green living – Peaceful Reader

My search for trash bags…

What does everyone else use for garbage bags? You probably make the easy decision to just pick them up at Target or the grocery store where you shop. Here is what you need to know; it takes 1,000 years for that trash bag to decompose. That’s a helluva long time. I’m on the search for a better alternative.

After learning how much plastic (Ocean Conservancy) is in the ocean and making a mess of our precious and beautiful land as well I decided to look for a more eco-friendly choice. We ran out of the box of Glad ForceFlex 50-count bags the other day and as I broke the box down for recycling I started thinking about a safer bag. We recycle a lot and think about what goes into our garbage but what if what was surrounding our trash was also a problem. I’ve purchased other eco-friendly choices before but either they were cost-prohibitive or not easily attainable. So I turned to the internet to see if I could find an answer.

I found this great article posted on a website selling compostable trash bags. Of course they want you to buy their compostable bags yet the definitions make sense to me based on what I know already. What I learned is not to buy biodegradable bags because regular landfills do not usually have the key ingredients to biodegrade. Unfortunately the notes didn’t help me find what I need as I’m looking for a trash bag for my NON- compostable materials; the stuff that ends up in landfills. We compost a lot at our house and we just throw that stuff right outside into a rolling bin and in the springtime we used to spread it out on the garden. This is our first spring without a backyard garden so we’ll still find a new place to spread the compost love back into the earth. I don’t know why more people don’t compost; its so easy and it’s literally like giving the earth a gift back.

In my continued search I found this article from the SFGate from the city that’s already banned grocery bags! I like some of Ms. Lovering’s ideas of lining trash containers with paper bags or newspaper. According to my husband our trash pick-up is required to be in tied bags so right now I’m using the few grocery bags my husband carries home because he forgets to bring reusable bags. I have to move forward, knowing I’m working on this issue in my own time, and hopefully along this journey I will find a solution. It’s going to make a difference, maybe not in my life time but for my children and the next generation.

Anyone have a green alternative?

Weekend Cooking; Chef Love.

I’ve made several interesting recipes in the midst of our busy week. I had my heart set on re-making these amazing sweet potato black bean burritos and had even prebaked the sweet potatoes one night while I had the oven on for something else (green idea not to have to reheat the oven) and then my husband used those cooked sweet potatoes as a side for one of his meals. He makes dinner just ONE night a week of which I AM grateful for but he often uses something for his dinner that he thinks I am letting “waste away” in our fridge or cupboard, etc. He’s forgiven though because it is a joy to come home Thursday night and have dinner ready for me no matter what it is.

I easily rebought and rebaked those sweet potatoes and made the burritos the very next week. I also created the Mexican Casserole from Katie Workman’s The Mom 100 Cookbook., which was a huge hit at dinner.

My actual weekend cooking post is about this stack of cookbooks: like a great love affair I can’t live without them.

From top to bottom:

1. Deborah Madison is a queen and one of my first cooking crushes. Some people fell for Paula Deen or Rachel Ray-me it was all about Deborah. It stands to reason that my mother-in-law gave the book to me for a Christmas present about 10 years ago. The book now has a few food smudged pages showing my love. Love.

2. Giada D.L. my second crush helped me take pasta to a new level for my family. I learned to make pesto and a popping cherry tomato sauce through her tutelage. I’ve never watched her show but I’m sure it’s lovely. For me Everyday Italian will be my go-to for fun pasta.

3. Katie Workman is my latest crush. I picked her up at my Scholastic book fair and kept going back for more. Now her book The Mom 100 Cookbook is a staple for what I need. The Mexican Casserole I made this week will become a staple in my menu rotation.

4. The Grit (Athens, GA) Cookbook-okay I know this is a place not a person but if I could go work in one kitchen in the United States it would be at The Grit. Every time I open this book I find a great quote, a perfect recipe, or an idea I can use. I’ve never had the pleasure to eat there but it is on my food adventure bucket list. My mom gave me this one. (Truth: she bought it for herself and I talked her out of it.) Very crush-worthy. Anybody been there?

5. So Sweet! by Sur la Table. Again I know not a chef but just like #4 so worth the help this book gives me. My desserts leaped to new levels after I purchased this book for Groovy Girl. I’ve made many recipes from this tiny book and especially love the whoopie pie section. Yep, I’m crushing on the staff that put this little one together.

