Greedy Green

Activism?

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:17:00 +0000

As of 15 minutes ago, I am a member of Greenpeace!

I was walking toward a coffee shop on Pearl Street, and was stopped by a charming young man with a Greenpeace clipboard. My initial "I'm good, thanks" response wasn't accepted by this guy, and he pushed a little bit, discussing endangered whales, orangutans, and the need to put consumer pressure on trangressing corporations.

"I have no money!" I insisted, but as he was chatting I realized the hypocrisy of my position. I read articles about Greenpeace and Earthfirst every week. I WRITE about them, for goodness sake! And it is my job to analyze the effectiveness of environmental rhetoric and try to make it better. I need to put my money where my mouth is!

So I stopped being a turd, and pledged a little money to a cause I believe in. I'm pretty thrilled about it, actually. Greenpeace does have a number of successes in the past, and maybe my little bit of $ will help them gain ground in the future. In any case, it's gotten me thinking about environmental activism, which I really don't do. I have a lot of excuses: I'm poor, and harried, and incredibly busy. But there is a difference in NOT doing bad things for the environment and proactively doing something positive.

I want a positive project, other than my academic research. Any ideas?

Really Cool Texting Service!!!

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

I'm participating in Colin Beaven's (pictured here with his mega-cute daughter) No Impact Project starting today, and I found out about something really cool through his How-To Manual!

Apparently, there is a service you can use to find out how green a company is via text! So you text "GREENnike" or "GREENdell" to 66937, and will receive a text back giving you that company's climate score, and also providing the name of the leading green company in that sector. How cool is that?
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today is the first step in the No Impact Project, so I'm pledging to not purchase anything (other than food) for the next week, and gathering all the trash I make today to report what i can eliminate. One of my roommates and another close friend are (allegedly) trying it out too, so I'll report how we do.

I'm really excited, actually. I spent this morning walking around the neighborhood with the little boys I babysit collecting leaves and doing art projects. After I post this, I'm going to do a little work, and then read a book. Even though I don't have to deal with energy consumption until Friday according to the project rules, I'm starting to be more fanatic about it today. For example, I'm sitting in the dark typing this. And I refused to reheat my takeout this morning before I ate it for breakfast.

Holy Crap, Utilities!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:42:00 +0000

At my last apartment I didn't ever get my utility bills. In fact, I was annoyed by having to pay a flat rate because I thought there was no incentive to conserve.

But YIKES!! In my new house, water is extremely expensive; electricity is more than I thought it would be; even garbage adds up! The first 2 months we were here, we left a lot of lights on (some of us are scared of the dark; some of us are lazy), most of us showered once a day, and I know one roommate in particular is extremely fond of long and frequent baths. We also discovered that we've been wasting water unknowingly every morning because our automatic sprinkler goes on at 6 am rain or shine.

Here are the steps I'm taking to deal with this:

1) Only showering every other day (this is tough because earth-friendly shampoo is not as effective at de-greasing the hair, but i'll get a hat.)
2) Turning off (I think...) the sprinkler system and letting the grass look crappy.
3) Going back to my rule of using natural light whenever possible and always turning the light out when leaving the room.
4) Engaging in heat wars with my roommates so the heater isn't always on (at least not in October!)

It's tougher to conserve when you live with others: stuff adds up fast, and it's a little awkward to pester them about changing their own behavior. But I'll do what I can. I'll see if next month's bills are any lower.

Of bikes, sweaters, and crazy Brits.

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:04:00 +0000

This post comes to you in three parts.

Part One: BIKING SUCKS
I don't know why I have such a hard time. I'm not in terrible shape; I can run a good distance before my lungs or my muscles run out. But MAN! Ask me to pedal up a hill and I feel like I'm having a heart attack. I've biked to campus twice now, and once to the grocery store since last week. I'd rather walk. But I know I need to get over this.

