Eco Living

As Food Prices Rise, I Get Creative in the Kitchen

by nan on 2011/12/19 · 0 comments

The price of food keeps going up. Every time I go shopping, I realize I can afford less and less. We can’t stop eating, so I learned to make things that were getting too expensive to buy.

> Salad dressing #1 – A large bottle of vinaigrette dressing was about $4.25 last time I checked. Daniel gave me a recipe his mom used when he was a kid. I made it, then tweaked it to be even less expensive and more convenient.

Recipe:
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 cloves crushed garlic

Mix in a jar and refrigerate. Simple!

Tweak:
Make your salad. Drizzle olive oil on it, and stir it up. Drizzle soy sauce on it, and mix it up again. Eat. No mixing, make it on the spot, no forethought. Simple and inexpensive! A few teaspoons of olive oil and soy sauce go a long way.

> Salad dressing #2 – When cabbage and carrots were fresh in late summer, we were making Cabbage Salad (recipe forthcoming), grating carrots and slicing thin pieces of cabbage. We poured store bought poppy seed dressing on it, but this was getting expensive. I checked the ingredients on the bottle and googled for similar recipes. Cooks.com has the perfect dressing. It uses ingredients you should have right on hand, too!

2 c. sugar
2 tsp. dry mustard
3 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/4 cup white vinegar
2 1/3 cup canola oil
3 tsp. poppy seeds

You can blend this in a blender on slow, but I put it all in a one quart mason jar, shake it and put it in the fridge. It tastes the same as the store bought brand! And it’s way cheaper!

> Yogurt – A quart of organic yogurt is $3.79-4.79, depending on where you shop. We eat 2-3 quarts a week. That adds up to way too much money a month. I found a simple recipe to make yogurt in a crock pot from Stephanie O’Dea. Check the link for the whole recipe including ways to add fruit and sweeteners. Here’s my shortened version:

Take 1/2 gallon of milk, and put it in your crock pot on Low for 2.5 hours. Turn it off for 3 hours. Put 2 cups of the warm milk in a bowl, and add 1/2 cup plain vanilla yogurt as starter. Stir, then put it all back in the crock pot, cover and leave for at least 8 hours. Voila! Yogurt! Save 1/2 cup for your starter for the next batch.

I accidentally left it to sit for 9.5 hours last week, and it was thicker than the 8 hour version. I use old yogurt containers to store it in the fridge. I eat it plain with a little stevia or with granola, nuts, honey and raisins. A half gallon of milk is $3.99, roughly the price of one quart of store bought yogurt, and it makes two quarts! This has been a huge money saver for me. Thanks, Stephanie!

> Barbecue sauce – This is what I’m looking for today. My younger daughter, the picky eater, will eat a chicken breast if it is baked with bbq sauce on it. Store bought is about $4.00 a jar, and most contain high fructose corn syrup. Bad! So I’m on a mission to learn to make my own while she is away on vacation with her auntie. I’ll post this as soon as I find a good one.

There are things I have always done to save money and packaging in the kitchen. I make my own tortillas – very cheap, very organic and very fresh. I also cook beans from scratch. Canned beans are such a rip off! For $2.00 or more, you get about a cup of beans. The rest of the can is water. I buy canned beans for emergencies and last minute meals, and I buy refries. But if I need beans for chili, soup, hummus or falafels, I plan ahead and cook them for an afternoon in the crock pot.

And, needless to say, I grow a lot of my own food. Have you looked at the price of produce lately?! If you don’t have a yard big enough for a garden, you can grow in pots in sunny windows or under lights. Pots can go outside in good weather and come in for winter.

Take a look at your food budget. What can you make that would save you money? Cooking at home is better health-wise, too. It’s not always about money, but as food prices keep going up, I am more motivated to make my own so I don’t have to sacrifice my eating habits.

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My Electricity Use – You Can Learn From It!

by nan on 2011/12/15 · 2 comments

People always ask me why my electric bill is so low. In summer, it’s about $30.00, in winter, maybe $40. When my older daughter comes home with her electric hair straightener, blow dryer and other gadgets, it goes up, but never past $50. Friends tell me their bills are $100 or more all year round. As much as you ask me why mine is so low, I have to ask why yours is so high!

Here’s my electricity scenario.

> I have CFLs in fixtures that are on a lot. That is where they do the most good.

> I have two TVs. One is on a power strip that gets turned off when it’s not in use (and it’s not used much). The other is in my daughter’s room and is on most of the evening.

> We have two laptops that are plugged in most of the time.