If you are looking for a new chef to follow or a new cookbook to love you would not be disappointed with any of these choices. This post is linked to Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking meme.

Be peaceful~

Weekend Cooking; Green Grad Party!

(Two young party-goers)

We had a spur-of-the-moment party two weekends ago now to celebrate Teenage Boy’s graduation. For the last few years he’s attended a laboratory school attached to University of Northern Iowa and the president of UNI decided to close this wonderful school for budget reasons or because they didn’t believe in it anymore.It wasn’t feasible for the school to stay open. It’s all the same end to an awful equation but the outcome is that given a choice to enter the only other local high school or graduate early he chose the later. His school was funky and small and the other high school is big.

These decisions did not come down the hill until February. Teenage Boy started one of two online courses he would need to take to graduate early. I find that fact alone amazing-his school gives them a full load every year so much so that he only needed 2 classes to fulfill state level graduation requirements! Wow. After a very rocky start, he adjusted to this on-line Language Arts class and as he got closer to finishing we decided we needed to plan a party. He only needed to finish one of the two courses to participate in the ceremony. The physics course he will have to finish by June 18th to get his diploma.

After attending many grad parties in the past we had some ideas of what we wanted from ours. We also had a limited budget to work from but didn’t want to skimp. You only get one chance at a true high school graduation. We wanted to offer Teenage Boy’s favorite easy foods in an eco-friendly fashion.

(the food spread-inside away from the bugs)

We celebrated with turkey hot dogs purchased from a local butcher shop (96 dogs total), popcorn freshly popped that morning with chocolate treats sprinkled throughout-very festive-, Bugles (blechh-but he LOVES them),homemade brownies, freshly chopped coleslaw, freshly baked buns and the best part…Root Beet Floats made with a keg of 1919 root beer. We are not big soda drinkers here but we love an occasional glass of good root beer and this is some of the best!

(me enjoying my own float with my friend, Lynne)

The menu was easy and we didn’t need many tools to eat but we wanted them to be green. I searched a few local stores for paper plate and cup options either made out of recycled materials or compost-ready. I couldn’t find anything in town so I turned to my global market-AMAZON-and found just what I wanted and for reasonable prices. I hate not buying things locally and if I’d had more time I might have spent time convincing a local market to order these items for me but I was in a time crunch.

(TB with his Grandma Janice-she and Gpa Dean flew in from Colorado to surprise him)

The Eco-Section…

All the materials we used were either reusable like the spoons, which were local purchases, and the plates, cups, and napkins (made from sugarcane/corn/wheat). After attending other grad parties we just knew we couldn’t have this large trash can overflowing so we found a way around it. We had a small plastic tub under the outdoor table where the root beer floats were served and had explanation cards on the bins; one was for the compost items and a small one was for the spoons. I have all the compostable stuff in the same bin now with water in it to help it break down before I add it to our own compost ball. A few plates and cups made it into our regular garbage bin and that’s okay as I know eventually they will break down as well. The spoons we have set aside for camping and next year’s home-to-school lunches.

I’m so glad our party is done-it was exhilarating and exhausting! Score one for green grad! Now if we could just find a physics professor for free tutoring we’d be in great shape!!

(Future Graduate or two down one to go..no hurry though!.)

This post is loosely linked to Beth Fish Reads weekend cooking meme.

Click on the link to see many other real food-related posts.

Weekend Cooking; An Easy Green Product to Love

Every Saturday morning this summer my husband has been getting up at the crack of dawn to load up his van and goods from our kitchen to sell at our local farmer’s market. He is steadfast and hardworking. We aren’t farmers though and the only reason he chose to do this is to do something with his church youth group-it was a way to earn money for their mission trip to W. VA. Half way through the summer they had enough so each teen could go on the trip and their original fee was waived. The market kept going though and now the earnings are just getting the youth group fun back in the green.

Handsome husband, Groovy Girl and youth group + customer

My husband learned last Spring how to grow a variety of different sprouts and those have sold well at the market. I started making about 4-5 loaves of my Simple Pot Bread every week and they usually all sold. When I first started experimenting with making multiple loaves I didn’t like wasting the saran wrap the recipe called for to cover the rising bread. I tried using parchment paper and some rubber bands (FAIL-the rubber bands kept snapping off) and ended up in the grocery aisle searching for a solution.