Part Two: THE FIND!
I got a really fabulous black cashmere sweater for 5 dollars on Thursday when I accompanied a friend to a "Suit Yourself" event (people donate their business attire and then students can buy it on the cheap to prepare for interviews). It's amazing, and not only is it vintage, it's made in the USA. This act of environmental responsibility, however, was cancelled out by the grey leather knee-high boot purchase on Saturday. It was a moment of weakness. I had to have them. I justified it, saying I'd have them for years (true) and that leather wasn't such a big deal anyway (false.)

Part Three: THE FABULOUS VIVIENNE WESTWOOD
In Vivienne Westwood's October 4th show for her Red Label, the clothes weren't exactly green, but they were environmentally... inspired? See below. God, she's bizarre. I love it! The little bibs on the models read "Cool 2010 Run: Keep Gaia Cool" and "Gaia +5 degrees."

I fell off the Green Wagon! - A Recommitment

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:35:00 +0000

I quit posting on this blog early last Summer. I'd run out of ways to become more green and econo-conscious in my tiny Boulder apartment. I thought I was doing pretty well not buying stuff and trying to eat locally. However, a lot has happened since then and I've fallen back into many of my old habits. I'm going to start posting here again in an attempt to regain control of my environmental footprint and my (seriously troubled!) bank account. Here is what's happened:

1) I no longer live alone or 5 minutes from my office. Now I live in a lovely house downtown with 3 of my best friends. It's a 30 minute walk or a 15 minute uphill bikeride to campus. School's been going for a month now and I haven't once walked or biked. I hitch a ride with a roomie or take the bus. While this isn't so bad as having my own car, it's not great.

2) I do not shop often, but I do go shopping and buy new things.

3) The new house has a dish washer, a clothes washer and dryer, and I use them with reckless abandon.

4) The house is big, and at times can be a little creepy at night, so we leave lights on to combat this.

5) I go out to bars a lot, and no longer do I feel compelled to drink locally brewed beers. Stoli is back in the freezer.

6) Avocados.

7) I can't be bothered to flip the switch on my surge protector at night, even as I read environmental studies in bed and write scathing articles about how the American public is ignoring our environmental crisis.

What is wrong with me????????? I'm starting over with the Greedy Green project, and hopefully I can get my shit together. I read old No Impact Man posts last night for inspiration. Today I'm making a salad for lunch, pedaling to school on the roomie's bike if it kills me, and turning the lights and extension cords off before I go.

Highways blow.

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:20:00 +0000

Spent the last week in San Diego visiting a friend. It was warm and beachy and sunny, but DAMN if we didn't spend half the time in the car! To go anywhere, even Chipotle for lunch required freeway time. Filling up the tank of my friend's car is an 80 dollar proposition with gas prices what they are, and that has to happen once every three days given how much she drives.

How terribly we designed cities when fossil fuels were cheap! The best a San Diegan (San Diego-an?) can do is ride a motorcycle. Scooters and bikes don't cut it because they won't fair well on highways where the speed of traffic is around 75mph.

I pity the fools who live there and pray I never have to.

Perhaps the craziest thing about it to me was how normal this seemed to everyone there. Ofcourse we have to drive 30 minutes to the mall! I didn't want to preach, but I found it hard to hide my disdain.

Some Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:51:00 +0000

Yes yes, I know I've been an absent blogger. But I was reading this book about "flipping the switch on technology" called Better Off by Eric Brende. I sort of stopped checking e-mail or using the computer for a while. Not because of the book persay, but because it's Summer and all I really do is eat, read, and take care of other people's progeny for pay. I was tired of the computer, and reading about Eric's adventures on a farm in an anabaptist community was so riveting that I didn't WANT to see what was happening out there in the modern world.

I've been considering other eco-thinkers as well. Barbara Kingsolver, Daniel Quinn, various and sundry bloggers...

