sarah's sustainable life

i have many wonderful memories of the years when my mother stayed home with me. pancakes shaped like mickey mouse (which i still can’t do), watching “i love lucy” reruns on television (there was no such thing as cable), popcorn on the stove (you guessed it, no microwaves either), and playing michael jackson records on the turn table. but one of my greatest thrills was when my mom would make homemade play dough. with just a little flour, water, salt, and food coloring, i would have a toy that would keep me busy all day long. fast-forward twenty some years on a rainy day and i am racking my brain trying to come up with an activity for my son so that i won’t have to turn on the tele. homemade play dough – BINGO! so i mix up some water, flour, salt, and food coloring, and guess what? i make a HUGE mess! there was no recipe for this stuff, my mom just knew how to mix it. i had almost put play dough in the boat with eared pancakes when i came across a recipe in an old church cook book for homemade play dough. it’s not at all like my mom’s, a few more ingredients, some extra steps, but i did it! i made some beautiful pink play dough that has lasted several weeks and is still in great shape. today i am going to share that play dough recipe with you, courtesy of lynn ross and the st clair’s church of Christ in bath nc with one disclaimer – this is not as good as mom’s play dough! but it will have to do…

1cup all-purpose flour
3tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2T oil
1/4cup salt
1cup water
food coloring

blend all the ingredients in a sauce pan, and then cook on high heat until mixture pulls away for the pan and becomes “globby”. pour out and knead dough. store in air tight containers.

i am always disturbed to find that vegan margarines are nothing but a tub full of partially hydrogenated oil. who cares if it’s animal free if it will kill you in ten years? i created this recipe as a healthy alternative spread for my family, something i feel good about smearing on my son’s toast in the morning. today’s recipe: olive oil spread! and in true sustainable life fashion, it will save you money while keeping your heart happy!!

1 bottle light tasting olive oil
fine sea salt
small tub with tight snapping lid

in a small margarine type tub (i use one of josiah’s snack tubs usually), pour olive oil to fill the container 3/4 full. stir in 2-4tsp fine sea salt, depending on the size of your tub and your family’s taste. snap the lid on tightly and place in freezer upside down. after about an hour, the oil should be semi-solid, and ready for the fridge (right side up). as the spread solidifies in the fridge, you may want to flip the container a few times to keep the salt spread evenly throughout the oil. that’s it! easy, delicious, cheap, and oh-so-healthy!!

confused about all the information we are bombarded with on green tea? fear not! the green tea library is here to organize and sort the mess! though everything i’ve ever read on green tea is good or better, there are a lot of daily reports coming in from ongoing research that us green tea drinkers might like to know. or maybe you have questions, i know i was told not to drink green tea when i was pregnant, and though i followed advice, i’m still curious about that one. thank goodness someone has taken the time to compile all this amazing data – you may even find yourself drinking green tea more often if you browse over this page regularly!

in june, the city of san fransico passed the first law of its kind: a mandate to separate organic matter from trash into a separate waste bin. many cities have laws requiring recycling (as does san fransisco), but now they have become the first city in the world to have three rubbish bins at the pick up curb, one for garbage, one for recyclables, and one for organic compost (food garbage). though it seems like an extreme measure, the city seems to be welcoming and even embracing the law. restaurants who pay for garbage removal by the pound are saving thousands of dollars every month, and the vineyards that receive the mandated compost are benefiting from the abundance of fertilizer now available. the city expects to increase landfill diversion rates to 75% by 2010 with the help of this measure, and if participation rates are high, the city hopes to be waste free by 2020. is this a realistic goal? i don’t know, but it’s admirable, and if san antonio hopes to be the first green city in the us, this may be something we see locally very soon.

it’s almost lunch time again. we have been out all morning (playground, art class, wherever), i’ve only 30minutes till josiah will be screaming for food, and i have no idea what to feed him. luckily, there are a few convenience foods i keep around for such occasions, and i have come up with this recipe to be a fall back on those types of days. today’s recipe: josiah’s lunchtime pilaf! it is not terribly creative, true, but it is very healthy, inexpensive, and josiah approved!

