{Meatless Monday} Syrian Vegetarian Red Lentil Soup

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Hello everyone!

Hope you all had a marvy weekend.

Wow! Can you believe it’s already March ? No, way.

Baby C is going to be a year in exactly one month from today.

Hard to believe.

Alright, time for another {Meatless Monday} edition and you know that means another kick ass recipe!

There’s no denying…

I’m a huge soup lover. I just love soups. I especiallydig easy soup recipes and ones that are versatile.

AND

I LOVE lentils. Brown lentil soup is at the top of my list as far as favorites.

My mom made it a lot growing up and it was always so full of flavor and just pleasing to the tummy.

I request it of her when I’m sick because it’s that good and soothing.

I say GOOD soup for the soul, no?

I’m also a fan of Indian food and I really can appreciate a good serving of dhaal or lentil soup.

All the wonderful flavors of curry, turmeric, coriander…

Mmm!

Last time while I was perusing the bulk section at the market I decided on some Red Lentils.

I came home and found THE. PERFECT. RECIPE.

Simple, yet soooo pleasing and completely full of flavor. The three ingredients of coriander, garlic and salt bring such a tang of flavor to this soup.

It’s 10x better the next day.

Which is another reason why I love soups… they take on a completely different character the next day.

So, last week I prepared the Syrain Vegetarian Red Lentil Soup and am VERY glad I did.

Get your hands on some red lentils – asap!

This recipe is easy to prepare and it’s yummy.

Oh and did I mention it’s meatless? You can’t go wrong.

It’s a no-brainer recipe, too.

Loved it so much so; it’s on the menu again this week!

What meatless dishes are you whipping up?

Let the Liberating Begin: Plant Freedom Seeds!

Howdy! Happy Saturday Sunday!

Gotta luv the weekends, right? So much to look forward to and so much to accomplish. With Spring just around the corner it’s hard not to think about this year’s summer garden and greenhouse plans. All the daydreaming we do of having a xeriscaped front yard (no lawn, hopefully!) with wild edibles planted and where nourishing foods grow is quickly approaching it’s season. We couldn’t be more excited to make this our reality.

You know, become an urban gardener. A freedom gardener, if you will. Liberating yourself from all the corporate muck and dirty chemicals. Why not get down right dirty in your own backyard and produce the foods you need to live on with untainted seeds. The idea of growing your own food to feed your family and possibly community may sound like a lot of work but it also sounds so enticing. Especially, after learning about the true freedom gardeners; the Little Homestead in the City, the Dervaes family in Pasadena, Ca aka “The Urban Gardener’s”. Their little homestead yields almost 6,000 lbs. of  food yearly. It takes a lot of serious motivation and determination to get to where the Dervaes family is but the possibility of getting an urban garden started is far greater.

The hub and I have always had a passion for gardening it’s something that we naturally felt compelled to do since we bought our home almost 10 yrs. ago. Our house sits on a little less than a quarter of an acre and to us that instantly meant we would have room for a garden. It’s funny, because as we live in an area where a good majority of the people sit on more than acre of land – this town is also known for agriculture and farming, yet, not many people, take advantage of their land by growing their own fruits and vegetables. I know gardening isn’t for everyone but for us it just seems like common sense to have a garden and reap whatever benefits you can on your own property. It was just our observation this morning over breakfast. We all have the opportunity basically. Not to mention, it allows us tobe in control of what’s going into our bodies. With all the chemical use within the food and agriculture industry it’s hard to say whether our food is really safe anymore.

So, to say the least… this year we’re committed to green up our yard in more ways in than one.

We’ve been talking about digging up the front lawn to make it more drought tolerant for quite some time now. We believe, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be taking advantage of the local conservation nursery in our town which sells native and drought tolerant plants. Since we live in the desert having drought tolerant landscape seems more appropriate than lilies and orchids which would require lot’s of watering. Were looking forward to creating a sanctuary with native plants, shrubs and trees etc. that will bring in natural wildlife to enjoy also.

The nursery is having their open house in April and has announced a sale on plants, shrubs, wildflower seeds etc. I’m pretty excited about it. Were pumped to learn more about the native plants and wildlife in our area and start being smart gardener’s. We recently resurrected the wriggley wranch worm bin and replenished it with some mighty fine earthworms (stay tuned for an upcoming post)

Raised Beds

This is our first year attempting  the raised beds, square inch gardening theory. Well, we kinda took a stab at it last year but this is our first “real” attempt.  The hubby built a raised bed about a month ago using reclaimed materials as a tester and so far so good. It appears all of the seeds we planted have sprouted. Yahoo! For the past five years we always turned over the soil and planted directly in ground. It will be neat to see the differences.

