july newsletter - a breath of fresh air!

Hey Y’all!

It’s very officially summertime and my ‘theme’ for the past couple of months has been “Fresh Air”. This is inspired by the organization of the same name (The Fresh Air Fund) that I have been doing fundraising for as a member of their team for next week’s NYC Half Marathon. Yesterday, I visited their summer camps where thousands of low-income NYC kids go on free vacations ever year, and had a blast walking around the woods, checking out the camps’ farm, singing with the campers, and watching them play carefree in the fields and lake. …And there’s no reason we can’t take that same spirit and apply it to our own summer fun!

Have a Picnic!
Picnics are one of my absolute favorite things about the warm weather. I like to invite a few friends to meet in a public park, everyone brings something to share, a blanket to sit on, their own fork from home, and it’s an instant and easy party! (Not to mention you don’t have to prepare your house for guests or do any major clean up after). Or, you can make an ordinary meal a bit more “ooh la la” special by dining by candlelight in the backyard or on the roof. (If you need some picnicspiration, try my Greenmarket Potato Salad recipe or Mark Bittman’s 101 Picnic Dishes.)

Go Raw Together!
A couple of the things I love about camp is the opportunity to try new things, make new friends, and work together. With the abundance of beautiful and delicious fresh produce in season right now, it’s a great time to experiment with new recipes. But no one wants to slave over a hot stove when it’s hot out, so try some raw or mostly raw dishes. You’ll get to play up the lovely flavors of summer produce with a minimum of sweat-inducing effort! Have a raw foods potluck, encouraging each invitee to bring a friend you haven’t met. (If you feel like getting fancy, check out recipes from Raw Food Real World).

Ride a Bicycle Made for Two!
Or, do something else you haven’t tried that can get you out and about. If you live near a lake or a river, you can probably rent or borrow a canoe, kayak, or tube and go out on the water. If you live near hills or mountains, go camping or for an early morning bird-watching hike. If it’s too hot where you live, go out for some late-night stargazing, run through the sprinkler at sunset, find an indoor ice rink, or check out a museum in town you’ve been meaning to go to. Or, if you’re stuck in the city, spend a day exploring a new neighborhood—try new foods and learn more about your neighbors! (Try TravelSkoot for ideas.)


NEWS FROM AJA
I'm Running the Half-Marathon! NEXT WEEK!!
Continuing with my running streak, I'm competing in the Nike NYC Half-Marathon next week for charity. I'm on The Fresh Air Fund’s team and I’m looking for sponsorship-- anything you can give will help to send 10,000 low-income NYC kids on summer vacations in the country.

I'm hoping to raise $1,310. Or, $100 per mile of the 13.1 mile race!
Though I think it would be great to raise a bit more- $1,600, which is the cost of sending one child on vacation. I would be really grateful for absolutely any contributions you are able to make.

You can donate online: http://freshair.kintera.org/ajamarsh
(There are also instructions there for how to donate by mail)


ANNOUNCEMENTS, etc.
In Season: It’s Wild Salmon season! It wasn’t really until last year that I realized I liked salmon. I always thought it was too fishy tasting and the texture didn’t appeal to me. Last summer, I had some really nice, slightly rare wild salmon, and oh my, what a world of difference. So if you think you don’t like salmon, I implore you to give it a try. Here’s a recipe for my Wild Salmon Burgers.

Cool Recent Blog Posts: Read about the highlights of my trip to Summer Camp, get some Green Cleaning Tips, and make some Vegan Brownies this weekend!

Guest Blogger Opportunities: I’m always looking for interested individuals to write guest blogs for Stem+Leaf about green and healthy-lifestyle related subjects, from your own perspective. No need to be an experienced writer-- just enthusiastic with something to say! Please contact me for more information.

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The day is yours—soak it up!
Aja

think less, do more: cleaning greener

A while ago, my friend Heather wrote to me, asking:
"I was wondering if some day you might give advice on how to be a "green house cleaner"--I find myself using a lot of paper towels, and I'm not sure whether it matters what cleaning products to use. How do you dispose of your waste in a green way--aside from recycling!"
A bit belatedly, I'm happy to share a few easy tips!

