Month two of Mother Nature Network’s Responsible Living project is Cooking the Basics. We’re already on track for that, so I’ll see what we can do to improve.

Things you can make yourself instead of buying: we do many of these, including pizza crust. Pizza crust from my bread machine is the best. Top it with a light sauce and some home-grown oregano – drool worthy.

Local foods in midwinter: The canning part is going well. With pickles, salsa, applesauce, and of course the best jams in the family, we have a good stock of local foods in the basement. This section, though, reminded me that I can buy and store produce without refrigeration. I bought several (a very heavy bag full!) acorn and butternut squash in September. In my cool-to-cold back hallway, they kept well. We ate the last one after Christmas. Next year, I might expand on this concept.

Books! Books! Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food is now on my wish list on the swap site. So is Lucid Food; Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life. These two sound like good browsers and the kind of book that’ll stay on my shelf rather than get swapped away again.

Well, readers, it does feel a little hopeless to attempt green living when there’s more white stuff coming to cover the ground. I’m glad I read this article because it was encouraging. I found new ideas that are possible, even in the depths of winter.