Apartment garden

4.05.2009

I am mourning the loss of a yard as I prepare for this year's planting. Cross your fingers, I might be able to get a community garden plot.


In the meantime, here are my poor overcrowded starts. Mini-cucumbers, kale, basil, rosemary, and I have two flowering plants next to my other window. I have been trying to figure out how to give them more space when today I hit upon a brilliant idea.


A brilliant idea involving sunflower butter.

I save all of my leftover plastic jars because the grocery co-ops let you bring them in for bulk goods. Unfortunately, I don't live close to one anymore, and my plastic jars have been piling up a bit. Today I pierced holes in the bottom of a few of them to make mini planters. Then I put them on casserole dishes so that the water that drains through doesn't go anywhere.


Voila! A sunflower butter pot:

Dead baby penguins

7.20.2008

I mean, come on, there is no way to make that title sound worse. That's Mumble from Happy Feet washed up on the shore.

According to Discovery Channel News, this year in Brazil more than four hundred young penguins have been washed up on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. Suspects in the case: global warming creating rougher ocean conditions, overfishing causing the penguins to swim into more dangerous territory, and pollution from the offshore Campos oil field covering the penguins.

And with the discovery of an 8 billion barrel deep water field and President Bush vowing to lift bans on offshore drilling, Mumble doesn't stand a chance.

In which my housemates go "ultra" green

4.11.2008

My housemates, Garrett and Dustin Moon, are being featured on the front page of The Oregonian for their green home building initiatives. They have designed a house that lives almost entirely off the grid, while being incredibly functional and flexible. Their plans surpass the efforts of most professional architectural companies. What makes them different is that they are largely self taught and entirely grassroots.

Dustin and Garrett bought a house that they planned to rehab. Unfortunately, the house was poorly situated on the lot and badly constructed. They switched their plans to deconstruct the house and build a new one on the site.

Originally, Griff and I lived alone in our apartment, which is a few blocks from Garrett and Dustin's home. Their house is badly insulated and very cold in the winter, but, hey, so is our apartment. When it was freezing outside, we would huddle around the wood stove in their kitchen, sheets of plastic covering the windows to keep the heat in and heavy blankets to stop drafts. It was a wonderfully cozy nook that we all dreaded leaving. Now that the deconstruction process has begun, the Moon brothers (and Alisha) live with us while they complete their project, which makes Dustin and Garrett the only people to have our apartment be "a step up."

There will be some ongoing coverage of their building process in the Oregonian. I will keep you posted.

Vegan Reuben Sandwhich

3.06.2008

We're having a party tonight so that our friends can meet Audrey. Here's the main dish. Tonight will be my first time cooking it, so hopefully no one will choke on their sauerkraut.


Vegan Reuben Sandwich

One 8 oz. Package Tempeh, sliced into sandwich sized pieces
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup tamari or shoyu
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon caraway
2 teaspoons grainy mustard
1 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Cup Krrrristkraut Sauerkraut
3 Tablespoons veganaise (vegan mayo)
3 Tablespoons ketchup
3 Tablespoons minced pickles
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
One tomato, sliced thin
One red onion, sliced thin
Bib Lettuce
Sandwich bread, toasted

Another Reason I'm a Portland Snob

3.03.2008

As if the naked bike rides weren't enough.

According to a February article in Popular Science, Portland is the most environmentally responsible city in the United States.

America’s top green city has it all: Half its power comes from renewable sources, a quarter of the workforce commutes by bike, carpool or public transportation, and it has 35 buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.


Griff and I have started to bike everywhere. There are lots of great trails, and, in some cases, biking can actually be faster than driving. The only problem I'm running into is: How can I be environmentally friendly and still wear my high heel shoes?

And as long as we're going green

3.01.2008

Here's a pretty cool spoken word video on the environment:

http://www.greenbuild365.org/videos/video_gb06.html

Plastic Foot Print

Where are all of those old plastic bottles for shampoo, water, peanut butter going? According to the Independent, a lot of it is going into the ocean. So much, in fact, that the plastic waste has grown into twice the size of the continental United States. It's estimated that 100 million tons of trash are circulating in this vortex. For the complete article click here.


I've been trying to rethink the way my consumer decisions are affecting the planet, and this article has inspired me work on reducing my plastic consumption. It's not too hard to do in Portland. We keep all of our old jars and the grocery co-op near our house let's you bring in your own containers to buy things in bulk. We also now carry fabric bags with us when we go shopping, which, in addition to saving waste, also means that you don't have to deal with the complicated questions of life--like paper or plastic. I'm actively looking for more solutions, so any suggestions would be welcome.

Basically, I'm trying to reduce my plastic foot print, which is kind of like Big Foot, but a lot scarier.