A new local law will come into effect on July first of this year. The Packaging Reduction Law will bring Israel into the 21st century, finally helping us catch up to other developed countries who have been doing this for decades and hopefully getting the message through to Israelis, once and for all, that our planet is something to be reckoned with.
Now I know some people have been really shocked that Israel hasn't had such a policy until now, but please do remember our little country is only 63 years old. It's not like people were recycling in the States in 1839. I for one am very proud and I am glad that at least we have been introducing this, and preparing for it, for years. When I made aliyah, 20 years ago this July, there was no recycling for anything at all but paper. No bottle returns for deposits, no large bottle recycling, and even with paper there were street bins but no home separation. I think the stores took beer bottles back but that was it.
So this is a pretty awesome aliyaversary gift I think. We already separate our paper, plastics, and organic waste at home. I'm looking forward to having proper disposal methods for methods for glass and metal as well.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Food prep
For most of the last two years or so we received a weekly basket of fresh, organic produce from a local farm. Unfortunately, the farm closed recently and even more unfortunate is that we can no longer afford these deliveries, even though we have found a great replacement. Money is tight right now and that means thinking differently about what/how we prepare food.
Unlike many other highly developed "first world" societies, living on a budget here does not mean making due with fast food and canned veggies. Instead, the easiest way to eat on a budget is to eat well. Health, fresh, local produce is far cheaper than fries at McDonald's.
I remember one Friday afternoon we had not yet prepared anything for shabbat. We hadn't bought nor planned anything. But a quick assessment of the fridge and pantry revealed a head of purple cabbage, two heads of fresh broccoli, a couple of granny smith apples, whole wheat pasta, frozen green beans, a head of fresh cauliflower, and some veggie "ground beef" in the freezer. This, to us, was a normal sort of random collection of foods and veggies often four in our home. The resulting meal (spaghetti with "meatballs", German red cabbage with apples, Chinese-style roasted broccoli and cauliflower in brown sauce) was delicious and we didn't spend a single extra penny to make it (as opposed to regular shabbats which often include about 100 shekels worth of purchases).
We had a repeat [frugal shabbat] performance this past weekend (with an even more extensive menu) and though it stems out of not being able to afford much else, it delights me that our bare bones, cheap-o meals included fresh butternut squash, zucchini, potatoes, sweet potatoes, frozen spinach, dried green lentils, brown rice, whole grain couscous, a few eggs and whole bunch of spices. How fresh, healthy, delicious, and economical!
Unlike many other highly developed "first world" societies, living on a budget here does not mean making due with fast food and canned veggies. Instead, the easiest way to eat on a budget is to eat well. Health, fresh, local produce is far cheaper than fries at McDonald's.
I remember one Friday afternoon we had not yet prepared anything for shabbat. We hadn't bought nor planned anything. But a quick assessment of the fridge and pantry revealed a head of purple cabbage, two heads of fresh broccoli, a couple of granny smith apples, whole wheat pasta, frozen green beans, a head of fresh cauliflower, and some veggie "ground beef" in the freezer. This, to us, was a normal sort of random collection of foods and veggies often four in our home. The resulting meal (spaghetti with "meatballs", German red cabbage with apples, Chinese-style roasted broccoli and cauliflower in brown sauce) was delicious and we didn't spend a single extra penny to make it (as opposed to regular shabbats which often include about 100 shekels worth of purchases).
We had a repeat [frugal shabbat] performance this past weekend (with an even more extensive menu) and though it stems out of not being able to afford much else, it delights me that our bare bones, cheap-o meals included fresh butternut squash, zucchini, potatoes, sweet potatoes, frozen spinach, dried green lentils, brown rice, whole grain couscous, a few eggs and whole bunch of spices. How fresh, healthy, delicious, and economical!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
I've got (you) babe(s)!
Yay! My worms are breeding! we've had the bin for over a year and nary a single egg have I seen. I assumed this was due to the worms we got were very young though we have noticed mature worms in there for many months now. I still have not seen an egg but today I found proof: there are baby worms in there!!! I put in a halved avocado last week which of course increased the mite population by quite a bit, so I'll have to get rid of some of those with some cucumbers (great for getting rid of mites, less likely to break apart than the often-recommended soaked bread). There are also a bunch of pot worms, of which I had enough in the old bin to know the difference between them and baby worms. But these, well, these were new red wigglers!
Avocados attract mites, and pot worms, but the red worms love them, too, and it's always an exciting moment when I lift one up that's been there for a little bit. Today was especially exciting. I'm so happy there are baby worms! Hopefully they'll all grow up a bit before I harvest the next batch because picking out all those tiny crawlers will be impossible and I'd really like to try and avoid killing any. I've been toying with the idea of getting more worms to help increase the population but I guess there's no longer any need!
Next mission, after getting rid of the mites: search around for more eggs!
(Yes, I know the mites aren't really harmful, at least in the numbers I've got, but I just hate how they crawl up and over me and the girls when we check the bin. yes, the girls. They LOVE the worms!!)
Avocados attract mites, and pot worms, but the red worms love them, too, and it's always an exciting moment when I lift one up that's been there for a little bit. Today was especially exciting. I'm so happy there are baby worms! Hopefully they'll all grow up a bit before I harvest the next batch because picking out all those tiny crawlers will be impossible and I'd really like to try and avoid killing any. I've been toying with the idea of getting more worms to help increase the population but I guess there's no longer any need!
Next mission, after getting rid of the mites: search around for more eggs!
(Yes, I know the mites aren't really harmful, at least in the numbers I've got, but I just hate how they crawl up and over me and the girls when we check the bin. yes, the girls. They LOVE the worms!!)
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Cold hard cash
Let's talk about money today. On one hand, it plays a big part in why we do what we do (we've saved a ton over the years using cloth diapers. We buy maybe a pack a month a child of disposables, since we use them when we're out of the house and during the day or two when our stash is being washed/dried. Of course we could avoid this by adding to our stash but that would cost more money). On the other, it really has nothing to do with it all (we have a whole whopping three onion plants...that's hardly enough to save us the expense of ever having to buy onions again). On the other hand, well, there's always a middle-ground, isn't there?
