Striving Green

Announcing...Striving Bean

2010-01-03T00:36:00.011-06:00

Dear Friends - it's with great pleasure that I announce my new blog for a new year:

Striving Bean - strivingbean.com

Striving Bean is also on Twitter - twitter.com/strivingbean

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know about our Bean Challenge. I've decided to expand on this idea:

Striving Bean – Helping you incorporate beans into your child’s diet.

How?

I’ll try new bean recipes for my family and report the findings (the good and the bad); and…
I’ll offer tips & tricks you can use to encourage your children to eat beans

Why would anyone write a blog about eating beans?

I started writing this blog because I’ve discovered over the years that beans are fantastic food – and a bit neglected in the American diet. And I’ve wondered – why aren’t families eating more beans?
As part of my recent efforts to make strides toward living a more “green” lifestyle, I started making bean-centered dinners one time a week – known in my family as our “Bean Challenge“.

I got creative in terms of variety – testing out which bean-centric meals my kids would eat – and discovering which ones they would outright reject! With experience and continued recipe testing and tweaking, I’ve learned creative ways to incorporate beans onto our family’s plates.

I hope you'll visit me at strivingbean.com! As for Striving Green - I'll pause this blog for a while. My sincere thanks for your support!

Coming Soon

2009-12-29T20:00:00.009-06:00

Hello all - If you're wondering where I've been...I'm working on a new project that I'm really excited about. I hope to unveil it at the beginning of 2010.

Stay tuned for further details!

Soup Recipe: Pinto Bean & Roasted Garlic - Bean Challenge

2009-12-19T23:39:00.007-06:00

This weekend I made a soup recipe: Pinto Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup. I backed off from my Bean Challenge "beans as a main dish" declaration and decided to make a bean soup this week. I thought this would be a good way to continue finding interesting ways to incorporate beans into our family's diet. Thanks to What's Cooking for this delicious recipe!

This soup was absolutely divine.

Anything with roasted garlic gets a huge thumbs up from me. For all you garlic fans out there, take a gander at the 2 garlic heads, pre-roasting phase. Yummm....

If you haven't tried roasting garlic, it's very easy. Follow the Roasted Garlic Recipe from Simply Recipes.

Here's a photo of the final product. My photo doesn't do it justice. If you want to see a much prettier picture, go to What's Cooking.

A few modifications: I didn't have onions or avocado due to a grocery order mishap (I ordered delivery for the wrong day!) I topped my soup with some dried parsley (compliments of this past season's garden). Lucky for me, I saved the broth from my latest bean batch (see my How to Cook Beans video). This soup tasted great!

This bean soup was creamy, satisfying - sooo good. How did the kids gauge it?

4 year old - "This is the best soup ever!" I'm guessing this bold declaration was because he helped me blend it. Then he mostly didn't eat it - lots of coaxing did the trick for more spoonfuls.

6 year old - "This tastes terrible! Why did you have to make soup?" I told her she had to eat 6 spoonfuls.

Husband was at work, so he'll have left-overs. We talked about the soup on the phone. Someday they'll appreciate their mother's cooking, I said.

I Have to Tell You About this Chocolate

2009-12-16T21:11:00.003-06:00

Lucky me! I was the recent recipient of some unique and delicious hand-crafted chocolate, made by an award winning local Chocolatier B.T. McElrath. The gift: Salty Dog Chocolate bar (70% dark chocolate with sea salt and butter toffee) and B.T. Berry Poinsettias.

Let me read to you the back of the Salty Dog box:

You have a choice. Eat our Salty Dog Bar salt-side up and you're invited into its rich, dark chocolate charms, only to discover the spiky crunch of toffee and sea salt. Eat it salt-side down and feel how the sharp pop of salt ushers in the notes of chocolate and caramel. So what's it gonna be: mellow or bold? Or both?

Who writes this stuff? They need a raise.

And another "green bonus": packages produced from Sustainable Forestry Initiative materials, which is a certified chain of custody promoting sustainable forest management.

Quick - order it now from btmcelrath.com (click on products link, then click on the chocolate images). Here's the Christmas shipping info:

Holiday Shipping
To receive chocolates by Christmas Eve Day, please order by noon CST Fri. Dec. 18 (regular shipping) or noon CST Tues. Dec. 22 (rush shipping).

