Being Green: Part Two, Food

Green: relating to or being an environmentalist political movement b: concerned with or supporting environmentalism c: tending to preserve environmental quality (as by being recyclable, biodegradable, or nonpolluting)

Environment: 1: the circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one is surrounded. 2 a: the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival b: the aggregate of social and cultural conditions that influence the life of an individual or community

When one thinks about what it means to be "green" in terms of diet, I suppose most people jump to words like organic, natural, vegetarian, and even the dreaded *GASP* vegan. While these are all components of "being green" - they do not comprise the whole. Why? Because these concepts are fundamentally individualistic. Someone who is truly green is thinking of both the part (individual) and the whole (community/world). Now, thinking about the world may be a survivalist act (i.e. I want everyone to have food so they don't come beating down my door). It's still results in a globalist approach.


So, as we contemplate how we can change our diets to be more "green" - we need to seriously consider what will benefit society as a whole, as well as what might benefit our own body.

Consider: Eating locally.

Probably the easiest thing you can do to be green is check and see where the food that you eat comes from. There are precious few items grown from outside of the country that I will eat. Most of those items are cultural or locational anomalies. For example, I will buy some Japanese candies on occasion, as those are inherent to them. I will not, however, buy the apples from Chile (which are labelled as organic, by the way). Nor will I the grapes. Why?

Lets think, for a minute, about what I am supporting if I do buy them: another country's economy (instead of my own), possible mistreatment of individuals working on the farm, farming of produce that is harder for the US to regulate, and of course the fossil fuels needed to ship the items to me.

Decidedly NOT GREEN.

Nor is it particularly green to buy apples from Washington when I live in Florida. Alas, tell that to my apple-loving children. So what to do? Buy your items as local as humanly possible. If you can grow it in your back yard - that is best. If not that, buy from a farmer's market - that produce is close enough for a farmer to drive in on a Saturday morning. Next best would be a supermarket that ships in local produce, like Publix. Preference would always be to the US over international. How do you know? Your grocer knows where they get everything from - and should tell you. At our grocery store it's on all of the labels. Now, the down side is that you end up eating produce in season rather than whenever you want. However, that produce is not only better for the Earth -- but it TASTES better too!

Consider: Avoiding packaged foods.

Okay, so you're buying local produce and want to take the "next step." Now comes the toughie: I'm going to ask you to avoid the center isles.

I know, I know, how could I?!? I mean, that's where the OREOS live!

Now, don't get me wrong. I buy the processed foods too. I have a 2 and a 3 year old. How could I possibly NOT buy goldfish? I am not a purist, but I do make a concerted effort to shop on the outside isles to get the whole-foods MOST of the time. Why? Well, packaged foods have a lot of junk in them. Look at the ingredients. How many words can you not pronounce on that package of cheese doodles? Is it even real cheese? And really, how could it be GOOD for you?

The answer is that it's not, and it's not good for the environment either. Why not the environment? Well, you're mass producing foods, pumping out whatever in pollution, instead of making the cookies in the privacy of your own home with a relatively low-output oven. Moreover, by avoiding packaged foods - you know you're safe from inadvertently supporting whatever corporate agenda the company supports. AND, you're using reusable resources, instead of finishing that bag of chips and tossing it. I mean, think about how much trash - as a community - we throw out EVERY DAY from packaging. While we are not in a place to be able to completely eliminate it, we are in a place to reduce, reduce, reduce.

Consider: Buying Naturally or Wild

If you can't give up the packaged food completely (this is me), do what I do and read the labels. I check to see if there are words I can't pronounce. I also check to see if the ingredients are what I would put into the product myself. So, for bread I expect to see words like "flour, sugar, yeast, milk, vegetable oil, and salt." If I see anything like monohydorlexicanmiosississisisisis, I know to stay away. Every time I turn around, one of these chemicals turns out to be used for rat poison or the US military's bombs, or SOMETHING equally as adverse to the human body.

One BIG turn off for me is high-fructose corn syrup. Now, I could write a whole dissertation on why we avoid it, so instead Ill stick with the fact that it's processed sugar. Anything processed is farther from the Earth, and thus something I try to avoid.

