Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Like Spring
Just went for a walk and saw crocuses blooming! It's about 50 degrees out, and supposed to get even warmer tomorrow. Last year at this time we were getting a two day storm.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Bulking Up
This morning, the hubs and I received big props at the coop for our bulk saviness, and I just wanted to share a little bit of my pride here. Please pardon my patting myself on the back, but I think this is important. Just to clarify, I'm talking about the bulk section of the market with the bags and pens, not the buying club markets (although those have some serious benefits).
The benefits of buying in bulk are numerous and tie together the personal and the environmental. Everything we do impacts other beings on this planet, and every purchase is a vote for what we like and want. When you buy in the bulk section you are usually buying healthy whole foods- dried fruit, nuts, grains, beans, etc. I'm talking vitamins and fiber! You might find processed snack foods and pastas in bulk, but most of the time even these are somewhat healthy. Yum! Ginger chews!
Buying in bulk also means that you can use and reuse your own containers, which means you can get as much or as little as you want and have minimum environmental impact by eliminating disposable packaging. Now this is where I sometimes feel like a bulk lunatic. I show up at the store with empty jars and fabric bags, and leave the store with full containers. My containers are all tare weighted (so I don't get charged for the weight of the jars), and I have stickers so I can write down what's in them and the PLU. (Listen for cheers from the cashiers!) I have a few large jars that are probably 2 gallons, but I mostly use mason jars. Mason jars are ubiquitous in my house, especially now since I am eating a ton of pickles this winter.
I have yet to do a thorough cost analysis of buying in bulk versus buying packaged foods. Prices fluctuate, but right now the spices are much cheaper when you buy bulk. A tiny jar of cinnamon costs more than twice as much as the same volume of bulk cinnamon. Shampoo costs about half as much money when you buy bulk. However, I found the best deal on olive oil to be the large metal tins (a savings of about $15 dollars compared to the bulk). That being said, my coop has a large variety of olive oil and in all the other comparisons the bulk wins out on price.
Buying in the bulk section is easy, and you don't have to look like a freaky hippie to do it. Just stay organized. Bring clean containers with labels. Always record (on the container) the contents, the tare, and the PLU. (Don't write it down as a list on a piece of paper and then dictate to the cashier. This is bound to backfire-you'll lose the list or forget something and then your saviness flies out the window and you look flaky.) Finish off the experience by being your own bagger. Your cashier just did double duty by typing in all those numbers, so give her a hand with the bags.
The benefits of buying in bulk are numerous and tie together the personal and the environmental. Everything we do impacts other beings on this planet, and every purchase is a vote for what we like and want. When you buy in the bulk section you are usually buying healthy whole foods- dried fruit, nuts, grains, beans, etc. I'm talking vitamins and fiber! You might find processed snack foods and pastas in bulk, but most of the time even these are somewhat healthy. Yum! Ginger chews!
Buying in bulk also means that you can use and reuse your own containers, which means you can get as much or as little as you want and have minimum environmental impact by eliminating disposable packaging. Now this is where I sometimes feel like a bulk lunatic. I show up at the store with empty jars and fabric bags, and leave the store with full containers. My containers are all tare weighted (so I don't get charged for the weight of the jars), and I have stickers so I can write down what's in them and the PLU. (Listen for cheers from the cashiers!) I have a few large jars that are probably 2 gallons, but I mostly use mason jars. Mason jars are ubiquitous in my house, especially now since I am eating a ton of pickles this winter.
I have yet to do a thorough cost analysis of buying in bulk versus buying packaged foods. Prices fluctuate, but right now the spices are much cheaper when you buy bulk. A tiny jar of cinnamon costs more than twice as much as the same volume of bulk cinnamon. Shampoo costs about half as much money when you buy bulk. However, I found the best deal on olive oil to be the large metal tins (a savings of about $15 dollars compared to the bulk). That being said, my coop has a large variety of olive oil and in all the other comparisons the bulk wins out on price.
