It’s the Little Things March 24, 2009

Image from Nikki McClure

A lot of things have changed in my life over the last couple of years. But, one thing I really feel like has become a theme in my life is being mindful.  Which basically would just be the opposite of mindlessness, I suppose, or perhaps ignorance is more accurate.  The more I learn, the more change I see in the way I think and operate and make decisions.  So many decisions in our everyday lives are made mindlessly, without knowledge or awareness of how they will affect the world around us, our (global) neighbor, and even ourselves.  Happily, in my life, it’s been changing.  It’s a response to the things I’m learning.  Questions pop into my mind like,

“Do I need to that?”

“Is there a better way that I could do this?”

“How is this affecting the…. planet, my health, my family, etc.”  

As I’m throwing something in the trash I’ll wonder if there’s a way to avoid that bit of waste the next time.  And it’s not taxing like you might think.  I’ve been making one change or so at a time and I don’t beat myself up over anything, so that when I do find a new, more mindful way to do something, it’s actually just a really nice feeling.  I like knowing that simple, mundane actions can be doing something good in the world.  So, in that spirit, here are some little changes I’ve been thinking of.  They are all small things.  Some I’ve already made and some just next up on the list.    

• Use bar soap for washing dishes.  I’ve actually been doing this for months and months, maybe a year…  Dr. Bronner’s soap comes wrapped in paper, so there’s no plastic waste, it’s vegan, and fair trade and there are a bunch of scents to choose from, all of which are quite nice.  It’s the perfect little change toward using less plastic and buying fair trade.  thanks to life less plastic, who thought of it first.  (we have started using Dr. Bronner’s bar soap in the shower and at the bathroom sink as well.  There are other natural soaps out there, but most are not fair trade or even organic and most are packaged in plastic.)
• Monitoring my use of water in the kitchen – not letting the tap run when I don’t need to.  This has proven to be a difficult habit to break…   
• Use a cup while brushing my teeth instead of letting the water run. (like No Impact Man)
• Draw more.  I tend to go through spurts.  I need to break out the sketchbook again.  It would be good for my soul to be more creative and turn off the electronics more often.
• Utilize the local library.  Oh my, I love the library.  I wish there were a library set-up for everything.  There are so many things that I could use, but don’t need to own.  And I love how relaxing it is to read a book, rather than doing reading and research in front of the computer screen.  Plus, it’s free and who doesn’t love that?!    
• Find a new place for my retractable clothesline and start using it again.  I haven’t put it up since we moved in September because I can’t decide where I should put it.  It’s quite small in here and our washer and dryer are outside.  I would really like to find a solution, though.  Hopefully it will get put up this week, as soon as I get over this cold! 
• Put a new rule into effect for myself: If I am going to leave a room for more than 60 seconds, I will turn off/unplug any and all electronics – lights, TV, laptop, music, whatever.  It’s so easy to leave things running, thinking “Oh I’ll be back in a minute anyway”.
• Paint on the canvases I got for Christmas last year. I can’t believe it’s been so long!  I really REALLY want to try my hand at painting something pretty for my walls and it goes along with one of my general goals to make more things by hand.
• Make more food-things myself… Start making my own baked tortilla chips.  It would be much healthier, cheaper and cut back on the plastic.  I’ve started making my own “plant” milk.  So far I’ve made hazelnut and almond and they were both really out-of this-world delicious (I already really like  packaged almond milk, but this was way better) and then I save the left over pulp and it’s great for getting extra protein and fat into Elena.  I pretty much went with these guidelines and I’m loving the blog where I found them.  I would also like to make lara type bars for Elena, which is something I occasionally buy and stick in my purse just in case she gets hungry/cranky.  I’m looking here and here for tips. One thing I have succeeded at is making desserts at home.  If I don’t do this, Brian and I will end up picking up a box of this or that at the store and it is less healthy and creates more waste.   (When I bake at home I use whole grain flours, unrefined sweeteners and sub out most or all of the butter/oil)
• Drink more water and less coffee.  I always need to drink more water.  (though not during mealtime as it interferes with digestion, did you know that?  Robyn’s Blog has taught me lots of things.)
• I’ve made a few little dish scrubbers from mesh produce bags.  they are the perfect little thing to use on cast-iron cookware.
• Find a good recipe for making my own whole grain bread (all whole grain, no all purpose flour).  Sprouted would be especially good, as I am always buying Ezekiel.  Any suggestions?
• I just bought a new stainless steel pan and I’m working on phasing out all non-stick (teflon) cookware as well as plastics from our kitchen…  no more off-gassing and leaching of chemicals, please!
• Get more sleep.  I’m a crazy night-owl and I always have been.  My husband goes to bed earlier than I do rather frequently, but then I end up staying up too late.  Getting more sleep would be better for my health, and allow me to turn the heater and lights and whatnot off at an earlier time.  
• I am considering ordering weekly deliveries from Dandelion Organic, a company that delivers fresh fruit and veg that is as local as possible – to your door.  What a wonderful thing!  I just need to be sure it’s not too expensive for us.