It occurs to me that among those of us in the environmentalist camp, there are many different points of view. Some think technology will save us, others think technology is our big problem. Some think the most important thing is eating locally while others are more concerned with consumption or oil or mass transit. As I've written before, I'm most worried that environmental responsibility will become only an upper-middle class progressive issue - a way to gain social capital in chic circles while average Americans roll their eyes and continue to buy meat for their kids contained growth hormones. Also: shit. The way I see this happening is by making green living affordable and (fairly) easy. I think it's key we not market it as a luxury, or greenwash the public into buying new stuff just because it's "natural."

What's a good name for those who buy at Big Box stores exclusively and eat mealy watermelons in Winter and go through two rolls of paper towels a week? If I'm progressive are they regressive? If I'm radical are they reactionary? Maybe complacent is a better label. Complacies? Not as good a dismissal as hippie is for me. I'll work on it...

But I digress. Here are some things I should mention quickly that have occured to me/just occured in the last two weeks:

1) Barbara Kingsolver makes a point in her Animal Vegetable Miracle Book that caused me to think: We (and by we, I mean me) get our underwear in a bunch over the price of organic food. I had a whole rant about how the farmer's market was too expensive. Still think it is. But Kingsolver points out that US citizens spend a far smaller percentage of their income on food than any other nation does. She claims that we're buying substandard food because it's cheaper and argues that it's worth an extra dollar or two to eat organic foods: you're helping out the small farmer, the local economy, getting more nutrients, a better taste, and you can rest assured there are no poisons in the food. Yep, she has a point.

2) But then, so does ZeFrank when he damns farmer's markets as the playgrounds of silly vacationers (this is all tongue in cheek, but still spot on):

3) Someone has stolen my composting worms off the porch! The shovel as well! I'm flabbergasted and quite sad. Think of all that good garden compost I lost, not to mention the wormies themselves. A pox on the thief!

4) My veggie plants are kicking butt! I still need to take pics of the garden, but my friend and I will be feasting come August!

More soon. I have recipes to share and rants to impose. I have a funny plumbing story and some haircare/armpit maintenance thoughts. I also have a good list of green bloggy news, but right now my book is calling to me...

Gardening Progress / A Local Food Rant

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 05:45:00 +0000

Three weeks ago I helped a good friend plant a veggie garden at her new rented house. We split the cost of seeds (I spent less than 30 bucks), the weeding chores, and the planting. We really haven't a clue what we're doing, but I went over today and sure enough a bunch of lovely seedlings are popping out of the ground:

lettuce
edamame
sugar snap peas
chard
beets
purple carrots
orange carrots
broccoli rabe
peppers
herbs

Pictures of the garden forthcoming!

Then in my little containers at my apartment I've planted basil, tomatoes, and tomatillos! It's so fun to watch things grow, and i've been fertilizing the potted plants with the "tea" from my compost bin (a.k.a. trash juice.) We weren't sophisticated enough this grow season to space out our plantings so they'd mature at different times. Oh well. Next time.

This week I've been reading Barbara Kingsolver's book about eating local for a year: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It's great! She has some excellent points about the ethics of eating. We don't find it impolite for vegetarians to request non-meat items at dinner, but it's percieved as preachy or nitpicky in our society to ask that our food not travel around the globe to get to us. Eating seasonally is seen as deprivation (I see it that way sometimes, certainly!) Kingsolver writes, "The conspicuous consumption of limited resources has yet to be accepted widely as spiritual error, or even bad manners."

Isn't it more of a deprivation to eat crappy asparagus that's bitter and grimmy outside the 4 weeks (That's IT!) each year it's in season? Or munch on tasteless, mealy apples and tomatoes? Isn't it deprivation that we loose many varieties of seeds each year because of factory farming practice and modification of plant species so that they travel well? Don't get me wrong: I'm not an extremist! I won't stop using spices from Asia. I won't grow wheat on the roof to make my own bread. There are some very real advantages to living in the 21st century. But I will try when it comes to vegetables and fruits to do a better job. Growing my own is a great start, as is supporting local farmers. Dairy is easy to get locally as well. And even if my grains and legumes come from elsewhere, it's still MUCH more environmentally (and economically) sound to purchase and eat whole foods than it is to buy multi-ingredient foods of the processed and boxed variety, which have HUGE footprints. It's cheaper too. And healthier. It's not faster, but I'm not sure what I'd be doing with the time I saved by eating Easy-Mac.