I guess composting is that middle ground (no, don't worry, this won't be yet another composting post). It helps us make the most out of our money. When we buy a food that only gets partially used, say a banana where we're left with the peel, we can make that peel work for us. We cane save the money we spent on the whole fruit by making the leftovers into fertilizer that will help nourish our other plants. Yes there was the initial cost of the compost tumbler, and of the first couple of batches of the worms, but those have long since paid themselves off and were one-time fees. the compost pile in the back yard is, was, and always will be free.
Water and energy conservation are other important factors. Living in Israel means we're very aware of the importance of water conservation and that has always been a factor in the methods we use to wash dishes, take showers, and clean the floors. We rarely use our dryer in the summer, not when there is a free clothing dryer right outside in the sky (sun bleaching is also our secret as to why, after two+ years of heavy use, not a single one of our diapers is stained in the least).
Recycling, well, of course we recycle but there's no added savings there. In fact recycling costs a lot, though it doesn't come out of our own pocket exactly. More important is our attempts to not waste those resources in the first place. We don't subscribe to a daily paper so there's no once-read newspaper to be recycled. I carry a glass bottle in my purse from some iced tea I bought once and refill that with water instead of buying bottles of water when I'm out. Of course, I DO spend more shopping since I never remember to pack a bag ahead of time and end up buying shopping backs at the supermarket since I refuse to waste that many disposable plastic bags.
Note to self: something to rant against in a future post: those little flimsy backs in the produce section of supermarkets. You rip open the bag to put away the groceries as soon as you get home anyways, so WHY take it in the first place?!
I guess composting is that middle ground (no, don't worry, this won't be yet another composting post). It helps us make the most out of our money. When we buy a food that only gets partially used, say a banana where we're left with the peel, we can make that peel work for us. We cane save the money we spent on the whole fruit by making the leftovers into fertilizer that will help nourish our other plants. Yes there was the initial cost of the compost tumbler, and of the first couple of batches of the worms, but those have long since paid themselves off and were one-time fees. the compost pile in the back yard is, was, and always will be free.
Water and energy conservation are other important factors. Living in Israel means we're very aware of the importance of water conservation and that has always been a factor in the methods we use to wash dishes, take showers, and clean the floors. We rarely use our dryer in the summer, not when there is a free clothing dryer right outside in the sky (sun bleaching is also our secret as to why, after two+ years of heavy use, not a single one of our diapers is stained in the least).
Recycling, well, of course we recycle but there's no added savings there. In fact recycling costs a lot, though it doesn't come out of our own pocket exactly. More important is our attempts to not waste those resources in the first place. We don't subscribe to a daily paper so there's no once-read newspaper to be recycled. I carry a glass bottle in my purse from some iced tea I bought once and refill that with water instead of buying bottles of water when I'm out. Of course, I DO spend more shopping since I never remember to pack a bag ahead of time and end up buying shopping backs at the supermarket since I refuse to waste that many disposable plastic bags.
Note to self: something to rant against in a future post: those little flimsy backs in the produce section of supermarkets. You rip open the bag to put away the groceries as soon as you get home anyways, so WHY take it in the first place?!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Waste management
It strikes me that when most people think of waste management, they probably picture well-run landfills, complete with gas monitoring and water sanitation. I am also sure that many people have no problem adding their banana peels to it since, in their mind, it'll just decompose. So I know those people feel very good about themselves when they recycle their newspapers and coke cans and fill their biodegradable garbage bags with orange peels and dinner leftovers. I know this because I used to be that person.
So what's changed? I've educated myself. While I fully admit I have much more to learn, and by no means am an expert on this subject, I still feel better knowing what I know. Being aware allows one to make positive choices and changes to help better their world and its environment.
Decaying organic waste in landfills is a major cause of methane production. Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, can be properly collected from a landfill and even utilized as a beneficial energy source. But there are a whopping 6.8 billion people living on Earth. That's one helluva lot of banana peels. I find it difficult to believe they're all going to properly maintained landfills.
Especially when there's a better option. Cue inspirational music. Composting is a (relatively) quick and easy way to not only cleanly dispose of your organic waste, but also to convert it into something useful. There are many different methods of compositing and you don't need to suffer any nasty smells or have a yard to do it.
Now here, if you've been paying attention, is the big question: decomposing organic waste is decomposing organic waste. Doesn't composting create the same nasty gases as landfills? The answer is NO! A properly maintained compost heap/tumbler/vermicomposter/etc.) is an aerobic process, where the waste, consisting of both carbon and nitrogen-rich sources, is churned and exposed to oxygen. There is no smell and no vermin. However in anaerobic methods, waste is basically left to rot, creating a stinky, moldy pile of gas-producing matter. Kinda like, oh, say, a smelly landfill?
More to come, you know it.
So what's changed? I've educated myself. While I fully admit I have much more to learn, and by no means am an expert on this subject, I still feel better knowing what I know. Being aware allows one to make positive choices and changes to help better their world and its environment.
Decaying organic waste in landfills is a major cause of methane production. Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, can be properly collected from a landfill and even utilized as a beneficial energy source. But there are a whopping 6.8 billion people living on Earth. That's one helluva lot of banana peels. I find it difficult to believe they're all going to properly maintained landfills.
Especially when there's a better option. Cue inspirational music. Composting is a (relatively) quick and easy way to not only cleanly dispose of your organic waste, but also to convert it into something useful. There are many different methods of compositing and you don't need to suffer any nasty smells or have a yard to do it.
