PLASTIC FREE URBAN FORAGING: A How To Vlog

Despite all the technical difficulties I experienced today trying to get this thing edited, I am pretty happy to share with you what a typical Saturday is like for me.  I leave the house as early as possible for a little alone time away from the family and head into the city to shop for supplies.  It's been over a year now since I've consciously attempted to drastically reduce the amount of plastic pollution our family generates.  It is amazing how much plastic still manages to find it's way into our house even when we try to avoid it like the plague.  Along the way I've refined my plastic avoidance skills and thought I'd share some of them with you via this Vlog.  I had to edit away alot of footage in order to fit it into the 10 minutes I was allotted by You Tube so I am going to do my best to fill you in on some more details after the video.  

VLOG ENDNOTES
Plastic:  for more information about why it is important to avoid plastic go here and here

Bags and Containers: The directions for making your own cotton vegetable bags can be found here

- the same site also has directions for making the simple fabric grocery bags that I show you in the video.  The only thing I did differently is sew down the little corner flaps.

- when using glass or stainless steel containers for buying meats, fish and cheeses, simply give the container to the salesperson and they can place it on the scale and tare the weight before adding your purchases to the container

Maple Syrup:  We tend to go through a lot of maple syrup and I really wish I could buy it in large quantities in a can like they used to sell it in the good old days.  But it appears that most producers are into using the plastic jugs.  So, until I find a source for that, I buy the can.  Note: many maple syrup bottles are glass and even come with metal caps...

Cart:  When shopping at Farmer's Markets I highly recommend a shopping cart that folds up because you will be more inclined to buy a larger percentage of your groceries there if you know you don't have to struggle carrying heavy bags around.  Same goes for a cooler - you can relax knowing your precious market goods will be safe and sound in their icy home.

Meat:  So after having done a little more research on butcher paper I just discovered that the pink butcher paper is often lined with polyethyene, which is PET (#1) plastic.  So, your best bet is to head over to an ethical butcher shop and bring your own containers and/or unlined butcher paper/waxed paper for packaging your meat

Vegetables:  The Farmer's Market is your best bet for finding seasonal, local, unpackaged vegetables.  Caution though, there is still a lot of over packaging and plastic at the market!

Feta Cheese:  I choose the Bulgarian variety because I like it that that Europe generally has higher standards when it comes to food production (like they oppose the use of GMO's) and also because it comes to the store in a can instead of a plastic bucket like the other bulk cheeses.  The Mid-East Food Centre is located on Agricola Street in Halifax's North End.  They also have an olive bar and bulk food bins.

Planet Organic:  also sells bulk medicinal and culinary herbs that can be put into paper bags.

Bulk:  I tend to buy flours, grains etc from organic mills in bulk because they come in paper bags.  I also buy organic nuts and seeds in bulk even though they come in large plastic bags because sometimes there is no way around it.  The way I see it, bulk stores generally fill their bins from plastic packaged goods anyway.

CABBAGE: The New Lettuce

It's January.  It's cold out, and we are in the midst of a huge snowstorm.  It's also Friday, the end of the week.  The fridge is starting to look very empty on the eve of market day.  But we have cabbage.  It's pretty hard not to have cabbage because it lasts - ALL winter.  Just as we eat lettuce, spinach and arugula like it is going out of style in the summer, in winter, we eat cabbage.  So much cabbage in fact, that I am now calling it the new lettuce.  New?  Well, for those of us learning how to truly eat locally, learning to eat and love cabbage is a new concept.  I am especially appreciating the versatility and freshness of Nappa Cabbage which so far is always available at the market on Saturdays, and I am crossing my fingers it keeps on coming.  This cabbage has delicate leaves (unlike the ordinary red and green cabbages) which gives it more of a lettuce character.  The fun part too is that you can treat it like a lettuce or a cabbage, depending on your mood.  Tonight it took on more of a cabbage personality when I dressed it in an Asian Peanut Dressing, served alongside Wild Salmon Fish Cakes.  Recipes like this make me feel like I can survive this winter without breaking down and buying California greens.

NAPPA CABBAGE SALAD with Asian Peanut Dressing

Feel free to substitute red or green cabbage if you don't have any Nappa around.  

