Sneaky Vegetables

Finished products! The top cookies that are in the shape of a glove are my spritzer cookies with dandelion greens. They tasted good. The two bottom cookies are a previous experiment that didn't turn out quite as delish. I used our spritzer recipe and added freshly ground flour (from my coffee grinder) and chocolate chips. The flour didn't grind fine enough for the cookies and, as you may be able to see in this picture, they were really grainy tasting. That is why I am back-tracking and using whole grain flours (ground by an expert) and just allowing my experiments to take me into the world of sneaky vegetables.

The Dandelion Green Experiment

These are the two ways that I process the dandelion greens to test out in the cookies. The plate at the top is full of candied greens and the bowl to the left the muttled greens that were soaked in a simple syrup.

The Dandelion Green Experiment

I am experimenting more with dandelion greens. I will be putting them into our favorite cookie recipe (the spritzer cookie) to see if that is, indeed a way to get the family to eat more greens. The cookies came out great but I think I will experiment with different forms of adding the greens into the mix.

Compost Project

The ongoing compost project so far has 3 layers of food compost alternating with layers of compost/dirt and grass clippings. I topped the whole pile off with some oak leaves from our front yard. It doesn't look like a very big pile, because it isn't yet. Plus, every time it rains, it seems to be shrinking up quite a bit. So I still have one bin that is in the filling stage, and one completely empty bin for rotating the pile when I come to that stage. I realize that some sources say that oak leaves are a very slow to compost. I wanted to test the waters in Oregon's spring rainy season.

Wheat Grass Sprouting

This is an update on the wheat grass sprouts that I started Wednesday evening. By Sunday evening I have inch sprouts. I can see a light haze of mold growing on the berries themselves, so I will try this again without the moist paper towel placed beneath the berries. I will continue to cover the berries with a moist paper towel for the first day or two just to get the sprouting in action.

Sustainable Today Show

I found a show on Portland Community Media (channel 11, for me) called "Sustainable Today". It was well mentioning because it may generate more ideas to tackle so I can become more fully self sufficient.

I've linked their web page to Portland Community Media, you just need to search for that particular show to see their future scheduled airings.

Iced Dandelion Tea

I found another use for those pesky dandelion's in your yard. I boiled the leaves and added them to sweetened water for a nice, non-caffeinated refreshing tea. One article that I ran across suggested that dandelion greens are one of the most nutritious to eat. My yard just might feed the masses.

Wheat Grass Sprouting

I started a new batch of wheat grass in a recycled plastic container. The previous batch got yellow and dry on the ends of each grass blade. That is apparently what happens when you let it sit for too long before harvesting. I'll post updates on how well the plastic container works for growing the delicate blades. I am looking for a better option to keep the berries from molding in the process. As shown below, I had used the top of an egg carton, for which it held onto an excess of moisture and allowed for a nice colony of mold to grow between the sprouting berries.

I went to a Better Living Energy Show a couple weeks back and I got to see some amazing stuff. Above, I took pictures of both a living a roof and a green house that is created to sustain a family of 4 all year long (all the veggies, that is). I also discovered that Yum! sauce now has a Cafe!!!!! Yippeeeee! By the way, if you have never tried Yum! sauce, you really should. It is completely addicting and tastes delicious with beans and rice. I also ran into a non-for-profit organization that simply directs all solar questions and links consumers with their customers for a good fit called Solar Oregon. They actually do a lot more than this, but for simplicity sake I will stop there.