Consult Before Greening to Ensure Right Direction

One of my favorite "downtime" tv shows is My House is Worth What?, hosted by former Apprentice winner and real estate professional Kendra Todd.

The show features homeowners throughout the country who call in a real estate professional to evaluate their home and tell them what it could sell for in the current market.

Last evening's show featured a couple from California who had spent $450,000 on "green" renovations to their home.

Needless to say, I was eager to see just what they had done for that amount of money.

Their real estate consultant had the "ecobroker" certification (same certification I am planning on obtaining next year) which qualifies her to recommend green renovations and upgrades.

Interestingly, it was what this couple didn't do that had an impact on their home and its "greenness".

They did use recycled roofing materials, and had Energy Star appliances.

However, the windows throughout the home were not energy efficient. They were not even double-paned. Windows are a huge expense when renovating a home, whether green or not, but they are a simple way of saving money and energy in a home. And it's something you definitely see a return on when you go to sell your home.

So one thing this couple didn't do was install, cost-effective, energy saving windows.

Another thing they didn't do was consult an ecobroker or other green consultant before spending money on renovations.

After the evaluation, it became clear that some of their money was misspent and did not do much in terms of really creating a healthy, money-saving green home environment.

Please visit my website at www.greenrecreations.com to see what services I can assist with.

Please Pass The Pumpkin!

Yesterday I posted about having a green Halloween and not using plastic pumpkins...and the real ones are so much more fun, aren't they?

But what to do with it after Halloween is over, besides relegate it to the compost heap?

Here's a fantastic pumpkin salad recipe from Heidi at 101 Cookbooks! Enjoy!
I am reprinting her photo here.

Roasted Pumpkin Salad Recipe

I know many people have an aversion to cilantro - feel free to leave it out. This will change the personality and flavor profile of the dressing, but it will still taste delicious.

3 cups of pumpkin (or other winter squash), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
extra-virgin olive oi
fine grain sea salt

12 tiny red onions or shallots, peeled (OR 3 medium red onions peeled and quartered)
2 cups cooked wild rice*

1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375.
Toss the pumpkin in a generous splash of olive oil along with a couple pinches of salt, and turn out onto a baking sheet. At the same time, toss the onions with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and turn out onto a separate baking sheet. Roast both for about 45 minutes, or until squash is brown and caramelized. The same goes for the onions, they should be deeply colored, caramelized, and soft throughout by the time they are done roasting. You'll need to flip both the squash and onion pieces once or twice along the way - so it's not just one side that is browning.

In the meantime, make the dressing. With a hand blender or food processor puree the sunflower seeds, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and honey until creamy. You may need to add a few tablespoons of warm water to thin the dressing a bit. Sit in the cilantro, saving just a bit to garnish the final plate later. Taste and adjust seasonings (or flavors) to your liking - I usually need to add a touch more salt with this dressing.

In a large bowl, toss the wild rice with a large dollop of the dressing. Add the onions, gently toss just once or twice. Turn the rice and onions out onto a platter and top with the roasted squash (I'll very gently toss with my hands here to disperse the pumpkin a bit). Finish with another drizzle of dressing and any remaining chopped cilantro.

Serves 4.

* To cook wild rice: Rinse 1 1/2 cups wild rice. In a medium sauce pan bring the rice and 4 1/2 cups salted water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cook for 40 minutes or until rice is tender and splitting open, stirring occasionally. You'll have enough for this recipe and some leftover.

Have a Green Halloween!

One of my favorite childhood memories is of Halloween. I loved making my own costumes (my favorite was being a gypsy because I got to layer on lots of beads and bracelets that my father brought me from Mardi Gras, plus put on a little makeup!).

I gathered my loot in a paper grocery sack or pillow case, then at the end of the night dumped it all on the living room rug to sort through my treasures. I was very excited if I got Hershey miniatures, and not so excited if I got the black and orange wax-paper wrapped peanut butter kisses :(

My highest prized treats, though, were either homemade popcorn balls, or a big juicy red apple!

As an adult, I love passing out candy to the kids...I even dressed up, too. But with more Halloween festivities taking place at churches and school, and even malls, I haven't had any trick or treaters in years :(

Halloween sure has changed since the 60s. Wal-Mart and other stores are filled with ready-made costumes, even for infants. And all the plastic pumpkins! Geez...not to mention plastic bats, crows, witches, scarecrows, spiders and more.

