GreenRenters

New Green Renters URL

2009-03-04T02:34:00.000-08:00

In anticipation of our official launch we've moved the blog to a new platform and web address :

www.greenrenters.org

The new site is Work in Progress but coming soon!

Solar Powered Mobile Phones

2009-02-27T17:27:00.000-08:00

Such a good idea and so overdue....!

I don't know how long it will be before they're available in Australia

www.thegreenpages.com.au/index.asp?page_id=1107

Brilliant gardeningtips from the SGA

2009-02-21T14:28:00.000-08:00

The Sustainable Gardeners Alliance is a non-profit organisation promoting sustainable gardening and they sporadically issue a newsletter with some great tips, here's a selection of my favourites from their latest issue :

Looking for hardy and easy to grow vegetables? Try Pumpkins...
www.sgaonline.org.au/yy_pumpkins.html

We've been looking for a compost bin for a while, but have always been a little lost on quite where t start and what is available from where... Confused no longer!
www.sgaonline.org.au/info_compostbins.html

What's one of the most pleasant sounds in nature that we take for granted somehwat? I think most would agree that bird song is generally a welcome and beautiful sound, unyet we seem to be doing our utmost to drive them out of our cities, here's some tips on how to encourage them back.
www.sgaonline.org.au/info_birds.html

Fundraising for fire victims...

2009-02-16T20:07:00.001-08:00

A huge thankyou to everyone who visited my stall at Craft hatch on saturday. I raised $160 for Wildlife Victoria through sales which is very exciting.

I'm a stall holder at a benefit this weekend with all proceeds going to the CFA (Country Fire Authority). Check it out here or below...

Sunday, February 22, 2009

5:00pm - 9:00pm

Bella Union & New BallroomTrades Hall, corner of Lygon & Victoria Streets, Carlton

Phone:0396505699

info@bellaunion.com.au

In the aftermath of Victoria's worst fire season, folks are gathering at Trades Hall to raise funds to support the vital work of CFA Victoria.

Show your support alongside Scott Edgar & Simon Hall (Tripod), Lawrence Leung, Die Roten Punkte, Justin Hamilton, Geraldine Hickey, Kate McLennan, Casey Bennetto, Celia Pacquola, Courteney Hocking, Andrea Powell, Sam Simmons, Matt Kenneally, Geraldine Quinn, Oliver Clark, Aurora Kurth, the entire cast of Spontaneous Broadway (Julia Zemiro, Russell Fletcher, Genevieve Morris, Geoff Paine, Ross Daniels & John Thorn) and more.

And let's not forget to mention that we've got a Cake and Craft Sale, Silent Auctions, Raffles and Biscuit Readings.

From a Canberra bushfire survivor...

2009-02-12T15:47:00.000-08:00

How to help (featured in The Examiner 12/2)
LIZ TILLEY

A Victorian bushfire victim surveys the damage.

Canberra woman Liz Tilley and her husband John Flannery and children Patrick, now 13, Conor, now 11, and Rosie, now eight, lost their home in Warragamba Avenue, Duffy, in the January 2003 firestorm. They moved back into their rebuilt home in August 2004. She has penned the following "tips", based on her experiences.

As a survivor of the January 2003 firestorm in Canberra, my heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones, homes, pets, and a lifetime of memories in the tragic Victorian fires.

As I sit watching TV news coverage, with my heart racing and my body shaking slightly as I remember the fear, the flames, the heat, the smoke and the knowledge that I would probably not get out alive; I also remember in the days, weeks and months after the fires what support we needed and valued.

The victims of the Victorian fires are coping with the loss of homes, possession, pets and property as well as trying to cope with immense grief.

A great relief effort is one that is based on the experiences of previous disaster situations, and yet, after the Canberra bushfires, we were so often ‘re-inventing the wheel’.

I just can’t bear to see those victims in Victoria not benefit from what we learned in Canberra.

While the aid agencies will swing into action, and do what they do best, and the State and Federal government put their disaster planning into action, how can the Australian public, and the Victorian Relief Effort, help in the best way possible?

What the surviving victims need, both in terms of donations, and physical and emotional support comes will come in phases. Of course, the first weeks after the fire, in the immediate post trauma phase, these needs will be different from what they will need in six, 12 months or two years time.

So, for what it’s worth, here are my tips for a "great" relief:

Notes to the general public

Donate cash. Every little bit counts. If every person in Australia donated just five dollars, imagine what a difference it would make.

Basic essentials. Please only donate things that are new or of good quality. Don’t slow down the relief effort by having the team receiving the donations in Victoria have to sort through linen, clothing or manchester that is soiled, torn, buttons missing or otherwise damaged in any way. Better to donate one item that is new or in good condition rather than several things that you don’t wear anymore because they’re too out of fashion, have broken zips or are stained. Similarly with bed linen, towels, blankets etc, only donate what is good quality or new.

