I feel as though have a part-time job at the moment finding uses for the lemons that our tree rains down upon us. If I had more than one lemon tree as prolific as this one, I would lose my mind. Or I would list the location of my trees on Falling Fruit, a site […]
DIY
Homemade Tahini
We eat lots of hummus and so go through quite a bit of tahini. I’m pretty sure when people set out to reduce their waste, their hummus intake becomes inversely proportional. There’s likely a mathematical theory that proves this. This past weekend, I cooked two cups of chickpeas in my pressure cooker for hummus but […]
Two Spring Webinars: Sourdough Starter and Ginger Beer
I have scheduled two webinars for the spring—one on May 3rd and one on June 7th. Both take place at 4pm Pacific Time. If you can’t attend these, you can watch the recorded webinars later. If you attend, however, you can ask me questions in real time using the chat window next to the live […]
Off-the-Grid Kombucha
Because you want to take your hippie game to the next level… The word “ferment” comes from the Latin verb “fervere,” to boil One of the benefits of making fermented foods is that you can prepare many of them without consuming energy. So, after the apocalypse, I’ll still be able to eat my mouth-watering fermented salsa, […]
How to Make Eggshell Calcium Powder
My daughter MK made me some homemade toothpaste a couple of years ago that I really liked. It was very similar to this recipe but she added calcium powder to it. She bought calcium supplements and emptied the contents of the gelatin capsules into her toothpaste concoction. I have wanted to make her toothpaste recipe […]
DIY Mouthwash
Updated 07/09/17 This easy-to-make mouthwash passes the I-avoid-putting-anything-down-the-drain-that-I-won’t-eat test, which I mentioned in my recent TMI post. You might actually want to drink this, since it contains only vodka, spices and water. With just these few edible ingredients, you can make a large amount of inexpensive mouthwash that works really well to freshen your breath. Original Listerine, on […]
18 Time-Saving Tips for Cooking Real Food
Unless you already do cook everything from scratch, you’ll cook more when you decide to cut down on—or eliminate—your waste. That’s because you’ll cut packaged, processed food from your diet and replace these food-like substances with home-cooked versions. I can do without a lot of stuff in my life—piles of clothing, cosmetics, the latest gadgets. […]
My Zero-Waste World: The TMI Post
In recent interviews, people have asked me if I follow zero-waste practices in aspects of my life other than food. The short answer: Yes but besides food, what else is there? The long answer follows. Food I’ve got this one covered in the 145+ posts on this blog. Essentially, to go zero-waste in the kitchen: […]
My TV Debut!
Earlier this year, I was interviewed about zero-waste living on The Better Part, a show on KMVT, my city’s community television station. The show aired yesterday here in Mountain View and also in Cupertino and Los Altos. It will air again in several other towns near me over the week. But you can watch below […]
An Oven That Saves Lives
I love low-tech solutions. An oven made out of cardboard boxes will likely garner less attention than will a refrigerator that alerts its owner via Apple Watch of eggs on the verge of spoiling. At least, it would attract more attention here in Silicon Valley—and probably gobs of venture capital to boot. (Wouldn’t it be […]
7 Foods to Make Not Buy
Updated 07/12/17 I follow three simple rules in my kitchen: no packaging; nothing processed; no waste. I should add a fourth rule: no effort. I do like to cook but I also love easy. Big Food has convinced us that cooking is very difficult, best left up to professionals, time-consuming, beneath us…and on and on. […]