Idyllic City's Urban Farm Goods- Homemade Gifts for the Holidays

Idyllic City is busy making handmade urban farm goods to give as gifts this holiday season.

Since there is no better way to your show appreciation for friends and family than to give homemade gifts from your garden-  we will be posting some of our best recipes for hand-crafted holiday gifts made from your school or community garden.

Ingredients for our organic teas, granola bars, cookies, chocolate bark, oils, honey, nuts, live herbs and succulents are all garden grown and hand-crafted at our urban garden in San Francisco.  They will also be available for purchase on Etsy.com.   Many of our gift ingredients are grown by our K-5th grade gardening classes.

Our Top 2 Gift Ideas: Organic Teas and Organic Hand Dyed Baby Clothes

These homemade gifts are high quality, healthy and more environmentally friendly than store-bought items.  They are kid friendly and can be wrapped up using unique packaging or recycled materials- think empty tin cans, candy boxes, painted egg crates, or even cloth bags made of old curtains.  For more packaging ideas click here or here.

Gift Idea #1: Organic Teas

These wonderfully flavored, organic herbal tea blends make a perfect gift for anyone. You can customize your blends and packaging to suit the occasion or recipient.  They are made using chlorine-free tea bags without string, staples or glued tags to keep your tea free of chemicals and to allow fuller flavor.  The best part about this gift is that the ingredients can be grow in your community or school garden.

YOU WILL NEED:
1.)  Organic loose leaf tea and organic dried herbs. Harvest these from your garden or purchase at: Rainbow Grocery, theteaspot.com.
2.)  Chlorine-free, compostable tea bags. Available at: Coffee Bean Direct Coffee Roasters.
3.)  Self- sealing cellophane baggies, ziplock sandwich baggies or reusable plastic containers (optional).  You can find a variety of printed or clear cellophane bags at craft and art supply stores.
4.)  Adhesive printable address labels. You'll find these at Staples or Office Max.
5.)  Decorative environmentally friendly packaging, such as fancy reusable gift boxes, jewelry boxes, recycled tin cans, cookie or tea tins, or cigar boxes.  For a huge selection of fancy reusable boxes visit Flax Art & Design.
6.) Standard measuring spoons.

TO PREPARE:

1.) Follow the tea recipes below and mix your loose leaf tea blends.

2.)  Use a baby spoon or teaspoon to  carefully fill each chlorine-free tea bag with about 1.5 heaping Tablespoons of tea mixture. Fold over the top flap, making a sharp crease to keep tea securely in the bag. Place full tea bags in self sealing cellophane bag, plastic sandwich baggie or reusable plastic contain to keep fresh (optional).

3.) Use printable mailing labels to label teas, ingredients and directions for each type of tea you make. You may also want to include a note about the health benefits or medicinal uses for each of the teas and herbs used, which I've linked on ingredients below. Most herbal teas should steep 3-5 minutes (add honey for additional flavor). Lastly, package and decorate your finished teas using recycled materials or fancy reusable gift boxes.

TEA RECIPES:
 Try these (crazyfortea.com, Squidoo tea, About Coffee/Tea) or some of our favorite recipes below:

Lavender Mint Tea:
4 Tbsp organic dried, crushed lavender flowers
4.5 Tbsp organic dried crushed peppermint leaves (or spearmint leaves for a tea with more bite)

Chamomile Mint Tea:
3/4 cup organic chamomile flowers
1/4 cup organic spearmint leaves

Ginger Peppermint Tea:
4 Tbsp organic peppermint leaves
1-2 Tbsp organic dried ginger root

 Catnip Chamomile Tea:
1/2 cup organic catnip
3/4 cup organic chamomile
1/4 cup organic lemongrass
1 cup organic lemon balm
                                                                1/4 cup organic peppermint leaves

Gift Idea #2: Organic Hand-Dyed Baby Clothes

Many parents want organic, chemical-free clothing for their newborns. This great gift idea is a fun project to do with kids (with supervision!) and creates gorgeous, earthy, one-of-a-kind baby t-shirts or baby onsies from natural dyes you'll make using organic fruits and vegetables from your garden. This is a simple 2 day process that will require overnight soaking. 