Think of all the things you need every day—pyjamas, toothbrush, toothpaste, face washer, soap, toiletries bag, deodorant, hairbrush, comb, shampoo, clothes suitable for work, casual clothes, belt, shoes, socks, watch, hair ties, wallet, handbag, keyring, hat, sunscreen, etc. These people have nothing. While they will receive immediate assistance in the form of cash and gift vouchers from charitable organisations for major retail outlets, I remember that every day there was something I needed and didn’t have. Within the first few days we needed notepads and pens just to deal with the paperwork and the insurance company.

Needs change over time, as people move into temporary accommodation they will need cooking utensils, pots, pans, plates, cups, bowls, kitchen knives, furniture, TVs, beds….the list is endless.

Cold weather will come in another month or two and winter clothes will be needed at this time – warm tops, coats, hats and scarves. Blankets, electric blankets and heaters will also be needed. I distinctly remember the day the weather suddenly turned cold in Canberra and no-one in the family had a warm top to wear.

Kits

If you’re thinking of what else to give, put together a first aid kit for the home, or an office kit (containing sticky tape, scissors, notepads, pens, stapler etc), or a toiletry bag (with toothpaste, toothbrush, nail scissors, shampoo, etc), or a make-up kit with make-up, eye make-up remover, lip gloss, mascara etc), or a hair care kit for a child with a brush, hair ties etc, or a sports kit for a child (drink bottle, hat, lunchbox, sunscreen, soccer ball), a kitchen kit (mixing bowls, cookbooks, cooking utensils, a good sharp knife, etc,), a tool kit (hammer, nails, screwdrivers, hacksaw etc) – these will be much appreciated.

Make something. Some of our most treasured items are the ones that were made, with love, by complete strangers. The quilt that was one of the hundreds that arrived from all over Australia, the hand-knitted rugs that my children like to snuggle under in winter. If you make jewellery, make a few pairs of earrings or a necklace. If you make toys, make something for the children who have lost theirs. If you knit, make a winter scarf. If you sew, make some table placemats or a beautiful table runner. If you’re an artist, paint a picture or frame a drawing.

I still find it incredibly moving that people cared enough to put time and love into making something that has now become a new family treasure for us.

Grow something. Those that remain, and those that decide to rebuild, face a blackened, denuded landscape. If you live in within reasonable distance of the bushfire area, pot some some seedlings and start growing some vegetation to help rejuvenate the gardens that were lost. Contact your local nursery, land care or conservation group to see what vegetation is drought resistant and/or native to the area. In Canberra, a very successful Garden Regeneration Scheme was set-up by volunteers and in the two-year period after the fires, they helped many, many people re-landscape their gardens. To see green, to see new growth, when we returned to our rebuilt home, was not only beautiful but gave us hope that we too could recover.

Kids. My three children were young at the time of the fires, so I remember well how grateful I was when we received toys, colouring-in books, pencils and textas, craft items, DVDs, books to read and pushbikes.

Friends and acquaintances. If you know personally know someone who was affected, every little gesture of help and support helps. Bake some biscuits or a meal and drop it around to them, offer to put their washing on the line, offer to do their supermarket shopping, offer to mind their kids. I remember feeling so overwhelmed and so busy answering phone calls and organising basic survival that I simply didn’t have time or energy to cook meals, wash, clean and do all the other things that keep a family going—this went on for months.

This help will be invaluable in coming weeks and months.

Notes to Victorian Disaster Relief Organisers

Counselling

Don’t sit the counsellors in a room at the recovery centres where people have to go to them. These victims are in shock and running on adrenalin. The women will usually talk about it, the men won’t. Men seldom seek out emotional assistance or counselling. Often the men will hold it all inside and release it in anger or violence a few days, weeks, months or years down the track. Years on from the fires, women were saying that their husbands “didn’t talk about it” and were withdrawn or showing signs of depression.

Put the counsellors and social workers in the field. Get them to go and help the men sort through the burnt out remainders of their homes. Get them to go to the pubs and clubs where the men are congregating. Get them to be there when the bulldozers move in to flatten what little remains of people’s homes. Often people just want someone to listen and to tell them that what they are experiencing is ‘normal’ under the circumstances.

Get the social workers to be there to act as advocates when victims have to deal with public servants, banks, and government officials in the next few weeks. Some of the victims will have literally lost their identities – they will have no wallet, no identification, no bank details. They will have to deal with insurance companies and government agencies. People working in these institutions don’t have training as social workers, and often are under increased stress themselves. I can’t tell you the number of victims who were coping pretty well up until they had to deal with a bank or other institution who were either obstructive or unable to assist because ‘our computer system won’t let me’.

