Attainable Sustainable | Attainable Sustainable |

Use It Or Lose It

February 21, 2012 10 Comments

I’ve been preserving my garden produce for years – I’d say at least 25 years or so. Only within the last few years, though, have I found a solution to using my canned goods in an organized manner, making sure that we had enough to last us until the next season or avoiding an excess of something that wasn’t a favorite. Prior to moving to an apple-less location (sob!) I made hundreds of pounds of apples into applesauce every year. This was by far my kids’ favorite pantry item, so it was easy for us to use it all up and then find ourselves without any for months on end. Or the opposite would happen: those six jars of pickled peppers that tasted fine but turned out mushy kept getting pushed to the back of the pantry, leaving us with canned peppers at the height of fresh pepper season.

I found the solution in a copy of The Tightwad Gazette years ago. In it, the author shared her plan for making sure her preserved foods were used up before the next season’s glut of zucchini and green beans without depleting the stores too soon: A simple chart.

Once my canning for the season was done, I’d create a chart similar to the one above by determining how many jars of each item I had and dividing it by how many month’s I’d like my stock to last. I’d mark the result in each month using little circles to represent the number of jars and then tape the chart inside the pantry. Every time I pulled out a jar of applesauce or peaches, I’d fill in a circle. It was easy to tell at a glance what I had plenty of. Or what I needed to serve more of. I generally started my chart in November, since that’s about when the garden stopped producing. Keeping track of the canned goods in the pantry in this manner meant that we had a nice variety all winter long.

Do you have a system for using your canned goods? Or do you just use them willy-nilly until they’re gone?

Pin it

Upside Down Tomatoes

February 17, 2012 10 Comments

While much of our steep lot is shady, we have plenty of sunshine on our driveway. My husband, however, is steadfast in his refusal to rip up the concrete to put in a garden. Not to be dissuaded, I came up with an alternative plan to utilize the space: upside down tomatoes. You’ve seen those Topsy Turvy contraptions, right? I decided to create one of my own with a bucket I had on hand to see how well it works. It took about two hours, including paint drying time. If you’re not painting, you’re looking at 20 minutes or so.

Click through for my step-by-step photos if you’d like to give it a try, too.

Pin it

What’s YOUR Definition of an Urban Farmer?

February 15, 2012 2 Comments

Pin it

Parents Need to Eat Too

February 14, 2012 9 Comments

One thing I hear – a lot – when I talk about living a more conscious lifestyle is that, yes, that’s all fine and good. Until you have kids. Babies have a way of interrupting things, don’t they? Less time for yourself, less time for tackling things like recycling or gardening or even cooking.

Well, take heart. Debbie Koenig may not be able to help with your recycling or gardening or any of the myriad other chores that often go by the wayside when you are raising kids. But cooking? She’s got you covered. Her book, Parents Need To Eat Too is filled with healthy, easy to make recipes that just might prevent you from falling into the fast food trap.

My kids are teens now and do much of their own cooking. I’m beyond the oh-my-gosh-when-will-I-ever-sleep stage. And yet, thumbing through the review copy that the publisher sent, I found a ton of recipes that I’d actually make. Zucchini and Spinach Risotto? Why, yes please! And the fact that the meals are so easy to pull together means I’ll have time to spend in the garden growing some of the ingredients.

I’ve got my eye on a few of the slow cooker recipes in the book, but the first thing I had to try? Curry Roasted Chickpeas. We are snackers around here, but we try to avoid pre-packaged snacks as much as possible. The idea of a salty snack that also packs a protein punch was really desirable to me. Instead of the canned* chickpeas that Debbie suggests, I used some chickpeas that I’d cooked up from dry beans (I try to always keep some in the freezer for making hummus). Score! The only change I’d make to the recipe would be to double it. Or triple it.

Curious? Debbie has been kind enough to share a few recipes from Parents Need To Eat Too.

She also has an impressive collection of recipes on her site. If you’ve got chores to do but still want to feed your family a great tasting meal, check out her quick suppers.

Want to win a copy of the book? Simply comment here, telling us what you’ll do with the extra time away from the stove. Comments submitted by noon on February 21, 2012 (Hawaii standard time) will be entered to win. USA residents only.

*If you use canned chickpeas, look for the Eden Organic brand. Their cans are BPA free.

