Hooray for Homemade Hippie Hummus!

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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?

{Make it from scratch} Pickles!

This is what our jar looked like a day before all our pickles were inhaled eaten!

We love pickles really LOVE  pickles… pickles, pickles and more pickles!

Who doesn’t love pickles? I can remember the days when I would eat an entire jar of baby dills with my best friend.

Then I discovered pickles and peanut butter one day. Yes! before pregnancy. I was young, maybe 12. I guess, I had to know what the guests on Ricki Lake were talking about. I was babysitting and they had pickle “chips” (the kind you put on a burger) and they also had PB- Peter Pan, even! I took a chip added some PB and it became my new favorite snack….that along with some apples and I’m set! Pink lady apples’ if you have em’. Mmmm!!!!

But this post isn’t about pink lady apples even though their scrumptious. BUT not like pickles are…

scrumptious, crisp, and did I say scrumptious? 

Pickles are a staple food around here. The hub and I love em’- the eco tot can’t get enough of them (probably my fault! While he was in the womb I ate buckets of pickles!). I’m sure Baby C will learn to love them also.

Pickles aren’t all that cheap. Some pickle varieties even contain HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP… and for us, that’s a big no, no. HFCS is in everything, I swear! In order to stay away from HFCS we have to resort to reading labels all the time and buying organic. Let’s be honest here, as as mom I don’t really have time to read each and every label & buying organic isn’t always an option. Saving time and money is ideal + staying away from artificial crud is key!

THE RECIPE!

I searched high & low and finally found one I thought suited our pickles needs.

We have an old recipe book where it explains an old fashioned brine way of doing things.  We plan to do it sometime; for now this recipe hit the spot!! AND it’s easy peasy!

The only thing done differently in our version was adding in some peppercorns and mustard seed + some raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar. We also used dry dill but will use fresh next time!

Can’t wait for our next batch… YUM!

a recycled post, gearing up for 2010, & homemade recipes!

Hiya RYD readers!! How are ya? Hope you had a wonderful holiday.

Here’s a post I wrote about last year… if you need any ideas for what to do with your X-Mas cards!

Donate Your Christmas Cards

I’ve been looking at last year’s Green Vision’s and thinking about what some will be in 2010…

My vision board is a work in progress as I find pictures and words to summarize my goals and future!

Lately, I’ve been doing my best to meditate and visual what it is I truly want and what makes me happy. I also focus some time on my boys’ and our future together as unschooler’s. It’s going to be a great journey. I can only hope  we make it the greatest experience.

{Anywho}

I mentioned in an earlier post; I was going to make homemade gifts/goods for Christmas and that’s exactly what I did. ( I didn’t get any pictures of the green cleaning supplies; but I promise I made them.) I bought 2 new squirt bottles and reused and old one. I filled them up with…

1/2 cup of vinegar

1/4 cup of baking soda

10-20 drops of peppermint essential oil

put contents into a glass pitcher and add 1/2 gallon (2 liters) H20!

That’s it! You’re ready to go clean as it is an all purpose solution!

I put the squirt bottles in a reused gift bag along with a sample of Dr. Bronner’s Almond scented soap,  a glass mason jar filled with baking soda and a coconut scrub brush. The Dr. Bronner’s and baking soda make a good soft scrub in case you didn’t know. Something I’ve been doing for years.  I HEART Dr. Bronner’s soap. I highly recommend buying some- you can even find it at Target. A little goes a long way… it’s an all purpose soap. It’s amazing. 2 squirts to 2 gallons… is the recipe on their bottle.

Since my bro didn’t get any Dr. Bronner’s soap; I reused a baking soda can added in more baking soda, put in about 10-20 drops of Tangerine essential oil and sealed it with it’s lid. Poked holes in the top- voila’ it’s an instant carpet deodorizer! He’s always complaining about smells in his house… he’s a bachelor with roommates… so you know what I mean. LOL!

I also made a salt scrub for a close friend of the family. She loved the one I made for her on Mother’s Day so I decided to whip up a winter batch she would like!