Without having to go the distance of making your own cleaning products (even though it's fun and super economical), let's see what we can do to make our normal routines a bit more eco-friendly.


Paper Towels
If you are using paper towels in your home, purchase ones that are unbleached and made from recycled paper. If you are looking to reduce the usage of paper towels try these tips:

for use as napkins: tear each sheet into 2 or 4 pieces-- this is probably all you'll need! or simply use washable cloth napkins.
for cleaning: switch to lint-free towels that you can use again and again, or even more economically, use pieces cut from old towels or t-shirts.

Product Recommendation: The Twist family of biodegradable cellulose and bamboo sponges and cleaning cloths are of a style that's all the rage in Europe, and are great for green cleaning. They are easy to wash and reuse again and again, but are affordable enough that they can be disposed of when no longer effective. To replace paper towels, try the Twist European Sponge Cloth.


Cleaning Products
I try to steer clear from chemical exposure as much as possible, and it's especially important to me to use non-toxic cleaning products and to keep a chemical free home. (Read more on why this is important). What you keep and use in your home affects not only whoever is using the product via exposure, but also who and whatever else is living in the home by disturbing air quality, creating chemical residues, and heightening or creating respiratory or contact allergies.
(I started realizing the importance of using natural products after logging lots of hours in commercial kitchens where I had a lot of contact with bleach and industrial strength soaps-- my hands turned to raw eczema ridden beasts! Now between wearing gloves and using only friendly products, my hands stay in a much more friendly disposition).

Many people have a whole cabinet or two devoted to various sprays, powders, scrubs, and solutions that they 'need' to keep their house clean. The easiest thing to do would be to purchase non-toxic cleaners from natural foods stores or online, or to make your own. You really only need two or three products to do most of your household cleaning. I would also recommend a non-toxic dish soap and laundry products.

Some of my favorite green cleaning products: Seventh Generation Dish Soap; Method Disinfecting Wipes; Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Laundry Detergent and Dryer Sheets


Air Fresheners
Between all the sprays, spritzes, plug-ins, and candles, we have no shortage of opportunity to make our spaces 'smell good'. But all air fresheners are not created equal and most contain perfumes and chemicals that can aggravate allergies and settle on our skin and into our bloodstreams. There are other ways to make your home smell fresh.
get some fresh air! Open windows on opposite sides of your home for a cross breeze and turn on standing or ceiling fans to encourage circulation.
simmering spices. Simmer a pot with aromatic herbs and water - cinnamon sticks, cloves, and nutmeg are lovely options. Refill with water partway through if it's getting low.
burn baby burn. Burn candles scented only with essential oils, use essential oil diffusers, or use natural incense or burning sage to cleanse the air. These products can be found online and at natural food stores.


Disposing Of Your Toxic Products
If you are interested in making the switch to green products but don't know what to do with what you have, you can of course, use them up and recycle the containers, or pass the partially used products off to an organization with limited resources that could make use of them. If you would prefer to dispose of them, read the labels to see if there are any special disposal instructions, and also consult your local hazardous waste department-- I would resist the urge to dump them down the sink, because despite filtration and water cleaning systems, it's still likely that some of that will make their way into our waterways. Here's a site with a few suggestions.

Recommendation: Green-Kits can get you started with a Green Cleaning Kit with all of the products you'll need!


Make Your Own!
I've started making my own cleaning supplies and it's fun how cheap and easy it is! And you could get away with just having white vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice on hand and clean just about every surface in your house, but you can get a little fancier and make your own mixes to keep on hands, add some essential oils, like lavender or tea tree, for anti-bacterial and good-smelling benefits. Here's a guide to making the switch to natural products and a few easy make-at-home ideas.

A few other websites with 'recipes' for making your own natural cleaning products:
25 Non-Toxic, Homemade Cleaning Supplies; Recipes for Homemade Cleaning Products; Non-Toxic Home Cleaning


Waste Not, Want Not
As far as trash and recycling goes, well, it's a big issue. The easiest solution is to purchase fewer packaged items, and when you do try to purchase items that are packed in recyclable containers. Keep the old 'reduce, reuse, recycle' adage in mind, and you'll probably find new solutions everyday!