Psst! If you haven’t voted for your favorite weblogs yet, there’s still time! I’m nominated for the 2012 Bloggies in the Best New Blog category. Other finalists I love? The Writer’s Inner Journey, Music Road, The Vacation Gals, and Summer on Our Wee Farm (let’s hear it for simple living blogs going mainstream).

Pin it

Radish Leaf Pesto

February 11, 2012 12 Comments

Radishes are one of the fastest ripening crops a gardener can plant. If you’re aching to have something – anything – that you grew yourself on the dinner table, radishes are a good bet. They’re one of the earliest crops you can plant, and are ready in just 3-4 weeks from planting date. But don’t stop at eating the rosy roots. I discovered a couple of years ago that the radish leaves are edible too. (I have no idea how I grew up without knowing this!)

My writing colleague, April Paffrath, shared a recipe for radish leaf pesto on Wicked Tasty Harvest a couple of years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Spicier than pesto made with basil leaves, radish leaf pesto is a fabulous way to stretch the harvest from an early spring garden. I’ve served it over pasta, and my kids love to spread it on crackers or in mozzarella grilled cheese sandwiches. It has a tendency to maintain its bright green hue without discoloring like traditional pesto does, so it’s a nice bet for a pretty springtime appetizer, too.

If you know me at all, you know that I didn’t make this without modifying April’s recipe just a bit. Here’s my version:

Radish Leaf Pesto

Leaves from two bunches of radishes (about 3 cups)
2 big cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup shredded pecorino romano cheese
small handful of fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
pinch of sea salt

Thoroughly wash and dry radish leaves. Remove woody stems and put in blender with remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.

This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday.

Pin it

Is that Banana Irradiated? Here’s How to Tell.

February 9, 2012 16 Comments

You know how you start out innocently on the internet and see something of interest so you click? And pretty soon you’ve disappeared down a rabbit hole and your dishes still need to be washed and laundry needs to be hung and you never planted those seeds? That’s how this started. I don’t recall how I came across this information, what prompted me to say, “Hey, wait a minute!” and dig a little deeper. I had no intention of writing about irradiated food but here I am. Will this make you more self-sufficient? Maybe in a roundabout way, if you decide that you’d just as soon avoid treated food. Maybe not. Maybe you don’t care if you’re eating irradiated food. Me? I want you to at least know what you’re putting in your mouth and have the opportunity to make a conscious decision.

That benign looking graphic up there indicates that a food product has been irradiated. This FDA website says:

FDA requires that irradiated foods bear the international symbol for irradiation. Look for the Radura symbol along with the statement “Treated with radiation” or “Treated by irradiation” on the food label. Bulk foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are required to be individually labeled or to have a label next to the sale container. FDA does not require that individual ingredients in multi-ingredient foods (e.g., spices) be labeled.

Well, isn’t that sweet. That pretty little flower doesn’t mean “grown in the sunshine” like you might guess. But that’s not all. As I was chasing internet butterflies, I ran across the term “cold pasteurized.” While there’s all kinds of inference on the internet, I wasn’t able to find a definitive answer as to what, exactly, that meant. So I contacted the FDA. Here’s what they had to say:

[C]old pasteurization is defined as the treatment of fresh or processed foods with ionizing radiation that inactivates biological contaminants (insects, molds, parasites, or bacteria), rendering foods safe to consume and extending their storage lifetime.

While I did not ask the FDA about the term “electronic pasteurization,” it’s also been linked to irradiation.

So there you have it. A couple of extra little clues to help you maneuver the grocery store. Or another solid nudge to encourage you to grow your own food or seek out a local farmer.

One question that remains is this: Are products that are repackaged by the grocery store – think meat that’s been packaged into different cuts – required to carry the Radura symbol for retail sale? Or is that FDA requirement fulfilled as long as the meat was marked when it arrived at the back door?

Want to know more about food irradiation? In the “It’s fine, don’t worry, trust us” category we have:

And in the “WTF are they thinking?” category:

What about you? Does the idea of irradiated food worry you?

Pin it

You might also like:

Page 1 of 33

1 2 3 … 33 »

One Small Change

Join the Bee!

Food

Home & Garden

Use It Or Lose It

You might also like:

Upside Down Tomatoes

You might also like:

What’s YOUR Definition of an Urban Farmer?

You might also like:

Parents Need to Eat Too

You might also like:

Radish Leaf Pesto

You might also like:

Is that Banana Irradiated? Here’s How to Tell.

You might also like:

Search the Site

Welcome

The Author