YOU WILL NEED:
1.) 2-3 large pots for boiled ingredients down & overnight soaking
2.)  2-3 plastic or wooden spoons for stirring dye (wooden spoons will stain)
3.) Cutting board and sharp knives (to chop ingredients before boiling)
4.) Potato masher (optional- to crush boiled ingredients while boiling)
5.) Strainer
6.) organic cotton baby onsies or t-shirts (any size you like)
7.) Plastic hangers to dry each onesie after dying
8.) 1 cup salt
9.) Fancy ribbon, paper to make clothing tags
10.) Safety pins, staples or needle and thread to attach your clothing tags
11.) 1-2 lbs of fruit or veggies for every 1-2 onsies you want to dye
 (Note: Beets, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, black beans, kale, and broccoli make the best dyes. Use beets, raspberries, and strawberries = reds. Blueberries and black beans = purplish blue grays. Kale and broccoli = greens and yellows.  Dyes vary from batch to batch depending on the type and quantity of fruit or vegetables used.) 

TO PREPARE:
 Follow these directions- click here.

Or, here's how I do it:

1) Place each organic cotton baby onesie or baby t-shirt in its own pot of boiling water with 1/2 cup salt.

2) Boil for about 30 minutes- this is to make the cotton color fast (so it holds
dye better).

3) While the onesies or t-shirts are boiling, wash off and chop up the organic fruits or veggies you'll be using. Keep separate from each other.

4) After 30 minutes, remove the baby clothes from salt water using a spoon and set in the sink to cool- they will be hot!! (Do NOT let children handle the hot clothes, water or dyes.)

 5) Dump out salt water, rinse pot, fill with several cups fresh water and each fruit or vegetable to be used (in separate pots), and return to a boil.


6) Boil down the fruits and veggies down for at least 30 minutes, until a thick, concentrated color is created, using your potato masher if necessary, to extract extra color from the fruit/veggies- don't worry, you'll strain out the pulp and pieces later.

 7) Wring out the baby clothes in the sink once they've cooled, and set them aside while you continue to boil down your produce.

 8) As the fruit/veggies boil down to create your dye, a lot of the liquid will evaporate. Make sure enough liquid remains so that it will completely cover your garment once you put it into the pot. (Step 10.) It's best to dye only one garment at a time to ensure the deepest, most even color.  Keep checking the amount of liquid and add more water and/or fruit/veggies if needed.

9) Once the dye has reached the desired color, carefully pour the dye and boiled-down veggies through your strainer and into a large clean bowl- you should do this several times if necessary until your dye is free of fruit and vegetable debris.

10) Place the strained dye back into the original pot, return it to the stove and place one baby t-shirt or onsie into the pot. Return to a boil for about 1 hr- making sure the liquid doesn't evaporate too much and stays above the level of the garment. Stir occasionally to ensure even color and to keep your garment completely submerged in the dye.  Add water and/or turn down the heat if your dye begins to evaporate too much.

11) After about an hour, turn off the stove, cover the pot and allow the garmet to soak in the dye over night- you may want to place a metal spoon or other object to weigh down the garment so it doesn't float to the top while it soaks.

12) Remove the garment from the dye the next day, wring it
 out in the sink (remember the dye will stain surfaces), pat it dry and then hang it on a plastic hanger and allow to air dry in the shower or bathtub. If when dry, your garment has a salty odor, you may wish to spray it with fabric refresher or toss it in the dryer with a dryer sheet for a few minutes.

13) The garment will have a beautiful handmade, slightly tie-dyed look to it. The dye will fade quite a bit when washed, so wash in cold water only, with like colors.

14) Use fancy ribbon and paper to make handmade garment tags, explaining your organic dyes and what you used (or grew yourself) to make the dye- safety pin, staple or sew on your tags


So there you have it- happy holiday gift making!

Organic French Chocolate Bark- a perfect holiday treat!

Check back in a few days for Part 2 of the homemade gift-making series!

 I'll share some of my best holiday treat recipes--
- French Chocolate Bark
- Gourmet Granola Bars
- The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

(all organic, of course!) 


And in Part 3 of the series we'll cover even more homemade gifts- soaps, oils, herbs, and flavored nuts!

Urban Farming IS the Future

It's thrilling that San Francisco urban farming and school gardens are getting great press lately. Check out this article by The Huffington Post.  More importantly, parents, educators, scientists and politicians are getting behind this movement as it becomes evident that urban farming may be a necessity for future generations, not simply a hobby, according to the UN, CNN,  the Havana Journal, City Farmer News, and other sources.

