To Fan or Not To Fan [#CTWW]

My goal is to get back to participating in the Change the World Wednesday challenges. This week's challenge:

This week we are joining my friends at Fanimation in celebrating the the first ever National Ceiling Fan Day (NCFD). Did you know that the average central cooling unit draws anywhere from 3,500 to 5,000 watts of energy? Compare that to the 6-30 watts used by a ceiling fan and we quickly see why ceiling fans are energy efficient. So, for at least one full day this week, power off your air conditioners and rely on ceiling fans and/or portable fans to keep cool.

Ahh, air conditioning! How I love thee; let me count the ways! Don't get me wrong, I don't like for the temperature in the house to be freezing, but I am not a fan of humid air. It's sticky! 

As I read this week's challenge, I wanted to do an inventory of ceiling fans and potential for installing more ceiling fans. Currently, we have the following: one fan on the furnace unit (used sometimes during the summer), two small personal fans (used only during minor flooding in the basement), ceiling fan in the breezeway (using during the summer). Our house has zero ceiling fans. We have thought about installing ceiling fans upstairs because it gets a little toasty in the summer, but have not found suitable fans for the shorter ceilings (cape cod house). The bedroom is an option for a ceiling fan. My husband would love to have a ceiling fan on while he sleeps during the night, but I hate something blowing on me while I sleep. We have not pulled the trigger on this installation.

Back to the challenge. I realized I have been doing this week's challenge without even knowing it. The air conditioner has not been turned on for longer than one week (I can't even remember the last time). I have been keeping the windows open during the day and at night when possible. I ran the fan unit one afternoon when the air was a little humid. Since the summer is coming to an end, my goal is not to turn the air conditioner on anymore. Now, I need to decide when to turn on the heat. Eek!

>> Do you have ceiling fans? Do you use them instead of using the air conditioner??
  

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Homemade Graeter's Peach Berry Sundae

One of my husband's favorite desserts is Graeter's Peach Berry Sundae. Although we have not seen this sundae advertised as a summer special, you can still order the sundae with the toppings. 

I set out to make Graeter's Peach Berry Sundae at home.

Ingredients:

• Graeter's Peach Ice Cream (pretty good on all natural ingredients)
• Organic strawberry preserves
• Homemade blueberry sauce (local blueberries)
• Homemade organic whipped cream
• Organic walnuts

The only thing missing is the cherry on top.
 

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Nesco Digital Food Dehydrator [Giveaway]

Prize:

Nesco Gardenmaster Digital Pro Food Dehydrator

ARV $170

Hosted by:

A Lucky Ladybug
and 
M.O.O.N.

"New Digitally Controlled" unit! Top mounted fan eliminates liquids dripping into the heater chamber. Expands to a giant 20 trays so you can dry large quantities all at once! 1000 watts of drying power means you can dry more, faster. Patented Converga-Flow® forces heated air down the exterior pressurized chamber, then horizontally across each individual tray, converging in the center, for fast, even and nutritious drying. If you are an aspiring gardener or love to visit your local farmers market, then you need a dehydrator.  There is no better and easier way to preserve in-season produce than to dehydrate it.
Fast, Powerful Fan! A quiet, 2,400-RPM motor and specially designed 4-1/2 inch fan mean faster, more nutritious drying.  Adjustable Thermostat!  The adjustable 90-160 degree F digital control gives you the flexibility to get the best results.

 As needs grow, this four-tray unit can be expanded with accessory Add-A-Trays®, up to 20 trays (20 sq. ft.) Drying pressure adjusts automatically to the number of trays.  Included  accessories: No-Spill Fruit Roll Sheet, Clean-A-Screen®, Jerky Spice Packet and Cure.

**If you are a company and would like to see your brand advertised in a M.O.O.N. event similar to this please contact MakeOurOwnNetwork@gmail.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway
"Make Our Own Network" solely organized this event and I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are 100% my own and may differ from your own or even those stated in this post. All Natural Katie is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment. This giveaway is open to the Continental US only (because of shipping costs) and will end on August 29th, 2013

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Wordless Wednesday - Final Harvest

Besides the carrots, the rest of the harvest from the final clean-out of the garden was beets and herbs. Well, more like lots of beet greens and one little beet. The carrots were absolutely delicious! They reminded me of childhood visits to my grandma's sisters' farm.