Reduce. When it comes to cleaning products, by using cloth towels and reducing paper towel usage, that's a big help, but you can also usually buy cleaning supplies in larger containers and use those to refill the smaller containers you already have. You can also streamline the products you have and limit it to just a few, and that will help, too.

Reuse containers as much as possible to store bulk food-- bring them with you to the bulk aisle and save the life of a container that way! Or use them in other creative ways throughout the house. Also check with after-school centers, churches, schools, and other organizations in your neighborhood to see if they can use them for craft projects or other activities. Reuse and repurpose other things around the house too-- jam jars become containers for bulk grains or drinking glasses, a water bottle can be cut and used as a funnel, office paper can be reprinted on, or flipped over and cut into quarters, stapled and used as notepads.

Recycle. Recycling paper, cardboard, plastic, and metal is of course, a great option to reduce what is sent to the landfill, but also be sure that you are following the recycling restrictions for your area, and know what can and cannot go into the bin. (Hard plastic lids, for example, are not usually curbside recyclable; and the tetra-pack containers that rice milk and other beverages often come in are regrettably not recyclable either). In NYC, the Park Slope Food Co-op accepts recyclable items from the community that cannot be picked up curbside. In Austin, Ecology Action of Texas accepts a wide range of recyclable material and also can help you find other centers.

Compost. Food scraps account for a large portion of our daily trash output, but you can save produce and other food scraps and compost them in your yard in a pile or special bin, in your house (with a worm bin), or take them to a local farm, farmstand, or community garden who will probably be more than happy to take them off your hands. Do a little looking around in your area and you'll probably find a way. Since I've started collecting scraps to drop off to the LES Ecology Center's table at the Greenmarket, I've noticed a 50% reduction in what I throw out. Sometimes more. And I can feel happy that the scraps will turn into a fantastic and nutrient-filled earth that can make plants grow stronger and make a new round of produce tastier!

You can actually compost quite a lot of things, but it really depends on where you're composting it and what it's being used for. Community gardens, farms, and other recipients of your food scraps will each have their own set of 'do's and don'ts', so if you're not composting for yourself, you should check what they allow.


Where to Buy
If you have a Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, or other natural foods store nearby, you'll definitely be able to find these green products. Many regular grocery stores and big stores like Target are carrying many of these products too. If you want to save some money and/or don't have easy access to stores that stock these products, buy in bulk and/or split big orders with friends or neighbors, by purchasing directly from the company or another online retailer like Amazon.com.

If you're making your own, you can purchase extra large bags of baking soda for $4 at large grocery or wholesale stores, lemons are available at every grocery store, and white vinegar is only about $1.50 a gallon. If we could only say the same for gas...


Have you tried any make-at-home products or are there any other tips you'd like to share or get more info about? I'd love to know-- post a comment!

Chef Aja T. Marsh News - June Newsletter

Hello Friends!

Summer is finally here and it actually feels like it up here in New York, and everyone seems happier and smiley, which is contagious! The Greenmarket is getting very colorful with the first of the harvest: strawberries, sugar snap peas, herbs and greens of all kinds, tomatoes, rhubarb, and new potatoes! I personally, am really looking forward to doing some canning and pickling this summer. I've never done it before, and I'm super excited about the adventure-- stay tuned to Stem+Leaf for those developments! (If you are an experienced, or aspiring, canner-- I'd love to hear from you!)

Canning and pickling are a just a couple of ways to stretch today's dollars into meals for the weeks and months to come. In the wake of the steady rise of food, fuel, and utilities prices, there is no better time to look into other ways to cut and reduce overall costs...

Shop at your local Farmers' Market
With exception to prepared and baked goods, I haven't noticed a big increase in food prices at the farmers' markets. Sure, prices often seem higher than at the grocery store, but they more accurately reflect the cost of growing food and help to pay farmers' a living wage. Market prices are reasonable, and you know what you're getting is super-fresh, and didn't have to be shipped across the country, or around the world, to get to your plate. Most markets can provide you with most of the produce you need as well as meats, breads, cheeses, milk, eggs, and condiments-- usually at a superior quality to what you find at the grocery store.
Don't know if you have a Farmers' Market near you? Check here.

