September 20th, 2009 by Val
This recipe is courtesy of Greenfeet Marketing Assistant Tia Newby. Now, this apparently comes from her sister but either way, they are easy to make and tasty. If you have any additions or a recipe of your own to share, please add them in the comment section.
Handmade flour tortillas
3 cups flour (we recommend Organic. Bob’s Red Mill is a great brand)
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
6 tablespoons of vegetable shortening (yes you can use lard but veggie shortening is healthier!)
1 1/4 cups warm water
Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
Add 6 Tablespoons of vegetable shortening to the dry ingredients. Use a fork to mix together (or, you can dig in and use your hands like Grandma!)
Mix in the warm water. You can use the fork, but we find it’s best to use your flour dusted hands. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes then separate the dough into about 12 small balls.
Set aside for about 10 minutes.
Heat your griddle with a spray of cooking oil.
Either use a rolling pin to roll out tortillas on a floured surface or break out your easy to use tortilla press from Greenfeet and knock ‘em out lickety split!
Place your homemade flour tortillas on the grill for just a bit (usually less than a minute) on each side and fill with your favorite recipes! Enjoy!
Tags: flour tortilla recipe, homemade tortilla, organic flour tortillas
Posted in Recipes | 2 Comments »
September 20th, 2009 by Val
I love tortillas. They’re a staple in my family’s pantry because they’re inexpensive, portable and a great way to use up leftovers. I mean have you ever had a warm tortilla filled with leftover heated mashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and a sprinkling of blue cheese? Its heaven deliciously wrapped up. A few months back I was reading an article on making your own tortillas. It intrigued me. I also discovered that tortillas are healthier than I thought. Here are some interesting statistics from the Tortilla Industry Association: Flour Tortillas:
- Are a low-fat food.
- Contain iron & other B vitamins.
- A flour tortilla averages 115 calories and 2-3 grams of fat per serving.
Corn Tortillas:
- Are a low-fat, low-sodium food.
- Contain calcium, potassium and fiber. I recommend organic corn masa whenever possible.
- A corn tortilla averages 60 calories with 1 gram of fat per serving.
- Corn is gluten-free. This makes for a great alternative to bread for those with gluten allergies.
After seeing how easy they are to make and that they wouldn’t kill my daily calorie count I figured I needed to own one. I waved my magical purchasing wand and Wa-lah! We are now carrying a quality tortilla press at Greenfeet.com.
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Tags: corn tortilla, flour tortilla, homemade mexican tortillas, tortilla, tortilla press
Posted in Green Living | 1 Comment »
September 3rd, 2009 by Val
I recently read in our local weekly that a new Community Garden has started here in Chico. I mentioned it to a friend of mine who I figured would be excited about such a development. Instead, she looked at me quizzically and asked “what’s a community garden?” Apparently, I had some explaining to do.
A community garden is simply a piece of land gardened by a group of people to grow vegetables, flowers, trees, etc. It can be anywhere – a vacant lot, school, or church grounds. It may be in the middle of nowhere or smack dab in the middle of an urban hub. A community garden is a glorious thing bringing both people and food together. It’s an opportunity for folks without proper gardening space to enjoy the pleasure of home grown food. According to CommunityGarden.org there’s a lot to love about community gardens. Here are a few benefits a community garden offers:
- Improves the quality of life for people in the garden
- Provides a catalyst for neighborhood and community development
- Stimulates social interaction
- Encourages self-reliance
- Beautifies neighborhoods
- Produces nutritious food
- Reduces family food budgets
- Conserves resources
- Creates opportunity for recreation, exercise, therapy, and education
- Reduces crime
- Preserves green space
- Creates income opportunities and economic development
- Reduces city heat from streets and parking lots
- Provides opportunities for intergenerational and cross-cultural connections
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Posted in Green Living | 2 Comments »
July 20th, 2009 by Val
I’m in the middle of reading Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I’ve enjoyed many of Barbara’s books over the years and find myself engrossed in this one. If you’re a foodie, care where your food comes from and have a hankering to grow your own veggies, this is the book for you. If you don’t, well you should read it anyway. It’s really that good.
Now, Barbara’s daughter Camille loves to cook and she shares some really tasty recipes in the book using food they’ve either grown, raised or purchased locally. This particular recipe for Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies was one I had to try and try right now. See, my CSA is overflowing with zucchini. I love it, but everyone in my family is getting a bit tired of it. So, I’m working to come up with creative ways to use it. Zucchini bread is a fave – I bake and freeze for mid-winter goodness. But zucchini chocolate chip cookies? Really?
I was curious enough (and craving chocolate enough) to deal with a hot kitchen (it was 103 outside) to find out what they tasted like. With only basic ingredients, this easy to make recipe is located on the website Animalvegetablemiracle.org where you’ll find all the recipes in the book. It’s in a pdf format so be sure you’ve downloaded Acrobat reader (it’s free).
The results were fabulous. Granted, they’re not Toll House, however they are tasty. You don’t taste the zucchini at all making it perfect for veggie-aphobia kids. My 11 year old and his friend gave them a thumbs up and grabbed a handful on their way out to play. My husband mentioned they were light and cakey and smiled as he gobbled a few more. Excellent! This is the sort of recipe that you can sneak in a bit of nutrition and everyone is happy.
Tip: if you have super persnickety kids who don’t like anything ‘green’, simply grate or chope your zucchini super fine. They’ll never know it’s in there.
Try it and let me know what you think. Oh, and if you have any creative ways to use zucchini, please post it here. My family thanks you.
PS. Like the recycled glass salad/dessert plate featured in the picture? It’s available at Greenfeet and is totally affordable!
Tags: animal vegetable miracle, barbara kingsolver, chocolate chip cookies, cookie recipes, green living, sustainability, zucchini
Posted in Recipes | 3 Comments »
July 16th, 2009 by Val
Mine does!
I’ve been using the original Nellie’s Dryer Balls for years and adore them. So when they sent me their new PVC free version to try, I couldn’t wait to give them a whirl.
Good news! They’re as efficient as the originals – Nellie’s just made these puppies from more environmentally friendly materials. I’ve found by using dryer balls, my family’s clothes dry faster (around 25% faster!), have less lint and are soft. I haven’t had to use fabric softener for years saving me money, packaging and time. Three things I love to save!
While Nellie’s left out the PVC in their new dryer balls, they added a fun feature – optional fragrance! The center plugs of the dryer balls pop out to insert an optional soy wax fragrance stick. They release a subtle scent of citrus or lavender (both scents available at Greenfeet) while your clothes are being dried. The scent is subtle and simply helps keep your clothes smelling fresh. The fragrance sticks are made with pure essential oils in a soy wax blend, and are both phthalate and synthetic free. Clever, huh?
In a nutshell, here’s why I love my dryer balls:
- Reduces drying time saving me time as well as money on my energy bill.
- Saves me money on fabric softener (less trash too. No bottle, no trash)
- Keeps my family’s clothes looking great as they help reduce wrinkles and lint.
So, give ‘em a shot! Nellie’s dryer balls are a really easy way to cut down on energy use and helps make a mundane chore a little bit more enjoyable (and easier). Trust me, once you get your own set of dryer balls, you’ll be asking your friends if theirs are as well “equipped” as yours.
PS. Beware of cheap imitation dryer balls. If they aren’t Nellies’ , they ain’t the same. Nellie’s are quality made and come with a manufacturer’s guarantee. ‘Nuff said.
Tags: Chemical Free, Energy Saver, Fabric Softener, Laundry, Nellie's Dryer Balls, Non Toxic, PVC Free
Posted in Product Reviews | 1 Comment »