It annoys the HELL out of me when people roll their eyes at me and call me a hippie. Americans have this sense of entitlement. We think we're sophisticated for eating blackberries in the dead of Winter, without regard for what those choices are doing to the rest of the planet and future generations. Catch me in the right mood and I feel this way too. It's irresponsible and sickening. My views aren't radical. They aren't original or groundbreaking; why are things so ass-backward that they're frequently percieved as such?

Seattle

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 05:10:00 +0000

I was out of town last weekend in Seattle for an academic conference. It's a pretty great town: bike lanes, electronic buses, and a monorail makes it a well thought out city for public transit lovers. I especially enjoyed the bus tunnels that took us under intersections so red lights weren't an issue!

In my own green transit life: I've been getting rides from friends WAY too much lately. It has to do with shoe choices. I wear big shoes, and then don't want to walk more than a quarter mile. Ahh, vanity! I've been investigating bike possibilities but I want a used one and haven't found one I like just yet.

Maybe one of the best things about Seattle though, is that it's extremely walkable. Sure, there are a ton of neighboring suburbs that I couldn't walk to, but it's not a huge town at all.

Green Blog Roundup #2

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Wed, 21 May 2008 05:19:00 +0000

I read all the environmentalist blogs so you didn't have to.

No Impact Man offered moral support for a girl with no electricity, declaring that we don't need those appliances anyway! Yeah!

But then, the New York Times shamed the HELL out of me, providing statistical evidence that Americans waste as much as one THIRD of their food while riots are breaking out elsewhere in the world over the food shortage. Read this and stop throwing stuff out ...says the girl who accidentally let a pepper mold in the fridge during the power outage incident. Bah!

Looking for ways to cook all those veggies before you trash them? NYT has ideas on that one too. Too bad they advocate microwaving as the most nutritional option.

OK, moving on. A few weeks ago, Ecogeek ran a post about waiting until 2010 to buy a new car because a bunch of companies are coming out with cool hybrids, electric cars, and the like. Add Nissan to the '10 innovators, apparently. They announced plans for an electric car released in the US. [Sidebar: how the HELL are we a decade into the 21st century already?] [via NPR here, but NYT, Carectomy, and everyone EVER covered this story]

Can't wait that long for cool transport? Consider moving to Japan, where the metro is designed by IKEA. Badass, right? Carectomy raises a good point: why isn't mass transit privately owned? They probably couldn't muck it up any more than the government has.

This whole green thing is becoming successful business. But along with that comes labor issues: The Economist reports that there is a "lack of talent" in the available workforce that's negatively affecting green startups. Erm, isn't 'the lack of talent' in the workforce affecting every industry?

No wait: It's not affecting the Hummer advertising peeps, who realize that adults hate the vehicle, so are marketing the cars to future consumers (i.e the under-12 set.) Bloody Hell. [via Carectomy]

Need a pick-me-up after that one? Check out home gardening efforts from Bean Sprouts and ways to eat those weeds from Grist

And finally: Bad Human Blog TOTALLY showed up my pizza!

