Try the organic approach

It's a lot easier to go organic than you might think.  Organic foods, especially fruits and vegetables are becoming a household name with every passing year and are becoming more and more abundant in your local stores, even.

When you make the switch to organic you need to think of ways you would have them flow into your normal eating routine rather than shoving them in and "trying" to make it work. 

Start with in-season fruits, such as bananas and oranges, or even grapes along side your normal breakfast meal.  Or, start out small with organic coffee or tea, even.  Small changes with your routine will allow for bigger changes into full on organic meals that will come later.

Organic foods may seem like they are priced higher but, overall they pay a farmer a fair pay once sold to the store, especially if you stick to a co-op or a farmers' market.  And, overall, buying local is a lot better than a huge market chain. 

Look for foods with the USDA Organic logo, similar to the one below, will make sure the organic food conforms to the USDA Organic Food and Production Act.  USDA Organic labels on your organic foods insures a chain of integrity when it comes to the food manufacturer. 

One more thing to keep in mind is avoiding the "Dirty Dozen."

The Dirty Dozen is a list of twelve foods that could contain high amounts of pesticides in the growing process of the food.  It's mostly fruits and vegetables but, pesticide-free foods is a great way to start you on your organic food transformation. 

This photo is copyrighted, please do not copy.

The USDA label requirements on all organic products follow basic labeling of only four categories:

• Product Label Claim:

1.  100% Organic

2. "Organic"

3.  "Made with organic ingredients only specified on the label"

4.  None (Nothing noted as organic)

• Label Parameters:

1.  100% Organic Ingredients

2.  At least 95% organic ingredients

3.  At least 70-95% Organic ingredients

4.  Less than 70% Organic Ingredients

Seems complicated to keep track of but, once you get used to reading the labels and being aware of what you  need to look for, it will become more routine.

Buying organic is a great way to start the change for yourself, your family, and the environment.  Don't just look to the labels, go with the soil the product is grown in, as well.  It's important that organic starts from the ground to your plate. 

Eco-Tip:  Use both sides of paper.  If a quick note is something you need to jot down quickly, once that note is done, use the other side for another quick note.  Paper waste is a huge problem, so don't add to the issue, use up as much space on a piece of paper as you can before tossing it.  And when you do toss it, toss it in to be recycled.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

Our Garden Currently: Growing slowing down

Now that falls is here our garden is slowing down with growth.  Just the other day I was literally picking maple tree leaves out of the carrot bed.  This time of year, harvest time, is always bittersweet to me.  For one, the last of our summer vegetables are being picked and it will be several months before I get to pull of very ripe tomato off the vine while the sun hits my back.  But I do look forward to getting the beds ready for the winter crops and seeds that will be planted in them.  Our garden still looks rather pretty though, even if it's slowly coming to a close for another year.

  

Some of our tomato plants have given their last, but others seem to still be going strong.  They will probably continue to give what they can till the first frost hits us here.  We have had quite a crop of tomatoes this year.  

  

The beans were the show-stealer's this year.  Last year it was the peas and the year before that it was the lettuce.  We had an amazing crop of beans and I now have about 15 bags of beans in the chest freezer, and 20 jars of canned beans.  This winter we will be eating beans till our hearts content.

  

No one in my house likes radishes, but I grow them anyway just so I can enjoy the blooms that come from them.  Plus, I have learned that living here in Oregon, slugs tend to like radishes as well and head toward them instead of our other crops.

Our yellow squash is slowly dying out.  I love steamed yellow squash with a little butter and salt, so I am sad to say goodbye to them every year.

Our leaf lettuce should still continue to grow for a bit longer.  It did really well and we had tons of salads this summer.

  

Our watermelons were ravaged by the blue jays this year, but our pumpkins held strong.  We have the one on the bottom currently waiting for us to pick him off the vine and show him off on the front porch here soon.  We are going to monogram our house numbers on him and not carve him this year.  

One lonely cucumber bloom left.  Maybe it will have time to produce a small one before the frost hits.