Now here, if you've been paying attention, is the big question: decomposing organic waste is decomposing organic waste. Doesn't composting create the same nasty gases as landfills? The answer is NO! A properly maintained compost heap/tumbler/vermicomposter/etc.) is an aerobic process, where the waste, consisting of both carbon and nitrogen-rich sources, is churned and exposed to oxygen. There is no smell and no vermin. However in anaerobic methods, waste is basically left to rot, creating a stinky, moldy pile of gas-producing matter. Kinda like, oh, say, a smelly landfill?
More to come, you know it.
Farmer dreams
I'm sure everyone, at some point or another, dreams about moving out to the country, planting some crops, milking some cows, and calling themselves a farmer. That dream feels even more real here, in a land where anyone really can move up north or down south, buys some goats, and make a living selling cheese. There are so many versions of this dream my husband and I have had. We toy with the idea of moving to the Negev where he can be a nurse at Saroka and the kids and I can run the dairy. We think about moving to the Jerusalem 'burbs, building a house in the West Bank with a garden large enough to sustain our family and where he can work at Psagot long enough to learn everything he needs to know to start his own winery. We play around with the idea of living in a cabin in the middle of nowhere in southern Oregon where we can grow crops, raise chickens, and I can get back into making art.
So why do we not pursue any of these dreams? Are we just too lazy? Maybe, but I don't think so. It's hard to be lazy when you have twin toddlers.
I'm sure we can always claim there is one good excuse or another, and right now is no exception. My husband is in his final year of nursing school, after which he will have a degree good for a job pretty much anywhere he darn well pleases, which only works in favor of our many dreams, as long as we wait till he's done. Then there is a possibility another one of my lifelong dreams may become a reality (more on that in the future, so please be patient). Assuming it doesn't, there really isn't anything holding us back from any of the above-mentioned scenarios. It's all rather exciting, really. Who knows what the future will hold for us?
So why do we not pursue any of these dreams? Are we just too lazy? Maybe, but I don't think so. It's hard to be lazy when you have twin toddlers.
I'm sure we can always claim there is one good excuse or another, and right now is no exception. My husband is in his final year of nursing school, after which he will have a degree good for a job pretty much anywhere he darn well pleases, which only works in favor of our many dreams, as long as we wait till he's done. Then there is a possibility another one of my lifelong dreams may become a reality (more on that in the future, so please be patient). Assuming it doesn't, there really isn't anything holding us back from any of the above-mentioned scenarios. It's all rather exciting, really. Who knows what the future will hold for us?
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Home sweet home
Quick update on the worm bin:
A couple of months ago my worms started committing mass suicide. The room they're kept in (their bin is inside a larger bin, suspended over a few inches of water to keep ants at bay, stored under the table in my laundry room) was covered with dead and nearly dead worms. I opened the bin and determined that they had finished all they're bedding and were escaping the muddy, toxin environment caused by a bin full of castings. So I laid fresh bedding and they revived quite nicely. Shortly after I harvested several pints worth of compost and let the worms be for a bit more. Lately they've again seemed unhappy so I went for a full bin revamp by emptying the whole this on my porch floor, laying in brand new bedding, separating the rest of the worms from their castings (resulting in several more pints, half of which is all gone now after planting mint, spicy mint, oregano, basil, chamomile, lemon verbena, rosemary, and onions, as well as fertilizing the amaryllises, succulents, and the lemon tree), and returning them to their new home with fresh shredded paper on top and some yummy apple cores to much on. Hopefully this will be a better bin than the last one though I'm still thrilled that we've successfully managed our worm bin, without killing them all, for over a year. Yay!
A couple of months ago my worms started committing mass suicide. The room they're kept in (their bin is inside a larger bin, suspended over a few inches of water to keep ants at bay, stored under the table in my laundry room) was covered with dead and nearly dead worms. I opened the bin and determined that they had finished all they're bedding and were escaping the muddy, toxin environment caused by a bin full of castings. So I laid fresh bedding and they revived quite nicely. Shortly after I harvested several pints worth of compost and let the worms be for a bit more. Lately they've again seemed unhappy so I went for a full bin revamp by emptying the whole this on my porch floor, laying in brand new bedding, separating the rest of the worms from their castings (resulting in several more pints, half of which is all gone now after planting mint, spicy mint, oregano, basil, chamomile, lemon verbena, rosemary, and onions, as well as fertilizing the amaryllises, succulents, and the lemon tree), and returning them to their new home with fresh shredded paper on top and some yummy apple cores to much on. Hopefully this will be a better bin than the last one though I'm still thrilled that we've successfully managed our worm bin, without killing them all, for over a year. Yay!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Vegetarianism
Long overdue, I know, but better late than never. Today's topic will be what I promised in my last post: vegetariansim.
My sister became a vegetarian at age 9. Since she is ten and a half years older than me, I've never known her to eat meat and always grew up aware of the concept. By age 12 I stopped eating red meat (I was disgusted by watching the meat being prepared at the burger joint I went to once a week after dance class), shortly after I reduced my chicken consumption to Friday nights only since I disliked being fleishig (I keep kosher. If you're interested in more details leave a comment and I'll explain) and I stopped entirely bu age 14. One year later I decided that, if I were really going to be a vegetarian on principle (that principle being that I don't believe in killing unnecessarily) then I'd have to give up on fish, too. That one was harder, since I really liked fish, but nonetheless I stopped.
I know, I know some of you are going to say, "but those carrots are murdered, too!" To that argument I say, look, I've never once in my life tried to convert anyone over to vegetariansim. So keep your own damn nose out of my business if all you;re going to do about it is give me a hard time.
For the record, no, I don't wear leather/use leather products. I wore a silk wedding dress and have a huge amount of guilt over it. I don't eat marshmallows, candy corn, or other foods containing animal-sourced gelatin. I am not a vegan, though I was for a while in college. I do eat cheese, honey, and eggs, though on the later I am switching to organic free-range and yes, I know that free-range doesn't really mean free-range but it's the best I can do right now.
