Someday we shall look back on this dark era of agriculture and shake our heads. How could we have ever believed that it was a good idea to grow our food with poisons?” — Dr. Jane Goodall I buy organic produce at the farmers’ market from small local producers who: grow a variety of crops […]
plastic free
If I Could Relive My Life and Buy Pots and Pans for the First Time
Perhaps your concern over plastic pollution choking our oceans inspired you to reduce your waste. Or maybe pics of glass jars of food popping up all over Instagram piqued your curiosity. Or you simply may have wanted to eliminate your exposure to harmful chemicals. These roads all lead to the same destination—a more natural lifestyle. […]
A Brief History of Recycling
“You must recycle everything.” That’s what I sometimes hear when people learn that I don’t generate any trash. In reality, I rarely recycle because I rarely buy anything in a package that I could put into a recycling bin. I bring my own packaging with me when I shop at the farmers’ market and bulk […]
Lose the Plastic not Your Mind During Plastic Free July
Plastic contamination has reached every corner of the planet. And while many, many organizations and individuals have been working on the problem of plastic pollution for years, thanks to David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II and National Geographic’s June issue focused on plastic, awareness of the crisis has finally reached mainstream consciousness. Plastic Free July this […]
Freestyle Cooking: The Recipe for Eliminating Food Waste
According to a recent USDA study, Americans waste 1 pound per person per day at the household level. Now I basically live and breathe waste. I would like to insert the word figuratively into that statement but with plastic pollution in our water, our air, our soil and our food I cannot. Even with my crossed-the-borderline […]
My Home Is Filled With Discarded Stuff No One Wanted
Before I buy something new, I like to consider: How to dispose of the item at the end of its (usually short) life The type of material the item is made of—I avoid buying any new plastic The (usually excessive) packaging that accompanies the item The resources that went into manufacturing the item—water, energy, labor […]
How Do I Juggle All of This?
Sometimes this lifestyle makes me crazy. I will admit it. When I try to rush out the door in the morning and notice my sourdough starter sitting on the counter, yearning for the feeding I have neglected to give it, I get why people don’t want to look after one. Although feeding my starter takes […]
Fermentation 101 Online Workshop
Every time I post pics on Instagram of my table set up for class or the food we make or short videos of my students working away, people ask me if I will do an online version. After hearing this over and over, I finally got the message and set up a new class: Fermentation […]
A Zero-Waste Business
I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don’t want to do that. — Lloyd Dobler, […]
Fermentation Tools, Equipment and Ingredients
You can spend lots of money on tools and gadgets designed specifically for making fermented foods—airlocks to let gas escape from jars, lids with small “windows” you open in order to release gas, glorified glass jars rebranded as “small fermentation crocks,” expensive weights, mandolines to cut vegetables quickly and uniformly… These tools all sound nice […]
What Is Fermentation and Why Do I Go On About It So Much?
If you have read my blog at all, at some point, you may have had one of the following thoughts: Fermentation sounds revolting. Why does she keep going on about it? OMG. I love fermentation. I named my sourdough starter [insert name]. On [insert date] she turns [insert number] years old. We will throw her […]