  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 7 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, and Day 6.

Day 7 (Sunday)

Breakfast
Fage Yogurt (fridge, bought last week) with the following:
   Organic trail mix (pantry, home made)
   Organic hemp seeds (fridge, previously bought)
   Organic rolled oats (pantry)

Snacks
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)
Almonds (pantry)

Lunch
N/A - went to lunch with my parents

Snacks
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)

Dinner
Creamy Avocado Pasta with the following:
   Pasta (home made by my dad)
   Organic peas (freezer)
   Organic lentils (left over from previous meal)
   Organic avocado (fridge, previously bought)
   Organic garlic (pantry, from CSA Farm)
   Extra Virgin Olive Oil (pantry)
   Organic lemon juice (fridge) - N/A since I bought the lemons today

Thoughts: Aside from my dad bringing his home made pasta and buying lemons today, I could have done this meals with what I had on hand. I have several bags of pasta in the pantry. I could have used pasta I already had, but my dad really wanted me to try his (first time) home made pasta tonight. I also could have made the creamy avocado sauce without the lemon juice. I do have lime juice in the fridge, but it probably would not taste the same. I still consider tonight's meal as successfully eating from the freezer, fridge, and/or pantry.

I found it quite interesting not being able to stop at the store to pick up an ingredient that I need. However, I am being more mindful of what I am buying and freezing. I like having items on hand in the freezer and pantry that can be made into a meal in case I cannot go to the grocery store. Although I know for the most part what I have on hand, making an inventory and keeping it up to date would help with meal planning in the future.

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 6 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.

Day 6 (Saturday)

Breakfast
Omelet, made with:
   Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
   Organic fried egg (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
   Organic cheddar cheese (fridge, previously bought)
   Organic bell peppers (left over from Thursday's dinner)
   Organic lentils (left over from Thursday's dinner)
Faye yogurt (fridge, bought last week)

Snacks
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)
Trail mix (pantry)

Lunch
Bhindi Masala (left overs from last night's dinner out)

Snacks
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)
Granola bar (home made)

Dinner
N/A - went to friend's birthday party

Thoughts: Apples are the only remaining fresh fruit. Carrots are the only fresh produce. I still have some milk, eggs, and yogurt left, but I do not think I would be able to pull of a complete dinner, unless we do breakfast for dinner. I still plan on coming up with something for Sunday night's dinner. I feel like pasta, frozen veggies, and pasta sauce are an easy meal, but I cannot serve that every day. Either way, this has been a great lesson for emergency preparedness to know what types of meals I can make from what I have on hand.

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 5 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4.

Day 5 (Friday)

Breakfast
Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
Organic fried egg with organic coconut oil (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
Organic cheddar cheese (fridge, previously bought)
Organic Ezekiel bread (freezer, I usually freeze 1/2 of the bread)

Snacks
Organic pear (fridge, bought last week)
Granola bar (homemade)

Lunch
Enchilada (left over from last night)

Snacks
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)
Organic Stonyfield yogurt (fridge, bought last week)

Dinner
Ate out

Thoughts: Today was easy since we went out with family to dinner. I am moving tonight's dinner to Sunday night so that I can complete all 5 weeknight dinners. I am sure I have something left I can through together. LOL

Aside from tonight's dinner and a birthday party we are attending tomorrow night, the rest of the breakfasts and lunches will be out of the freezer, fridge, and pantry. I will end this week's challenge with another post summarizing what I learned (and did not learn) during this week. Although the break from grocery shopping was very nice, I did miss going to Whole Foods. I kept trying to find a reason to go there, but kept telling myself to wait until my planned trip on Sunday.

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 4 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.

