Monthly Archives: April 2010

>Going Green Today and tomorrow, too

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>I was going to skip it this year, but I didn’t. I signed up for the 30 day “Going Green Today” project through my employer’s wellness program. Last year I felt that it was rather redundant for some like me, a mom/teacher/ blogger/ gardener who already incorporates a lot of eco-conscious habits into everyday living.

They made it easy and paperless. I signed up. After the start of tracking green behaviors, I decided to focus on a specific area every day.

One day I reached for the maximum (nine points) by using only one-point activities. Another day I counted only activities at work; another day only that which occurred at home.

For example, I earned 3 points for re-using paper at work. That was too easy; I often copy on the backs of used paper. I filled the remaining six with single point items: using recycled paper, turning the computer on sleep mode, using white boards or slates (chalkboards), turning off my computer at the end of the day, reusing packing materials, and reusing office supplies (never throw away a paper clip).

On the home front, I reported a 3-pt. car tune-up (recent, not today, but it counts), a low-flow showerhead also for three (chosen for our upcoming remodeling project), and for one point each: donating used items instead of throwing them away (to purge the closets before the closet remodel), using biodegradable cat litter (rabbit litter, in our home), and finally, filling the dishwasher full before running it.

Yesterday I decided to focus on big actions that I’ve done in the past, actions that provide an opportunity to be green daily. Four points for starting a compost pile; I started it years ago, use it daily, and added a second bin last August located so that I can fill it all winter. Another four points for insulating our water heater; we bought a new insulated water heater recently. I’ll check next time I’m in the basement; if it’s an Energy Star appliance, I can count it for four points some other day. Third, but not least, I added one point for using my Starbucks thermos rather than getting a disposable cup every day.

The project is not a contest. The goal of participating is to build good, green habits by paying attention to everyday actions. I’m fairly green already, so I participate to challenge myself and validate my choices. Next week maybe I’ll focus on putting a twist on regular actions – taking a daily behavior and tweaking it up a notch.

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>Ham in the Crockpot with Pineapple and Orange Marmalade

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>Last time I bought a ham, it was a canned ham, much too big for the family. Great! I thought. Planned-overs! Nope. Not so simple. The ham just wasn’t very good. I wished I’d have paid a little more attention to the brand and type, but by the time we decided it wasn’t worth it, we’d totally forgotten which ham NOT to buy.

This time, we bought a better grade of ham and had a successful dinner with leftovers, and not too many leftovers. The original recipe is from Pillsbury.

INGREDIENTS
1 (3-lb.) boneless cooked ham
1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple in unsweetened juice
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
DIRECTIONS
1. Place ham in 3 1/2 to 5-quart slow cooker. Drain pineapple liquid from can into slow cooker; refrigerate pineapple. In small bowl, combine brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of the marmalade and mustard; mix well. Spread over ham.
2. Cover; cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours.
3. About 5 minutes before serving, remove ham from slow cooker; slice or cube as desired.
4. In small microwave-safe bowl, combine pineapple and remaining 2 tablespoons orange marmalade; mix well. Microwave on High for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring once halfway through cooking. Cut ham into slices. Serve ham with pineapple mixture.

Now, the true confessions. I forgot the brown sugar. How? I don’t know. But given that this was an all-day simmering in the crockpot, I turned the ham and then put another dose of the (corrected!) glaze on it midway through the cooking time. It worked.

True confession #2; I used more than 3 Tablespoons marmalade. Remember my marmalade? It’s delicious, but too thin to spread on toast. It was perfect for this glaze, though – at least with brown sugar added.

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>Food of the month: Rhubarb!

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>Our new school wellness coordinator is my kind of person: she’s a green fiend. One of her newsletter recommendations has been a New Food of the Month. She suggests a fresh food that might be new to some, tells us why it’s good for us, and gives a little more information about it. This month’s fabulous food was something that’s poking its little green leaves and little red stems above the ground next to my garage: You guessed it! Rhubarb!!

To read the rest of this post, go to Green Spot On, my home away from home on Mondays.

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>Is this the New Normal?

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>Economic woes.
Recession.
Depression.
Downturn.

Call it what you will, but it means jobs lost. Eliminated. Cut.
Incomes diminished, destroyed,
Homes lost, combined, foreclosed.

If the economy begins a recovery, even at the rate of generating 200,00 jobs a month, it will still take more than three years to return to where we were just one year ago (source: Time).

If families with little or no income become the norm rather than the exception — imagine the possibilities.