In the case of seafood, and meats where applicable, something else you can consider is wild. These animals and fish live the way God intended - and the are consumed through the natural process of the food chain. Our reasons for vegetarianism are partially ethical, but not in the sense that we believe it is unfavorable to eat animals. If we were to eat meat, this would likely be the primary method of consumption for us. Secondary would be organic.

Consider: Buying Organic

Now, where anything living is concerned - this is the grandaddy of the green.

I know people who buy everything organic. If it's made organically, they will buy it. If it's not, then they won't. Simple.

It's not so much for me.

You see, I have a finite amount of resources coming in. While I want to keep my family happy and healthy, and I want to do the Earth well, I also want some disposable income for experiences. I mean, what good is the Earth if I can't enjoy it? If I purchased all of our items organically, then I wouldn't have any money for anything else. As it is, our grocery, health care, and cleaning items run us $1000/mo. Some months I have a tough time keeping it at that. With that in mind, the questions about what I need to buy organically - and what I don't - really become important.

To answer this question, we need to know what it means to be labeled "organic." There is a quick answer to this: to be labeled you have to undergo an extensive process with the USDA in which you prove that you meet the standards. What are the standards? Well, it depends what kind of food you are producing.

Meat and animal products: Organic meat comes from animals that have been treated in a certain manner prior to slaughter. Issues of feed, living conditions, pest control, health care, and origin, are all defined in the by-laws for receiving and maintaining the label. Handling is also considered under the organic label. Since animal products come from the animal (presumably before slaughter) all of these also apply to things like milk, eggs, and milk products.

Seafood: Is not currently regulated. Anything labeled "organic" or "natural" is not done so by any official party. Buy wild, see above.

Produce: Organic produce is regulated in how land is managed, soil is conditioned, as well as how crops are rotated, managed, and harvested.

Packaged: Packaged foods are created from the above. To be considered an organic product, 95% of all ingredients must come from the above (unless it's labeled at 100%). If you see the label "made with organic ingredients" it comes down to 70%.

The similarity in organic products seems to be a limitation on the number of pesticides, hormones, and the amount of UN-natural stuff the product is exposed to. This, this limits the amount of UN-natural stuff that you - the consumer - is exposed to.

In our home, I subscribe closely to the dirty dozen, which are the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables. The easy way that I remember what is "okay" and what is "not" is the type of skin. Items with thin/non existent/edible skins are best purchased organically. Those with thick, inedible skins or husks are okay to purchase inorganically.

As far as grains are concerned, I have read in the past that it is not as important to purchase these types of foods organically, at least in terms of pesticide limitations. I cannot find a source to cite right now, but I believe that it was in Consumer Reports. It's because of this that I look for natural grain products, but I don't stress over the organic label. Now, for reasons regarding general treatment for the earth, organic is always better than inorganic. Remember that individual vs. the whole argument I was making earlier?

So, what does this mean to the "regular family"?

Unfortunately, in our area - it is difficult to eat the way we want to. Partly due to my husband's health concerns, and partly because we cannot afford to eat meat the way we want to, we are vegetarians instead. I've been enjoying inorganic berries because the organic ones just aren't good. I'm sure if I can get them farm fresh, they'd be great - but I can't. I also have trouble with "organic" apples that come from Chile. How green are they if I have to ship them from miles and miles away? Especially when there are ones available from the US. At least then you are supporting the local economy.

What I'm trying to point out is that it's not important to be perfect about your eating green. It's one of those "constantly evolving" things - acting in such a way that betters yourself, your family, and the world that we live in. In the end, being "green" where your food is concerned is more about being aware. Being aware of what you are putting into your body, where it comes from, and the process it which it gets to you.

Of course, there is one more component to being green with your food, and it deals with consumption and waste. Which, my green friends, will lead me into Part III.

Disconnected.

So, I know I promised organic foods today....but I can't seem to find the words. You see, the wonderful petree dishes that I live with brought home their "end of the school year, aren't you going to miss daycare" cold. Yesterday I couldn't breath at all, and today my head feels about twice the size that it normally does. I ordered some eucalyptus and peppermint oils for my cleaning arsenal, but those won't be here until the end of the week (at best). So, today I will suffer in silence.