In the coming decades our kids will have to contend with global warming, depleted natural resources and a population expected to reach 8 billion within the next 30 years.   In all likelihood, our future will depend on finding innovative solutions to energy and climate issues, as well as utilizing sustainable farming practices within urban areas to produce nutrient-rich food required to sustain us.  We'll need unpolluted outdoor spaces with clean water supplies and rich soil- and we'll need a generation of young people who understand how to produce sustainable, highly nutritious food.  Calling all Furture (urban) Farmers of America.
 
For information on becoming involved in a community or school garden in your neighborhood, here are some resources to get you started:

Garden For the Environment
Hayes Valley Farm
Urban Spouts
SF Green Schoolyard Alliance 
American Horticultural Therapy Association

Seaweed Salad, Anyone?

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about seaweed salad- one of my favorites!- and wondering how to replicate this dish at home, and what the possible health benefits of this curious salad might be.

I was excited to find this article  from SFgate.com about the different types of sea vegetables growing right here off our Northern California coast, in Mendocino, CA... and some tasty looking recipes that I can't wait to try! (You can even get products and info straight from the source at the Mendocino Sea Vegetable Company.)

As it turns out, not only are sea vegetables delicious- but they are full of vitamins and minerals, and some forms are extremely rich in calcium and other unique properties that studies have shown help protect against cancer and rid the body of radioactive toxins.

A great place to find a variety of dried sea vegetables here in San Francisco is at Rainbow Grocery (the best!) in SF.  Even if you aren't in the market for seaweed salad ingredients; Rainbow is a must if you've never been.  Organic, fresh, sustainable, ethical- need I say more?

Here's a partial list of sea vegetable cookbooks to really get you going, and another article about the local sea veggie industry in Mendocino.


So check into the exciting world of sea vegetables... and let's get to eating!

Fall Seed Planting Time!

Arugula, lettuce, kale- oh my! As we enter the fall season in San Francisco (and most parts of California), our Mediterranean climate allows us the benefit of year-round food growing.  So it's time to start seeds for our yummy winter harvests!

This will be a quick how-to on getting your seeds going.  It's so easy - anyone can do it.
You can turn these:

empty food containers

Into these:

lush little seedling containers!

   There's no excuse not to have a terrific salad this winter. Or how about a sumptuous, super nutritious winter kale & potato gratin to get your family through the winter?  You don't need a lot of fancy equipment or space.  A sunny window, some empty food cartons and a few containers outside (or space in the garden) will do. 

Starting seeds indoors is also a fantastic project for kids.  Little ones love the physical part of planting, doing and watching, while older kids enjoy the sense of responsibility and accomplishment of nurturing a seed into maturity and offering it up as real food for the family meal.  Most kids are eager to eat (or at least try) veggies they grew themselves.

First off, you can start with any number of used food containers or plastic water bottles.  Wash and rinse them well.  Then use a knife to cut the tops down and poke drainage holes in the bottom.  Drainage is key or your seeds can rot in the soil.  Same goes for the seedlings once they sprout.

Fill your containers with a few inches of good organic potting soil and follow directions from the seed packets for the type of seeds you are planting. 

7 day old Arugula sprouts! Can you spot them?

Once the seeds sprout, you'll be able to thin them accordingly. Don't worry about spacing them exactly right.  It's always better to plant more seeds than the number of plants you want, as invariably, not every seed will sprout and not every seedling will make it once transplanted outside.  But have confidence in your seeds!  If you will them to grow- they usually do.

use lids for run off or baggies to maintain moisture

Seeds will need moist soil and some warmth- a window sill works great.  Keep them protected from wind, cold and extreme heat so they don't dry out. 



 You can put a plastic baggie on top of your open seed containers- like a mini green house- to help maintain warmth and moisture.

 Don't be shy about what types of containers you use.  Rather than ending up in the landfill or the recycling bin just yet-  get creative and re-purpose empty food containers!  Plastic lettuce, strawberry and blueberry containers, yogurt & deli tubs-- all work fine for getting seeds started. 

 My arugula and lettuce seedlings don't seem to mind their humble beginnings in a Starbucks cup or a strawberry container.


