Readjusting Priorities

It's been about a year since I started this blog, with (as always) the best of intentions. In some things (eating locally, healthfully, naturally) I've been fairly successful. In others, not so much.

Organic gardening was fun, but driving across town 3-5 times a week no longer became practical when my daughter went to middle school. First off, I have to take half my lunch break to drive her to school in the morning due to scheduling conflict, so the remaining 30 mins only allows me enough time to eat quickly and not enough time to drive across town to water my plot. There isn't a branch of the organic gardening co op on my side of town, so I had to let it go. I still have the herb garden, and potatoes and lettuce in pots on my porch. Right now, that will be the best I can do, besides shop at the farmer's market down the road from me.

I don't have a suitable spot in the yard to create another one, but I might co-opt one of my former flower beds and try it there if I can figure out how.

The recycling and reusing project has gone much better. We are recycling and reusing a majority of our waste, with plastics going into the bin and glass jars being reused. We fill up our bins almost weekly now, and we only put out one small bag of trash a week, so that's not too bad. We still buy a lot of second hand stuff, and generally most things bought have more than one use most of the time.

All in all, it isn't possible in today's society to be 100% green without significant effort, but strides are possible. Different choices can be made, I think, to make a life less consumptive, and more environmentally friendly. It may not be possible to grow your own food all the time, but it is possible to make sensible, thoughtful choices like fair trade, organic coffee (pay the true price of those beans!), and free range eggs or local produce.

One Bird, 4+ Meals, Sponge Cake, Yogurt and A Canner

Okay, well my crowning achievement right now is what I call 'Four+ From One'. I bought a free range, organic roasted chicken and turned it into more than four meals.

The first meal was the breast of the chicken, with the skin removed. We're white meat fanatics in this house and there is nothing like a tender bit of meat served with Brussels sprouts and maybe some quinoa or wild brown rice mix. Simple, filling and delicious!

The second meal was from the darker meat. I took it off the rest of the chicken and broke it into pieces. Using organic chicken broth and vegetables, with a touch of flour (or corn starch, if you prefer), I made chicken pot pie filling. With a batch of simple whole wheat pie crust, it became a delicious chicken pot pie. In our case, we made a hybrid form of shepherd's pie because I put homemade mashed potatoes on the top just for fun.

I made enough filling with the darker meat for two pies, but chicken pie gets old if you have it repeatedly for two weeks. lol We're a smallish household (2-3 people) and variety makes eating at home just as enjoyable as any meal out. Especially if one of the eaters agrees to help with clean up! So, instead of another pie I decided to save and freeze the other pie filling to be served over rice as chicken a la king. It is a comfort food I had in childhood, and it was right to bring it back into adulthood.

Once the carcass was stripped of meat, I tossed it into a stockpot with the necessary veg (onion, carrot, celery, a small potato) and made chicken stock. About 2 quarts worth, actually. lol I froze it in quart containers and it will have a future as chicken noodle or rice soup, or in a casserole of some kind, who knows?

This is the kind of thing that makes my heart sing, you know? When that chicken carcass was finally sent away to be disposed of, it had gotten its full use. And even though meat of this kind can be expensive, we have managed to make it completely cost effective! It's as close to perfect as a frugal green foodie can get!

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One of the things that I like about the Internet is that it exposes me to new things. I was looking for a good, simple sponge cake recipe that had few ingredients and wasn't too complicated to make. And of course, I found one. Kasutera, or Castella, is a simple Japanese sponge cake that has a lovely taste and meets all of my specifications for simplicity and ease.

Here is the basic recipe I used:

Kasutera

My cake came out beautifully - gorgeous, light and fluffy. It was an immediate hit in our house and I can see how it would be good for light social occasions. And yes, it really is best the next day!




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Yeah, I made yogurt. It's been a while, but it turned out pretty well. I decided to start making it again after I checked the sugar content in the fruited yogurts (even, disappointingly, the organic ones!) I had been eating. There was a lot of sugar in there. So, I resolved to make my own and eat it with fresh fruit instead.

Like bread, yogurt, once started, is pretty self-evolving. Once the milk has been sterilized and cooled, and the starter added, just put it in a draft-free area (I put mine in a warm 115F water bath in my stock pot inside my oven. Eight hours later, voila! Enough yogurt for a week (I just did 2-3 cups of milk due to household size.)

Once set, I put it into clean glass jars I had prepared at the start and refrigerated it. Done.

