How important is kimchi to Korean cuisine? Well, Koreans eat 1.5 million pounds of it every year, the Korean stock market’s “kimchi index” tracks the prices of kimchi ingredients and when Korea sent its first astronaut to the International Space Station, it sent kimchi along with him too—after spending millions researching and developing a recipe suitable […]
zero waste
15 Ways to Reduce Waste in School Cafeterias
Recently a concerned mom asked me if I had any ideas to reduce waste in school cafeterias. When my email back to her grew longer and longer, I realized I had better just write a blog post on the topic. The school year may have ended (or will end soon) here in the US but […]
Naturally Fermented Hibiscus Soda
Perhaps kombucha isn’t your thing. To make that effervescent sweet–sour tea, you first need to get a hold of a live culture of bacteria and yeasts—a SCOBY. Perhaps you can’t find a virile, healthy one. Or maybe you find the look of SCOBYs revolting. You can still ferment sweetened tea. Just use a ginger bug instead of a […]
Rice Milk
The short version of this post To make rice milk, whir 1/2 cup of cooked rice and 2 cups of water in a blender until the mixture reaches a smooth consistency. Drink. The long version Homemade rice milk made with leftover cooked rice prevents both food waste—because you can use up that rice sitting in […]
Start Here
Last week, Andrew Bondarenko, a photographer, told me about a 6-month road trip he’ll embark upon at the end of June in order to raise awareness about plastic pollution. An avid hiker and backpacker, Andrew hopes to travel to the most popular trails, forests, lakes, national parks, national monuments, mountains and beaches in the US—and take pics […]
Do It for the Cash
Let’s say you don’t care about the environment at all. All you care about is money. Why? Well, perhaps you’re testing the theory that money can’t buy you happiness—and you demand first-hand proof. Maybe you have a psychological disorder—greed may be just that. Or possibly you look forward to living in the most unequal society […]
Don’t Be Perfect
I really struggled with this blog post because…I wanted it to be perfect. The irony! As one of my creative writing teachers told us, just write “s&!%, s&!%, s&!%” over and over and over if that’s what you must do to get words onto the page (or screen). Like perfection, the zero in zero waste […]
Kombucha Lesson Plan and a Free Brew Log
I teach fermentation classes and my students always have many questions during and after class (I love that!). This post outlines the basic lesson plan for my kombucha class. Near the end of this post, you’ll find my free brew log worksheet to take notes when you just start out. Brew logs? Worksheets? Classes? Is kombucha […]
21 Consumer Products You Can (Likely) Live Without
I haven’t written a rant for some time… I was slow to see the hit show Mad Men. I found it difficult to watch a bunch of white, sexist, racist, entitled, whiskey-swilling, chain-smoking, philandering men develop ad campaigns to sell Americans things they didn’t need. But then again, I think that was the point—to shine […]