Here's where you'll really have an issue: my kids are vegetarian (though they have eaten marshmallows). It was never my intention to keep my kids vegetarian but when it came time to introduce new foods to them I simply could not bring myself to feeding them meat (and yes, as anyone who has been to my house for Shabbat can attest, I do cook and serve meat for my husband and guests). My reasoning is that, at this age I am responsible for taking acre of them and I really can not bring myself to make a choice for them that goes against what I would choose for myself. I do not eat meat for moral reasons and right now i make their moral decisions. When they are old enough to ask for a hamburger then yes, I will give them a hamburger. Till then the best I can do for them is what I would do for myself.
That being said, we're looking into daycare options for them next year, including places that cook and serve the kids meat, and I don't know if/what alternatives are.
By the way, when I say simply 'meat' I am including poultry and fish.
My sister became a vegetarian at age 9. Since she is ten and a half years older than me, I've never known her to eat meat and always grew up aware of the concept. By age 12 I stopped eating red meat (I was disgusted by watching the meat being prepared at the burger joint I went to once a week after dance class), shortly after I reduced my chicken consumption to Friday nights only since I disliked being fleishig (I keep kosher. If you're interested in more details leave a comment and I'll explain) and I stopped entirely bu age 14. One year later I decided that, if I were really going to be a vegetarian on principle (that principle being that I don't believe in killing unnecessarily) then I'd have to give up on fish, too. That one was harder, since I really liked fish, but nonetheless I stopped.
I know, I know some of you are going to say, "but those carrots are murdered, too!" To that argument I say, look, I've never once in my life tried to convert anyone over to vegetariansim. So keep your own damn nose out of my business if all you;re going to do about it is give me a hard time.
For the record, no, I don't wear leather/use leather products. I wore a silk wedding dress and have a huge amount of guilt over it. I don't eat marshmallows, candy corn, or other foods containing animal-sourced gelatin. I am not a vegan, though I was for a while in college. I do eat cheese, honey, and eggs, though on the later I am switching to organic free-range and yes, I know that free-range doesn't really mean free-range but it's the best I can do right now.
Here's where you'll really have an issue: my kids are vegetarian (though they have eaten marshmallows). It was never my intention to keep my kids vegetarian but when it came time to introduce new foods to them I simply could not bring myself to feeding them meat (and yes, as anyone who has been to my house for Shabbat can attest, I do cook and serve meat for my husband and guests). My reasoning is that, at this age I am responsible for taking acre of them and I really can not bring myself to make a choice for them that goes against what I would choose for myself. I do not eat meat for moral reasons and right now i make their moral decisions. When they are old enough to ask for a hamburger then yes, I will give them a hamburger. Till then the best I can do for them is what I would do for myself.
That being said, we're looking into daycare options for them next year, including places that cook and serve the kids meat, and I don't know if/what alternatives are.
By the way, when I say simply 'meat' I am including poultry and fish.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Long time, no cucumbers
It's been a long time since I updated this blog and I am sorry. Not for you, whoever you are, since I don't know if anyone is even reading this. But I am sorry for myself, because this blog is about a subject I feel rather passionately about, and I want to think these thoughts and have these ideas and this is my place for that.
But the thoughts are, nonetheless, still here in my head, so let me share a bit.
Since my last update I have read Michael Pollan's Food Rules, Lou Bendrick's Eat Where you Live, Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Alisa Smith and JB Makinnon's Plenty, and Nick Rosen's Off the Grid (among other reads, of course. These are just the one's most relevant to this blog.) We grew, ahrvested, and eventually (accidentally) killed several cucumber and cherry tomato plants. But the worm bin has been thriving and the compost mixer is, well, composting (though we haven't harvested the compost since we're using more as a waste management system than as a tool for the final product so we're still regularly adding more "garbage" to it).
I still haven't perfected all my advanced planning and occasionally find myself making unexpected trips to the supermarket and stuck either using plastic or buying new reusable bags each time (thus our huge collected of cloth bags at home). But I went to the store yesterday and remembered to bring the cotton mesh produce bags for the first time.
We're still cloth diapering, of course, though we need to expand our stash since we find ourselves running through all the diapers within three days then stuck with disposables for one day while the diapers are getting washed and dried (we sun-dry which saves energy but takes longer than a dryer. But the best part is that, as a result of all the sun bleaching, there is not a single stain on any of our diapers. Nearly two years of two babies in cloth with no stains, not bad I think!)
But all of the above has pretty much become second nature to us now. our biggest challenge is to keep up with our interest in buying only blue and white, ie, local. We are defining local not bu how long it takes to drive (not that we have a car anyways) nor by mile radius (since that would include a fair bit of Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea), rather by the borders of Israel.
So what is grown here? The answer is, a lot. The problem is, a lot of it is grown for export. And some staples just aren't grown here at all. We're not going to be as strict as they are about it in Plenty, but I'd like to at least do the research and see what is available. Rumor has it there are places in the country where they grow wheat and produce flour locally. The best part is due to our overall mild climate there are very often fresh produce year-round. Even tomatoes! Yes, you can buy the supermarket version, picked green and gassed to ripen after long storage. But we get ours farm fresh.
Our other big consideration now is to face the ethical dilemma. Dairy, poultry and fish (the only "meat" my husband eats, but both my kids and I are vegetarians, though not vegans), end eggs. We must research how they are raised, which/what we choose to buy, where we will get it from, etc. It's not a step I look forward to but, like when I gave up fish (the only thing I missed as a vegetarian, but knew I had to give up eating if I really did choose vegetarianism for moral purposes), I know it's necessary.
There's more I want to say about vegetarianism, especially after reading Kingsolver's book, but that will have to wait till my next update. For now I am going to pout my computer aside, open my book and finish my (delicious sweet potato, black lentil and goat cheese) salad that I bought as a treat to celebrate the first time in months that I am taking an hour to sit by myself at a cafe and eat a leisurely lunch.
But the thoughts are, nonetheless, still here in my head, so let me share a bit.
