Free salad

I harvested a lovely baby greens salad from some of my lettuce "garbage"(stumps) that I was regrowing.  Living food in a time where you're waiting for the new growth to flourish is such a gift!  I realize that as the weather starts to turn cool this year, I will definitely begin regrowing from stumps and sprouting again to keep me in living food until next season!  The stumps are being replaced by seedlings lately (I only have so much window legde space, unfortunately)
Of course season extension is going to be tried and root cellar ideas will come out on here sooner or later, but nothing quite beats a living salad in the early spring!

Juicer "Garbage" Pate!

I was making a carrot and orange juice today and was wondering what other kind of recipe I could make.  I juiced all the carrots first and decided to try making a carrot pate.  I love carraway seeds so after looking around for a carrot-carraway pate recipe, I made up my own!

Juicer garbage from approx 2.5lbs carrots (a bag and a bit)
Approx 1/2 cup tahini
Approx 2 tbsp toasted carraway, crushed after toasting
salt and pepper

Mix it all together and voila!  Delish!

Just Do It

It's that easy.
They listen.
(Except when people are campaigning... Apparently that's not jumk mail...)

Another "Garbage" Recipe!

I came across a pretty awesome easy recipe that I've used a bunch of times now whenever I steam a lot of large greens like kale and swiss chard. I've seem people just throw away the stems... Don't! Eat them! Delicious!

Steam kale, chard, and any other hearty green stems for a few minutes until mostly cooked through
Mix together with some tomato sauce, a freshly blended tomato or tomato paste
(I usually do it just with these but I fot fancy and added some sauteed onion and garlic and grated fresh zucchini too)

Top with breadcrumbs, organic cornmeal, crushed nuts, or any other crunchy type topping.
Top that with cheese, or vegan cheese, or nut cheese.

Bake until cheese is melted and everything is heated through.
Delish!

Major Garbage-Saver

Last month I took what I thought was a scary plunge and purchased a Diva Cup: divacup.com
But, in fact, it wasn't that scary.
And, in fact, it's the happiest decision I think I've ever made to do with a time in my life that I've always hated.
It's not a difficult product to use, it just takes some tries to get used to.
I save so much garbage every month. SO MUCH GARBAGE!
I am not worried about being caught off guard–you don't have to keep a supply of products in a bag in case of emergencies, just a single small bag.
I don't need to worry about Toxic Shock Syndrome (I mean REALLY)
And I'll save a whole whack of money over the course of my life.
All in all, I am the least embarrassed and disgusted by this body process that I have to live through every month than I ever have been in my life.  The Diva Cup feels like the most natural process I could ask for. I hate my body less during these times. And I'm cutting down on my consumption and garbage production significantly.  I have no reason not to say DO IT any more. I'm a convert. You should be too.

Fruit Leather/Crackers

Seeing as my worms were needing a break from feeding, when I made a new batch of juice, I tried to think of another thing to do with the leftovers.  And I remembered my friend erin telling me a recipe for a fruit leather-y type thing.  So here is my attempt: 

I spooned some chia seeds into a small bowl with some water (about 2 tsp of chia with 1/4 cup water) and let it make it's gooey magic (technically, chia is mucilaginous, but you know, ooey gooey works too...) for about 5 minutes:

While the chia goo-ified itself, I spooned the leftovers of my apple, orange, beet and ginger juice onto a tray that I had lined with tin foil:

I then mixed the two together on the tray and flattened it out along the tray, pulling out any seeds or big chunks as I went.

I put in in the oven at the lowest heat (on my oven 200) for about 2.5 hours then left it sit in the oven as it cooled for another hour or two. I peeled the dried fruit off the tin foil an put it in a tupperware to store and munch on over the next few days:

They're somewhat of a cross between a fruit leather and a cracker.  I think they would be pretty tasty with hummus or guacamole or maybe a yoghurt dip too.  Yummy food made from "garbage bits"–fun!

Evergreen Brickworks

I went to Evergreen Brickworks today for Seedy Saturday and the farmers market.

(ebw.evergreen.ca)

With the excitement of spring-like weather I decided to bike the 10km over there from my house, forgetting that trails along the Don wouldn't be clear yet...  At least the 1.5 hour bikeride where I got fully lost was full of lovely people helping give me directions, lots of sunshine, and reminders of how much I like cycling.

But HOLY MANICOTTI, the brickworks is absolutely wondrous. I just got the most brief look at the place but it was so inspiring.  A few things that stuck out:

-Waste baskets labelled "Compost", "Recycling", and "Landfill" (WHY DON'T ALL GARBAGE CANS SAY THAT??)

-the amazing children's area with wood fire, instructional compost piles, a crazy tree branch hut and more super fun things

-a pathway paves with bricks donated from various places–mismatched beauty!

-the benches made from large branches laid on their side with bum grooves in them :)

In any case, not even close to the tip of the iceberg but, needless to say, I'll be back there soon to investigate more!

One of the fun things I decide to do, though, was grab a piece of sage out of their massive bushes they had by their bike locks.  Sage goes berzerk crazy so one small branch will definitely not be missed. I found one with roots on it and asked the plant if I could take him home with me.  As crazy as you might feel, think about how much you would like it if someone just ripped off a piece of you and trekked you across the city...  

The way sage spreads is pretty cool. Other ground covers like thyme do this too. As the stems grow and get heavy, they sort of drag along the ground and grow new roots along what is near the soil. This is where I got the piece I took from. Here he is:

I'm going to plant him tomorrow when I get a chance and let him start making a most beautifully fragrant bush so, so soon! I can feel spring coming!

Stolen Phone

My phone was stolen two nights ago.
I wasn't angry.
          (strangely)
It's just a phone.
It felt quite natural that someone might want my things.

Instead of speeding off an buying a new one immediately, I questioned my desires for new technology. I'm on the way to luddite-ness when it comes to technology, give me the thing that will do the most basic version of what needs to be done (phones should call people and send text messages and hold phone numbers–that's all, right?) but I still rely on them.  I don't pick up texts the second they come in, and I certainly don't spend an evening virtually talking to others when in the presence of friends. But here I am, phoneless, anxious, and thinking of alternative solutions.

I'm getting a friends old phone for free.
No new phones will have to be made,
No packaging to dispose of,
No shipping,
No money to change hands.
I need it for my business and to contact people.
But I will not let it run me.
I will not continually check it to see if I've gotten a text when I'm alone.
          (I will accept and settle in my aloneness)
          (I will set aside time for it like I do for emails)
Disconnect to reconnect.
To self.

I'm a believer in our connection to nature being intrinsic to our humanity.
But nature is also ourselves.
Grow food,
Dance,
Meditate,
Be with friends,
Cook.
We're part of a cycle.
We're part of many cycles.

The last time my technology got stolen I was in Europe:
Passport,
Rail Pass,
Wallet,
Laptop,
DSLR,
Video Camera.
I almost wished I didn't have all that stuff.
And then it was gone.
And it was ok because it wasn't me throwing it away.
It was stolen.
And I wasn't really that upset.
What followed was the most life-changing experience I've ever had.
          (but that's a different story)
And this time, again, I don't really care.
And I'm excited to think about the learning that is about to happen...