Go Paperless This Holiday Season With Furoshiki

Hi Folks,

Long time, no blog.  It's been really busy lately but I wanted to share this gift wrapping idea with everyone before the holidays!

 

In part of our effort to cut down on waste, I have been researching Japanese gift wrapping, called Furoshiki.  There are many complex wrappings but also some very simple ones.  You can see a few tutorials here.  Youtube is full of video tutorials as well which was extremely helpful when I attempted to wrap a wine bottle with one of the simpler methods.

 

Rather than get holiday themed fabric that we would only use once, we chose colors that we would be likely to use again for birthdays and some other holidays.   Once the gifts are given and unwrapped you can gather up the fabric and reuse it many times over, just wash and iron between gifting.

 

The bolts came in at about 44 inches wide and for the largest gift the wrap is about 44x44.  The smaller wraps are half that size and measure 22x22.  The easiest way to measure is to unfold the bolt and then fold it diagonally to make a triangle. 

 

I used pinking shears to cut down on the fabric fraying at the ends and it turned out very nicely.

 

 

 For the gifts I wrapped in this post, I used the simple box wrap.   Basically this fold is a series of two tight knots. 

 

 

 

I will put in another post for the wrapped wine bottle because I want to practice a few more times.  There were also some gifts for our dogs that I just wrapped up using the box method as well and they turned out pretty well (they are the smaller ones on the top of the biggest box).

 

Hope you enjoy this post and try to go paperless if you can!

 

Homemade Thick Cut Potato Chips

Ingredients:
2-3 medium sized red potatoes per person
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Wash potatoes and cut into 1/4 in  slices.
2.  Spread out the slices and toss with olive oil.  Arrange on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
3.  I didn't preheat my oven but I cooked the potatoes at about 300"F (our oven runs 100-150* hotter for some reason) for 15 minutes on each side until golden brown.

4.  Remove from tray and allow to cool slightly.  Season with salt and pepper, then they're ready to go.

These will stay good for most of the day but I would not recommend storing them overnight, they'll likely get soggy.  Rather than run out to the store for some chemical/preservative-laced chips in wasteful packaging, make some of your own at home!

Enjoy!

NO MORE PLASTIC BAGGIES!

Here is a quick update on how to avoid using those pesky plastic bags at the produce section.  I found these cotton bags at the local bulk/natural foods store and they are awesome.  They wash easily and I just toss them into my reusable shopping bag if I'm not using them to store fruits and veggies in the fridge.  I have never needed more than three large and three small bags.  I even used one of the bags to strain almond milk when I ran out of cheesecloth.  They're all in really good shape after several months.

Here is the website for the company for reference.  They have many other products available there besides the product bags.  Note:  this company is not involved in any way in this post.

The nice thing is that even here in this southern town, the clerks at my local grocery chain were completely accepting of them at check out time.  They just peeked in the bag, made sure they were ringing up the right product and kept moving!  

I have found that two larger reusable shopping bags are the most useful.  I use one of the reusable wine totes (with the 6 divided sections) to carry around my bulk jars and the other items go into the typical nylon bag.  

Hope this was a useful post and try to go plastic-free when you can!

Homemade Cleaning Scrub

Here is a recipe for a nice alternative to those gross chemical-filled scrubs that you can use in your kitchen or bathroom.  This is the only scrub so far that has managed to nicely clean my enamel and steel post without scratching or leaving residue.   It's also a nice way to use up egg shells and save them from being thrown in the trash!

2-3 dozen dried egg shells
1/2 cup baking soda
Essential Oil (I use sweet orange)

The first step is the most tedious and time consuming but I think it's worth it than resort to some nasty green scrub that technically is toxic and irritating to your skin (I think you know which one I'm talking about).  You need to save up and wash out about 2-3 dozen egg shells.  Once you have enough and they are dried out you will need to boil them for about 10 minutes.  I usually have to do 2-3 batches even in a big pot.  Make sure the shells are submerged and use a strainer in the skin or a slotted spoon to remove because they will be scalding hot.

