welcome back mister sun

ok, too much rain, not enough sun! My backyard has been a lake for the past few days. Truly not fun for anyone, especially my poor lettuce. It looks like the rest of us have felt, wilted & meh (this is quoting a funny friend, only word that fit!). Now that the sun is finally out, I went to assess the damage. After getting rid of the battered & broken bits (into the compost they go), things were looking optimistically hopeful again. But maybe it was the sun on my back as I worked.

small steps

My three year old can undo a room in 60 seconds flat! I'm not kidding, you should see our playroom. So it wasn't any surprise to see toilet paper all over the floor after she was in there "all by myself".

This got me thinking of a tip I read on a green website about toilet paper. Double rolls. It was that simple. The idea being a double roll eliminates more of those cardboard do-dads your kids use to play pirate with. I think there will still be plenty leftover for jr's art projects. But how simple? It also saves on packaging, a bonus. Now if you have the space & inclination, you can grab a big, 20 roll pack of Marcal small steps brand in just about any local grocery store & you'll be one step closer to green utopia. It's made from 100 percent paper not trees. And are you ready for this...you could be considered locovore-ish. It is manufactured in Elmwood Park, NJ. "a small, easy step to a greener earth". Not a bad slogan. Not bad at all.

Recently at a dinner party with a very funny cast of characters, I asked if anyone knew that there are male & female cucumber plants. As you can imagine, the responses were all over the board. From sincere to downright raunchy. After the ruckus died down, I explained that I had been present for a conversation in which an experienced gardener consulted a newbie on the lack of fruit from her cucumber plants. The problem had been beautiful blossoms but no fruit. In the words of this obi-wan of all things green, you have to have male & female plants or they won't bear fruit.
Well, I am here to clear up the confusion. Yes, cucumbers have both male & female blossoms on the same vine. The male flowers develop first, grow quickly & drop without bearing fruit . The next flowers will be a combo of male & female, these are pollinated and, hopefully, will bear fruit. So while my source was technically right, she was also wrong. There was likely another problem, watering or sun, maybe. But I'm no obi-wan. Just a newbie trying to get her cucumbers to reach maturity & not talk back.

the bell un-rung

Have you ever run into a friend & gotten some news that inconveniently needed to be addressed sooner than later? How about listened to your messages & decided to put off returning calls for the time being (this excludes moms. we always call our moms right back).
In some ways this is how I feel about being green. It can, at times, feel overwhelming & time sensitive (just think Al Gore). We all make decisions every day about what is right for our families & ourselves. Is little Jimmy watching too much TV? Did I do enough for a sick friend? And the list just goes on & on. And those decisions hold enough guilt without the whole green aspect.
I am a first born AND libra. Balance is a tricky endeavor for me. Boy, do I see both sides to every story & I'd like to "please" both sides. This is where the green thing gets confusing in Tina world. My goal is to be somewhere in the middle range of green-ness. Not to give away my all my earthly possessions (I really like my creature comforts) & live off the land freegan style (an anticonsumeristic ethic to eating) or a do nothing, think of no consequences little bubble boy. Don't get me wrong though. I "get" them both. Well, sort of.
So, since the metaphorical bell cannot be un-rung, I am going to do the best I can one day at a time.

ta-da!

Well, all that can go in, is in. It ain't pretty...yet. If you squint your eyes real hard, you may be able to imagine the lush lettuce, tall brussel sprouts & the now bare trellis full of sweet peas. All of this, of course, depends on how many friends the rabbits invite over for a house party.

glad you asked

So here is the recipe for delectable cauliflower dish my kids gobbled up. I keep a copy of food network kitchens cookbook on my counter. Their version of the recipe is slightly swankier than mine but worth the effort if you have a few extra minutes. But if you are like me & just need to get the food to the table before a meltdown occurs (kids, mine or husbands), here's the abridged version.

