Help Stop Junk - 'Do Not Mail' Campaign

From the makers of 'Do Not Call', we now have 'Do Not Mail'!

I know sometimes it's nice to see something in the mailbox, even if it is junk, but think about the following numbers next time you pull a handful of wasted paper out of your mailbox.

Junk Mail in the US:

• 100 billion pieces delivered per year
• 800+ pieces per household
• 1/3 of all the mail delivered in the world
• To produce the paper- over 100 million trees, and more greenhouse-gas than 3.7 million cars produce

From the Gristmill 3/11/08

Kitchen Meditation/St Patrick's Day Pudding

To celebrate today's holiday, I decided to come up with a special pudding dessert. It's not really Irish, but it's green!

Sure you can make instant anything these days, but I like to make things by hand. There is something about stirring a pot that forces you to slow down. It's like meditation, just stirring and thinking, and watching something transform before your eyes. Plus it always tastes better and you know exactly what you are eating.

St Patty's Day Tapioca Pudding

Mix the following in a saucepan and let sit for 5 minutes:
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp Instant Tapioca
2 1/5 cups milk
1 egg, beaten

Cook over medium heat and stir until it boils and bubbles even while stirring. Remove from heat and stir in 3-4 Tbsp Creme de Menthe (more or less for your taste).

Cool for 20 minutes and serve. You can chill if you like, but I love warm creamy pudding!

I also served the pudding in glasses and topped with pastel mints for a cute finishing touch.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Project: Use less Plastic

Since my post earlier this year on the dangers of Plastic I have been working on reducing my use of plastic in my everyday life. Here is an update on how it's been going.

Water bottles- I invested in some nice stainless steel Klean Kanteen (27 oz) water bottles. The water tastes so much better, and stays nice and cool. The bottles are heavy duty, but not too heavy to carry, easy to clean, and easy to carry. My next investment will be the Klean Kanteen 40 oz size to have a bigger one for camping and backpacking.

Storage containers- I have been using mason jars for most food or beverage storage. Food and drinks taste better without the plastic taste that I didn't realize was there until I switched. Mason jars are great reusable containers for juice, dried goods, leftover soups or sauces and many other things. I hope to get some glass storage containers for other leftovers. I have also been making my own salad dressing and yogurt in mason jars.

Lunch- I stopped using disposable baggies and now keep my sandwich and snacks in hard plastic containers (I know, still plastic, but better than throwing it away!) which I wash right after I eat so they are clean for the next day. I stopped buying pre-sliced cheese and bread, cutting down on plastic packaging. I make my own yogurt and bring it in tiny 1/2 cup sized mason jars.

Shopping Bags- My next project is to stop the accumulation of shopping bags in my house by making my own reusable grocery bags out of old t-shirts. I'll let you know how that goes!
(I do use the excess bags as garbage bags, so I'm practicing conserving those by dumping little trash cans into one big bag in anticipation of a shortage.)

Any other ideas or tips on how to reduce use of plastic for our health and the environment? Feel free to leave comments!

Big Organic

A member of my organic gardening group found this chart from Good Magazine that shows who really runs the Organic brands that we see in the store. For example, I did not know that Kashi, a brand of crackers and cereals that I love, is owned by Kellogg. 'Back to Nature' is a Kraft company.
Wow! I suppose the food is 'organic', but...

As my group member stated 'Just another reason to grow your own.'

Also, see this website by Philip Howard of Michigan State University.

It has some pretty amazing charts showing:

• Organic Industry Structure
• When the big companies acquired the organic brands and introduced their own,
• Independent labels
• Private label organic brands

Ideas from the Garden Show

My sister and I made our way down to the 2008 Chicagoland Flower and Garden Show this week to try to get a glimpse of spring and some inspiration for the year.

My favorites this year:

Hyacinths! I just love the bright color and the sharp fragrance of the hyacinth that were massed in the garden displays.

Succulents- Tiny cactus, jade, hens and chicks and other succulents abound this year. I'm going to try a container garden with these cute little plants.

I absolutely love this color combination with the brown pussy willow branches and yellow-green dogwood. Must be my favorite color palate this year, my favorite table design display was this ensemble of greens and browns, complete with fruit and feathers as accents!