Buddy system

Our children’s school (Orana School for Rudolf Steiner Education) instituted a ‘buddy system’ for the families from school that lost their homes. This was a fantastic system that could be adapted for use in any disaster situation. Hundreds of people were phoning, dropping into our temporary accommodation and offering help, but it was so overwhelming. People kept asking “What do you need” and it was very hard to say “Everything”. Our buddy removed this stress so that when people asked “what do you need?” or “What can I do?”, we referred them to our buddy. She had a huge list and would determine if we needed towels, cutlery, an ironing board, a fridge—and let people chose what they wanted to donate or buy. My husband rented an empty house and then went up to Sydney to collect the me and the three children. When we returned to Canberra four days later, we returned to a fully set-up house complete with beds, lounges, toys for the kids, bed linen, towels—to the level of detail of waste paper baskets, scissors in the drawers and pot plants. I find it hard to express our deep gratitude for this amazing coordination of assistance.

Women's networks

As well as dealing with trauma, pain and grief, women have to look after the needs of their family. This can mean they put their own needs last.

My greatest sources of support and friendship was a small group of women bound by the fact that our children all attended the same school and we all lost our homes. We started meeting for coffee a few weeks after the fires and, six years on, we still meet regularly for lunch. We call ourselves The Singed (as in “slightly burnt”) Sisterhood.

I don’t know how I would have got through the last six years without these wonderful women who have now become close friends.

Getting women together in an informal way allows them to support each other and share their stories. In the months to comes, as the victims are spread across the State, they will need avenues in which to come together and discuss what they, and their families, are going through. There is enormous comfort in knowing you are not alone.

Communication

The victims of the fires will be spreading across the State, and in some cases interstate, to stay with relatives and friends. It is vital that all victims stay connected to the network of aid that will be coming their way in the following weeks, months and years.

While I know a database of victims is currently being compiled, it is imperative that this database is updated as victims move from temporary accommodation into rental accommodation and then decide to either rebuild, buy or rent indefinitely.

Wonderful companies will donate goods and services, or offer wholesale or discounted goods. In the next 12 months to two years, as victims decide to rebuild, buy another home or rent, they will need to access these.

People who move interstate will not have access to the assistance and counselling on offer – they need to be tracked and supported. A friend of mine really struggled as she moved to Sydney and did not have anyone to talk with who had gone through the experience, she also missed out on most of the donations, assistance and counselling available in the period after the fires.

Often, those that had immediate help, staying in fully-furnished homes, or with friends or family for extended periods, miss out on some assistance in the immediate phase because they don’t need it, however this puts them at a disadvantage further down the track in a few months time, when this accommodation ceases and they then have to begin again with nothing. The aid will need to be ongoing.

Not everyone will have access to a computer, certainly not in the first few weeks, or even months. Post information to people – mail can be forwarded or passed on.

Shopping centres. Everyone needs to shop – particularly if you’ve lost everything. Distribute newsletters updating victims and survivors on what is happening and what help they can access via shopping centres around the State. Libraries, government offices, community centres, cultural and religious centres can also distribute the newsletters.

These newsletters can also inform members of the public how they can help.

Mobile phone bills

Most of us faced enormous mobile phone bills after the fires. In the weeks and months after the fires, our mobiles were our lifeline—to friends, family, work, the insurance company, to everything. In the weeks after the fires, I used my mobile more than I ever have in my life. In the months after the fires, when we were already under huge stress, we had to pay huge mobile phone bills.

At the time of the Canberra fires, I was not aware of any mobile phone providers who took this into consideration by negating or reducing mobile phone bills for victims (I would love to be proved wrong on this).

Survivors

Consider the survivors, who did not lose their homes so have to return to a devastated community. Please don’t keep saying to them “Well, at least you didn’t lose your house”. They are going through such mixed emotions after losing friends and neighbours, that they may have mixed emotions about being ‘spared’.

They have to return to the devastated landscape and try and rebuild their lives. Their children will play in ash and dirt, the amount of dust and debri flying through the air is unbelievable. They will spend the next year or so cleaning constantly and yet everything will still remain covered in a layer of fine ash and dust. They won’t be able to hang clothes on the line because they come in dirtier than when they went out. These seem like insignificant things, but when these things happen after a tragedy such as this, when you’ve lost friends and neighbours,and your support networks have gone, they make a very traumatic situation even more stressful. In the weeks to come, donations of play equipment, sandpits, soil, plants and trees will be much needed and appreciated.