Here’s what I did…

Bath Salt Scrub

1 cup of sea salt – fine works best… if you have course you can blend it down into fine using your blender or food processor.

1 cup of epsom salts

1/2 -3/4’s of oat powder (oats put into the blender and pulverized)

20 drops of essential oil of your choice … I chose peppermint for the holidays!

1/3 cup of organic EVOO

Stir all ingredients in a stainless steel or glass bowl for 2min’s or more then put into a glass mason jar! Or whatever dish suits your fancy.

For mother’s day I added in a lot more EVOO… you can do more or less depending on how slick you like to feel when you get out of the shower.

Enjoy!

P.S.

I will attempt to post a Meatless Monday recipe today! We’ll see…

Green Your Cup of Cocoa This Winter

Photo credit: stevendepolo via flickr

Winter bring lots of goodies and treats including the infamous cup of Hot Cocoa! Lately, it seems my little guy and I can’t get enough of it. It can get to be pretty expensive if you’re having a cup of hot cocoa each afternoon. Especially, if you’re buying them in packets (which I haven’t done in years!). I stopped buying the packets when I discovered Ovaltine…and stopped buying Ovaltine to start making my own. In the long run, making your own will save you some money. In a homemade recipe you have the opportunity to tweak with the ingredients and use quality ingredients such as organic.

The cast of Christmas spirit….

Nativa’s Raw Cacao Powder Suzanne’ s Ricemellow Pure Fun Organic Candy Cane’s

** You can make this recipe dairy free by replacing cow’s milk with almond, coconut, rice, or soy milk.

Just remember that to GREEN your cup of hot cocoa – you’ll want to look for ingredients that are organic, have NO High Fructose Corn Syrup, no artificial colors or favor and no JUNK period. Chemical and preservative free, if at possible. Most companies who make all natural and organic products are conscience about the planet. Besides, keeping the planet healthy the consumer’s health is also kept in mind. On top of it all, most eco companies donate certain percentages to environmental causes. So, by supporting them you’re more than likely supporting a wonderful cause and helping to SAVE THE PLANET!

{Meatless Monday} Sauerkraut; good food for your gut!

Photo credit: gkristo’s, via flickr

I don’t know about you but I love sauerkraut or anything fermented that it is. Let me explain… I didn’t really know what sauerkraut tasted like until a year and a half ago. After dealing with thrush I learned a lot about the foods that contribute to yeast and support a  healthy gut to kill off bad bacteria. Since the eco tot had thrush from the start my midwife and I thought it would be a good idea to start taking probiotics with Clark and eat foods named on the candida diet. Sauerkraut happens to be one of those foods.

Why Sauerkraut?

Read more

Homemade Underarm Goodness

I highly recommend making your own deodorant- it will be gratifying.

It has been a goal of mine to stop buying mainstream deodorants for AWHILE now. In case you didn’t know, deodorant’s on the market today are known to be harmful and cause certain cancers due to the toxic ingredients being used to make them.  (Ugh!)

After learning about chemical exposure from deodorants (what isn’t toxic anymore) I turned to natural alternatives such as, Tom’s of Maine, Alba, Miessence etc. I’ve pretty much tried them all but those name brands are just a few that kept creeping back onto my dresser.

Eventually, I found that Miessence worked the best and had ZERO toxic exposure. It’s my favorite alternative, for sure. My least favorite part though is having to order it and pay extra for shipping.

Granted, the product is outstanding but my pocketbook is not! I have yet to find any place in my town to carry the Miessence line (but even then $$). I thought what would my grandparents have done?

Read more

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

I mentioned a couple weeks back that I was unhappy with the way my dishes were looking after being ran through the dishwasher. Crummy, foggy and just plain dirty. After most washes I’d have to examine them all and re-do the REALLY bad ones and say O’WELL to the others. The reality is I don’t have time to rewash dishes. Sometimes, I’d even dampen a cloth before I’d eat off a plate if I could feel detergent powder. Gross!

