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Zero-Waste Chef

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Posted on July 27, 2021July 27, 2021by Paulina Cioce
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Here’s a little clip from my first sustainabilit Here’s a little clip from my first sustainability workshop on @omnianetwork “Tips & Tricks For A Sustainable Kitchen,” which is now live! Launched today, Omnia Network is a premium workshop platform on a mission to help people thrive in their pursuit of natural and holistic health and wellness. I’m excited to be part of the launch! In this workshop, I cover tips for a sustainable kitchen regarding: food waste; composting; plastic and paper waste; water conservation; and energy conservation. You can sign up for my workshop at www.omnianetwork.com. With your membership, you’ll have access to other workshops as well, with more coming!
You may have baked with a flax egg to replace eggs You may have baked with a flax egg to replace eggs but have you every tried a sourdough discard flax egg? I’ve been baking cookies with sourdough discard flax eggs and they taste delicious! Shown here are peanut butter cookies. Flax meal eggs are not new. To make one, combine a tablespoon of flaxseed meal and with 2 1/2 tablespoons of water. If you search online (or on IG), dozens of recipes for them and articles about them will pop up. No one I’ve fed cookies made with them knows the difference. I love them for peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip, oatmeal... But sourdough discard flax eggs? Because discard contains only flour and water, I wondered if I could make a sourdough discard flax egg with it, swap that for the egg in a cookie recipe and compensate for the flour present in the discard by reducing the flour called for in the original cookie recipe. Turns out, I can! Here is the recipe for replacing one egg with one sourdough discard flax egg: ✨ 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed ✨ 3 tablespoons sourdough starter discard (or fresh if you like), 100 percent hydration ✨ Combine the ingredients in a small bowl. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes to thicken. ✨ Reduce the amount of flour in the recipe by 3 tablespoons. ✨ Add the sourdough flax egg at the step where you would ordinarily add the egg and continue with the recipe as usual. You wouldn’t want to use this for meringues or macaroons or recipes that call for loads of eggs. But it works so well as a binder for cookies and bar cookies. You don’t have to be vegan to enjoy these. You just have to like cookies; appreciate the ability to bake when you have no eggs or can’t find eggs; and value saving money. Want to make a starter of your own? I still have some space in my free Feb 10th sourdough starter workshop. It’s my starter Eleanor’s 9th birthday! They grow up so fast 🥲 Go to my profile to register.
Mending socks is so darn fun! The big toe on one o Mending socks is so darn fun! The big toe on one of my favorite socks developed a fairly big hole ☹️ But I fixed it! 😀 For this sock, I used embroidery floss. I mended some thicker socks this weekend with thin yarn. I don't have a darning mushroom but my daughter has a very small embroidery hoop so I used that. I plan on posting a video of sock darning later this week. I can't think of anything else that brings quite the same feeling of satisfaction as repairing my stuff. Repairing extends our stuff’s useful life, conserves resources and takes some pressure off of our bursting landfills. 🧦🧶🪡🧵
Turn a piece of newspaper into a free compost bin Turn a piece of newspaper into a free compost bin liner. If the ick factor prevents you from collecting food scraps for compost, this trick can help. And if you do compost, these liners will keep your food scraps collection bin cleaner while adding brown matter (the paper) to the compost heap. Save money on compostable bags—and skip all the research for said bags (watch out for greenwashing). Plus these are fun to make!
"We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-orie "We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society, when machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered." Martin Luther King, Jr., from his speech "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break the Silence," April 4, 1967 . . . . . #drmartinlutherking #drmartinlutherkingjr #drmartinlutherkingjrday #MLK #MLKday #MLKquotes #blackhistory #blacklivesmatter #blm #consumerism #materialism #equality
I'm speaking today in Southern California at the @ I'm speaking today in Southern California at the @camarillolibrary and the hotel I'm staying in provides shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion in refillable bottles instead of in tiny, throwaway bottles. These bottles won't save the world but less plastic—made from fossil fuels—ends up in landfill. I think we see more changes like these today thanks to the public's awareness of and revolt against plastic pollution. Corporations don't change until the zeitgeist does. And you can also bring your own when traveling! I packed my shampoo and conditioners bars, rolled up in a beeswax wrap, and a jar of hand cream. More of the stuff I packed: deodorant made of coconut oil, baking soda and cornstarch that can double as toothpaste (please keep in mind I am not a dentist!); utensils; loose-leaf tea and a tea infuser; sourdough crackers and hummus; homemade granola bars (so good!); my yoga mat...all the important stuff! A little bit of planning helps keep trash out of landfill. I hope to meet some of you today in person! I also brought three kombucha SCOBYs to give away. . . . . . #camarillo #reuseables #masonjars #granolabars #sourdoughcrackers #scoby #kombuchabrewing #fermentedfoods #wildfermentation #plasticfreeliving #plasticfreelife #plasticisfossilfuel #plasticpollutes #breakfreefromplastic #plasticfreeoceans #sustainablelifestyle #wastefreeliving #lowwasteliving #slowfoodmovement #artofslowliving #zerowastejourney #zerowastelifestyle #zerowasteliving #zerowastetips #zerowastechef #thereisnoplanetb #respectyourmother #loveyourmother
Another atmospheric river is headed for Northern C Another atmospheric river is headed for Northern California, followed by more next week! The National Weather Service has warned us that the storm will be worse than Saturday’s atmospheric river and to expect flooding, downed trees and power outages. So today, I’ve been preparing a bit. This post is by no means a comprehensive list of emergency preparedness! @kqed posted a helpful guide earlier tonight and I encourage anyone in the Bay Area to go check that out. Here’s what I’ve been doing today: I’m freezing a couple of giant blocks of ice in stainless steel bowls. If the power goes out, I’ll move those to the refrigerator to keep our food cold. I have many, many jars of frozen food in the freezer which will stay that way unless the power goes out for a prolonged period (which could happen). I did a bit of baking while I still could (my sourdough cracker dough would not have survived in the fridge during a power outage...it was getting a little past its prime). I’ve rounded up some candles and matches. I’ve located the wind-up flashlight. And tonight, I’m charging all the things, including portable chargers. Stay safe everyone!
