Garden Update: How's it Growing?

I took some photos today to share our progresses with you! We are very close to summer. Historically, there is no risk of freeze after June 1st here, but there is lots of warm sunshine in my Southerly Exposed picture windows so the seeds that were started in March are getting kind of big. Hang in there, little fellas!

The herb garden. Planted March 8th. The dill and sage have been very abundant so far. The basil and oregano, not so much. The chives not at all. Strange they grew in order like that. I turn the pot daily so it gets even sun.  I finally gave up and  I replanted chives about 2 weeks ago but still no show. The front row is all calendula. The two outer plants were planted Mar 8 along with a bunch more that never germinated. The little ones in the middle were planted about 2 weeks ago and started just fine. Beats me.

Chamomile, planted April 26. The seeds are like dust and the starts are so wee and cute!

I filled some empty coconut shells with dirt and started more calendula there. I'm hoping to get plenty of flowers.


Note to the vegan police :) Yes, the planter next to says "ice cream". Sadly, I do NOT live in a vegan world no matter how much I want it. Luckily for me there is no cooking of animals in THIS house but the guys still eat animals products such as ice cream and I can't bear to throw those perfect plant starting boxes out. I don't eat the products, but I AM in charge of waste management in this house and I re-purpose some of the trash that is created when the people I live with buy and consume animal products. I have thought hard and I feel very deeply about this and I think using the containers to grow plants is the best conclusion to two bad situations: the eating of animal products and the disposal of the wrappers that they come in.

The cucumbers have flowered. Is it just me or does that sound like a spy identifying to another spy?

There are actual BEAN PODS on my bush beans.

 This is a tomato I started last year. It gave me HUNDREDS of cherry tomatoes. I grew it in a pot. I brought it inside and cut it back at the beginning of winter except for one branch that was still flowering, I let it continue. Immediately it leaves branches and tiny flowers that didn't produce started growing back. I kept watering and feeding it rocket compost all winter in the warm, sunny window and now it has three wee tomatoes and lots of flowers on it!!! Has anyone else ever had a tomato plant grow for more than one season? I didn't think it was possible.

Here is a full view of the 2nd season cherry tomato:

See the stumps where it was cut back?

Ahoy! Cilantro!

More basil.

I want to have too much basil this year. I don't think it's going to happen but I will keep planting.

Bell Peppers. I hope I have as good of luck with peppers this year as last.

Flax and fenugreek in the yellow pot. The pods are fenugreek.

Orange pot is pumpkin which is also starting to bloom.

I put some fennel seeds to germinate April 27 but I don't see anything yet. I know from sprouting them that it takes a while.

There are more but uploading is a... very slow thing so that's it for today.

1 more month until we begin planting outside. I'll post another garden update around that time. So, how's things growing with you?

The Culmination of An Entire Day of Preparing Falafel Dinner

Ah, the Chick Pea. Also known as Garbanzos, these tasty legumes are full of fiber and oh-so-versatile. They are the main ingredient in hummus and I love me some delicious chickpea curry (chana masala) but many people don't know that they are the major component in falafel.

Yesterday was Falafel Appreciation Day so we had falafel for dinner last night.

Soak and sprout 1 cup of dried garbanzo beans. This takes four days. If you don't have the time you can just soak them over night. When you are done you should have about 3 cups of soaked/sprouted beans.

Do yourself a favor and do not use canned beans. Or any canned food for that matter. They line the cans with BPA and that leaches into the canned food causing all kinds of problems that we won't get into here. It's cheaper to buy dried beans and very simple to soak and sprout them. Do it. You will feel more self sufficient, create less waste and you will thank yourself later. Soaked and sprouted beans are more nutritious and easier to digest. You will have less bean related gas if you soak and sprout beans before cooking.

Use those beans to make Falafel!

These are baked falafel. Crisp on the outside, warm and soft inside.

Because they are baked, they are very low fat. You can also fry these in oil for a crispier (greasier, heavier) product. A sort of "happy medium" can be reached by baking them in advance and gently heating them in a lightly greased skillet before serving.


Sprouted wheat flat bread, falafel, tomato, onion, vegan yogurt sauce and red lettuce came together and made my mouth very happy.

The money shot:

What did you do for Falafel Appreciation Day?