I found a funny looking product by Cover Mate; Stretch to Fit Food Covers. They look like clear plastic shower caps!! They work perfectly to cover bowls of dough, allowing it to rise and then I can use it again and again and again! I dislike throwing things away and I love it when I find a positive solution.

Weekend Cooking is sponsored by Beth Fish Reads. Click to her link to find many more food-related posts. She has a chicken wing recipe that my husband would love-maybe I should make it for him for all those early Saturday mornings he left me snoozing while he tip-toed out and to the market!

Have a peaceful week!

Summer Projects

Okay, I’ve survived the school meetings and have had the opportunity to work in my library and that is the best part. I’ve created a new schedule and checked out some books to a few teachers. I’m working on some lessons plans; long range and the next week or two. Things are coming together.

At home I had two summer projects that I wanted to accomplish:

1.Bring less packaging home by buying in bulk using my own containers

2. Menu Planning so I’m not crazy during the week.

The packaging project has gone quite well and I now have half a shelf in my pantry dedicated to my bulk buying. I planned on practice menu planning this summer but I never got to it!! We DID eat over the summer but it was just fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants-eating. We ate a lot of food from the farmer’s market over the summer and I did a lot of food-related posts for Weekend Cooking but the actually writing out of a plan did not happen. Sooooo…. Beginning of the school year is the perfect time to do this.

I’ve copied off the cute little menu plans from The Sister’s Cafe and I’m reusing a pink binder of Groovy Girl’s. She’s into lime green now and so the pink binder has been tossed out of her room and into my recycling hands.

This week’s plan:

Monday: Pasta with red sauce (prepared by husband because I had Good Spirits Book Club)
Tuesday: ~~Mushroom Soup~~ from She Likes Bento. Take out Pizza purchased by husband because I’m not feeling well and am slacking on the sofa.
Wednesday: Mushroom Soup-I have all the ingredients and it begs to be made.
Thursday: Tofu Stir Fry with garden produce
Friday: White Beans with Garlic and Herbs (from In The Green Kitchen; Alice Waters)
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Roast Chicken with garden potatoes

My plan is to only try two new recipes during the week. The tofu stir fry is an easy recipe for me that I improvise all the time. Just like lesson planning helps me to stay organized at work so to should this menu planning for my after school time.

How is your week shaping up?

Weekend Cooking; Mouth-watering Vegan Chocolate Pudding

My stepdaughter, Kaylee, has been here all week and anytime she is here I step up my cooking. This week I tried three new recipes; one from my Sept. Vegetarian Times and two from Alice Waters’ In the Green Kitchen. All were delicious but the most adored recipe was a Vegan Chocolate Pudding from VT. It was completely unfair to pit this mouth-watering chocolate recipe against two other very good choices so you can find their recipes at the end of this post. Several of us dreamed about the pudding that night after eating it and talked about it the next day.

(image courtesy of Seraphic Singles)

Velvet Smooth Dark Chocolate Pudding (Sept, 2011)

This warm stove-top pudding packs a punch of deep chocolate flavor. It’s the perfect recipe for a quick company dessert or a simple nighttime treat.

3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
3 T cornstarch
2 1/4 cups unsweetened hazelnut or almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 oz vegan semisweet chocolate, chopped

Whisk together brown sugar and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Gradually stir in hazelnut milk, whisking constantly to combine. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, or until mixture thickens. Stir in vanilla, and remove from heat. Add chopped chocolate, and let stand for 1 minute. Stir until smooth.

Mine didn’t thicken as much as I thought it should. We called it chocolate soup but licked our bowls anyway. Now I have to try, try, try to make this again and see if I can perfect it! Oh, the tribulations!

Here is the Lentil Soup recipe.
Here is the Apple Galette recipe.

I’ve loved paging through In The Green Kitchen and am thinking I might have to buy it. Waters’ has it set up with an informative opening about what a green kitchen is and how to stock a green pantry with a great list. Each featured chef has their own section, with their green cooking tip; something like David Tanis’ Simmering Beans advice followed by his recipe for White Beans with Garlic and Herbs, which I plan to make this week.

Weekend Cooking is a weekend meme hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Any food related post can join in-click on her link and take a look at all the other foodie-posts!

Weekend Cooking without the cooking; Food For the Soul

It is blisteringly hot here. We just rode our bikes to the library. It was Groovy Girl’s idea…oh, it was hot, hot, hot especially for a little girl to pedal a bike without gears. We did pick up quite a few tasty nuggets while we were there though so I present to you today a combination Library Loot and Weekend Cooking; a mixed bag of ~~greens~~ books!