Since my last update I have read Michael Pollan's Food Rules, Lou Bendrick's Eat Where you Live, Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Alisa Smith and JB Makinnon's Plenty, and Nick Rosen's Off the Grid (among other reads, of course. These are just the one's most relevant to this blog.) We grew, ahrvested, and eventually (accidentally) killed several cucumber and cherry tomato plants. But the worm bin has been thriving and the compost mixer is, well, composting (though we haven't harvested the compost since we're using more as a waste management system than as a tool for the final product so we're still regularly adding more "garbage" to it).
I still haven't perfected all my advanced planning and occasionally find myself making unexpected trips to the supermarket and stuck either using plastic or buying new reusable bags each time (thus our huge collected of cloth bags at home). But I went to the store yesterday and remembered to bring the cotton mesh produce bags for the first time.
We're still cloth diapering, of course, though we need to expand our stash since we find ourselves running through all the diapers within three days then stuck with disposables for one day while the diapers are getting washed and dried (we sun-dry which saves energy but takes longer than a dryer. But the best part is that, as a result of all the sun bleaching, there is not a single stain on any of our diapers. Nearly two years of two babies in cloth with no stains, not bad I think!)
But all of the above has pretty much become second nature to us now. our biggest challenge is to keep up with our interest in buying only blue and white, ie, local. We are defining local not bu how long it takes to drive (not that we have a car anyways) nor by mile radius (since that would include a fair bit of Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea), rather by the borders of Israel.
So what is grown here? The answer is, a lot. The problem is, a lot of it is grown for export. And some staples just aren't grown here at all. We're not going to be as strict as they are about it in Plenty, but I'd like to at least do the research and see what is available. Rumor has it there are places in the country where they grow wheat and produce flour locally. The best part is due to our overall mild climate there are very often fresh produce year-round. Even tomatoes! Yes, you can buy the supermarket version, picked green and gassed to ripen after long storage. But we get ours farm fresh.
Our other big consideration now is to face the ethical dilemma. Dairy, poultry and fish (the only "meat" my husband eats, but both my kids and I are vegetarians, though not vegans), end eggs. We must research how they are raised, which/what we choose to buy, where we will get it from, etc. It's not a step I look forward to but, like when I gave up fish (the only thing I missed as a vegetarian, but knew I had to give up eating if I really did choose vegetarianism for moral purposes), I know it's necessary.
There's more I want to say about vegetarianism, especially after reading Kingsolver's book, but that will have to wait till my next update. For now I am going to pout my computer aside, open my book and finish my (delicious sweet potato, black lentil and goat cheese) salad that I bought as a treat to celebrate the first time in months that I am taking an hour to sit by myself at a cafe and eat a leisurely lunch.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Circle of life
So our compost mixer has attracted flies (mostly our fault, since we didn't have a good ratio of greens to browns, about to be rectified now that we have borrowed my parents' paper shredder and all my old bank statements are about to be composted). With flies come maggots. Neither are really all that bad, I mean the bin is outside so the flies aren't a real problem and the maggots do help the food stuff decompose faster. The bigger problem is that there are so many maggots they fall out of the bin by the dozens every time we turn it. Gross, I know. So I set a sheet of cardboard with a large aluminum tray underneath the bin and now the maggots fall into that. But the best part is every hour or so the tray starts rustling and it turns out the birds have figured out that the tray contains free food. So the birds are eating the worms that are eating out garbage that is being tuned into compost. The circle of life indeed.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
The update
Wow has time gotten away from me! I really didn't mean to go this long without any new posts. I guess right now I'll do some quick updates, and hopefully soon write some more thought-provoking posts.
Our compost bin(s) are up and running. The worms seem to be doing well and our mixer is filling up. I think soon we'll have to stop adding new items and leave it alone for a few weeks to really get cooking. We talked about what we'll do during that time and I think we'll try to save our compostables and make weekly trips to a local compost pile to dispose of them. What we discovered the last few weeks is that the majority of our waste is compostable, and since we've started these bins we've reduced our garbage output to about two bags a week, sometimes even less, down from a bag every other day or so, and actually daily during the weekend, when I cook more.
In other news, I've been very good about not accepting plastic bags at stores. I think I've only taken three in the last month: one when I bought a can of Raid (not very eco-friendly, I know, but that was before I discovered how effective peppermint castille soap is at killing ants) and wanted to separate it from my other food shopping, the other two times accidental by only realizing after I left the store that I didn't leave the bag. But I still carry my own shopping bag with me everywhere I go and a member of my synagogue sent out this link, which is something I have been looking for and am very excited about getting.
Let's see, what else. Oh, the gardening is moving along. The tomato and cucumber seeds have sprouted very nicely and it's time to repot them. The swiss chard seeds I tried never sprouted which is very disappointing since I really adore chard, but I am trying again. Our lemon tree is growing nicely though it has been infested with ants a couple of times. Some peppermint spray and a water moat around the base of the planter seem to have taken care of that (though they have since moved into our kitchen, yuck!)
Eating local has been going fairly well. It's really not hard once you get used to it. We do make exceptions, like if we want something that just is not grown/produced locally at all (like coconut milk). But overall it has kept us healthier I think since a large proportion of imported items are highly processed (like macaroni and cheese). We did cheat the other day and bought a box of Snyders sourdough pretzels. What can I say, no one's perfect.
That's about it for now. More to come!
Our compost bin(s) are up and running. The worms seem to be doing well and our mixer is filling up. I think soon we'll have to stop adding new items and leave it alone for a few weeks to really get cooking. We talked about what we'll do during that time and I think we'll try to save our compostables and make weekly trips to a local compost pile to dispose of them. What we discovered the last few weeks is that the majority of our waste is compostable, and since we've started these bins we've reduced our garbage output to about two bags a week, sometimes even less, down from a bag every other day or so, and actually daily during the weekend, when I cook more.