I’m happy to say, that we’re ditching the plastic soil bags this year! I did some research and found a quarry in town that carries local ORGANIC humus soil. Score! I was so thrilled to bring home a truckload home the day Ty built the box. Tyler’s parents used the quarry’s soil last year and had such a glorious garden yield. Their garden had a different glow to it then ours that’s for sure. As far as  plastic goes we did use some for wrapping around the box to trap the heat inside which creates a greenhouse effect. I know there’s gotta be an alternative and it’s definitely on the green up the garden list.

After building a bed from wood he built a raised bed from bricks (given to us by a customer who no longer had use for them). He lined the brick bed with cardboard and viola’ it became a new home for some lettuce! My husband REALLY enjoys doing this so I have to admit he does get carried away. It’s his passion so I try not to step in the way. He bought the lettuce from Lowe’s so it could be Monsanto laden… but hopefully living in organic humus it will balance out the negative. Nevertheless, it too is doing well and will hopefully has fresh lettuce in just a couple weeks maybe even sooner.

He also planted some old veggie seeds just for kicks and on a whim one sunny afternoon alongside our driveway (next to a Raspberry bush he bought the same day).  Honestly, I don’t know how great the Raspberry bush will do (let’s hope for the best). As of right now, it’s doing surprisingly well ( all of the rain has been a major benefit). Some of the seeds in the patch alongside the drive away are also beginning to sprout. Yippee!

Speaking of seeds, we planted our first batch of freedom seeds this afternoon! Yes, that’s right, you can get heirloom and organic seeds directly from the Dervaes family…

“Seeds for the people!”

and to save on shipping costs and carbonemissions the hub was able to pick them up. Sweeeet!

Reused seed starter!

What we planted

- Red Russian Kale

- Cayenne Peppers

- Anaheim Peppers

- Red Bell Peppers

- Peace Vine  Red Cherry Tomato

- Valencia Tomato

- Brandywine Tomato

- Cherokee Purple Tomato

-  Aunt Ruby’s German Green (real green tomato’s *squee*)

We still have more tomato seeds to plant and a few other varietys of seeds that don’t need to be started indoors. I’m really, really, excited about 2010’s gardening adventure. Planting pure seeds, free of chemicals; makes me grin from ear to ear.

“The seeds from the Little Homestead in the City are carefully screened for genetic manipulation.…they possess the nutritive properties of old and locally developed strains, based on eatability instead of portability.”

If you have not yet seen the Dervaes family documentary Homegrown Revolution-you can view it here!   Their honest commitment to live sustainably makes me realize how important it is to support their cause and continue to fight the good fight.

I encourage you to “break new ground” and start your own victory garden.

Liberate your yard & get down and dirty doing it. 

Have you started planning your garden?

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The No ‘Poo Method Update!

Hey guys & gals!

I promised you an update on this crazy no ‘poo journey of  mine… and so far it’s been 3 months without using any shampoo. Wow! I seriously can’t believe it. Honestly, nothing feels better than being liberated of having to spend the crazy amount of cashola on a bottle of shampoo goo!

I’ve been playing with the conditioning part of the recipe by allowing fresh herbs and essential oils I have on hand. So far I’ve done peppermint, mint and rosemary. In fact, I just made the rosemary version last night and haven’t cracked the jar open yet. I’m excited. I’ll give it a few more days to infuse. So far the peppermint wins over the mint… and I love mint! Mint alone isn’t strong enough for apple cider vinegar (ACV).

The no ‘poo method doesn’t mean you have to be a dirty hippie type just because you aren’t producing any suds upon washing. I still “wash” my hair. I still work the no ‘poo solutions into my my scalp  as I would with “normal” shampoo. I’m not shy about letting my hair go a few days before washing it out with baking soda and vinegar just to experiment and see what state my hair is in. So far, nothing funky has occurred.  Phew! My hair and face have always been a bit on the oily side so it’s hard to say whether the no ‘poo has really affected the oily factor.

When I say oily… I don’t mean greasy or matty (my hair is really fine). It just has a bit more shine to it.  When I run my fingers through my hair it actually feels great. Going a few days without any routine either shampoo or no ‘poo it usually proves I do need to cleanse my hair unless I plan to dread it….which has actually crossed my mind.

