Compost Happens!

A composting bin is the perfect way to make Earth Day last all year! This is what I've learned...

1. Get a bin (Check this site for options)
2. Layer the bottom with sticks & fill 3/4 full with leaves or newspaper. Add enough water so it resembles a damp sponge.
3. Toss in scraps. Stir. Cover with 3 inches of newspaper or leaves each time you add.
4. After about 6 months you'll have nutrient rich compost.

What do you need to make great compost?
1. air
2. water (moist, but not soaking wet)
3. carbon = brown organic kitchen & yard waste (leaves, straw, wood chips, newspaper)
4. nitrogen = green organic kitchen & yard waste (dry grass, salad ends)

You need a lot more carbon than nitrogen, so rip up your newspapers. And the smaller the pieces you add, the faster the process.


Things to avoid: meat (duh), dairy (double duh), oil & fatty substances like salad dressing, citrus because it's hard to break down, diseased plants, pet poo

Things to add: leaves, sawdust, hay, straw, fruit, clean veggie waste, jack-o-lanterns, coffee grounds including the filter, tea bags

Even the smallest things, when done collectively, can make a big difference.

EARTH & HEART = anagram (photos from today)

I usually don't wear message shirts. Just not my style I guess.

But today I felt good wearing it.

The shirt felt right and good. Literally because it's 70% bamboo & 30% organic cotton and is the softest shirt I own; and figuratively because today, on Earth Day I felt free to be passionate about the environment.



We know Earth Day should be Every Day, and that is even more crucial after 8 dismal years with Bush (arguably the most anti-environmental president in our nation's history). No matter who wins, it'll be a greener white house. We can make sure of that by educating ourselves and those around us, becoming politically active, and voting with our dollars by supporting those who are making efforts to use good environmental practices. Be a proud tree hugger!


Feeling empowered, I decided to make cupcakes! I only needed: Cherrybrook Kitchen chocolate cake mix and vanilla frosting mix, Keebler Bug Bites (yes, they're vegan), the usual suspects, and a jar of beet juice.

I've been "dying" to try natural food dyes since learning that artificial food colors are derivatives of either coal tar or petroleum. Eck. Red #40 has been banned in at least 8 European countries and linked to several health problems. Oooh.


For a craft, the kids painted ladybug rocks.

I vowed that I wouldn't buy anything from the store, and I didn't.

I'm proud of my resistance to not buy more black paint, even though we were dangerously low. You can see, that as it turned out, there was plenty to go around.




We went for a hike to explore some of nature's wonders.


There were 4 moms and 9 kids whose age ranges 1 to 5 years.








Then, we came back for cupcakes. Ta Dahhh!

I like this pastel shade of pink and will keep the beet juice in the fridge. Next time we cook kale, I plan to bottle some of that juice as well.

Anna mentioned that on St. Patrick's Day she put some kale water in with the mashed potatoes and they turned a bright shade of green. Very cool!



My eco-friendly friends brought some cool gifts. Wendy was finished with a couple copies of 'body + soul' and passed them on to me. I flipped through and spotted ads from Matt & Nat and articles on power foods. Another green gift was a basil plant from Anna. Thank you!

Next time, I'll post about my Earth Day gift to myself.... A COMPOSTING BIN!!!!!! Can you tell I'm excited?! Thanks for your composting tips, Anna and Lynn, I'll add water tomorrow. Until then, happy Earth Day today and always.

EARTH & HEART = anagram

"The world will not evolve past its current state of crisis by using the same thinking that created the problem." --- Albert Einstein

Thoughts of Earth Day flood my mind.

Change. Choices. Eco. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Activism. Co-op. Vegan. Global Warming. Phantom. Greendimes. Refashion. CSA. Xeriscape. Composting. Organic. Local. Sustainable. Carbon Footprint.

One thing is for sure.... Being Green is in! People are recognizing that the best chance for a healthy environment is through the everyday efforts of many people rather then the Herculean efforts of a few.

There are lots of ways to Go Green!

REDUCE ~~ Learning to do more with less can be a rewarding and challenging goal. Recently, my neighbor and her friends challenged each other to not buy anything brand-new for 6 months (other than food and basic essentials). She learned to take a moment and consider each purchase and ask: Do I really need this? Can it be reused? Can it be recycled? Can it be bought used? Can I borrow it instead? My neighbor didn't win the competition, but she did save lots of money and felt empowered by not purchasing potential junk. And by telling me her story, it rubbed off on me a little and I began scrutinizing my own purchases. (Talk about the good stuff you're doing to reap the ripple effect!)