Once the seedlings sprout and develop several sets of leaves you can gently transplant them outside to containers or directly into the garden.  You may want to harden them first, for best results.  This is a process whereby you take the seedlings out for a few hours a day over the course of a few days, to acclimate them to the colder outside air.  This increases their success once they start spending the night outdoors. 

This cute little carrot is enjoying his new home in a pot on my balcony overlooking SF.  It is always best to label and date your seedlings.  Although you can't see it in the picture, I've done this using the leftover plastic parts of my yogurt tubs. The inside of the yogurt tubs are white, perfect for writing on with a waterproof Sharpie, and they can be cut into the just the right shape for garden tags.

For carrots however, because they do not take well to transplanting and can be a bit harder to seed directly in the soil, I recommend pre-seeding.  My pre-seeding technique is to put the carrot seeds on a plate on a wet paper towel.  Fold the towel over and leave it wet for a few days until the carrots begin to sprout a root tip.

Label and date the paper towel.  You can sprinkle the seeds around, or space them out accordingly and plant them directly with the paper towel.  Be sure to keep it moist at all times and monitor it over the next few days.


 

 Within a few days, you should start to see a root tip appear, even through the paper towel.  There are probably different trains of thought as to when exactly to plant these outside, but I tend to leave mine for a week or two in the towel and then go straight outside with them.  As long as you keep keep the soil very moist (but not soggy!), these carrots should take.  Use care in pulling them off the paper towel, as you don't want to damage the tiny root or microscopic root hairs that will eventually become your carrot. 

Often it's best to just plant the carrot seedlings with their towel turf, and allow them to grow right up through it. This is also a good way to ensure they stay moist once they're in their new soil since they will be so close to the surface where they can dry out easily. 


Since carrots are a bit more stubborn to seed, it's always better to start with much more than you need and thin as you go, once they take.   You'll get progressively better with each round of carrot seeding and will figure out your preferred method for your growing conditions. 


As for seeds and varieties, what you use chose to plant will depend on your growing conditions, what you want to grow- and what you like to eat!  For the Bay Area climate at this time of year, in sun and part shade, some good things to try would be lettuce, arugula, carrots, kale, chard, and "cool season" vegetables.
 

I have great luck with organic Botanical Interests seeds.  I buy them at the SF Botanical Garden, but they're also available in nurseries.  I have also used other seeds, but I like that these are organic and I seem to have better success with them.  For the very EASIEST lettuce seeds, I have yet to encounter, I love the Botanical Interests Gourmet Baby Greens Lettuce Mesclun, Lactuca sativa.   My new Winter Kale sprouts are turning up beautifully too!

 As a rule of thumb, do the research if you want to plant seeds from existing fruits or vegetables- they usually have very specific temperature and moisture requirements in order to germinate.  Most store-bought produce is also not suited to growing from seed, so do yourself a favor and buy a packet of good seeds to avoid frustration. And remember, you can grow most things in containers, so don't let that deter you if you are limited on space and want to start seeding.

I'll be back with another post about transplanting and proper growing conditions for container gardening once our seedlings are ready for the big outdoors.  In the meantime, let me know what delicious items you'll be eating in a few months!

 

A Tasty Meal from from the Garden

This morning we prepared a delicious brunch using organic ingredients from the garden.

First, we harvested some heirloom lettuce mesclun (Lactuca sativa) from the balcony lettuce garden, that I had sown from seeds purchased at the SF Botanical Garden. 


These gourmet baby greens are beautiful and easy to grow.  And even easier to harvest!

We use a clean, sharp pair of scissors and cut larger leaves periodically, leaving enough baby leaves remaining so the plant keeps growing, thereby extending the harvest so we can enjoy our San Francisco-grown salads a bit longer.  

Home grown greens taste better!

These tender leaves are light, crisp and have a fresh, clean flavor with a bit of a bite to them.











Next we tossed them with an organic garden grown tomato, kalamata olives, feta cheese, and a few basil leaves from the herb garden.  And a scrumptious, nutritious salad was born!

We paired it with a wild caught Sockeye salmon fillet that we seasoned with organic garlic and herbs- thyme and two types of parsley, flat leaf and curly leaf (Petroselinum crispum, 'Aphrodite'), also from our container herb garden.