Our broccoli quickly going to seed.  We are going to plant fresh ones for the fall season.

Red peppers coming along nicely.  I am going to add one pepper to the jar of pickles we are canning this fall.  Just to give them a little KICK.  

My precious Rosemary.  Oh, how I love her!

Carrots in the process of being harvested.

   

My grandfather's walking stick tree and miniature apple tree.  They will be gracing us with their presence inside the garage soon.  

As my dogs PITA and Baz were running their own show, Skylar was learning how to operate the reel push mower.  He did a rather splendid job too!

Our reel mower came from an estate sale about 3 years ago, and I don't think it's sold anymore, but here is one similar to ours if you are interested in purchasing your own.

Eco-Tip:  Instead of being so hasty to throw out something that is broken, find a way to fix it with either tape, a screw, sanding it, wiring, or just plan turn it into something else.  Finding new uses for broken things can help keep items out of landfills.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

Shucking Corn!

Since the summer season is slowly coming to a close and fall is creeping up on us, we wanted to take advantage of all the corn that is for sale along the roadways here in Oregon.  Oregon seems to grow some of the best corn I have ever tasted and there are a lot of farmers in the Willamette Valley that grows the corn organically  which is definitely a plus.

The ears were pretty good looking ears.  We picked up about 10 ears for $4 from a local farmer.

We had another of husks left and decided to make corn husk necklaces and bracelets with the leftovers.  You can make them too by stripping the husks to three thin layers and then doing a simple braids and knots along the length of the bracelet.  Once it dries it will hold the knots and the braids.  For the necklace, strip the husks to thin layers and knot them together.  

Pretty simple, but a fun craft for the fall season.

A bag full of bracelet and necklace fun!

Look how great this corn looks!

We froze some of the ears for later and cooked a few up that night for dinner.  They were yummy!

Eco-Tip:  Recycle your used eye glasses to programs that can restore and clean them up to send to less privileged countries and areas that could put them to good use for workers and children to have sight.  Look for organizations like OneSight and The Lions Club to donate today.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

Stuffed Green Peppers

Although I am completely against anything involving a green pepper, I just had to share this recipe passed along to me from my chef friend Brandon Plotner.  I substitute the peppers for tomatoes instead and they come out just the same, but with a bit of a saltier taste. I have a weird, deadly allergy to all the 'Bell' Pepper varieties so the tomatoes work great as a substitute.  I have even used large, green tomatoes that didn't completely turn red, straight from my garden.

What you'll need: 

• 6 green peppers washed & hollowed out. (save tops) (Or use red, yellow, orange, or even tomatoes if you have an allergy to green peppers)
• 1 Onion
• 1 box of Zatarain's dirty rice mix
• 2 pounds of ground beef
• Minced garlic
• Lea and Perrins thick Worcestershire sauce
• Verole' Queso Mexican style melting cheese
• Kraft Mexican four cheese
• Oregano for garnish if desired

  

What to do:

After washing and hollowing out the green peppers, submerge them in cold water. Blanch over medium heat, until they become soft. Dice the tops of the peppers that you saved and your onion (These will be used to season the meat). Place your ground beef into a skillet with 2 tbsp. of butter, 4 tbsp. of Worcestershire and 1/2 tbsp. of minced garlic. Add in the green peppers and onions, stir and cook thoroughly. While your meat is cooking, make the Zatarain's dirty rice according to the directions on the box.

When the peppers are soft, the meat is cooked and the rice is done, drain the meat and mix the rice in with it. Remove the peppers from the hot water and submerge them in cold water until they cool. After they cool down, place them in a baking dish. Fill them up half way with the meat and rice mixture and then add the Kraft Mexican Four Cheese. Then top them off with the Queso Cheese. 

Place the peppers in the oven on 400 degrees until the cheese is a golden brown (see picture above.) 

For a different variation to this recipe see Grilled Talapia and Stuffed Tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Eco-Tip:  Spread Hugs like wild fire!  Hugging someone can brighten their day and getting a hug can do the same in return to you, so spread them around everyday of your life.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.