Cauliflower with buttered bread crumbs.

you will need:
*head of cauliflower,
cut into bite size florets (cooks more evenly & a bit faster this way)
*6 tsps of unsalted butter ( if you have salted just use less salt to season)
* breadcrumbs (don't panic about the omission in amount, I'll explain)
*course salt & fresh ground pepper.

next:
* get your oven started, 425 should do it.
* melt butter.
* add bread crumbs in slowly, stopping to stir & check consistency. You want the final product to be crumby looking. You'll be better off with a fork as it goes to really muss them together. This makes a good amount of breadcrumbs, you can adjust for your families love of bread & butter. We use 'em all.
* Now toss with the cauliflower with the breadcrumbs & season with salt & pepper.
* drop the whole kitten kaboodle on a shallow roasting pan.
* Done in about 20 to 25 minutes depending on the size of the pieces.
(if you're not worried about a little extra something, something...you can add parm cheese with the breadcrumbs for some more flavor.)


Now here's their version:
Ingredients
1 medium head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-size florets
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/3 cup fresh bread crumbs (see Know-How, below)
3 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Put the cauliflower on a baking sheet and scatter the garlic on top. Melt the butter in a medium skillet and toss 2 tablespoons with the cauliflower and garlic; set the rest aside in the skillet. Toss the cauliflower with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Roast until the cauliflower is quite tender and the edges are starting to brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the cauliflower to a serving bowl.

Reheat the remaining butter over medium-high heat until brown. Add the bread crumbs and cook, swirling the pan and tossing, until they are brown and crisp-this should take less than 1 minute. Pull the pan from the heat and toss the crumbs with the parsley and the remaining 14 teaspoon salt. Spoon crumbs over the cauliflower and season with pepper. Serve warm or room temperature with lemon wedges on the side.

Know-How: Sometimes it's the little things that can make the difference in a dish being spectacular or so-so-like using homemade bread crumbs versus store-bought. Crumbs made from quality bread are easy to make. Simply tear up bread, with or without the crusts, and grind it in a food processor-1 (2-ounce) slice makes about 1/2 cup of crumbs. If you want moist crumbs-as you do for this crispy topping-start with fresh, not stale, bread. Stale dry bread is better for crumbs used in stuffings or as a binder because the crumbs absorb more liquid.

speaking of

The lovely Vanna-esque shot of Elise holding my newest BPA free container in the previous post apparently wasn't good enough. While I was typing away I heard her behind me chatting away & away. Little did I know she had been busy working on her own plastic installation. Great minds.

paper or plastic

By now you are getting to know more about me. Some things you may like, others not so much. Let's see how this one goes.
You have probably heard the debate about plastics. Either from a new mom feeding her little love with a glass bottle or a crunchy, granola cousin extolling the evils of BPA (bisphenol A). This lovely chemical is purported to cause all sorts of nasty health issues, mostly to us ladies. Breast & uterine cancer are the scariest ones I read about.
This is what I have read. The plastics industry (including Saran wrap, which has reformulated to appear more environmentally friendly) & government agencies in the U.S. & abroad maintain that there is no serious health threat in using plastic products. Consumer & environmental groups disagree. They both agree on the lack of evidence but use this deficit to support their individual interests. Food safety experts recommend consumers proceed cautiously when using plastic wraps to cover food while heating in the microwave, the two shall not touch. Because here's a little note of monkey business. The FDA acknowledges that chemical compounds can leech into food at microwave temperatures from plastic.

This is what I know. I will continue to use BPA free plastic containers to store leftovers because using a plastic bag seems wasteful on a few fronts. I will try really hard to remember not to heat the suckers up in the microwave ( even when the container says microwave safe). Who knows if I can get the whole household on board with this or keeping the dirty, little recycle-ables out of the dishwasher. (Again think heat, leech, yuck!) My husband hates doing dishes only slightly less than I do.

let's get real

Over some wine & outrageously, addictive snacks last night, I spoke with a group of long time friends who happen to be amazing moms. They brought up one of the biggest obstacles "living green" has to overcome. And it's a BIG one...cost. I remember watching Alice Waters (of Chez Panisse & edible schoolyard fame) on 60 minutes. Leslie Stahl directly asked her about how "real" people could afford to buy organic. I believe her response went something along the lines of.."some people spend a lot of money on shoes, leslie." You can check it out online at CBS.com.