Bean Challenge (again) - 1 Dinner a Week

2009-12-12T22:46:00.008-06:00

Our Bean Challenge has restarted! Yet again, we are going to have one dinner a week that centers around beans. I hope this post will help you learn how to cook black beans.

On Saturday we had Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos, and WOW they were great. Our youngest enjoyed it, our eldest said it was "OK". Many thanks to Sarah from At Sarah's Table for taking the time to send me the recipe for this and many other great bean-centric dinners.

So, true to my recent form, I created a video on How To Cook Beans - Quick Soak.
Description: Learn to cook dried black beans with the quick soak method. No pressure cooker needed! Step-by-step. Be sure to rinse and sort through beans first (check for debris) before quick soak.

Sound effects and everything folks! Hope you enjoy.

Here is the recipe for Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos from the cookbook Simply In Season:

2 cups/750ml sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)
1/2 onion (chopped)
2 cups/500ml cooked black beans
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Add and cook until heated through.

8 flour tortillas
1 1/2 / 375ml cups cheddar cheese (shredded)

Divide bean mixture and cheese among the tortillas and roll up. Place in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Lightly spray with olive oil if desired. cover pan with foil and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes. Garnish with sour cream, salsa, and fresh cilantro.

Green Black Friday (Without the Preachiness)

2009-11-24T20:19:00.018-06:00

Since Black Friday is approaching, I've been kicking around a few suggestions about how to "green" Black Friday shopping without sounding preachy. Yes, many love to shop on Black Friday. I get it - I've done it too and got some great bargains. Here are some things to think about before you venture out:

Treat your home to Energy Star appliances
If you can get them at a locally owned appliance store, that's even better.
Bring reusable bags
Check out the huge and convenient IKEA shopping bags for 59 cents and use them during your shopping spree. I've got 3 of these and have used them over and over again.
Shop locally
If you usually shop at big box stores, try at least one stop at a locally owned store. You will likely be amazed at the selection that you can't get in any big box location.

Some of my Twin Cities local favorites are: Patina, Nokomis Shoes, Bibelot, Electric Fetus, Cooks of Crocus Hill and Creative Kids Stuff. Be sure to check their sites - some have online deals if you can't shop in person.
Look for local discounts
Check out sprout.mn for Twin Cities local merchant & green money-saving deals before you head out.
Buy consignment & reused
Turn Style and Half Price Books are great places to browse and pick up something for yourself too.
Skip the drive-through
Eat at at a locally owned restaurant after you've shopped. Buy some gift certificates for your friends and family if you like the place.
Buy original art as gifts
Artists will appreciate your business and you'll give something unique to the person who has everything.
Give the gift of a cultural experience
A gift certificate to a world cuisine restaurant or tickets to a cultural event that heightens your interest. If you don't know where to start, check out event schedules from local colleges and universities.
Invest in rechargable batteries
We haven't done this yet...it might be the right year!
Order online
My favorite way to shop - saves gas and time. FedEx & UPS know the most fuel efficient routes - much better than we do.
Think about last year
How did you handle Black Friday last year? Did you like your choices? Or did it make you want to cringe? Remember what you liked and didn't like and set some green improvement goals. Here are some thoughts from last year's shopping.

Last and most importantly - if you dare to go shopping this Friday:

Be kind to others
Be polite to the store staff, and
Give a smile to those around you.

All those sappy things. A little kindness goes a long way.

And hopefully that last bit of advice wasn't too preachy.

Two Simple Foods

2009-11-15T14:04:00.010-06:00

I got to try 2 simple foods I've never had before until this weekend:

Urban Eggs (straight from the hen - no middle man)
Juice with Pomegranate & Acai

Urban Eggs:
Now THIS is local food. My co-worker raises hens - in the city. Lucky for me and other fortunate office-mates , she brought some eggs from her backyard hens.

The eggs were delicious - bright orange yolks and very fresh. Plus - such pretty colors!

Interested in raising hens? There are lots of on-line resources for raising hens, and co-ops hold seminars to get more in-depth urban chicken information. Did you know? Martha Stewart has been raising hens for a long time!