I started using eco friendly dish washing detergent awhile ago to clean green up my act! I’ve used a few mainstream products in both liquid and powder form. So far I have not been impressed. I have an energy efficient Frigidaire model AND so far the following versions I have not had success with.

- Trader Joe’s

- Seventh Generation

- Ecover Tablets

- Method Smarty Dish

- Earth Friendly

I decided the next step in my quest for a dish washing detergent was my own version. There are many reasons why this approach is beneficial. For one, your wallet is spared since you’re more than likely buying less and the ingredients can be bought in bulk.  I also like the simple fact that it will create less waste. A biggie in my book. Okay, so on with the recipe and less chitter chatter.

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Earth Birthday Wrap Up: Homemade Love

Over the weekend we celebrated Tristan’s “Earth Birthday” party at my in-law’s house.. We had such a good time. I’m so thankful my in-law’s offered to have it at their place. It helped take some of the pressure off Tyler and I.  It was a lot of work anyway and definitely worth all the extra effort. This year to make it an eco-friendly birthday we didn’t have much time to really pull all the things we wanted to do together. With the arrival of Clark and several other side swipes it’s been a bit chaotic.

The party wasn’t until 3pm so we decided that we would make homemade pizzas from scratch and serve them up a salad and roasted potato wedges using organic and local ingredients. I also decided that I would make the pizza sauce from scratch also. I’d seen a recipe for both at The Natural Mommy’s site awhile back and have wanted to try it out. It turned out great and the guests really enjoyed the pizzas. We made a classic pepperoni, mushroom and olive, a veggie, a sundried tomato, artichoke, garlic and green onion, and a hawaiian pizza. I wish I would’ve taken pictures of the pizza/food. I did manage to snap a couple before shots.  It’s hard to juggle everything at once during a birthday party!!!

For the sauce I made both my own, from scratch (had 5 ripe tomatoes that needed to be used) and a homemade version from The Natural Mommy’s recipe using tomato paste. I then had about a 1/4 jar of pizza sauce that I had purchased a couple weeks prior and didn’t use all of it. After cooking up the sauces, I took all three and combined them.

My husband made the birthday cake- it was a Paula Dean cake called 1,2, 3, 4. It was more like shortcake/pound cake- it was very heavy. It was tasty but with frosting it was like a big cookie cake. We also made fresh lemonade from the lemons we brought back from my grandparents home a couple weekends ago. We’d planned to make ice-cream but time didn’t allow for it.

We did not purchase any decorations and were able to re-use the plates and napkins we had from the shower. We didn’t even send out evites for this party- it was word of mouth or by phone. This party was very last minute. I wanted to upcycle a birthday banner using some vintage fabric I have but just never found the time. Hopefully, this year, I’ll have some time to make it.  We made a pinata again this year and you’ll have to read about it at Eco Child’s Play. We filled the pinata with eco friendly treats such as glee gum, organic lollipops and organic fruit strips.

The kids did not get treat bags either. I’d forgotten to bring over the produce bags I’d planned on re-using like we did last year but we ended up giving them sandwich baggies to place their treats in- I know, cringe! It was mainly family who attended so their weren’t many kids, 5 total including Tristan. His two play buddies; he see’s almost weekly were not able to make it. He still had a lot of fun. They played in his playhouse we bought him (my parents, ty’s parents, and us) that is made out of sustainable wood. It’s really cute- I’m going to do a seperate post on that.

Overall, the party went smoothly.  It was small and sweet. The homemade touches made for a cozy feel. We saved money and the planet! Woo hoo! 

Eco Arts & Crafts for Kids

Summer is a great time to dive right into eco kids crafts! Although, my son is only 14 mos. old, I could use the practice while he’s young. Looking forward to the days when little man will get interactive and creative. Watching your children express themselves through art is very humbling. Arts & crafts offer children the time to explore and use their imagination. Often times, we babysit my niece and nephew and they like to be entertained.  Your kids can learn to love the planet while being taught how to re purpose items and help save the planet. Kids are great at finding new ways to use things too. A few handy crafts can easily distract a bored child…

-  Homemade Organic Playdough - As a child my sis and bro went nuts for this stuff. Check out this video from The Green Parent on how to make it at home.