I promise to come back to this subject again (& again & again) it is close to my heart. In the meantime, I will continue on my quest to find family friendly, cost effective & less time consuming ways to eat healthier.

I'm honored

Just a quick shout out to my peeps (that's you, not the sugar coated variety). Thanks for all the feedback! This has really been fun & I'm glad to have you along for the ride.

all in the name of research

I need help, really I do. The indoor seed starting had mixed results, if you will recall from my first entry. Successful, as of now anyway, are the peas, green beans, cucumbers & flowers. Even the smothered tomato shoots are showing promise. But there have been funerals, I'm not going to lie. The root veggies went into the compost pile ( a term I use very loosely right now, but may in fact be a squirrel smorgasbord!) with a lesson learned for next year.
My immediate dilemma is lettuce. Mesclun greens to be exact. I have transplanted my wimpy, little seedlings into the garden. To be honest, I have no idea what they need. It reminds me vaguely of when my son was born. After 5 glorious days recovering in the hospital, we were on our own. No manual, no money back guarantee. Just the slowest car ride ever with frequent stops to check he was still breathing. He's 8 now, there has to be hope for my greens as well.

I decided to turn this rocky start into a true experiment. Seed starting vs slacker- plant buying at the depot. By the way, most big name garden centers have lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower & a strange but intriguing kohlrabi plant all for the taking right now. And all can be planted in containers, if you'd like to get your hands a little dirty & reap a late spring harvest.

I grabbed the perfect cohort-in-crime for the half hour drive to MY FAVORITE GARDEN CENTER, Terrain at Styler's farm. My friend had never experienced this magical oasis & I was truly excited to share it. Some great conversation, a little traffic & we were there. From the moment we stepped out of the car, we were both kids on christmas morning. Visually, this place rocks! ( a side note: urban outfitters/antropologie took over this center a few years back. They earned a best of philly 08). Even when I go for very specific reasons, like today with my lettuce mission, I always get sidetracked with the lighting, cookbooks, furniture, candles & so on.

When I was able to re-focus, I headed outside to grab the much hardier looking (than mine anyway) baby mesclun. No luck but they did have a good amount of other choices & a surprise, brussel sprouts. Now don't turn up your nose. These are not the steamed balls of mush our mother's tried to get us to eat by loading each one with a olfactory numbing dose of vinegar ( when overcooked brussel sprouts take on a sulfurous odor, yuck). I am hoping they grow up to be beautiful, compact shoots which I will roast with pancetta. Yum! A bonus would be getting my kids to eat them as well. I may have a chance. Last week I found purple cauliflower & roasted it with buttered bread crumbs, not a crumb was left! Maybe it was the butter??

the paper trail

I am a tactile buyer & learner. I need to see it, smell it, turn it over in my hands, etc. It's just the way my mind processes incoming info. So, while I do like to peruse a good catalog or search a website, I typically make my purchases in person (airplane tickets, hotel reservations & staple groceries are exempt). If you know me, you would have already guessed this. In addition to checking out the goods, I like to talk to people. My one friend has a word for this..."pesty?" I share the description with her preschool age daughter. :) My chatting it up slows down progress, I guess. I see it differently. I enjoy my interactions with the good & the bad, I always learn something new about the world at large or just myself.

The "hands on" hang up actually helps my husbands argument about keeping our newspaper subscription. While it pains me to see sooo much in our paper recycle bin, I can respect the paper & cup of coffee ritual.

This has lead me to figure out other ways to reduce the paper mountain. About 2 years ago, I signed up on a few different lists to stop my junk mail. Well worth the effort! (google it) Now I am ready to take the next step, my catalogs. This is actually a multi-front attack. Catalogs are vehicles for spending. Whether the front is sporting cute, little kids or beautiful rooms you'd like to be sitting in...all are trying to separate us from our dollars & bring more stuff into our homes. The backlog of catalogs is another time suck ( I don't need any more minuses in the time dept!). Who needs to be sorting catalogs to see which one is the current season? Lastly, all that paper. No matter how "environmentally" friendly the paper is it has been printed on, it is ultimately a waste. My mailman will even thank me for lightening his load.