Buy in Bulk
While prices in basic commodities like grains and beans may have gone up, it is still cheaper to buy in bulk than it is to buy individually packaged items. Most health food stores have a self- or assisted-serve bulk section where you can load up on basic pantry items, cereals, cooking oils, and sweeteners. Many stores also have a bulk beauty section, with cut-your-own soap, bath salts, and other body products. One-up it, and bring in your own re-usable containers (or re-use your plastic bags from the last time) when you fill up-- this will save you a step when you get home!

Re-use Your Bags
Plastic bags are produced with petroleum products, which we all know are in short (and expensive) supply. By re-using the plastic bags you've already accumulated, and/or using fabric bags to carry your goods to and from the market, grocery store, big box shop, or just for lugging things to and fro, you will help to decrease the demand for the plastic bags! And many stores even give you money back for each bag you re-use! For city-life, I love totes that have a strap long enough to hang from my shoulder-- makes schlepping around town with my groceries a breeze!
Check the right hand side of this page for links to retailers who sell reusable bags!

Carpool, Walk, Bike, and Use Public Transportation
Gas is now over $4/gallon in most parts of the country. I'm still pretty young and I remember when it was 99 cents. Driving less is one thing, but there is probably more you can do to reduce your use of gasoline-- which will help both your wallet, and the air you breathe! Look into neighborhood carpools, or take turns carpooling to the grocery store, etc. with friends and family. Plan your errands to be done in one outing to maximize your time. See if you can 'Park and Ride' to city destinations, parking near a bus route, and taking the bus most of the way. Walk or bike as much as you can, when you can. Instead of having to fit a work-out into your day, make your commute the workout by jogging to or from work or your carpool.


NEWS FROM AJA
I'm Running the Half-Marathon!
That's 13.1 miles! Continuing with my running streak, I'm competing in the Nike NYC Half-Marathon next month for charity.

I'm on The Fresh Air Fund's team and am looking for sponsorship-- anything you can give will help to send 10,000 low-income NYC kids on summer vacations in the country. This is a super-cool organization, and I'm excited to be involved.

I'm hoping to raise $1,310. Or, $100 per mile!
Though I think it would be great to raise a bit more- $1,600, which is the cost of sending one child on a great summer vacation. I would be really grateful for absolutely any contributions you are able to make-- every little bit can and does make a difference

You can donate online!
My donations page is: http://freshair.kintera.org/ajamarsh
(There are also instructions there for how to donate by mail)


ANNOUNCEMENTS, etc.
Now More Recipes: Keep an eye out here on the blog-- I'm gearing up to post a bunch of recipes, that will carry on throughout the next few months at least. Now that I'm moved and settling in, and the Greenmarket is so inspiring, I anticipate a lot more on-the-fly recipes to share.

Guest Blogger Opportunities: I am always looking for interested individuals to write guest blogs for Stem+Leaf about green and healthy-lifestyle related subjects, or maybe you have a great summer recipe to share, from your own perspective. No need to be an experienced writer-- just enthusiastic with something to say! Please contact me for more information.

Breathe in the sunshine and be grateful for the day!

"putting meat in its place" and a few other read-worthy articles

Usually I post recent read-worthy articles and timely websites on the right hand side of this page, but I wanted to more specifically highlight these few.

Most notably, Mark Bittman's "Putting Meat Back in Its Place," which ran in yesterday's New York Times, very simply and practically breaks down how to eat less meat. This article is the real reason for this post-- read it!!

Banking on Gardening: More and more people are turning to gardening as a way to save money in the wake of rising food and fuel prices, and a bumpy economy. While the impetus for many is to stave off financial struggle over food, the knowledge that more people are growing their own food brings me great joy inside! I only wish that this were more feasible for me in my dark yardless Brooklyn apartment. I keep those yearnings at bay with very frequent farmers' market visits, and I'm planning to can this year (the excitement builds)!

