Home Made Potato Chips

About a week ago I decided to start collecting food waste to motivate myself into making a compost. I cut the top off a 1 ltr pop bottle and put it next to the garbage to remind me to keep usable stuff out of the garbage. It worked really well, and soon I had forced myself to finally create a compost. Before that was accomplished however, I had a two whole hand fulls of potato skins which I wanted to put in the pop bottle, but it was full... so I put it in the fridge instead, to wait. That evening I was looking up recipes on www.lovefoodhatewaste.com and I found out that I could make my own potato chips out of the skins I had taken off. PLUS they would be full of all the nutrients which the skins are made of. YAY! 

First you should soak the skins in cold/ ice cold water for about 20-30 minutes, then pat them dry. 

Heat oil (I used olive oil) on medium-high and put the skins in and they cooked for about 1 - 2 minutes depending on how big they were.

I sprinkled them with a salt n vinegar popcorn spice that I had lots of and then let them dry out for at least an hour. They were terrific! My husband actually asked me if they were for a special occasion and if it was ok to eat some right then. He greatly enjoyed them, and asked me to make them again with all of our potato skins :)

Homemade compost:

http://video.about.com/greenliving/Homemade-Compost-Bin.htm

I used this link as a guide to make my compost. The plans for our back yard are still up in the air and I didn't want to commit the compost to a specific spot just yet. So, I bought a $15 garbage bin and drilled (the video hammers a nail in to make holes, but a drill is soooo much easier!) into the plastic bin and then filled it half and half with my brown and green materials that I had been saving!

green (nitrogen)

 fruit waste

ashes

wood

newspapers

corn stalk

brown (carbon)

coffee grounds

cardboard

paper

food waste

grass

veg. scrap.

weeds

I am excited to see how it works! I want to use the compost dirt in my garden next year. Here is an updated picture of my garden.

I am nervous to find out how the potatoes faired in the buckets. I hope when I empty them in about another month or so, that they won't be all rotten, or slimy or something. My husband drilled holes in the bottoms so it's not like any water would sit at the bottom, so I hope they will be ok. It's kind of scary having a vegetable garden, when so much effort goes into planning, planting and tending to it all... there is no guarantee that it will all work out in the end. 

Next year I want to try this cool idea that I found for potatoes! Using this method they say you can grow 100lbs of potatoes in 4 square feet. I can really see how it would work, and my husband agreed to build one for next year. I can use my compost soil with it too, as you have to add soil as you go! 

http://tipnut.com/grow-potatoes/

Another thought about growing a large amount of potatoes and onions is how to store them long term. I am going to hope that my potatoes this year actually do turn out, and I am going to plan to store them ( hoping there will be something to actually store.) I am sewing several burlap bags to each hold about 10 lbs of potatoes. This will help them breath and  if one spoils it won't ruin the entire batch, but just the single bag it will hopefully have good long term results. Another trick I learned for onions, is to use an old panty-hose leg and after each onion tie a knot, and string them along. 

All for now!

-cooking4two

Garden - July

A few more weeks have passed and my garden has really been enjoying the sunshine!

Under the rock on the left is my homemade snail trap. I had seen many snails trying to eat my lettuce and put this trap in and it worked great! It is a small container with milk, placed into a whole in the ground and a rock covering 75% of it. It makes a damp cool place which attracts the snails, instead of my lettuce! Worked for me. :)

One of my tomatoes is turning red! I am really excited :)

All for now,

-Cooking4two

Another reason to like my freezer

Hi again!

Last week I saw some fantastic looking strawberries at the grocery store and I couldn't help myself but to buy some. My husband and I enjoyed some that night, and the next day, but by the third day - they had all gone bad and were moldy! I was not impressed and I felt guilty for buying something and having it go to waste. 

So the next time I bought strawberries I had a plan. I saved about 8 or so to enjoy fresh. The others I washed and cut up and laid onto a baking pan with parchment paper. I put them into the freezer in batches (so that the none of the strawberries were touching each other - and would freeze individually). 

