My Geek Baby

We’re all paying more for fuel and food, so while we’re cutting coupons, we should look around the kitchen to see what is still useful and good to eat, rather than tossing out still decent food. Have a bunch of bananas about to go bad, or looking past-edible? That’s when they’re perfect for banana bread. Have one apple sitting around but don’t know what to do with it? Chop it up, sprinkle with cinnamon and add to pancake mix.

Have a baguette of bread that’s gone stale? Use it for this delicious treat.

Bruschetta

1) Cut baguette lengthwise, place on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil
2) Rub sliced garlic clove or sprinkle garlic powder on the inside
3) Slice a tomato into small chunks and place on bread
4) Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top
5) If you have dried or fresh basil, sprinkle that on top
6) Heat at 350 degrees for 10 minutes

Cut into bite size servings and enjoy immediately.

NOTE: stale sliced bread makes great French Toast!

Environmentalism has become trendy again - probably similar to how it was in the 1970’s - and this trend is a good one even if people fall off the wagon after gas prices go back down and they give up on their garden. As a suburban gardener I have a little space outdoors to grow some black-eyed susans, Asiatic lillies, basil, rosemary, tomatoes and peppers. What I can’t do easily is carry large bags of compost around to add nutrients to the garden. Compound guilt from using disposal diapers and what happens? I bought a composter!

The Enviocycle is a simple aerated bin.

I add 50 percent green waste (fruit, coffee grounds, egg shells, yard scraps) and 50 percent brown waste (shredded mail). And every few days I give is a spin like the wheel on The Price is Right.

In a few months, after it’s had a chance to decompose, I’ll have nutrient-rich compost for my garden.

Here’s what it looks like on the inside.

For readers wondering in horror how it smells? It smells like a freshly mowed lawn. I’m NOT throwing away dairy or meat in there so it’s pretty clean.

What’s this have to do with the baby? A lot. If she sees us recycling and composting, it will become second nature for her to do the same, to see the life cycle of food and waste. And she’ll have less garbage to haul to the curb when she’s old enough to do some chores. Next year?

For gardening on a larger-scale, check out my sister’s Black Oak Farm blog.