Re-Use It: Ribbon

I recently saw the Jane Campion film Bright Star - I cannot resist a costume drama.  In one scene, Fanny is arranging a gift basket when she reaches over and clips the end off the ribbon her sister is wearing as a sash.  She uses the little ribbon to decorate the basket.

A small moment, but it spoke to me.

I suppose some might see Fanny's act as cruel but she couldn't exactly take her carriage to Party City to get wrapping paper or disposable ribbons.  Resourcefulness is a virtue.

I guess the reason we don't use more real ribbons on presents is that it seems a luxury.  Of course, it isn't more expensive it just looks that way.  Perhaps we are just too used to living in a disposable society.

I love getting gifts tied up with real ribbons as much as I like giving gifts tied up with real ribbons.  I just can't bear to throw them out, not even the short pieces.  So, like a pac rat I keep them in a box in the basement hoping to re-use them for someone or something.  This is my box of ribbons.

If you save ribbon like I do, here is a great way to re-use them - turn them into book marks.  Ribbon has been used for book marks for ages, some bibles even have them sewn in.  You can remember a thoughtful friend when you open your book and they are much prettier than post-its.  They can even help you get organized.  I like to use a color coded system for marking favorite seasonal cookbook recipes: White = Winter, Light Green = Spring, Dark Green = Late Spring/Early Summer, etc.

Next time you receive such a lovingly wrapped present, don't forget that the ribbon is a gift too.

Sage

When I host Thanksgiving, which is most years, I make my favorite Sausage, Apple and Cornbread Stuffing.  A labor of love but worth the effort.  One of the key ingredients is fresh sage.  Thanksgiving is often the last time I can cut any fresh herbs from the garden and usually the winter savory and sage hold up pretty well even after a frost or two.   This year both varieties of sage in my garden didn't even make it through the summer let alone the frost, so I had to buy it.  

When I opened up that small plastic container of sage on Thanksgiving morning the gorgeous aroma of this sage almost knocked me over.  I have never grown a variety of sage that smelled so good.  After using what I needed for the stuffing, I put the extra stems in small glass vases on my kitchen window ledge and left them.
 

They spent the holidays there growing roots and observing the hub-bub of family and friends in the kitchen.  The holidays over,  I had some time to pot them.  It felt good to garden for a little while, albeit indoors.  I ignored the several feet of snow (literally) covering my garden and pretended it was spring.  Now my little sage-lings have been clothed in earth and sent to vacation in our sunny guest room window.  I can't wait to see them in the garden, and with any luck they will join us for dinner next Thanksgiving!

For a great article about sage and how the first American "goodwives" used it for Thanksgiving, visit Willow Pond Farm's website, www.willowpondherbs.com/kitchen/thanksgiving/index.htm.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

My thoughtful sister got me a great Christmas present this year - a gift card to Barnes and Noble.  I usually get my books used so buying a new book is a rare treat.  As soon as I saw the gift card I knew exactly what I wanted to buy, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.  I first heard about this book on one of my favorite radio shows Speaking of Faith when Krista Tippett interviewed Kingsolver about her experience of eating locally for one year.  For anyone who reads the place of  origin on their groceries knows that eating only local and seasonal food can be a challenge.  I was intrigued and could not wait to hear about how she did it.

So far, I am only a quarter of the way through the book and loving it.  As I read,  I  am equally horrified by the food culture in our country and inspired by Kingsolver's re-discovery of old fashioned food wisdom.  I have always considered myself as a  conscious consumer concerned with my family's heath and the environment.  I buy mostly natural and organic foods, few processed foods and rarely do we have soda.   But, this book has really raised the bar and made me re-evaluate my food choices.  Organic apples from Washington state are great if you live in Washington or Oregon but not not if  you live in Connecticut.

We spent this past frigid weekend visiting my in-laws in New Jersey, a home where there is never a bad meal.  My mother-in-law stocks up on our favorites for every visit and always gets the best of everything.  New Jersey is the "Garden State" and when they are in season there is nothing better than New Jersey ripe tomatoes, sweet corn and soft shell crabs.  But this weekend we dined on fresh strawberries, avocados, ripe tomatoes and pears all grown God knows where courtesy of Costco.  I was of course grateful for all the tasty morsels but seen in the light of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle  it seemed very decadent.