A few months ago, I asked people living in the Cob A few months ago, I asked people living in the Cobourg, Ontario area if they'd like a piece of Etheldreda, my kombucha SCOBY, that my daughter left at my sister's this fall. At least a few people responded asking for a piece and just as I was about to reply to those DMs, I was attacked by a neighborhood cat. He is actually very sweet and didn't attack me randomly. My arm got in the way of a cat fight. Anyway, after I recovered, I couldn't find the DMs from the prospective SCOBY adoptees. So I hope some of you who wanted a piece see this post 🤞 My sister has been feeding Etheldreda and she is doing well. If you live nearby and would like a piece, please leave a comment and I'll DM you. I apologize to anyone who reached out back in the fall. I'm sorry I never responded. This kitty took me out for a bit! 🐈‍⬛ Swipe to see a map of all the places Etheldreda has moved to over the last eight years.
Leftover cooked rice + brown paper from the recyli Leftover cooked rice + brown paper from the recyling bin = free gift wrap. Keep plastic tape out of landfill, save money and reduce food waste! Plus the glue and tape are so fun to make. Yesterday, I was about to make wheat paste for paper tape when I realized I had leftover cooked white rice in the refrigerator. I used that to quickly make rice glue. Here's how to do it: 1. Blend together 2 tablespoons of cooked rice with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water. You need enough water to make a smooth purée. 2. If after blending for a few minutes, the mixture is too chunky, add a bit more water. 3. The ensuing runny mixture won't be thick enough to glue paper so you'll next reduce it in a pot over low temperature. The glue in this post reduced in less than a minute. Keep an eye on it! To wrap a gift, cut an appropriately sized piece of paper and a few strips of paper for the tape. Brush the glue on the tape and let it sit for about a minute while you fold the paper around the gift. Apply the tape to seal it up. The glue dries completely in a few minutes. Once dry, it's VERY strong. If the glue is too thick to brush onto the paper, thin it out. You'll likely need to do this after storing the glue in the refrigerator, where it keeps for about a week. It does not freeze well. I made a very small amount that we can quickly use up to wrap up gifts. How did marketers convince us to stop making simple, non-toxic and essentially free glue and instead buy their expensive, highly packaged and wasteful consumer product?!
With some dried avocado pits I saved, I dyed a han With some dried avocado pits I saved, I dyed a handful of the produce bags that our sewing bee gives away at the farmers’ market. The dyed bags would also be great for wrapping gifts! 🎁 To dye with avocado pits, I follow (mostly) instructions from @lilbitscloth that I found online @npr. I didn’t add a mordant (e.g., soda ash) to this, which would help fix dye to the fabric. Previous bags I’ve dyed with avocado have retained their color well without a mordant. Here’s what I did: 🥑 Simmer 5 bags in a large pot of water with 1/4 teaspoon of mild dish soap. Stir the bags continuously for the first two minutes, then every 10 minutes for an hour. 🥑 Remove the bags, wring them out and hang them to dry on the line. 🥑 Start the dye. Simmer 6 avocado pits in a large pot of water for an hour. (You can also use the skins.) Turn off the heat and let the dye sit overnight covered. 🥑 The next day, soak the bags in a bowl of water. (Set this water aside to reuse in the last step.) 🥑 Remove the avocado pits from the dye (and skins if you used them). Bring the pot of dye to a boil. 🥑 Wring the water out of the bags and place them in the pot of boiling dye. I dyed three in the pot. Five was too tight of a fit. Stir continuously for the first two minutes, then every 10 minutes for an hour. 🥑 Remove the bags, rinse them in the reserved bowl of water, wring them out and hang to dry. I’m storing the dye in the refrigerator. It won’t keep indefinitely in there—it is made from food after all. I’m also experimenting with freezing it. We’ll see how that goes.
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