> We have two cell phones that don’t need charging every day.

> I have a toaster, microwave and coffee pot that are unplugged when not in use.

> I have satellite dishes for TV and internet.

> I don’t have a clothes dryer. I hang laundry outside in good weather and on racks inside in bad weather.

> I have a Sunfrost refrigerator. My energy audit said it ‘squeezes kilowatts until they scream’. When I put this fridge in a rental back in 1998, it cut my electricity bill in half! I’m guessing a conventional refrigerator would jack up your bill.

> I keep lights off in rooms or areas I’m not using.

> I have a lot of windows for natural light so I don’t need to turn on lights during the day. I shared an office with a woman a few years ago. She would close the blinds and turn on a lamp! It made me crazy!

> My solar hot water system has a pump to move the glycol around the panel and the hot water tank.

What’s your scenario? I’m curious to see the difference!

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Express Yourself! Journaling Workshop, January 2012

by nan on 2011/12/05 · 0 comments

As we unconsciously let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. Marianne Williamson

Many people make a New Year’s resolution or pledge to start journaling. There is something about New Year’s Day that is fresh, giving you a blank slate to start over with. January 1 says, to me, that the old can be forgotten and forgiven, and we can make a new reality.

What better way to do that than with a journaling workshop?

How do you journal? Do you sit down every day with your journal and write about what you’ve been doing, who you saw, books you read or movies you watched? Do you feel like you’re in a rut? Do you need to dig deeper more creatively?

Express Yourself! is a 5 week journaling workshop designed to give you new ideas about journaling. While you explore new ways to journal, you will find out more about who you are and how you operate. Be honest with yourself, open up, and put your discoveries in your journal.

You will:

> write a self-portrait
> find the value in unsent letters
> use random words to create a journal entry
> write from a photograph
> create a journal jar

You will take these lessons with you as you continue to explore yourself through journaling.

The workshop will be held in a Google Group, which will be private. All conversations are confidential – nothing leaves the workshop.

I will post lessons on Wednesday mornings, and I respond as soon as possible. Conversation among all participants is encouraged. We learn and grow by opening up to others. I have made lifelong friends through these workshops! They are fun and expansive.

Testimonials

“Thank you!! I always get a lot out of your poking and prodding.” Sue

“I have to tell you again that I truly enjoyed this workshop and getting the feedback from you that I did.” Lisa

“I think of you often and always think about what you taught me.” Erin

“Thanks for a wonderful experience! I learned much — and have felt so much more creative!” Danielle

Details:

> Jan 11 – Feb 8 You can sign up until Jan 15!
> $75 payable through PayPal below – If you need to pay another way, leave a comment, and I’ll get back with you ASAP.
> When I receive your payment, I will add you to the group. As the class draws near, I will post some guidelines and ask that you introduce yourselves.

Thanks! I am looking forward to meeting you and working with you! This workshop is something you will refer to over and over in the future.

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Swift, Sweet, Simple Squash Soup

by nan on 2011/11/30 · 0 comments

I was so hungry last night, and there was nothing already made to heat up. In the fridge, though, I did find some vegetables. So, while I munched on crackers, I made soup real fast. It was really sweet and SO simple! All these ingredients, except for the oil, bay leaf and rice came off the farm. Squash and kale are fall crops, so you can make this fresh for many months! photo: flickr WhitA

olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
1 quart vegetable broth (This is water I save from steaming vegetables or boiling potatoes.)
bay leaf
cooked winter squash (This is what makes it sweet! I had half a buttercup squash leftover.)
kale
herbs: dill weed and lots of basil
cooked rice

Saute the onion in olive oil on medium heat. When it’s almost completely translucent, add the garlic, and turn the heat to low. Stir to keep the garlic from burning. When it’s almost cooked through, add the broth and bay leaf. Heat to a simmer, then add the squash, kale leaves and herbs. When the kale is cooked, add the rice, and heat it through. All these foods, except the kale, are already cooked, so it doesn’t take long to heat them up! And kale takes 5 minutes to cook.

You can buzz this in the blender to make portable soup. In a bowl, it would be good served with Jack cheese grated on top and homemade muffins. I had neither, but it was still delicious!

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The Drawbacks of Angled Windows in Passive Solar Building

by nan on 2011/11/07 · 1 comment

A friend of mine is adding a solar greenhouse to a long south wall of his house. He was toying with the idea of angling the windows to catch the winter sun more directly. I told him not to. Here’s why.