Next you can rinse the shells with cold water and other recipes don't necessarily suggest this but I peel the inner film off the inside of the shells.  This may be annoying for a lot of your but once you get the hang of it you can do it quickly.  

Next you have to lay the shells out to try again (maybe a day or so).  Using a coffee grinder break up the shells into smaller pieces and grind up until you have a fine powder.  I usually do this near the stove so the vent can suck up the dust that comes up when you open the lid of the coffee grinder.   Once you have ground up all the egg shells, transfer them to a glass jar and put in an equal or slightly greater amount of baking soda.  

Shake up the mixture (with the lid on of course).  Then shake in 10-15 drops of essential oil and shake it up again (lid on again, obviously).  

A little bit of this scrub goes a long way.  So far I have only had to make it about once every 4-6 weeks and there is always quite a bit some left over.  Since the shells don't dissolve you don't need much to get the job done.  The ingredients aren't toxic so it's also nice to know that you cleaning products won't be unsafe to wash down the drain.

Hope you try this out!

Asparagus and Couscous Side Dish

Here is a recipe that I make in bulk on Sundays and it usually lasts me through four weeknight dinners.  It's super easy and stores well.

1 bunch of asparagus
1 cup Israeli couscous
Garlic Powder, Onion, Powder, Salt and Pepper to taste

Trim the asparagus and saute in olive or canola oil until crispy, then season with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and set aside.   Heat up 1 1/4 cup of water to a boil.  Add couscous and cook until just the bite/consistency of paste. Once cooked, season couscous with garlic and onion powder.  Then fold in the asapargus, you can even add some Parmesan cheese at the end for some extra flavor.  You can add other seasonings if you'd like but it's a great dish as is.

Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Homemade Toothpaste

Here is a recipe for some homemade toothpaste.  Just a warning that this will not taste or have the texture like the stuff out of the tube but after a while, you get used to it.  The baking soda is a bit salty and the paste will not foam up like regular toothpaste.  Both recipes below have worked well in terms of cleaning and whitening so I have to say they do just as well as most products you can buy.  The stevia powder is for taste only and some recipes have called for using essential oils but I just put some extract that I had laying around in the mix just so I didn't have to purchase a bottle of something new. 

1/3 cup baking soda
3-4 tbs stevia powder
1/4 tsp each of orange extract and vanilla extract
Filtered water (enough to make a paste)

Mix extract in with baking soda and slowly add water, tsp by tsp until you get the consistency you want.  I store ours in a glass container and store it in the fridge just in case but I don't see why it couldn't be kept in the medicine cabinet or on the counter. 

I tried tooth powder as well but it was not as popular with my husband and I didn't want to keep making two separate tooth cleaning products so here is the less popular recipe below:

1/8 cup of baking soda
2 tsp stevia powder
dash of peppermint extract

Mix well and store in a salt or sugar shaker.   The oil made this hard to actually sprinkle on but this batch made so little we just packed the powder directly onto our toothbrushes by dipping it in the container.  This was also stored in the fridge.  Ended up being too salty for my husband's taste but I honestly didn't mind it!

The paste turned out much better and it smelled exactly like a orange creamsicle!

Homemade Peanut Butter (Subtitle: Forget Freshmarket)....

Hi Folks,

In my efforts to somehow decrease waste and still be able to consume peanut butter, I just started looking up recipes to make it at home.  Below is my first try and it was a success, now I don't think I'll ever go back to store-bought because you can really make each batch of any nut butter suited to your taste.

Ingredients:
3 cups salted peanuts (bought from the local natural food store in bulk)
2-3 tbs peanut oil (recyclable glass container)
2-3 tbs agave syrup (recyclable plastic container and cap)

First put the peanuts in the food processor and blend.  Keep blending, then blend some more.  You will start to worry that this is not going to work but just keep the processor until the oils in the peanuts have a chance to get out.

Here you can see that it's starting to form into a paste.

Eventually it will all gather and swirl around processor in a clump.  Don't fret, just keep processing it.  You can take frequent breaks as needed if the motor or the container are overheating.

