The Story of Stuff: Printed on Trash not Trees

Buy The Story of Stuff from IndieBound here!
I was excited to receive an email telling me that The Story of Stuff has been made into a book and is now on sale. However, I then faced the moral conundrum that I was going to be buying more stuff and killing more trees. I was so happy to read on and learn that the book was printed on trash instead of trees. Now I can buy the buy the book to share with friends and family who don’t use the internet (yes, I have several who have not yet joined the intertubes) and I don’t even have to feel guilty about it; super!  I’m thinking of buying a copy for my daughter’s school as well, so pick-up your very own guilt-free copy today and share the love.

A New Staple Cookbook: The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook

I’ve been looking to expand my cookbook selection and was lucky enough to stumble upon this little gem, The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook by Robin Robertson. The title appealed to me because my family isn’t fully vegetarian, but we do eat mostly vegetarian meals. By that I mean, that I cook vegetarian/vegan options on the weekdays and usually the weekends end up being a free-for-all. I can’t imagine a life without the occasional burger or sushi, so we just limit our meat intake to one or two meals a week. That being said, it’s been a tough road of trial and error learning to cook vegetarian/vegan meals. Some have been great, so good that I would take it over the juiciest steak any day, but unfortunately some have been so bad that I yearned for a nice cardboard box to chew on in exchange. I’ve had this book for a few weeks now and have the opportunity to read it cover to cover several times and have made quite a few dinners from it as well.  While the overwhelming majority have been good, there are a few bland ones and one that was actually dangerous. That’s right, I said dangerous. It was the Chipotle-Glazed Portobello Fajitas on page 154, where the recipe said to use “one 6-ounce can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce”.  Um..no, don’t do it! However, the happy ending to this story comes when I get all in a huff, track down this Robin Robertsons website and send her an email informing her of the severe gastro-intestinal distress this nightmare of a recipe caused. I did not expect her to return an email, it just made me feel better to give her what for.  Imagine my surprise, when just a few hours later I got a lovely, apologetic email with the recipe correction and the promise to notify her publisher. What a class act! So, it turns out you are only supposed to use 1, or 2 peppers if you are feeling really adventurous; never the whole can.  This being the first recipe that I had made I was fully ready to light this book afire until I received that email detailing the mistake and the correction (Thanks again Ms. Robertson!), but after that I felt a little better about diving back in. So, don’t let this experience put you off, just remember to update your copy on page 154.  Two of my very favorite recipes in the book are Vegetarian Scrapple (sheer genius!) and Oyster Mushroom Chowder. These healthy and delicious alternatives to my favorite country girl comfort foods have long made up for “the chipotle fajitas incident”.  I live in the city now, but these dishes take me right back to my roots in rural St. Mary’s County where Scrapple and Oyster stew are old-fashioned staples. There are at least two dozen more recipes that I intend to plow through and in the end, this book has some really great vegetarian alternatives for people who like to eat meat.

Oyster Mushroom Chowder

The creamy oyster mushroom has a slightly “seafood” taste and a texture similar to oysters. Kelp flakes, or ground kelp, are available in shaker containers in natural food stores. Sprinkled on the chowder, it makes a lovely garnish while adding a nutritious taste of the sea.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 large white potatoes, peeled and diced
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or l/8 teaspoon dried
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 1/2 cups soy milk
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 8 ounces oyster mushrooms
• 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• Kelp flakes (optional)

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and celery. Cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, stock, thyme, salt, and cayenne and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the potato is soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer 1 cup of the mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. Return the mixture to the soup and stir in the soy milk. Heat to a simmer and stir in the cornstarch mixture, stirring to thicken. Slice or quarter any larger mushrooms, leaving the smaller ones whole or halved. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet, add the mushrooms, sprinkle with the Old Bay seasoning and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms to the soup, taste to adjust seasonings, and serve. Garnish with kelp flakes if desired.

Serves 4

Grab a copy for yourself here:

DIY Green Cleaning Products

I recently read a great article from WebMD titled, “The Best Non-toxic Ways to Clean Your Home” which talks about the rise of green cleaning products and the cheap, old-fashioned green cleaning products that were used by generations before. I was familiar with some of these already, but some are new to me and I wanted to share these with you:

For more great tips and advice on how to clean in an inexpensive and environmentally-friendly way, pick-up Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing by Michael Dejong. This book is currently new to my library, but it’s really a great buy; here is the description from Amazon:

Probiotics are freakin’ awesome!