Angled windows, yes, do catch the low angle of the winter sun very well. But they also allow the captured heat to escape. Heat rises, and the window is an upper surface, not unlike a ceiling. Heat rises and goes out the window. (photo: flickr jessicareeder)

In summer, angled windows catch unwanted sun and heat up the house, which calls for more cooling and unnecessary energy spent. Shade cloth does not block enough sun to warrant angled windows. (photo: flickr stereogab)

I have never had a problem with heat loss and overheating with windows placed in a straight wall. If the windows face due south and have an overhang, the high angle of the summer sun will not reach inside. Winter sun shines in easily. This is the basis of good passive solar design. (photo: Wikipedia)

A few years ago, I was in a small earthship style home that was originally built with angled windows. The owner said it was 85˚ indoors late at night in winter! There was too much heat absorbed in the thermal mass. Overkill. The owner rebuilt the wall with straight windows and lived much more comfortably after that.

I hope my friend heeds my advice, especially since he is planning on running ducts below his planting beds. He wants to circulate the heated air under the soil while sun beats down on his plants year round. I say more overkill, but I’ll keep you posted on this project!

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Create a Writing Ritual

by nan on 2011/11/05 · 1 comment

My journaling ritual is very simple, but it works. I get my coffee maker ready at night before I go to bed. I open my journal and put it on the kitchen table with my pen.

In the morning, I get up as soon as I first wake up. I push the button on the coffee pot, pee, let the dog out, and sit at the kitchen table, where the journal is ready for me. I sit and write while the coffee brews, and finish up while I drink it.

Morning is my favorite time to write. My mind is fresh, I think well, my dreams are still alive. I write until I feel I’m done. Sometimes I go on for an hour, sometimes the garden or a fresh snowfall calls me outside.

I’ve tried writing at night, getting into bed to write about the day. It’s a good time for a wealth of information and emotions to spew forth, but more often than not, I was just too tired. Mornings are most productive for me.

For those of you who already write, you probably have a ritual. If you’re just starting out, experiment. Write in the morning, write in the evening, write in the middle of the day, indoors, outdoors, quiet places, noisy places. The point of creating a ritual is to get you to write regularly!

Go to a cafe every Saturday morning.

Light some candles. (photo: flickr alykat)

Turn on some inspiring music.

Write with friends once a week.

Write in a hot bath.

Go for a walk before you write. Or reward yourself with a walk when you’re done.

Set up your writing area before you write.

Again, find what works for you, because journaling is very subjective. It’s for you, so make it for you. Make journaling a regular ceremony that will make you feel safe and entice you to write deeply.

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Roasted Garden Vegetables

by nan on 2011/09/27 · 2 comments

This recipe has morphed over time, as all recipes do. It started out as a dish my late friend, Cate, used to make when her kids were little. She’d put chicken legs, potatoes and carrots in a cast iron skillet and baked it for an hour. I expanded that to, from bottom to top, a full cut-up chicken, potatoes, carrots, zucchini and onion in a cast iron Dutch oven. After about 45 minutes, I brought the chicken to the top, then put it back in the oven with the lid off to brown for the last 15 minutes. The chicken and zucchini made juice that we’d pour over the potatoes.

When both my daughters went away to school, I eliminated the chicken and roasted a big variety of vegetables. A typical summer day here is clear and warm until mid-afternoon, when it normally clouds up and rains. The temperature can drop from 85 to 60 in one cloudburst. This is great cooking weather! I don’t know many people that bake in July or August, but we do!

Roasting vegetables is a great way to use up the overflowing garden bounty. Your dish can be different every time, depending on what’s available. If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can probably use a large baking dish or a lasagna pan. I’ve never had anything but cast iron, so you will have to experiment with what works best for you.

In your baking pan, layer your vegetables. From bottom to top, these are my favorites:

potatoes, quartered
carrots, 1/2″ slices
beets, quartered
zucchini, thick slices
apples, quartered – one or two
onion, thick slices to make rings that cover the top
a few tablespoons of water to keep it from burning until the vegetables start releasing water

Bake at 375 covered. You may want to reduce your temperature to 350. I think 375 works well with cast iron. Experiment! After 45 minutes, check to see if the potatoes are done. When they are, the rest is cooked through. You can bring the potatoes to the top and brown them if you like. I’ve never done this, though.

Sometimes I leave out the potatoes and serve the vegetables over rice. Sometimes I add a box of drained tofu between the beets and the zucchini.

Jack cheese is really good melted over the top of individual servings. I serve steamed kale with this. Greens don’t survive roasting! This dish lasts for several meals, and if there are leftovers, they go into a pot of soup.