If you're like me and only just heard about the tomato issues plaguing the country right now (what? I've been out of the loop for a couple of days), here's a Times Topic: Tomatoes page to help catch you up on the most recent developments, what you should be concerned with, and what's being done about it.

recipe: roasted greenmarket potato salad

I made this the other night, while packing my bags for a flight the next morning. Knowing I'd be out of town for a week, I stopped acquiring groceries, but I still had a few things sitting in the fridge, most prominently, a bag of little potatoes I picked up a week or two before at the farmers' market.

I was just going to roast them up with olive oil, salt and pepper and call it a day, but then I thought, "hmm, let's make a potato salad." So I did. And now you can too.

Recipe: Roasted Greenmarket Potato Salad
1 lb. small local potatoes, rinsed, skin-on
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or as needed
salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:
1 tablespoon vegan mayonnaise or extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice (probably 1 lemon)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 teaspoon fresh)
salt and pepper to taste

Add-ins to Salad:
1 hardboiled Happy Chicken Farm egg, diced (optional)
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
1 small to medium shallot, sliced thin (could substitute chives, scallions or ramps)

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F.
2. In a bowl, toss together the potatoes, olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast for about 20 minutes or until brown. Remove and set aside to cool, try not to eat too many.
3. Meanwhile, mix the dressing ingredients until emulsified. Adjust for seasonings.
4. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in half and mix in with the dressing until coated. Stir in the add-ins. Adjust for seasoning.
5. Allow to sit for a few minutes so the potatoes soak up some of the dressing, or cover and chill until you're ready to eat it. Will last a few days in the refrigerator and is tasty room temperature or cold.


This is a great dish to take to a potluck or picnic, and is super-easy to boot!

recipe: fiddlehead ferns two ways

So I did it. I overcame my unnecessary anxiety of fiddlehead ferns. I conquered it by cleaning, cooking, and eating them. Two ways.

These Northeastern treats are the shoots of the ostrich fern, and need to be cooked or marinated overnight to be safe for eating. Their season is only a couple of weeks and very nearly over by now, but because their taste and texture is most closely akin to asparagus, these recipes would go nicely with that as well!

After going though my bag of ferns, discarding ones that were unseemly, trimming the ends, and removing any of the brown papery chaff from the outside, I gave them a water bath with two changes of water, and boiled them for about 5 minutes, until they were tender, drained them, and then made this:

Recipe: Fiddlehead Ferns in Warm Lemon-Garlic-Dijon Dressing

2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pint fiddlehead ferns, cooked
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, combine the garlic, mustard, lemon juice, and olive oil until warmed through and well mixed. Turn off the heat.

2. Toss in the fiddlehead ferns to coat and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or allow to cool and eat cold or room temperature.

I ate this alongside some brown rice pasta with red sauce. Yum!


Recipe: Fiddlehead Ferns with Ginger, Sesame, and Shoyu

1 teaspoon organic canola or extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
pinch red chili flakes (optional)
5 thinly sliced rounds of ginger, or 1 teaspoons grated ginger
1/2 pint fiddlehead ferns, cooked
1 tablespoon shoyu or tamari
1 teaspoon black or white sesame seeds

1. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, warm the two oils, chili flakes (if using), and ginger. Add in the ferns and the shoyu. Mix until heated through. Remove from heat and toss in the sesame seeds. Serve immediately or allow to cool and enjoy in a salad.


The consensus? Well, they're good. Maybe more interesting to look at than to eat. They're not life-changing, certainly, but I think for me, it became more about just doing it. Less thinking, more doing, right?

an impassioned book review and reaction: 'in defense of food' by michael pollan

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto is the second Michael Pollan book I've read, after reading The Omnivore's Dilemma last year, and well, I think I'm in love, and I'm not the only one.

He's done it again! I love his writing style-- full of facts, but casually written, so there's not much that goes over your head. I feel like every other page (at least), I am wanting to take notes, highlight, or find a scrap of paper to mark the page-- I borrowed this copy from the library and read it almost exclusively on the subway, and found myself tearing up receipts to tag pages for future reference. This book is much easier to get through than Dilemma, at only 200 pages in a paperback sized, easy-read format.

