My grandmother made pickles from the cucumbers grown in her own garden.  We have a veggie garden full of produce, but no cukes so I buy freshly picked cucumbers at the Farmer’s Market - last year it was Stoney Plains, this year Alm Hill farms; along with three or four large bunches of fresh dill.  You’ll need several heads of garlic - we had some from the garden which survived the wet spring.  You’ll also need apple cider vinegar, salt, alum, quart jars, lids and seals. 

Dill Pickles:  

For twelve to fourteen quarts of dill pickles you’ll need:  14 pounds of freshly picked small cucumbers/3 or 4 large bunches of dill/apple cider vinegar (no substitutes for this!)/approximately 50 peeled cloves of garlic/rock salt or pickling salt (not iodized!)/alum/12-14 glass quart jars with lids and seals.

Gather ingredients and jars. Thoroughly rinse or wash cucumbers.  Rinse dill, peel garlic.  Wash and sterilize jars in the dishwasher or place in a large pot of barely simmering water until needed; place seals and lids in a pan of barely simmering water until needed.  

While jars and lids are cleaning/sterilizing mix the brine in a large pot and bring to a simmer:  1 quart apple cider vinegar, 2 quarts water, 2/3 cup rock or pickling salt. This is enough for maybe six quarts - you’ll need to double/triple or more depending on quantity. This recipe doubled is about the right amount of brine for twelve quarts, but you may need to make a little more. 

When jars are thoroughly cleaned and sterilized begin to fill them:  3 or 4 cloves of garlic in the bottom, two stalks of dill, stuff cukes into jars as snugly as possible without bruising or squeezing them.  Save smallest cucumbers for the very top spaces.  Fill to 1/2″ of top - do not fill to top of the jar.  

When jars are filled with garlic, dill and cucumbers, sprinkle 1/4 tsp. Alum on top and pour the simmering brine into one jar at a time to just cover the cucumbers, wipe top of jar with a clean cloth, firmly place seal and screw on lid.  Tighten it.  Because my grandmother did, I turn mine upside down for a few hours - she felt they sealed better that way.  Not sure it’s necessary.  If the brine is simmering hot and you fill and immediately tighten each jar they should seal within a few hours. You’ll know they’re sealed if the seals don’t pop back when pushed down in the center.  

When the house smells like a giant brinery you’ll know you’ve made your pickles for the year!

For the next few hours you’ll hear the gentle pops as the vacume is achieved in each jar. Every year I have one or two jars that don’t seal - doesn’t seem to be a problem. We eat those sooner than later, and remember that traditionally dill pickles were preserved in large vats of brine for months on end, unsealed. I open the first jar after about 8 weeks and that’s the best jar of the year in my opinion. 

(Alum powder, found amongst spices at most grocery stores, is used in pickling recipes as a preservative, to maintain crispness - Wikipedia.)

Here’s Olive, her backpack filled with school supplies, ready for her first day back at school. Her mom, Sharon tries to buy green products whenever she can but it’s not as easy as it sounds. Each family is given a list of supplies their child is expected to have for school. It is what you might expect — pencils, binders, notebook paper, etc. Most families spend around $95 per child, which is no small amount, especially when you add clothes, backpacks and lunch boxes to that. If you have budgetary restraints, as most of us do, is there a way to consume responsibly and still stay within your limits? If you are trying to support our local stores the whole thing becomes even more complicated.

I went to the University Bookstore, one of my favorite independent booksellers, and checked out their supplies. They had green products prominently displayed right next to the cash register. There were several things but truthfully, not nearly as much as I would have expected. Most of the green items are manufactured by large companies capitalizing on this market. The 100% recycled post-its were made in France and packaged in China.

I was happy to discover some products made by the Sustainable Group, right here in Seattle. They say, “our philosophy embraces the ideals of a balanced approach to providing great products, great value to our customers and products that reduce the environmental footprint of our industry. All of our products are made from high-content recycled material and are manufactured locally.” Their binders are corrugated cardboard, great for a minimalist look, but not what most kids would choose, if given the choice. On the other hand, decorating one of these with markers, stamps and stickers to personalize it could be a fun project.

Pens and pencils made from recycled materials are widely available. Crayons, not so much. I read that Prang makes some crayons from 85% soybean oil but I haven’t see them yet.