-  Make Your Own Paper- what a fantastic way for kids to learn how recycled paper is made…we’re so going to do this!!!

Watch this video by The Green Parent author Jenn Savedge and you’ll be amazed!

-  Melt and re-use old broken crayons, found a really awesome Crockpot Crayons recipe…she even has one for playdough!!

-  Finger paint using non toxic paint or make your own recipe- instead of buying paper for this craft, combine the paper making craft and use the paper you made!!

Egg carton make eggcellent paint cups.

- Use toilet or paper towel rolls and  make a pair of binoculars, a pencil holder, telescope, or musical instrument (flute or horn)…etc.

Let kids decorate the outside with newspaper, magazine cutouts, sand, old buttons…etc.

- Re-use jar lids and make coasters, photo magnets, or change tray

- If you really want to get crafty you can make your own glue too!

Last night, I made organic playdough and my niece and nephew had a ball with it!  They were so fascinated of the simple fact it was actually made at home! Super easy too!!

Didn’t have cream of tartar so I used this No Fuss recipe instead

No Fuss Play Dough

1 cup cold water
1 cup salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil (only have EVOO)
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
natural coloring/essential oil  (used tangerine)

In a large bowl, mix together water, salt, oil and a few drops of essential oils and add color. Mix flour and cornstarch and add 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly (you may need a little more or a little less than 2 cups flour so make sure you stir in until it is the right consistency). Knead for a few minutes with flour on your hands.

Seal and put into refrigerator afterwards to keep from drying out! Home paper making here we come. Hoping it’ll get the artsy side out of me! I’m also going to do the crockpot recipe for broken crayons and playdough!! How terrific is that. So, stay tuned for all the summer CrAFty fun…

Oh! and did I say, The Green Parent rocks! There. Now you know. Can’t wait to get the book.

And don’t forget to enjoy the time with your budding eco-artist(s)! Have any crafts or ideas you’d like share?

Crunchy Tuesday

When life brings you lemons- make lemonade, of course!!! Last week, when my grandparents (Oma & Opa) were up, they brought us lemons from their yard! Growing up we always had plenty of lemons around. We would make fresh lemonade or my sister and I would eat them plain with salt!!

I had more lemons than the ones pictured and filled up two pitcher’s worth!! I froze a few lemon rinds for a quick freshner in the garbage disposal and froze a portion for later use. I made lemonade with the leftover juice . Here’s a yummy recipe for a fruity lemonade drink! I must confess, I could’ve used the hand squisher for the lemons but I opted out for quick performance and used the electric juicer! Shame on me! Especially, since my mom insists the hand juicer works a lot faster- I’ll try it out next time! ; )

Mixed Berry Lemonade (using organic ingredients)- yields 2-3 glasses!

In a blender add:

3/4 cups of mixed berries- we used marrionberries, raspberries, and blueberries

Equal parts of lemon juice and H2O- 8 oz. total

1/4 cup of sugar- or more depending on your sweet tooth…you can always use Stevia!!

Whirl it up and take a drink. Yum!

I also made some butter (a whole pint) and a pot of beans (15 bean mix) for Tristan!! I gave some butter to my mom and saved some for us!! I also borrowed my mom’s bread machine…she’s had it for years and NEVER uses it.  I planned on baking a loaf of bread…but realized I didn’t have any yeast!! I didn’t feel like making a special trip to the store for a packet. With the price of bread, milk. and eggs going up what’s a mom to do? Cook from scratch…go back to basics…make it happen!! I’m going to use the machine first then I want to try and actually do it by hand- so I’m planning to do a little trial experiment of my own.

Amongst other things- we celebrated Cinco De Mayo and my niece’s 9th birthday! Mom made enchilada’s. rice and beans, Dad actually made Chile Rellano’s, we BBQ’d some Carne Asada and I made vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting! All served with a fresh glass of lemonade! Mmm…

I was recently sent an email with great “crunchy tips” from a friend of mine, “Mamita Sarita” -

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