If you're like me and longing for a simpler--and greener--Halloween, Woman's World magazine offers some great tips:

1. Free costumes!!! Make your own from stuff you already have around the house, or host a costme swap party where you bring your kids' old costumes and trade them for costumes that are new to you!

2. Pass on the plastic pumpkins...Woman's World says the hottest green trend this Halloween are eco-freindly canvas bags and pillowcases for hauling home the loot.

3. Got leftover empty cookie wrappers from all those school and church Halloween parties? Sign up at terracycle.net, send in the wrappers for free, and receive up to 5 cents in donated funds for your favorite school or charity. The empty wrappers get turned into tote bags, bulletin boards, and even plant food.

4. Buy candy in bulk to save on packaging.

One tip WW didn't add was to carve a real pumpkin, and then add the "innards" to your compost pile. Hmmm...I bet if you saved those seeds, next year you could have a backyard pumpkin patch of your own.

So...have a safe, green Halloween and send any extra Hershey miniatures my way!

Horse and Buggy pictures from pennsylvania photos on webshots

Horse and Buggy pictures from pennsylvania photos on webshots

One Person's Future Is Another's Past

I belong to an email group in the Nashville area that is titled "ecology". I joined the group because I wanted to meet other people who are also interested in the environment. (The group has monthly, in-person meetings, but unfortunately they are usually in some far-away destination like Lewisburg or Humphreys County. The one time there was a meeting close to us, were were out of town).

Anyway, as I read the email posts, I find I am not quite in harmony with these good folks as to what constitutes living in harmony with our environment.

For example, a recent thread contained lots of information about "How To Get Ready for the Future". I guess this is in light of recent economic events.

I expected to see the usual stuff about reducing energy usage and so forth.

And while I do agree that we are sometimes too interdependent on each other for goods and services, I was very amazed to see the following information posted on the group. Some suggestions are good, like growing protein crops, making cheese, and raising chickens, while others are downright weird, imo.

Here's the downlow:

growing protein/carb rich crops like sweet potatoes, white potatoes, beans, and grains

caring for dairy animals and making cheese and yogurt

raising chickens/other livestock/hunting wild game and knowing how to dress and preserve it

knowing how to care for, ride, and drive horses, and how to make tack for them

knowing how to use simple tools to work wood and metal into everyday useful items like hoes, hair and toothbrushes, buckets, bicycle parts (good luck on handmade bike chains!)

knowing how to make/fix acoustic musical instruments, including how to make guitar and violin strings from gut

knowing how to make shoes and buttons

knowing how to make matches, or bowdrill skills to make fire

knowledge of medicinal plants, how to grow/make/apply them, including that basic preventive medicine, SOAP--not gourmet soap but simple, everyday soap

skin stitching and bonesetting skills

making/mending clothing--how to darn/knit/make socks (there are enough clothes around right now to last us a decade or so, but sooner or later we're going to need something new to stay warm/keep the sun off our asses)

knowing how to build a house in the old-fashioned, pre-stick framing ways, including hewing timbers and cutting planks by hand, making and sharpening saws, chisels, and files/whetstones, chimney construction, how to make your own mortar, thatch/wood shingle roofs that reliably shed water

how to make writing implements and paper---as with soap, not gourmet paper but something that will work for daily use--as our old clothes start to wear out, i guess they will come in handy for this!

improvising fixes for solar electric systems from old car parts

I guess the main ones I think are weird are, making writing instruments and paper, "as our old clothes start to wear out"!!! yikes; handling horses, ok, that's find but making tack???? I don't plan on riding horses anywhere for transportation, especially not to a meeting of this group in Lewisburg, and finally...making shoes???? Get real! I am not a woman who accumulates vast amounts of shoes, and Jimmy Choos are something I only know of from Sex and the City, but come on...making our own shoes??

This is one person's vision of the future, but imo, it looks too much like a vision of the past.


What are your thoughts?

My Vegetarian Adventure

It's been nearly three weeks since I embarked on my vegetarian eating adventure, and I feel great!

What's more, I've lost nearly 6 lbs with basically no effort, I have more energy, I have not had one single low blood sugar attack that has plagued me since childhood, AND I enjoy meal planning, shopping, and preparations--tasks I previously disliked and moaned and groaned about.

I'm also grateful that Steven got on board with vegetarian eating. He still eats meat, however, just not at home.