Day 4 (Thursday)

Breakfast
Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
Organic fried egg with organic coconut oil (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
Organic cheddar cheese (fridge, previously bought)
Organic Ezekiel bread (freezer, I usually freeze 1/2 of the bread)

Snacks
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)
Almonds (freezer)
Organic coconut date roll (pantry, previously bought)

Lunch
Pasta with veggies (left over from last night)
Organic green figs (fridge, bought last week)

Snacks
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)
Fage yogurt (fridge, bought last week)

Dinner
Enchiladas, made with:
   Organic bell peppers (freezer, from our CSA farm)
   Organic onion (left over from last week)
   Organic lentils (pantry, previously bought)
   Organic sour cream (fridge, left over from last week)
   Organic cheese (fridge)
   Organic salsa (pantry, previously bought)
   Sweet corn salad (pantry, canned by dad's friend)
   Organic whole wheat tortillas (freezer)

Thoughts: My original plan for tonight's dinner was some type of casserole. However, I was really struggling with what type of casserole to make. I was thinking something like Veggie Divan (a vegetarian take on Chicken Divan), but it did not sound appealing. I was really struggling all day trying to think of what to cook with the ingredients I had on hand. While driving home in traffic and listening to Classical music to relax, vegetarian enchiladas popped into my mind (thank you Tchaikovsky). I remembered that I had a package of frozen tortillas. A cup of peppers, some onion, sour cream, cheese, and salad and I have enchiladas. They were delicious!

My advice is to think of what you have on hand and get creative. Take a previous meal or meal idea and see how you can recreate it. If all else fails, just type your ingredients into Google and see what recipes come up.

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 3 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1, Day 2.

Day 3 (Wednesday)

Breakfast
Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
Organic fried egg with organic coconut oil (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
Organic cheddar cheese (fridge, previously bought)
Organic Ezekiel bread (freezer, I usually freeze 1/2 of the bread)

Snacks
Mostly organic granola bar (pantry, home made)

Lunch
Organic pear (fridge, bought last week)
Pizza (homemade, left over from last night)

Snacks
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)
Stonyfield organic yogurt (fridge, case of yogurt bought last week)

Dinner
Pasta with veggies and salami, including:
   Organic whole wheat pasta (pantry)
   Eggplant (freezer, left overs previously frozen, home grown)
   Roasted peppers (freezer, left overs previously frozen)
   Kale (freezer, previously frozen fresh)
   Organic balsamic vinegar (pantry)
   Uncured Sopresata salami (pantry, previously bought)
   Whole grain bread (freezer, previously bought)

Thoughts: Breakfasts and snacks have been pretty easy because they are standard for us. For lunch, we are eating left overs from the night before (another standard practice in our household). Dinners are proving to be the most challenging meal. I was thinking that if I just buy tons of meat/fish and freeze it, I could do this challenge all the time. However, my freezer would be stuffed full (of meat) and nothing else. Then again, I do not eat meat, so maybe 50% meat, 50% veggies. LOL

I decided to do the challenge through Saturday since I will be going to the grocery store on Sunday. Saturday night, we are going to a birthday party, so that meal is out. I am left to plan meals for two more nights, and breakfast and lunch on Saturday. I am not going to cook with any more meat, so it will be vegetarian from now on. I do not think that my husband would like to eat pasta with veggies for two more nights, so I might have to bake some type of casserole. I have some sour cream and milk left over from last week. Surely I can come up with something!

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 2 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1.

Day 2 (Tuesday)

Breakfast
Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
Organic fried egg with organic coconut oil (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
Organic Ezekiel bread (freezer, I usually freeze 1/2 of the bread)

Snacks
Honey (pantry, local)
Organic pear (fridge, bought last week)
Almonds (freezer)

Lunch
Sauteed fermented cabbage (left-over from last night, previously fermented with my dad)
Organic quinoa with dried herbs (left-over from last night)
Coconut date roll (pantry)

Snacks
Stonyfield organic yogurt (fridge, case of yogurt bought last week)
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)

Dinner
Pizza, made with:
   Trader Joe's pizza dough (freezer)
   Organic chicken, left-over from Monday's meal
   Za'atar seasoning (pantry)
   Organic onion (fridge, left over from last week's meal)
   Organic tomato (grown in our garden)
   Organic Serrano peppers (grown in our garden)
   Organic cheddar cheese (fridge, previously bought)

Thoughts: The second day was not too bad. Now the challenging part comes. In terms of vegetarian eating (me), I have enough grains/rices, frozen veggies, and cheese to make some good meals. The challenge really begins with cooking meals with meat (for my husband).