In other news, I've been very good about not accepting plastic bags at stores. I think I've only taken three in the last month: one when I bought a can of Raid (not very eco-friendly, I know, but that was before I discovered how effective peppermint castille soap is at killing ants) and wanted to separate it from my other food shopping, the other two times accidental by only realizing after I left the store that I didn't leave the bag. But I still carry my own shopping bag with me everywhere I go and a member of my synagogue sent out this link, which is something I have been looking for and am very excited about getting.
Let's see, what else. Oh, the gardening is moving along. The tomato and cucumber seeds have sprouted very nicely and it's time to repot them. The swiss chard seeds I tried never sprouted which is very disappointing since I really adore chard, but I am trying again. Our lemon tree is growing nicely though it has been infested with ants a couple of times. Some peppermint spray and a water moat around the base of the planter seem to have taken care of that (though they have since moved into our kitchen, yuck!)
Eating local has been going fairly well. It's really not hard once you get used to it. We do make exceptions, like if we want something that just is not grown/produced locally at all (like coconut milk). But overall it has kept us healthier I think since a large proportion of imported items are highly processed (like macaroni and cheese). We did cheat the other day and bought a box of Snyders sourdough pretzels. What can I say, no one's perfect.
That's about it for now. More to come!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Hot stuff
Thanks to our food scraps plus a pile of dead straw from someone's curbside and several generous handfuls of grass from the yard, the new composter is filling up nicely and now it needs to get cooking. It does seem to be getting warmer in there though it could just be that it's a black barrel on a hot day in a sunny porch. But hopefully it'll start steaming soon and then I'll know something is really happening.
I know the cycle will be starting over continuously as we add more waste, since we have no intention of getting another mixer and alternating, bit seeing as the compost itself isn't the whole goal then it really doesn't matter. As the material breaks down we can take out handfuls of compost, sifting through for whatever needs more time and using what we get, as we get it, on the plants.
Speaking of which, it's looking like some of my sprouts are ready for re-potting. I think it;s the chard though ti may possibly be the cucumber, and the tomatoes sprouts are on their way.
I love looking out the window and seeing the colorful cloth diapers hanging in the warm sun like Tibetan flags, the composter making fertilizer, the amaryllises nearly blooming, al with the backdrop of the city's main industrial zone. We're really our own little urban paradise here. At least, we;re on our way.
I know the cycle will be starting over continuously as we add more waste, since we have no intention of getting another mixer and alternating, bit seeing as the compost itself isn't the whole goal then it really doesn't matter. As the material breaks down we can take out handfuls of compost, sifting through for whatever needs more time and using what we get, as we get it, on the plants.
Speaking of which, it's looking like some of my sprouts are ready for re-potting. I think it;s the chard though ti may possibly be the cucumber, and the tomatoes sprouts are on their way.
I love looking out the window and seeing the colorful cloth diapers hanging in the warm sun like Tibetan flags, the composter making fertilizer, the amaryllises nearly blooming, al with the backdrop of the city's main industrial zone. We're really our own little urban paradise here. At least, we;re on our way.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Happy birthday to you
I finally got my birthday present...er, five and a half months late.
Today my husband gave me this!
Updates to follow!
Today my husband gave me this!
Updates to follow!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Little green bag
I recently swore off plastic bags. I've often carried my own bag around, and have a collection of cloth bags that we use for large shopping trips. But now I'm off plastic bags for good. I have a cute little fold-up bag I keep in my purse at all times for those unexpected shopping trips and if it's not enough, I just buy a cloth bag from the supermarket rather than take plastic.
Today, for example, I made two unplanned stops. In the first store I declined their bag and stuffed everything in my purse and whatever didn't fit I just carried. In the second I bought their green bag (literally, it's green) for my groceries. We have a growing collection of them at home but they get used for everything; just this morning I emptied the laundry into one when I couldn't find an available basket.
Plastic bags really frustrate me. Now that I'm making a point never to accept them in stores I've started to realize how little thought the average consumer puts into them. And it's not even just at checkout; you use plastic in the produce aisle (do you really need to bag your cucumbers?), every time you buy individual serving sizes (is it really that hard to spoon out your yogurt from a larger tub?), and each time you buy pre-packaged (why get your chicken all wrapped in plastic in a styrofoam tray instead of having the butcher give you the fresher, prepackaged cuts?)
Just some food for thought.
Today, for example, I made two unplanned stops. In the first store I declined their bag and stuffed everything in my purse and whatever didn't fit I just carried. In the second I bought their green bag (literally, it's green) for my groceries. We have a growing collection of them at home but they get used for everything; just this morning I emptied the laundry into one when I couldn't find an available basket.
Plastic bags really frustrate me. Now that I'm making a point never to accept them in stores I've started to realize how little thought the average consumer puts into them. And it's not even just at checkout; you use plastic in the produce aisle (do you really need to bag your cucumbers?), every time you buy individual serving sizes (is it really that hard to spoon out your yogurt from a larger tub?), and each time you buy pre-packaged (why get your chicken all wrapped in plastic in a styrofoam tray instead of having the butcher give you the fresher, prepackaged cuts?)
Just some food for thought.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Baby got back
Today I want to talk a bit about cloth diapers. I've been thinking a lot lately about shopping and the excessive usage of plastic bags, and do want to talk about that, but I'll save that for the next post. Right now though I want to share a bit on how my husband and I choose to diaper our daughters.
I was cloth diapered as a baby, simply because that is what was done in those days. But now there are plenty of other options and most people don't even consider CD. When I was pregnant I did a bit of research, mostly (initially, at least) motivated by the fact that we were expecting twins and I was searching for a way to keep our expenses down. I discovered modern day cloth, and how different the diapers are today from how they were back when I was a kid. Now you don;t just have flats with pins and plastic pants; now there are prefolds with PUL covers, snappis, pockets, all-in-ones, fitteds, doublers, wool longsies, etc. It's a whole new world. It's a far more user-friendly world, that's for sure.
