yes, i pee in a bucket

The next couple of posts will be about some things we can all do to reduce our consumptive lifestyle and help out our environment a bit. They could also save our economy. Maybe.
I will start off in:
The Bathroom
Act 1: The Toilet

There are many ways to cut down on toilet excess. Some of these are only for the hardcore eco-warrior who is not afraid of their bodily functions.

Something basic: fill an empty water bottle/condiment bottle/something similar with water and screw the lid on tight. place this in the toilet tank to displace water. you could also use a brick. this is an easy way to make your toilet 'low flow'.

Something easy: follow the golden rule- if it's yellow, be mellow; if it's brown, flush it down. it's up to your own discretion how many times you use the toilet before you flush it. it is NOT necessary to flush every time you urinate, but it is wasteful. you'll also cut down on your water bill.

Something challenging: cut up an old towel into smallish squares- maybe 4x4 inches. use these instead of toilet paper. keep a bag by the toilet to throw the used squares in. come laundry day, simply throw the towel squares into the wash. again, it's up to your own discretion how far you're willing to go with this. it may only be good for "#1". this will cut back on your toilet paper consumption- meaning it saves trees, fossil fuels, and your money.

Something hardcore: the pee bucket. instead of using the toilet to urinate in, have a designated bucket/tupperware container/jar/etc that you use to collect your urine. you may be asking -"um, WHY!?!". well, for your garden. either pour it in the compost and cover with leaves or dilute the urine (about 10:1 water to urine) with water and use it to water your garden with. Your plants will love the extra nitrogen, however- DO NOT get this nitro fix mix directly on your plants. it can burn the leaves, and it is not advisable to pee on your food for health reasons. but carefully watering the ROOTS of your plants can provide them with the nitrogen they need, and the plant is able to filter out harmful stuff, if any. if you live in an apartment, this may not be an option for you. i understand.

Something alternative: a hand-held bidet. these nifty little sprayers attach to your toilet and eliminate the need for toilet paper altogether. now whether it's better to use water or paper depends on the extent of your local watershed. (WHAT?!? basically, the water features/water availability in your area- like annual rainfall, springs, aquifers, etc.) so this option might not be ideal for areas suseptible to drought.
here are some links to sites that specialize in all kinds hand-held sprayers: www.sanicare-hand-bidets.com
www.bidet.com
www.bidetspray.com

warm and cozy

i thought this was kinda neat because the wasp is visible in the spider's cocoon.

watermelon boat

due to recent raccoon invasions, swamp monster and friend have started patrolling the murky waters of the fish pond.

lavender tea wand

another post that i meant to write a month or so ago.....
this is easier to make than you would think.
gather 12 or so stems of lavender, cutting them far down the stem, and a few leaves of other herbs you think would blend well (lemon balm, mints, chamomile, lemon verbena, pineapple sage.....).

take up the stems of lavender and hold them just beneath the flower heads.

wrap one stem twice around the others, and then slip the end of the stem through the wrapped parts. this ties all the stems together.

stick the collected leaves into the lavender flower heads.

then, take a single stem and fold it up, and repeat with the others. when done, the stems should enclose the flowers and leaves. push the flower heads behind the stems if they are sticking out, and adjust the stems as needed.

take a single stem, one that is somewhat pliable, and wrap it two or three times around the other stems. then, like before, slip the end of the stem through it's wrapped area, effectively knotting it into place.

the tea wand can be used right away (good for a couple of mugs of tea) or hung in a cool dry place for later use.

how, you too, can grow your own strawberry army

if you grow stawberries in pots, you may have noticed that they send out shoots with little clumps of leaves on the end. these adventure seeking shoots quest for any amount of soil to claim as their new home- be it another potted plant's soil or a neaby plot of dirt. these shoots also make it very easy to propagate strawberry plants, so that the next year your strawberry bounty will double, triple, or even- quadruple! first off, fill a flat with soil. place it next to your strawberry plant(s), and bury the shoots shallowly in the soil. do this if you have a lot of shoots.

if you only have one or two shoots you may wish to bury the shoots in individual pots.

do NOT cut the umbilical cord from the mother plant. time for that kind of mutilation later. water the shoots for a couple of weeks, this allows them time to establish a strong root system in the soil. you can test out the roots after two weeks by GENTLY tugging on the leaves. if they have a good grip on the soil they are ready to be cut loose. simply fill a pot with soil, cut the umbilical cord, and transplant the strawberry start into the new pot. water well, and keep in the dappled shadows for a day. if you buried your shoot in a pot at the first step, all that is required of you is cutting the cord.
you are now well on your way to your very own strawberry army. (for this super thrifty plant pot option, i take home large cans from work....larger than most ceramic pots and free!)