I had been sick for two months with some kind of terrible combination of upper respiratory/sinus infection and possibly allergies and/or asthma.  My doctor tried combinations of medication (up to 5 at a time) which required a map to sort out what I had taken, what I was currently on, and what was left to try. After the first antibiotic didn’t clear things up, she opted for another, stronger antibiotic.  Unfortunately, one of the side effects included colitis!?! I, of course, developed colitis within 2 days of taking the antibiotic and have a history of many and varied gastrointestinal disorders. I can safely say, that there are some places from which one never wants to bleed..ever.  Not only was this condition painful, but it was also very embarassing and terribly inconvenient to experience in the workplace, but you still have to get your work done. On the advice of my best friend and then a similar conversation with my mother I decided to up my probiotic intake from just Activia yogurt but some additional sources.  I was on a limited diet so I needed something non-dairy and easy to digest.  I purchased probiotic capsules that contained two kinds of bacteria to support both large intestine and small intestine functions as well as GoodBelly, a vegan fruit juice with probiotics and vitamins.  Fortunately, discontinuing the antibiotics and beginning the probiotics found me feeling better within days.  Luckily I am now free of whatever mess I had happening in my lungs/sinuses and my intestinal issues have been cleared as well. In fact, I haven’t experienced any gastrointestinal distress in the last week (even after mixing various types of alcohol and even eating a hot dog at my best friend’s birthday…which normally spells disaster). My doctor did indicate at my follow-up that studies show that probiotics can be very helpful for clearing up these types of issues, but didn’t provide elaboration on which type would be best. Amazon has a highly rated book from last year that covers this information however and I think it is a valuable resource in determining if probiotics can help you and which to try. You can get the book here: The Probiotics Revolution: The Definitive Guide to Safe, Natural Health Solutions Using Probiotic and Prebiotic Foods and Supplements. The Mayo Clinic also has a Q&A on probiotics on their website called, “Probiotics: What are they?” Finally, an interesting book that I’m half-way through on the topic of our society and how we live with bacteria is called, “The Secret Life of Germs: What They Are, Why We Need Them, and How We Can Protect Ourselves Against Them“. In the end, while medical science works to improve our health through the use of antibiotics, it is important to remember that we have access to good bacteria that can help us as well as bad, so be good to your belly and your body will love you for it.

Bikram: What’s your experience?

I’ve been practing yoga for at least a decade both in classes and at home. I do have a tendency to get unmotivated working out on my own, so I searched for classes in my area again. Close to my home is http://www.bikramyogahampden.com/ which looked interesting and has classes at hours that are convenience for me (at night). I’ve traditionally practiced the common hatha yoga, but have tried a few other styles from time to time. I enjoy the flowing combinations and even manged to keep up for power and cardio yogas fairly easily, but bikram sort of scares me. The entire concept is to do the normal yoga but in a 105 degree room. I typically don’t do well in the heat, I’ve even passed out walking down the street in Miami in March, but I downhill mountain bike during summer and this seems an excellent way to increase my endurance, strength and flexibility in preparation for race season. Have you tried Bikram? What has been your experience?

Onion Goggles: Yeah, I rock em…

I cook meals at least 5 nights a week in our household and many of those meals involve onions. I also wear eye make-up 7 days a week, which when combined unfortunately leaves a colorful mash-up on my face. I had been eyeballing these RSVP Onion Goggles at Amazon for some time, but as I already own a number of single-purpose kitchen gadgets I felt a bit guilty about purchasing them, so like any good mom, I guilted my family into buying them for me for mother’s day. For once, my plan worked! Now that I’ve been using them for about a month I have to say that, although my family laughs at me every time, they are so awesome. I haven’t shed a single tear and I used them 2 or 3x a week.  Never has another $20 been better spent.  I may look like a doofus, but underneath my nerdy onion goggles my eye make-up stays just as fresh as when I put it on in the morning and I don’t have to walk around looking like I have pink eye, so I’m a happy girl.  If black and lime green isn’t your taste they also come in pink and white.

T-shirt Madness: Megan Nicolay has a new book!

Everyone who knows me knows that I love, love, love making things out of old t-shirts. It’s the most comfortable fabric that I can think of and everyone looks good in a t-shirt.  We get so many freebies, and buy so many that remind us of places we’ve visited, bands we’ve seen, and other great memories that I always seem to have piles of them laying around. I also have a habit of destroying my clothing in any number of creative ways, so I love refashioning them into all sorts of things like skirts, tote bags, etc.  Luckily for me, my favorite t-shirt recycling queen has a new book out called Generation T: Beyond Fashion: 120 New Ways to Transform a T-shirt
which I purchased from Amazon and has already arrived in the mail. I’ve begun to skim through and noted that even though there are a few similar pieces to her first book, many of the ideas are fresh and inspiring.  I’m most excited about making a shrug and a necklace based on her ideas; I’ll of course post my attempt to recreate some of the projects in the book.

Olive Oil Update: Final Decision

For my readers who followed my previous olive oil as facewash/moisturizer trial I have a final update. While I did see some immediate improvement from cystic acne and my skin tone became more even and the texture of my skin softer I was never completely rid of small white heads and clogged pores.  Over time my complexion began to look a bit dull and my pores appeared to be increased slightly.  While I found it to be an extremely effective and non-irritating moisturizer, over time I felt that I wasn’t getting a good clean using olive oil alone.  Perhaps if I had done more freqent exfoliation this may have improved, but for the inconvenience of washing with olive oil twice a day I didn’t feel that the benefits outweighed the convenience.  However, if you are really pinching pennies or are have irritated skin, olive oil is an excellent way to give your face a break from the harsh chemicals found in many face care products.  If you have more money to spend, go with a good, natural line such as Aveda I really enjoyed their Outer Peace line, but found that it could be a bit cost prohibitive.  Ultimately I found a new skin care regimen that has been effective enough that I can once again go without makeup, which in the end certainly helps the environment and my wallet.  The ability to use fewer products won my final vote. If you have tried the oil cleansing method or used olive oil as a moisturizer, please comment on your experiences.