Sunday's Binge

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:34:00 +0000

I didn't have any power and I was feeling a little fragile. I went to Target for a lantern or something similar and came home with the following:

~Little plastic clips for holding my hair up
~A bathing suit allegedly made from organic cotton from an earth friendly designer
~Method dish washing liquid (I was out)
~Tapered beeswax candles (the lanterns were expensive and battery-powered.)
~A glass candle holder
~Contact solution
~Mineral mascara

Ok, I guess I could have done without most of this stuff. But the clips make my hair very easy to manage, and I do need a suit for a trip to San Diego and another back east this Summer. Better organic than not. Not apologizing for the candles or the dish soap. I am NOT getting rid of dish soap, and I rememberd not to grab the (cheaper!) parafin ones. The mineral mascara rocks! It's thick, but not clumpy, and there isn't any gunk in it. It's funny: I was using all mineral makeup up until this point except for the mascara... which goes on my eyes, so you'd think I'd be most worried about that. Contact solution is a must. I am, however, annoyed that I bought the candle holder. It was 20$ (mislabeled as 4$ and I didn't catch the mishap till I got home.) Also: empty beer and wine bottles work incredibly well in its stead, which I did not know. It'll be returned to the store next trip. A pair of sandals and some adorable high-waist shorts made it all the way to the register, and then I asked the saleswoman to take them back. It was close, though! I need to go with someone. I wouldn't be tempted to cheat if I went with a friend.

Armpit revelations

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:17:00 +0000

Up until 3 days ago I was still using the bad deoderant with aluminum and all sorts of muck. Yeah yeah, I know, but natural deodorant smells horrible and doesn't work for me and I think smelling like BO is pretty much the grossest thing ever. So I held out. But then the other morning, as I was brushing my teeth with my baking powder concoction, I had a thought: what if my love affair with baking soda could go even further? I wet my underarms a little, smoothed some baking soda on and went about my day. This was Saturday. I haven't showered since then (it's Summer and I'm lazy), have gardened more than 10 hours in that time, spent a while outdoors, gone on some walks, and my arm pits still don't stink! It's a miracle! Today they got a little sweaty, whereas before they stayed dry even when I was sweaty elsewhere. I don't have any white gunk on my clothes (including two black shirts.)

My point: It actually works better than convention antipersperants, has very little packaging, and won't fill my body with free radicals. Huzzah!

Also: I have power again.

Panic Pickling: What to do to veggies when your power goes out

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:46:00 +0000

We're on day three of the power saga. Someone's working on it right now, but it's taking a long long time. Apparently I have only one breaker for the entire apartment, and something shorted out. He has to go through one by one and find which one it is. I started to panic about my carrots and broccoli, because I couldn't eat them fast enough these last few days with all the leftovers I was busy eating. I found a recipe in my awesome veggie cookbook however, for marinated garden vegetables. It said that covered in its cooking liquid, the veggies would last over a month in the fridge. I figure they've got at least a week out in the open, then. This wouldn't work if you had an electric stove, but since I have gas I'm good to go. I tested the carrots out and they're super crunchy and delicious! I bet they'll be awesome cold once that's among the realm of possibility again.

Here's the original recipe:

1 c red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp salt
2 sprigs fresh or 2 tsp dried oregano (I used Thyme because that was what I had)
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic
3/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 medium carrots, cut into sticks
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced
1 onion cut into eights
1/2 c olives, pitted

Put the liquid and the spices in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add broccoli and cauliflower first and cook for a minute. Then add the other veggies. Cover the pot with a lid, turn off the heat, and let it cool back to room temperature. Then sprinkle with pepper and eat plain, or over salad. You can also put them in a jar with the brining liquid and keep in the fridge for a month or more.

Note: I just used carrots. I have stir fry plans for my other veggies, but had 3 pounds of carrots that were going to die soon. I bet you could experiment with other kinds of veggies and different vinegars in the brine.

Living in the 1800s

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Sun, 18 May 2008 17:24:00 +0000

For two days now I’ve had no power. My landlord’s phone is "temporarily disconnected" according to the automaton on the other end, the power company insists that power is going into the house just fine, I can’t find a breaker in my apartment or the basement apartment I broke into, and the electrician can’t come until tomorrow. Lovely.

But you know actually, it’s not a very big inconvenience.

