CSA Boxes, support your local farmer!

CSA: Community Supported Agriculture

What is it? In Chicago I use freshpicks to deliver a full box of fresh fruits and veggies from various local farms to me, every other week. Its chock full of amazing goodies, and they usually add in one or two small surprises (one week it was wild mushrooms, another homemade spaghetti sauce!)

Why is it good? You are supporting local farmers, you will be eating in season good, because its local, you will be able to experiement with fruits and vegetables you wouldn't normally pick up at the supermarket, and be able to spout off a jillion ideas for a parsnip to your friends.

What does it cost? Well, through freshpicks, you can determine the portion of food: and its $25 or $40 dollars...or you can shop through their (reasonably priced) offerings and make your own box! Deliver is an extra $5, not bad!

Perks? You can specify no dairy, no carrots, or only food from Illinois. They work with you to get you exactly what you want.

Last week I went and visited one of their large suppliers of milk: Traders Point Creamery, and there will be more on the excursion soon!

Go to Local Harvest to find a CSA near you.

Save Those Nutrients!

This week while you’re walking around the city enjoying the crisp fall air and delighting at the leaves tumbling down the street, take a moment to think ahead to next year. Instead of letting the street sweeper brush them all away, capture the nutrients of those fall colors for your garden next spring. A leaf compost pile is one of the simplest composts you can do. All it takes it the right container, those pretty crinkled leaves, a little activator, and time.

You can buy a compost bin at just about any mega-improvement store these days, but they are a little pricey for what is fundamentally a dirt holder. Instead, try making your own from salvaged or simple materials. I made this one from 10’ of chicken wire, 6 twist ties, and four metal stakes. It took me about twenty minutes to build – the biggest chunk of time going to hammering in the stakes. You can also try using an old garbage can, palettes, etc. My mom made a beautiful compost bin a couple years ago out of sticks woven into a huge basket. It also doubles as an art piece.

Here are the steps to start your spring garden compost:
1. Build an aerated “container”
2. Put down a layer that will allow air to circulate around your compost. I used sticks. You could also use a couple boards, spaced out bricks, etc.
3. Add leaves
4. Water them down
5. Add a heating agent like manure or bone meal
6. Repeat

Leaf composting is a great way to live locally and keep a little extra out of the landfill. Without food waste your compost should stay rat free. Have fun and happy Fall!

Vampire Electronics: save 75% of the energy you use!

Vampires can be sexy, but vampire electronics are not.  Vampire electronics suck on energy instead of blood, and consume more energy than you use when your appliances are ON!  Yes, this means even when your electronics are in the off position they are sucking away on the neck of your electricity bill.  It is unfortunately our appliances weren't designed to stop consuming energy when in the off position & still plugged in.  But alas, even designers don't think of everything.

If you are too lazy or forgetful (like me) to be plugging things in and out all the time, try the smart power strip by Gaiam.  It basically acts a shield to protect your electronics from wasteful energy use.  It may cost $39 dollars but you will save on that in your electricity bill, if you have your entertainment system plugged into it.  Even better, it reduces your carbon footprint, and maybe you can feel better about your Nintendo, Playstation, Wii and whatever other game console you have plugged in all at once :)

Guerrilla Gardening

I know you want to do it.  Gardening that is.  But you live in the city with a small patch of grass or weeds or maybe marigolds in the back yard and you have nowhere to plant your tomatoes and hops and rosemary!  OMG what to do.  

Guerrilla gardening may be your answer.  By far the most fantastic idea I've seen in a while.  I have been yearning for years to begin a community garden, to join with fellow fresh vegetable lovers to plant pretty things and pick them to eat orgasmically in just a few weeks.  But this idea is better...plant something in patches of mud or grass left untended or left to be ugscape (ugly scape: ie: nothing nice to look at); and plant something pretty!; whether it be a flower or a vegetable or an herb!  And then many more people than you can enjoy that little plot that was previously mud or pebbles.  Check out the guerrilla gardening website, then get excited, and THEN start your own group.  Beautify your neighborhood & mine, pretty please?

Canning Tomatoes: a beginners how to

I have finally gotten  over the scary hump of canning tomatoes, and just did it.  Very rewarding I must say!  I wanted to do this so I could still be eating local produce (as much as possible) through the winter.  Canning is an excellent way to support your local farmers and have their nutricious foods preserved for your winter 

fare.  *I do not have a camera right now, so the following pictures were taken with my computer, and aren't the most amazing.  My apologies!  Many folks who can regularly have canning equipment: I do not.  So don't be afraid to try to use what you already have!  First, go to your farmers market, garden or store and get your tomatoes!  Today I used 10 lbs of beefsteak tomatoes from a farm in Michigan.  They were only 2 dollars a pound too, which is fantastic.

Step 1: Santize your jars.  I used a mixture of what I had lying around: wide and narrow mouthed mason jars.  My jars have a lid and a ring that you use to seal the jar.  Santize by either placing in dishwasher or a large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes.

Step 2: Boil a large pot of water for de-skinning the tomatoes.  When the water is boiling submerge the tomatoes until you see their skin crack.  (My beefsteaks boiled for about 5 minutes before their skins broke).  

When the tomatoes skin is broken, place them in an ice bath, so they can cool down for you to peel them.  When they are cool enough you should be able to pull the skins right off.

The peeled tomatoes can either be cut into chunks or pured.  I prefer to do halved tomatoes in my larger jars; find they are more versatile this way. 

Now fill your jars within 1/4" of the top, make sure the top is clean (you can wipe with a paper towel or clean rag) put a tablespoon of salt in a large jars and a teaspoon in the small ones.  Place the lids on the jars and you are going to boil the jars standing up in a very large pot of water.  The tops of the jars need to be submerged.  Some people do this from 5 - 40 minutes.  I do it until the top is popped in (so when you press down it does not click any more, you might even hear a POP! while its in the water bath.)  If the top hasn't popped by 40 minutes, you take take it out and it should pop in a few hours.  This made 3 large & 1 small jar of diced tomatoes AND 1 large and 1 small jar of tomato puree.  

Efficient Lighting: LED's!

What's the story about the lighting in your workplace/ store/ restaurant/gallery? Is it energy efficient? Will it pay itself back? Does it get rebate incentives from the state?

Check out eco-story's LED lighting solutions!

-You will increase the life of your current galogen or incandescent bulb by 35000 hours!

-Easy install (screw baby screw)
-No mercury or other harmful substances!

-Tax credits available for installation cost!
-Custom Manufactured to your lighting needs: Kelvin color, beam spread, and light output.
-Return on Investment of 1.3 year on average.

Also, if you are interested, you can call them and they will create a spread sheet showing your savings over time AND they will help you find a rebate in your area.

If this isn't incentive to use less energy for your lighting plan, I don't know what it.