Vegetarianism is something I've been thinking about since I graduated from college in 1979. Back then, there weren't too many options, especially in the south. I remember going to a health food store and buying Brewer's yeast (ugh) and some wheat germ, and maybe some yogurt. Other than that, I wasn't exactly sure what to eat.

The only vegetables I remember having growing up were southern-cooked greens, lima beans, and green beans, candied sweet potatoes, occasionally corn (creamed southern style), and frozen spinach.

That's it...seriously. So I knew virtually nothing about vegetables, much less cooking them. (I did not inherit the southern cooking gene from my grandmother!)

Basically, I gave up vegetarian eating in 1979 but thought about it a lot over the years. As I grew older, meat became less palatable to me, less easy to digest, and I became concerned over animal cruelty and the effects of the meat industry on the environment.

Two years ago I went to a nutritionist and told her I wanted to become a vegetarian. After sending me to St. Thomas Hospital for testing, she told me I needed more protein in my system and advised me to eat more meat.

So I listened to her instead of myself. My health worsened instead of getting better, and I gained aobut 25 lbs. I grew more and more frustrated over cooking meat, too. I just didn't know what to cook, and grew tired of feeling ill every evening after I ate dinner.

So what exactly have I been eating?


Lots of yummy dishes from Vegetarian Times magazine and a few vegetarian cook books I've acquired.

One night we had refried bean tacos with lettuce, tomato, avacado, black olives, and plain yogurt instead of sour cream. They tasted so fresh and delicious!

I've fixed lots of bean dishes, and some wonderful homemade tomato-based vegetable soups.

Tonight we're having fettucine with sauteed yellow and zucchini squash with Asiago cheese, and a corn frittata.

For breakfast I usually eat oatmeal with peanut butter or sometimes boiled eggs and Ezekiel bread. Lunch is often egg salad, or Morningstar veggie burgers. Last week we tried their fake fried chicken patties on a bun and they were so good! It tasted better than real chicken to me, and Steven liked it, too.

I'll be posting some of my favorite recipes in the coming weeks, so be on the lookout!

Photo courtesy of Vegetarian Times e-newsletter. Curried sweet potatoes with spinach and chickpeas...can't wait to try it!

Give The Green Guy a Break

Well, former Vice President Al Gore has taken another beating in the environment vs. wealth battle, according to an article in this morning's Tennessean.

This guy gets whacked at every turn for being wealthy and an environmentalist! Except, thankfully, by the Nobel Prize Committee...at least they have some sense.

This time, the flack is over Gore's new houseboat, the Bio-Solar One, which is docked at Center Hill Lake where the Gores have been vacationing for years..

Does anyone want to give Gore props for greening up his house boat with 36 solar panels and biodiesel fuel (according to the dealer who sold it to Gore, it's the "greenest" houseboat he's ever seen"), much less for vacationing close to home?

Heck, no! The whankers are whanking again about this good man who I believe is honest, sincere, smart, and knows what's he's talking about.

If you don't think so, think about how backlash from Hurricane Ike, which hit the Texas coast Saturday morning, flooded Chicago this weekend!

Anyway, Gore previously has taken a lot of flack for his extensive air travel, having three homes, and for his big ole 1920s mansion in Belle Meade...which by the way, has been greened up. That thing must have been a ginormous energy hog before Eco-Build TN came in and reinsulated with foam, installed a geothermal heating system, a tankless water heater, and more.

Today's newspaper article also mentioned that Gore been the subject of criticism since way back when he was in the House of Representatives.

Seems that, in order to not be wasteful and extravagant, he wore the same blue suit all the time. His assistant kept a needed and blue thread in the office to patch tears in it, but everyone made fun of him for not being wasteful and extravagant when it came to clothing!

Finally, a supporter wrote Gore and suggested he go to a tailor to have his pants cut to the appropriate length. That did it!

Gore hired an image consultant to help him upgrade his wardrobe and guess what! He was criticized for that, too.

Normally I don't rant and rave in this blog, but I have been an Al Gore fan from way back (even when he was criticized for being too stiff and formal...by my own mother, among others).

I have even heard him critized on the Planet Green tv show, Supper Club, for pete's sake!

Give the guy a break...after all, it's not like he shoots wolves and bears in Alaska from airplanes!

Photo of Al Gore's houseboat courtesy of The Tennessean.