When I took them out of the freezer I put them in a re-usable plastic ziploc bag and then back into the freezer again. I LOVED the results! They are all frozen indivudally, not in a big clump so if I want to take out just a handful for a smoothie, or 2 cups for a pie I can do just that. My mother-in-law said that i can also dust them with sugar when they are still fresh and before they go on the baking sheet and it will give even better results. 

So I tried it with raspberries next! 

Raspberries in the back, Rhubarb in the front.

My rhubarb had grown so big that I really needed to use some of it before it went bad. So i spent about half an hour chopping off the reddest stalks. I washed them, cut them in inch chunks and laid them out to freeze the same way! I have used them in two pies so far and the result has been wonderful!

I will continue to add to and take from these freezer bags as the berries and other fruits and vegetables ripen and need to be used. 

I hope to have a collection of berries and other goodies in the freezer so that I can use them in the dead of winter next year. They are supposed to be good for at least 6 months in the freezer. 

Enjoy your berries this summer!

-Cooking4two

My city garden

Hello again! Part of my action plan this year was trying to make the best use of my garden. I want to have the most benefit from it, with the least waste. 

Above: from the left (broccoli - hard to see), then onions, carrots, cucumber, corn, tomatoes, lettuce.

Corn is in the bottom right. I just planted peas and beans at the base of the each corn stalk so that they can climb up the corn stalk as they grown. Beans and peas also put large amounts of nitrogen into the soil, which corn needs! 

Tomatoes

From the left: spinach, one lonely garlic plant, butter lettuce, green onions, green leaf lettuce.

My garden is 6' x 12' and I am growing 5 potato plants in containers, which should come up in a few weeks. I also have a small garden on the other side of the yard which has raspberry bushes, and rhubarb... which i will post about later on.

The black hose thing that is wrapped around in my garden is called a weeping hose and the water flows out of the entire length of it. (Although I haven't had to use it much as it has been so wet this year.)

My favorite thing to do in the summer is to go out and cut off some lettuce from the garden to make an impromptu salad. 

There are so many varieties of lettuce and they can easily be grown in a pretty pot. 

I hope you are also trying your hand at gardening this year. 

Enjoy!

-Cooking4two

Jarred

Here is another great article that I received for ideas on reusing household items.  This time its focus is on the stylish glass jar.  Check it out for some great ideas!

~TheDirt

Attention Ladies

Hello again!

As a group, we talked about another important post that we wanted to share, especially for women.  As you know, we spent three months monitoring our waste and the one thing that especially frustrated us was 'that time of the month' and the garbage it produces. We all know that using sanitary pads or tampons creates waste, but can it be avoided?

Here are two options that we would encourage you to look into!

The Diva Cup and Make Your Own Menstrual Pad

Think about it, pass it on, decide for yourself :)

-Cooking4two

This and That

I think I can speak for the whole Food Group when I say that things have been/still are crazy busy at school!  We presented our Action Learning Project last Monday and I think it was a real success!  We had a handful of special guests from the Board of Education and the City of Regina attend; a big thank you to them for taking time out of their busy days to come down to the University and listen to us present.  I brought my worms to show and Cooking4two shared her garden-grown homemade salsa with the class.  It was a real celebration of all our hard work.

My partner and I also had our first blue bin pick up last week and I have run into an unforeseen challenge of sharing a recycling program.  I don't want to sound ungrateful for the support and interest I received when trying to recruit, but since we are sharing the bins and they are in my name, what my neighbour puts in the bin for recycling becomes a reflection of me.  Allow me to explain.  I made this endeavour as easy as possible by offering to take the bins down to the curb if they are left outside their door the evening before.  Since we only have two bins, one each, we need to merge our recyclables so they meet the sorting requirements.  When I went to take the bins down, my neighbour's bin wasn't out yet so I wasn't able to do this.  The next day I made my way back out to the curb to see if our stuff had been picked up, and I noticed my neighbour's bin was now outside their door.  When I discovered my bin had not been picked up yet, I proceeded to take their bin down and merge our items so it would all get taken away.  Unfortunately, the sorting guidelines were unclear and there was basically garbage in with their recyclables (i.e. styrofoam, plastic wrappers, paper towel, etc.).  I draw the line at digging through someone else's trash so I left it as is, but Crown Shred won't take bins if they notice stuff like that in there.  So now I am faced with the dilemma of sending them yet another letter to clarify what is and what is not recyclable.  I feel like a bit of a nag to say the least.