Here are my observations:

During the day I don’t miss it at all, because since Earth Day I’ve gotten used to no lights before 9pm. Even after dark last night was kind of cool. Since I was afraid of using all the juice in my computer by watching a movie, or having my phone die if I called a friend to entertain me, I lit a few candles and climbed in bed with a pack of peanut butter sun drops (like M&Ms but ‘natural’) and a Dashiell Hammett novel. The wavering candlelight held right up to the page helped with ambience. I think something like Wilky Collins' The Moonstone or some other book that takes place in a time when there was no electricity would be better; I’ll try and find one for tonight. I read until 10:30 or so, and went to bed.

This morning I woke before 7, because the sun was shining through the window and I didn’t want to waste it. Feeling a bit braver in the light, I went downstairs and opened the door to the apartment beneath. It’s filthy: dishes in the sink, spills all over the floor, beer cans lining the couch, and a smell like old cat liter. No one’s been there for weeks, so I have no idea what’s going on. I searched again for a fuse box and didn’t find one, even in the closets. What I’ve now done is plugged a series of extension cords into the wall in the vacant yuckfest apartment, and flung them up onto my porch where they’re connected to a surge protector. Now I can charge my phone and computer a few times today, but can flip the switch easily on the surge protector after so I don’t mooch a ton of their electricity. I can unplug the whole thing before dark tonight and go again tomorrow if need be.

I’m worried about my fridge. I don’t want to open the door because it’s so tiny and poorly insulated. Then again, it may be hot already in there; should I be trying to eat those foods today? Guess I’m back to no fridge, huh? Now all I need is one of those old candlesticks with a handle to carry around with me and a whalebone corset and it'll be a regular Dickens festival in here!

Another thing --> All of this power outage business has given me a chance to look at the meter when I ordinarily wouldn’t. My metered electricity is 1/6th of what any of the 4 others in my building are. Woot woot! Granted, it's smaller and the others are 2 or 3 bedrooms. Still, it's not THAT much smaller!

Purchases from two weeks ago

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Until now, I couldn't upload pictures. I just wanted to post a shot of my thrifted dress and not thrifted (but handmade) ring. Who knew old could look so adorable? Click for a bigger pic.

The Pressure Cooker Rocks My Socks Off!

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Sat, 17 May 2008 23:43:00 +0000

Another freebie from a friend, I tested out a pressure cooker tonight to cook some soaked black beans and it took about 10 minutes versus the usual 90. Way to be energy efficient with the legumes! Plus the beans were cooked evenly and I didn't have to keep adding water every 20 minutes (my gas stove's temp is a little difficult to control, so simmering isn't really an option.)

There are all these crazy recipes in the manual, but I think that's too advanced for me. I'm a last minute cook: I realize I'm starving and want food in the table in a few minutes. The pressure cooker makes spontaneous, healthful cooking possible.

I am above thrilled about this.

Freebies!

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:55:00 +0000

Bitching and moaning really do seem to have their uses! I saw a cool salad spinner thing at a friend's house today, commented that I wanted one, and she said I could have it! Score one for Whiney McWhinerson! I get leaf lettuce every week, but the washing and drying takes FOREVER. If you put it in the fridge wet it gets gloopey. If you leave it out too long it gets wilty. Drying it by hand without paper towels is quite the production. But now with the spinny thingy I just pull a string and it's all dry. No electricity needed.

My lettuce troubles are over. Wahoo!

This brings me to one of my favorite things ever: giving stuff you don't use to other people. A friend admired a belt I hadn't worn in months, and it's hers. Same with books, dresses, scarfs, etc. We all have too much stuff and most of us don't miss it once it's gone anyway. Why not give it to someone who will use it? I'm not talking giving stuff away for all of time; a little indian giving now and then is pretty good too. I'm a firm believer that lending posessions out will make us less attached to them, and that's a step most of us need to make.

Homemade Pizza in Less Time than Dominos

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:24:00 +0000

I made a ridiculous whole wheat pizza yesterday in less than 30 minutes. I thought about breaking the rule and ordering, but then I remembered I knew how to make pizza dough really quickly. Now that I live in the middle of nowhere (oh alright, a medium-sized city) the delivery people take to darn long to get here. Making my own takeout is actually faster and WAY cheaper. Also: better for this lovely planet I like so much.