1cup water
1/2cup quick cooking barley
1/2extra large vegetarian bouillon cube
1T extra virgin olive oil
1tsp salt-free garlic & herb seasoning (like Mrs. Dash)
1organic carrot*, peeled and diced very finely

boil water with bouillon and olive oil; stir in barley, seasoning, and carrot. cover and simmer for 10minutes. allow to sit with lid still on for five more minutes before transferring to a bowl and serving.
*bulk organic carrots are the cheapest veg in my supermarket, so i definitely spring for the organic here!

yahoo has a wonderful extension of their website – green.yahoo – that is full of wonderful tips, ideas, and cutting edge headlines on living a greener lifestyle. upon reading today, i stumbled across a television show that really made me excited (yes, a television show that i may regularly watch, believe it or not). the food network has added a program entitled “Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa d’Arabian”. ten dollars! and the dinners are meant to feed four, not one. i love what i have read in the interviews and overviews so far. i really hope this show can deliver! as a teaser, melissa has done an article/interview with green.yahoo on smart strategies for the supermarket. she has some wonderful suggestions that could really help your budget, and i love that she recognizes green living as a “close cousin” of being budget conscious! i hope to actually see this show sometime in the future and give a positive review.

upon researching activities to do with my son, i stumbled upon a business called “artworks studio“. this place offers regular, age appropriate, reasonably priced classes in hands-on art methods and art history from 18months and up. you can even schedule a birthday party, scout meeting, or home schooling class there! josiah and i started two weeks ago, and i was skeptical about how much he would actually participate. it turns out, my son is a painting and sculpting fool! we’re in the process of starting an art gallery in his room to showcase his talent – i think he may be the next jackson pollock!!:) check out artworks studios! i know there is more than one location in san antonio, and i think there may be some across the country.

josiah covered in paint after an artworks experience

a few weeks ago, and friend of mine called me up for some advice. it seems she does not like the havoc that hormonal birth control methods are wreaking with her body. who can argue? though most women would rather not get pregnant every year, no one enjoys the anger, depression, irritability, and general mood swings brought on by basically pumping your body full of extra female hormones. is there a better way? in doing some research, i found that there are several methods of non-invasive, non-hormonal birth control. they are safe, free, require the cooperation of both partners, help a woman know her body better, and can also be used for conception when the couple decides they are ready. in brief, these methods include:
rhythm method
ovulation method
Standard Days Method
sympto-thermal method
the link for each method gives GREAT details! there are disadvantages, too, as each is fairly time consuming, and if they are not followed precisely, pregnancy is a distinct possibility. i hope this helps some of you who are considering giving synthetic hormones the boot!

what is it about our computer that keeps josiah coming back again and again to tug on wires, punch on keys, and click with the mouse? i’m not sure, but when i heard about rif.org, i decided it was worth a try for an activity that should encourage prereading skills and give us another possibility on the “no tv” list. rif (reading is fundamental) is an interactive website that has games, songs, and many other activities to introduce young children to reading in fun ways. it was so exciting to see josiah spring into action with the finger plays of “head, shoulders, knees, and toes”, “the hokey pokey”, and “this old man”; he knows a lot more than i thought! believe it or not, i really do not care for technology of any kind, including computers. but you can’t argue with what works! make sure that if you have children in elementary school or younger that you check out this web page. it’s just fun and fantastic!

ok, you got me. i miss jenan and her authentic middle-eastern cooking VERY VERY much! one of my favorite dishes she made was spinach pies. i know the dough was homemade, and i never learned what went into it, but i have come up with my own version to satisfy my tummy. today’s recipe: spinach mushroom roll! this is actually a favorite of everyone in the family. it’s hard to go wrong with a garlic butter croissant crust!

1can garlic butter croissants*
1bunch fresh spinach (washed well, stems removed, and chopped)
2large white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1clove garlic, minced
2T olive oil
1/2lemon
salt to taste

roll croissants out into a large rectangle. toss together prepared spinach with mushrooms, garlic, olive oil, juice of the lemon, and salt to taste. heap mixture down the center length of the croissant crust. roll and tuck the dough to make a log (or cut dough sides to make a braid, if you have the time). bake in a preheated 375degree oven for about 20minutes, until the crust is golden on top and baked through on the bottom. cut into slices and enjoy!

*garlic butter croissants are difficult to find, no doubt, and they never seem to come in the generic brand; however, they add SO much flavor to this dish that they are totally worth the extra effort and cost. IF YOU CANNOT FIND garlic butter croissants, regular canned croissants will do just fine.