Eventually it will look like this...

 When you add the agave syrup, it will start to crumb up again, this is where the peanut oil comes in.  Just drizzle it in 1/2 tbs at a time until it starts to get smooth again.  Don't mind the divot in the picture below, my husband decided to taste test it before I put it into jars.

Using a small spatula, spoon into glass jars and place in the fridge for best storage.

This would make great gift for someone who love peanut butter and I'll post some updates when I move on to try some other nut butters!  Hope you enjoy this post and try to make some peanut butter at home!

Zero Waste Attempt Failed at Fresh Market- Coffee and Almond Butter

So in trying to keep with a zero waste approach, I held off buying coffee (packaging isn't recyclable as far as I know) and almond butter (plastic container) until I could go to a Fresh Market Grocery store by my work.  I was thoroughly disappointed when all the coffee only came in cans or wasteful packaging and the containers they offered for loose beans were not any better.   I ended up buying a large can of their coffee and figured I could use the can as a flower/herb pot later in the spring.  

Then it was off to get some fresh almond butter, which they make and serve using machines right there on the spot.  When searching around for a container, I only saw the flimsy plastic tubs and tops which are hard to reuse meaningfully once they have been cleaned.  No win there, so I figured I would just get a plastic jar of the regular almond butter I buy and ask to use the container to be refilled with the store's own almond butter next time I came in.  

While I was checking out, I asked if it would be possible to bring the jar back to refill it.  The cashier was very nice at first, she stated she thought it was a good question and went to go ask a manager.  The manager made a disgusted face before and while looking in my direction, so much for customer service.  You would have thought I had asked to do cartwheels barefoot through their deli or something.  The cashier returned right afterwards and stated simply "No, you can't".  I asked if any other containers would be allowed and she only stated that the plastic tubs/tops were right there by the machines.  When I commented that I was interested in cutting down on plastic waste so I was just curious she brushed off my comments/questions, simply said "yeah sorry" and handed me my purchases.  I was a bit confused as to how they would have reusable bags all over the store and purport a "fresh" approach but poo-pooed my request to reuse a plastic container.  I quietly thanked her and casually mentioned I would have to pick up my groceries from another vendor from now on, then wished her a nice day. I did go right after business hours so the store was slightly busy but was so disappointed by the experience, I didn't bother to ask to speak to a manager, I just thought it better to not spend my money there any more.

I have read many blogs where people trying to work towards zero waste are being turned down when turning up with reusable containers for all sorts of items.  I was particularly surprised today but then realized that Fresh Market emphasizes convenience at every turn over being truly environmentally friendly. After this experience I think I'll stick to local co-ops and natural food stores. 

Homemade Almond Milk!

So I have been reading about moving towards zero waste and making things from scratch at home to cut down on container waste.  One item I was hoping to try was to make almond mild.  It's not that I prefer almond milk over soy milk or other vegan milks but I like to use almond meal in some recipes to cut out carbs and making almond milk, leaves you with...almond meal.  So here is what I did for the milk. 

First I got bulk almonds from our local natural food store.  Set aside 1cup and soak in 3.5 cups of hot water.  I used hot water because I couldn't wait to soak the almonds overnight and I was getting really geared up to try this.  As a note, I would say soaking them overnight would give you even better results.

You will also need some sort of sweetener (I chose agave syrup).  Other recipes say you can blend in whole vanilla beans, but the only ones I've seen hold only a few beans and come in little glass jars (not great for the whole moving towards zero waste idea).  I used some vanilla extract that I had lying around also used a pinch of salt.  Below is a picture of the difference between the dried out almonds and the soaked almonds - it's much easier to blend the soaked ones.

Other tools:  clean wide mouth canning jar, strainer, spoon, and sauce pan.

I got so into the straining process that I didn't take a picture of the mixture once it was blended but here is the last little bit in the blender.

This is what the milk looks like after it's been strained.  I heated the milk up on the stove over low-medium heat to thicken, stirring often.   Transfer to a wide mouth jar and allow to cool before refrigerating.