I have a sneaking suspicion this will be the first in a series of DIY takeout recipes I'll be sharing:

Speedy Wheat Pizza Crust:

1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 c whole wheat flour (or white. or a combo)
2/3 c warm water + 2 Tbsp

Stir all but 1 cup of the flour in your Kitchenaid(or better yet, with a spoon and your hands.) Add the rest of the flour gradually to make it a dough. Make sure the dough gets a good knead. Roll it into a ball and cover in a bowl with plastic wrap or a towel (the better option!) for 10 minutes. Then punch down a bit and spread out over a greased cookie sheet.

Put whatever you want on top! I sprinkled the outside of the crust with salt and pepper like the Sink does, then spread a little leftover pasta sauce in the center. For cheese, I went with a combo of mozzarella, havarti, and romano because that's what I had. I also tossed a few almost-dead basil leaves on thereand some black olives.

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or so, until it's all crispy and delicious. And in all seriousness, this was SO yummy! I wish I'd thought to take a picture before I ate the entire thing.

Other plans for this recipe: Cooking the dough plain and covering with fig spread/raspberry jam/lemon curd/cream cheese for a nice breakfast bread thingy.

Cyclists of the World - Unite!

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:32:00 +0000

It's national bike to work week. Overseas it's La Semaine du Velib (basically a celebration of Parisian bike culture.) What does that mean?

Stop paying 4$ a gallon for petrol, get off your rear and bike to your jobs! I will not be doing this because 1) I can walk to work in five minutes and 2) I have no bike at present. I will, however, be purchasing a used one this week so i can partake in the fun too.

Yarrr, Matey! Damn yer eyes!

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:04:00 +0000

It's extraordinarily difficult to type with no depth perception, I find. Why do I have no depth perception, do you ask? Well, I wore old contacts to bed last night and screwed one eye up something awful. It's watery and red and painful if I open it, so I currently have an eyepatch over it, pirate style. [Full Disclosure: I didn't have an eye patch so it's an Hermes scarf tied around my head.] The look is toped off by my glasses, crookedly perched on my nose. Brilliant.

All this trouble could have been avoided if I just got over my vanity and stopped wearing disposable plastic contacts. The earth would thank me and so would my eyeballs. Also: my wallet since I've already purchased the exhorbitantly expensive designer frames and I have to keep buying contacts at 40 bucks a box every month.

Damn yer eyes, indeed.

Saving water (and money) in the kitchen

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:20:00 +0000

Yeah, I take shorter showers, but I still use a ton of water. I’ve been thinking about water a lot lately; specifically cooking liquid and how much of that stuff I toss down the drain. So here are a few ideas I had about saving stuff and using it twice:

Using the liquid from steamed veggies as stock to cook dried beans in. Anyone know if I can do the same with pasta water? I have a sneaking suspicion that the starch will mess things up.

Reserve whey after making cheese and use it for bread making. It’ll last a few days in the fridge, but it’s best used right away and still hot. I gave the recipe for this a while ago.

If I boil too much water for tea, use it to poor over the stove and loosen gunk without degreaser. (I suppose you could just boil it again next time, but I’ve been taught that makes bad tea. And you have to heat it twice anyway.)

I clean off a LOT of veggies daily. I can't use the dirt-filled water for much, but maybe I should catch it and use it to soak pots and pans. Or water the plants outside.

Got any other suggestions? I don’t see any money saved because of the set-rate utility thing, but one day I will leave this apartment for greener pastures where it matters. Best get accustomed now.

Teehee

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Mon, 12 May 2008 06:42:00 +0000

Ok, this isn't really green, but it makes me laugh out loud and I have no idea why. I guess having a roof garden is a pretty green move for nbc... although I bet it wastes a lot of water.

