough time to post all I want, but I'll try to do this quickly.
Everything is connected... that's what I've been thinking about.
When Colin Beavan reached the "no more electricity" stage of his No Impact project, he realized that some of the challenges he and his family would face are the same that impoverished people around the world face daily: keeping food from spoiling; keeping cool in hot weather, and warm in cold weather; doing laundry and other chores without labor-saving devices; providing artificial light after the sun goes down so children can do homework; etc. As Beavan writes on p. 170, "When you take the 'use less' philosophy to scale, you have to question its worldwide applicability. Because how on earth can someone who has no access to electricity possibly use less?"
This makes me recall what the Permibus folks said: any "sustainable solution" that doesn't work for poor communities and urban communities isn't sustainable.
I am working with our friends Johnnie and Michelle on a grant application for their organization, Heart and Soil, so that they can do more projects engaging youth in community gardening, provide more support for local gardeners and small farmers, and do more community outreach and education. Their long-term goal is to ensure that everyone in Pierce County has access to health, local, sustainably grown foods. As Johnnie put it, if something were to happen to the highways between Pierce County, where Tacoma is located, and King County, where Seattle is located, the shelves in grocery stores throughout Pierce County would be empty in 48 hours.
Speaking of connections, we've been talking about ours. Johnnie and Michelle moved to Tacoma about the same time we did (they came from California); they are also house-sitting; they, like us, have backgrounds in community service and youth development; and they, like us, really want to make sure that the sustainability movement doesn't leave out low-income communities and communities of color. So there is at least one reason we're here in Washington after all!
And speaking of Tacoma, it's funny how one of my complaints about Washington two weeks ago has changed. We've had a lot of sunny days recently, while the east coast was getting slammed with bad weather.
Everything is connected... that's what I've been thinking about.
When Colin Beavan reached the "no more electricity" stage of his No Impact project, he realized that some of the challenges he and his family would face are the same that impoverished people around the world face daily: keeping food from spoiling; keeping cool in hot weather, and warm in cold weather; doing laundry and other chores without labor-saving devices; providing artificial light after the sun goes down so children can do homework; etc. As Beavan writes on p. 170, "When you take the 'use less' philosophy to scale, you have to question its worldwide applicability. Because how on earth can someone who has no access to electricity possibly use less?"
This makes me recall what the Permibus folks said: any "sustainable solution" that doesn't work for poor communities and urban communities isn't sustainable.
I am working with our friends Johnnie and Michelle on a grant application for their organization, Heart and Soil, so that they can do more projects engaging youth in community gardening, provide more support for local gardeners and small farmers, and do more community outreach and education. Their long-term goal is to ensure that everyone in Pierce County has access to health, local, sustainably grown foods. As Johnnie put it, if something were to happen to the highways between Pierce County, where Tacoma is located, and King County, where Seattle is located, the shelves in grocery stores throughout Pierce County would be empty in 48 hours.
Speaking of connections, we've been talking about ours. Johnnie and Michelle moved to Tacoma about the same time we did (they came from California); they are also house-sitting; they, like us, have backgrounds in community service and youth development; and they, like us, really want to make sure that the sustainability movement doesn't leave out low-income communities and communities of color. So there is at least one reason we're here in Washington after all!
And speaking of Tacoma, it's funny how one of my complaints about Washington two weeks ago has changed. We've had a lot of sunny days recently, while the east coast was getting slammed with bad weather.
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