In all actuality, most of my life I grew up with short hair. Just after I gave birth to the eco tot I chopped it off. Lately, I’ve been feeling the need for some change and have thought about hacking it off again.

But, I digress.

I still feel like I’m in the “transition” period. It’s only been 3 months… so maybe some of the oily business will let up… OR NOT! Either way, I’m on this journey for good!

The Routine

When I first started (original post here), I would fill up my pint mason glass with the baking soda and do the same with the ACV in a reused peri bottle. It was a bit of a time killer at first but now it’s part of the routine as with anything else when first learned. I’m still working on figuring out a way of having pre-made solutions without spoiling. I’m waiting on an agave nectar bottle for the baking soda rinse to switch out having glass in the tub. Then I will  have two squeezie tops which makes applying both solutions much easier.

A few months back, I cleaned out our cupboards and saved two Malt O Meal boxes for reuse. I remembered them last week and immediately filled up an empty box with baking soda for the ‘pooing part. Prior to the Malt O Meal box, I was scooping out the baking soda from a plastic bag… gross! At least this way the baking soda is contained and makes for easy storage and pouring ability.

Next, I take the ACV infusion and dump some of it into the peri bottle with water. I like adding in peppermint essential oil too. BUT, not too much or your head will tingle. ALL. DAY. lol! I learned this the hard way. One or two drops is plenty. Believe. I’ll let you know how it goes with the rosemary infusion. I’m hoping it’s heavenly… I think I may just do a rosemary mint combo too!

All in all, a few extra steps hasn’t made this a make or break deal. I still feel like I’m in the “transition” period. It’s only been THREE months…so maybe some of the oily business will let up at six. OR NOT!

Either way, I’m on this journey for good.

How about you?

Do you no ‘poo?

Hooray for Homemade Hippie Hummus!

Hey there!
How are ya?

Today, I’ve been in the kitch making some fun raw vegan treats (in dehydrator) for the tots but I also made some hummus to snack on. Us hippies… well, we love our hummus. Which is why it’s a staple food around here.  It’s so versatile that you can practically eat it with anything. Serve it with veggies, on a tortilla, with tortilla chips, sourdough bread or even alongside a salad it’s pretty killer stuff.

Here’s what I did today!

I actually obtained this recipe from a friend back in massage school… she made her beans and tahini from scratch. The beans were from scratch but I still had some tahini left… but the next batch I’m swearing to make some homemade tahini! I swear. It’s too flipping expensive not to! Which is the main reason I make hummus in the first place. The guy at the farmer’s market wanted $6 for 4 oz.  … it’s really good but NOT not healthy for my wallet.

Hippie Hummus

(use organic ingredients whenever possible)

• 4-6 garlic cloves (depending on how gah-licky you like it! we <3 garlic!!!)
• 1 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
• 8 cups of freshly cooked chick-peas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 2/3 cup well stirred tahini
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil or to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted lightly

In a bowl or on a cutting board mince and mash the garlic to a paste with the salt. Purée garbanzo beans in a food processor or blender with the garlic paste, the tahini, the lemon juice, 1/4 cup of the oil, and 1/2 cup water, scraping down the sides, until the hummus is smooth and add salt to taste. Add water, if necessary, to thin the hummus to your desired consistency and transfer the hummus to a bowl.  Divide the hummus between shallow serving dishes and smooth the tops. Drizzle the hummus with the a bit of EVOO  and sprinkle it with toasted pine nuts and freshly chopped parsley.

You can kick up the base recipe a couple notches and add in different fresh herbs and spices. I like sundried tomato or avocado cilantro. Today, I added in what was left in my sundried tomato jar… a little less than 1/4 cup but I usually add about 1/2 cup maybe more depending on taste. The trick is taste testing. Don’t be afraid to dip those fingers in and taste your creation. Double dip if you have to! LOL!

Hippie hummus usually doesn’t last more than a week but I’d say you could safely store this in the fridge for 3-5 days. Our favorite way to eat it is on Ezekiel bread with cukes and a little shake of sunflower sesame, and maybe some poppy seeds sprinkled on it. Mmm!  Enjoy!

What’s your favorite homemade snack?

{Happy WW!} the lil superman wants to walk & peek a boo!

More Wordless Wednesday participants…

Late {Meatless Monday} Not Tuna Wraps & Farmer’s Market Goods!