With "Eat food. Not much. Mostly plants." as his mantra, Pollan discusses American's and 'nutritionism', the difficulties of finding real food in the supermarkets, the consequences of the Western diet, and how we can do something not only to shape our own lives and health, but also to change the view and use of real food in this country. I was excited when one of his sections began "Eat food: Food defined," because I've previously discussed (food vs. not food), we now have to decode the food products we find in the supermarkets in order to determine what's fit to eat. It's not so simple as it should be. (Or as it actually is when you got to the farmer's market). He argues that the biggest detriment to our health as Americans is the Western diet we ascribe to.

"...two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, that fully a quarter of us have metabolic syndrome, that fifty-four million have prediabetes, and that the incidence of type 2 diabetes has rise 5 percent annually since 1990, going from 4 percent to 7.7 percent of the adult population (that’s more than twenty million Americans)..."

Part way through the book, a few days ago, I read the above passage and a few additional pages focusing on obesity and diabetes on the train, on my way to my favorite natural foods store (Commodities, in the East Village), I stood outside in the rain and called my mom, 'impassioned and frustrated! passionately frustrated!' about how I was mad and annoyed and crazy over how so many people, including many in my extended family, let their health slip away so carelessly, when there's more than enough to be said for eating well (or better, at least) and for living actively. As I vented to her, breathlessly, I wanted to immediately do something, but what? In that moment, I wanted to shake my aunts, uncles, cousins, strangers by the shoulder, give them a slap or something to wake them up, call them out, make them accountable. I imagined myself storming into their houses, having them run around the block while I emptied out their kitchen of all of the 'not foods'. I imagined gathering them all and serving them a feast of whole and healthy foods-- brown rice, kale, aduki beans, oh my! I don't feel right knowing all I do, feeling like I do, and idly standing by, helping those who will hire me or else easily listen. I think there is a bigger difference to be made.

"In the end, they are only theories, scientific explanations for an empirical phenomenon that is not itself in doubt: people eating a Western diet are prone to a complex of chronic diseases that seldom strike people eating more traditional diets. Scientists can argue all they want about the biological mechanisms behind this phenomenon, but whichever it is, the solution to the problem would appear to remain very much the same: stop eating a Western diet."

And it's easier said than done, I'm sure, but I gotta try. Who's with me?

Pollan has also written a bevy of articles for the NYT, many of which are excerpted, or mini-versions of topics from his books.

the market is alive with the smell of spring

By Wednesday of this week, I'd already been to the Union Square Greenmarket shortly after opening hour three times in one week. And I have to say, as I don't usually go that early, there really is something to be said for getting there in the early morning. All of the produce is glistening and beautifully displayed, not at all picked over or wilted, and the market is fairly quiet. Everything looks perfect and you want it all. I can't express enough how much I love going to the farmer's market, even when I don't buy anything, so if my reward for waking up early is getting to explore food, well, I am down with that. It's a happy way to start my day.

That being said, even though the weather has been a little too cold for my likes, springtime produce is here and in full-swing! Stored apples and potatoes are winding down, asparagus and ramps are still abundant, but probably not for much longer. First of the season strawberries and cherry tomatoes, lots and lots of herbs and baby greens and bitter greens, radishes, rhubarb and even some raspberries are brightening up the stalls.


And here in the Northeast we're in the middle of the very short fiddlehead fern season. Every year, I see them and honestly, while they are fascinating and quite beautiful visually, I get a little afraid of them, not sure why, maybe it's because they look a little alien. I just want someone to make them and put them in front of me to eat, so I can get over it. Well, I forget that I'm the more adventurous cook of most of the people in my social circle, so I figured it's up to me. So I did it. I bought them. I haven't cooked them yet, but be sure to check in a day or two to see what I created. No sense in getting anxious over a cute spiraled wild , right? I'd much rather be excited! Today I also picked up some yummy red spinach, baby head lettuce, and some fingerling potatoes.

