groceries – Page 3

Organic Follow-Up

Back in May, Dave and I started to make some strides in our attempt to go organic in our eating. Here it is, almost 2 months later, so I thought I’d update ya on how it’s gone. You’re welcome. 😉

Anyhoo, for real, I think we’ve done pretty well. We’re eating several all-organic meals a week, at least one meatless dinner (at times lunches and breakfasts, too), and most of our other meals include some organic ingredients or from-the-garden goodies. As you saw in my last post our lettuce has been growing like nuts (or would it be…like weeds? Not sure how fast nuts grow…), so we’ve been using a lot of that, as well as our parsley, rosemary and basil. I’ve turned to shopping pretty much 90% at Hannaford, which isn’t always cost-effective, but it definitely helps me make better organic choices. However, I don’t want it to sound like it’s been expensive — I still grab the occasional “less dirty” foods from Aldi (and on sale at Hannaford), and we are incredibly conscientious about what we’re buying. It’s been, overall, wonderful.

We’ve been to several farmers markets, but honestly I’d LOVE to utilize them more. The summer’s just gotten away from me! I’m also doing more research on investing in a CSA for next year, especially for our local meats and poultry.

HOWEVER, what I’ve REALLY been doing a lot of research in is the rest of greendom — figuring out how to lessen our footprint, bulk up our health quotient, and get into the green habit for our future kiddies. So, while I feel like it’s a slow process, I’m truly enjoying learning new ways to live greener.

Some future goals? Oh, of course, you know I’ll share them — and get back to you when we haven’t accomplished them completely, hee hee:
– Future renovation projects will be green-minded: For example, low- or no-VOC stain when we refinish/have our floors refinished (and using natural fiber throw rugs when it’s done).
– Collect rainwater for garden watering.
– Think through the stuff we grow in the garden next year — and start canning for winter. (This Irish girl is GOING to grow potatoes. Stubborn? Yes.)
– Finish up replacing our windows — BUT finding creative ways to use the leftover window frames. I’ve got ideas a-flowin’! Can’t wait.
– Antiquing, antiquing, antiquing. Oh, and Salvation Army & Craigslist searching. 😀
– Buying eco-friendly cleaning products or making our own.
– Purchasing sustainable clothes — and other fabrics.
– I’ve gotta learn how to eco-design.
– Buying a hybrid after one of our cars kick the bucket.
– Hand-wash more often
– Soooo many more…

What are we already doing?
– From Day One here at the Crooked House, Dave used energy efficient lightbulbs. Check!
– We’re using more eco-friendly bath supplies, a low-flow toilet and showerhead, and are going to get into the habit of flushing less (don’t make me explain further — just #1, though). Check!
– Saving up for Energy Star appliances, when it’s time to replace what we’ve got now. Oh, and before that day comes, we only wash a full load — and I’m trying to use the clothesline as much as possible.
– While it’s gotten a little water-logged lately, I’m hoping to amend my compost pile to be used in next year’s planting. Check!
– Boy, do we have a lot of hand-me-downs, whether we like ’em or not. Check!
– Water filter + stainless steel water bottles = Check!
– Growing our own salads (among other things)! Check!

Hey. BTW. “B” (as I call him, along with Boo) eats organic — and he LOVES it. When we gave him the new organic crunchies, he turned his nose up at the old wet stuff — which was organic, too. Let’s hope the kids follow suit! 🙂

Cooperstown Farmers’ Market – Our First F.M. Adventure of the Year

Although the weather forecast seemed doomed, Dave bouncily suggested that we head to our first farmers’ market of the year – in Cooperstown. With all that enthusiasm, how could I possibly say, “What, no cozy, “stay in and clean” day?” Plus, I already knew that it’s one of the area’s only indoor markets — it’s open every other Saturday throughout the winter, with normal hours the rest of the year. After hearing some great things about it, and with such an eager partner in tow, we left beneath a steady stream of chilly rain.