REUSE ~~ Take your own canvas bags to the grocery store, keep them in your car, and be proud of them. Stock your kitchen and dining room with cotton rags and cloth napkins instead of paper towels and disposable napkins. Reuse envelopes to send notes to school. Reuse those fancy glass & plastic containers things come in.

RECYCLE ~~ Everything you can to save valuable resources from being wasted, and keep them out of landfills.

WATER ~~ Many of us think of water as an infinite resource, and it seems that way when the faucet is on, but the truth is that water is an increasingly limited resource. Try capturing water from the faucet while you wait for it to warm up and use it to water the plants. Use non-toxic soaps and detergents. Sweep - don't hose down driveways and patios. Refill reusable bottles with filtered water rather than buying bottled water (I want a Sigg!). Eat less meat - producing a 1/4 lb. beef patty requires as much as 2,900 gallons of water, according to Cornell University.

AT HOME ~~ Turn off lights, and replace them with energy efficient compact florescent bulbs. My friend, Wendy, has inspired me to turn down the thermostat and wear slippers and housecoat. I want to unplug & hook up all the devices such as computers, televisions, stereos, coffeemakers and phone chargers to power strips to easily turn them off when not in use to prevent vampire power drain.

Truth is, there are several things on my Green To-Do List. Bicycle more. Trade in for a Prius (or at least something more efficient). Capture rainwater from the gutters. Install solar panels. Plant xeriscape plants and replace grass. Use a clothesline to dry the clothes. The list could go on and on...

It's easy to feel overwhelmed, powerless, and even skeptical that the efforts of any one person will impact the world's environment. Just remember the message in Dr. Seuss's 'Horton Hears a Who.' It cannot be denied that the greater the number of people who resonate with an idea, the greater the impact. That's why the green movement momentum offers so much hope this Earth Day!

What are your Green Goals this Earth Day?

AeroGarden Review

Olivia and I won two Aerogardens in PeTA's Cooking with Kid's Contest (click to see the winning cookie!) which included two seed kits: Italian herb (mint, Italian basil, dill, thyme, parsley, purple basil, chives) and cherry tomato.
Here's a current photo of the herbs, and as you can see it's raging ~ I can barely keep up! In fact, I need to harvest the dill and dry or freeze more basil. If you like to cook with fresh herbs, you would love an AeroGarden. You don't need to be a gardener to be successful, and it's the absolute ultimate in organic, fresh & local!

Here's some dried Italian and purple basil:
1. Cut the stem. Dip the herbs quickly in a bowl of cool water and shake off the excess water. Pat the herbs dry.
2. Cut several holes in a small paper bag. Place the herbs inside, and secure the opening of the bag and the herbs with a string.
3. Hang it upside down for a couple days until dry. The bag protects the herbs from sunlight and keeps it clean.
4. Store in an airtight container ~ an old sea salt container is perfect.

And yes, we've had our share of pesto! And there's quite a reserve in the freezer as well, so don't be surprised to see pesto on baguettes, pasta, pizza, polenta ~ well you get the picture.
Art threw some basil in the risotto last night and the flavor was very apparent and special. It's a fun charge to clip some herbs for a recipe.

As nice as all the herbs are, what I was really looking forward to was fresh tomatoes!!!!!



But that was not to be. I pulled the plug on my "experimental" tomato plants recently because they grew into the grow lamps rapidly, singeing the leaves, making me trim them back buds and all only to do it all over again. Please understand that these were NOT the original Aerogarden seed pods. The original seedlings were plucked out by my mis-guided 2 year-old gardener. Not wanting to waste the nutrients or opportunity to have fresh winter tomatoes, I started again & "cheated" with regular cherry tomato seeds from a packet. Experiment failed.

The AeroGarden fueled my desire to move away from processed foods, away from food traveling great distances, and away from farming chemicals. To become a little more self-sufficient -- though that could never be, as my seed experiment illustrated. You need their seed kits, and they aren't cheap. ($19.95) But I must admit, the luxury of having fresh tomatoes in the middle of winter would be awesome. I'd like to try them again as well as the strawberry plants.
Why is it that organic produce gets the sticker?

Check it out!

I was quoted in the Scene section of my local newspaper today!