The two remaining meat items in the freezer are a whole chicken (you can see it in the photo above, top middle) and bacon. Defrosting the chicken will take at least 2 days and I am saving it for a big meal with our friends. I usually have bacon on hand for some rare reason that I need or we have guests for weekend breakfast. I buy bacon very rarely, so I do not see myself cooking with the bacon just because I want to create a meal with meat (my husband will just have to eat one or two vegetarian meals this week).

I did discover uncured sopresata salami in the pantry (and it is nearing expiration), so I will look up some recipes tomorrow. I am thinking pasta with veggies and chunks of sopresata. (Yea, my husband was not really sold on this idea either, but I promised him I would find a delicious recipe.)

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 1 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer.

Day 1 (Monday)

Breakfast
Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
Organic fried egg with organic coconut oil (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
Organic Ezekiel bread (freezer, I usually freeze 1/2 of the bread)

Snacks
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)
Mostly organic granola bar (pantry, home made)

Lunch
Organic oatmeal (pantry)
Organic fresh green figs (fridge, bought last week)
Almonds (freezer)

Snacks
Stonyfield organic yogurt (fridge, case of yogurt bought last week)
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)

Dinner
Organic chicken, baked (freezer)
Sauteed fermented cabbage (fridge, previously fermented with my dad)
Organic quinoa with dried herbs (pantry)

Thoughts: So far, so good, but I am only one day in. I am grateful that I bought extra bananas and apples last week, a new container of milk, a case of yogurt on sale (Whole Foods gives a discount on cases), and had my husband pick up a dozen eggs from the CSA farm. When these items were purchased/picked up, I was not planning on not grocery shopping this week. However, because I have these items on hand, this week's breakfasts, lunches, and snacks will be easier to put together.

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer [#CTWW]

I am NOT going to the grocery store this week. WHAT?!?!? Can I really go a week without grocery shopping?!?!? Yes, I can! I decided that I am going to eat out of the freezer, fridge, and pantry this week. My freezer and my pantry are full. I buy stuff when it is on sale and "store for later." Then, I do not really go through it and some of it is nearing expiration/best buy dates. Plus, I thought it would be kind of fun to see what kinds of meals I can come up with. I remember there was a Change the World Wednesday challenge just like this, so I will have to read up on the participants' experiences.

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. I am stocked up on dairy products and fruits, so I should be able to last this week with no additional produce. My freezer is also full of frozen veggies, from the store and from our SCA farm. Yes, this is going to take more planning ahead of time, but not too much.

I have the next couple of dinners planned out below based on what is in the freezer and fridge. I also want to incorporate pantry items like grains, beans, and pasta sauces into some of the meals this week.

Monday's Menu:
Organic chicken, grilled or baked depending on weather (frozen)
Cabbage, sauteed, from CSA farm (previously blanched and frozen)
Quinoa (pantry)

Tuesday's Menu:
Pizza made with Trader Joe's pizza dough (frozen), chicken from Monday's dinner, onion left over from last Thursday's dinner, peppers from SCA farm (frozen), oven made sun-dried tomatoes from SCA farm (frozen), and chives from our garden (frozen).

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  

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From Farm to Jar [Canning]

I completed my second canning endeavor. The first time I canned (last year), I canned one jar using the water bath canning method. It is not recommended to can only one jar (you should have the recommended minimum number of jars in the water bath to safely can). This time, I had a bigger and better pot and more produce to can. As you read in my post on Final Thoughts About This Year's CSA, I had almost a full bag of peppers. Since the majority of the peppers were hot peppers (chili, banana, jalapeno), I decided to can those instead of freezing them since my freezer is already stuffed full.

My initial plan was to water bath can with the EcoZoom Zoom Versa Stove, but the rain prompted for Plan B. Plan B included canning inside on the glass top electric range with a porcelain enameled pot. The pot I used had a flat bottom and did not exceed more than 1 inch in diameter over the burner area. The water took about 30 minutes to come to 180 degrees, which is what is required for what I was canning.  I placed the jars inside and waited for the water to come to a rolling boil, which only took about 10 more minutes. I had no issues canning on the glass top electrical range with a flat bottom porcelain enameled pot using the water bath canning method.