 
We finished off the meal with a perfectly sweet and tart blackberry crisp, from blackberries we harvested from the park earlier in the morning.  This is urban foraging at its best!

How can you resist these fantastically juicy and nutritious berries, often ignored and growing wild throughout SF and northern California?
 






You can create an unforgettable dessert to share with friends or family and get some important antioxidants and micro nutrients that help fight cancer.  According to Web MD, "Foods such as broccoli, berries, and garlic showed some of the strongest links to cancer prevention."  Check out the health benefits of blackberries while you savor... every... bite.

Make Time for Power Naps (at Work Too)

As the warm summer evenings finally arrive in San Francisco and we find ourselves enjoying some late nights, there's more reason than ever to make sure we get a daily nap, even at the office.   Studies have now proven the health, mood, stress reduction, weigh control, and productivity benefits of taking even short 20-30 minute naps during the day, particularly in the early afternoon or after lunch when you may feel sluggish.

Check out this 2 minute video on how and why to power nap. (Or if you prefer a Scottish narrator, try this one.)

And the great news is that more and more employers are recognizing this as a healthy norm in the office, according to Yahoo News.  Try saving the last 30 minutes of your lunch hour, dim the lights and find a quiet spot.  Or make a sleep mask and try napping in your parked car.  To help you fall asleep, you can even download some relaxing napsounds. And don't get discouraged if you can't fall asleep the first few times you try, eventually your body will welcome this down time and learn to nap. Just don't forget to set your phone alarm.  

For more how-to information try these tips wiki.how or ehow.com.

Happy napping!

Fun Upcycling Projects

Recently, a reader asked me to talk about "upcycling." For those of you that don't know, upcycling means taking your used or worn out items and turning them into something else that's useful, ideally of even better quality and higher environmental value (and hopefully cute, clever and practical). To me, upcycling is like re-purposing, which I talk about in a previous blog post Reduce & Reuse- Even More than Recycle, and it means finding ways to create a usable item out of something after its initial intended purpose has worn out- and before it hits the recycling bin- which we now know often ends up getting shipped to China- eek! (see earlier blog post)

You've already seen the practice of turning plastic water bottles into reusable shopping bags- here's a great, inexpensive one on reuseit.com - but I wanted to find some ideas closer to home and inspire you to try some fun upcycling projects on you own.

Check out these 6 upcycling projects from Sustainablog.org. Granted some of these might not be your idea of "fun" so you can always try a few of these (easier!) ideas from this list at Ecosalon.com.

And don't forget about the limitless ways of upcycling used clothing! Try Threadbanger.com for great ideas; I once used a pattern on their site to create a reversible dog carrying bag for my 10 lbs dog, Trixie, out of my grandmother's old polyester pants.

But my favorite example of upcycling used clothing is New Dress A Day, about a blogger who vows to upcycle one new outfit a day for 365 days for only $365- and she manages to look cute while doing it! Think of all the pollution, waste and money she saved that year by upcycling; nothing more was wasted on shipping from China, or chemicals from new leather, or inflated department store prices.

Here are even more ideas to get you upcycling. Be sure to share you ideas with me and leave comments about on the ones you've tried! Whether you're a tech nerd, a mommy, a grandmommy or just a pet's mommy- there is something you can upcycle.

• UPcycle Tee Shirts to Toddler size
• Upcyled Pet Projects
  
• 100 Upcycling Projects
• 20 Wood Pallet Upcyling Projects (I'd rate these amazing, but advanced)
• Easy Upcycled Coasters

Vertical Farming- Wow!

This is brilliant; urban vertical farming! http://www.verticalfarm.com/

Stress Reducing Foods

Reduce your stress. You've heard it before, but here it is again, in a nice concise article about 7 Stress Busting foods and how they help:

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/7-best-stress-fighting-foods

And I especially like that papaya "the stinky feet fruit" as my husband calls it, because "it smells like stinky feet," has made the top of the list! It's one of my favorites- wish I could grow it myself.

Need Some Urban Homesteading Inspiration?

In case you need a little inspiration, or are feeling discouraged at a recent homesteading endeavor sometimes it's great to be reminded of others' hard work and what they have accomplished. It pushes us to rethink what's possible. And reminds us that we aren't crazy for trying to do what's best for our families and the earth!