Food for the Soul:

1. In The Green Kitchen; Techniques to learn by heart by Alice Waters (2010).

Alice is a food queen, to me! I’ve briefly paged through this handy book and know I’m going to enjoy it. She highlights chefs known for their love of local food and each shares a cooking tip and a recipe. As I open the book at a random page, David Chang is the featured chef , and his tip is “Pickling Vegetables” (81) where he writes about using salt and sugar for quick pickling to serve watermelon, radishes, daikon radishes and cucumbers as appetizers. Right now this sounds like an excellent idea as it doesn’t involve turning on the oven. I may have to request this for my birthday which is just around the corner (Aug. 3rd).

2. Mama Panya’s Pancakes; A Village Tale from Kenya by Mary and Rich Chamberlain; ill. by Julia Cairns (2005).

This is a delightful book from one of my favorite publishing companies, Barefoot Books. Adika and his mother head to the market. As they travel Adika, always one step ahead of his mother, invites all the friends they meet to join them for his mother’s delicious pancakes. He brags and she worries! Mama knows she only has two coins in her pocket to buy flour and a hot pepper. Adika keeps telling his mother it will all work out and as their friend’s arrive for the pancake feast they each have something to share.

The watercolor illustrations are filled with the bold colors of Africa and the end pages have tons of related information including a map of Kenya! I love when a book about a country does that; it makes it so much easier to share that information quickly with students as you read the story. Great choice. Of course, the pancake recipe is included. According to the notes pancakes are eaten around the world and it shares the names-Scotland-bannocks, France-crepes, Mexico-tortillas, Indonesia-dadar gutung and China-bao bing. Now I’ll know how to order one of my favorite foods.

Find other food-related posts at Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking post.

What else did find at the library, you ask?

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (read yesterday’s post and find out why I was happy to find this one on the shelf.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman-It was on the hold shelf for me and it will be my next read after I finish One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus.

A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper-This one just practically jumped off the shelf at me as I perused the YA new shelves.

Now I’m grabbing my book and I’m off to the local water-~~ing hole~~ park to join Groovy Girl and her friend.
Have a blissful weekend whether you’re cooking or not!

ps. I found this great blog, Sweet Mama Jane while perusing for a photo of Alice’s book. Click there to read a full review of In The Green Kitchen.

I've been to the market…

(Beet Greens, Broccoli, basil leaves and Kale peeking
out of my pink market basket)

and at the market I smelled in the beautiful earthy smells of vegetables and dirt. I watched loads of smiling people swirl around all the market stands, picking and choosing food for the week. I love to listen to the questions others ask; “what is this?”, “what do I do with this?”, and “how do I cook this?” I listen to the farmer’s answers, learning myself and sometimes I answer…I love the sense of community a farmer’s market creates.

Myself, I picked a bouquet of kale, a bundle of beets, a small forest of “trees” (broccoli, in our family), and a bag of basil. I plan to roast the beets and steam the head of broccoli for a nice veggie dinner tonight. We also have okra growing in our own garden and I will use my mother-in-law’s recipe for okra mixed with potato to add to our meal.

I look forward to paging through some of my recipe books to figure out something new to do with these beautiful kale leaves. I’ve yet to hit upon a stunning recipe for this healthy vegetable. Any suggestions?

I do have basil growing in our garden but it is not at the BIG leaf stage, which is just how I like it sprinkled on my pasta, sandwich or grains. We planted late after our vacation and I hope to have basil well into September when I can heap it into the food processor and make jars and bags of pesto to help me through the winter season.

What’s selling at your local market? Have you been yet? I encourage everyone to find their local Farmer’s Market and shop their at least once a week. There’s a handy website to locate a market near you: Local Harvest offers lots of information.

This post is linked to Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking meme. Anyone with a food-related post can play along; click on her link to see her review of Gloria Whelan’s book, The Boy Who Wanted To Cook.

Weekend Cooking ; Experimenting with Zero Waste

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Anyone with a food-related post can join in. Stop by her blog to see all the details, find other food-related posts and read about her exciting trip to Book Expo America from a food perspective!

How many of you have heard of Bea Johnson? I hadn’t until my husband showed me this article with video (I cannot get the video to share so click the article to get to the video) at Huffington Post over Spring Break. It inspired me and got me thinking. How could I bring less waste into our home?