The prep work took a little bit of time. I chopped the chili peppers and put them in the smaller jars. The banana and jalapenos went into the big jars as whole peppers. I did stuff one jar prior to cleaning to figure out how many peppers would fit. For quart jars, I estimated about 26 jalapeno peppers. I want to say it was around the same number for the banana peppers.

Recipe used for hot peppers: http://www.simplycanning.com/pickled-peppers-rings.html

Recipe to try next time: http://www.simplycanning.com/pickled-green-tomatoes.html

Water bath canning method: http://www.simplycanning.com/water-bath-canning.html

There are many great resources for canning available through the Ball Blue Canning Books as well as online resources. Do your research before your start canning so that you can safely can and safely enjoy your efforts for years to come.

>> Did you can anything this year??
 

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ECOLunchboxes [Giveaway]

Beauty Brite, Jenn's Review Blog, Sweet Silly Sara, Scattered Musings, Saving For My Family, All Natural Katie, and It Keeps Getting Better have teamed up to give away an awesome ECO Lunchbox prize pack to one lucky winner!

The winner will receive:

• An Oval ECO Lunch Box
• A Yogurt Container
• A Furoshiki ECO Snack Sack 

Info about the company and the products can be found on their website at http://www.ecolunchboxes.com/.

Enter this giveaway using the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Wordless Wednesday - Free Plants

I am so grateful that the dill, radishes, and cilantro all reseeded themselves. Aside from the radishes, the dill and cilantro are clustered together.

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I Found My Library Card!

I was looking for paper to write a Thank You note and I found my library card! I do not know why I am so excited about finding my library card. The last time I used the library was in middle school, in a different state. I recall several years ago, I ordered the library card online. The card arrived in the mail, but I have never used it. I am sure that the library has tons of books on eco-friendly and green living, so I will have to pay a visit this summer.

The library is an eco-friendly, reusable, and frugal resource. When you are finished reading a book, you return it to the library, and let someone else read the book. Using the library is free! Additionally, you are saving the cost of the book and reducing clutter in your home. You will also help to reduce the amount of paper needed to create new books. Public libraries are a great way for your family to live an eco-friendly lifestyle.

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Wordless Wednesday - First Harvest

Plants reseeding themselves = freebies!

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Reused Gift Wrapping

The first eco-friendly gift of the season has been wrapped and is under the Christmas tree. Here is what I used:

1. Plain paper used to wrap fragile items at Home Goods
2. Shoelace-type string from a J Crew bag
3. Red ribbon from a Victoria's Secret bag

I need to add a name tag and the gift will be complete.

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Leftovers Pie [Recipe] [CTWW]

I am participating in this week's Change the World Wednesday challenge to waste no food. Please read my strategies for not throwing any food away this week.

Today, I am sharing a recipe that will reduce the amount of food you throw in the trash. Why? Because this is the Leftovers Pie! Start with a pre-made pie shell (I always have a few in the fridge and freezer), create the filling base and add any leftovers inside. I scan the refrigerator shelves and the freezer for anything I have left and throw it in.

Leftovers Pie Recipe

Pre-Made Pie Shell (I recommend Trader Joe's brand)

Filling Base (rough measurements):3 eggs

1 cup of milk
2 cups of shredded cheese (can mix cheese types)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons flour

Additions: anything you have left over in the fridge! My favorite are leftover meat and veggies, including onions, tomatoes, peppers, etc. You can totally make this recipe vegetarian! Add seasonings to go along with the additions.

Instructions:

1. Preheat over to 350 F degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients for Filling Base.
3. Add any additional ingredients.
4. If mixture is too wet, add more ingredients, flour, cheese, or sour cream. If mixture is too dry, add more milk, eggs, or sour cream.
5. Place pre-made pie shell on butter pie dish.
6. Pour in mixture and smooth the top.
7. Bake for 40-60 minutes.  The time depends on what combination of ingredients you have.  After 40 minutes, check the center with a knife.  If knife does not come out clean, bake longer, re-checking with a knife every 10 minutes.
8. Cool for 10-15 minutes. Serve!

I made this recipe tonight.  My additions were leftover organic grass-fed ground beef, chopped onion, previously frozen sauteed radish greens from my garden, and spicy seasoning.

This recipe was created by All Natural Katie. If you see this Leftovers Pie recipe anywhere else, please email me.

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