So I implore you Stem+Leaf-ers to grab your canvas tote and get your booty over to the greenmarket and see what spring in your area has in store for you! Pick up something new, and tell me what you thought of it!

think less, do more: turning over new 'leaves,' or, the girl with the healthy reputation

I spent the first few days of this week working 9-6 in an office of a colleague. I'm not really a 9-6 or really an office kind of girl, in general, but I wanted to make the best of it. In the spirit of my recent dedication to stop being late, I committed myself to waking up much earlier and... going to the gym. I'm not really a gym morning person, or okay, much of a morning person in general, but I can oddly muster up the energy and desire when there's a deadline looming. But why subject myself to the early rise? Well once I considered the benefits (missing rush-hour traffic on the train, streets, and gym; having the evening free to relax; and starting the work-day off energized instead of sluggish), I stopped thinking about it and decided just to do it, and get over the feeling that waking up early was self-punishment.

Not only that, but because of my quasi-fear of growing bored, or worse yet hungry, while trapped in an office with only mediocre over-priced food awaiting in the streets below, I also each night prepared an enviable cargo of lunch and snack items: homemade salt-and-pepper popcorn (yes, as in, I made it in a pot), brown basmati with peas, cashews, garlic, lemon, and turmeric, Dr. Kracker seeded spelt crackers (they're from Texas!), soy yogurt and Ezekiel sprouted grain cereal (I love this stuff, it's similar to grape nuts, only sugar-free, organic, and overall healthier. It's the only cold cereal I'll eat now), mixed nuts, and fresh fruit.

Packing them all in various reusable containers and tucked into my canvas tote, I smiled at this image, thinking that 'Hey! These new people at the office are going to create this reputation of me' as being, if not just particularly thrifty, then totally living up to assumed expectations of my 'natural foods chef' title. With fresh market goods, organic green tea, refillable water bottle at my side, and a note to register for the upcoming half-marathon in my planner, I sat at my desk and thought, 'This is a reputation I would really like to have.' So now that I'm finally doing some of the things I've been wanting to do more often (bring my own lunch, compost, use home-made green cleaning solutions), I'm figuring out how else to best live up to my own created idea of what my reputation should be.

Having just moved, I am using the opportunity to implement more overall green practices than I have in the past. I am using all-green cleaners (yesterday I cleaned the bathroom entirely with different combinations of baking soda, an all-purpose vinegar and water spray, and a little dr. bronner's). One of the ones I'm most excited about is composting. I have done this off and on before, especially when I am doing a lot of cooking at one time, I'll save all the food scraps in a bag and take them to the compost drop-off at the Greenmarket. However, now that I have sufficient freezer space (where I store the scraps) and dedication, I am collecting acceptable food scraps and dropping them off once a week. I hope my roommates begin to feel inclined to participate as well! I mean hey, I know I make a lot of easy-to-do suggestions on here, but I also realize it's not always feasible to do it all at once, if it all, and I'm not excluded! So making the at-home composting commitment feels good!


On Wednesday morning, after the gym I breezed through the market and picked up a multi-grain roll from Bread Alone to go along with the Mediterranean tuna salad and market baby greens I'd brought from home. Whenever possible, I prefer to use real plates, bowls, and glasses-- I think it makes every dining experience significant and intentional-- and at lunchtime, I made myself this cute little meal and sat down and enjoyed it.

recipe: Mediterranean tuna salad
I don't really like 'traditional' over-mayonaised tuna salads, and while this one has a touch of vegenaise (you could use regular canola mayo), it's totally optional, I just like it for added moisture and consistency when I use it for a sandwich. Use whatever vegetables you have on-hand, but the olive and sundried tomatoes are most important in keeping with the Mediterranean style. This salad mix works really well just atop fresh salad greens, which is how I usually have it, generally substituting olive oil for the mayo.

Makes 2-3 Servings

1 6 oz. can solid tuna*, drained
1-2 tablespoons vegenaise, mayonnaise, or extra virgin olive oil (optional)
4 halves sundried tomatoes, chopped
1-2 tablespoons chopped olives (whatever kind you like)
1/4 cup chunked artichoke hearts
1 roasted red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup cucumber, sliced or diced
1/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 clove raw garlic, minced (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs (lemon thyme, thyme, oregano, basil, parsley, etc.)
juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon
mixed salad greens of your choice
salt and pepper to taste

If you're intending to make a sandwich, simply mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl, eat immediately or cover and refrigerate. Keeps up to 5 days.