I encourage you to check out what these folks are doing at Path to Freedom, albeit this might be waaaay to radical for many Idyllic City folk... but it's always great to be inspired! ! click here

And if you need inspiration a little closer to home, you can always look to one of these great places, right here in San Francisco:

Hayes Valley Farm

Alemany Farm

For how-to information and classes on just about everything related to your urban homestead, try the The Institute of Urban Homesteading in Oakland.

Or check out the list of resources for urban homesteading in San Francisco at
Urban-Homesteader.com.

The sun in shining on this glorious Sunday morning, and after this bit of inspiration, I hope you're warmed up, feeling good and ready to create another idyllic day in the city.

The Egg Recall, Salmonella Outbreak & Animal Abuse- Great Reasons to Keep Your Own Chickens

Today I read this heart breaking article in the Washington Post.

Not only are people at risk for contracting salmonella, but what a sad waste of time and energy for all those poor chickens, that according to the article, likely came from farms with a history of chicken abuse and mistreatment. I have trouble understanding how, as a civilized society, we have allowed our need for eggs to translate into a turn-the-other-cheek attitude toward factory farms and the sad treatment of innocent creatures. Creatures that dedicate their entire lives to providing us with nourishment.

Perhaps too many people are just plain ignorant to the concept of factory farms or what happens to their meat, eggs and dairy before they eat them? I can't dare to think that they just plain don't care. I am not advocating that everyone become vegan, simple that we treat animals humanely whenever possible. And that we make a concerted effort to buy only meat, eggs and dairy from sources that treat animals with decency and respect.

Or better yet, keep your own happy backyard chickens! They are easy, lovable, fun and will provide you with healthy eggs. Many cities allow the keeping of up to two hens, and if your city, county or HOA ordinance prohibits it- you could always fight to change the laws. My wonderful chickens, Mavis and Flo, provided me with 1 egg a day. And their daily stroll in the garden added wonderful fertilizer to my crops.

So for anyone who needs to know more about why or how, I suggest a review of the following:

Food, Inc

Omnivore's Dilemma

backyardchickens.com

Farm City

Re-use & Reduce... even MORE than recycle, please?

One of my fellow Master Gardeners from San Francisco mentioned to me that she had recently taken a trip to the SF recycling center and learned that, sadly, most of our mingled recycling (the stuff that's in the blue bin), gets compacted, stuffed into a container, and SHIPPED TO CHINA- eeek!- where it gets recycled and shipped back to us in the form of recycled packaging for consumer products- double eeek!! Check out this story from the New York Times. And for a local angle read the article from Spot.us or watch the nifty 4 minute video.

So the lesson is, recycling is better than trashing, but re-using, re-purposing, upcycling and reducing is even better than recycling. That is the only sure way to reduce the amount of pollution and toxins going into our loving mother earth. Think of all that shipping pollution you'll save if you can reduce the amount of recycling in your blue bin and reduce what you use in the first place!

I know, I know, easier said than done, but we are clever and resourceful! We will find ways to repurpose our stuff!

Below is a short list of ideas for reusing and reducing common household items that we would otherwise throw away or toss in the recycling bin. I'll continue to add to the list as I come up with new ideas- and be sure to send me some of yours, I'd love to see what you come up with!

(If any of these are too radical or too much of a hassle for you, try getting the kids involved, or just do what you can.)

Ideas for Re-using & Reducing:

1.) Costco plastic 6 pack mango containers- use them to start seedlings. Fill each cup with soil, a seed of your choice, place them on a windowsill and watch them grow. The pre-made hole in the bottom allows for easy water drainage, and the top snaps over to create a mini-green house for each seed. Fun!

2.) Plastic lettuce containers & big yogurt containers with lids- use them as kitchen-top compost bins. There's no need to buy a fancy counter-top compost bin that you empty daily, when you can simple re-use your salad or yogurt containers for the very same purpose. The lid closes tight so you have no odor and keep fruit flies out, and if they're too unsightly for you, just store them under the sink after each use. They'll hold about 1 days worth of kitchen compost, then you can empty them in your compost (or green bin) and use them again.

3.) Store-bought spice jars- when empty, peel off labels and use as your own spice jars. Most store-bought spices, like the ones from Trader Joe's, still come in tiny glass containers. These are perfect to use as your own spice jars, just wash and dry thoroughly and label with a Sharpie directly onto the glass or lid.