Erm, perhaps the best greenie connection I can make is that NBC's full episode player sucks a LOT LESS recently. I love digital media! I watch all my shows for free, don't accumulate CDs and other plastic thingies, and read a ton of paperless articles. Woohoo!

Green Blog Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Mon, 12 May 2008 02:39:00 +0000

I read all the green blogs in the universe so you didn't have to:

Greenies everywhere insist the world would be a better place if gas prices continue to rise. I'm torn on this issue, but there were some interesting points made via Ecogeek's story on saving gas and if it appears in the NYT, it must be true. Although...

NYT doubly sucks recently. First their “green issue” that wasn’t green and now this. [via Gawker and No Impact Man]

On Bean Sprouts Blog I learned what a Broody Hen was and how to avoid it. Also: rhubarb flowers look like the swamp thing.

Better Living reminds us bike riding is a bitch if you’re a woman. Carectomy confirms. [via Better Living and Carectomy]

Scratch that: bike riding is dangerous for all. This poor lad was attacked with an ice scraper [via Capital Times; via via Carectomy (how meta!)]

Celebs are hypocrites when is comes to green stuff. Gawker asks which is worse: Madonna investing in oil or Brangelia flying about on private jets. I love polls! But then: I refuse to eat meat but still wear leather, so who am I to judge?

Oh well, at least Goldie and Kurt are representing! (check out the bike riding duo above)

Image via Bauer Griffin

Words of Wisdom for Summer

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:41:00 +0000

School's officially out, so I'll officially be more here. Previously, I felt guilty when writing anything that wouldn't ultimately contribute to an academic paper or conference proposal. No more! I've sat on my ass all day and might do it again tomorrow.

There's some stuffs I learned this week that I need to pass along:

Item 1 --> Although eggshells are good sources of protein for the wormies, do NOT use the shells from hardboiled eggs. Eggie bits stick inside and make the compost bin smell more like subway booger smell of summer than a delicious rainforest.

Item 2 --> Not buying fashion rags is only an effective way to stay consumerist tendencies if you don't then read your friends/strangers/the laundromat's mags. I did, fell in love with Michael Kors gold sandals, dreamt about them, drooled over them, and ultimately had to* go vintage shopping to stop the agony. At least my dress wasn't new, but the ring was...

Item 3 --> Adding a little tea tree oil to the tooth powder recipe makes it yummier and fights germs to boot.

Item 4 --> Ice cold coke is really the best hangover cure ever, and I found a place nearby that sells the Mexican version in a glass bottle so i don't have to feel (as) guilty when I buy it.

*Ok ok, the "had to" is made up. But it felt real at the time.

Falafel for all!

noreply@blogger.com (greedygreen) — Mon, 05 May 2008 04:10:00 +0000

I'm a little obsessed with falafel, but ordering in in this god-forsaken town tastes nothing like pushcart falafel on the streets of NY. A little better is buying one of those boxed mixes from the store and frying your own. Still better is doing it all from scratch. I've included the recipe here because it's an awesome thing to do with dried beans and a few local veggies. Unfortunately, my stove is out so I will have to live vicariously through you all. The best thing about it is that you don't have to cook the beans first: saves you an hour and lots of energy!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup dried white beans (usually chickpeas)
2 cloves garlic, crushed (used more if you want)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp cumin
a pinch of cayenne or red chili pepper
1 c chopped parsley
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp baking soda (my fav!)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (you can use the rest to make hummus to go with this)
Corn oil for frying

Soak beans over night, drain them and then put everything in a food processor except the oil. If you don't have a food processor, just mash the hell out of everything with a mezzaluna and combine it by hand. You want it almost smooth though, so it'll take a while. In a small saucepan (or a deep fryer if you're that connected) heat the oil until water or batter sizzles immediately. Roll the mixture into balls and deep fry on all sides (less than 5 minutes). You can eat them hot or room temperature, over a salad, by themselves, in a pita with lettuce and tomato, but always with tahini.