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Zero-Waste Chef

zero waste photos-53 jars

Posted on September 28, 2020by The Zero-Waste Chef
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Sourdough Measurements by the Cup (or Why I Use a Kitchen Scale...)
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This week is shaping up to be a good one for the d This week is shaping up to be a good one for the doling out of justice. . Yesterday, former Governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, was charged with two counts of willful neglect of duty in his role in the Flint water crisis, which began in 2014. More city and state officials await trial.
Yesterday, after I posted a picture of a wine cork Yesterday, after I posted a picture of a wine cork recycling bin in my stories, a couple of you asked for more information… . But first…I know I sound like someone with a problem, but…these corks belong to a friend…honest! They aren’t mine! We can’t refill wine bottles where I live. I think it’s possible up in Napa. I would drink more wine if I could refill wine bottles. At least the bottles and corks are recyclable. We need refill schemes for drinks and any company launching today would be very wise to work that model into its business plan. But this post is about cork… . Cork is not only recyclable, it’s also renewable and biodegradable. Cork comes from oak trees—some up to 300 years old—most of which grow in forests in Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Tunisia and France. Highly skilled, well-paid local workers harvest cork from the trees without chopping them down. These still-standing trees are then left undisturbed until the next harvest, 9 to 12 years later. . According to a WWF report, these forests host up to 135 different species per 0.1 hectare or about a quarter acre, which is the size of a house lot. The trees provide shade for the ecosystem, they retain water in the soil and they draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. . Cork recycling companies harvest cork from wine stores—in the form of cork drop-off bins. During Covid, some stores may have shut down their drop boxes temporarily but you can always hold onto the corks in the meantime. My daughter spotted a bin at Whole Foods yesterday (swipe for pic) from The Cork Forest Conservation Alliance. I’ve dropped off corks in the past at a Bevmo near me and at Rainbow in San Francisco. Both of those bins belong to @recorkofficial (you can check the website for a map of drop-off locations). As I said, PLEASE CONTACT THE STORE near you before dropping off your corks in case the bin has temporarily closed. These corks go on to have a second life as shoes, yoga blocks and other goods. . Depending on where you live, natural wine corks can go in your municipality’s green bin. Contact yours for more information. . Cheers 🍷🥂
I planted some of my sprouting vegetable scraps ou I planted some of my sprouting vegetable scraps outside this weekend: a parsnip top, a carrot top, all the green onions, the root end of a celery stalk and a few rosemary sprigs, stripped of their leaves at the bottom. These had been sitting in the windowsill in water, some for over a month. . I hope 🤞 the parsnip and carrot tops go to seed, bringing some volunteer vegetables in the spring. The green onion ends will continue to grow outside. We’ll see what happens with the celery top (I kept one inside for insurance and started sprouting another celery end last week). Rosemary, one of my favorite herbs, is a perennial that I put in many dishes. . If none of these take, at the very least, these vegetable scraps will return to the soil. Whether you subscribe to scrappy gardening like this or you grow all your own food or you tend gorgeous flower gardens, planting anything shows you have hope for the future. Our very long, very difficult winter will eventually give way to spring and renewal. Hang in there.
We may never reach the zero in “zero waste” bu We may never reach the zero in “zero waste” but that’s no reason to take zero action. . I posted this a couple of years ago but I think it’s worth repeating, especially at the beginning of a new year when many people are trying to stick to resolutions or intentions (zero-waste or otherwise). . Don’t let the zero in zero waste intimidate you. The zero merely represents a goal and reducing waste isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. If you prefer, call the lifestyle “low waste” or “less waste” or don’t label it at all.
Overnight steel-cut oats. . Ordinarily, steel-cut Overnight steel-cut oats. . Ordinarily, steel-cut oats take about 30 minutes to cook on the stove. Reduce your energy consumption by making them overnight. . Before bed, bring 1 cup steel-cut oats, 4 cups water and a pinch of salt to a boil in a covered pot. Turn off the heat immediately. Your chewy and filling steel-cut oats will be cooked by the morning. Reheat, add toppings such as fresh or dried fruit, nuts and nut butter, seeds, yogurt, maple syrup, and so on. This serves 2 to 4 people. That’s really all there is to it but for the full recipe, go to the link in my profile. . Watching the storming of the Capitol yesterday was disturbing and doom scrolling all day, exhausting. But we still need to eat and take care of ourselves. If you’re stressed by the news, maybe turn off the news. . Stay well, everyone.
First farmers’ market haul of 2021. You have to First farmers’ market haul of 2021. You have to shop where you feel most comfortable. I feel safer outside at the farmers’ market than I do in a store but only if I go early and avoid the crowds (our market is wildly popular). . If you made a resolution to reduce plastic in 2021, eating more vegetables will make a big dent. They have their own compostable packaging and are easier to find unpackaged than, say, a frozen pizza. And if you also would like to eat better in 2021, you get a sort of resolution BOGO. . Link in profile for a six-step challenge “Go Plastic-Free This Year (or Close to It).” Some steps will go very quickly (a few days). Others will take longer and evolve over time.