Super Easy, Super Cheesy Dairy Free Multi-Purpose Un-Cheese Sauce

I'm making steamed brocolli for dinner tonight so I made a vegan cheese sauce. I know I posted this recipe before but I've been making it and tweaking it each time and I think this is about the best it's ever turned out so I'm posting this new, updated version of multi-purpose cheese flavored sauce for making vegan macaroni and cheese, for pouring over vegetables, great on baked potato, nachos, quesadilla, in casseroles... I even put it on vegan pizza the other day, fantastic!

Super Easy, Super Cheesy Sauce

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika (optional. Makes it more orange colored)

2 cloves garlic

1 tbs tahini

1 tbs ACV

2 cups water

Everything in the blender except 1/2 cup water.

Blend until liquefied.

Pour mixture into a saucepan

Put last 1/2 cup of water in the blender carafe, swirl it around and pour that in the saucepan, too. (nothing goes to waste around here)

This is the hardest part.

Put the saucepan of liquified ingredients on low-med heat and stir constantly until it reaches the desired thickness, about 10 minutes.

This mixture will continue to thicken even after you are done cooking. Behold the power of Oatmeal!  Store in the fridge in a covered container and add more water as needed to thin.

How green is your bag Giveaway!

Easy Eco To Go is having a giveaway.

Cantaloupe Seed Milk Smoothie

This super easy, ONE ingredient smoothie recipe is one of my all time favorites.
Next time you get a cantaloupe, save the seeds, strings and any little pieces of the meat you have left over.















Store the seeds, etc in an airtight container in the fridge. Sometime in the next few days put the seeds, strings and flesh of the cantaloupe into a blender add a cup or two of water (depending on how thick you want it) and blend until smooth and frothy.















Strain, decant and enjoy.















Groovy Cantaloupe Nutrition Facts

Serving size 1/2 cup, diced (78g)
Amounts Per Serving % Daily Value
Calories 25
Calories from Fat 0
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 10mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 6g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A 50%
Vitamin C 50%
Calcium 0%
Iron 0%

Groovy Cantaloupe Warning

I used to not like cantaloupe because I got a stomach ache every time I ate it. Now I know that cantaloupe must be eaten alone. Because it digests so quickly that any other food in the stomach with cantaloupe will cause fermentation of the stomach contents which means, gas, pain, bloating etc. Now when I get a big, ripe aromatic and juicy cantaloupe I mono-feast on the meat one day, save the seed and mono-feast on a creamy seed milk smoothie a couple days later.

I drink this smoothie on an empty stomach and don't eat anything for 4 hours after I finish it. If I combine this with any other foods I get some harsh intestinal difficulties. You might not, I'm just saying. The rule of thumb for me with melon is "Eat it alone or leave it alone".

Stay Groovy.

How to Store Leeks

This question has been bothering me for a while now. "How do I store leeks so they last longer than a couple of days before they start to get all dried up and while we're at it, so it's not an awkward 2 foot long vegetable taking up valuable real estate in my fridge?"

Today it dawned on me. Why not just store them the way I store all my other leafy greens?


I cut the root end off, cut the leek in half and chopped the halves in half long-ways.














Spread them out on a clean dish towel.

















Roll them up in the towel and stick them in a produce bag.














Actually, that is an old bread bag.














Produce is expensive and I HATE wasting food. This method keeps the leaves from touching each other, it keeps them an even moisture all over and it prevents contact with air and will keep your leeks fresh for a week or more and over time save a bundle of cold, hard cash on your grocery bill.

I wrapped these up with out washing and will wash them as I bring them out to use. Some people wash them first when using this method. If you do, make sure you dry them well, because overly wet spots will cause faster spoilage.

February was a good month!

3/2/10 Blast off!

Grapefruit and orange juice with a GlassDharma straw.















It was a great month, February. I won a couple of contests so that was fun.

I just heard that I won a Bob's Red Mill contest.
I won a Glass Dharma contest. I got four reusable glass straws out of that one. Beautiful, functional and reusable. I got blue, green, red and amber 12mm straight straws. Perfect for a smoothie. The boy drank his apple juice with one but he said it's too big. Fun, though. I don't have to worry about him breaking it because they are made of thick, heat tempered glass. I was actually thinking if anything, the straw might crack the juice glass! If you are a big straw user these are perfect for reducing your waste output with style. They are guaranteed for life so if you do break one, send it back and they will replace it FOR LIFE!

















Two Murano glass bracelets at GW, 99c each.

















I also found these kick ass slippers at GW for 99c.














They have non-skid spots on the bottom, heh.


Anyway it's been a nice month.