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My splurge, if you will, was a $20 water bath canner. You can do it without a real one, as many a mountain woman or homesteader will attest, but it's better to do it with one. Less breakage of the jars and it really is worth 10x what it costs to buy. The one I purchased online will hold 7 jars, with a rack and is stainless steal with an enamel coating.

Now that we're bringing home large amounts of food from the organic co-op, we're having trouble storing it all. It will be nice to be able to can certain things, and give my freezer and fridge a little breathing space. Plus, it feels like you're being useful, doing something like that. I know when civilization falls apart, I'll be in beans, peas and home-canned and frozen food for a while. Add to that my herb garden, the co-op plot, I bake bread, my neighbors' orange trees and that I recently planted blueberry shrubs in my yard, we'll eat. And fairly well, too. All without pesticides or anyone having control over our food supply, with the exception of meat and dairy. Try as I might, though, my neighborhood covenant won't permit chickens or a cow! lol

My actual goal is to be as independent as possible from mass food conglomerates. We're a long way off, but we're making progress and keeping to the outside aisles of the store 90% of the time, when we go. Fruit, veg, dairy and fish/chicken are the bulk of our diet. The only time we're traveling to the inside aisles is for coffee and grains. (I haven't bought any coffee bean plants yet, but I'll keep you posted! I did, however, contemplate buying quinoa or amaranth to grow in my yard.)

Making Marmalade Out of Sour Oranges

It's been a while since I last blogged! The holiday season saw me just as busy as ever, if not busier with visitors, family and friends.

A quick update? I was (s)elected co-manager of the greenhouse at the co-op. I also did a video about a trip to the co-op which I posted to MySpace. I'll post it here, separately as short blog for those who haven't seen it. (It was also my first attempt at using my new digital camera and Windows Movie Maker!)

I'm almost ready to turn over my home garden, and the compost pile. We've added mixed paper recycling to our glass, plastic, cardboard and metal recycling. And some of that shredded paper is going into our compost as well. Then, I'll re-up with the co-op, this time for a full plot. I've got Spring plans that include beans, peppers, tomatoes, okra, carrots, corn and squash (zucchini and yellow). I'll need more room!

So, on to the point of this blog - Making Marmalade! We were out at the co-op and there was a bunch of fruit and we took some home over the holidays. More than we could reasonably eat. I hate to waste food, so I made some of it into marmalade. It's much easier than you think! Over the winter, when a lot of people were gone their broccoli went into flower, as did their lettuce. We had to trim them down and compost them as they became inedible. It was sad to see all that hard work go into a bin, so I became inspired!

I took out my old Joy Of Cooking and looked up an easy recipe for marmalade. I'd made it before, when I was a kid, with my mother. This time, however, I was on my own.
First, I cleaned (scrubbed) the rinds and washed the fruit thoroughly. Then, I sliced and seeded it. Then, I soaked them in 11 cups of water for 24-36 hours, to soften the rinds and get the good flavorful juices and oils in there. The next day, in the evening, I took out the fruit, removed the pulp and put the rinds into the food processor. While I was doing this, I started the simmering process with the liquor. After bringing the liquid to a boil for an hour, I added the sugar, stirring periodically. I turned the heat down to medium-low so as not to kill the pectin. I continued simmering this way for an hour more until the mixture gelled on the spoon. Then, I turned it off and let it cool in the stainless-steel stock pot.Once it's done, it will keep for 6 months in a crock, or longer if you decide to put it into boiled jelly jars. I put mine in a crock for now (it's about 18 jars worth), but I will jar some in the near future to be put up for longer - or to be given as gifts to friends. I have mixed feelings about using the white sugar, but honey and other liquid sweeteners don't work to gel the jelly. It was organic sugar, so I could keep the marmalade pesticide and chemical-free.

So, there it is. Delicious, homemade marmalade. It's very smooth, tasty and makes a great gift!

Michael Pollan On Bill Moyers' Journal

An excellent broadcast, I highly recommend it:

Bill Moyers Journal Two-Part Interview With Michael Pollan



There's more information on Michael Pollan and also a podcast to listen to, as well.

Michael Pollan's books have been very inspiring to me, in terms of eating healthier and in a more conscientious way - with regard to using resources and where food comes from. Even Barack Obama has referenced Michael Pollan's papers and articles when attempting to decide what to do about the current food crisis. Like the NY Times Op-Ed here:

NYTimed Op-Ed From October 2008

But with a suddenness that has taken us all by surprise, the era of cheap and
abundant food appears to be drawing to a close. What this means is that you,
like so many other leaders through history, will find yourself confronting the
fact — so easy to overlook these past few years — that the health of a nation’s
food system is a critical issue of national security. Food is about to demand
your attention.