(warning: keep them away from other plants as they will send their shoots over and take over.....)

utensil hanging board

i guess i've been in a creative mood lately.....

newly improved recipe box

yeah, so i'm pretty proud of this.......

stuffed squash blossoms

i've been meaning to post this for, oh....a month or so now.....

this was my first time eating (and making) stuffed squash blossoms. i think the recipe needs some work, but it was still fun to make. these tasted better chilled rather than warm straight from the over. next time i would like to make a more 'classic' stuffed blossom with some sort of ground beef sub.
ingredients:
10 squash blossoms, rinsed
1/2 lb./block of tofu
5 chives
3-4 basil tops (the small cluster of 4 or 5 leaves at the top....)
1 small sprig of rosemary
1 sprig of oregano
2 sprigs of thyme (all our herbs come fresh from the garden, so that's how i measure them- by sprigs and tops and stems....)
1-2 tablespoons soymilk, more if necessary
salt and pepper to taste

after you have picked and rinsed the blossoms (generally you want to pick the male blossoms, check underneath the flower to make sure there is no fruit) place them stem down in a glass of water till ready to stuff. de-leaf all the sprigs and discard the stems, unless you really really like chewing on woody stems. place herbs, tofu, salt, pepper, and 1 T. soymilk in the blender. blend till smooth, adding soymilk as needed. you do not want a runny mixture, but it does need to get all mushed up together. the amount of soymilk varies depending on how good your blender is. mine sucks. so i either have to put more liquids in than normal or constantly jab at the blending mixture with a wooden spoon in a very haphazard manner (oh yes, there have been accidents- including a slightly woody lasagna...). when mixture is smooth, place about 1 T. or so into each of the blossoms. leave enough room to slightly twist together the ends of the petals and kinda poke them under. place all the stuffed flowers into a small casserole dished, lightly oiled, and sprinkle some olive oil on top. bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.

swamp monster hearts popsicle

the swamp monster and i were both mightily pleased with this popsicle.
ingredients:
1 can of coconut milk
2 cups whole strawberries
2 tablespoons of agave nectar
8-10 small to medium sized rose geranium leaves (if you want a stronger rose geranium flavor ((like me)) use ten)

simmer the coconut milk and the rose geranium leaves for about 2 minutes, then take off the heat. let stand for about ten minutes. remove leaves from the coconut milk and discard. place the coconut milk, strawberries, and agave nectar in the blender. blend till smooth. pour into popsicle molds and freeze for at least 6 hours. this made about 8 popsicles and 1 small mug of breakfast smoothie.

the koi are sleeping with the fish

alas alas, the raccoons have won. the koi are gone and the plants are chewed. i did manage to save some of the water hyacinth from brutal crunchings and munchings, but their life in the pond has ended. and now their lives begin anew as simple unexciting house plants. it's like the plant relocation services. once adventurous raccoon fighting plants, they have been spirited away to masquerade as simple suburban houseplants, as their identities as scrumptious fibrous food put their very lives in peril.
but i have realized that they are the perfect plant for the person who cannot keep houseplants alive (oh no, not me- but YOU know who you are). you can't over- or under-water them, because you can always see just how much water is in the pot. so one undercover piece of hyacinth is in a large glass vase, and the other is in an old pot. this tricksy water hyacinth has the extra ability to camouflage itself as a flower arrangement. when did plants get so diabolically smart?

pollen whore

snake operation

performing home operations on snakes is no easy feat. first there's the scare factor to overcome....even though we only have harmless (to us) garden snakes, when they're over a foot long it still took some bravery to do our good samaritan snake deed for the day. usually this deed entails nothing more than taking snakes away from the demon cats who wander around, and throwing them over the fence so they can escape brutal catchings and scratchings. this snake didn't seem to want our help, but as all good meddlers know, no one really wants your help till you've shown them how good your help is.
BUT, like it or not, this snake had a huge twiggy thing sticking out of its body, a few inches below the head. so we gently held down the snakes head and pulled the wood out of its body. it was covered with this greyish slime and a littly bit of reptilian blood. you can see the piece we pulled out of its side, there by the snake. we then locked the cat inside hoping to give the snake some recovery time. but the snake was only interested in swimming around the pond and scratching its skin off on nearby rocks. so we let the cat back out and carried the snake to another area.....only to notice that it had an even larger twiggy thing sticking out of its stomach. at that point we threw it and ran......
no, we're not proud of it.....but what the hell was wrong with that snake? how did it end up with so many pieces of sticks protruding from its body?

