tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15428066513923534132009-07-09T12:44:38.676-07:00<b>Take one</b> average middle-class 4 person family.<br> <b>Reduce</b> energy consumption, CO2 emissions and impact on the environment.<br> <b>Add</b> growing their own food, cancelling their housecleaners and landscaper and making instead of buying pre-packaged. <br> <b>Equals</b> recipe for success? Or just a whole lot of arguments?Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.comBlogger780125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-27005573987063477092009-07-09T00:05:00.000-07:002009-07-08T23:44:21.776-07:00

I've been hearing a lot about agave nectar lately and have been eyeballing it in the store for the last few months, but wasn't sure if it was worth purchasing. Basically, agave is more fructose than glucose and, as such, has a relatively low glycemic index which is important if you have special diet considerations.In addition, the agave nectar products (at least the ones I've seen) are organic

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-11864264444614257862009-07-08T00:05:00.000-07:002009-07-07T22:06:27.697-07:00

Our very own Green as a Thistle (aka Vanessa Farquharson) has written a book, Sleeping Naked Is Green, which is out now for your reading enjoyment. (Are those your legs, Vanessa, or did you use a body double?)Reading through Vanessa's book, which, in many ways, chronicles her year of blogging about her one-a-day green changes, was very nostalgic for me since I read her blog religiously and

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-69037456015951281392009-07-07T00:01:00.000-07:002009-07-07T11:06:25.811-07:00

We spent part of the day Sunday in Sequim, WA, which has got to be the lavender capital of the west coast, if not the U.S. Who needs Provence when you've got Dungeness Spit? Okay, well, maybe not.When we got home from our trip from Port Townsend yesterday, we didn't have a whole lot of food in the house and, wanting to eat mostly vegetation after a weekend of eating out, I rummaged around in the

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-66673735992205879282009-07-03T00:01:00.000-07:002009-07-03T00:06:28.945-07:00

I was going to do a Science Friday post today, but since it's a holiday for many of you, I thought I'd do a poll instead.I may have the opportunity to audition for a role as a green expert on a green makeover reality show. Is this crazy or not?Please vote in the poll on the right and leave your witty remarks in the comments!

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-15080020492424501172009-07-02T00:01:00.000-07:002009-07-01T22:32:56.003-07:00

My olive oil lamp article is finally up on Mother Earth News if you want to check out how to make your own lamp using ordinary household materials and olive oil.Let me know if you've made one before!

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-62469578585861124402009-07-01T00:05:00.000-07:002009-06-30T21:39:50.757-07:00

Apparently, California's drought is hitting an all time low (high?) such that the city of Los Angeles is now paying people $1 per square foot to replace their grass with a drought-resistant alternative.Now, this program may not be as lucrative as the highly esteemed Cash 4 Gold scheme, but if you live in L.A. and you have between 200 to 2,000 square feet of living lawn (they don't want your old,

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-72646596732177841112009-06-30T00:05:00.000-07:002009-06-29T22:11:25.588-07:00

First of all, let me state that the picture to the left shows what not to wear while washing your car unless you are expecting to use your cleavage to hold the sponge. And, if that's the case, you'll really want to make sure you are using a non-toxic, and non-irritating, soap to do the job.Anyway, what's the most eco friendly way to wash your car? That is, assuming you still have a car and

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-21620183134717052982009-06-28T00:00:00.000-07:002009-06-27T22:41:26.295-07:00

Yesterday, the whole family went to the Greenwood Auto Show, which is a free annual event in Seattle. People bring their classic cars and line them up on Greenwood Avenue for people to check out. I'm always amazed at how people keep some of these vehicles so pristine - it truly is a walk through memory lane for many visitors.My mom had great fun looking at the cars that were popular in her "hey

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-87737393942683747082009-06-27T00:00:00.000-07:002009-06-27T00:15:32.245-07:00

Unless you are my Dad and have a bunch of banana trees in your backyard, odds are that the bananas available to you in stores are in no way local. Even if you do live in an area that supports bananaculture (yes, I made that up), they won't be available year round.So, what's a banana loving gal or guy to do? Well, the next best thing if you must have bananas is to buy organically grown ones. Even

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-54288641897455090392009-06-26T00:00:00.000-07:002009-06-25T22:16:21.995-07:00

This is the first year that I didn't host a DivaCup Challenge on my blog. I have gotten the impression that many of you have already heard about it, but for those of you who haven't, the DivaCup is an internally used, reusable menstrual cup. It's made of silicone (there are other brands made of different materials if you have a silicone aversion), cost about $20 and seems to me to be fairly

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-43224443456518598672009-06-25T00:00:00.000-07:002009-06-24T22:20:12.501-07:00

It's been three and a half years since I've had an eye exam. For the last several months, my previous eyeglass prescription has seemed horribly out-of-date and I've managed to convince myself that the furrow developing between my eyebrows is from all the squinting I'm doing due to the myopia and astigmatism encroaching on me as I age. So, Monday I scheduled an eye exam and got an appointment for

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-90223446523607130702009-06-24T00:00:00.000-07:002009-06-24T05:59:13.749-07:00

It's been a while since I've been a teenager, but I can certainly appreciate their concerns about the environment. Back when I was a teen, the biggest issues that kept me up at night were nuclear war and holes in the ozone. Well, that and Don Johnson. Kids today can add environmental destruction to the list of things to preoccupy themselves.Having a newly minted teenage niece (well, she just

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-79819912856487915882009-06-23T00:00:00.000-07:002009-06-23T07:49:43.920-07:00

I have to say, I'm super excited by the fact that my kids' elementary school has plans to create space for a vegetable garden. The building of the space was underway during June and the kindergarten class helped put in plant starts right before school ended. So far, they've got beans, summer squash, corn, sunflowers and a whole host of other goodies in.The rest is getting prepped for planting.

