Waste Independence

Bleatings from EnviRambo.

At the beginning of my quest to lead a more eco-friendly, simple, sustainable life I kept my "green" desires hidden, like a dirty little secret. Focusing inward, by switching out my personal products but leaving the rest of the family the same. Making small changes that no one would notice: cleaning with vinegar while everyone was gone, line drying in the summer, sneaking in organic food. Gradually things became more noticeable. The toilet paper was not as soft as it used to be, we always seemed to be out of paper towels, the cereal did not taste the same, where did all the soda go? A year and a half later I have moved beyond the confines of my home - put it all out there for the world to see: I became active with local environmental groups; I mow my lawn with a reel mower; I bike; there are raised garden beds in the front lawn; I always bring my own bag (shopping, produce, bulk, or otherwise) and now glass, plate, silverware and napkin.

I am learning that the best way to effect change is not by hiding behind a computer screen blogging about it, but by getting out there and leading by example.

This past holiday weekend is my case in point. At MREA in June I added a few tools to my eco-arsenal: a klean kanteen (with the flat stainless top), mesh produce bags, to-go ware, and a wrap-n-mat. I have been using the klean kanteen all over since. Not so earth shattering since more and more people are starting to carry their own water bottles, but over the weekend I finally had the opportunity to present the others. I returned to my hometown to partake in the Independence Day festivities, including the annual BBQ sandwich sale at the American Legion. I filed in line, paid my $2.00 and stepped up to be served my sloppy, greasy, tasty mess. As she reached for the pile of plastic...

"Wait! I don't want a plate." Digging through my eco-toolbox purse, I pulled out my wrap-n-mat and handed it to her. She looked it over, confused. Taking it back, I set it on the table and unfolded it. "There."

"Oh. Is this one of those green things?" she asked while piling on the BBQ.

"Yes." I replied. By now I had a group of ladies. I quickly explained what it was and why I was using it. They happily loaded it up and watched in wonder as I refolded it into a neat little package and walked away.

"Wait! Don't forget a napkin. You will surely need one of those?" one of them called out.

"Oh." I habitually turned back to grab one. Stopping after one step, "No, that's okay. I have a towel in my purse. Thanks!"

I sat on the bench outside enjoying the summer weather and onlookers, while eating my greasy goodness from my wrap-n-mat, scooping up overflow with my to-go ware and washing it all down with my klean kanteen. No need to search for a trash can.

I made an encore appearance that night at the pizza pub. Despite our best efforts, we had three pieces left over. When the waitress appeared with the styrofoam take-out container I sank defeated. Looking at the box in despair, the light bulb finally clicked. Wait a minute! I don't need no stinking styrofoam. Da tada da! Wrap-n-mat to the rescue!

Feeling redeemed I wrapped up tomorrow's breakfast and went to the fireworks. Although I think they were already shooting off in my head. Sometimes I swear I live in my own personal movie.

Food for thought.

Bleatings from EnviRambo.

These days food seems to be at the forefront of my mind. Whether it is driving six hours to see Food, Inc., obsessing over my garden, ritual trips to the Farmers Market, wanting to put every last scrap to use, or planning to store enough to eat local/organic produce all winter long.

My wonderful husband gave me a pressure canner for my birthday; I am adding ten beds to my garden for a fall harvest; I am ordering a worm bin for winter composting; I attended workshops on seed saving, year-round gardening, and root cellaring; I have been pouring over books on preserving the bounty; and this week I ran across some web resources worthy of adding to my super-hero arsenal.

I was lucky enough to see Food, Inc. and encourage anyone remotely close enough to a showing to go. I had planned on doing a post about it, but when I read Katrina's post at Kale for Sale, well, she took the words right out of my mouth.

I live right next door to a large Pick Your Own strawberry patch. In June the smell is heavenly, heavy and sweet. I have been happily picking away; enjoying fresh strawberries, Strawberry Ice, Strawberry Shortcake, Strawberry topping on ice cream, Strawberry jam, and now thanks to Abbie over at Farmer's Daughter, Strawberry Fruit Leather. This is great for those who prefer to make jelly and have a lot of usable fruit pulp left over.