Asbestos

Some of the homes burnt may contain asbestos. Asbestos fibres explode under intense heat. If the home was built before 1984 it is likely some asbestos would be in the wet areas (bathrooms and laundries and some kitchens) and the eaves. If these sheets have been broken up, small amounts of asbestos fibre would have been released. While some asbestos is present in some of the dust and ash from destroyed homes, the levels are not high and the large size of the asbestos fibres released from asbestos sheets means there is only a very low risk of it causing disease. (refer to www.health.act.gov.au and put in ‘asbestos’ under search)

So, the risk IS low, but there is still some risk. So reduce this risk, and the risk of dust inhalation, by providing dust masks with filters and sturdy gloves to those who want to sort through the burnt remains of their homes and belongings.

Note to the Victims

Learn to receive

Most of us are great at giving help, but many people find it difficult to accept help. Take the help when it is offered and don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. For many people it can be incredibly hard to do this. While at the moment you have no choice but to accept help, it may be hard to keep accepting help months and years down the track. But you need to allow family, friends, and the wider community to give. It will make you stronger and, years from now, will be an incredible insight into what others need in times of trauma—because you’ve been there and you understand. The only way you can truly learn to help others is by accepting help yourself when you need it.

Community

When a disaster strikes, we are reminded of the amazing generosity, kindness and compassion of others. Humans have an incredible capacity to help others in times of need. I am forever grateful to the friends, relatives, work colleagues, acquaintances and strangers who did what they could to help us in the weeks, months and years after the fires.

No matter how small the gesture, it was appreciated. One friend gave me her copy of a cookbook she knew I used all the time and I bless her every time I open that book to thumb its familiar pages. A woman who worked with my husband knew that he had bought me some pearl earrings as a present before the fires, so she gave me her favourite pearl earrings as a gift, and I bless her every time I wear them. Another friend’s son gave my son his cricket bat and ball, and I bless him every time I see the boys playing outside. A friend and former work colleague of my husband’s donated furniture, a TV and cooking utensils, and I bless her every day.

At times, despite everything, I felt buoyed by the support of all these people, by knowing they cared. And now, six years on, I still feel an enormous faith in the human spirit, our ability to survive, and the compassion and generosity we can offer each other.

Victorian Bushfires-how you can help

2009-02-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

MONEY - Because so many of these places are classified crime scenes only registered care workers, nurses, police etc are able to get in. So even though clothes etc are a good donation, they don't yet have the resources to transport them there yet. So they need money money money. Donate at any Commonwealth, Westpac, ANZ, National, Salvation Army or Red Cross. Salvos and Red Cross are credit card only, all bank branches accept cash.

MOBILE PHONE CHARGERS - people have their phones but no battery life left. There are so many types of phones so many types of chargers are required. If you have any chargers laying around from phones you no longer need, no matter how old or new, please send them to the Salvation Army

BLOOD - not just this week, but over the next few months. Blood donations have a kind of 'used by date' so while it's good to donate now, it needs to be kept up. Call the Red Cross on 131 495.

LAND - not sure many people have land on which to keep horses, but if you do happen to, call 0411 434123. I don't know who this number belongs to, sorry.

BLANKETING - to keep warm, obviously. Please take them to the Salvation Army

ANIMAL ACCOMMODATION - if you have room in your house for a dog, cat, rabbit, horse... phone 9739 0300. Some of these will belong to families in emergency care who can't take their pets with them, others belong to families who have passed away. They won't always know which category they belong to so be prepared to foster indefinitely. If you know anyone with animals that are injured by the way, see if you can get them to Lort Smith, they are treating all animals for free.
-----------------

I'm trying to organise the mobile blood bank to visit the University where I work. We're also organising some fundraisers.

If you'd like to put your craft skills to good use, The Toy Society will be collecting handmade toys over the next couple of weeks to be donated to children impacted by the fires. Many families have nothing but the clothes on their backs. Please email thetoysociety@gmail.com if you're interested.

Do you have water accessible to wildlife?

2009-02-05T13:59:00.000-08:00

I was sent this by a colleague:

"It has been so hot in SA for over a week...40+ degrees Celsius everyday, very dry also.A guy at work lives at Maude. His wife sent him these photos of alittle Koala which just walked into the back porch looking for a bit ofheat relief. She filled up a bucket and this is what happened!"I was sent this by a colleague:"It has been so hot in SA for over a week...40+ degrees Celsius everyday, very dry also.A guy at work lives at Maude. His wife sent him these photos of alittle Koala which just walked into the back porch looking for a bit ofheat relief. She filled up a bucket and this is what happened!"

You can view more koalas keeping cool here, whilst they are very cute the bigger issue is the need for plenty of accessible water for birds and animals during the hot weather.

