At West End

Last week, I got a new catalog in the mail.  I have been receiving almost none since I signed up with Catalog Choice but I didn't mind this one slipping through the cracks.

At West End is "a unique place for rustic & recycled decor".   I am not sure where they got my information from, probably through my business, but they have so many cool things.  They have unusual gift items and even things that would be great for my clients.

One item in particular caught my eye - a turtle hide-a-key.  Everyone who knows me knows I love turtles and my husband had just asked me to get us a hide-a-key after we locked ourselves out of the house a few weeks ago.  My son seconded the motion as he does not fancy crawling in through the window again.  How could I resist?

I splurged and ordered - it arrived today.  The only thing that I didn't love was the styrofoam peanuts, I wish they had used a greener packing material.

So cute, I love it.  May we never be locked out again...

Home Made Ice Cream

My mother was in town visiting last week.  We decided to conclude our week together with the usual Friday night pizza dinner.  For dessert we all had a craving for ice cream, partly because we also had a craving for warmer weather - it has been an appallingly cold spring so far.  In discussing ice cream my children insisted on home made ice cream as it was "the best.   My mother and I agreed and reminisced about making ice cream with our parents when we were children.  I was happy to oblige and to create some new ice cream making memories for my children, nieces and nephews.

As I made the grocery list for our ingredients, I had a chuckle when my mother asked if we would need ice and salt for the machine.    No Mom, I said, the new machines are so much easier (I see the gift of an ice cream maker in her future).  Though I have fond memories of making ice cream with that messy, loud machine, usually in the dead of winter when snow for the basin was plentiful, I prefer my new Cuisinart.  

I brought all the ingredients and my ice cream maker to my sister's house and enlisted the kids for help.  For them the changing of milk and cream into ice cream is miraculous, probably more interesting to them than changing water to wine.  I have to admit the process is still exciting for me as well.

I snapped this photo (on my iphone) of my son and nephew as they patiently waited for the transformation.

Our favorite variety is also the simplest, I use the recipe that came with the ice cream maker:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I use 1tsp. vanilla extract and the seeds from one vanilla bean)

I have also made maple walnut ice cream with great success, simply substitute 1/2-3/4 cup maple syrup for the sugar and add a half cup of chopped walnuts.  Last week, I also followed the Cuisinart recipe for chocolate ice cream and I have to admit it did not turn out well.  I know its hard to imagine any chocolate food not tasting good but alas this was the case.  I will have to scare up my mother's tried and true recipe and will report back on the results.

It seems I am not the only one who has been in the mood for home made ice cream - today I saw that one of my favorite locavore bloggers, Diary of a Locavore, also has a new post devoted to home made ice cream.  I guess we New Enlganders are ready for some warmer weather.  Be sure to check out this great blog for more home-made ice cream inspiration.

 http://www.diaryofalocavore.com/2011/04/homemade-maple-ice-cream.html

Can a Locavore Shop at Costco?

I went to Costco today to stock up on the usual, this time with new parameters, the locavore pledge.  To be honest I don't really shop at Costco very often, maybe once every 3 months or so.  I generally shop there to stock up on paper products or oxyclean.  Of course I know that there are greener choices for paper products like Seventh Generation but so far none of them come in very large quantities and they are significantly more expensive.  So, unless a toilet paper, paper towel or tissue factory that makes green products opens up within a hundred miles of here I am going to get these items from Costco - for now.  

Today I got the usual paper products, toner for my fax/printer and an air purifier for the bedroom.  They were on the list and I was going to stick to it.  I was not even going to be tempted by the book section.

I really did not expect to buy any food other than salad greens (I was asked to bring a green salad to a pot luck dinner this week) and well, there are no local salad greens that I know of this time of year.  On my way to pick up said organic greens I thought I would check out the bakery section just in case there was something local, after all they do bake many things right there in the store, that's pretty local.  Boy did I get lucky!  There, tucked in the furthermost section of the baked goods was an entire rack of Eli's Bread, as in Zabar's famously delicious gourmet bakery, fresh from the Upper East side.  Since I don't go to Costco often, I got two loaves of the Raisin Pecan bread and two of the Health Loaves to put in our chest freezer.  I have to say however that the raisin pecan bread was so good I am tempted to go more often.

I also celebrated this first day of March by picking up a fresh loaf of Irish soda bread made in Wyandanch, NY just across the sound from here.  Of course no visit to Costco is complete with out the taste of a sample or two and today's sample was Nature's Path Organic granola bars.  Yummy and perfect for the kids lunches so I grabbed a box of them too.

All in all I did better food wise than I expected.  Of course other than the salad greens I did have to skip the produce section entirely but I really didn't mind.  Only 4 more weeks and we will be receiving the first box of spring produce from our CSA - can't wait!

Quick Quesadillas

Right about the time I gave up eating wheat (more on that later) my mother bought me a quesadilla maker.  I thought, "great what am I going to do with this?".  Now if you have ever tried to make a quesadilla with a corn tortilla you know what I mean - I love corn tortillas but for quesadillas they just don't work.

One day, not long afterward, while perusing the free samples at Trader Joe's I inquired if the sample had gluten.  Luckily for me the gal giving out samples was also living gluten-free and she proceeded to take me around the store showing me all the tasty gluten-free foods I had never noticed before.  I hit the gluten-free jack-pot!  One of the best discoveries I made that day was Trader Joe's Brown Rice Tortillas.

I have to admit the rice tortillas don't work well for wraps (although they will do) as they have very little give to them when rolling up, but they make fabulous quesadillas!  In my opinion the rice tortillas actually taste better than flour tortillas when making quesadillas as they get crispier and have a subtly sweet flavor.  Quesadillas can come in really handy either for lunch, a light dinner, appetizers or as a way to use up leftovers!  Even if you are dairy free there are still many ways to make them - the possibilities are endless. 