After a weekend away I had to get a few provisions so I went to Whole Foods where I planned to ease my conscience and find good local organic food to stock my pantry with.  Good and organic were in abundance, local, well not so much.  I looked at the produce aisle with new eyes and read all the labels: Washington, California, Florida.  The closest I got to fresh local fruit was a container of New York lady apples so I snatched them up.

I am not sure if I can go completely local just yet (school lunches) but I am going to try.  I am going to adopt the mindset and practices that my grandmothers and great grandmothers had and eat what is in season and cook accordingly.  I am hoping to join a CSA this year and will be buying eggs from my neighbor across the street once spring comes (too cold for the chickens now too).  It should be an adventure but the best way to vote is with your wallet and I want to make my vote count!


To hear the interview with Barbara Kingsolver on Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett click on the link below.  You can also visit the Animal, Vegatable, Miracle website for more information http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/.
http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2010/ethics-of-eating/

Goin' Bananas

Bananas, one of the most common fruits in the produce aisle, they are there in every season and every store.  We are so used to seeing them that we forget that they are actually exotic and travel a long way to get here.  Everyone in my house wants them on the shopping list yet when they are here they rarely get eaten in time.  Black bananas in the fruit bowl are a common sight.

In my grandmother's youth bananas would certainly have been considered a luxury and wasting them would not have been an option.  Waste not want not - hence the invention of banana bread.  I don't like to waste them any more than my grandmother would, and considering the carbon footprint of a banana shipped to CT it would be crime to.

So when your bananas are goin' make some banana bread.  My friend Donna, who is also a thrifty Yankee gal (and Red Sox fan), makes banana bread all the time.  Her tasty loaves are filled with chocolate chips and often given to friends  - now that's a way to make someone's day!  I like banana bread but find that banana muffins make very convenient snacks, great with a cup of tea or in a lunch box. 

My favorite recipe is adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks: Dairy Hollow House, Soup & Bread, A Country Inn Cookbook by Crescent Dragonwagon

Banana Muffins:

1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar 

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup of milk

6 tablespoons of melted butter

1 large egg beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 mashed bananas

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F .  Combine all dry ingredients, in a separate bowl mash bananas and set aside, combine all wet ingredients, add bananas to the dry ingredients followed by the wet ingredients, fold together gently until combined.  Add nuts or chips.  Fill paper muffin cups or greased muffn tin 3/4 full with batter.  Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown and cooked through in center.  Enjoy!

Re-Use It: Round Take Out Containers

Growing up, re-using plastic containers was a way of life, handed down no doubt from my grandmother who often re-used plastic sherbet containers for her wonderful strawberry freezer jam.  My parents' plastic container of choice to this day is the cool-whip bowl.  Chemical laden cool-whip aside, I am not a huge fan as the left overs placed in them often turn to mystery food that does not get eaten by humans before it gets eaten by mold.  I prefer clear containers to avoid the mystery food dilemma and try to use glass to store my leftovers since I don't like to re-heat in plastic.

That said, I think these round take-out containers are great.  It should come as no surprise that it was my sister who actually came up with this use as she too has been steeped in the family re-using culture.  She once came over with cupcakes in these round take-out containers and I thought - genius!  Now if you have ever tried to find a way to store cupcakes or muffins neatly with out squishing them or getting the plastic wrap stuck in the icing then you know how hard it is to find just the right container.  Well look no further, just keep these take-out containers for your next batch of cupcakes.  Each container holds 6.

Re-Use It: Clementine Boxes

I get really excited when the first shipments of clementines show up in the grocery stores in November and enjoy them all winter long.  I know that my consumption of clementines here in CT is by no means green. I try not to think about the carbon footprint of each juicy morsel that has been shipped from as far as Spain, but it is a luxury I am not willing to give up - at least not yet.  

One way to feel less guilty about them is to re-use the sturdy wooden crates they come in.   I just can't justify throwing them out, it makes me cringe when I think of the trees cut down to make them so I have turned them into storage bins. As they saying goes "A place for everything and everything in its place", so in an effort to get the upper hand in my war against clutter and Re-Use at the same time, I offer this easy DIY project: Clementine Storage Bins.