My hand-cranked grain mill in action (and sped up) My hand-cranked grain mill in action (and sped up). . Many of you have asked about a gluten-free sourdough starter. On the weekend, I ground up some teff to start one and to make a friend for Eleanor, my sourdough starter. I’ve made buckwheat sourdough starters in the past also. But I haven’t used these gluten-free starters to make gf sourdough bread. I’ll use my teff starter to make injera—Ethiopian flat bread—once it has fermented. . By no means do you need to grind up your own flour to bake bread or feed starters. Although freshly ground flour tastes delicious and it contains more nutrients—you don’t strip out all the good parts from the kernels—it does require time to grind up. And if you use 100 percent freshly ground flour in your bread, you’ll likely bake fairly dense loaves. When I grind up flour for my sourdough, it might account for 20 percent of my flour. I’ll use store-bought for the rest. Sometimes I do feed Eleanor a 100 percent hand-milled meal (she goes wild for the stuff!). . To grind up large amounts of flour, you may want a faster electric grinder or a grinder attachment for a stand mixer. I’ve seen pictures of stationary bikes attached to larger manual grain mills 🤯😍 A girl can dream... This grain mill is Victorio brand. My daughter MK bought it 10 years ago online for about $65. . Last year, during all the sourdoughing in place and flour shortages, I imagine grain mill sales saw a spike of their own. If you’re interested in getting one, you may be able to find one second hand from someone who bought one, never uses it and now wants to unload it. Ask around and check your Buy Nothing Group, Next Door or Facebook Marketplace. . Stay tuned for more to come on the gluten-free starter... including a name 😊 . Link in profile for the sourdough hub on my blog.
After I posted this soap dish in my stories on the After I posted this soap dish in my stories on the weekend, many of you responded 🤯 so I thought I’d post more info here. . When @labelle_eco_life sent me a pic of her rubber band soap dish a couple of years ago, I understood at a glance—MY CHERISHED BLOCKS OF DISH SOAP AND SHAMPOO BARS WILL NO LONGER TURN TO MUSH 🤯 @labelle_eco_life said her aunt Anne-Marie (good name...) had used this trick for years. . Today I pull rubber bands off of vegetables bundled together at the farmers’ market (like asparagus) and hand them back to the vendors. They always seem happy to get these back (it saves them money). But before I cut the waste, I hoarded rubber bands (I now hoard jars...one stores the rubber bands...). So I have a lifetime supply of them. If you don’t have rubber bands, you may have elastics on hand from worn-out masks. How life has changed since I last posted this 😬 You might be able to tie the ends of those together to make a loop for your soap dish (thinking out loud here if you don’t have rubber bands...but most people have rubber bands...). . Over the years, people have asked me what to do with their twist ties and rubber bands. I think if you have reduced your waste to the point at which twist ties and rubber bands present your biggest waste dilemmas, you should pat yourself on the back for an excellent job. We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly and all that... . A few of you told me you use thrift shop dishes for your rubber band soap dish. So cute! This is the perfect use for that one mismatched dish on your shelf. I needed something larger so I grabbed this giant jar lid out of the cupboard. And speaking of frugal, the jar came from a restaurant (a great source of free, large jars), the wine crate came from the side of the road and I stained it with homemade stain I made out of, well, trash—homemade apple scrap vinegar and steel wool 😊 Anne-Maries are a frugal bunch. . I hope everyone’s week—and year—are off to a good start.
Today, the first year of 2021, is very similar to Today, the first year of 2021, is very similar to yesterday, the last day of horrid 2020. But we have reason to be cautiously optimistic about the environment this year. . I'd like to both wish you all a much happier 2021 and thank you for following along here ☮️💕
More fun with time-lapse photography. . This video More fun with time-lapse photography. . This video covers about 10 hours and began immediately after I fed my sourdough starter Eleanor. As you can see, Eleanor’s rise begins slowly and then speeds up as she continues to eat her meal of flour and water. . Sometimes Eleanor contains very large bubbles (usually when she eats rye flour). Yesterday, she was full of only very tiny bubbles but did double in size. So don’t feel insecure if your starter doesn’t overflow with the giant bubbles that you often see here on Instagram. Eleanor may not be flashy but she does bake amazing bread. This morning (24 hours later) she has fallen back down to her pre-feeding volume (time for her breakfast). . Link in profile for the all-things-sourdough page on my blog, with links to the bread recipe, discard recipes, sourdough starter FAQs, online sourdough classes and more. Eleanor turns 7 years old in February so I’ve scheduled a bread class to celebrate. What would 7 years be in starter years 🤔
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