If you're making this to top salad greens with, I like to marinate the tuna in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper while I prepare the other ingredients. Arrange your lettuce in a bowl, top with desired amount tuna mixture and prepared vegetables.

Enjoy!

*As I don't eat much fish or meat, and concerned with mercury and sustainable fishing practices, I exclusively use American Tuna as they are a small multi-family run business out of California that only pole-catches Albacore tuna, and they consistently score well below standard mercury-levels, and they keep their product simple, which I appreciate.

plastic bag police!

There are some days when I am especially aware and notice every person passing by or sitting in my subway car that is carrying a plastic bag, or as more often the case, multiple bags. When I am feeling especially impassioned, I count how many bags in comparison to people. And then there are the people at the grocery store putting a bunch of bananas in a plastic produce bag. Or an apple. Or a couple of onions. What?!
I just. Don't. Get. It.

It drives me insane. I am almost always fighting the urge to explode in someone's face (as nicely as possible, of course), chastising them for the plastic bag in their hand that is holding one t-shirt or paperback book, or for the produce that is unnecessarily in a bag in their shopping cart. 'What are you DOING?!' I want to ask. Or maybe, more what I want to do, is blast some sort of wonky siren and embarrass the ne'er-do-well-er on the street, spouting off some facts about how plastic bags (and well, plastic in general) are giving us cancer, choking cute baby animals, leeching chemicals into our soil and water, and just being generally unaesthetic (in your hand, on the land). Plastic bag police! It might make for good poli-social performance art though...

We use plastic bags and the like so much, it becomes a completely unconscious consumption. Almost as if the thought of plastic bags not existing at all would be impossible to swallow. Awhile back, my now former roommate made an interesting observation-- the vendors at our heralded farmer's markets are often overly quick to put your purchases in a plastic bag for you. You've looked down for a quick moment to grab your wallet, and swoosh! all of your produce has been deftly tossed in a bag or two. I usually make my tote visible and/or say 'I don't need a bag' as I hand over the goods to be weighed, and I do see lots and lots of people using their own bag at the market (just another reason why the Greenmarket is my 'happy place'). And all of the Whole Foods in the country are now plastic-bag free (except in the produce department), so the whole choice of 'paper or plastic' is now more like 'your own bag? oh. no? well, we sell an assorted bunch of snazzy ones ranging from $1 to $30. but we will otherwise begrudgingly, but with a smile, pack your goods into a 100% recycled paper bag.'

And I have heard entirely too many excuses from people saying 'Oh, well they put my stuff in a bag before I had a chance to say I didn't need one.' Yeah, that's nice. TAKE IT OUT OF THE BAG and kindly leave the bag there and say 'I brought my own' or 'I don't need a bag'. This surprises and befuddles some cashiers, and sometimes I emphasize my point by saying 'I'm trying to reduce the amount of packaging I use.' I promise you, if you do this enough, everywhere you shop-- grocery stores, clothing stores, book stores, etc., you will not only get more in the habit of bringing and using your own bags, but you will also influence store employees and managers, and maybe even teach someone something new along the way.

So maybe you think I'm up here on my repurposed sustainable lumber soapbox making big noise over something that's 'not a big deal.' But I believe that we must all realize everything we do makes a difference and has consequences. One person makes a difference. One household makes a difference. You, YOU make a difference. So it's 'just saying no' to plastic (and paper) bags today, and it's another step tomorrow.

I hardly have any plastic bags in my house. Or paper ones for that matter. I try not even to use baggies (or I often wash and re-use them when I do). I am 95% a-okay with this, until the time comes when I need to transport my grungy kitchen clogs to an event, or throw wet items into, or help someone take leftovers home, and then I'm scrambling around improvising. But I can live with that so long as I know I'm doing my part. Are you doing yours?


FYI:If you have an excess of plastic bags sitting around your house, most Whole Foods, Central Market, and conventional grocery stores have bins near the doors for plastic bag recycling-- for shopping, produce, and newspaper delivery bags. I know the Whole Foods at Union Square in NYC employs a sort of 'have a bag, leave a bag; need a bag, take a bag' system, so if you do need a plastic bag for some reason, you could just take what you needed.