garden salad deluxe

this is the kind of salad that makes you feel pretty on the inside and out. what i like to do is go into the garden with a large bowl and pair of shears and take snippets of just about everything. in this salad there are rose petals, marigold petals, bindweed flowers, fennel, sage, rosemary,thyme, oregano, lavender, lemon balm, apple mint, pineapple sage, purslane, rose geranium, chives, and, of course, lettuce. this gives my salad a variety of different essential minerals and vitamins. when cutting the rose petals, make sure to cut them right above the white part of the petal- the bitter white part is not so tasty. when first starting out making yourself posh salads, start out small. taste what you like and don't like. some herbs have a very strong taste, while others are more delicate. it's a good idea to use only a little of purslane or bindweed. purslane, like cleavers, have been know to have 'purgative' properties (to put it delicately....) if eaten in large quantities. i've never had any problems, but, again, start out with small amounts. and for zeus's sake people, be smart about what you put in your mouth (this coming from a person who used to like certain dog biscuits as a child and has been know to taste strange bottles of liquid that have sat around so long on a shelf that the label had worn off ((but seriously, who the hell makes banana flavored dishsoap?!?))). seriously- know what you're eating. don't assume that you can munch on any old piece of grass or weed.....

artitoes or portachoke?

we planted onions and garlic last fall, and it paid off with a huge basket of harvest. the garlic whistles we blended up with as many cleavers we could find to make a pesto dish. the pesto is a cheap and very tasty alternative to the more traditional pesto made with basil. cleavers* (Galium aparine) are also called goosegrass, and will stick all over you, you can use the leaves and stem in the pesto, the younger less woody ones are the best. it's a nutritious weed- containing calcium, silicon, and sodium. we don't really measure out pesto when we make it- just throw in the cleavers and garlic whistle with some olive oil. then toss it with warm pasta and tomatoes. nutritious and delicious.....yummmm. the potatoes and artichoke we planted in early spring. these potatoes are german butterballs and an early season variety. we also planted a late-season variety which should be ready in another month or two. we found the best way to plant the potatoes is to dig a trench about a foot deep, and place the potatoes about 6 inches apart. cover with dirt, and later, when the potato plants are the size of plant starts, with straw or leaves. leaves or straw can continue to be added on top of the plant as it grows. this allows the individual potatoes to be larger, and can also makes it easier to dig the potatoes up later.


*please note that if you are eating cleavers for the first time it's a good idea to start out with small amounts. large amounts ingested are said to be a diuretic and may cause other discomforts of the bowels sort.....we've never had any problems, but it's always better to err on the side of caution....

going ponding

there's a little pond in our patio area, mostly muck hardly water. i wanted more water and less muck....so i emptied the pond out (by carefully filling buckets with the water, and then pouring them through a strainer to save the gambusia mosquito eater fish.....this took some unpleasant hours.)



then i rode down to the fish store (which was the scariest bike ride i have ever been on....think of whizzing highway traffic passing you merely inches away because there is no bike lane...) and got two small koi and some floating plants. it was very nice looking until the raccoons took to dipping their muddy little paws in the water......i've taken to chasing them off at night with a broom.
at least mishchievous cats still enjoy the view and like to cool their tails off in the water......

lovin' the little green heads

i keep meaning to post 'stuff' more often.....but it never seems to work out that way. *sigh*
we planted some of the tomato seeds we saved last year, and are happy to report that our seeds are viable! That means big plans for the garden this year. Already we have tomato, broccoli, lettuce, cayenne peppers, sweet peppers, cumin, eggplant, celery, and basil all sprouting. It's so exciting to see all the little green heads popping up out of the soil.

in the next couple of days i'll hopefully catch up on some oh so delicious recipes and more gardening fun......

problems in the pea patch

About a month ago we planted some peas......and only two out of about 12 or so came up. Upon investigation, which consisted of digging around in the pea patch trying to find some remnants of the pea bodies, little greyish silvery slithery things were found coiled and twined around a pea full of holes that was still struggling to sprout. I say 'things' because I am not sure what they are. They are not worms as they have lots of squirmy little legs, but I don't think they're millipedes as they are so tiny and not quite as rotund in body shape. We noticed them last fall nibbling on the turnips, so they seem to thrive in damp soil (which we have for maybe 8 months out of the year.....). Other gardeners in the area have said they have also had low pea germination rates and noticed the mysterious 'things' as well. So we planted some peas inside (although they're said to not transplant well as they have long roots, not spreading roots.....) to try and give them a head start when put outside. They only needed about a week to pop their little heads above the soil and start forming leaves. We planted them outside yesterday, and then sowed about 15 pea 'seeds' around them as decoys. I WILL have peas this year.

B-Nutty Shake

nothin' like a nice cold shake on a cold and rainy winter day......

Ingredients:

4 small bananas (or 2 1/2 lg. ones)
2 T peanut butter
4 1/2 T cocoa powder
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 cup soymilk
1/8 cup agave nectar
5-6 ice cubes

If you're like me and forget to always have frozen bananas in the freezer for the random day you feel like shakin' things up, then you rely on ice cubes. BUT if you do have frozen nanas in your freezer, use those and eliminate the ice cubes.
Throw everything in the blender till it's all smooth and creamy. this makes enough for two servings, with an extra gulp on the side.