So adios, filler in my mailbox, temptress of spending! If I need a fix, I can always go online.

The Promise Land

Standing outside with my nose pressed against the window, I really wanted to enter what looked to my "green" dabbling eyes as the promise land.

A little back story...my dear friend & fellow nyc-ophile, Chris & I had been all over lower manhattan for the better part of the day. We had discovered ricotta & prosciutto balls (2 for a dollar & beyond heavenly!) in little italy and stumbled into chinatown for the last stirrings of the chinese new years (WOW!). And as our last mission of the day, we were headed up bowery in search of a single restaurant supply place open on sunday so I could purchase a pan I had been dreaming about. The shop was only open for 15 minutes & I froze...so many choices of unfulfilled culinary dreams...

Ok, ok before I lose you. The aforementioned land of plenty was The GreenDepot . And it was calling my name but I realized we'd have to wait to rendezvous at another time, the store & I that is. For my fellow traveler & I needed to prop up our feet & have a nice cocktail. Which we did. And that's another story for another time but back to The GreenDepot.

I have not been back but have visited online @ www.greendepot.com . And all I can say is wow. This 3,200 sq foot eco-superstore sells all things organic, recycled & sustainable. One reviewer likened the building & goods to a "green minded Ikea". Probably minus the swedish meatballs?! The website touts services to help serious green machines with overall projects. Adrian Grenier (aka Vinnie Chase of HBO's Entourage) sourced a contractor & green materials, including recycled denim insulation for his Brooklyn townhouse (now if they'd source the delivery address, we'd really be in business!). But I believe even the newbie-greenie would be just as at home choosing from products like chemical free cleaning supplies, LED light bulbs & the ubiquitous reusable water bottle of this worthy movement.

I am on a mission to get to the little sister store On New State Road in Philadelphia. Any co-pilots?

just a little more eye candy

This is my little helper, Miss Elise. She was so proud to be posing in the new "garden" with a strawberry plant direct from union square in nyc (Thank you, Auntie Chris!). I actually found the plant in her room an hour later. She was carrying it around like a pet!

By the way, you may not be able to discern the amount of dirt covering her from head to toe in this picture but a neighbor thought she was wearing a grey shirt not white! That's my girl.

the box is built

So as you can see, my husband, Tom, pulled it off. He constructed a beautiful raised bed for me to get planting in.



We had 3 yards mix of compost, soil & in Tom's words "mushroom stuff" delivered this past saturday (there was PLENTY of extra). The delivery guy was apparently very proud of how well he mixed the three. Boys are funny.

Now I am feeling a huge amount of pressure to make sure I grow a kick butt garden. My little peas plants are looking awful lonely & really wimpy in the 10 x 4 plot. The even tinier mesclun shoots look kinda pathetic to be honest. As you can imagine I was feeling out of my depth, so I walked away.

You'll be happy to know I didn't go far but needed a moment to regroup. As I was mindlessly cutting back a hydrangea bush (poor plant!), I formulated a plan. I will go to my favorite garden center, Terrain, and grab some baby plants a more experienced gardener started & see which do better. My little weaklings or their green, lush promises. Hmmm, I don't sound very optimistic do I. Let the games begin!

technology is sometimes baffling

I just had to become a follower of my own blog to respond in the comment section. Strange but true.
As with my green attempts, my techno-self is a little slow to emerge! But I am making progress on both fronts.

The anticipation

It's coming, it's coming!
Thankfully spring is working the very magic we look forward to every year. And for me that means farmer's markets. In my neck of the woods, we are very lucky to be in the middle of multiple options of deliciousness. The markets are as varied as the reasons one might grab their cloth market bag, wipe the sleep outta their eyes & bike on over. Some (like me) believe in buying local produce from the very farmers who harvested the colorful delights. Others (like me) might like the live music. Still others (like me) enjoy the culinary delights to be found & enjoyed with a good cup of coffee.
Whatever your reasons, I hope this links help you find just the right market for you.

www.localharvest.org
http://www.state.nj.us/agriculture/
http://www.thefoodtrust.org/php/programs/farmers.market.program.php


In the meantime, while we wait for these gems to all open, head to the fair food farmstand in the reading terminal for a quick fix.