Keeping cool: Home made icy poles

2009-02-05T13:52:00.001-08:00

Where I live we experienced a major heat wave last week-the worst for 100 years. It got to over about 45 degrees celsius (about 115 F). There were alot of power black outs due to heat. I've heard reports that people's pets have died, particularly rodents, birds and rabbits and a co-worker had to leave work due to fire risk around her home.

Green renters will be looking at ideas for keeping cool over the next few months.

Here's a couple of my icy pole recipes for keeping cool:

Vodka icy poles:

Ingredients:

-vodka
-fruit of choice. I have tried watermelon and pineapple.

-ice

Instructions:

Blend all ingredients and freeze in a mould or plastic cup. If you can't wait and must consume, go right ahead.

Lazy person's icy pole:

Ingredients:

-vodka or gin
-store bought icy pole (aka iced lolly)

Instructions:

Pour a generous quantity of liquor into a cold glass.
Add icypole.
Mush together.
Eat with a spoon.

More spoils from the garden....

2009-01-27T19:33:00.000-08:00

We have had loads of chillies and zucchinis for a few weeks but the other day we proudly harvested these:

And here's some succulents we've been propogating to give to some friends:

beans beans beans....

2009-01-26T14:21:00.000-08:00

Ever tried making your own baked beans?
Like many, you may be fearful of certain side effects. Treehugger gives some solutions here.

here's a yummy recipes I found recently. I'm going to give it a go (once the weather is cooler) but by making the beans from scratch:

Veggie Chili with Cornbread Dumplings

Ingredients:

1 white onion, medium diced
2 small cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes,

2 links vegetarian sausage (kinda spicy), or 8 oz. other veggie meat of your choice, cut into bite size chunks
2 T. olive oil
salt
optional: tabasco, chili flakes, chili powder, ground ancho chilis, green chilis, whatever heat you like
grated cheddar for serving
3/4 c. cornmeal
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. yogurt
1/4 c. whole milk
1 egg
2 T. vegetable oil

instructions:

Preheat the onion to 400 degrees.

Put the onions, pinto beans, tomatoes, veggie sausage and olive oil in a casserole. Season with salt and add optional heat to your taste. Cover and put in oven to start heating while you make the dumplings.

Mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in one bowl. Beat the yogurt, milk, egg, and vegetable oil in another. Quickly mix the wet and dry ingredients without overbeating.

Remove the casserole from the oven, remove the lid, and drop the dumpling dough on in chunks a bit smaller than a golf ball, leaving spaces between them. (See picture above)

Bake about 20 minutes or so (uncovered) until the beans are hot and the dumplings are golden brown and baked through. Check them with a toothpick if you aren't sure.
Serve it up with grated cheddar and hot sauce on the side.

Do you have a favourite baked beans recipe? I'd love to hear it :)

How green is Google?

2009-01-24T22:06:00.000-08:00

Or indeed the Internet?

Most of us browse the web and utilise the Internet on a frequent basis (you're here aren't you?) without really questioning the implications of doing so, here's an interesting article specifically about Google that might get you thinking...

www.thegreenpages.com.au/index.asp?page_id=1050

Gardening meets sport....

2009-01-22T13:05:00.000-08:00

I love this installation by Madrid urban artist Spy...it particularly resonates with those of us who live/work in a concrete jungle and dislike sport.

Green as a thistle!

2009-01-06T21:21:00.000-08:00

Recently I stumbled across Green as a Thistle a blog (and now book) by journalist Vanessa who documents her endeavours at living a greener life. Her challenge was to:

"Spend each day, for an entire calendar year, doing one thing that betters the environment. The idea was that everything I did, I kept doing (so if I switched brands, it was a permanent switch; if I turned down my thermostat, I kept it down), so that by day 365, I'd be living as green a lifestyle as it gets. It was a gruelling year, but in the end, it proved that being an environmentalist doesn't necessarily mean being a smug hippie, nor does it have to mean compromising aesthetic values or good wine.

You can read the list here of her lifestyle changes. I was interested to read that many of the things trialed are common practice in Australia like reusable shopping bags, recycling glass and paper, reducing water use and using recycled toilet paper.

How many of this list do you practice? I found we practice lots of the ideas (not all were relevant to us of course) like cloth napkins, rechargable batteries, using organic and recycled materials where often and the link. I also found a few ideas I haven't heard of and got reminded of my pledge to ban tissues in the home (not really an option at work as many of my clients are in tears). I'll make a list of challenges for myself I think.

Simplicity is living...

2009-01-06T21:02:00.001-08:00

I love these free downloadable posters from Readymade.com, inspired by social art of the 'great depression era, designed by Christopher Silas Neal and Nick Dewar respectively. They are part of a series of five and you can download yours here

Do you make your own bread?