Buying in the bulk section is easy, and you don't have to look like a freaky hippie to do it. Just stay organized. Bring clean containers with labels. Always record (on the container) the contents, the tare, and the PLU. (Don't write it down as a list on a piece of paper and then dictate to the cashier. This is bound to backfire-you'll lose the list or forget something and then your saviness flies out the window and you look flaky.) Finish off the experience by being your own bagger. Your cashier just did double duty by typing in all those numbers, so give her a hand with the bags.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Chickens, Joy, and Recycling
On mornings like this, I am so happy to have my chickens. I'm not just happy to have them because they give me healthy, fresh eggs or because they are fun to watch. I'm happy (and grateful) to have them because they give me an excuse to get out of the house for my morning chores. When I got out of bed this morning I had to bring out the water font (I bring it in at night so it doesn't freezy), let the girls out of their locked coop, and give them some kitchen scraps. The backyard was icy, especially the well-travelled path to the coop, but the air was mild and moist. Some mornings are cold and biting. Some are joyous and refreshing. This one is the latter. It made me want to strap on some hiking shoes and hit the mountains.
Inspired by Joel Salatin's book, I dumped some of my kitchen scraps in with the hens yesterday. They LOVED them! I'm watching to see what they enjoy the most. So far, it looks like the uncooked rice is the winner and the orange rinds are the losers. They went right for the pile this morning, and I added some more on top. They eat more in the winter, and the pepper tops and garlic skins and moldy bread ends add diversity and calories to their winter diet. This is healthy for them, and free for me. Win, win.
Joel Salatin inspired this little scrap experiment, but it's something I do in the summer. Honestly, I haven't put out my kitchen scraps lately because there's snow on the ground, and the pile of compost stands out and looks bad. I finally decided that my neighbors will understand. I don't want to attract other animals that might be hungry in the winter, so the first sign of scavengers will have me cleaning up the little mess. Such is life on half an acre in the city!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
New Books!
I treated myself to a couple new books for the new year!
I have been a big fan of Jenna Woginrich ever since I took her Chickens 101 workshop at her farm in Jackson, NY last March. She is inspiring. A 20-something, single woman living the dream. And who can resist a Joel Salatin book?
What books are you enjoying?
I have been a big fan of Jenna Woginrich ever since I took her Chickens 101 workshop at her farm in Jackson, NY last March. She is inspiring. A 20-something, single woman living the dream. And who can resist a Joel Salatin book?
What books are you enjoying?
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
A Cold Night
As the sun was setting last night, I belatedly checked the weather forcast. Temperatures were predicted to dip into the single digits. Yikes! Had I prepared the chickens for this cold snap? To boost their chances of survival during the night, I put some fresh bedding in their small coop and gave them a fresh, warm piece of cornbread. Then I stacked some thick blankets on top of the coop as a tiny bit of insulation.
When I woke up this morning, the temperature was 9F. Once the sun came up, I checked on the hens, and all four were alive and mobile.
When I woke up this morning, the temperature was 9F. Once the sun came up, I checked on the hens, and all four were alive and mobile.
Monday, January 2, 2012
New Year!
Hello everyone, and welcome to 2012!
My New Year's Eve celebration involved good food and great friends. Specifically, I learned the fine art of sausage making, starting with the ground pork and spices.
I was surprised to learn that natural casings come packed in salt and refrigerated (usually with an ice pack in the package). Before you use the casings, you must repeatedly soak and rinse them to make them more pliable and to rid them of the salt.
After the soaking, the casings get pushed onto a spout at the bottom of the sausage filling apparatus. The apparatus is a cylindrical container with a press at the top and the spout at the bottom. The filling gets scooped into the apparatus and pressed down and out into the casing. So simple!
We ended up with about six feet of delicious pork sausage that was rolled nicely.
In the above picture, the sausage is getting poked with a toothpick to release some of the moisture in the filling.
The sausage making process was fascinating, and something that I think most people could do at home. Maybe I will get a sausage stuffer and some local pork from Mockingbird Farm and make my own!
My New Year's Eve celebration involved good food and great friends. Specifically, I learned the fine art of sausage making, starting with the ground pork and spices.
I was surprised to learn that natural casings come packed in salt and refrigerated (usually with an ice pack in the package). Before you use the casings, you must repeatedly soak and rinse them to make them more pliable and to rid them of the salt.
After the soaking, the casings get pushed onto a spout at the bottom of the sausage filling apparatus. The apparatus is a cylindrical container with a press at the top and the spout at the bottom. The filling gets scooped into the apparatus and pressed down and out into the casing. So simple!
We ended up with about six feet of delicious pork sausage that was rolled nicely.
In the above picture, the sausage is getting poked with a toothpick to release some of the moisture in the filling.
The sausage making process was fascinating, and something that I think most people could do at home. Maybe I will get a sausage stuffer and some local pork from Mockingbird Farm and make my own!
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