Juice with Pomegranate & Acai
I've had pomegranate juice before, but never with the much touted acai berry. The Lakewood Pomegranate with Acai juice was an impulse buy from my local co-op. Positioned on the end cap, ripe for impulse buying. It's organic, lots of vitamin C, has anti-oxidants, and it's 100% juice. It even has Omega oils. That's a lot for one modest size bottle of juice. The taste is sweet and a little tart. The texture - full bodied and thick. A great impulse buy. Amazon sells a 6 pack case if you're really into it.

Free Font: Ecofont

2009-11-09T19:48:00.007-06:00

I love free fonts. Luckily, I recently ran across this free font called Ecofont. A Dutch design firm called SPRANQ designed it and claim it uses up to 20% less ink than typical fonts.

Per the example above, you can see the holes in a larger font. But when it's reduced, you can't see the holes. It has the same effect when you print. Most people print at a 9 or 10 point font; when you use Ecofont you won't notice a difference in legibility.

Some technical notes for those that are curious- the site says:
The Ecofont works best in OpenOffice, AppleWorks and MS Office 2007. Printing with a laser printer will give the best printing results.

And if you combine Ecofont with printing on both sides of the paper, woah! It's blowing my mind how you can make necessary printing more eco-friendly!

Hair Donation Update

2009-11-02T20:43:00.010-06:00

It's hair donation check in time! Yep - these kinds of self-portraits-in-the-bathroom-mirror are pretty ridiculous. I completely agree.

I'm still growing out my hair for donation (Pantene Beautiful Lengths or Locks of Love) and recording the progress. But it seems like the growth has stalled - thus the dismayed look (hmm....)

It doesn't look much longer than this one in July 2009. But longer than this one in November 2008. So - almost 1 year. Not quite there.

Maybe the colder weather is causing the slow down? I'll keep going. It has to start growing again at some point!

I admire all of you that have attempted and succeeded in a hair donation!

Keep 'em Fresh

2009-10-27T20:26:00.010-05:00

Don't you hate when you buy greens and they're slimy within a few days? Especially if you spend extra money on organic greens?

There's a way to keep those greens fresh! I ran across a great tip from Alton Brown (food genius extraordinaire) that really works.

- Rinse your greens

- Soak them in cold water for 20 minutes:

- After soaking, drain in a colander

- After draining, spin greens in a salad spinner. If you don't have one (like me), you can lay out the greens on a clean towel, and dab dry with another clean towel.

- Roll up the greens in a long paper towel. This wicks away moisture but still keeps them slightly moist. I've also used a thin clean kitchen towel - it works just as well:

- Store in a Ziploc plastic bag. When you've almost entirely sealed the bag, insert a straw, suck in to remove the air, then seal completely. Yes - low-rent vacuum sealing your greens.

Now you have clean fresh greens handy for daily salads. Unroll the paper towel and take out the amount you need.

Alton Brown says the best greens to use are bulk mixed greens (the "serve yourself" kind you grab with tongs in grocery stores/co-ops). I've also found this method works with spinach & arugula. Yea!

Blog Action Day: Climate Change - 3 Simple Things

2009-10-14T22:24:00.019-05:00

Happy Blog Action Day 2009! This year's theme is Climate Change.

Last year I wrote about 3 easy things one can do to help those in poverty. I'll stick with the same theme "3 Easy Ways". Ah...simplicity.

3 Easy Ways to Help Prevent Climate Change

Save Trees - Print on Both Sides of the Paper
Paper comes from ----> trees. Trees = good for climate.

If you need to print, give this paper saving trick a try:

Check if your printer has a setting to print on both sides. If so, use it.

Check if your printer can print 2 pages of your document on one side. If so, use it.

Now put it together and print your document. 4 pages of a document on one piece of paper.

Tell your collegues before the meeting to remember their reading glasses.

Thanks Peter at Project Oriel for teaching me this trick long ago!

Buy Used
These days you can find so many great used things - appliances, refurbished electronics, sports equipment, furnishings...it goes on. Keep reusable stuff out of landfills.