"Why isn't there a vegetarian restaurant in Boise?"

The title of the article is a sad reality for me...

Foods & Fads

It snowed yesterday!

So we made what we think will be our last snowman of the year....










Which is kinda weird, since this is what we were doing just the day before....

That's Spring in Idaho for ya.










Liv's favorite cookie! Oatmeal chocolate chip. I use the recipe 'Oatmeal Raisin Cookies' from The Joy of Vegan Baking and simply sub in the chips. I LOVE that this recipe uses ground flaxseed instead of eggs.
I sent some of these cookies with Art to band practice the other night. Art produced the band's CD and also will be playing guitar for a few numbers at their Record Release Show. You can check them there:
www.the-invasion.com


'Wolffie's Banana Blueberry Muffins' from La Dolce Vegan!

These muffins are really good - light & moist. I always omit the ginger and use vanilla soy milk.

When I want an easy & reliable recipe, I turn to Sarah Kramer. Who is Wolffie, anyway??





'Crock Pot Stew'. I've made this once or twice before, but this time I topped it with Lightlife Steak Style Strips. If you haven't tried the strips before, you should. They are really good and are super easy to prepare.








'Blueberry Cake' from The Joy of Vegan Baking for my friend's birthday. (At some point in life, one candle is sufficient)

Ann doesn't like things overly sweet or fattening. I wanted her to enjoy the dessert without feeling guilty, so I thought this would be perfect. Her first post-bite words were, "Light, delicately sweet. Mmmm, this is really good!"



For an appetizer, I served an old favorite of mine -- Dreena Burton's 'Cornmeal-coated Polenta Fries' from the Dec. '06 issue of VegNews. (#52)

The dipping sauce is my own creation!

1 package Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
1 can Mandarin Oranges
Many squirts SRIRACHA Hot Chili Sauce

Before eating, think about where milk comes from

I did not compose the following essay. It was a letter to the editor recently printed in my newspaper, which brought me to tears. This letter brings to mind the recent Hallmark meatpacking scandal, which is common in factory farming. I share it here with you.

Once there was a cow #83729. She lived on a factory farm and never saw sunlight or felt grass under her feet. She was repeatedly impregnated. Her babies were always taken away within a day of being born, because humans wanted the milk that was meant for her calves. #83729 was milked for 10 months a year (including seven of her nine months of pregnancy). No wonder that only after four years they sent her worn-out body to slaughter.

She has also become lame because of the strain of constantly being pregnant and giving milk. During the transportation she fell and couldn't get up. They pulled her out of the truck with a chain and she crashed to the ground breaking her hip bone. They rammed her with a forklift in an attempt to make her stand up. When that didn't work they jabbed her in the eyes and sprayed water into her nose. Finally she managed to stand up and with staggering feet she walked to the killing floor where she died a horrible death. Next time you enjoy your ice cream or slice of pizza, please think about where the milk to make those things came from. Terhi Stratton, printed in the Idaho Statesman (02-27-08)


To sign-off on an upbeat, I leave you with a delicious milk-free muffin!

'Double Chocolate Muffins' from La Dolce Vegan, pg. 236.

Trust me, even finicky kids can't tell it's soy milk inside.

Easter Ideas

My daughter's birthday was on Easter this year, which I guess won't happen for another 220 years. That's a good thing, because with Easter, a birthday, and a party, it has been busy! So yeah, this post is way late for Easter '08, but I'd much rather you consider it early for '09. :)

Abi shares a birthday with a friend, and we made this for her - a paper mache egg with a stuffed animal chick. It was so much fun, that we made more little eggs as party favors.


EASTER PINATAS

What You'll Need: Balloon, newspaper, large bowl, water, flour, paint, paintbrush, goodies.

What To Do: Tear newspaper into strips. Mix flour and water together to make a paste. Blow up a balloon, and cover it with strips of newspaper dipped in the flour and water paste. Cover the balloon completely. Allow it to dry for a day or 2, turning it occasionally during that time.

If you're going to try this, here's something I learned....

I made two batches of little eggs, and at this point, I tried two different methods. The first time, I cut the egg, filled with goodies, and taped shut before painting and found that the egg stayed closed better. For the second batch, I painted the egg before cutting inside to add the goodies and found the egg looked prettier, but the tape didn't stick as well.



When the balloon is dry, paint it in bright, decorative colors. We painted a little everyday for about a week...