2009-01-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

I was interested to read this article about the environmental benefits of making your own bread, with a breadmaker. These include the use of bulk materials and less travel and packaging. Further, it is alleged that a bread machine can do doughs, artisan breads, gluten-free loafs, and even jams and chutneys.

In our house we're not big bread eaters. We struggle to finish a loaf in a week. So for us it would most likely not be cost effective. Further I'm not meant to eat wheat so we invariably buy some kind of organic, whole loaf anyway. But for a big family it may be the way to go, what do you think?

Are there other things you make from scratch rather than buy? A dear friend makes the most amazing jams and chutneys and I've featured the benefits of making your own shortbread and I also like to make scones. We'll also soon be subject to an influx of zucchinis which will nessitate some busy baking. I'd also like to try making tomato sauces for presents.

The Slow Guide to Melbourne (& our 100th post!!)

2009-01-06T02:35:00.000-08:00

The Slow Guides – Melbourne
Affirm Press
$29.95
www.slowguides.com.au

‘Slow’ is an increasingly popular worldwide movement encouraging us to all, well, slow down. To take time out from our increasingly (and frequently self inflicted) hectic lives to appreciate what is around us, to take time to notice little things that were previously unnoticed, investigate places un-investigated, try new experiences and treat the world in a different, more relaxed and inquisitive manner.
Affirm Press’s ‘Slow Guides’ to Melbourne and Sydney are the first (of hopefully many) in a series of handbooks to an alternative way of enjoying your favourite city. This review will focus on the Melbourne edition as it’s where I live and the city I know best.
The guide is beautifully produced with a uniform mellowing combination of black, white and green throughout the book accompanying some finely crafted text, beautiful photos and illustrations. I’ve not lived in Melbourne for that long, so a lot of the places and experiences mentioned were new and surprising to me, but my wife has been here over ten years and most still surprised her, so there’s your proof that we all spend far too much time rushing around like headless chickens, so that we need a book to tell us how to really discover our home city.

Some of my favourite snippets and factoid from the book include :

Final confirmation that the Keith Haring-esque painting nears the Tote in Collingwood is actually an original Keith Haring.
The old Melways tour of Melbourne to discover which buildings have come and gone since the edition was published.
A very long list of unique (and generally free) views of Melbourne.
The best places to indulge some of your more under-appreciated senses, such as smell.
Why the visually appealing tiles outside of so many Melbourne pubs are at they height they are. (You wont touch them ever again…)

This is an easy and inspiring read, perfect to pop in your bag or even squeeze into a large pocket as you wander the streets with nothing in particular to do, but be warned, the book could cause some contradictory behaviour as you rush to leave work or study as rapidly as possible to get out into the big wide world and soak up some of the wonderful experiences mentioned.

Our first zucchini!

2009-01-04T17:26:00.000-08:00

We were very excited to find our first zucchini grown in the veggie patch! The zucchinis are a light pale green with a soft prickly fur on the outside, ensuring no bugs get near!

As we were going for Dalyesford for the weekend, I proceeded to make a zucchini cake! I varied the recipe somewhat and used dates instead of raisins and sultanas and almonds instead of walnuts and added some grated carrot. Very yummy!

Green hangover cures

2008-12-22T14:27:00.001-08:00

Treehugger has provided a list of their fave hangover cures, which include yoga, coconut water, wheat grass and playing in the snow. Seriously, the former would cause my hungover head to explode and the latter has never been attempted in adult life....

Cate's tips to avoid hangover hell...

1.Lots of water.

Lots. Inbetween drinks, before you go to sleep, when you wake up, during the day.

2. Sleep.
Lots. If you live in Australia like us, no doubt you'll wake up to a roasting hot house. Not very conducive to good sleeping. You could try sleeping in the bath (recycle the water on your plants), a dull cinema movie or of course, a local library.

3. Toast with vegemite.

Add some avocado and if you're not vegetarian, maybe some free range bacon. Hot chips never hurt either. Yes, I know Vegemite is owned by evil Kraft, but I don'y like promite, marmite or any of the imitators. Sorry.

4. Pain killers.

`Yes, I know you don't take pain killers, but you could wash them down with some organic juice.

Prevention:

1. Organic wine
Many people swear organic wines mean less headaches and kinder, gentler hangovers. And if you are sensitive to sulphur, you can get organic sulphur free wine to boot. You can also get organic beer of course, and homebrew has it's place, though it may be stronger in alcoholic content than store bought beverages.

2. Food:

Serve food at your parties. Make sure you eat. Not just chips, they'll make you thirsty and you'll drink more. Things on sticks, turkish bread, dips, cheeses all have a part to play.