I'm especially a fan of buying used clothing & shoes - thrifting or consignment. Not that you have to buy all of your clothing used - sometimes you just have to have that newest/latest item (I understand these urges). Just start at the level you're comfortable with. Here are some sites I've discovered recently: check them before you go thrifting/consignment shopping to get some inspiration: Already Pretty and Fashion for Nerds. These girls got it goin' on!

Turn Off the Lights & Unplug
It's pretty simple -

If you're not in the room, turn off the light.

If you're not using it, turn it off.

If you're not charging it, unplug it.

Are you really paying attention to the TV when you're on the computer? Probably not. I'm guilty of this too. You and I - We can get better together.

That's it - 3 Easy Ways...how about you? Any other easy ideas out there?

Confession...and a few freezing tips

2009-10-05T20:51:00.007-05:00

I have a confession to make: I let my garden go during the month of September.

Pretty much completely let it go...let it go to the weeds, left tomatoes unpicked. Shame shame shame. Why? Well I suppose I could rationalize. Here are my lame excuses:

September was a blur - our oldest started Kindergarten this year. I was very caught up in making sure she had a good start. Such a good mommy - doting on her daughter and ignoring the vegetables.
Scheduling changes this fall - It makes me want to spend my precious little free-time relaxing instead of pulling weeds. I suppose *some* people think pulling weeds is relaxing. I pity them (just kidding you two).
I spent some of my evenings doing short runs, slowwwwly building my stamina back from many years ago. I've got a ways to go on that front. Sorry - too tired to garden... I just ran 4 blocks.

Despite my neglect, we've had plenty of vegetables from the garden and our CSA. Ah, me. This was not a stellar gardening year - not even close. Just keepin' it real folks!

If you find that you have an over abundance of garden vegetables & fruit (or can't get through those berries from Costco), take a look at my Striving Green Delicious bookmarks under the "freezing" and "drying" tag (guess what I did this weekend?):

Garden - until next year: Try, try again.

Choose To Reuse

2009-09-27T21:34:00.003-05:00

It's soon to be October, so that means it's time for the Hennepin County, MN Choose to Reuse coupon book!

From the Choose To Reuse site:
"Hennepin County is once again providing free coupon books for special deals at local retailers in and around Hennepin County to promote reuse and easy reuse opportunities in 2009."

Loads of great coupons for consignment, thrift, music, reconditioned appliances, and more. Be sure to download the FREE Choose to Reuse coupon book.

And remember - Halloween is approaching. So get those costume ideas together and use some thrift or costume shop coupons in the booklet.

I went as Ugly Betty last year...no ideas yet for this year. Suggestions are welcomed!

I Want This!

2009-09-07T21:11:00.010-05:00

Cork Flooring

We're slowwwwly redoing our kitchen. Little by little. Did I mention we're redoing our kitchen very slowly?

Cork flooring has been on my mind lately. Yes, I'm daydreaming about flooring. *Sigh*

I recently got a chance to see a model kitchen at our State Fair that had cork flooring installed. It was sooo wonderfully cushy. What great flooring to have in the kitchen since we spend so much time there. We have an eat-in kitchen. No dining room. LOTS of time spent there.

Cork flooring is environmentally friendly (cork is harvested from the outside of trees which continue to grow when harvested correctly). It's warm and sound deadening too. Our kitchen gets so cold in the dead of winter. I can't help but think this is a great alternative to my desire to have heated flooring.

See Natural Built Home and Duro Design. I'm sold.

Random Updates Ahead!

2009-08-23T21:50:00.010-05:00

I need to catch up - random updates ahead! Here are some things I've been doing lately and what's caught my eye.

Consignment Deals
Here's the thing about consignment shopping - you can go in looking for one thing, and walk out with something completely different. One must keep an open mind! This weekend I was looking for shoes. I couldn't find a pair I liked but wound up with some great deals:

Esprit Fall jacket
Banana Republic pants - tags still on
Reebok hoodie
Old Navy corduroys

Total : $55 (I also had a 20% off coupon). The Banana Republic pants alone would have been $55 retail. Seriously ladies (and gents) - give consignment shopping a try. Especially when you aren't looking for something super specific, but need to satisfy that "I need something new in my wardrobe" urge!