4 cups shredded organic Nappa cabbage

1 organic carrot, shredded

1/8 cup organic tamari

1 1/2 Tbsp brown rice vinegar

1/8 cup organic peanut butter, chunky or smooth

1 Tbsp local maple syrup

Method:  Combine the cabbage and carrot in a salad bowl.  Whisk together the remaining ingredients and then toss with the cabbage.  (If using red or green cabbage, be sure to let it sit for about 30 minutes before serving).

MAKING MARMALADE

     It all started when I was reading a Beatrix Potter book out loud to my son .  I wanted to make marmalade.  Now, the crazy thing is that I don't even eat marmalade.  But sometimes I get this nostalgic inspiration that I just can't shake and it makes me want to do crazy things.  This was one of those times where I longed for the times when people made homemade biscuits spread with golden marmalde, spun wool and milked cows.  

So, I got busy.  Very, very busy because making marmalade is a big job.  

     A big job that was made even bigger because I overestimated the number of oranges I would need to make a batch, and ended up making 4 times the amount just to use up the excess.  

     Good thing we just bought a HUGE 40 litre stainless steel pot at Christmas time for brining our turkeys in.  This pot is so big I needed two stove burners to heat the thing.  At first I thought maybe the pot was too big, but then I realized that the large surface area was actually a good thing because it increased the evaporation area which ensured that the marmalade didn't take forever to reduce.  The pot will really come in handy next summer when I preserve tomatoes, and Scott is excited to use it when he is slaughtering chickens.  To each their own.....

     Now marmalade is traditionally made with Seville orange which apparently contain more pectin and are bitter which makes a nice tasting spread.  I didn't realize this when I was planning this mad adventure and just used organic navel oranges from the supermarket.  If I ever find organic Seville oranges, I might try them out, but until then, navel will do.  I am only going to list the method for making a small batch because odds are you don't need 19 jars of marmalade.

ORANGE MARMALADE

2 pounds organic oranges

1 organic lemon

7 cups organic sugar

2 litres of water

Method:  Wash the fruit.  Remove the stem and flower ends of the oranges and lemons.  Cut the fruit in half and squeeze the juices into a sieve, saving the pulp and seeds.  Pour the juice into a large pot.  Scrape and pull out the membranes and remaining pulp from the peels with a small spoon, adding them to the reserved pulp and seeds.   Place the pulp mixture into a large piece of cheesecloth and tie with cooking twine.  Put it into the pot containing the juice.

     Halve the oranges and lemon peels and then cut in half again.  Slice the peels into paper-thin strips and adding them into the pan as well.  Stir in the water and bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer, stirring often and pressing the bag to release the pectin for about 2 1/2 hours.  Place a small plate in the freezer.  Remove the bag and allow to cool.  Squeeze the pectin juice out of the bag.  At this point the mixture should measure 7 cups.  Add more water or reduce as necessary to achieve this amount.

     Add the sugar to the pan and bring to a hard boil, stirring.  Boil until the foam clears and it reaches the gelling stage, about 12-15 minutes.  Pour a small amount of the recipe on a cold plate and place it in the freezer for a few minutes.  The product is gelled if it does not run together when separated with a spoon.  (While doing this test remove the mixture from the heat to prevent overcooking.)

     Using a canning funnel, fill hot sterilized canning jars, leaving a 1/4 inch headspace.  Cover with a prepared lid, screw on band and boil in water canner for 10 minutes.

In case you do have an excess of marmalade like I now do, here are some unusual uses for this tasty condiment.

MISO MARMALADE MARINADE

3/4 cup organic white miso

1/2 cup organic freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup organic marmalade

sea salt and pepper

Method:  Whisk all ingredients together and use as a marinade for duck, pork, seafood, chicken or fish.

* or you can make this cake from Orangette

* or use it to glaze carrots

* in salad dressings

* in cake frostings

* on a roast chicken sandwich

* mix it with garlic, tamari and ginger for another marinade

HOT ROCKING

We rocked it New Year's....hot rocked it that is, or rather hot stoned.  My $3.99 Value Village purchase of a Hot Stone Grill a few year's ago finally got a workout.  Luckily all the parts were in the box because I didn't actually check it until the morning of the dinner party (uh oh!).  