Hola peeps!

Happy Tuesday to you. Hope you had a great weekend.
We actually had the opportunity of visiting an organic farm 40 minutes north of us in a town called Tehachapi. We were able to score some really fresh Cal Organic produce and a pound of grassfed ground meat. I’ve been doing a lot of research on farms in our area and as well as CSA’s. I like to know what’s available to us with 100 miles. The more I look around and we visit these places the more connected we feel to eating locally and seasonally. The really cool benefit is being able to talk to the person who grows your food and get ideas on how to cook it, store it etc. It’s been a great experience for us and I think having the boys along to see where their food comes is good too.

On Sunday the hub took us down to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market (our CSA signup will not begin until March). We’ve heard such great things about it we decided we needed to check it out for ourselves. We figured it would be easier to take our Kelty for the eco tot and the Ergo for Baby C since their isn’t much walking space along the booths. It turned out to be a great trip and we came home with some fresh farmer’s market produce.  I was looking for homemade kombacha but found none. We did come across a booth that sold earthworms and other types of “good” worms for your garden. We chatted with the guy for a bit and he told us what type of worms we needed to combat our grub worms. So, when we’re ready to turn over the garden soil I think we’ll get some “good” worms.

Here’s my {Meatless Monday} feature:

I made a raw tuna salad last Monday and it was yummy!

The hubster totally thought this pate tasted like tuna… it’s a great “fool” recipe.

We had it with crudites and also tried the not so tuna salad pate with nori rolls.

It was a little messy because we dampened the rolls a little much (oopsie) but overall it was good and very filling.

We added in extra avocado and some of our homemade pickles! yummers.

cell phone pic- sorry, nikon battery died!

What meatless meals have you made in the kitchen lately?

the {upcycled & recycled} Soda Tabs

Hi guys!

Happy Friday.

Today’s edition takes me back to my junior high days…

Back in junior high I was obsessed with soda tabs. I remember a dirty little rumor about them but at some point someone told me they could be recycled at the hospital for cash. I never understood why. It was almost like an urban legend sorta thing. Soda tabs & tootsie pop wrappers… I had a tin full of both!

Anywho, I knew other people who were collecting soda tabs so I just went along with it. After looking it up on snopes, I feel like such a goober. LOL!  According to snopes it IS an urban legend and the tabs are collected for kidney dialysis. Apparently, Ronald McDonald still accepts and recycles soda tabs. Who knew? Interesting, to say the least.

Besides recycling soda tabs why not use/save them to create something for yourself or someone else!

I love the idea of crocheting with “pop tops”.

::uber upcycle cuteness::

How about learning to make a belt from soda tabs

OR

you can always download an ebook called Keeping Tabs and start upcycling with soda tabs right away.

This video will show you how to make a bracelet… which seems easy enough for me to do.

Except, we don’t normally buy soda pop so that could take awhile! 

Oh, and if you like the earrings above you can get them here.

As always Etsy is a great source to find upcycled fashions!

Have a marvy weekend everyone.

Have you upcycled anything lately?

Babywearing and A Bike Ride: Our “No Waste” Experience….

Hiya readers!

I promised you I’d get back to you on my “no waste” excursion up into town. Well, I finally edited the video and it’s a bit shabby (riding one handed is not suggested)… so please don’t hate! LOL!

This is just a little blip of my adventures. I’m not embarrassed when it comes to taking along my own resuables/containers into a business that sells food or any item that I can take home with me without waste….BUT I wasn’t really comfortable asking people if it was okay to film them and do it *all* on camera. Don’t ask me why…. but I’m working on it.

Last week, Beth Terry at Fake Plastic Fish asked

Do you bring your own containers for take out or bulk buying and have you blogged about it? I want links!

When I saw the question in my twitter stream I realized I had not blogged about the topic but have exercised the right to bring my containers on many occasions. I’ve wanted to chronicle my adventures for some time now, so, I figured Beth’s question was the perfect motivation to get this done. Beth is such an inspiration to many people including myself and I’m always thinking “What would Beth Terry do”? I know that sounds funny… but it’s so true. When it comes to plastic; she’s a pioneer in finding an alternative. You rock, Beth!