The other item I was happy to see at the U bookstore was metal lunch boxes. The issue with most lunch boxes is the vinyl or PVC lining. Metal or PVC-free lunch boxes are preferable. Vinyl is also used in many backpacks. Both PVC-free lunch boxes ($14) and backpacks ($25) are available in children’s sizes at REI. I am fairly certain these products are not manufactured here. We’ve all heard plenty about water bottles so I won’t go into it except to say that metal, although considerably more expensive, is healthier for you and for the environment.

I don’t have school-age children at home but when I am shopping for office and art supplies I can still try to buy sustainable products whenever possible. Every small action we can take to preserve our environment for future generations is a step in the right direction.

I know, it sounds . . . er . . . interesting. I’m here to tell you that it was so off the chart delicious I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. The beet’s earthiness is transformed into a scarlet dream of a soup. Based on the Polish soup, Zupa Letnia, part of the appeal for me is that Sally put it together in a way that I can relate to. Some of this, some of that, whatever sounds good, put some in. At the heart of the soup, however, are the roasted beets, cucumber, and some buttermilk.

I asked her for a recipe. Trying to remember the how and what was a challenge, but she came up with one. That’s the problem with intuitive cooking. Once in a while you make something worth repeating and if you don’t have it written down there’s no way you’re going to remember the nuances of the process weeks later.

Here it is in all its glory with Sally’s comments italicized. You have to taste it to believe it. And, please, feel free to mess with this all you want – make it your own local, seasonal, summertime soup.

Beet & Cucumber Soup ala Sally L.:  All ingredients for this soup are in season and available locally.

Ingredients: Beets, roasted; onions, roasted; buttermilk; cucumber; plus, a mix of possibilities that you may add, or not, in various quantities: lemon juice, vinegar, balsamic, potato, fresh dill, tabasco, salt & pepper. Sally also added a little chicken stock which she says she might omit next time.

I boiled about 3 medium beets in salted water until tender, cooled and peeled them.

These went into the blender with about 3 cups of buttermilk. ( My brand was Sunshine, 1% cultured lowfat buttermilk. I loved it because it was not too acidic, but you can adjust for that later if needed.)

Also into the blender:

1 2/3 english cucumber, slightly peeled

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 Tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar

1 tsp balsamic syrup

2 small waxed potatoes, cooked, not peeled

2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

3 shakes tabasco sauce

salt & pepper

The little extra things were added to give the soup some depth of taste, as I thought there was a chance it could be a bit bland. But I think you could simplify it if you wanted to share it. For example, I think you could lose all or some of these—the rice wine vinegar, balsamic syrup, potato, lemon juice, and bouillon— ramp up the dill, and add a bit of sugar if needed. The sour cream isn’t necessary, just pretty on top, but I guess it could be yogurt or buttermilk. I considered putting mint in it, which might have been good, too. You see what kind of cook I am. I didn’t put a lot of salt in, but what I did add was really necessary, and the bouillon base was also salty.

(More information about this Polish soup at Zupa Letnia.)

And then she served dessert: Vanilla & Honey Greek Yogurt with fresh berries. Damn.

The fruits available this time of year — melons, peaches, berries — are so tempting but the truth is, I’m not big on baking pies, sweet desserts or jams. I love fresh fruit on cereal or in a smoothie. A perfectly ripened peach or melon with nothing else is a summertime treat I’ll be dreaming about next winter. Freezing fruit, especially berries, to use later in the year is always a good option. Cooler weather makes me crave more savory flavors, even if summer has not officially ended.

Last week Sally and I were photographing at Sazerac for Dining Out magazine. The chef brought us dish after delectable dish. It’s not exactly acceptable for us to sample while we shoot, but it was very tempting. One salad caught my eye and I decided to try my own version at home so I could nibble freely while I took photos.

Sazerac’s salad inspired me to think about ways to use our local peaches in savory dishes. I have no problem devouring a salad like this, all in one sitting, while a pie or cobbler could take me a week or more. I’ve used apples and pears in salads, but hadn’t tried peaches. Sazerac’s chef used proscuitto, not a local ingredient, but an important element, nonetheless. He also included those wonderful Spanish nuts, Marcona almonds. I knew the almonds would be tasty, but I wanted to make my salad as local as possible. I used goat cheese from Port Madison Farm, peaches from Billy’s and rustic arugula from my own backyard. I sprinkled some green fennel seeds , also from my garden, splashed on a little champagne vinegar and drizzled olive oil over the top. This is the perfect plate to take outdoors and soak in some sunshine while you sample and appreciate all the different combinations of sweetness and zestiness.

