Green Building and Breakfast!

Saturday was my last full weekend at the store for a bit; May is going to be crazy-busy, so we decided to scale back classes so as not to overlap with all the graduation parties, welcome spring events and the start of the pre-farmers' market. So, I get a bit of a rest (to start planning the summer).

Charles Haynes talked about Green Building--whether as a new structure or, perhaps more importantly, for renovation projects. His thinking is that you are probably doing the environment a bigger solid by working with an standing structure, rather than starting from scratch...less trash, using existing resources, etc. He also said the most important elements to consider when trying to be more sustainable in your home improvement is to focus on the envelope; how do you keep heat in the house during the winter (fix air leaks), how do you keep it cool in the summer (insulation keeps air conditioned air in), and preventing high moisture situations--my problem right now--by making sure water runs away from the structure, whether on the ground level or off the roof. He also suggested making sure your appliances are as energy-efficient as possible, especially when replacing big ticket items, such as furnaces, hot water heaters, dish washers, etc.

Charles is also working on an interesting idea. He'd like to organize some sort of a builder's group, by using the LEED standards for green building to help identify reputable contractors who take these issues in consideration when working. It would also help homeowners find builders who can assure quality work and are well-versed in this kind of construction.

With all that food for thought, I needed some food for the tummy...Paul Dionne was ready to provide that with a delicious, egg-centric breakfast cooking class. He created a menu that could be executed easily and in a timely manner so everything was done at the same time. Oatmeal pancakes were delicious, with rolled oats soaked in the batter for 20 min.s before cooking so these crepe-like cakes have a little texture to them. Bacon cooked in the oven to get it (and its splatters) out of the way. Scrambled eggs in butter. Omelets with just parsley and parmesan (nothing more needed).

To top it all off, we drank full-sized Bloody Marys and Mimosas to celebrate b&p's new liquor license (now we can serve). Bottom's up!

How the Bunny Does It...

Well, I can say this for E. Bunny: if he uses natural dyes, I sure hope he gives himself a head start before Easter. These suckers take forever! Still, there are some really pretty and intense colors (also unusual) that you can get using various fruits, veg, and spices. I've been practicing for a couple of weeks now, because I had a class in natural egg dyes at the store on Saturday.

Here's the basic recipe for the dye:
1. Collect enough of your dye source, so you have at least 2 cups worth (this will probably be enough dye for 3-4 eggs).
2. Put it in a pan that has a bit of room, but not so much that the source is floating around loosely.
3. Cover with water so that all the material is submerged, but, again, not so much that stuff is floating.
4. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 30 mins.
5. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
6. Let dye sit overnite and then strain out the bits and pieces (you could leave them in, but they might make marks on your eggs).

To color eggs:
1. Have hard-boiled eggs ready. Any color eggs are fine, but brown and green eggs will change the color a bit (altho you can use the starting color for various resist effects).
2. Place eggs into dye gently, so as not to crack them.
3. Let sit 30 mins. to 24 hrs., depending on how dark you want the eggs. If leaving overnite, put them in the fridge.
4. Let them dry completely before handling, or you will get fingerprints and lift off spots of dye. An effect, I suppose, but sort of messy-looking.
5. If you want a bit of shine, wipe the egg with a little bit of vegetable oil (a Latvian website suggested bacon rind--you may find your basket full of bugs, if you choose that greasing option).

I had the best luck with red cabbage (turquoise in basket), red and yellow onion skins (deep orange in basket), grape juice (dark purple-grey), and tumeric (bright orange-yellow). I had less luck with beets and carrot tops (the basically white egg in the basket). I didn't try blueberries, spinach, cherry juice, coffee, tea, or raspberries.

So, that was my experience. You can do some cool things with these dyes and don't have to worry if they get into the egg itself. This is Slow Dye, for sure, but not entirely unsatisfying...

A Girlhood Dream Realized...

There was a totally cool TV show on PBS in the 1970s called Zoom. These groovy kids ran around in striped shirts and bare feet and did all kinds of outasite activities made you want to go out and create. There were lots of artsy crafts like making a giant trashbag balloon-person and filling it with air to float over your backyard, writing plays, cooking and drawing elaborate Aquarian murals on the sidewalk with chalk. I used to pretend I was a cast member and would spend lots of time at the sink re-creating recipes using water as a main ingredient for my audience, sometimes some salt and pepper, old eggshells, and cinnamon, if my mother wasn't looking.

So, when a hole came up in the Bushel&Peck cooking class schedule, I decided it was time for my close-up. I've had lots of teaching experience with other subjects, surely I could lead a class on some of my favorite food topics. So, last week, I did a class on sandwiches, which was really an excuse to demo my favorite no-knead bread recipe and zip up a bunch of spreads in the food processor (who can't use a good recipe for Hummus?). We passed chopped veggies and a plate of cheese and coldcuts and made Dagwood-esque creations (altho not so tall). It was a lot of fun, I wasn't too nervous, and everyone got excited about chickpeas and tahini.

Now, I'm researching an egg-dying class for Easter. There are a lot of tantalizing recipes for natural dyes out there, but they are very slow to work. I'm trying to figure out the timing for everything, but we may have to resort to sending eggs home in jars of dye. I'm back at the sink, again, messing around with water; at least this time I can sprinkle ingredients with abandon. Tumeric makes an awesome yellow-orange, btw.

Zoom-a-zoom-a-zoom!