Root crops work best for this dish, and since so many are ready in fall, this is a great dish to warm up the house on chilly evenings. Experiment with your favorites. This is another no-recipe recipe with lots of flexibility! That’s the only way to cook, if you ask me.

Enjoy!

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The Tarantula Totem

by nan on 2011/09/10 · 0 comments

Creativity and Weaver of Fate

A spider totem teaches you balance –
between past and future, physical and spirit,
male and female.
She is strength and gentleness combined.
She awakens creative sensibilities
and reminds you that the past is always
interwoven with the future.

Tarantulas (and all spiders) are the keepers of
the primordial alphabet
and can teach you how to write creatively.
Her body is shaped like the number 8 and she has 8 legs,
which is symbol of infinite possibilities of creation.
Her 8 legs represent the 4 winds of change and
the 4 directions of the medicine wheel.

Spider’s message is that you are an infinite being
who will continue to weave patterns
of life and living throughout time.
Do not fail to see the eternal plan of creation.

Those who weave magic with the written word
usually have this totem.

Reprinted with permission from Lin at linsdomain.com

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Ideas for Simple Living

by nan on 2011/09/05 · 4 comments

To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but to so love wisdom as to live according to its dictates a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity and trust. Thoreau

Pay off your credit cards. Save one for emergencies, and cancel the others.

Cut back your expenses. Don’t buy anything you don’t need. Make a list when you go shopping to avoid impulse spending.

De-clutter. It’s always time for spring cleaning. If you haven’t used something in a year, sell it, recycle it or give it away. Keep only the things you use all the time.

Conserve energy at home, work and in the car. Turn down the thermostat, turn up the air conditioner, and drive the speed limit.

Recycle everything. If anything has a second use, don’t throw it away.

Sit alone in the quiet every day. No phone, no computer, no book or magazine, just the beauty and silence around you.

Work at something you love. Turn a passion into a job, career or business. Remember to balance work and play.

Reduce stress. Sit with your feet flat on the floor and consciously breathe for a minute or two. Do this several times a day when you feel overwhelmed.

Find release. Laughing, crying and making love release you emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Spend time outside every day. Go for a walk, watch a sunrise or sunset, breathe in fresh air, and enjoy the natural world you are a part of.

Unplug. Connect with people in real time.

Be a good person, and take care of yourself. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz comes to mind:

•Be impeccable with your word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
•Don’t take anything personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
•Don’t make assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
•Always do your best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

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Portable Soup

by nan on 2011/08/29 · 0 comments

Every recipe has a story, and this one is no different. You have to read to the end to see how this dish got its name.

This is another no-recipe recipe. When the greens are overflowing in the garden, this is what I do with them.

olive oil
1 onion, chopped
garlic, crushed and chopped – to taste, which is 2-3 cloves for me
1 quart vegetable broth (Water saved from steaming greens and/or cooking potatoes. I save it in quart containers and freeze it.)
1 bay leaf
3 med sized potatoes, quartered
4-5 carrots chopped
2 huge bunches Swiss Chard, chopped or torn (You can use kale, spinach, beet greens – whatever is in abundance)
herbs (I like sage, tarragon and savory with this, and I add cayenne to everything!)

Saute the onion in olive oil. When it is translucent, add the garlic and stir so it doesn’t burn. When it smells really garlicky, add the broth and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, add the potatoes, carrots and herbs, turn the heat to medium, and cover. When the potatoes and carrots are almost cooked (15- 20 minutes), add the chard. Simmer with a lid on until everything is cooked through (maybe 15 minutes).

Remove the bay leaf, and buzz the soup in a blender bit by bit. Put in a cup or so, and buzz til it’s blended. Pour that batch into a separate pot. Add another cup or two, and buzz. Do this to the whole pot of soup, and you’re done! Serve with grated parmesan or jack cheese melted on top. Dunk bread or crackers in it.

You can exchange the potatoes for cooked brown rice, which you would add after the carrots are done. You can saute zucchini or add grated beets. The only thing you have to be sure of is that everything is cooked thoroughly so it will buzz well. The soup should be a thick liquid.

I put this soup into quart yogurt containers to store. One night, Daniel breezed in on his way back to the farm from town. It was dinner time, but he didn’t have time to sit and eat, so I gave him a container of soup to take home and heat up. He called me later to tell me he drank it in his truck on the ride home.

When I told Kevin Gilkes this story, he called it Portable Soup.