On the worm front, I think my bin got a little too damp last week and a few worms tried to escape again.  It makes me laugh when I open the bin and see them scaling the wall.  I left the lid ajar for part of the day to dry it out and added some eggshells to neutralize any acids and things seem to be back to normal.  They are pretty easy little guys to take care of!  I also had a classmate contact me to get information on where to get worms to start her own bin.  I contacted my worm supplier and set them up to arrange a pickup time.  I am very excited that someone else has decided to take on the adventure of vermicomposting.  Questions and comments are always welcome!

Yesterday I received one of my many email-subscription newsletter-thingies, and it contained a calendar for April on 30 Days to a Greener Lifestyle.  Each month I get one, usually health and wellness related, but this one was more eco-focused so I thought I would share.  Feel free to check it out to see what kind of easy changes you can make to reduce your eco-footprint!

-TheDirt 

Community Gardens

Hello,

I just wanted to share a resource with all of you. Since not everyone is able to garden outside on their own property due to inadequate space, community gardens are a great alternative. Community gardens allow you to purchace a plot of land for the season in order to grow produce, which in the end will save you money and provide you with fresh, non processed foods.

Here are some links to community gardens located in various areas within Regina, Saskatchewan:

South
East
Cathedral Village
North Central

For those of you interested in giving back to the community, Grow Regina is an organization that has partnered up with The Regina Food Bank in order to provide fresh produce to Regina residents.

- Flower Power

What Are YOU Going To Do About It?

Hey Guys!

I wanted to start off today's blog with just how amazed and excited I am about all the progress that has been made by the group so far. I believe the members have made such immense progress in their individual actions plans that we are now starting to expand in our work and spread the awareness of our success in hope that others will be inspired by our work. I have personally been committed to such action as: consciously recycling all drink containers, being more aware of the paper and cardboard I throw into the garbage and recycling all of it, becoming more aware of the amounts of expiratory food I buy so that it does not spoil before the expiration date, and recycling all of my unused plastic grocery bags and committing to using cloth reusable ones. I was amazed with how much material I saved from going to the landfill. My garbage ticker has gone from 705.7lbs to 316.3lbs and I feel that that alone is good enough reason to be motivated to continue to be committed to the actions I have taken and to start new actions now that I am more comfortable with these changes. I hope that my progress will inspire the lives of others who read this to make small actions for themselves to help reduce the amount of waste traveling to the landfills.

Our class project is soon coming to an end but our life changes upon Reducing, Reusing, Recycling and responsible food management will not. The group is committed to keeping their changes as permanent ones and are passionate about the progress they have made and will continue to make. It is now important to me and the rest of the members to spread stories of success to others in hopes that they will be inspired to make their own small individual action plans to make a difference by reducing the waste traveling to our landfills. Shrinking landfill spaces and excess amounts of human waste is everyone's problem... What are YOU Going To Do About It?

-Homegrown

Babies or Bugs?

Last night, when I checked on my worms, I noticed little white spots all over a piece of orange peel.  I was ecstatic!  I thought my worms were reproducing and that those were the little egg cocoons.  Wrong!  After some serious scouring of the Internet, turns out we have mites which are tiny bugs that can be harmless in small numbers.  Not quite as exciting.  I learned that there are two different kinds of the little critters: one that competes for food with my worms and one that eats my worms for food.  So to be safe I researched ways to get rid of them and discovered they have a sweet tooth. Mites are attracted to sweeter items in the bin (hence the cluster on the orange peel) so by placing these items on the bedding you will be able to just remove the mite-covered scrap and either rinse off or discard.  So I removed scraps with high populations of the bugs and will repeat again with melon rinds (a mite favourite).