Garden Updates
We've been harvesting cucumbers, green beans, and cherry tomatoes often. I also picked a sprig of rosemary. We don't have a lot of rosemary this year - but I cherish what I have because I have so little of it this year. Our first Roma tomato was ready today...sort of. A little green, but I was impatient since I knew we were going to have the following this evening:

Summer Linguini with Fresh Tomatoes and Herbs

Boil linguini in salted water - set aside

In a saucepan:
Some butter AND good quality olive oil together - A GOOD amount of olive oil since this will be the pasta topping

For infusing the butter/olive oil sauce:
Add a sprig of rosmary - no need to chop up, just cut into 2 or 3 pieces to spread it around in the sauce pan
Add 1 clove of garlic - sliced once down the middle
Add some fresh chopped parsley
Melt the butter/olive oil together with other ingredients on low heat very slowly - you don't want to burn it.
Add sliced tomatoes and warm these up for a while. Stir occasionally until the tomatoes are warmed up and soften to your liking.
Top your pasta with the butter/olive oil sauce with tomatoes & parsley. Enjoy the garlic and rosemary on top of your pasta too if you wish.
This dish is easy to supplement - it's good with kidney beans, left over chicken, seafood, parmesan...etc. etc.

Time Magazine Article - Cheap Food
The subject of food is a very interesting one to me. Growing it, gathering it, production, cost, cooking, ingredients in processed foods, organics - it's endlessly fascinating to me. Yes - I am taking a moment to embrace this foodie-geeky side of me!

Here's an interesting recent article at Time.com: Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food. It's a good introduction to how the cost of food for Americans is at a historic low, but the cost in other ways (to our health and our country's farmland) is high.

And if you enjoy food voyeurism like I do, you'll like this slide show also from Time.com: What the Word Eats.

Grocery bill in Germany: $500 a week a for a family of 4! And I've been concerned about our more than $700/month grocery bill.

Veggie Challenge Summer '09 - Weeks 5 & 6 & Grocery Budget

2009-08-10T20:42:00.013-05:00

Here are the results from our veggie challenge these past few weeks:

Week 5: Yum

Week 6: Please...no more cucumbers! We are drowning in them due to growth spurt in garden!

Week 3 & 4's throw aways - I really cannot stand green beans when they have any hint of brown spots. Or kohlrabi with brown spots. I know...picky-picky.

Lesson learned - it just means I need to eat them sooner. Or freeze the green beans (I think you need to blanche them first? Share your tips!)

Seemingly non-salvageable greens...tsk tsk.

In July, our grocery spending was down from last month: $733.23. (Compared to June's we spent $774.22 on groceries.)

Here's how July 2009 it broke down:

12 grocery transactions (1 more than the month before!)
$333.69 at Super Target (we live really close to one)
$0 at our Co-op (boo...shame on me)
$3.55 at a local grocery store
$42.72 for the organic vegetable CSA delivery
$83.25 at the fancy expensive grocery store (for son's birthday party food)
$118.84 at Trader Joe's
$151.18 at Whole Foods

Could it be that we spent less this month because we had no co-op transactions this month? Or we ate less? Or ate more of what we had in our pantry? Or perhaps our pantry was fully stocked in July? Or because we're eating out of our garden now?

Perhaps all of the above?

I'm not sure, but I'll continue to keep an eye on things and report the findings!

An Ode to Summer

2009-08-03T21:15:00.008-05:00

An ode to summer within bullet point format. Summer is beautiful in many ways and I appreciate it so. A few reasons why:

Fresh vegetables & berries are plentiful. So far we've harvested several tomatoes and cucumbers plus raspberries.
We can play outside without being cold (at least on most days)
Summer is a time of reunions. The other day our family took a trip out of town to enjoy a Water Park. And what did we happen to see but an old friend that we haven't see for quite some time...running down a country road. We called later to find out that he was in town and stopped by for one of his famous cook-out feasts.

Here's to summer and running down country roads!

Sprout MN!

2009-08-03T20:52:00.004-05:00

Have you checked out Sprout MN yet? Check out merchants, print coupons and find special promotions and do some social networking by writing reviews & posting your green ideas.