3. Non-alcoholic beverages:

Mocktails are great and you can find some particularly yummy ones here. Be wary of milky, creamy drinks if you're also having a bit of alcohol.

You can also plan something special for the day after to give you an incentive not to drink, count your drinks etc etc. It's all about choices really, isn't it?

Climate action groups

2008-12-21T18:59:00.000-08:00

If you're like me, you may have been involved in grass roots activism at high school or university. Maybe you've been involved in politics or a member of a political party. Maybe you attend rallies and public forum and the like. Maybe (like me) you used to but became blase and jaded as to their actually efficacy in acheiving any actual structural change.

In recent media I've been reading about the unprecedented growth of 'grass roots' Green/Environmental/Climate Change groups in Australia.

Michael Green of The Age writes of

an unprecedented, unreported and largely underestimated climate movement has
sprung up throughout our cities and regions. Many of the members have dedicated
decades to living simply and sustainably. The great majority though, are new.

Victoria has about 50 currently active groups, most of which are less than two years old. Nationwide, there are over 200 groups. Broader umbrella sites such as Climate movement.org and it's political sister The Big Switch attempt to keep groups connected to each other and to the communities they aim to serve whilst providing good, clear resources such as tips for people start groups, running meetings, holding street stalls and the like.

Of course, environment groups are nothing new and can't be considered any kind of homogenous entity of shared methods and outcomes. Some green leaning people strive for personal change, such as a reduction in their individual, household and neighbourhood practices whilst others focus their energies on agitating for structural changes for government and big business. he worldwide climate movement is comprised of small groups with different goals. Their memberships can also differ greatly from architects and socialists to stay at home parents.

But does grass roots activism achieve outcomes?

Last month, Tony Windsor, independent MP for New England in northern NSW, introduced a private member's bill, the Climate Protection Bill 2008, to Federal Parliament. Windsor calls it "the people's climate protection bill". It was born about six months ago in his electorate office, following a visit from concerned constituents. Since then, 65 climate groups have been involved in its drafting.

The bill would bind the Government to deeper emissions cuts: by 2020, 30 per cent below 1990 levels; and by 2050, 80 per cent. Among other things, it also sets steeper renewable energy targets and mandates greenhouse impact statements on new legislation. (According to Karoly, even those targets are not strict enough.) The bill was loosely based on UK legislation, originally driven by grassroots organisations and just passed by their parliament. Windsor says his bill's success depends on the public will.

It's interesting to consider if similar objectives could be achieved in Australia. I thinks there's more than enough space for all permutations of environmental groups and activism, big and small. We are seeing more and more examples of success in different activist arenas. Whilst not directly related to climate change, I've been amazed at the success of the Sea Shepherds direct action in reducing Japanese Whaling, an area where legislation seems to have very little impact.

Closer to home, I've been excited to see Green architecture being built, aimed at apartment renters. The willingness of families to view good environmental practice as an area of social responsibility is better than them actively choosing to embrace poor environmental decisions. And, if parents want to take their kids on protests for environmental good, this can be only seen as children becoming involved in their future. A very good thing indeed.

Want to check your carbon footprint?

2008-12-21T18:53:00.000-08:00

Climate positive has a great resource here. You'll need to have your house hold bills handy.

Green (w)rap?

2008-12-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

Kind of silly, but good fun :-)

More gift-wrapping goodness...

2008-12-17T21:08:00.000-08:00

I like this tutorial for making a gift box from a Christmas card -good for little fiddly things that need a bit of protection:
Using newspaper...

Magazines...you can see the tutorial here

And if you like using bits of fabric like me, there's always Furoshiki:

http://vimeo.com/2321507

Christmas gift bags tutorial

2008-12-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

I must confess, I've been known to wrap christmas presents in newspaper, reused fabric or a plain old plastic bag. Despite being a crafty person, it's just not really my forte, especially when it's done the day before gift giving...

Gretchen from Junk Mail Gems really places it up a notch with these wonderful gift bags made from recycled junk mail (No junk mail at home? Try your work place recycle bin):

You can view her tutorial here

Keeping Chickens

2008-12-15T03:15:00.000-08:00

I attended a meeting of the Food Gardeners Alliance the other day, which was very interesting, raising many issues such as the new water restrictions in Victoria, developing governmental policy and some hints and tips. One of the attendees then delivered a talk on keeping Chickens in your back yard, something that requires less space than you may think, so here's a few hints and tips...