We have also had some interest in our poll this week (it's located just under our tickers, if you haven't checked it out yet) around where to recycle some of the less common items on the list.  The Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council provides a comprehensive list of recycling facilities throughout Saskatchewan.  All you do is select your City/Town and the item you are wanting to recycle and it will provide you with a depot in your neighbourhood.  You can also search "All Materials" if you want a list of all the possible things you can recycle in your area.  Check it out for more information!

Today was also garbage day!  Almost two full weeks with the same bag, compared to almost weekly changes before.  I also added my bathroom garbage to this bag and it was still down!  I had a total of about 3.8lbs of garbage and once I calculated the different bins over a year and added them together, my new annual total is 99.4lbs!  I have saved over 300lbs of waste from ending up in our landfill this year!  My next goal is the first part of our slogan; the most important part of our slogan.  REDUCE!  I am still throwing away a lot of needless garbage from excess packaging.  The convenience of prepackaged items is what is filling up my bag, so I am going to start taking packaging into consideration when I am grocery shopping from now on!  I will let you know what I find!

-TheDirt

Be The Change

Reducing my personal garbage was a major success. Starting at over 12lbs of garbage per week, I was able to reduce my garbage to around 1lb per week. What a huge difference! Being mindful of what was previously being thrown in the trash and then making small changes on a daily basis, ultimately made a huge change.

I would like to thank you for taking the time to visit our blog and also strongly encourage YOU to take action. You have already taken the first step by visiting our blog and becoming aware of simple actions that can be taken in order to make a change. It is important to remember that together we can make even bigger changes in our world. 

- Flower Power

Thoughts, Actions and Successes!

I have been so motivated by seeing how much I have reduced my garbage. I weigh all the garbage in my house: kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and everything in between. The first week my garbage weight was 21lbs, averaging to 3lbs per day. This past week week it actually took 8 days to fill up a garbage bag (reused grocery bag) and the weight was 5lbs, meaning 0.62lbs of garbage per day. I THINK THAT IS FANTASTIC! I have definitely noticed my language changing as well; I use the word garbage more carefully. I used to use it as a general word for anything I was 'done with' and wanted to get rid of, and now I use it as a word that is at the bottom of a large filter:

Reduce ____ item ------->

If that fails then:

Reuse ____ item --------->

If that fails then:

Recycle ____ item ----------->

If this item has failed all three filters, only then does it go to the landfill and can be described as garbage (my own opinion).

On a different note, since we are 'The Food Group,' I wanted to mention some recent progress in planning meals with expiration dates in mind to avoid waste. To do this I thought I would let you know what supper was like at our house this evening (besides being delicious... haha). My idea was to make spaghetti and meat sauce. I had a few selections of different kinds of noodles which I threw in together. Then I cooked 1lb of ground beef, added in some onion, a sprouting section of garlic, and I grated a sorry looking carrot and put it in with the meat as well. Then I found some slivers of left over green, red, and yellow peppers and mushrooms and tossed them into a pan with some oil to saute them. I then cut a used hamburger bun in half, mixed together some butter and garlic powder and spread it over top, broiling it for 2 minutes.

When it was all ready I put out the mixed noodles, topped with ground beef, carrots, onions and garlic, then tomato sauce, and put the sauteed vegetables on top of that, added some parmesan cheese and the garlic bread! Sooo yummy! With the bonus of using up stuff in my fridge that expires!

Since I'm already writing you now, I'll let you know some neat things that my husband and I have done in the past few weeks. We decided that taking responsible actions concerning the environment is hard, and takes a lot of thought, and occasionally makes you pick through the garbage for something you forgot that was recyclable. However, there are many things that you just have to do once, and it makes a long lasting change. With this in mind, we changed all of our light bulbs over to the squiggly environmental ones, and we got a duel flush toilet!!!

I would love to hear from others about actions they have taken to reduce waste!