Strangely enough, by the time we reached the baseball rhetoric-riddled Main Street, the sun had taken over and our jackets were unnecessary. It made the short walk toward the barn-like structure used for the market incredibly quaint, especially with other locals and travelers meandering their way with grocery store reusable bags and homemade baskets in tow. The vendors were overflowing to outside its doors, which we saw as a good sign.

Compared to the, admittedly, only other farmers’ market I can recall attending, it was kind of sparse. I’m sure the local ones I’ll start attending next week will be teeny-weeny, so I’m not necessarily complaining about it. There were plenty of vendors, several with the same goods (which we LOVE — it makes it easy to compare prices), mostly incredibly friendly and willing to talk. However, several of the goods were pretty irrelevant to us — tie-dyed shorts, anyone? And there were only a couple vegetable vendors, each with few items we could actually choose from.

Having worked on a dairy farm and lived in a quasi-rural area my whole life, I’m not ignorant about the reasons I wasn’t overwhelmed by lush and plentiful goodies at the CFM. I know. We’re still pretty much off-season. And, I knew that when Dave asked me to go, wide-eyed. Mostly, I wanted to see what the place was about, what the farmers and artisans and cheese-makers were like, and whether it truly is worth it to schlep 45 minutes away for locally-grown goods. There arises a paradox: If you’re going to release your fossil fuel into the atmosphere with a 1 1/2 hour round-trip to get organic, locally-grown goods which are good for you and the environment, is it really equaled-out?

Mind you, it was a wonderful drive (other than for the occasional rain shower) and we did get our first-ever free-range multi-colored XL eggs, Amish cheddar cheese (INCREDIBLE!), very well-priced European-style yogurt and some homemade, environmentally-friendly soaps (all well-thought-out and exciting purchases) as well as a side-trip to visit the ducks at the Fly Creek Cider Mill.

And, as far as the quandary is concerned, I say we still hit the ball out of the park (I do spend too much time at Cooperstown! We’d live there if we could! – not for the baseball). While we used up some gas, we got a great overview of what to expect when the yields REALLY start coming in. I foresee perhaps visiting the CFM once a month while supplementing the occasional CSA and local farmers’ markets more regularly, but it’s definitely not only a great resource for healthy, sustainable goodies, but an always-needed excuse to get away for part of a day.

***I realized after I wrote this that I’d taken a bit of a novelistic approach. Perhaps a slightly-more-sophisticated version of Donna Thompson *cringe*? (If you’re local, you know what that means.) Just a thought.***

First Meatless Monday

Yesterday, I received a cheerful, super-excited email from Dave with a link to a CNN article about meatless Mondays. While this concept is nothing new — especially both growing up Catholic (which made Fridays the meatless days rather than Mondays) — and Paul McCartney, among others, have been doing it for awhile — it’s new to us. Or, at least, a new idea to try. So, we made a couple of large salads and ate plenty of pasta with veggie-laden tomato sauce. Oh, all while watching the 3rd installment of our Netflixed Ken Burns’ “Jazz”. Fun night!

So, after one day of it, what do I think? So far, it didn’t feel like anything different. I think that if we went vegetarian for a few days a week, it’d be much more noticeable. But, we were still excited to be making an effort and, in a way, feel like we’re part of a bigger “movement” — although we’re not ones to be categorized (especially politically, and particularly since Dave takes his news job very seriously) or do things because a group is doing them. 🙂

Last Sunday, we did some shopping at Hannaford to start our process, from buying their bulk corn meal and raw sugar to picking up some great fruits and veggies. It’s hitting the pocketbook pretty hard, but it’s not getting us down. Oh, I even got some organic shampoo and soap, which Dave loooooves the smell of — I’m getting used to it. 😉

I’m now off to research soap-making. I find myself getting distracted by about a million different things to research, from safe cosmetics to Earth-friendly cleaning products, when I’m suddenly hit with “get simple about it — look up historic ways of doing this” to stay true to my historical interests and to avoid overdoing things. Thanks for checking in! Things are definitely going very well and even bringing Dave and I closer and closer together.

By the way, check out Dave’s blog, Dave’s Path to Enlightenment, where you can follow his thoughts while reading and learning more about the how to incorporate Buddhist concepts into his everyday life.