Yeah, me suffer in silence. Who am I kidding? I will suffer until my husband gets home. Then I will whine and make HIM suffer. (LOVE YOU BUNCHES HONEY!)

In the mean time, I also promised a post every day. Darn it, I'm at least going to deliver on THAT promise.

This last weekend, in an effort to counteract a recent unbelievably large grocery run, I made a couple pots of beans. I made black beans for later in the week, but I also made chickpeas. Chickpeas are also known as garbanzo beans.

Now, garbanzo beans/chick peas are often used in hummus (I believe that they are garbanzo beans when dry, chickpeas when cooked up). I have found them to be a very useful bean otherwise. They are quite flavorful, and have a different sort of consistency. They blend up quite nice in hummus, but they also mash for a chunkier texture, or can be eaten whole.

Here, I described the first steps in making your own hummus as actually making the beans.

"Start by soaking the beans all night or day. Wash and toss the ickies.When ready to cook, place beans in a dutch oven, with around a gallon of water.Bring to a boil, cook for 1.5-2.5 hours. You want a bean that can be mashed with a little effort, blended creamy easily, but isn't falling apart. When done, pour into a colander and drain."

When not making chickpeas for hummus, I highly suggest amending this by adding some olive oil, spices, and salt to the boiling beans. A friend of mine suggests the last hour, but I sometimes do it right from the start of cooking (not soaking, mind you) with success. I've tried thyme, sage, and fresh basil. I really love the way the fresh basil turned out recently. Basil has sort of a buttery flavor that worked with the beans. For me, salt is really important to bring out the flavor - and you need a surprising amount. Testing an underdone bean during the cooking process won't hurt you, and it will allow you to get a feel for what spices need to be adjusted. It's better to go light on a spice early, decide the flavor isn't full enough, and adjust. Better, that is, than adding too much of something. In the mean time, I would start with a tablespoon of whatever spice you want to try to start.

So, the beans are cooked, now what?

Chickpea Sandwiches: Mash them with a fork, and make an egg salad or tuna fish-like sandwich. I add mayo, mustard, and dill relish to mine. With my recent basil find, I tried just some balsamic vinegar and mashed it all together, then on a bun. AMAZING, a bit better than they mayo, and vegan if you lean that way.

Add to any salad for a protein burst

Eat with rice, for simplicity. Stealing an idea from a friend, I added some light sour cream to the beans and it worked. It seemed weird, but it worked. Not a ton, just enough to "dress" the beans a bit.

And, lastly, my new favorite - Chickpea Salad. I haven't given orangette any love lately, so here I go. Uber simple, and tasty. I just had this for lunch.

It is time for me to nurse my head cold, but before I go, I wanted to give all of Miranda's friends and family a quick shout out. Miranda told me that she My Spaced you all - and I wanted to say thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you again real soon!

Being Green: Part One, dishes, plastic, and the US.

Have you ever wondered about those dishes you serve your family's dinner in? I know I do. I started to become concerned last holiday season, when every time I turned around some other toy was being recalled for lead. All of them came from China. Suddenly, I started to realize that EVERYTHING in my house was made in China. Even the dishes. Which made me wonder - if the paint used on toys has lead in it, who is to say that the paint used on my DISHES wouldn't also be filled with lead? From that day on, I vowed to shop American whenever possible.

It occurred to me that this decision was good for me and my community in many ways. (1) I am supporting American jobs. (2) "Made in America" products travel a shorter distance to get to me, thus using less oil and energy. And (3) In my mind, fewer questionable substances.

My first block came when I tried to buy dishes for the family. I'm a fan of stoneware - good, hearty, use for everything, dishware. It TURNS OUT that it's very difficult (and very expensive) to find made-in-America stoneware. They're out there, I just can't afford them right now. It's not like I can run to any second-hand store either, as I said before, practically everything is made in China.