4.) Paper grocery bags- turn inside out and use as wrapping paper. Tie with a bit of twine & decorate with stickers or flowers (drawn on or from the garden), and you have a very cute, shabby-chic way to present your gift- that doesn't require wasting extra paper.

5.) Egg containers- use as packing materials. Egg containers are so strong you can usually stand on them with all your weight before they begin to collapse. They make great packing materials when sending gifts or packing items you don't want damaged. Try ripping the lids off and use just the egg-holding part.

6.) Plastic grocery bags, produce bags & Chinese food take out bags- use as waste basket liners, dog poop bags, lunch bags, or as shopping bags. Although I recommend bringing your own reusable grocery bags to the store, if you've acquired plastic bags, it's always better to use them again, rather than just sending them to the recycling or trash bin. Turn them inside out or rinse them out if you have to, but these bags should definitely be used as many times as possible. Keep a stack of them in your car so that you're ready whenever you stop at the store. They fold down very small and can easily fit in your purse or pocket while you shop, not just at the grocery store, but think of the bookstore, the drug store, bakery, library, nursery, art class, or anywhere you might need to carry something extra.

7.) Mortens Salt container- peel the label off, cut the top off and use the cardboard cylinder as a great pencil, pen or crayon holder for the kids or art room. Same goes for frozen orange juice cans; wash & dry thoroughly, then decorate the outside by gluing yard or fabric. A great kids art project that's useful too. (My mom still keeps one of these that I made when I was 5.)


Keep the reusing and reducing... and keep the ideas coming!

Day 1 of the Master Gardener Program (with goats!)

Yesterday I attended the orientation for the Master Gardener Program for which I had applied back in June, and was (happily!) accepted to in August. The Master Gardener Program is run by the University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources Cooperative Extension. Programs are set up by county (about 45 counties in California have programs) and a limited number of applicants are selected from each county to partake in the 3 month intensive training course and subsequent volunteer intern program.

The great news is that anyone can apply, even urban gardening amateurs like myself who have no formal horticulture training. Applicants are selected based on a wide range of gardening interests and experiences. And the best part- the entire training course is designed as a volunteer intern and community education program, so the cost is astoundingly low. This is a great thing. I wish more educational programs could incorporate volunteer service and this "pay if forward" model. It benefits the individual and the community.

For more information, check out the Master Gardener Program website.

And for me, one of the most exciting parts is that many of my classes will be held at the UC Elkus Ranch... that has GOATS. Yes, I got a little bit of goat-petting heaven yesterday. I also got to hang out with some chickens, cows and a bunch of genius gardening nuts too!

And did I mention the gardens?!

Joy isn't just an emotion- It's a Physical Sensation

Sadness isn't just an emotion, it's a physical sensation. Ask anyone who has ever lost anyone they love, and they'll tell you, they feel sadness, like a heavy stone, right in the pit of their gut.

But that means so is JOY- a physical sensation. And you feel it, too, like a bright light radiating from within. You feel it when you laugh. You feel it when you make children laugh. And you feel it in all the little things you do to care for your family, friends and community. So today I celebrate all the women, single and married, young and old, who create joy in their own lives and the lives of others by making healthy choices and doing the best for their families. Cheers to those who are eating organic, tending backyard gardens, reading labels, reducing pesticides, buying free-range (or going vegan), composting, recycling, doing more with less, and helping raise environmentally conscious kids.

I celebrate this joyous juncture in my own life as well. I am grateful for the opportunity to provide my family with some of the wholesome benefits of the homestead amidst the pace of city living. It is a joy for me to spend time and energy digging my hands in the dirt, cooking homemade meals, and investing in my urban homestead- and I celebrate others who are finding their own ways to create idyllic lives in the city.

So when you see me dragging a ladder and a bucket to Golden Gate Park to pick blackberries for a homemade cobbler that I'll later share with friends and family, feel free to join me- and don't call me crazy.

Gelato Over the Gym

Pressed for time, yesterday I chose to make homemade gelato over going to the gym. Not something I recommend regularly for one's health, but life requires the nurturing of the soul as well as the body. And who soul isn't smiling when eating a rich, creamy gelato?