So, this past weekend when I geared myself up for a bike ride into town I proudly wore Baby C and carried my resuable tea mug and container to have  filled on my outing. I stopped at the local almond shop where I discussed buying in bulk with the owner and also made a purchase and left with a container full of flavored (chile lime) almonds! Yum. All of the processing is done on location except for a few candied items they carry ( the almonds were grown locally but stopped way back in the day, late 70’s, I believe. Almond fields still remain but for the most part are abandoned).

After the almond stop, I rode next door to SageBrush Cafe where they happily filled up my Mighty Leaf refillable mug with Chamomile Mint tea by Numi (fair trade). They offer a 25 cent discount for bringing in your own mug. Super cool! Not only that but they serve their drinks in eco friendly cups; you could even compost the sleeves, if you wanted! I love supporting businesses who care about the planet. It’s a great little community hang out. Maybe, someday they’ll have a recycling section for the lids and other waste!! Gotta luv, wishful thinking…

The next day (Valentine’s Day) we’d gone to the farmer’s market earlier where I didn’t get any footage but I promise you it was no waste. We bring our own bags and fill them up every time. Absolutely no plastic bags involved our entire weekend. In the video, we head up to the local deli (my primary “no waste” location). They love it when I bring in my own containers because it saves them the trouble from having to wrap up the meat or cheese. The owner always comments on how much he appreciates it … “you’re saving a tree today” he usually adds. The people who work there know me and they don’t usually ask if I need my items in a bag nor do they give me any extras. I love it too. As an environmental writer for our local community paper I feel likes it’s part of my duty to set an example for my fellow neighbors AND obviously for you to!

Oh, and for the record… I somewhat feel the need to explain the deli stop … in a nutshell … the hub is not happy with having pb and jelly, avocado sammies or any other veggie alternative for lunch at the moment. He’s a little picky in this area. I’m also not very savvy yet on packing a veggie/vegan lunch that is satisfying. Especially,h for someone who does physical labor throughout their day. Since meat has always been part of our diet he asked if we could make a trip to the deli (it’s his week to make sandwiches for the company and he wanted some meat!). Me? I’m happy without it. I’m way more motivated on that front than he is and always have been.

Okay, stepping off the soapbox. Like I said in the beginning… don’t be hater! LOL!

I also wanted you to know I spared you a clip of my elated self after leaving the coffee shop. My batteries died in the flip so I had to do a swap a’roo and use my measly digital camera. With my lack of editing knowledge I could not converge them. I was so excited and empowered by my experience  it seriously made me giddy inside. Not to mention the compliment by the local artist who called me a “stylish mom” had me on cloud nine…I’m sorry you don’t get to see that part.

I highly encourage everyone, (Mom’s & Dad’s) to bring your own containers next time you’re out for takeout! Yesterday, I received my Glass Dharma straws in the mail… so I’m definitely looking forward to refusing plastic straws from here on out…. and bringing you a review on them (stay tuned, there will be giveaway)!

Hope you enjoy the video and my eco geeky self.

OMG! I found this organic onesie while waiting for my iced tea (worked myself up into a sweat -lol!!).

I wanted to purchase it but it was too small!

Here I am … I know, I know… I should have taken a picture of the mug and my container with almonds. What was I thinking? Damn nerves.

Visualize them in the picture. I do! It works…hee, hee!!! 

Maybe, I’ll do a bulk buying vlog next since it’s not so intimidating… maybe!

So, humor me, do you bring your own containers? If not, what’s stopping you?

{Happy WW!} Feeding “Billy”

Work In Progress:The Bloggy Blog & Upcycled Baby Booties

Hola!

Hope everyone is having a nice day. The weather is gorgeous here. I’m getting ready to head out and take Baby C up to the library with me on my bike (he rides in the Ergo baby carrier).

Don’t know if you’ve  noticed but my site has a new face, finally!! I’m in the middle of working on the new pages added …. About, Contact, Advertising as well as linking up to the sites of Friends of RYD. I also have a few other things in the works for this site.

Anywho, this isn’t the post I had planned today but just thought I’d let you know what’s happening…

I’ve also been working on finishing up this project!

My lil Superman, burnt a whole in his last pair of shoes, just a week ago so I decided to stitch him up a pair. I used a felted wool sweater for the body of the shoe and an old leather skirt for the soles. I’m almost finished with the second bootie. I hope to post pics of the finished version.

AND while I checked into my facebook account it turns out the Natural Papa blogged about a DIY baby shoes tutorial. So, I figured it couldn’t be more fitting… besides… great minds think alike!

Alright, I’m outta here.

Peace, LOVE & Green Happiness!

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