We settled on a stash of prefolds with covers and, mostly, pockets, of which BG 3.0 make up the bulk. We do use disposables at times, like when we're out and about. With two babies there's a limit to how many soiled cloth diapers I want to carry around town with me. Do I feel bad I don't CD all the time? Yes. But mostly I feel better about all the time I do CD, and the landfill space I am saving every time I reach for a brightly colored cloth diaper instead of a disposable.
There are other choices I make that are in line with my eco-friendly philosophies. I don't use Pampers or Huggies or other imported diaper brands and instead choose to use the local Tiltulim brand. They work just as well as any other diaper and are usually far cheaper than any other brand. It's the same reason why I don't use compostable diapers. They sound great, but aren't made locally, so the fuel used to ship all those diapers across the ocean isn't worth it to me.
Remember, every time you make a purchase, you are condoning now that item reached the supermarket shelf. Did it come on a truck from another factory? Was it manufactured in another country, trucked to an airport, flown cargo halfway across the world? Trucked to a storage facility, then trucked to the supermarket shelf?
Similarly, think about what happens when it leaves that shelf. Do you stick it in your car and drive it home? Do you walk it home? Do you take public transportation? Every single one of these choices has an impact, yet they are things most people never even consider.
We are fortunate enough to live a stones throw away from a supermarket, making our purchases very easy. But even when we lived further we still walked home, or would take public transportation home (while loaded with a granny cart and hiking backpack full of our purchases.) These decisions do have an impact. You do have the power to make a change with every single choice you make. Don't fall for colorful labeling, encouraging you to buy the imported item over the equal local one. Don't be afraid of spending an extra few minutes doing something slightly more complicated but that benefits the planet immensely (because really, CD does only take an extra two minutes a day, total. If even that. Certainly time saved from not having to schlep out all that diaper garbage every day!)
It's not for everyone, there is an ick factor. But what parent hasn't been spit up on, peed on, and pooped on already? It actually is possible to do this without dirtying your hands one bit. Plus, they're so darn cute!!
Edit: my mother corrected me, "we when [sic] had you, some people used cloth diapers, but not many. We were pretty counter culture in what we did then."
I was cloth diapered as a baby, simply because that is what was done in those days. But now there are plenty of other options and most people don't even consider CD. When I was pregnant I did a bit of research, mostly (initially, at least) motivated by the fact that we were expecting twins and I was searching for a way to keep our expenses down. I discovered modern day cloth, and how different the diapers are today from how they were back when I was a kid. Now you don;t just have flats with pins and plastic pants; now there are prefolds with PUL covers, snappis, pockets, all-in-ones, fitteds, doublers, wool longsies, etc. It's a whole new world. It's a far more user-friendly world, that's for sure.
We settled on a stash of prefolds with covers and, mostly, pockets, of which BG 3.0 make up the bulk. We do use disposables at times, like when we're out and about. With two babies there's a limit to how many soiled cloth diapers I want to carry around town with me. Do I feel bad I don't CD all the time? Yes. But mostly I feel better about all the time I do CD, and the landfill space I am saving every time I reach for a brightly colored cloth diaper instead of a disposable.
There are other choices I make that are in line with my eco-friendly philosophies. I don't use Pampers or Huggies or other imported diaper brands and instead choose to use the local Tiltulim brand. They work just as well as any other diaper and are usually far cheaper than any other brand. It's the same reason why I don't use compostable diapers. They sound great, but aren't made locally, so the fuel used to ship all those diapers across the ocean isn't worth it to me.
Remember, every time you make a purchase, you are condoning now that item reached the supermarket shelf. Did it come on a truck from another factory? Was it manufactured in another country, trucked to an airport, flown cargo halfway across the world? Trucked to a storage facility, then trucked to the supermarket shelf?
Similarly, think about what happens when it leaves that shelf. Do you stick it in your car and drive it home? Do you walk it home? Do you take public transportation? Every single one of these choices has an impact, yet they are things most people never even consider.
We are fortunate enough to live a stones throw away from a supermarket, making our purchases very easy. But even when we lived further we still walked home, or would take public transportation home (while loaded with a granny cart and hiking backpack full of our purchases.) These decisions do have an impact. You do have the power to make a change with every single choice you make. Don't fall for colorful labeling, encouraging you to buy the imported item over the equal local one. Don't be afraid of spending an extra few minutes doing something slightly more complicated but that benefits the planet immensely (because really, CD does only take an extra two minutes a day, total. If even that. Certainly time saved from not having to schlep out all that diaper garbage every day!)
It's not for everyone, there is an ick factor. But what parent hasn't been spit up on, peed on, and pooped on already? It actually is possible to do this without dirtying your hands one bit. Plus, they're so darn cute!!
Edit: my mother corrected me, "we when [sic] had you, some people used cloth diapers, but not many. We were pretty counter culture in what we did then."
Monday, May 17, 2010
The best is yet to come
Just a little heads up (and reminder to me) about certain subjects that will be addressed in future posts:
Vegetarianism
Cloth diapers
Eating local
Organic
Agriculture
Animal farming
Plastic bags
Plastic bottles - to be hosted by a guest-blogger: my husband
Recycling
Eating seasonally
Vegetable garden
...and much, much more!
Vegetarianism
Cloth diapers
Eating local
Organic
Agriculture
Animal farming
Plastic bags
Plastic bottles - to be hosted by a guest-blogger: my husband
Recycling
Eating seasonally
Vegetable garden
...and much, much more!
Let it grow
I think we're about to take the next step and get a barrel composter. I've been a little obsessed with composting lately. I love my worms and enjoy checking in on them, even though I try to disturb them as little as possible. Every time I take a peek there are new creatures in there. The worms seem happy, the conditions seem right. The only thing that really bothers me is that I can't compost everything in there. We don't have enough worms yet to be able to handle all the organic scraps we produce and even if there were more, there's a limit to what can be composted in a worm bin. But if we had a barrel then we could just put all our plate scrapings in, cooked and raw foods alike. That's make a significant change in what goes in our regular trash can.