This winter I checked out Mel Bartholomew's All New Square Foot Gardening from the library and instantly became a fan. My in-ground garden is already sectioned into raised beds, so it was not hard for me to get behind this method. The ten new beds in progress will all be above-ground square foot gardens. Then this week I stumbled across mysquarefootgarden.net and became enthralled. What a find!

Along the same lines funwithfoodstorage.net was another great find. I think I got from one to the other, but do not remember how or in which order. This site is chocked full of information. In addition to the main blog, "fun with food storage", there are three sister blogs divided into "plan it", "buy it", "eat it". For anyone new to the world of food preservation - like me - their newsletter is a treasure trove of information.

Anyone else have food storage/preservation links to suggest? I want to gain as much knowledge as possible before the fall harvest.

A New Super Hero

Please welcome our newest eco-hero to The Green Phone Booth. Erin aka The Conscious Shopper will be wielding her wallet here every Wednesday and teaching us all a thing or two about approaching life, or at least shopping, with more thought. A huge welcome to Erin!

Though she seems like a mild-mannered mother of three boys, The Conscious Shopper carries a powerful secret weapon - her wallet. With this weapon, she fills her fridge with local and organic foods, stocks her shelves with non-toxic cleaners, dodges excess packaging, and searches for eco-friendly clothing...while trying to stay within her budget. Will she be deceived by the pitfalls of Greenwashing? Can she defeat her arch-nemesis Advertising and its sinister sidekick Cheap Plastic Crap? Stay tuned to find out.

Spring Is In the Air

From the bean of Green Bean.


Okay, so you see this title and you're thinking, dude, spring was in the air and is now gone. It's summer, Bean! And you would be right.

But I'm not talking about seasons here. I'm talking about family dinners. About getting your kids to eat something green or at least purple. About moving beyond mac 'n' cheese (even with the pumpkin mixed in) or pizza. About experimenting and growing, trying new foods, making healthy decisions, and learning to fold one mean rice paper envelope. I'm talking about spring rolls.

Last spring, we brought some "real food" into my son's public school classroom in an attempt to show kids how fun food can be. How cilantro smells. How to chop cabbage. How to sample an onion or bean sprout. It was such a success that my son soon asked to make spring rolls at home.

Since then, our family has made spring rolls half a dozen times - each time with different ingredients. We (including the kids and my handy chopper from Pampered Chef) chop up whatever is in season or whatever is lingering in the depths of the fridge. Everyone gets a soaked spring roll wrapper and can fill it as they choose - though the rules are that it must include some sort of vegetable.

At first, the kids stuck to the safe orange of carrots. Soon, though, purple cabbage cajoled. The dim yellow of lemon cucumbers coaxed. The soft glow of summer squash seduced. Tofu tempted. Celery ensnared. Before I knew it, my boys were stuffing their mouths with every variety of vegetable in season - as well as last night's leftover pasta - and asking for seconds.

If you've not tried them, I implore you to hunt down some spring roll wrappers in the Asian food section of your local market. Then, clean out your fridge, revel in seasonal vegetable goodness, get some honest to goodness food in your kids (and yourself), and roll into spring.

Want An Autograph?

Okay, we here at the Booth are a far cry from crazy celebrities fighting off paparazzi, but we'd still like you to be our fan!

Please check out The Green Phone Booth page on Facebook - created by our very own EnviroRambo - and become a fan . . . and invite your friends. If we reach 100, we get to claim our name on Facebook.

Diamonds* Are a Girl's Best Friend

From the bean of Green Bean.

I'd noticed the store years ago. I always notice these kinds of stores. The neat, trim window front. The simple but blinding display. I remember gazing through that window longingly, craning my neck to look at price tags, before my husband and I got engaged.

The small leather boxes twinkle with memories, shiny and solid. The thick black velvet cradles a necklace of golden stones, a bracelet of blue and red and even a tiara. Green stones blinking, seed pearls tiny and imperfect, set out for the world to see.