What things are on your mind to change?  Do tell!

(A Big Ole Pot of) The Magical Fruit March 24, 2009

photo credit:LDOMENICI/flickr.com

You know what that is, right?  BEANS!

Beans, beans, wonderful beans.  I never cooked with them too often in the past becuase I always found them to be so rough on the digestive system.  But, did you know that if you soak them and cook them yourself, the soaking helps dissolve the starches that cause that magical, musical, tummy-ache inducing quality?  Oh yes.  Also, cooking them yourself is a great way to reduce packaging in your life, spare you from that often BPA-ridden plastic lining, and added sodium AND save money!!  Cooked Dried Beans are the cheapest source of protein around, even when you buy organic.  Can’t go wrong with that, right?

Beans have become a much larger portion of my diet lately since I’ve started cooking them myself.  I waited far too long to start doing this just because I really wasn’t sure how exactly.  But since I read some simple instructions and finally just tried it, I’ve realized how easy and, dare I say, convenient it is.  A few great recipes helps too.  

So, here is the method:

Soak desired amount of dried beans overnight in a large bowl in the refridgerator. The water should come about three inches above the beans.  One cup of dried beans will make about 3 cups of cooked beans, so keep that in mind.  Rinse soaked beans and then place in a large pot and fill with water – roughly 3 cups water to 1 cup beans.  Bring to a boil, cover with lid, leaving it slightly ajar for steam to escape.  once the water has come to a boil, reduce to a simmer (if you leave them boiling, they will turn to mush).  length of cooking time will depend on what type of bean it is (see below for cooking times).  

It is somewhat of a time consuming process, but my dear, it is not a complicated thing, you just have to be home for a couple  hours.  So, pick a time, any time, when you know you will be home and let a pound or so of them cook away, then store in their cooking liquid in the refridgerator and use them that week.  Don’t think you could use a pound in a week? Well, you might be wrong about that.  Here are the types of beans, their respective cooking times and suggested ways to use them, or scarf them, up – with some recipe links while I’m at it:

Black beans (turtle beans): 1 1/2 hrs.

• Day 1 – Black Bean Burgers: try these (my fave) or these (scroll down a bit for the recipe)
• Day 2 – Chili, like this one
• Day 3 - Chipotle Veggie Bean Burritos with Creamy Avocado Cashew Cream Sauce
• Day 4 –  Mexican Stuffed Peppers
• Day 5 - Black Bean, Corn and Quinoa Salad
• Day 6 – Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Black-eyed peas: 1 hour

• Day 1 – Black Eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes
• Day 2 – Cowboy Caviar
• Day 3 – Black Eyed Pea Collard Rolls
• Day 4 – Gumbo
• Day 5 – as a side dish – served with sauteed greens

Chickpeas (garbanzo beans): 1 1/2 hours

• Day 1 - Hummus – sandwiches, as an appetizer, whatever.  Who doesn’t love hummus?  well, my husband, that’s who.  but my daughter and i loove it.  
• Day 2 - Chickpea Noodle Soup
• Day 3 – Falafel – I am absolutely in love with the falafel from Vegan with a Vengeance, along with the accompanying tahini dressing.
• Day 4 - Chickpea Cutlets – we looove these
• Day 5 - Chickpea Salad Sandwiches 
• Day 6 – Chickpea Tacos

White beans (great northern beans): 1 1/2 hours

• Day 1 – Pasta Fagioli
• Day 2 - Tuscan Vegetable Ragout
• Day 3 – Roasted Garlic and White Bean Soup
• Day 4 – White Bean and Tempeh Sausage Patties
• Day 5 – Vegetable Soup with White Beans (Minestrone)
• Day 6 – Moroccan Phyllo Rolls w/Balsamic Maple Sauce

Kidney beans: 1 hour

• Day 1 – Chili, why of course. 
• Day 2 – Chipotle Lime 2 Bean Hummus
• Day 3 – Beanballs – beanball sub or spaghetti w/beanballs
• Day 4 – Chili Mac

Pinto beans: 1 1/2 hours (ok, so it’s harder to get a variety of types of dishes out of pinto beans, as they tend to be paired with the same mexican type flavors, but refried beans always make a good snack, I think, kind of like hummus.)

• Day 1 – Tempeh Chili con Frijoles or Chili sin Carne al Mole
• Day 2 – Refried Beans, as a side for these or some other mexican style dish or just a nice dip with chips.
• Day 3 – Mexican-Style “Lasagna” Dish, like this one.
• Day 4 – Tamale Pie

Of course you can always just sit yourself down to a nice plate of rice and beans, or a bean burrito, it’s just nice to know that you don’t have to.  oh and don’t be afraid to swap out the beans in a recipe for another kind.  usually it’s do-able. 

So, now you have no excuse.  you know how, you know it will save you money and be good for you (much better than any animal protein and better than canned beans), and so much better for the environment, too.  Give it a try, cook up a big ol pot of beans and enjoy some good eats!