I'm interested in seeing how this new site grows!

Wind Power...You Mean It Could Be Cheaper?

2009-07-20T21:24:00.005-05:00

I just signed up for a program that will supply 500 kWh per month of wind power for our home. It feels GREAT to actually put my money where my mouth is when it comes to renewable energy!

I just discovered today (per a tip from a friend) that we're eligible to purchase the option of either 100% wind power, or purchase 100 kWh blocks of wind power per month. We used 1040 kWh in July 2009, thus we'll buy about 1/2 of that in wind power.

The catch - you have to stay with the program for at least a year. And it could cost a little more than what you are paying now (but not much). From our energy provider's site:

The cost of all the Windsource energy you purchase, whether you chose to purchase blocks or 100% Windsource, will be based on your actual metered electricity usage. For 2008, the average net Windsource charge was $0.70 per 100 kWh block. Based on this rate history, an average residential customer using 675 kWh per month and signing up for 100 percent Windsource should expect an average increase of less than $10 to their monthly bill.

Increase in my bill? Don't hang up yet! Here's an article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune - Wind Power was CHEAPER in July of 2008. Headline: Xcel wind power proved to be a July bargain

Start up time is about 1 month. I'll report the results as they come in.

Hair Donation Update

2009-07-18T22:38:00.004-05:00

I'm still working on that hair donation from back in November 2008. When I went to get my ends trimmed the other day the stylist suggested I have about another 16 months to go. (Say WHAT?!)

I'm not so sure - I think it might be growing at a faster rate than her guestimate, but since I am so terrible at math and measurement, I'll just keep growing it and not bother doing the calculations. I'll cut it for donation when it's time.

Did you know that it takes 6 pony tail donations to make a wig? Here's a link to learn more about the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program if you're interested. And I'm not just talking to you ladies...guys - you can do it too!

It's kind of bizarre having hair this long. I'm pretty sure I haven't had hair this long since high school...ACK!

Veggie Challenge Summer '09: Weeks 3 & 4 & Grocery Budget

2009-07-09T21:09:00.012-05:00

Here are the results from our veggie challenge these past two weeks:

I'm happy to report we have eaten almost all vegetables and not thrown anything away. That being said, I'd better check up on the kohlrabi, kale, and Swiss chard that are still in the fridge!

Week 3 included:

- Beets: actually, I had to throw this one away. I tried cooking in the microwave and burned it. My husband said several times that the kitchen smelled like a "smelly old sweat sock"....? I'm not sure who's sweat socks he's referring to. A beet farmer's, perhaps?

- Kohlrabi: Have you every had kohlrabi? I've seen it in the grocery store, but never bought it. I would liken it to spicy cabbage. I've been eating it raw, just chopping it up in a salad. That's why I like belonging to a CSA. I'm willing try practically any vegetable ESPECIALLY since I already paid for it.

- Sugar snap peas: kids liked them with coaxing

- Spring lettuces: So fresh & much better than store bought - I'm going to miss it when it's gone (*sniff*)

- Parsley and dill: I used some fresh, but it was wilting so I decided to dry the rest (hang upside down by a string until dry)

- Cucumbers, brocolli and strawberrries: everyone likes these

Week 4 included:

- Zucchini: sliced in a sandwich is good

- Potatoes: I don't normally like potatoes (wierd, I know) but farm fresh potatoes are so much better tasting.

- Cucumbers: A family favorite

- Swiss chard & kale: better hurry up and sautee

- Spring lettuce: *love*

- Basil: too much! I'll have to make pesto

- Brocolli: another family favorite

- Sugar snap peas: the kids were puzzled: "why are we having this AGAIN?"

Grocery budget update:

I originally thought we spend about $600/month on groceries for a family of 4. But in June, I discovered that we actually spent $774.22 on groceries alone.
Here's how June 2009 it broke down:

11 grocery transactions (doesn't that sound like a lot? I was suprised.)
$315.68 at Super Target (we live really close to one)
$250.07 at our Co-op
$102.76 at a local grocery store
$42.72 for the organic vegetable CSA delivery
$36.78 at a bread outlet (I rediscovered these last month - I really need to start using my bread machine again)
$26.21 at the fancy expensive grocery store (I don't remember why we went there...)