Benefit for the Band

Having been an artsy-bandy-drama-y kid myself, I always like to see the high school artists get some attention. The Beloit Memorial High School Jazz Band has been invited to NYC to compete in the Essentially Ellington HS Jazz Band Competition. The winners get to play at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis, after a week of competition and workshops. BMHS is one of 15 bands that have been invited. How very cool is that?!?

It's not cheap, tho. So, to help raise money for the trip, Bushel&Peck's is sponsoring a Jazz Brunch on Sunday, March 29 from 11-2pm. The kids will play, you will eat and a portion of the proceeds will pay off tickets, housing, etc (bring a coupon from the Stateline News or the Janesville Gazette). Here's a preview of the musical offerings...they're so good!

Living Lightly and Gyros!

We were back up to speed, event-wise this weekend, at the store. It was a gorgeous weekend, but we had a nice group for both our discussion on Living Lightly and the cooking class on Gyros and Kebabs.

Maribeth Miller,the organizer behind Green Phoenix (a group dedicated to sustainable living) led the talk. She had a clever way to inspire the discussion: she brought a basket filled with physical reminders of topics--a drainpipe to represent a rain barrel, empty spray bottles to suggest "green" cleaning methods, newspaper as a weed barrier replacement. It got people talking, and sharing, and was a nice solution to the "how to not read off an outline" problem. I am bound and determined to get a rain barrel--or two--this year.

(I hear the Rock County Extension is selling reconditioned barrels sometime in April. Extension agent, Mike Maddox, is talking about compost at the store Monday nite--5:00pm, free--and I will get the details.)

An hour later, we cleared the lunch counter and set up for "Street Food Comes Inside: Gyros!." This was supposed to be our resident sheep-farmer Rich's class, but Jackie (the other resident sheep farmer) and Chad (the resident cook) took over while Rich nursed a back injury. Jackie shared her recent attempted to recreate Gas Station Nachos--but local/organically...the end-result was a delicious mess of Frito Pie (in a bag). We sample Samuel Smith's Organic Cider (alcoholic), which was a lovely pairing, albeit a bit classy for eating out of a foil bag.

Then we drained yogurt, peeled cucumbers, mixed tzatziki sauce, and threaded skewers. The theme was quick-n-easy Meditteranean, and it was. The leg of lamb roast has been started earlier, so we were ready to eat as soon as the demo model had been slipped in the oven. Lots of napkins were used, as this too was bit messy (street food equals portable, but sloppy, I guess). But it was really good, and we barely had room for the kebabs once we polished off the gyros--and I mean polished, I only barely scraped up enough meat from the pan for my pita after everyone else got theirs. Guests first!

Proud Mother...

Well, there you have it, I am now the proud producer of chard (the tall guys) and two kinds of basil. I started these babies in the b&p seed starting class about 10 days ago and am now observing the fruit (sprouts?) of my labors. I was too lazy/cheap to rig up a florescent shop light over my little soil pots, but the beside table lamp with a compact florescent bulb seems to be doing just fine.

I've been casting around for the best spot to transplant these greenies, come spring (oh please, come spring). With my goofy sunlight I think I will have to have a progressive garden with stations all over the place. No one big spot gets sun for 6-8 hr.s a day. Plus there's the heirloom tomatoes, blue hubbard squash and green heirloom pumpkin seeds to think about as well.

Now I have to get up the nerve to thin my lovelies...

Tea, Stir-fry, Knitting and Gardens...

Oof, playing catch-up, again. Still, we've had a couple of good weekends' worth of classes and talks, and here are the pictures to prove it:

Two weekends ago,Liz Fiorenza of Wind Ridge Herb Farm shared tips for treating colds and the flu with herbs. Secret weapon: tea. She suggested a variety of tea ingredients: sage, rosemary, rose hips, lemon balm, mint. In combination with hot water and steam, they all offer varying degrees of comfort. Start with warm, moistened muscus membranes in the nose and throat and go from there. Surprising tip: the sole of the foot is also a good receptor for herbal remedies, so essential oils combined with a lotion (olive oil, shea butter) is a good delivery system. We mixed our own tea.

On Sunday, Paul Dionne taught a Kitchen Basics class on making stir fry. Much of the class time was spent on prep, to get all the various vegetables chopped. Secret to peeling ginger? scrape the skin off with a spoon, so you don't waste any of the fresh root itself. As with the pasta, the final dish was more than the sum of its parts and we had a delicious mound of Asian veggies and tofu, with leftovers for everyone to take home.

This weekend, Rose Hoffa (of Madame Purl fame), gave a talk on the source of wool: From Sheep to Skein. She demo'ed how to card and spin wool to get a ply appropriate for knitting or weaving. She had a pile of delicious wools and yarns for us to paw thru. It made me want to get out my knitting needles, immediately.

We also had several meetings of Bushel and Peck's Garden Club. Jackie is spilling the beans and trying to save us all from disappointment by teaching us how to plan a garden (remember how tall things are going to get when you space them) and how to start seeds (don't jump the gun, unless you want a lot of rotted, leggy seedlings). We dug in the dirt, discussed bats and rain barrels, and started basil, chard, and kale. My babies are upstairs right now, under a florescent light, awaiting late April. Hello extreme amounts of pesto!

No class this weekend, because of the Beloit International Film Festival, but stop on by. We're a venue and we're open all night (well, not quite, but it's going to feel like it...)!