So, I turned away and stuck my head in the sand until I can afford them. Dejected, I ignored the dishes until I became aware of BPA and PVC. What are these? Well, substances found in certain plastics that will find their way into your food given the right circumstances. Substances that are found to bring less-than-desirable results to the human body. Basically, in my research I have found that anything besides a little recycle symbol with a 5 inside of it, means that your plastic is toxic. It's not quite that simple - or drastic, but if you do the research about it, you will find the same. If you don't know what I am talking about, look on the bottom of a plastic bowl. See a triangle made out of arrows? See that number inside? THAT'S the all-important number.

Now, here was my concern - I can't give my kids stoneware. They try to help (think Barney's "clean up, clean up!") Then they break. I need plastic for those occasions that the plate ends up the floor. So, I went to my cupboard to see what I had. Guess what I found? Lots of 7's and "made in China's. JOY. Out they went and in came a whole host of new products:

I now use PYREX glass bowls and (safe) plastic lids for food storage. Did you know that PYREX was made in the USA? I happened to get a great deal on Amazon.com over the Memorial Day Weekend.

I bought plastic plates, bowls, and cups for the kids at Publix. Arrow Plastics are made in Illinois, and sold in a few places. One being Walmart. Another being our local grocery store.

I purchased us all new water bottles from Kleen Kanteen. Made with stainless steel, I don't worry about the affects of plastic or aluminum. They also have a safe plastic sippy attachment for your kiddos.

For lunches, I am investing in the lunchbox bento for my entire family. I bought one for my husband to use this summer, and try out. So far, so good. So long cheapie lunch bags, plastic bags, and juice boxes!

Since I am doing away with excess plastic, I also went ahead and purchased some new bags for my produce. A user of reusable grocery bags, I thought it was so stupid that I brought home plastic with my produce. So, I went ahead and replaced those too. I have yet to use them (got them last week, just after I made our weekly run). They seem simple enough , and I love how the set comes with items meant to keep my produce fresh longer. Less waste is green too!

So, those are the steps we've made as of late. "Being green" is one of those things that you can't ever be "good enough" at. Recently, at my evaluation, my principal asked me what areas I could improve. I included lesson plans and parent contacts as mine - because those are two things that we can NEVER be "good enough" at. There's always some new way to teach something, and there's always a parent that could be called for a situation. Being green is the same. There's always some way that I could do with less, make more out of something already useful, or advocate for world change.

To your right, under green living, is the soft landing blog. That site taught me a great deal about how to best protect my family from unwittingly given chemicals in their food. I also wanted to give you a few more "food for thought" websites and online stores:

- Not Made In China: A blog that discusses toys that are made and not made overseas.

- Still made in the USA: Products and goods made in the USA.

- Reusablebags.com: A GREAT all-in-one store for green goods. I recently purchased my reusable produce bags, Kleen Kanteens, and Laptop Lunch Box all from this online store.

These all deal with how we store and eat our foods, as well with buying American. Tomorrow, I will "school y'all" (yes, that's a southern phrase) on the actual foods.

What do you do with a dead tomato?

As I typed that, I couldn't help but sing it to the tune of "What do you do with a drunken sailor?"

But, I digress.

Let me ask you, have you bought some nice, fresh, firm but juicy, positively perfect in every way, tomatoes - only to have them become mush within 24 hours?

This is my life.

As I am with bananas, I am quite particular about tomatoes. I cannot STAND them when they get grainy and mushy. Blech. They must be perfectly firm, but ripe and juicy.

There are 4 ways that I enjoy a fresh tomato:

(1) Slice and top with soft goat cheese and heat, just slightly, in the microwave.

(2) Alternate slices with fresh mozzarella and sprinkle fresh basil. Drizzle EVOO and balsamic vinegar over the top.

(3) Chop and enjoy over some black beans, cilantro lime rice, along with avocado and sour cream.

(4) Chop and enjoy over the top of a Mexican salad with Newman's Own Lime Vinaigrette.

So, the question becomes - what do you do with a not-rotten-but-not-fresh-tomato? I used to toss them, but then I came across this fantastic recipe for Tomato Soup. I got this from a creative Mommy who makes her own slings. I almost always double or triple this recipe when tomatoes go on sale, and then stick leftovers in large bags in the freezer. You also have this option if your tomatoes are about to go bad, but you aren't prepared for tomato soup for dinner.