How do I know all of this? We've been using mint.com to keep track of our electronic transactions. It's really helped us keep track of where the money's going.

Here's what I've learned so far:

We spend way more money on groceries than I thought
We run grocery errands more often than I thought
We spend more money on groceries at Super Target than I thought

It's good to have a baseline.

And the Winner Is...

2009-07-09T20:45:00.002-05:00

...Khristin Sutton! Khristin, you've won the drawing for a pack of "Natural Value" Unbleached Natural Waxed Paper bags.

Khristin said:

The Sutton's decided earlier in the year to stop buying bottled water. We were up to two 24 packs everytime we went shopping. We bought ourselves several aluminum water bottles and try to use them whenever we can. We did have to buy bottled water for our big Fourth of July party (and a couple of times when we've been out unprepared) but we are doing what we can when we can.

Thanks everyone for commenting!

First Blogiversary! Let's Celebrate with a Prize Drawing!

2009-07-06T21:21:00.013-05:00

It's Striving Green's first Blogiversary! I cannot believe I've actually stuck with something for 1 full year.

I started this blog waaayyy back on 07/03/08. Thanks so much for reading and going along for the ride! Here's a little recap of the blog's intent:

Welcome to "Striving Green", the blog that focuses on one family's attempt to become more environmentally friendly by the standbys - eating organically, keeping it local, reusing, reducing, and recycling. I call this blog "Striving Green", with an emphasis on the "striving". We're not perfect; we're learning as we go along...

Yes, we are definitely NOT perfect. Nobody knows that better than we do. But chronicling our mistakes as well as our successes hopefully keeps us honest and encourages us when we see how far we've come. Also, I love it when you leave comments letting us know how you do what you do. We always welcome much needed advice. So Thank You again!

Let's celebrate - how about a prize drawing to celebrate Striving Green's 1st Blogiversary? (And I'll celebrate the fact that I've followed through on something!)

If you win the prize drawing, I'll send you a pack of "Natural Value" Unbleached Natural Waxed Paper bags.
Just post a comment on this blog about 1 "green" goal you have for 2009 & tell us all how you're doing so far. Warts and all. It's OK. I understand.

I'll leave the drawing open through end of day Thursday 07/09/09. I'll use random.org to generate the number of the winner. I'll count the number of comments. If you're the 3rd commenter and the random.org number is 3, you win...I'm sure you get the idea! One entry per person (that sounds so official).

It's my first prize drawing. I'll try not to screw up.

Good Luck!

Garden updates

2009-07-05T08:32:00.005-05:00

I've been very veggie-centric these past few posts. And today is no different -here's what's been happening in our garden lately.

I'll start with the good news:

- We had a nice raspberry harvest 2 days ago.
- We have little green tomatoes & the beginnings of cucumbers.
- The basil, parsley, & oregano are looking good.
- 3 out of 4 cauliflower look like they're doing well.

Here's the lesser good news:
- Sweet peas have been lost to weeds (my fault). Like I've said before, every year I learn something. I think I need to move them and buy a trellis instead of relying on the chain link fence.
- Bell peppers might be lost...they were from seedlings and didn't do so well.

I'll keep hoping & tending!

Composter Is Here! and other backyard updates

2009-06-23T21:33:00.011-05:00

I ordered the Achla CMP-05 Spinning Horizontal Composter from Amazon. Free 2-day shipping with a 30-day Amazon Prime trial and about $50 cheaper than I've seen in gardening stores ($153.99 at Amazon). I've been saving up for this since last summer.

Hooray! No turning compost with a pitchfork!

I've already discovered that I need more brown material (in other words...stinky!)

In other back yard news, I recently realized we may have a mulberry tree...or something similar. We've lived here for 6 years and it's the first year I've seen fruit on it. Sue at EcoStrides has pointed me to some good resources to help me determine what kind of tree this really is. If you have any thoughts, let me know!

And more berry news...anybody know what these white spots on the raspberries are? Too much moisture? There are more of these spots this year than prior years.

Not appetizing.