I can count on one hand the pieces of nice jewelry that I own. Well, actually, half a hand. I'm not that into jewelry really. In fact, I never so much as look at it . . . unless, well, unless it's old.

There is something about estate jewelry. In this world of sameness, estate jewelry is one of a kind. Truly unique. Most often it is hand crafted. It holds a story. Memories. History. Who knows who owned it before? Whose great grandmother? Some marchioness in a distant land? Like all good second hand goods, it also comes cheaper than new and doesn't serve up a big ole carat of guilt.

Few things come with as much eco-baggage as new jewelry.

I had long heard of the trouble with diamonds. I watch Blood Diamond. The entire continent of Africa has been torn asunder, children have been turned into soldiers, women raped, villages destroyed as various factions fight over diamonds.

I had no idea, however, that the eco-issues with jewelry don't stop at diamonds. According to Big Green Purse, gold mining is equally problematic. "Toxic chemicals like cyanide and mercury, which leach gold out of rock, pollute drinking water supplies, contaminate farmland, and threaten the health of workers and communities. One gold ring generates 20 tons of mine waste." Read more about the impact of gold mining at No Dirty Gold.

Which brings me back to the window in front of me. Patina. That's the name of the store. It connotes a beauty that comes only with natural aging. I twist the engagement ring on my finger. A vintage piece that my husband bought at an antique store. I love my ring. I've never seen another like it. It holds my history as well as the history of some other woman from some other time. The impact of its creation are long past. The small diamond still gleams in the sunlight. Yes, I love this ring.

But, if I were to ever need another piece of jewelry, a pretty necklace, for instance, I'd know where to look. After all, diamonds - certain diamonds - are a girl's best friend.

Sweet HFCS-free Summer Treat

Bleatings from EnviRambo.

Who does not love a frozen, sweet treat to cool you down on a hot summer day? But, do you know what makes that treat sweet? Odds are it is High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

According to Wikipedia: High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) - called isoglucose in Europe and glucose-fructose in Canada - comprises any group of corn syrups that has undergone enzymatic processing to convert its glucose into fructose and has then been mixed with pure corn syrup (100% glucose) to produce a desired sweetness.

So what is big deal with this stuff? Does it cause obesity? Maybe. Diabetes? Again, maybe. Are we consuming way more of it then we realize? Most likely. Do my hot dogs really need HFCS? Absolutely not. And neither do my summer treats.

In the latest issue of Mother Earth News I ran across a recipe for a simple granita using a summer fruit I currently have a bounty of: strawberries.

Strawberry Ice

1 cup hot water

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 cups sliced strawberries

Mix hot water, sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl until sugar dissolves. Blend 3 cups strawberries in processor or blender until smooth. Add sugar syrup and blend until combined. Pour mixture into 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Freeze for about 25 minutes or until icy around edges. Using fork, pull icy portions into middle of pan. Repeat this step every 20 minutes until all liquid is frozen into flaky, loose crystals. Cover and freeze. When ready to serve, use fork again to scrape crystals into bowls and garnish with berries. Serves about 6.

The ingredients:

I did not have fresh lemons, but the bottled juice worked just fine.

The pan:

I am not so good at following recipes. I am pretty sure that was way more than 3 cups sliced strawberries. I never measured. Never sliced them either. Anyway, a bigger pan was in order. I poured the mixture into a jelly roll pan thinking it would freeze faster.

The freezer:

Not a whole lot I can say about that. Yes, that is a bag of pizza rolls in the back right corner. Even super-heroes have vices.

The first 25 minutes:

It was hard to keep from eating it at this point. What? It was sticking to the fork and I had to get it off.

Sometime later:

Just keep scraping. After a while it seems like a work out, but well worth the effort.

The reward:

Sorry, I ate it all before remembering to take a picture. I could not help myself, it was just that good. You will have to use the picture at the beginning of the post borrowed from the web as reference.

Enjoy!