Here is the almond meal that I got out of the cup of almonds.  I actually set this aside for a tart crust recipe that I was using later in the day.

Here is a picture of the milk in the jar and a nice iced coffee that I made for myself to taste test it.

The milk should stay for several days (3-5).  I initially only made one jar but now wish I had made two at a time so I could just bring one to work with me for milk for my granola and for my coffee!  Enjoy!

Week 12 - Out of Town!

Hi Folks,

Just got back in town from a nice 4 day weekend in the ATL and we had a great time.  Not only did we head down for an amazing wedding for one of my husband's cousins but we managed to get in some sightseeing and relaxation time too!

Here is our agenda below with some pictures!

Thursday - Drive in the car for hours, followed by nap and then...Dinner at Radial Cafe

We got a Groupon deal for dinner for two.  Best Groupon purchase EVER!  The deal included one cocktail for each of us, one appetizer, two entrees of our choosing with side salad and one awesome desert for us to share!  I wish I had taken pictures but I was so happy about sitting out on their lovely outdoor eating area that I completely forgot to take pictures.  I'm not sure if the Groupon is still up there, but Groupon deal or not, we are going back there for use.  Here is the their website for more information.  Service was amazing, the place is very cute and well kept.

 * Radial Cafe or its staff are not sponsoring this and are in no way involved in this posting other than they served up some awesome food and beers!

Friday - Some sightseeing and also some spa time

First we trekked downtown to go see the bricks my dad purchased for the four of us at Centennial Olympic Park.  They were actually in great condition and I didn't post a picture here but here is a view of the skyline from the park's interior.

Next it's across the park to Frazier's for some iced coffee.  Cute little shop, reasonably priced for being in downtown, they had soy milk there so I was basically sold.

Now it's off to the Botanical Gardens which is located near the most amazing neighborhood near Georgia Tech's campus.  Here are only a few pictures that I took, basically I became a bit fixated on taking pictures in the Orchid House but managed to snap a few from other parts of the park.  They had some wonderful sculpture projects going on but some still under construction/maintenance. 

Then it was off to get massages at Natural Spa and Shop.  The staff were so welcoming and pleasant and the masseuses were top-notch - very professional and friendly.  This was a nice way to relax before the rehearsal dinner and wedding the next day so kudos to the staff for such a wonderful experience!
* Natural Spa and Shop did not sponsor this post, we just stumbled across their site while searching for massages in Atlanta.

We didn't even have time to many other activities or see other attractions offered in Atlanta but we'll be sure to go back soon to see more!

Thanks for checking in this week!

Almond Pancakes

Here is the recipes for a slightly healthier version of pancakes.  Pancakes have become our Sunday afternoon ritual after coming back from the gym and rather than just pull the box of super starchy Bisquick mix out of the cupboard, we thought we might try something a bit better.

Almond Pancake Ingredients:
1 cup almond meal (we used Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup flour (white or whole wheat)
4 tsp of baking powder
1 tbs vanilla extract
1 cup almond milk (we use Silk Almond Milk with Fiber and Protein)

Mix well.  Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat, add a small piece of butter and coat the pan.  Pour a large scoop of the batter onto the pan and spread out evenly.  Wait until you see the air bubbles come up through the batter and then turn over until other side reaches a golden brown.  There are so good, you honestly don't even need syrup!

Months 2 and 3...

So not exactly the weekly update posts I was expecting to post to chronicle our recent downsize move but now there will be some new posts.  The last several weeks have been busy with work and running constant errands so there isn't too much new to post.  That having been said being able to clean the entire apartment in a day has been a definite plus!  There were only a few projects that we managed to get started since moving in.

One is the start of the reading nook in the corner of the apartment in lieu of a desk space.   Just one bookcase away from getting rid of those boxes!

Before:

After (But not completely finished):

 Another project was putting back up the framed pictures from our wedding in the bedroom.

 Before:

 After:

More posts with house projects and also some nice recipes (including cocktail recipes for entertaining) will be posted!  Thanks for checking in!