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-90466310930418549472009-06-22T09:00:00.000-07:002009-06-22T10:03:43.651-07:00

I don't know about you, but I love foods made with mascarpone, even though I inevitably always mispronounce it. It's that triple-cream cheese that's used in making tiramisu and a whole host of very tasty sweet and savory Italian dishes. You can also serve it with fruit or it can be mixed with cocoa or coffee.Unfortunately, it's also very expensive to buy, that is, if you can find it in stores.

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-16867533605640478142009-06-19T00:00:00.000-07:002009-06-19T00:55:13.767-07:00

I know I've discussed this in the past but, as part of the Green Moms Carnival, this month we are posting about our eco-confessions. Things that we indulge in that, well, aren't exactly eco-friendly. It's being hosted by Jenn at The Green Parent so get ye over there on June 24th and check out all the self-flagellations.To start, just like Diane, we still get the NY Times and a bunch of magazines.

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-21309416317936744482009-06-16T00:00:00.000-07:002009-06-16T00:00:01.689-07:00

Well, we finally did it. Starting last week we gave our two kids free reign of the great outdoors. Of course, there are some limitations. Like they can go to the end of the block on either side (which is actually quite long) and they are allowed to go in neighbor's yards only if invited. They've gotten into a few scrapes, mostly a few banged up knees on bikes and scooters and a few altercations

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-88740627766737702272009-06-15T00:30:00.000-07:002009-06-15T00:30:00.369-07:00

I've been trying out all sorts of new stuff this last week, the most recent using coconut oil as an eye makeup remover. And, let me tell you! It's super.... well, you might as well read my review over on Green Goddess Dressing instead of me repeating myself here.Let me just tell you this: the average person uses as many as 25 personal care products, exposing themselves to upwards of 100 different

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-91831779513222054542009-06-12T00:30:00.000-07:002009-06-12T00:30:00.348-07:00

As a follow-up to yesterday's discussion on eco friendly facial cleansers, I gave washing my face with honey a try last night. I also went to town and used coconut oil as a facial moisturizer.Sound crazy? Go read my report over on Green Goddess Dressing.

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-27652528385671314692009-06-11T00:01:00.000-07:002009-06-11T00:03:01.336-07:00

Eventually, I'll stop all this redirecting to my other blog, but in the meantime you can go read about what I do for an eco friendly facial cleanser on Green Goddess Dressing today.

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-14119207818939578242009-06-10T06:49:00.001-07:002009-06-10T20:48:23.186-07:00

I'm doing a review of Vivesana Organic Sun Care over on Green Goddess Dressing today if you want to see what this sunscreen is all about!

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-86011255604572880662009-06-09T00:30:00.000-07:002009-06-09T00:30:01.033-07:00

If you are thinking of checking out some organic cotton swimsuits for summer, go check out my post, Organic Cotton Swimwear, over on Green Goddess Dressing.There's no guarantee you'll end up looking like Gisele on the left if you buy a 100% organic cotton bikini, but it's worth a look!

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-83480118816741841702009-06-07T00:00:00.000-07:002009-06-07T00:00:01.808-07:00

I'm reading another book by the same author from whom I got the Asparagi alla Milanese recipe. This one is called, Libation: A Bitter Alchemy and, no surprises here, it's about the origins of different drinks, written in a series of essays.And wouldn't you know it, before you even hit page 50, there's already a recipe I want to try out using my roses. You see, I've already made rose jam and rose

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-20465545662751941962009-06-04T11:00:00.000-07:002009-06-04T11:15:20.573-07:00

As you may recall, I recently purchased two columnar apple trees back in March. I bought one Northpole and one Scarlet Sentinel and they are doing just fabulous. I haven't gotten around to planting them yet and, even though they are still in pots, they are healthy and looking beautiful on my deck. They are pretty much done flowering and are both covered with tiny fruit as you can see in the

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-12002108511366350802009-06-03T00:00:00.000-07:002009-06-03T11:01:12.869-07:00

Okay, so I've started a new blog. I figured I already had a separate food blog, so I might as well start one to compile all my green fashion and beauty posts as well as include additional product reviews and stuff that not everyone here would be interested in. It's called Green Goddess Dressing and the first week will be re-posts of stuff you've already seen here, but I'll be branching out into

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542806651392353413.post-67851434779878005872009-06-02T20:00:00.000-07:002009-06-02T20:08:44.932-07:00

This seems just so bloody odd to me, but as of this evening, I've received over 1 million visits to my blog. Thanks to everyone for reading!

Crunchy Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.com11