Another reason for my obsession is because this is something I can do to make a difference. There are a lot of things not to do, like don't waste water or electricity and don't leave the car running and don't through your recyclables in the garbage. But what it comes to what you can do, what you, an everyday normal Joe Shmoe, this is it. Change your simple habits that don't even require you stepping out your front door. Instead of tossing that leftover macaroni in the garbage, put it in the composter. When you're done reading the paper, don't even bother setting it aside to be recycled (when big trucks burning lots of fuel will come pick it up and take it to be processed). Instead, shred it and add it to the bedding of your worm bin.
Why do I need this much compost, you might ask? The answer is simple: I don't. But I do know that the landfills need this biowaste even less than I do. Food in landfills is a major contributor to methane gas and thus, global warming. But by decomposing my food at home, naturally, in a process that breaks down waste in a fraction of the time it takes in a landfill, I do my share to help reduce the damage that can be caused by something as simple as an apple core or a banana peel.
So if anyone wants some free compost in a few weeks, be my guest! I'll use some on my own plants and probably dump the rest out in the field behind our home. Hopefully it'll help the trees in the playground to grow big and strong and shade my children from the sun when they play out there.
Another reason for my obsession is because this is something I can do to make a difference. There are a lot of things not to do, like don't waste water or electricity and don't leave the car running and don't through your recyclables in the garbage. But what it comes to what you can do, what you, an everyday normal Joe Shmoe, this is it. Change your simple habits that don't even require you stepping out your front door. Instead of tossing that leftover macaroni in the garbage, put it in the composter. When you're done reading the paper, don't even bother setting it aside to be recycled (when big trucks burning lots of fuel will come pick it up and take it to be processed). Instead, shred it and add it to the bedding of your worm bin.
Why do I need this much compost, you might ask? The answer is simple: I don't. But I do know that the landfills need this biowaste even less than I do. Food in landfills is a major contributor to methane gas and thus, global warming. But by decomposing my food at home, naturally, in a process that breaks down waste in a fraction of the time it takes in a landfill, I do my share to help reduce the damage that can be caused by something as simple as an apple core or a banana peel.
So if anyone wants some free compost in a few weeks, be my guest! I'll use some on my own plants and probably dump the rest out in the field behind our home. Hopefully it'll help the trees in the playground to grow big and strong and shade my children from the sun when they play out there.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
My family is in the process of making a few changes in our lifestyle. First, for those who don't know us, a little background: my husband and I live with our two wonderful twin daughters in Jerusalem, Israel. We live, like most of the country, in an apartment (well, what you north Americans would refer to as a condo, since we own it, but here they're all just called apartments). Our is a three bedroom, two bath, with a small laundry room and a nice south-eastern facing porch that, thanks to living on the top floor (with no elevator, I might add) gets complete sun. We've always been very environmentally aware, recycling what we can and using cloth diapers (which we wash at home) on our girls.
Around the time the girls were born we signed up with a local CSA. Neither of us cared much about organic eating, rather it was convenience that drove us to doing so (certainly not cost, since it's a lot cheaper to go to the city's open air market, or shuk, where all produce are fresh and tasty). With two little babies, making it to the shuk on a regular basis was unrealistic. Plus it was too easy to turn to carbs or processed foods for our meals, so we liked the idea of having a house full of veggies. Knowing there would only be another delivery the following week forced us to work hard to finish off our current box each week. Plus, there was a fun element of surprise to it. Other than the usual cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and lettuce, we never knew what we were going to get. Often there's be other staples such as potatoes or onions, but sometimes there's be something totally new. Thanks to these baskets, we discovered, and fell in love with, swiss chard and kohlrabi, among others.
Recently we both read Michal Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma and that got us thinking and talking about the food choices we make. It helped us decide we really do care about organic and, more importantly, we care about eating local. Fortunately living in Israel that really isn't much of a problem, unless you're talking about processed foods. But fresh produce is always local, and we eat by the calender. Watermelon in summer, oranges in winter, strawberries in the spring, etc.
Most recently we decided to start trying to grow some fruits and vegetables on our own. That got us thinking about fertilizer, and that got us to start composting, and that got us to get some red worms. At the moment we have two small compost bins, one with worms and one without, and we're seeing how it goes. So far the worms are still alive and the other bin doesn't stink so I guess those are both good signs.
This blog will follow our journey, wherever it takes us.
Around the time the girls were born we signed up with a local CSA. Neither of us cared much about organic eating, rather it was convenience that drove us to doing so (certainly not cost, since it's a lot cheaper to go to the city's open air market, or shuk, where all produce are fresh and tasty). With two little babies, making it to the shuk on a regular basis was unrealistic. Plus it was too easy to turn to carbs or processed foods for our meals, so we liked the idea of having a house full of veggies. Knowing there would only be another delivery the following week forced us to work hard to finish off our current box each week. Plus, there was a fun element of surprise to it. Other than the usual cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and lettuce, we never knew what we were going to get. Often there's be other staples such as potatoes or onions, but sometimes there's be something totally new. Thanks to these baskets, we discovered, and fell in love with, swiss chard and kohlrabi, among others.
Recently we both read Michal Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma and that got us thinking and talking about the food choices we make. It helped us decide we really do care about organic and, more importantly, we care about eating local. Fortunately living in Israel that really isn't much of a problem, unless you're talking about processed foods. But fresh produce is always local, and we eat by the calender. Watermelon in summer, oranges in winter, strawberries in the spring, etc.
Most recently we decided to start trying to grow some fruits and vegetables on our own. That got us thinking about fertilizer, and that got us to start composting, and that got us to get some red worms. At the moment we have two small compost bins, one with worms and one without, and we're seeing how it goes. So far the worms are still alive and the other bin doesn't stink so I guess those are both good signs.
This blog will follow our journey, wherever it takes us.
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