The Alaskan permafrost has begun to thaw. This is bad. As the permafrost melts due to increased temperatures, it will expose centuries-old buried plants that absorbed carbon dioxide and froze before they could decompose. As the no-longer-perma permafrost thaws, it will expose this organic matter, which will then decompose and as a result, release carbon […]
recipes
Zero-Waste Menu No 3
If you have access to decent bulk bins and a good farmer’s market, with a little preparation and perhaps a substitution here and there, you can prepare almost any recipe without producing waste. Just follow the rules below. When we first went plastic free in 2011, it took at least a couple of months to […]
A Reorganized Recipe Index
The recipe index on this blog gets constant, steady traffic. I had originally organized the index into an alphabetical list but as I added more recipes, it became a bit unruly. I’ve reorganized the index with categories like “Ferments, beverages,” “Bread and sourdough” and “You can make that?” so you can more easily find what you’re […]
Vegetable Fritters
Click here to jump to the recipe I’m not sure what to call these. Fritters? Savory pancakes? Kitchen sink doughnuts? Whatever they are, they make a nice side dish for dinner or a tasty breakfast of leftovers the next morning. Their portability also makes them good for packing in lunches. Lately I’ve tried to come up with […]
Clear-Out-the-Fridge Frittata
Click here to go straight to the recipe When we rely less on recipes and more on cooking methods, we buy fewer ingredients, waste less food and alleviate what-on-earth-will-we-eat-for-dinner-tonight stress. My kids sometimes complain we have nothing to eat (translation: we have no processed snacks) but when I look in the kitchen, I see possibilities. […]
Zero-Waste Menu No 1
I remember our excitement over our first plastic-free meal (cooked by my daughter MK*): Mushroom-bean burgers Homemade burger buns Salad and veggies on the side We were thrilled. We felt a little deflated when we noticed a plastic cheese wrapper. Still. We had come a long way. However it did take two or three months […]
Tomato Sauce from Scratch!
Click here to go straight to the recipe. My coworkers know I don’t use plastic, and so they ask me lots of questions, such as: “How do you wash your hair?” (Baking soda followed by a cider vinegar rinse.) A recent midday email from my boss: “How do you take out the trash without a […]
How to Cook Black Beans
Click here to go straight to the recipe. Updated 01/19/21 Update 07/16: I now have a pressure cooker and cook my beans in that. IT IS SO FAST! Read more here. I don’t eat canned beans (or canned anything for that matter), for several reasons: Cans are lined with plastic that often contains BPA. Because […]