We registered a business name and we'll start working hard on that soon. I'll let you know when we unveil. Exciting stuff.

Oh, and Grant Butler is staying vegan. Yes.

Brussels Sprouts for dinner tonight :)

Reuse. It comes between Reduce and Recycle.

Being vegan is about reducing unnecessary suffering. I became a vegan as a direct off shoot of my desire to produce zero waste. Food that doesn't come in packages is mostly raw and vegan, really. The no-poo, the paperless kitchen, composting, and a bunch of other stuff are all about putting out less trash.

Reusing things is important. The less we buy new, the less we throw in the landfill.

Today I made a pitcher to hold my kitchen utensils out of an old blender carafe.

I took the bottom ring off the carafe, removed the blade (important!), replaced the blade with a with a small mouth canning jar lid then screwed the ring back on.


















































Ta-Da!















Leave a comment and tell me about your fabulous DIY Recycling by Reusing projects.

Dinner last night was cabbage and carrots with steamed with cumin, polenta, spinach and a three color tomato and cuke salad. A very good dinner all around.

DIY Hair Shampoo and Body Wash Recipe Update

You may or may not know that I am No-Poo and have been since August of 2008.

I make this shampoo/bodywash for E.

Easy Homemade Castile Shampoo/Body-wash Updated, Less Oily Recipe

1.5 cups strong black tea
.5 cup castile soap
2 shots witch hazel
1/2 shot jojoba oil
1 tsp salt
10 drops geranium oil

Boil 4 tea bags in 2 cups water until the tea is very dark.
Let cool slightly and then pour off 1.5 cups into a glass container. I use my big pyrex measuring cup so I can measure the ingredients right into it and mix it up.
Add the rest of the ingredients except the scented oil and stir well. Let cool and pour off into a bottle.
Add scent.

Makes about 2 cups.

This product is thinner than commercial shampoo and it doesn't produce as much suds. The man has been using it as shampoo for about a year now and he says he likes it just fine. It turns a darker color with time, this is natural and will not affect the performance of the shampoo. Separation will occur, shake before using.

I've been tweaking the recipe, he said it was too oily so I doubled the witch hazel and halved the oil in this most recent batch.
I used black tea because I had some that I would never use otherwise. I told E the caffeine would "wake his scalp" and the antioxidants would "anti oxidize his hair".

Hey, it could happen :)

Let me know if you try this and tell me about your DIY beauty tricks and tips.

Create Less Waste By Keeping a Paperless Kitchen

I've lived so long with out paper towels that I had to click on this link to understand what the title meant:

How to Create A Paperless Kitchen

Paperless is very natural for me. Reading this article made me realize that it's important to share how I keep my successful, paperless kitchen with others. It's important for all of us to cut down on waste in any way we can.

I don't have babies or dogs so it's much easier for us, two grown ups who really aren't very messy and one 9yo boy (who is naturally messy but certainly not a toddler, if you know what I mean).

The best tips for a paperless kitchen:

1 Have an abundant amount of cloth towels of various sizes and absorbency.

2 Have the towels and napkins in very strategic locations around the house.

3 Encourage everyone to use them. Old habits die hard

The above along with the cooperation of all household members are absolutely necessary for paperless to work.


Here are the stations of the towels:

1 Basket of kitchen towels that sub for paper towels and for drying dishes, storing greens, etc.















2 Washcloths for the dishes (no disposable sponges, either).














I buy wash cloths at Big Lots. Usually 3 for a $1 more or less. They are a great all purpose wash, wipe, dab, dry, dust, polish or use as a tissue or napkin. I usually have more in the stack than shown in this photo, they are in the dryer now.


3 Basket of cloth napkins by the main eating table within easy reach of at least two people siting at the table.














These "top shelf" cloths are used as napkins and for smaller drips at the table. For bigger messes there are more hearty towels in the middle basket and "company" napkins in the bottom (you notice there aren't many company napkins). I got ALL of those napkins at thrift stores, usually about 3 for a dollar. I keep my eyes open and buy them when I see pretty ones I like.

4 We don't use paper tissues (kleenex) either and everyone has a little pile of washcloths or hankies by their beds.















If you need a tissue and you aren't in your bedroom, go ahead and grab a napkin and when you are done with it just put it right in the laundry basket by the washer, thanks. Everyone also has a basket in their room for laundry.

Thanks for reading and please tell me your thoughts on a paperless kitchen! Be sure to read the article I linked it's got a lot of great tips.