Tag Archives: vegetarian

Homemade Miso Soup

It’s the time of year where rich, heavy dishes are becoming less appealing and I am longing for cleansing, lighter foods.  However, it’s still a bit chilly out and yesterday it even snowed again!  I thought we had seen the last of the snow, but I suppose not….

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Luckily, the sun was shining so we had one last frolic in the snowy woods with a friend and her little man.  It was a thick snow that clung to the trees and flew off in puffs in the wind.  I have to admit, it was quite lovely although I do think I am ready to move on and embrace spring.  It’s going to be so fun with a little one around!

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Pumpkin and Lentil Soup

We’ve had some strange days of weather recently.  This photo isn’t the best, but in it you can see a rainbow, really dark clouds to the North over the lake, and you can tell that it is 100% sunny behind me by the way the trees are shining with light.  Add to that some lightning and snow all in the same day and you can see what I mean – strange!  But kind of beautiful, really… Continue reading →

Happy Mabon! (And a maple-glazed squash recipe)

It’s Mabon, the fall equinox, and I can certainly tell that the days are starting to wind down into longer nights.

Today, the day and night are equal and everything is in balance.  It’s a wonderful time to reflect on the concept of balance in your own life.  What can you do to find peace between the light and dark parts of yourself?  Continue reading →

Zucchini Fritters

It’s a fun challenge to continuously find new ways of preparing the abundance of produce that appears this time of year.

After trying zucchini fritters recently, I’ve realized that they’re nothing new to kitchen pros, but they were new to me and now we’ve already made them several times. They’re delicious and a great way to use up some of that extra zucchini.

Here’s how you can get started with your own Zucchini Fritters! Continue reading →

Sprout It Out

The weather remains snowy and cold, but there are fresh things growing indoors!

Sprouts are a wonderful way to introduce a fresh, healthy food to your winter diet.  And certainly, if you are aiming to eat a low-carbon diet that incorporates lots of local foods, sprouts are an ideal way to continue eating fresh through the winter months.

They’re also really good for you! The most common types of sprouting seeds (mixes of radish, alfalfa, clover, broccoli, legumes) are rich in nutrition containing:

  • Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B6, Vitamin K
  • Minerals such as phosphorus, iron, magnesium, potassium, manganese, and calcium
  • Dietary Fiber
  • Folate
  • Protein
  • Antioxidants
  • Chlorophyll Continue reading →

Local Foods in December? Yes! Plus: A Sweet Potato Bake

It seems like it has been awhile since I posted about my passion for eating local foods.  Perhaps you were thinking it’s because it’s December?

Nope! Continue reading →

Homemade Wheat Thins + Palm Oil PSA

Although I’m a few days late with this, I’d still like to share with you that last week was Orangutan Caring Week.

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Simply Homemade: Broth Powder and Face Wash

Last weekend, I was at the Chicago Bioneers conference.  It was extremely empowering to be in the presence of so many inspirational figures who are leading the way toward a new future  — one that is less dependent on oil, better at following the patterns found in nature, and is resilient to the inevitable fluctuations that happen in life. (My favorite presenters included Vandana Shiva, Richard Heinberg, and Starhawk.)

One of the themes that continually appeared was the need to focus on creating community and living simpler, more regionally-based lives.  However, people often asked, “How? What can I do to help us transition?”

I believe one of the primary answers is, in fact, embarrassingly simple: we need to consume less and produce more.  This cuts our carbon footprint, decreases our exposure to toxic chemicals, reduces the need to extract far away resources, supports local (and often home-based) economies, gives us meaning and purpose, reduces costs, produces less pollution, and on and on….

And so in case you haven’t noticed, that is one of the main things that I am attempting to do with this blog — get you excited about these simple-living changes!  It’s one of the easiest ways to walk the talk of being environmentally friendly, socially just, and a participant in a new Earth-centered way of life.

Today, I’m sharing two new homemade products that I’ve been meaning to write about (although on different ends of the homemade spectrum) — broth powder and face wash. I know…totally unrelated to one another, but they are both about producing more ourselves and consuming less!   Continue reading →

Slippery Elm Balls for Digestive Distress

Medicine doesn’t have to taste gross or be filled with ingredients that a normal human cannot pronounce (let alone comprehend where they came from!).  In fact, one of our first lines of medical help can be in the form of healing, all-natural products from plants we can identify outdoors that are made in our own kitchens with ingredients we trust.  This is herbal medicine. It is people’s medicine.

The following recipe is for a fun, easy to make, and even easier to eat herbal ball that helps to calm digestive issues.  Eat too much? Have heartburn? Feeling a general sense of malaise in your digestive region?  Give a slippery elm ball a try! Continue reading →