My first gelato-making experiment yielded two important bits of wisdom: 1) gelato is easier and healthier (but messier) to make than one might think and 2) my gelato recipe and technique could use improvement!

I created a honey gelato by hand, based on a recipe from an Italian cookbook, using organic ingredients. I was pleased that this dessert derived it's sweetness from a natural source (honey, not sugar), required only 4 egg yolks as the primary source of fat, and could be made using local, organic ingredients, honey, milk and eggs. The end result was a sweet, fragrant gelato with nice flavor and consistency, but the texture was a little chalky. This may have been due to my novice technique; perhaps I didn't correctly dissolve the dry milk, or maybe the recipe itself needs a little tweaking?

But, practice makes perfect- so I'm off to become the gelato queen of my castle. I encourage you to do the same, and share you results!

Here is the recipe I used, adapted from the book Cooking Light Italian, published by Oxmoor House, Inc. 2006.

Honey Gelato
1/2 c local honey
1/3 c organic non fat dry milk
1 (12 oz) can organic evaporated fat-free milk
1/8 tsp salt
4 large organic, free-range eggs yolks
1 c organic 2% reduced-fat milk
mint sprigs from the garden (optional)

1. Combine dry milk and evaporated milk in large saucepan, following directions on package for dissolving dry milk, which may require the dry milk be combined with cold evaporated milk and stirred or shaken vigorously to dissolve. Add honey and heat this mixture over medium heat until honey dissolves, stirring frequently (do not boil). Remove from heat.

2. Combine salt and egg yoks in a large bowl, stir with a whisk. Gradually add honey mixture to egg mixture, stirring constantly with whisk. Place honey mixture in pan; cook over medium heat until mixture reaches 180 degrees (about 3 minutes); stir constantly (do not boil). Remove from heat; stir in 2% milk. Cool completely.

3. Pour mixture into freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze, about 2 hours, ready when firm. Or for creamier texture, try freezing mixture for 1 hour, remove and churn, then freeze for another 2 hours. Garnish with mint sprigs and enjoy! Yield: 8 servings, 1/2 cup scoops.

A Poem About Urban Foraging

And together, we walked home in silence
through the fog and honking horns
carrying our morning's treasures.
I with my berries, and she with her ball
My dog and I.

Dreaming of Angora Goats

I decided today that I would like an Angora goat along with the dairy goats. I am making Mohair pillows for the couch and realized it would be far better to grow my own Mohair, albeit a hell of a lot of work. But the question remains-- where to keep them?

In my research on keeping dairy goats in a backyard, I have run into several hurdles that prevent me from responsibly owning and raising these animals. Not the least of which, is where to find the space for these beautiful creatures that won't alert the neighbors. For now, I'll have to be content dreaming of fresh milk and the finest quality Mohair...

Alas, my quest for goats continues. Anyone have an extra yard?

Pesticide use linked to ADHD and Parkinson's Disease

Here is an important article listing study findings that link pesticide use with ADHD in children. http://eartheasy.com/blog/2010/05/pesticide-exposure-may-increase-risk-of-adhd-in-children/

Most significant to me, was the fact that non-organic potatoes are said to be one of the most pesticide laden vegetables, even when tested after washing (think french fries), so not only is fast food making our kids obese, but could it also be contributing to increase risks of ADHD?

What other reason do you need to not support the fast food industry? ...But wait- my kid loves french fries!?

So make your own. Homemade "oven" fries are fast, easy, healthy and delicious- and you can use organic potatoes or sweet potatoes and organic ketchup.

Here's an easy recipe:
2-3 medium organic potatoes or organic sweet potatoes (peeled or unpeeled)
2 Tbsp organic olive oil
1/4- 1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)
1 tsp dried or fresh organic parsley (optional)
1/2 cup organic ketchup

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut potatoes in half, length-wise. Cut each half into 4-7 long spears, depending upon size and preference. Sprinkle with olive oil and spread onto baking sheet, leaving room between spears. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Turn once, then bake again for 5-10 minutes, until tender and lightly browned. Remove from oven and sprinkle with parsley, if desired. Serve with ketchup. Serves 4.


What to remember from this: try not to support the fast food industry, avoid using pesticides on gardens and lawns, choose organic french fries over non-organic or fast food fries.