We already get the smallest garbage container from the city which makes my husband extremely happy. He gets an insane amount of pleasure from the fact that we barely fill it up while others in the neighborhood tend to overflow their already huge receptacles. So we know we’re on the right track in reducing how much waste we do have but after watching Bea’s video and reading her blog I knew I could stick my toes in and give it a try. Here’s what I’ve done so far…

pasta, brown rice, tamari sauce and Celtic sea salt

I liked her jars with nice snap tight closure but I already had big ball jars with tight fitting lids so I opted to use those. I did buy one new jar from Target to replace a really old container for brown rice. For a couple of weeks now I’ve slowly added more and more products to my bulk buying and I bring my jars with me. I’ve only shopped at my local organic market with my jars because they weigh them for me. I’m unclear yet on whether our more mainstream grocery store will do this (asking would be the first step…Ha) but they do at least have a bulk buying area. I’ve yet to make a meat purchase with a jar in my hand but we do buy fish on occassion and I don’t see why they wouldn’t let me take my “catch” home in a Ball jar.

I’ve purchased all new grains coming into the house this way. Quinoa, barley, my favorite Israeli couscous and of course, rice. As soon as my current economy-size bottle of hand soap is gone I plan to buy this in bulk as well. I guess it is a challenge too not bring home a wasteful container but to purchase more in bulk as well. Now that I’m done with school for the summer (hip, hip, hooraaaah) I plan to experiment more with what I can find locally but for now I feel like I’ve started something and it feels good and simple. I liked Bea’s cotton bags and need to find something similar or attempt to make it.

How many people buy in bulk these days? Is this a change you could make?
Check out Bea’s blog to find many more helpful hints…

Friday Feature; Top Ten Earth Day Books! (and a Fantastic Green Giveaway)

Image licenced by Carol Eldridge Designs

This first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970 and was the idea of Senator Gaylord Nelson. He brought the concept up to President Kennedy in 1962, who agreed to tour the country to raise awareness. I find it ironic that the idea for Earth Day-a way to draw attention to the ecology of our very own planet Earth-has been around since before I was born!
Earth Day facts

Wow…and we need it now more than ever BUT just think if we had really paid attention to President Kennedy’s call for change we might have made more sweeping changes, especially in the car industry! [stepping daintily down from soap box]

I digress when we have books to talk about…

Peaceful Reader’s Top Ten Books about Earth Day/Ecology w/ mini-synopsis:

10. It’s Earth Day! by Mercer Mayer (2008): Little Critter learns about the ice cap melting and polar bears losing their habitat, which gets him motivated to change his habits and invent a climate control machine!

9. Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. (2010) Biscuit and his owner attend a local Earth Day event and learn about many ways to celebrate and clean up our planet.

8. Dinosaurs Go Green!; A Guide to Protecting Our Planet by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown (1992, 2009). A lively romp through what every good dino or human should know about reducing, reusing, and recycling so we don’t become extinct…Told through easy-to-read panels and speech bubbles.

7. Fancy Nancy; Every Day is Earth Day! by Jane O’Connor (2010). After learning about Earth Day at school, Fancy Nancy brings the message home, but creates a bit of a mess when she goes over the top to teach them.

6. We are Extremely Very Good Recyclers by Lauren Child (2009). Lola discovers how much fun recycling can be with the idea that she can earn a free tree to plant and of course, she gets all her classmates to help!

5. What Planet are You From, Clarice Bean by Lauren Child (2002). When she finds out a neighborhood tree is going to be destroyed, Clarice Bean resolves to become an eco-warrior for Planet Earth.

4. The Earth Book by Todd Parr (2010). Everyday eco-advice told with his amazing artwork will teach kids to turn off the water while they brush and so much more!

3. Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg (1990). One young boy, Walter, doesn’t think one hoot about littering and generally messing up the environment until he takes a mysterious journey in his bed.

2. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (1971). Classic tale of creating a need for thneeds (a useless item for sure) and using up all kinds of valuable resources to create and distribute until our landscape is beyond polluted and drab. A must read for everyone!

1. Arthur Turns Green by Marc Brown (2011). A class project has Arthur turning green and D.W. in a panic when she thinks she might be next!

Which brings me to my Giveaway, Giveaway, Giveaway…
and since I’m very new to creating a google form-please leave me your totals and your email with your green comment. Ooops! Thank you Diva for clueing me in…