I had no idea how the thing worked because I'd never seen one in action, but luckily it was pretty straight forward and actually not all that different from a fondue really.  You see you have a stone platter with handles that gets placed into a cold oven and then warmed up to 400* for half an hour.  

The three little fondue style fuel pots then get lit, which gives you just enough time to grill enough food to feed 4 adults.  Now, I'm not so sure it was the greatest idea to host this kind of dinner party with two four year olds and two almost one year olds in attendance, but hey, we survived despite the chaos of it all. 

 Even though my whole house was filled with smoke from grilling indoors, I think I'm addicted to the hot stone grill!

*The 2012 New Year's Hot Stone Grill Menu*

Mini  Greek Lamb Patties

Scott's Wild Turkey - Tandoori Style

Miso Marinated Scallops

Balsamic Marinated Portobello Mushrooms

Red and Yellow Bell Peppers

Asian Style Noodles and Salad

Honey Vanilla Ice Cream and Waffles with Warm Chocolate Sauce (that seized)

GREEK LAMB PATTIES

1 pound ground grass fed lamb

1 small organic onion, grated

1 clove organic garlic, minced

1/4 cup organic whole wheat bread crumbs

1 organic egg

1 tsp dried organic mint

sea salt and pepper to taste

Method:  Combine all ingredients and let sit for 20 minutes, then form them into small, flat patties.

MISO MARINATED SCALLOPS

1 pound wild scallops, tough bit removed

2 Tbsp organic white miso

1 Tbsp organic sugar

2 Tbsp mirin

1 tsp organic sesame oil

Method:  Combine all the miso, sugar, mirin and oil in a bowl and whisk.  Add the scallops and allow to marinate for a few hours.  Remove from marinade and grill.

TANDOORI TURKEY

1 1/2 pounds organic turkey breast, cut into thin strips

1/4 cup organic yogurt

1 Tbsp organic lemon juice

1/2 Tbsp organic minced garlic

1/2 Tbsp organic peeled and minced ginger

1/2 Tbsp organic ground cumin

1/2 tsp organic ground coriander

1/8 tsp organic ground cardamom

1/8 tsp organic ground cloves

1/8 tsp organic ground black pepper

1 tsp sea salt, or to taste

Method:  Marinate the turkey in a bowl with all of the above ingredients except salt, which you add just before cooking.

LABOUR OF LOVE

Every year I have good intentions of making one of my mother's favorite confections - Chocolate Covered Orange Peel.  Unfortunately, it never makes it on to my very long To Do lists, well except for this year of course.  To make things a little more exciting, I chose to make Christmas Candy instead of Christmas Cookies because, well, quite frankly, I am bored with making cookies.  I guess my stint at running an organic bakery kind of wore that novelty thin.  So I got busy with the chocolate last week, and I am still reeling from the sugar highs.  First there wast the Chocolate Covered Toffee which was very exciting to make because toffee is one of my favorite foods.  This toffee is so much easier to eat too because it is made with Brown Rice Syrup, so it's not sicky sweet.  Ok, so it is sicky sweet, but not deathly sicky sweet.  After gorging on that, I made a batch of Soule Mama's well loved Chocolate Peppermint Candy, well because she can't stop talking about it, so it must be pretty good.  Well, she's right, it is very good.  I made the mistake of trying to make a second batch using homemade white chocolate, which definitely isn't as good as store bought, so in case you have any inclination of doing this yourself as well, I don't recommend it.  

The grand finale was the chocolate covered orange peel which I adapted from this recipe and then dipped in melted dark organic chocolate (if you make this recipe, be sure to omit the sugaring before you dip!) 

Good thing I was making those for someone I really love, because quite honestly, they are a lot of work.  The whole time I kept thinking " Mom, you are so worth this, that is the only reason I am doing it!"  I really hope she enjoys them because a lot of love went into making them. 

 As I was scraping the extra pith off of each and ever piece of orange peel, I suddenly had a great idea that would make quick work of this grueling task.  How appropriate that my mother recently gave me an Alaskan Ulu the last time she came for a visit.  This very sharp blade is the perfect tool for scraping pith, or anything for that matter.  Maybe she had a premonition I would really need it one day to make her gifts!?