Anwyay, it's definitely worth listening to as the weather gets colder and food production and food security seems more on our minds than ever. Does Dr. Pollan have the answers? Who knows? But I do find his research on the subject, and the human tendency to eat what is virtually inedible and call it 'food', absolutely fascinating.

Bump(s) In The Road

Right now, I'm recovering from a http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=sprained+ankle&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title sprained ankle. It's doing much better, though they take a while to heal. I'm walking around, but I have to be careful about doing too much and re-injuring it. So, I've not been able to get to the organic co-op as much as I want. I have been managing about once a week, or so.

And then there's this: http://http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/25/thanksgiving.food/index.html. I really struggle with being green in light of things like this. Personally, I've done as much organic/free range stuff as I can afford this Thanksgiving, and I'm giving thanks that I can. But should we be so picky when trying to feed the hungry? It's the whole 'if a vegetarian is hungry enough, he'll eat a burger' argument, which by the way is true. When I was extremely poor, I ate the bland food of the Krishnas and whoever else wanted to was welcome to feed me, as well. I wasn't likely to complain or insist on free range, grass fed meat.

And yet, eating this way is exacerbating things. It would be nice to wave a magic wand and have all cranberries be organic, and all turkeys grass fed, and all eggs cage-free. But with food prices going up, a 50-cent box of mac-n-cheese is a feast to some.

So, where do you personally draw the line? Ethics? Environment? Full Stomach?

Hey Man, Can You Spare Some Bread?

Whenever people talk about how difficult it is to bake bread, I always scratch my head. I've always baked bread in conjunction with other activities, so to my mind bread virtually bakes itself. I start the yeast and water, put some laundry in the washing machine. Then come back, add some flour, bran, salt and oil, put it in a greased bowl and cover it with a clean, dry towel. I set the bowl on the top of a warm stove or in a recessed area. Then I go do stuff for an hour (vaccuum, play Scrabble, go for a bike ride, whatever...) and come back. I punch the dough down. Sometimes, I enlist the help of the Peanut Gallery™ to help me. Kids love to hit stuff, especially when its sanctioned and legit. Why not dough? Then, it's back to the greased bowl for the second rising. I go do more stuff (put away dishes, move clothes to the dryer, do some ironing...) and it's time to knead it, shape it and pre-heat the oven. If I want loaves, I grease loaf pans. If I want rolls, I shape the dough into balls, with the ends tucked under, and place them on a greased baking sheet. Then, I let them rise about 10-15 mins more, until it's time to place them in an oven. If you want a crisper crust, brush with egg or melted butter, and place a pan of water on the bottom baking rack. Voila! Bread. It's just that easy.

Now, granted, I don't bake bread every week, and it would be a drag if I had to - which is why bread-making is kind of fun still (if utilitarian and useful). It's also cheap. I can make several loaves from one bag of flour. The varieties are infinite. Depending on the kind of bread you want to make, I've used herbs from the garden, or left over mashed potatoes (for potato bread! yum!). I've made challah (it's fun to twist the braids - kids enjoy that, too!) and dried fruit breads...There's something so satisfying to sitting down to a meal where you've grown the food, baked the bread and prepared it yourself...and who knows? One day it will likely include fish I've caught and cleaned (though not anytime soon! Haha!)...

Foods to get COOL Labeling

COuntry of Origin Labeling:

http://http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/09/29/food.origin.labels.ap/index.html

Until now, shoppers have had little clue where many everyday
foods --
meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, certain nuts -- originate.
That's what the
so-called COOL law, for country-of-origin labeling,
changes.
Those who want
to buy local -- or who prefer, say, Chilean
grapes and New Zealand lamb -- can
more easily exercise their purchasing
power. Those worried about lax safety
regulations in certain countries can
avoid those imports. And the next time
tomatoes are suspected of food
poisoning, consumers may be able to tell investigators they bought only ones
grown in a certain region, speeding the probe.

Great news, yeah? Sort of. There are a lot of exemptions, so please still ask. Supermarkets will do this, but the butcher and the fishmonger will not. Foods mixed together are not factored in; still it's a big step towards helping people eat more locally and to avoid contaminated foods.