When life gives you root vegetables...

...make roasted veggies! I had a stockpile of root vegetables from  Muir Ranch including white and purple carrots, red and yellow beets, turnips and leeks. I put them all in a pressure cooker along with a tablespoon of olive oil, some salt and pepper and about six cloves of garlic for a quick healthy meal. It's going to be delicious as long as I don't burn them!

Talk This Way, Walk This Way

So often we jump in our cars to go somewhere without giving it a thought. But what do we miss when we whiz by at lightning speeds? On our trip to Seattle to visit family we stayed downtown and decided not to rent a car. I'm so glad we didn't because we saw so much of the city we had never seen before.  We also saved money on both the rental and expensive downtown parking.   I probably walked at least three miles each day and was able to see, smell and hear Seattle.  I got to take pictures of some amazing sculpture and architecture that I probably would have missed otherwise.  There were grapefruit sized brass plaques of Native American icons on one building, intricate man-hole cover art, and tulips popping up out of just about every pot. Also I explored much more than I would have by car, went into little shops and even toured the public library.  Next time you go out of town try using public transportation and walking - you might be amazed.

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Cut the Grass

Lawns are not very eco friendly as you know. They take lots of water and also fertilizers and mowing, contributing to both greenhouse gasses and wasting of valuable resources. We have no grass in our yard, partly because of these reasons but also because of the way our house sits on a steep lot. If I had a different yard I would probably have a small lawn - they're great for playing on, picnicking and letting dogs roll around. If you have a large lawn and you want to reduce it you can cut out the grass around the perimeter and have more planting beds for ornamental, veggies or both mixed in together. Doing this will not only save water but will also draw more birds and butterflies to your yard. Enjoy this beautiful day!

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Slim but delicious pickings = healthy dinner

I took the swiss chard I harvested today and added a bunch more that I got from Muir Ranch, plus squeezed the lemon I got from my tree today and boiled/steamed it all in 1/2 inch of water with some sea salt and it was delicious! The whole family loved it, except the dog.  I used the cilantro I harvested today in pasta sauce that I made with browned chicken and garlic, with the tiny red bell pepper (added a great flavor!), and Putanesca sauce from Trader Joe's and served it over brown rice and quinoa pasta (everyone but me is gluten free). It was a hit!

Today's Harvest

Swiss chard, snap peas, a tiny red bell pepper and cilantro. 

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Worms employed to make organic fertilizer

Got the worm bin all set up!

#worm-factory
+Nature's Footprint 

Excited about getting a new worm bin tomorrow, su...

Excited about getting a new worm bin tomorrow, subsidized in part by L.A. County.