The orange and chocolate theme continued into today, Winter Solstice, when Faegan and I baked a birthday cake for the sun and used one of the leftover peeled oranges to make a sun for decoration.  Lovely and yummy.  Happy Solstice everyone!

DIGGIN IT SUNDAY * 12/11/11

I've been loving all these inspiring ideas for homemade Yule Tree ornaments:

(photo from Paper and Whimsy esty shop)
* 101 ways to reuse buttons - little christmas trees on this etsy shop were the inspiration for a similar craft, except I double sided the tree and stuffed it with wool roving, then sewed on multicoloured buttons

* Martha Stewart's button wreath made a great craft for my almost 4 year old who really enjoyed stringing them onto pipe cleaners all by himself

(photo from apron thrift girl website)
* lovely beeswax ornaments which I am inspired to make, perhaps this week

(photo from Arian Studio

* this sweet little toque ornament from Arian Armstrong's blog was too cute to resist making

(photo from Petunia blog, but the link for directions on how to make appear to no longer connect!)

* these simple stars from Petunia were quite easy to make, but then I complicated matters by double siding them, stuffing them with roving, adding some beadwork, and then blanket stitching around the edges!

(photo from the Magic Onion blog)

* and as always, the Magic Onion blog had so many lovely craft ideas, but I couldn't resist making a couple of these Pinecone Gnomes

So aside from crafting my little heart out I've been loving:

* Dr. Hauschka body care, again

* Brie cheese on toast with pears

* hot chocolate

* spending time with family and friends today out in the sunshine cutting down our Yule tree, laughing, singing into the Santa-oki machine (and then going nuts when the kids wouldn't stop), feasting and then decorating.  

DIGGIN IT SUNDAY * 12/4/11

Glad to be back on the old blog here sharing with you my current fascinations and obsessions.  We are full swing into the Solstice/Christmas preparations which is keeping us very busy around the homestead.  Yesterday we attended a really lovely gathering with the local Waldorf community to walk the Advent Spiral.  It was so nice to come together with such a loving group of people to prepare ourselves for the darkest night of the year.  

Advent has been the theme around here all week as Faegan and I gathered some spruce boughs and berries to make an Advent wreath to count down the days to Winter Solstice.  After much deliberaton I decided to start the countdown on December 1st and light one more candle each night until the 22nd.  That meant I needed candles, and lots of them.  Ever since I discovered the toxic nature of petroleum wax, I only burn beeswax.  Seeing as I needed 21 candles, I decided to make my own instead of spending $78 on votives.  Making candles is actually very easy once you have the right wicks and moulds.  I am going to make my own wicks one day and make candles from my very own beeswax (once we get bees) but until then I made them this way:

BEESWAX VOTIVE CANDLES

pure local beeswax

very small paper Dixie cups

pre tabbed candle wicks

hot glue

Method:  Melt the beeswax in the bowl of a double boiler (bain marie).  As you wait for it to melt, place a dab of glue onto the tabs of the wicks and press them into the dixie cups.  Steady the wicks with wooden clothespins to prevent them from moving off centre.  Pour melted wax into each cup. ( If you don't like the cracks that may form, simply pour more wax to fill in the gaps once they have hardened. ) Allow the wax to harden and then peel off the cups, being careful not to pull the wicks out when trying to remove the glued on tabs.

We just got back from a trip to Ontario to visit with family.  My mother so sweetly prepared for our visit by buying some bath toys for the boys to play with.  Being the very perceptive and understanding momma that she is, she shopped on Etsy and found a great shop that offers wooden floating bath toys in the shape of a whale, fish, boat, and turtle.  Way to go mom!  I am so delighted with these little toys that I went out and found a scroll saw on Kijijji and bought it so I can make some.  Well actually the main impetus for buying the saw was so I could make some farm animals for Faegan's Christmas present.  While we were away Scott made him a toy barn, and so now it is my job to make the animals to go with it.  I was out there today in the freezing cold workshop cutting them out.  They just need to be sanded and then I am going to pull out my handy woodburner to fill in the details.  I even made a beeswax wood polish for them today while I was making the candles.

BEESWAX WOOD FINISH

1 part beeswax

4 parts jojoba oil

Method:   Melt together in a double boiler and then pour into containers.

So many tools......soo little time to play with them.