I had also noticed half of a watermelon sitting in the fridge waiting to be eaten. Just a few days ago, we were sitting in the yard eating it and teaching Lily to spit the seeds.

Now with the change in weather, I was craving something different. Since I was on a roll with savory salads, I put one together with watermelon. I am the only person I know that sprinkles salt on melon. Obviously, I love mixing sweet and salty flavors. To recreate this flavor combo, I made a simple salad of watermelon and feta cheese. I added some thin slices of an orange bell pepper, mostly because pink & orange is one of my favorite color combinations, but it tasted as good as it looked. Squeeze half a lime over the top and you have another great salad, perfect for this transitional season.

]]> http://mixedgreensblog.com/2008/09/01/eat-local/late-summer-savory-fruit-salads/feed/ http://mixedgreensblog.com/2008/08/29/local-living/whats-up-with-the-paper-cup-2/ http://mixedgreensblog.com/2008/08/29/local-living/whats-up-with-the-paper-cup-2/#comments Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:01:06 +0000 Sally S. http://mixedgreensblog.com/2008/08/29/uncategorized/whats-up-with-the-paper-cup-2/ I’ve been a dunce about the paper cup. While others have been carrying their reusable cups into coffee shops the past few years, I rarely have. The perceived paper cups’ biodegradability snookered some of us into thinking it was so much better than Styrofoam, and it’s paper and that’s organic, so what’s the problem?

Here are a few things we all should know:

• Recycled material makes up only a small percentage of a paper cup, mostly it’s wood chips. Trees, many trees, are needed.
• A lot of electricity and water, and then chemicals in the form of plastic are necessary to make a paper cup, many times more than what is required to make a Styrofoam cup. We caught on to those a long time ago and are aware that they take centuries to biodegrade. We now need to be just as savvy with the paper cup, which is a glutton at the production end.
• We’re now ‘consuming’ several billion paper cups in the U.S. each year (Starbucks alone accounts for over 2.3 billion), landfills are overwhelmed with this bulk, and we now know that it isn’t simply paper that’s decomposing. It’s not such a clean process.
• During the process of biodegrading methane is created, a substance far more environmentally damaging than carbon dioxide.

I urge you to check out this website, Sustainability is Sexy which has the complete scoop, well organized and succinct information about the paper cup.

Our comfort with having our hot beverages delivered in a nice paper cup is analogous to the disposable chopsticks issue in China. NPR featured an interesting piece a few months ago called Bring Your Own Chopsticks. They reported that in China a one-hundred acre forest is required to produce enough disposable chopsticks for one day. Like we Americans with our paper cups, the Chinese have become accustomed to the convenience, with little regard for the environmental cost. There’s a campaign in China now to change the disposable chopsticks practice. As you can imagine there are mixed reviews from the public there who like the convenience of the take-away, disposable chopstick. Sound familiar?

So many conveniences become habits that are taken for granted. Sometimes environmentally sensitive, sustainably oriented people don’t think about common practices like paper cup use that are, collectively speaking, unbelievably toxic. A new sense of frugality is needed, new habits formed and the unimagined secondary benefits of living sustainably will surprise us, I think. Find your reusable coffee cup and carry it with you like the canvas bags we’re now using for groceries. Denounce the paper cup and spread the word.

This table, again at Sustainability is Sexy site, is easy to read and shows paper cup use in relation to wood consumed, resources wasted, and solid waste created.

from Wikipedia: Paper cups have an environmental impact. Although the cups themselves are made from renewable resources (wood chips), paper cups actually consume more non-renewable resources in their manufacture than cups made of polystyrene foam, since converting the wood chips to paper pulp requires energy. During their life cycle, the only significant effluent of polystyrene cups is pentane. In contrast, the manufacture of paper requires several inorganic chemicals and creates large amounts of water effluents. Similarly, recycling polystyrene cups has less impact than recycling paper cups. Paper cups are, however, more biodegradable than polystyrene cups, with the caveat that in an anaerobic landfill paper cups will generally remain undegraded for a long time.[8][9]

A number of cities, e.g. Portland, Oregon in 2003, have banned styrofoam cups and required the use of paper ones in take-out and fast food restaurants.[10]

This is a summertime curtain call for a previous post.

Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, practically any celebration can be a challenge if you are trying to live sustainably, especially when kids are involved. It is hard enough not to fall prey to consumerism throughout the year but holidays can be even more difficult. Recently, Krista and Chris put on a birthday party for Lily. Here are some of the choices they made to create an event that was not only fun for everyone but also fit with their green ideals.

Buy flowers from the Farmers Market from vendors that don’t use pesticides. We are careful to buy organic foods whenever possible but sometimes forget that the floriculture industry is known for heavy use of pesticides that are poisoning workers as well as the environment.

A craft table is always a hit and a great way to re-use ribbons and all kinds of packaging materials. Let everyone make their own party hat, or in this case, crown.

A basket of dress-ups and one of musical instruments are fun for all ages. Thrift shops are a great source for dress-ups, as are our own closets. Musical instruments will often encourage some of the parents to get involved (dress-ups may too, especially hats).

Bubbles are very environmentally-friendly, especially if you make your own bubble-stuff.

Having a healthy snack before cake is a good idea. Making “salad people” encourages kids to eat vegetables, even some they may not think they like. You can vary the veggies depending on what is fresh and available locally. Some simple dips on the side make it even more delicious. Don’t be surprised if the Moms and Dads join in and want to make their own salad people.

Let guests know that handmade gifts and pre-loved toys are welcome. Sometimes gifts from an older friend’s toy box are especially treasured. Gifts of experiences, like dance classes, cut down on waste and for adults, think about donations made to non-profit organizations.

There are always going to be a few things that are non-negotiable like a princess castle cake from QFC. They will make a carrot cake in this shape, if that is acceptable to the birthday girl.

The point is not seeing how ecologically-correct you can be. When you make choices in favor of sustainability, you are not only setting a great example for the next generation, you may find that simple celebrations can be the most memorable.

]]> http://mixedgreensblog.com/2008/08/28/farmers-markets/happy-eco-friendly-birthday/feed/ http://mixedgreensblog.com/2008/08/28/eat-local/our-own-fish-story-loki-fish/ http://mixedgreensblog.com/2008/08/28/eat-local/our-own-fish-story-loki-fish/#comments Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:38:13 +0000 Sally S. http://mixedgreensblog.com/2008/08/28/uncategorized/our-own-fish-story-loki-fish/ Whenever we buy fish at Loki, the meal we make – often barbecued salmon cooked atop a bed of fennel stalks – is imbued with the whatever local we've been served that morning from the Loki crew. We learn a little something about the fish we’re getting that week – where it came from, what’s coming up next, what’s gone for this year, sometimes a bit about the politics of it all.

The succotash I grew up with — frozen lima beans and corn — hardly did justice to the ancient origins of this combination. Originally, it was a Native American dish using two of the oldest and most important foods in our culture, corn and beans. Succotash doesn’t seem to be well known in the Pacific Northwest but is chock-full of vegetables available now in our local markets and will make a great addition to your summer repertoire.

Sweet corn is best eaten on the day it’s picked. Alice Waters reminds us that seeing a worm at the tip is a good indication that no pesticides have been used and that, of course, is a good thing. Corn on the cob is one of the simplest ways to eat it, but I love corn cut off the cob. Wrap up a packet of cut corn dotted with butter in foil, and place on the grill with your meat or fish — couldn’t be easier.

There are several methods for cutting corn off the cob and lots of kitchen gadgets to make it easier. It seems the main issue is containing the kernels once they are cut. For years, I’ve been laying the corn on it’s side and cutting it that way. I could have sworn Charlie taught me that method.

When I asked him to help me me with these photos, I was informed he has a completely different method. At least he humored me by demonstrating the “old” method, which I still believe is a good one. The new and improved way is to first cut off the stem from the bottom (the stem might interfere with making a straight cut down the side) and then cut the ear in half.

This will give you a flat edge to set the ear on vertically. A shorter piece is easier to control too. Whichever method you prefer, to make this succotash, you need corn from two ears.