The First Garden

So I am a big fan of Michelle Obama. There I said it. If she's not your cup of tea, I hope you'll hang in for my point.
I like that she wears clothes from J.Crew. Adores her husband but isn't afraid of bringing him back to center. A beautiful woman with a seemingly good mix of traditionalism & powerful ideas of what it means to be a woman in today's world.

Mostly though, I love that she has created an amazing, edible garden (with help, a lot of help). When I first saw pictures in the paper of The First Lady braking ground on what is now a 1,100 square foot plot, my heart did a little happy dance. It still does actually.
It seems Michelle & I have more in common than mommyhood, cardi sweaters & love of mexican food. We both believe in teachable moments.

Did you know her garden, from the start to fall harvest, produced 740 lbs of produce? Pretty impressive, right? And she has recruited school children to help with planting, weeding & the fun part, harvesting. A portion of the produce goes to a local social service's agency, Miriam's Kitchen. Now before you start going on about how she has "people" like Sam Kass (a little eye candy NEVER hurt a political agenda) or Jim Adams, Chief Horticulturist, just think about the fact that the garden was started with just $175. A highly published number, but come on, it's still impressive.

So, finally, to my point. If you are like me or Michelle, you just want to help your kids live long, healthy, enriched lives, right? A garden seems to me a good jumping off point to taking care of the earth, your family & possibly leave you with some leftover cash for an new cardi. Gotta go, my blackberry is dinging with a J.Crew sale update! Chow.

FYI...to read more about Michelle Obama's health & nutrition initiative go to
http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/

Grid

Have you seen this magazine? If you want to get your green groove on, grab a copy & savor with a nice cup of joe. I pick my copy up at the Grind house in haddonfield but you could also visit them at www.gridphilly.com to view a digital edition.

This month's edition was the catalyst for sowing my garden seeds inside. I mean look at that cover, how can you not??

And the inside is even better. Lots of intelligently written articles about, well, everything green. From breaking news like philly peco's cap ( hold onto your hats philadelphian's your electric bill may increase 29.7 percent on average.) to recycling projects ( wanna know what to do with old chinese take out containers?) and even recipes (rhubarb, yum)

Another benefit of these inspired pages is the advertisements...all green.

The clever, green hipsters at Grid have also started a blog (hey, everybody's doing it). The GRIDDLE is a self described "short stack of news & notes from the Grid".
It is a more up to the minute place to go for all things sustainable.

Happy clicking!

Where to begin?

I'm a mom on a journey to find better ways to live a "green" life. And this blog is really just going to be an extension of the discoveries, triumphs & fumblings along the way. At least I hope so.

First fumbling...

I was inspired & motivated to start a "grown up" garden this year. Not a lonely tomato plant haphazardly slapped into a container & left to it's own devices. This was to be a patch of earth tilled with a raised bed & trellis brimming with all things edible. Yes! I have been daydreaming about it through all the record breaking blizzards this year. 78.9 inches of snow, it felt like more! Didn't it?

So, what better way to bring some green & sunshine into our house then starting the seeds indoors? Can't be that hard. I went online, read some books & asked around. My kids were as excited as I was, each morning running into our makeshift greenhouse (read laundry room here) & checkin the progress of our seedlings. Side note: Those button looking cardboard plugs of dirt used to start seeds, Do Not Overwater. Just letting you know.

The drowning of the tomatoes was not the fumbling, just a small detour. Our enthusiasm was not deter. We still had an amazing amount of sprouts pushing up. We were farmers. Or so it seemed.

The green thumb high was bought to a screeching halt this past sunday when a trusted gardener asked about my foray into suburban gardening. Well, I said beaming, we have peas, green beans, mesclun greens, carrots, beets, radishes, etc & so forth. The look on her face said it all. I braced for it. "Root vegetable can't be transplanted, you know." And there went my mojo.