All for now,

-Cooking4two

Celebrate Good Times

I promised an update on my recycling recruitment efforts, so here it is.  Better late than never!  I distributed the letter to 11 of my surrounding neighbours and had 1 respond.  At first I was a little disappointed, but then I started to think in terms of small successes, and this is definitely one worth celebrating.  I realized that even if 90% of my neighbours aren't willing to join forces with me to reduce their household garbage, I have hopefully created some awareness in them.  I included a small fact about Regina households and a website for them to reference if they wanted more information.  I hope they took the time to read the letter and are at least considering how much they might be contributing to the problem.  If not, at least I tried.  But let's not forget the 1 person I did influence.  We received our bins yesterday and our first pickup date is next week.  My partner and I started saving our recyclables after we last took the trash out, and I am proud to say that this is the longest we've gone to date without having to change the bag.  We have reduced our waste by over half in the last month!  That is also something worth celebrating.

On a side note, I had one lonely worm escape last week for no apparent reason.  I found him playing a game of tag with my cat just outside of his bin.  Don't worry, no one was injured and I returned him to his habitat.

-TheDirt

Gardening To Fit Your Needs

Growing your own vegetables is good for you! The food tastes better, it keeps toxins and bad chemicals out of your body, it saves the gas that it would take to truck them into the grocery store. If you preserve your own after the harvest you won't have to buy cans, or frozen vegetables at the store which saves packaging from ending up in the landfill. If I haven't yet won you over... IT SAVES YOU SO MUCH MONEY and IS SO MUCH MORE CONVENIENT!

gardeninggarden.com

I think that when you start to garden you should start small, and plant some very hardy and usable vegetables to start with. I know I certainly didn't have the patience for broccoli, green peppers or corn my first year. It takes time to see what works best in the space you have available. If an outdoor garden is simply not feasible, I would challenge you to use planters, indoors and out. I love when summer comes around and I can clip off a few lettuce leaves to start a salad or the tops of my green onions to top off some baked potatoes. 

It's so easy to do!

Containersgardening.com

Vegetablegardener.com  

I think a good place to start would be to plant everything you would need for a nice garden salad: a few kinds of lettuce, some carrots, tomatoes, green onions, green peas, some nice smelling herbs, as well as some simple flowers mixed in. My reason for the flowers is that I get anxious waiting for the vegetables to grow and to be able to use them, so seeing flowers which bloom at a faster rate provides me with some excitement and keeps me positive, while I wait for my harvest. Although I do have an outside garden plot (6'x12'),  I have had to use a few tricks such as transplanting green onions, lettuce, tomatoes and herbs into planters and bringing them indoors in order to fit my needs better (aka the dog kept sitting on them, or a friendly rabbit decides to help itself!). Here are a few tips to inspire you in your gardening... and may encourage you that spring is getting closer! (If you are really anxious there is no reason why you can't start now!)

My goal this year is to mix in more flowers with my vegetables, here is a photo of something I aspire to do!

Douggreensgarden.com

How to start an indoor veggie garden - Readers Digest

How to design a successful indoor garden - Wiki how

7 areas to monitor for indoor plants - About

Grow and  Indoor Herb Garden - About

Easy to grow vegetables - Kiddie Gardens

Container gardens - Garden Guides

Have fun! I know I will!

-Cooking4two

Food Prices To Rise

If you were looking for some motivation to start growing some of your own food here is a great clip that might do it for you. Please keep in mind that this video was taken 3 weeks ago - before the most recent dramatic gas price incline. I have planned out my garden plot for this year and plan to double my garden space this year by building another matching plot.

Happy garden planning! 

-Cooking4two

Lights, Camera, Action!

Hello there everyone!  I just wanted to check in and update you on a couple of things going on in my recycling world.  First, you may have noticed that my ticker went back up a little bit in weight.  This was because we found our garbage full a day earlier then normal, but still weighing the same.  This meant an increase in the amount of garbage that would be produced over a year.  The items still being thrown away were really bothering me, so today I drafted up this fancy letter and distributed it to my neighbours:

Dear Neighbour:

We are looking into subscribing to a curbside recycling program with Crown Shred & Recycling.  It is a biweekly service that will pick up the following household recyclables:

ü    Household Glass

ü    Aluminum containers & tin cans

ü    Milk cartons and milk jugs

ü    Plastic beverage bottles, cereal box bags, plastic grocery and garbage bags

ü    Household plastic with a number 1 - 7 on the bottom in the recycling logo

ü    Brown paper bags and tissue roll cores

ü    Corrugated cardboard and paperboard (cereal) boxes

ü    Magazines and catalogues

ü    Telephone books

ü    Junk mail, envelopes, newspaper and flyers

ü    Letter-quality paper

ü    Gift wrap and packing paper

The cost for a one year subscription is $110 + GST, but we are looking at teaming up with our neighbours to reduce this cost, as well as the amount of garbage we are sending to our landfill.  Therefore, the cost will depend on the number of participants we have interested in joining us.

Currently, Regina citizens generate about 1,000kg of solid waste per household annually, with 84% of that ending up in our landfill.  Much of this waste includes items from the list above that can be recycled.  This has created the need for plans to expand the Regina Landfill, as it has reached its capacity.  Check out the City of Regina’s website for more information.

If you are interested in participating, please drop the bottom portion of this letter into our mailbox by no later then Saturday, March 5.  Once we have received a total number of participants, we will inform you of the cost as well as a pickup schedule and some simple sorting instructions.  Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions!

Regards,

TheDirt  

We decided to go with Crown Shred & Recycling for group recycling because they accept a few more items then Go Green Recycling, including plastic bags.  We found this particularly important because anything that won't fit in your bin can be placed in a bag for pick up.  This will be handy if we have lots of interest and happen to accumulate a lot of recycling.  I have decided that if no one is interested, then my partner and I will use Go Green Recycling on our own.  I will let you know what happens!

The second thing was the creation of this lovely jar you see pictured here.  You may be wondering what this delightful contraption is so let me tell you.  It is a fruit-fly catcher.  We get the occasional fruit-fly due to the smoothies I have for breakfast everyday (I leave out the lemon juice and honey, and substitute flavoured yogurt for plain and mix it to go in my super handy Magic Bullet).  Because I am only one person I only use half a banana, which subsequently leaves a half a banana in the fruit bowl every other day to attract those nasty flies.  This coupled with our vermicompost has created a bit of an annoying problem.  So I created a fly trap out of a glass jar, some bait (a half of a banana peel), a small bag and an elastic band.  All you do is place your bait in the bottom of the jar, cut a small hole in the corner of your bag, place your bag into the jar and fold the bag over the edges and secure with an elastic band.  The flies can get in but they can't get out.  Amazing!

On a side note, my worms are thriving.  They are getting bigger and fatter and seem to be loving all the scraps I feed them.  I have had to add more shredded newspaper to the bottom of the bin as they seemed to have eaten most of what I gave them.  I am also checking on them less often to try and give them some space.

Anyway, I will be sure to report back on my recycling recruitment and any other exciting news that might come up!

-TheDirt

Look At All That Waste Reduction... It Was Simple!!!

In hopes to reduce the amount of waste my household is sending to the landfill, we have started to recycle a lot more. We have been collecting such things as cardboard, paper, bottle, cans, and plastic bags and have been finding big results in reducing the weight of our garbage these past few weeks. At first I was thinking that having to collect and distribute the various items my household produces (which seems to be a lot) would be more then a hassle then a benefit. BUT... it proved to be very simple and very rewarding. Collecting the various recyclable objects and products was fairly easy and because we have a large garage attached to our house, we had an abundance of room to store the recyclables to be taken away. I was surprised with how fast the garage filled up and started a quest to find close drop offs to take the recyclables. I was anticipating this to be a hard task but it was very simple. I took both the paper/cardboard products and the plastic bags to the Co-op in the east end near my house. There is a large blue paper/cardboard bin in the parking lot there and inside the Co-op store is a drop-off for plastic bags (which I am also trying to reduce the use of with cloth reusable bags). I then took the bottle recyclables to a nearby SARCAN depot where I was able to drop off the bottles and even get a cash return for them which was a bonus for my efforts. When I returned home to my empty garage I felt very good about the small, relatively effortless work I had done to reduce my waste. I will continue to recycle these objects/products in efforts to continue to reduce my waste. I encourage others to do the same small and easy task to reduce large amounts of recyclable products being sent to our landfills.