There are lots of ingredients but you can buy practically everything fresh from local vendors - the only essentials are corn & beans.

Ingredients:

1 small onion - I used a red Torpedo onion from Willie Greens

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced - from Billy’s Organic

Kernels from 2 ears of sweet corn - from Rent’s Due Ranch

1 cup beans - traditionally limas but I used romano beans from Willie Greens , blanched and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced -from Mair Farm-Taki

1/4 cup chopped cilantro -from Stoney Plains Organic

1/4 cup chopped basil from Lets Us Farm (Tolt’s)

2 T butter

2 T dry white wine or vermouth

1/3 cup water

2 T olive oil

1 1/2 lbs large sea scallops

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Pull the muscle off the side of the scallops and discard, pat dry with paper towels and salt lightly.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet. Using tongs, lower the scallops in, allowing them to brown well on one side, then flip over and brown on the other. Remove from the pan and set on a warm plate, loosely covered with foil while you cook the succotash.

Lower the heat, add onion and bell pepper to the same skillet you cooked the scallops in. Cook until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in corn, beans, wine or vermouth, water and 1t salt. Cook until the vegetables are nearly cooked through and 1/2 of the liquid boils away. Add the cucumber and cook for another minute. Stir in butter until it melts, then add cilantro and basil. Add any juice from the scallops. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Spoon the succotash on plates and arrange the scallops on top.

This version of succotash was inspired by Jerry Traunfeld in The Herbal Kitchen.

]]> http://mixedgreensblog.com/2008/08/27/eat-local/sustainable-succotash/feed/ http://mixedgreensblog.com/2008/08/26/local-living/biker-chick-or-biker-chic/ http://mixedgreensblog.com/2008/08/26/local-living/biker-chick-or-biker-chic/#comments Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:25:54 +0000 Sally S. http://mixedgreensblog.com/2008/08/26/uncategorized/biker-chick-or-biker-chic/ Locomotion in its various forms, walking, kayaking, biking, skiing, hiking, swimming, are activities I’ve always loved and feel eager about including in my life. Biking through city traffic? Not so much.

But I wanted to do something, even a small thing, in regard to fossil fuel consumption. My husband takes this seriously and commutes through the city to work nearly every day. That I can’t match, partly because my work hasn’t accommodated it, and, truthfully, because I’m not prepared to ride the steep hills through downtown traffic, at least not yet.

I can, however, ride my bike to and from errands in my own neck of the woods. I’ve been doing that and feel smug as can be whenever I do. For those who’ve been biking around the neighborhood for ages, you’re way ahead of me and you’ve been an inspiration. Friend Judy, for example. Sports and the outdoors have always been a part of my life, but inexplicably I’m just getting on track with the bike-commuting thing, experiencing the satisfaction of saving a little fuel, a few bucks and getting a mini-workout on the way.

Three favorite grocery stores within 3.5 miles of my house is a pretty easy gig. There’s a long, upward grade on the way. My bags are empty so that’s ideal. On the way back it’s one big downhill glide. The surprise is that the round trip takes maybe half an hour, about fifteen minutes longer than the same shopping trip by car. I figure if I can hop on my bike instead of behind the wheel just once a week let’s say, save the 7 miles of gas times 52 weeks, theoretically speaking I’ll have saved 364 miles in a year. No comparison with the 200 miles Bob rides each month, but it’s a start.  Short bike commutes.

So I’m thinking about sustainable actions, one step, one pedal at a time that collectively speaking add up to significant change. Small individual actions times thousands of others doing the same, like a lot more of us turning on our own internal combustion engines for the globe, the pocketbook, the bod. (Obviously, this is a message for us slackers who’ve taken a little time to jump on the short bike commute bandwagon - plenty of people caught on a while ago.)

Coincidentally NPR did a piece today on the electric bike and what a godsend it is for commuters who want to ride, but live in cities with formidable hillscapes like Seattle and San Francisco. And they didn’t portray the electric bike riders as wimps at all, but as conscientious commuters who are using their bikes more often when they have a nudge over steep hills. I have two friends with electric bikes, both of them fit and athletic, who love how it’s expanded their bike-commuting potential. This NPR feature is worth a listen if you’re interested, Electric Bikes Remove Strain of Riding.

City of Seattle Car Free Days