The Quesadilla maker that I use is the Santa Fe Quesadilla Maker, it works like a sandwich press that scores the tortilla into sections while it cooks.  You can either use two tortillas which makes 6 slices or fold one in half for 3 slices.

Here are two of my favorite quick quesadilla recipes:

Chipotle Quesadillas 

Trader Joe's Brown Rice Tortillas

Chipotle hummus

Guacamole

Trader Joe's Smoky Peach Salsa

Slather one half of the tortilla with chipotle hummus, cook in quesadilla maker until crispy. Garnish with guacamole and peach salsa.

*Gluten-Free, Dairy Free and Vegetarian*

Goat Cheese and Corn Quesadilla

11oz. Plain Goat Cheese

3/4 cup sweet corn kernels (defrosted frozen corn is fine)

1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives (scallions would work well too)

Rice Tortillas

Combine corn, goat cheese and chives in a bowl,  spread evenly on tortilla and cook until crispy. Garnish with chives or salsa verde.

*Gluten-free, Vegetarian* This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light

How do you make your quesadillas?  If you share your recipes I'll post them too!

Plant Nannies

Last November my husband and I actually got away for a weekend to celebrate our anniversary in Old Lyme, CT.  We spent a day in Mystic and decided to get out of the rain by doing a little shopping in Olde Mystic Village.  There we found one of the best garden stores I've ever been to called Garden Specialties.  The first thing to catch my attention was an artist named Guy Wolff in front of the store demonstrating his technique for making beautiful clay pots - well needless to say I had to see what else was in store.  Once inside I found some unusual Christmas gifts, a snowy owl made of white feathers, a brass rain gauge for my father, a turtle clock.   I also picked up some great garden gadgets, and after waiting all winter, I am so happy that it has finally warmed up so that I can use them!

One of my favorite purchases was the plant nanny.  I bought two varieties, one that uses old wine bottles (16.95 for a set of four) and one that uses a plastic water bottle ($4.25 ea).   I have seen the same items in catalogs and on line for much more, these not only save my plants but my wallet as well!

Of course my daughter thought I should get the cool swirling glass Aqua Globes because she saw a commercial for them.  Not that I have anything against Aqua Globes, they are attractive and my sister swears by them, but personally, I prefer the plant nannies.  One because they hold a great deal of water and secondly because if a kid (or grown-up) happens to break one I won't mind  - I certainly won't have any trouble coming up with another bottle!  These little gadgets are a great way to recycle and if you are like me and don't water as often as you should they will buy you some time too!

If you happen to be in Mystic be sure to stop by Garden Specialties and if you don't plan to be in Connecticut any time soon you can also order the plant nannies and Guy Wolff's hand made pots on their website: http://www.garden-specialties.com/

The Thermos

Another great item whose time has come again is the thermos.  I have fond memories of choosing my new lunch box and matching thermos at the start of each school year.  The thing I remember most about those squat plastic thermoses is that they leaked - a sticky residue generally coated the inside of my lunch box.  Still, I was fond of them.

The school lunch box has certainly come a long way so too has the thermos - some are better than ever.  I have decided to re-use drink containers as often as possible and use less plastic (since the jury is still out on plastic safety).  Today's thermoses really fit the bill.  My kids' lunch boxes didn't come with matching thermoses so they think the ones I have picked up are pretty cool and are eager to use them.  

The thermoses we use are made of stainless steel, no more leaky plastic, no glass insulation to break.  One of my favorites is a petite size that I picked up at Home Goods for only $8.  It comes to work with me most days.  It is great for tea, add one tea bag and some hot water and you have hot tea for hours.  By far the best that I have found is the Stanley thermos,  we picked ours up at Walmart.  Big and rugged, it looks like something an old time construction worker would have used.  Last summer we took it to the pool and it kept our water icy cold all day; in fact we even left if out over night and there was still ice in it the next morning.  No more tepid water in plastic bottles here!

I love being able to bring my favorite drinks with me (I am a bit picky) and have them stay hot or cold for hours.  This is also a great way to save money and reduce the amount garbage going to your local landfill.  Great for the pool, sports games, the beach or picnics - be creative, think margaritas!  Next time you are out pick one up!   

Bag Lady

Isn't it funny how we learn things without knowing it at the time?  Sometimes it is only in hindsight that we recognize wisdom.

I am dedicating this post to my Grammy who will be having a huge laugh in heaven upon reading this.  Strange how I can still hear her laugh.

Anyway, my grandmother was married during the great depression and a young mother during WWII.  Scarcity of goods, victory gardens and rationing were just a fact of life.  My grandmother learned these lessons well and turned frugality and resourcefulness into an art.  My mom would say she could pinch a penny until it screamed.  One of the many tools in her arsenal was re-using plastic zip lock bags.  

I remember when visiting her, how the need for a baggie would send me into the pantry to paw through a paper bag, which held her washed and many times re-used baggies, to find the right size.  After a few minutes I would emerge and ask, "why don't you just throw these old things out and buy some new ones?".  Her reply would always be "they're perfectly good - there's no need to waste them".  I would usually just roll my teenage eyes and carry on.

Fast forward a few years.  I am a new mom and housewife going through my eco-friendly products catalog when I spot a little wooden dryer for washing and re-using plastic baggies.  Of course I bought one and have been using it ever since.   I have to admit it is a good thing to do, it saves money and keeps baggies out of landfills.  It turns out that she was right all along and it only took me 15  years to figure it out.  How my Grammy would chuckle to see my baggies drying on their little yuppy bag holder.  Who knew - my grandmother was green before it was cool.  She also used to hang her laundry out to dry - but that is a post for another time...

To buy your own countertop bag dryer visit: http://www.gaiam.com/