My five year old loved dividing all the goodies into equal piles for each party guest.

Tying them up with yarn was great shoe tying practice!









Here are some of our eggs in different stages of the process!

This may be a new Easter tradition for us. It was a really fun and creatively forgiving project. We reused some old newspapers and really created something out of not much at all! The girls LOVED opening their eggs to reveal surprises.




Another (less messy) Easter alternative is filling plastic eggs with stickers, candy, pictures, and small trinkets. Use the same plastic eggs year after year.










Or, you could make salt clay dough ornaments. Have the kids use Spring cookie cutters to make bunny rabbits, butterflies, or flowers. Before cooking the dough, use a chop stick or toothpick to poke a hole so that you can hang your ornaments by a ribbon. Here's the recipe and directions.

Hope you're having a spectacular Spring! I'll be bunny blog hopping soon...

Candy Balls

These balls of energy are easy to make and quite a popular snack around here!

You'll need:
1 medium banana
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1 tablespoon milled flax seed (optional)
your choice of toppings like chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, shredded coconut, cranberries, or raisins


Here's how:
In a medium bowl, mash together the banana and peanut butter. Stir in the wheat germ and flax seed. Roll individual tablespoons of the mixture into balls, then roll the balls in your choice of topping. Chill until firm, or like my kids do, eat them right away!

My choice toppings: coconut, mini semi-sweet chips, goji berries, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and crushed cashews


Girl's choice toppings: mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, and mini semi-sweet M&M's. (Chocolate and more chocolate!!)

Their toppings were bulk bin finds, and doubtfully vegan. Veganism is my vice. My job is to find ways to get my veggie girls to eat nutritiously. This one worked! Adjust your toppings accordingly.

More Recent Eats (hits & misses)

'Corn Muffins' with blueberries from The Joy of Vegan Baking. I used flaxseed instead of Ener-G egg replacer and vanilla flavored soy milk. The recipe doesn't specify, but I think I shouldn't have drained the can of corn, as the mixture was quite thick making the muffins dense. I liked them well enough, but the girls didn't.
Does anyone else listen to Colleen's podcast, Compassionate Cooks? They are super informative & interesting.



That chocolate craving hit us, so I endorsed a batch of 'Bitchtastic Brownies' because the recipe was printed in VegNews (#60) and also because "Skinny Bitch" is in my purse for reading on the go. This picture depicts the best part of our brownies -- scraping down the bowl and licking the spatula. Did I make a mistake? Was that a recipe misprint? The batter seemed runny with 3/4 cup silken tofu plus oil, and only a 1/3 cup flour. Whatever the reason, our brownies resembled gooey fudge, which Liv enjoyed with a spoon until I said "No more."

I love cooking with my crock-pot, so naturally, I was most excited to come across this page of recipes from VegCooking. I followed this recipe exactly for the 'Crock-Pot Chili' adding the optional veggie burger crumbles (Morning Star).
Verdict? Let's just say that If I were going to a chili cook-off tomorrow, this is what I'd making tonight! With a couple minor adjustments like more red pepper flakes, and Art requested sauteed seitan on top next time.



Here's the finishing touches for another recipe from this month's VegNews (#60) 'Irish Soda Bread' by Robin Robertson. This was a quick bread to make from scratch and delicious, too.

Perfect for soaking up chili.







The bread was served warm with a slather of Earth Balance, alongside the chili, topped with a dollop of vegan sour cream, parsley from my AeroGarden, and a ring of steamed kale.

We enjoyed this meal very much! The girls wouldn't touch this meal with a ten-foot pole, but I have high hopes!





Scanning the freezer reminded me that we still had lots of fresh-frozen cherries from last summer. I spotted a blueberry cobbler recipe in The Joy of Vegan Baking, subbed in my cherries, and before you know it, we were eating 'Cherry Cobbler' like it was July.







Taking the skin off garlic is one of Liv's favorite ways to help in the kitchen. This one gave us an extra lesson on how things grow... For example, did you know dinosaurs are the same color as garlic shoots?!








Finally, I couldn't resist making 'White Bean and Kale Soup' which won "Best Soup" in Vegetarian Times', March '08 issue. It was flavorful with yams, great Northern beans, kale, & curry powder -- though it called for smoked paprika, which I can not find anywhere in town. Suppose smoked paprika has penetrated the Idaho state border? Questionable. I should probably just take Julie's advice and visit Penzey's.