One symptom of poverty is lack of telephone service. Families turn to prepaid phones, turn them on only when needed, and neglect to give the new phone number to the school. You can guess the next piece: teachers and principals try to contact the family and reach only disconnected phone numbers. Student is sick: no luck. Student is in trouble and needs support from family: no luck. Student is suspended and needs to be removed from school: well, that happens, too. If more and more families have trouble paying for phones, landline or cell, what happens to the children then?

Another symptom of poverty is hunger. If widespread unemployment is the new normal, then the number of families needing free breakfast and lunch will increase. Who will fund this increase? The money has to come from somewhere.

I haven’t even mentioned shelter. Families double up, moving often, when they have no money. Kids lose sense of stability; not knowing where they’ll be after school, much less the weekend. We make referrals to agencies that can help, but even those agencies have limited funds.

Then there’s the instability that affects behavior. The child who feels angry at the world may lash out at the kid in the next seat on the school bus. The angry child gets disciplined, perhaps suspended from the bus. How does that child get to school now? Parents may or may not own a vehicle. If they do, it is not likely to be maintained well. Without money, what happens?

Is this the new normal? Joblessness, homelessness, hunger? If so, what’s next?

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>Dear Discovery Channel: Ms. Palin’s Alaska is not eco-friendly.

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Dear Discovery Channel Powers that be, including Mr. David Zaslav (President and CEO):

What on Earth were you thinking? Producing a show – an 8-part show! – called Sarah Palin’s Alaska, when Sarah herself led the state backwards in environmental stewardship? Let’s look at the background.

-Ms. Palin fought against protections for endangered whales.
-She worked counter to protecting the dwindling polar bear population.
-Instead, she pushed for oil and gas development, including dangerous drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.
-Then-Governor Palin sponsored escalated aerial wolf-kills, including suggesting a $150 bounty for the foreleg of each wolf killed.
-All this was “accomplished” in only two and a half years as governor, before she quit to take to the talk show circuit.

This show (which will pay Ms. Palin a reported $1 million per episode) cannot be produced with integrity as long as the Sarah Palin name is on it. Any attention gained by her fame and notoriety will be negated by her actions while in office. Viewers may be able to see Russia from some of Sarah Palin’s Alaska, but the show’s content will not be credible.

Please, Mr. Zaslov, reconsider.

Dear Readers; if you would like to add your name to a petition protesting this outrageous program, go to Change.org to read more and sign up.

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>Spring Cleaning: the Medicine Cabinet

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>It was on my list. Really. But my list gets so long sometimes, important jobs remain undone. When Chuck opened the cupboard to get his daily BP meds and three bottles and a box tumbled out and landed on the counter, we decided that cleaning the meds cabinet needed to rise to the top of the to-do.


If you think the “Before” picture above looks scary, check out the “During” picture. I pulled everything out — every single bottle, every single box, every inhaler, every little medicine measuring cup — and spread out the contents on the cupboard.
Wow.

No, the coffee wasn’t in the cupboard. I needed it for strength. Really.
After combining half-full vitamin bottles, storing extras in an accessible place (two-for-one sales are only a bargain if we can keep track of what we already own), checking expiration dates, and throwing away junk like the 6 inch stack of med cups, I could organize and set up the categories. On the top shelf are over-the-counter (OTC) remedies for illnesses. I get a little OCD about OTC because when someone is sick, I do not (repeat, do NOT) want to be making a pharmacy run. We have a good stock of that which we need, and nothing unusable or out of date. They’re sorted in three small boxes: cold/ allergy, tummy troubles, and pain killer/fever reducer/ anti-inflammatories.

On the bottom are the prescriptions and everyday needs.
All extras (mainly from Buy-one Get-one deals) are behind the boxes on the top shelf. Extra prescriptions? We order most of our daily meds by mail through our insurance, so we get 3 months worth in one bottle. It really saves time and space.
Not bad, really. Most of this chore was sorting and organizing. Now if we can maintain it… now that will be the challenge!

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>Carrot Cake

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I approached the carrot cake mission as I do many others: I did a lot of research, checked out several cookbooks, looked online and asked my Plurk buddies for assistance. I settled on a recipe from Food to Live By; the Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook, and then (you guessed it) I modified it slightly. I offer you the original and my adaptations – and a picture this time!

