30 May 2009

Reminder: Reuse Packaging

The idea of local living is a constant struggle. Growing your own food is ideal, but of course there are types of foods and certain brands that you feel you just cannot live without - or maybe you can't get local. After a quick bike ride to Whole Foods this morning for some fair trade coffee we found one product, while not from So-Cal, inspires another aspect of local living - reusable packaging.

Check this out: Nancy's cultured cottage cheese (see below) says "I am reusing this container for" FILL IN THE BLANK.


It's a great idea to rinse out glass bottles/jars for when you make your own hot sauce or tomato sauce, but what about those pesky plastic containers? More often then not we rinse them out and recycle them; even though the plastic is perfectly fine to clean & reuse. They aren't changing the world with this, but an idea right on the packaging is progress and I like it.

27 May 2009

Beet Holiday Harvest

This past weekend we excitedly harvested and consumed the 1st of the season beets. See their 2 month story.







Quick Beet Salad

Trim the greens and add to your compost. (I have seen some beet green recipes online, but haven't tried them myself.) Rinse the beets and use a potato scrubber to get the dirt off and clean them up. Cut them in half and toss them in a pot of salted water. Boil the water and let them simmer for about 30 minutes or until tender. Drain and cut into smaller pieces or whatever you choose. The skin should easily peel off. Compost the remaining waste.

I chilled the beets and added toasted almonds, blue cheese and a quick dressing (1 part olive oil, 1 part orange juice, 1 part balsamic vinegar wisked together).

We just planted some more seeds and may try pickling them next time.

20 May 2009

Taking stock of our Local Urban Garden

Last weekend Donny and I spent a good chunk of Saturday & Sunday planting more and cleaning up our garden.  We are preparing for a light spring harvest and a plentiful summer feast!  See down below for a taste of whats to come AND here is what we have growing:  


FRONT GARDEN
BLUE BERRY BUSH Ω
DILL *
LEMON TREE Ω²
MINT ^
(9) WHITE ONIONS °
(2) PARSLEY PLANTS
(2) ROYESTA TOMATO PLANTS **
(2) SAN FRANCISCO TOMATO PLANTS ** 
(tomatoes & onions in raised bed / everything else planted right into the ground)

ROOFTOP GARDEN
(2) ASPARAGUS PLANTS ^ 
(2) SPICY BASIL / SWEET BASIL Ω 
(8) BEETS *
BUNCHING ONIONS Ω
(4) WHITE ONIONS ° 
(2) PEPPERONCINI PLANTS *
(2) SALSA HYBRID PEPPER PLANTS *
(2) ROSEMARY * 
(2) CELEBRITY TOMATO PLANTS ***
CHERRY GRANDE TOMATO PLANT ***
(2) ROMA TOMATO PLANTS ***
SPRITE TOMATO PLANT ***
(2) "VOLUNTEER" TOMATO PLANTS 
(containers only)

KEY: 
 ° from bulb
² transplanted from last apartment
^ continuing to grow from last summer
Ω started as seedling from nursery / farmer's market
aka "the others" / unknown plants that sprouted in other pots

Beets soon to be harvested.

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