Oxalis violaceae- huge purple leaves as pretty and showy as flowers.

Beautiful colorful butterflies- I could look at these displays all day, simply fascinating creatures.


This little mini-garden with wine corks and moss gave me an idea for what to do with the corks I just can't throw away!


Water features with systems that collect and recycle rainwater.

Pesticide Residues in our Food (and Milk!)

I saw this article on Grist today: Got chemical and pesticide residues in your milk? Conventional milk contains toxics, says the USDA

They mention a report from the Organic Center on pesticide residues in our foods. It lists the conventionally grown foods that can contain the highest amounts of toxins (They also have a 2page summary that lists the top ones by domestic and import).

The scary part is the information about milk. Tests found that even organic milk (probably from industrial organic dairies) had trace amounts of pesticide residues, mostly from bio-accumulation of pesticides like DDT used many years ago. So, that brings up the industrial-organic question again. Is it worth twice the price to buy organic products if they are not that much better than conventional?

What to do? Give up dairy? I don't see that happening, especially here in Wisconsin, where it is a major food group. I imagine small local dairies, and pasture operations have better milk, but the costs would probably make it difficult to make the switch. Looks like I need to do some research!

Spend Less and Eat Healthier-Benefits of a Good Grocery List

How to plan your grocery list to avoid impulse purchases

I can get in and out of the grocery store in less than half an hour. I spend almost half of what I used to on weekly groceries and I buy healthy food. What's my secret? I have a good organized system. With just a little planning ahead and a really good list, you too can avoid those little impulse buys that can add up to have big effect on your budget and your waistline.

The first step to getting organized going through your kitchen and writing down all the items you use on a regular basis. Next, go through the list and cross off all the unhealthy things and replace them with a healthier alternative (If it's not in the house, you can't eat it!). Organize the products by location in the store, and make your master list.

I find it easier to make my own custom list and print out copies. You can bind, staple, or clip together and hang it on or near the fridge. Pre-made lists can work but everyone likes and uses different foods, and seldom will you find one that works as well for you as your own custom list. Blank notepads are better than nothing, but they force you to remember each week what you use and need, and you risk forgetting things and making extra trips...MORE

Clearing the Clutter- in the Kitchen

I wrote this article after hearing about a new book, Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?, about how clutter in the home can be detrimental to our health. While some of it may be hype for another fad diet, I believe there is some truth to the idea that having a disorganized kitchen can make it difficult to eat healthy. If we have too many unnecessary gadgets and our cupboards overflowing because of our need to buy things, chances are our eating habits are similarly driven by a need to consume.

Organize your kitchen by clearing the clutter
I know there are probably people out there that can be perfectly happy and healthy in clutter, but for many of us, a house full of clutter can bring anxiety, inefficiency and stress to our daily lives. Clutter can start to get out of control in one area of your house and spread until it seems too overwhelming to tackle. Where do you start? It helps to think of the most used room in the house with the highest traffic. For many households, that would be the kitchen. We all have plenty of excuses why our kitchens are not clutter-free, but I'm here to say you will be amazed what a few simple changes can do. Let go of those excuses and get started! MORE...

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is still here?

Most studies since the MSG scare found that that it has no effect on most people if used in normal concentrations (In 1995 the FDA cleared MSG as a health risk), but MSG still has a stigma attached to the name. It is still there in our food, but with a different name.

Synthetically produced glutamates under the names hydrolyzed soy protein, autolyzed yeast, yeast extracts, protein concentrates and other additives add flavor to many of our processed foods, especially those looking for meaty type flavors. Labeling as MSG is only required when it is a direct ingredient. Glutamates can also be in ingredients labeled as vegetable broth or chicken broth.

MSG was used as a cheap, synthetic alternative to get the flavor 'umami' (the flavor of glutamic acid, which is found naturally in many savory foods) “Just like salt and sugar, it exists in nature, it tastes good at normal levels, but large amounts at high concentrations taste strange and aren’t that good for you,” says Dr. Chaudhari of the University of Miami, who has studied glutamates.

My favorite part:

"Nacho-cheese-flavor Doritos, which contain five separate forms of glutamate, may be even richer in umami than the finest kombu dashi (kelp stock) in Japan.
No wonder they taste so good."