Tomato Soup

1 small onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb fresh tomatoes, chopped, or 1 lg. (28oz) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream or half & half
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. chopped basil
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Saute the garlic and onion in olive oil until soft. Add tomatoes and cook over med. heat for 10 minutes. Add tomato sauce, chicken broth, cream and 1 Tbsp of the basil. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Process with hand blender or in blender jar until smooth. Return to pan and add remaining basil, salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Some additional thoughts:

I have omitted the sauce and added more tomatoes. This worked fine, just reduce the amount of broth by a little.

I also replaced the half-and-half with 2%. I didn't notice a difference.

I also use vegetable broth with great results.

Make sure you use very little salt, as this salts up unexpectedly quickly.

I topped with mozzarella instead - and it melted nicely into the soup.

A very nice savory tomato soup. Not at all sweet. It's also hardy like a bisque.

I used my immersion blender right in the bot to blend. Perfecto!

Here's a picture of the soup in our freezer, waiting to be eaten.
If you're more Classico than Campbell's...you might be more interested in making tomato sauce with your elderly tomato.

I did this the other night. Dice up an onion, mince some garlic (I put in 3 full cloves - I LOVE garlic). Throw down some EVOO and get them all nice and cooking. Then add in some chopped tomatoes (water and all) and let it cook down for 10 or 15 minutes over medium heat. I then added some red wine and fresh basil, and let things cook for another 5 minutes or so. I blended things up a bit more with my immersion blender, which made a very thin sauce. If you like chunky, skip the blending step. Top your favorite pasta (I had linguine), add some cheese, and you are in buisness!

Pledge Time.

So this is summer. No assignments to grade, lessons to plan, or students to stress over. All I have are my little children and husband to care for. I am taking a couple of online courses for professional development, but other than that, I am school-free.

So now, I am going to devote my time to this love - cooking, family life, and green living.

I have many projects lined up for the summer:

(1) I am going to feed my family homemade bread. I am also going to find sustainable, go to recipes that will allow me to feed my family homemade bread all year long.

(2) I am going to see how cheaply we can eat, while still eating well and organically wherever possible.

(3) I am going to learn to make homemade tortillas. Low fat homemade tortillas.

(4) I will master the balsamic reduction. We had that at a restaurant lately, and LOVED it.

(5) I will master the Panna Cotta recipe.

(6) We will be making a family trip out to Portland, Oregon - to see more family, and determine the steps necessary to make it our new home. While in Portland, we will be taking a tour that I am VERY excited about. I will be sure to post a review.

(7) This is the one that bears most on you, my reader - I will be posting daily. Even if it's a "the kids are sick, I can't think of anything to post, so here is a good article..." I will post daily. I promise! From now until my vacation - I will post daily. So, if you would like to reciprocate my devotion - please feel free to share this blog with friends and family. I hope to have more of what I've already put here, just MORE of it .

For today, I thought I would change things a bit and put something up about me, but first let me call your attention to the right of the blog. See? I have posted some new links for your referencing pleasure. I have posted many more recipe sites, a link to my Amazon list if my blog gives you a dose of consumerism, and a new food blog. I've updated!

Madam Meow isn't just a food blog - she's another Mommy who dabbles in the culinary, and I just really dig the blog. In her most recent post, she gave me the idea for an "about me" mosaic. LOVE it!

Here's how you do your own.

(1) Do a search in flicker for the answers to the questions I posted (and answered for myself) below.

(2) Pick a picture on the first page of each search (NO cheating!)

(3) Go to the Mosaic Maker - choose your dimensions (come on now - it's just FACTORS!) Input the links, and create your mosaic.