Below I have attached a few pictures of my recycling (please forgive the images of alcoholic containers)... Think of all of that recycling going to the landfill had I not recycled it. Hope you enjoy them and it encourages you to do more recycling! 

~Homegrown

Attention Cat Lovers

My garbage weight for the week was 7.2 lbs, it's starting to go dowwwn. After discovering that cat litter was contributing to the majority of my garbage weight, I purchased a biodegradable litter from a pet store. The store's associate was very informative. The litter I chose is made with all natural, renewable resources. One of the main ingredients is nutshells (which also neutralize odor). Other environmental cat litters available in the store were made of corn or pine. The litter can be composted outside and is safe for the environment. The litter also acts as a great, natural fertilizer.

In order to allow my cat to become accustomed to the litter, for the first part of the week we used half old litter, half new. We are now using 100% natural litter.

I decided to start using the inactive compost bin in my backyard. First, I cleared out most of the snow. I was able to use leaves as my bottom and top layer.

How to Compost Your Cat's Litter

I'll keep you posted!

- Flower Power

Regina Landfill

As some of you may or may not know, the landfill here in Regina, Sask has reached it's capacity. There will be a landfill expansion , it will take place in 3 phases.



Check it out:

City of Regina: Learn about the landfill expansion

What measures can be taken to reduce the amount of waste our city is collecting?

What are the negative consequences that result from excess waste?

How can we create awareness?

- Flower Power

Jail Break

I had a very interesting week with my worms.  I opened the lid to check on them one day (as I do almost everyday . . . they're basically like family now) and to my surprise a few of them were trying to make a break for it.  I felt terrible!  I immediately starting consulting my resources to figure out what the problem might be and discovered a couple of options/solutions.  One could have been the acidity level of the environment, so I quickly cracked a couple of eggs for my partner to eat so I could wash the shells and sprinkle them on the bedding to help neutralize it.  And the second was ventilation, so I had my partner drill some more holes to allow for more air flow.  I am happy to report that things are okay and my worms are back to eating up my garbage.  This week's lunch was banana peels, cucumber ends and peels, a couple of sickly looking blueberries, and some apple slices I forgot about.

I also had to change my garbage this weekend and it was a mere 3lbs!  And when you calculate the savings over a year, the results were amazing.  Check out my garbage ticker to see the progress I've made over the last few weeks.  This week, my plan is to draft up a letter to see if any of my surrounding condo neighbours would like to join in on a recycling program with us.  We're hoping to get something going soon, as the majority of stuff left to throw away has that magical number on the bottom that says it can be recycled!

I will keep you posted!

-TheDirt

A Nice Relaxing Bath

Hi again,

I was reading through a cool book that was talking about how to garden in an environmentally friendly way, and it talked about emptying your bath water into the garden to water it. I thought that was an extra smart way to use water! The only thing that stumped me was that in order to do that I would have to find/use biodegradable soap. I was surprised to know that it wasn't that hard to find, however I love to relax in a nice bath and use a 'bath bomb' or some bubble bath which was hard to find. Soooo I have decided to make my own bath bombs!  I have a dozen roses from Valentine's day and I will strip the petals in a few days and then add them to my collection of bath bomb materials. The website suggested quite a number of different combinations. I am excited to try it out!

FYI - I am also on the hunt to buy bio-degradable dish soap so that I can use most of my dishwater to water my indoor plants now, and then in the summer all of my outside plants!
That's all for now!

-Cooking4two

Success!

In my previous post I talked about how unfortunate it was that we have to pay to recycle but the city takes care of our garbage for 'free' (using our tax money). I was really pleased to find out that this exact discussion has been taking place in our city hall the past few months. The LeaderPost discusses this in more detail. I look forward to seeing what changes happen and how soon! This is a really exciting step in the right direction. WooHoo!