Carrot Cake: the original
Butter, for greasing the cake pans
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus a little more for flouring the cake pans
2 cups granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups canola oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 packed cups peeled and grated carrots (about 1 pound)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Frosting
1 cup (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon milk or water, if needed
2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
For the Cake
1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325. Heavily butter and flour 2 round 9-inch cake pans, tapping out the excess flour. Set cake pans aside.
2. Place the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Place the eggs, oil, and vanilla in a small bowl and stir to combine.
4. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Add the carrots and nuts and stir.
5. Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cake pans. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the edges have pulled away from the side of the pans, 55 to 65 minutes.
6. Place the cake pans on wire racks a let the layers cool completely, about 1 hour.
For the frosting:
7. Place the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl and beat with an eletric mixer until very smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer running on medium speed, slowly add 3 1/2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar and beat until it is fully incorporated and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat until just combined. If the frosting is too soft, slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar. If the frosting is too stiff, add the 1 Tablespoon milk or water.
8. Remove cake layers from pans. Place one cake layer on a plate. Spread some of the frosting on top. Place the second layer on top of the frosting and frost the side and top of the cake. Press the 2 cups of nuts onto the side of the cake. Cake can be refrigerated, covered, for up to one week.
Now, Daisy’s changes.
  • Use 1 cup egg substitute for the eggs.
  • Instead of the 1 1/2 cup oil, use 3/4 cup applesauce and 1/2 to 3/4 cup oil.
  • I skipped the nuts in the cake, and mixed the nuts into the frosting instead of pressing them on top. That made for a lumpy (but delicious) frosting; I might do it the other way next time. Instead of a nut garnish, I sprinkled extra carrots on top.
  • I had whole walnuts, so I put them in a small zipper bag and smashed them with a meat tenderizer on a cutting board.
The cake was pronounced “Good!” by Chuck and Amigo.
I didn’t ask the rabbit.

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>Signs of Spring at the O.K. Chorale

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Yes, I do mean Chorale. We’re all musician types here at the Daisy-headed household. And it’s spring! Time to sing! Fa-la-la-la-la-lah-lah-laaaa!
The garden may look messy with its layer of leaves and mulch from last October, but if you look closely, you’ll see green onions, parsley, and chives coming back up. No asparagus, though — I’ll give it another try in a different location this year. Maybe it just didn’t have enough sun.

Below, you’ll see the rain barrels, all ready for the first shower. Why does Snoop Dogg have an umbrella? Fo’ drizzle, of course. Uh-huh. I do, indeed, have a teen and a college kid in the house; did you need to ask?

And for more signs of spring in the Daisy household, go to Green Spot On, my home- away- from- home on Mondays. Meanwhile, I’ll go try to corral that rabbit before she sneaks up the stairs. Hey, Buttercup! Over here! Carrots!

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>Ah, coffee. Such a history!

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>I felt obligated. With Tea Parties making the headlines and calling themselves patriotic, I had to do the research. Tea? Nope. Coffee, of course.

According to legend, coffee was discovered by a goatherd who noticed his goats were energetic and happy after eating the berries of a certain bush. Later on, Arabs cultivated this fascinating plant, calling its berries “qahwa” — literally, that which prevents sleep.
In the 16th century, coffee was so popular with Turks that Turkish law allowed a woman to divorce her husband if he did not provide her with a daily dose.
It’s possible that Lloyd’s of London began in the 17th Century as a coffeehouse called Edward Lloyd’s, a place where merchants and insurance agents met.

The 18th Century was full of coffee history. Coffee spread to the Western Hemisphere, Brazil’s coffee industry started as a result of a liaison between a Dutch mediator and the wife of French Guiana’s governor. He left her after the conflict was resolved, but he left her with a bouquet in which he hid the seeds of a new crop and a whole new industry.
J.S. Bach composed his Kaffee Kantate (why didn’t I learn this in my History of Baroque Music in college?) dedicated to while at the same time mocking women who dared sip the devastating brew thought to make them sterile. It contains an aria with the lyrics announcing, “Ah! How sweet coffee taste! Lovelier than a thousand kisses, sweeter far than muscatel wine! I must have my coffee.” Ah, Johann, I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Toward the end of the 18th century I found my favorite piece of coffee history:

1773: The Boston Tea Party makes drinking coffee a patriotic duty in America.

There you have it, folks. Forget the so-called Tea Parties. Ever since the Sons of Liberty trashed the merchant ships, the fact remains: True patriotism is grounded in coffee.
Pun intended.

I used several sources to find the facts for this post, but the most useful was this: A History of Coffee Timeline. Pour yourself a cuppa and enjoy.

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