Here are the questions:

1. What is your first name? Hollee

2. What is your favorite food? Caprese Salad

3. What high school did you go to? Forest Grove High School

4. What is your favorite color? RED

5. Who is your celebrity crush? Barack Obama. Oh come on...you didn't see this coming?

6. Favorite drink? Mojito

7. Dream vacation? Wine country, Italy

8. Favorite dessert? Chocolate Martini

9. What you want to be when you grow up? Loved - which I am already, but a little extra love never hurts.

10. What do you love most in life? life

11. One Word to describe you. Organized

12. Your flickr name. "no name" (I don't belong to flicker).

1. Graduation weekend, 2. Insalata Caprese Salad, 3. IMG_2971, 4. Blood-Red Flower, 5. Senator Barack Obama, 6. Mojito, 7. Italy-Wine Bar, 8. Chocolate Martini, 9. Love XOXO, 10. Life, 11. Organized, 12. What? No name?!?

fri-what-ta?

Ah, the frittata. The lazy man's (or woman's) omelet. Surprisingly fancy, yet surprisingly EASY.

Tonight, inspired by another recipe, I made my own. I can see this is going to become a staple in my home.

Vegetarian Broccoli-Sausage Frittata.

2 cups chopped fresh broccoli
1 small onion, diced.
2 cloves garlic, minced.
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Morning Star meat starter crumbles (freezer)
2 medium fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (but fresh would be divine too!)
8 eggs.
2 T. EVOO
2 T. fresh basil.

(1) In oven safe skillet, heat 1 T. of the EVOO. Add broccoli, onions, garlic, and frozen meat crumbles. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, until broccoli is crisp-tender.

(2) Add remaining T. of EVOO, spread mixture out evenly on skillet. Sprinkle with basil, salt, and pepper. Top with eggs.

(3) Cook at 350 for 20 minutes, or until set. Turn off oven. Sprinkle with mozzarella and place skillet back in oven until mozzarella melts.

(4) Sprinkle frittata with diced maters.

The husband really liked this, which impressed me as it had FAKE meat (the hubby is SO not a fan of this stuff).

What's fun about this recipe is that you can totally mix up the ingredients to your taste. I envision a Mexican fritatta with jack cheese and avocado diced on top. What about a garden variety? Or Greek? Maybe soft gooey goat cheese? ohhhh....MUSHROOMS and olives with tomato sauce dolloped on top.

This might be a fritatta WEEK at our house.

The countdown and BIG GRIDDLES

Well, ladies and gentlemen. This time next week, you should be reading lots and lots of inspired posts with new recipes galore. Why, you ask? Well, because starting next week....it's....

SUMMER VACATION!

Yes, yes. Teachers are teachers for two reasons. If he/she is worth anything in the classroom - the primary reason is for the children. I mean, all the vacation in the WORLD can't make up for the school year when you loathe caring for and teaching other people's kiddos. However, even from the most saint-like of teachers, right behind "love for children" comes "love for breaks." I'm an "all at once" kind of gal, and LOVE the working really hard to enjoy peace later. Hence why I love the classroom, and why I just buckled down and made FOUR full batches of pancakes yesterday. Yes, four. No, I'm not crazy. I'm griddled. But, I digress.

I am a little nervous about the break this year. You see, I have two energy drainers that live in my home with me. They've each discovered strong opinions that often diametrically oppose the other's. This results in screaming, scratches, biting, and black eyes.

Well, maybe not so much the black eye part.

Anyhow, while I am jumping up and down at the thought of two glorious months of freedom, I am nervous to be on lock down with terrible twos and even worse threes. Now, give me a day when my beautiful daughter and loving son act wonderfully towards each other - I'm SO there. Unfortunately, I get about four of those a year.

Ready or not, here comes the summer...

To ring it in I went ahead and made those batches of pancakes. I was running out of breakfast food and needed some for the freezer. Blueberries went on sale this week, so I bought some of those, and some sweet potatoes, and got cooking! It went MUCH faster than expected as I recently got a griddle that will make 9 pancakes at once. NINE! Can you believe it?

For those that have never used a griddle, I HIGHLY recommend it. Breakfast making is SO much easier with these around. I originally discovered it when I married my bacon-loving husband. I noticed on the griddle bacon and eggs cooked up so much nicer. Then I discovered perfect pancakes were within my grasp. These days, we're not so much on the bacon, but pancakes are still crackin'.