I have also had some personal success with reducing waste in my own home. Twice I have reached into the garbage to pick out something that can be recycled. During my first week my family produced a whopping 21lbs of garbage and during the second week it was down to 7lbs!! That was a pretty drastic change! We definitely noticed that we did not have to empty the garbage as much which was a nice surprise when it's -30 outside. We have been trying to use food before it expires so that it doesn't end up in the garbage.

I made roast turkey and from the leftovers here are the recipes I used the rest of the week:

1.) BEST CHICKEN SALAD EVER (altered a little by me)

• 1 cup cubed turkey 
• 2 tablespoons mayo
• 1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish
• 1 large apple, cored and diced
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 stalk celery, chopped (optional)
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries 
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, mix the chicken, creamy salad dressing, pickle relish, apple, pecans, celery, and raisins. Season with salt and pepper. Chill until serving.

2.) THANKSGIVING LEFTOVER WELLINGTON (by Rachel Ray)

• 1 sheet frozen prepared puff pastry, defrosted
• 4 slices leftover turkey (about 4 cups)
• 4 tablespoons cranberry sauce, leftover or whole berry cranberry sauce from a can
• 1 cup leftover stuffing
• 1 egg, beaten with a splash of water

Preheat the oven to 425˚F.
Unfold the puff pastry sheet out onto a cutting board. Cut the dough into quarters with a sharp knife, then roll out each piece of dough into a 9-inch x 7-inch rectangle. On each rectangle of dough, place a quarter of the stuffing topped with 1 tablespoon cranberry sauce and one slice of turkey. Wrap the dough up and over the turkey, pinch and seal the dough with the egg wash and trim any excess. (You can use the leftover dough bits to make decorative garnishes for the tops.) Turn the wrapped Wellingtons over, seam-side down and brush all over with the egg wash. Use the egg wash as “glue” to affix the dough garnishes.
Bake the Turkey Wellingtons on a baking sheet for 30-35 minutes, until golden. Let stand for 5 minutes, then serve.

3.) TURKEY POT PIE (slightly altered by me)

2 (10 inch) pie crusts

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 small onion, minced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 carrots, diced

3 tablespoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

2 cubes chicken bouillon

2 cups water (or 1 cup water & 1 cup left over gravy)

3 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425˚F (220˚C). Roll out bottom pie crust, press into a 10 inch pie pan, and set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add the onion, celery, carrots, parsley, oregano, and salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the vegetables are soft. Stir in the bouillon and water. Bring mixture to a boil. Stir in the potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm.

In a medium saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in the turkey and flour. Add the milk, and heat through. Stir the turkey mixture into the vegetable mixture, and cook until thickened. Cool slightly, then pour mixture into the unbaked pie shell. Roll out the top crust, and place on top of filling. Flute edges, and make 4 slits in the top crust to let out steam.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350˚F (175˚C), and continue baking for 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

4.) TURKEY SOUP

1 turkey carcass

5 quarts water

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1/2 cup chopped celery

3 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 bay leaves

1 egg

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 cup frozen peas

Place the first nine ingredients in a Dutch oven or soup kettle. Bring to a boil; skim fat. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 hours. Remove bay leaves. Remove carcass; allow to cool. Remove turkey from bones and cut into bite-size pieces; set aside. Pour 1 cup of the broth into a bowl; add egg and beat. Stir in enough flour to form a stiff dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead 8-10 times or until smooth. Divide dough in half; roll out each piece to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut into 2-in. x 1/4-in. strips. Add poultry seasoning to remaining broth; bring to a gentle boil. Drop slickers into broth; cover and cook for 30-35 minutes or until tender. Add peas and reserved turkey; heat through.

~ As you can probably tell, these meals all use a lot of the same ingredients such as carrots, onion, and celery, not to mention turkey. They all have a unique taste and are really good! It ensured that everything I bought for my big turkey dinner was used throughout the rest of the week before they went bad. Planning my subsequent meals reduced things from ending up in my garbage and therefore in the landfill.

Let me know if you try some of the recipes, or if you have more ideas of your own!

-Cooking4two