Yes, MSG, the Secret Behind the Savor
New York Times, Published: March 5, 2008

New Online Photo Gallery

I am proud to announce my new photo gallery online- where you can order different sized prints of my photos, and other items made with my photos such as greeting cards, puzzles, and mugs.

Check out my Gallery:

• Orchids and Houseplants
  
• Nature in My Backyard
  
• Outdoor Adventures
  

Feel free to contact me about projects including photo books, personalized cards custom photos, announcements, or other items.

Hopeful Homesteader

I am on a journey that I hope will someday take me to a more simple life, living on a few acres (or more!) in the country, living off my land in a sustainable way, getting back to my roots...

For now, I'm practicing on almost an acre of land, complete with old barn and chicken coop. The problem is, I'm smack dab in the middle of town. It's a small town, but big enough where the Village Clerk looks at you funny when you ask exactly how many chickens you are allowed to have in town.

I would really like to have a few chickens, we used to raise them growing up, and I miss the fresh eggs and knowing where my food came from. I have been looking into 'Chicken Tractors', cages or pens that are open on the bottom and moveable so the chickens can scratch to their hearts content. This should not only mow the grass, reduce weeds and bugs, but also provide natural fertilizer.

It looks like I will have plenty of time to research and plan my poultry project, because of our ambitious plans for the garden this year. One thing at a time, like I said, it's a journey...

Links for more info:

• See some pictures of Chicken Tractors at the City Chicken
• Mad City Chickens- the urban poultry underground

Lots of books out there on the subject:

• Chicken Tractor: The Permaculture Guide to Happy Hens and Healthy Soil
• Chickens In Your Backyard: A Beginner's Guide
• Backyard Poultry Naturally
• Keep Chickens! Tending Small Flocks in Cities, Suburbs, and Other Small Spaces

Handmade Greeting Cards

More cold winter weather made for a weekend full of projects- baking bread, making soup, checking things off the house to-do list, and of course some crafty stuff.

See the silly greeting cards I made that are newly listed in my Etsy shop:

My Favorite Sunsets

Click here to view this photo book.

Connect the Dots...

As I peruse the NY Times (online of course, it saves money and paper, especially now that it is completely free access) I sometimes notice the various blogs on the sides. I have been intrigued by the title of one blog in the Dining Section called 'Bitten', and today I finally decided to check out an interesting looking post on Kitchen Myths.

I discovered the reason for the name- author Mark Bittman. He not only writes the 'Minimalist' column in the Dining & Wine Section (right up my alley!) but also happens to be the author of my new kitchen 'bible'. Maybe everyone already knows this, but I had an 'Aha!' moment as I connected all the dots.

I 'inherited' his cookbook How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food when combining households, and it has become my textbook. It is an amazing book, I was just remarking the other day how much I like the way it is laid out. It is a great way to learn because it teaches the basics in an easy to understand way, and then offers variations. This is how he fits so much information into one book, he doesn't repeat the basics for every recipe. It is very well organized, at least for how I like to learn and work in the kitchen. He also has How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food .

Get Out There!

In Americans Spending Less Time in Nature a biologist at University of Illinois releases trends from data gathered on outdoor activities. He found that over the last decade, the percentage of Americans that fish, camp, visit parks, or take part in other nature-based activities has declined at a little over 1% each year (With the exception of hunting which has stayed the same, and backpacking which has risen slightly).

While people who do participate in those outdoor activities may say 'Good, more peace and quiet for me out there', it can have an affect on the future of our natural spaces. People who do not visit the parks or other natural places might be less likely to protect or support them. Without funding and support, our public natural spaces may cease to be.

So what are you waiting for? There are probably many natural areas near you that you don't even realize are there. Check out your state's DNR website and explore the possibilities.

Maybe you would really love to do more outdoor activities, but don't have anyone to do them with and don't want to go alone. I was feeling the same way, until I met someone who loves the outdoors as much if not more than I do, who was also member of a local camping/hiking group through Meetup.com. This is a great place to find people in your area with your interests.

Now you have no more excuses (cold doesn't count either, see Winter Camping), so Get Out There!

FYI- The USDA Forest Service's national campaign “Get Outdoors” (launched this February) is trying to encourage children to explore our national forests, learn about healthy outdoor exercise, and learn more about the natural world.