Now you can use them as they are and neatly stack them one on top of the other or you can take it up a notch and paint them. Personally, I like to use chalkboard paint so you can write the contents on the side/end. I got my chalkboard paint ready-made at a home improvement store but you could get really crafty and make your own chalkboard paint in a color that works with your decor.  Here is a link to Martha Stewart's chalkboard paint recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/article/make-custom-color-chalkboard-paint.

Here is my finished product, not living room worthy but certainly an improvement in the basement.

Go ahead, have your clementine and eat it too, just be sure to re-use those wooden boxes!

All Organics LLC

This is a shameless plug for my friend Brian's company All Organics, LLC.  If you are looking to give your plants a boost then do yourself a favor - skip the miracle grow and opt for All Organics.  Worm castings are the key to healthy plants and gardens, and the results are amazing!

I know it is too cold in most of the country to begin gardening, but if you are like me and find that making plans for spring planting in the winter helps to get your mind off the cold, then now is the time to check this out!  If you can't wait until spring then use it on your house plants, they will thank you.

To find out more please be sure to visit their website or follow them on facebook.  This product is not yet in stores but you can contact them to place an order. http://www.allorganicsllc.com

Happy Growing!

To Bee or Not To Bee

To bee or not to bee, that is the question...

Whether t'is nobler to have a hive in my yard or keep it simple and just plant some bee friendly plants this year.  I have been considering keeping bees for a while now but I am just not sure if I am ready to take the plunge or not.  The greatest motivating factor for me in is that bee populations all over the world are dying at an alarming rate.  

Bees have a enormous impact on our food supply, over $15 billion dollars in crop value.  Approximately 1/3 of all food grown in this country is a result of bee pollination.   Compounding the loss of these bees is the fact that there are fewer managed honey bees in this country - managed bee colonies have dropped from 5 million in 1940 to only 2.5 million today.  The hives we do have are shipped from farm to farm like migrant workers to pollinate crops throughout the year which places a huge stress on the colonies.  Another article was just released today re-stating the urgency of this issue http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110104/ts_afp/usanimalagricultureresearch

So, it is clear that we need more managed hives.  I think that every farmer, especially those who grow crops, should be required to keep their own hives.  Even so, we all have to do our part to keep their populations from dwindling away.  Michelle Obama has helped to bring this issue to the forefront by starting her own hive at White House as a compliment to her organic kitchen garden.

Ok so pros and cons of starting my own hive:

In the pro column I have a friend in town who had kept bees for years and would be a great mentor.  My best friend in Maryland is a successful bee keeper and my father who grew up on a farm also used to keep bees, so there are many people to turn to for advice.  Another plus is that my garden would certainly thrive with all that pollination.  Then there is the obvious benefit - HONEY! 

I guess the big item in the con column is placing yet another demand on my very limited time.  Does my husband's objection count? If so, I should add that one too.  Then there is the cost, not astronomical but in this economy maybe better to put off till next year.  Then there is the summer travel, can't manage a hive if I am away.

Alternatives:

Well I already have many goodies in my garden that the bees really love, raspberries, lavender, blueberries (not sure if they will survive the winter or the groundhogs that have burrowed under them), winter savory and rosemary although this too seems to have fallen victim to a very harsh winter.  Perhaps I could just add a few more bee friendly plants this year to keep our winged friends coming to my garden.

If you are like me and are not ready to start your own hive here are some ways you can help.  Haagen Dazs has a campaign called Help the the Honey Bees, the website is terrific and fun for kids as well: http://www.helpthehoneybees.com.  Here is another article with easy tips http://www.ehow.com/how_4838802_help-honey-bees.html.  PBS has a great article too http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/how-can-you-help-the-bees/36/

Last but not least, if you plan to become a bee keeper or if you are just looking for honey bee products be sure to go to Draper's Super Bee at http://www.draperbee.com/.

If any of you out there have other suggestions I would love to hear them!  Till next, time be sure to opt for local honey next time you shop!