Firstly Investigate and double check your local council's policy on keeping animals, there's no point getting everything in place to then find you've done something illegal and having to get rid of all your hard work.
Chickens will eat scraps of food, in fact pretty much anything you feed them, such as newspaper and other bits of non-toxic rubbish.
As with most other species in the animal kingdom, what goes in, comes out at the other end and Chicken manure is extremely good for the garden.
It's probably not a good idea to keep Roosters, especially in smaller properties, they're noisy, aggressive and don't give you any eggs!
Check the closeness of coups to neighbouring properties and also check with your neighbors before going ahead with keeping chickens, again there's no point embarking on an endeavour and then being forced to stop due to a neighbourly complaint.
Keep the chickens, coup and their surrounding area clean and pests under control with normal and cheap powders and tablets from your vet. If a chicken is very ill or dies, take it to a vet straight away do discover the cause and to prevent spreading.
Keep the coup secure to save the chickens from foxes, mice and rats. Don't cut back on costs by using low gauge netting, wire or locks. Keeping the coup clean and free of excess food will help keep away rodents.
Chickens food consumption and egg production depends on many things including season, light, temperature and what you feed them.
Aside from pellets, they need greens and vegetables. Silver beet is great for this, feeding fresh vegetables means more yellow yolks and protein filled eggs.
Where do you get your chickens from : From farms, $15-30 per chicken on point of laying, or somewhat past it for $1.50, but these chickens will have a lower egg production
A Chicken's Good laying time is between 2 and 15 years.
To stop Chickens flying, trim the edges of their feathers, this puts them off balance and stops them flying.
There's no real minimum for space, but the larger space and run the better.
You will need at least 2, chickens are social animals.

Interested in finding out more, take a look at www.bookachook.com

Christmas shortbread!

2008-12-11T16:35:00.000-08:00

I recently had to come up with a cheap gift (under $5 per person) for a large group of international students. I was reluctant to purchase some cheap, imported tacky Australiana as suggested by my colleagues, and decided to make shortbread:

Shortbread recipe: ( I doubled this recipe)

Ingredients:
225g plain flour
Pinch of salt
115g rice flour
115g castor sugar
225 g butter

Directions:
- Sieve flour, rice flour and sugar into a bolw.
- Rub in butter and knead until a smooth paste forms
- Turn onto a floured board and make desired shape of biscuits. Prick biscuits with a fork
- Place on greased baking tray and cook in slow oven for 45 - 60mins, until pale brown.

Costing:
McKenzie's Rice Flour Gluten Free 375g $1.38
Caster Sugar500g $0.97
Plain Flour 1kg $1.04
Butter 500g $2.61
Tinsel $1.48
Brown Paper $2.61
__________________________________
TOTAL: $10.09

Bargain!!! Of course, I could've used organic materials which would have been greener....

Wrapped and waiting: In front of the tree waiting for Santa:

Save water in your property : Grey Water

2008-12-08T02:43:00.000-08:00

Here's the second installment of a few tips on how to save water in your rental property, adapted from a Yarra Water leaflet, but picking out the highlights relating to renters...

This time, the best ways to utilise greywater.

Greywater is waste water from showers, baths, spas, hand basins, washing machines, dishwashers and basically water used by another process that's left over, which is generally most of it!
Buckets are the most basic and easiest method of collecting gray water :

Either a bucket in the shower
A bucket in the sink when washing vegetables
Scooping out water from the hand basin

Waste water from washing machines can also be collected into a bucket, or if you use a simple long pipe or diversion system it can be sent straight onto the lawn.

There are however, some considerations when using greywater...

Don't use water from the kitchen sink, it can contain fats and left over cleaning agents, unless of course you are sure the water is fine.
Apply grey water directly to the base of plants, it can help reduce the survival rate of microbes.
Always wash your hands after watering with grey water
Use grey water within 24 hours of collection
Don't use grey water on sickly looking plants
Unfortunately you can't really use grey water on vegetables
Try using grey water friendly detergents and cleaning agents to get the most garden friendly water you possibly can
Don't apply more grey water than needed, i.e. after rain.

We're aware that not every one in rented property has a garden and we've concocted a few ideas of other things to do with grey water, but we haven't had the chance to test them yet though, so watch this space...!

www.epa.vic.gov.au
www.ourwater.vic.gov.au

I Want To Live Here film competition this thursday!

2008-11-30T19:36:00.000-08:00

Those groovy kids at Earthsharing Australia have been running a short film competition about the housing affordability crisis.Budding film makers have spent the last few months making short films, all aiming for a massive $3000 prize. A prize sure to help pay the rent!

Polka Dot Rabbit is super excited to be running a market at the finals night.Us crafters know all about the cost of rent, it's the main reason we have to put so much markup on our products when they go into shops! When you support local makers at local markets you not only get something lovely and unique to call your own, but you are also supporting your local independent industries. Buying local handmade stuff is one of the easiest ways to help your community survive a global economic crisis.

Wanna know more? Come along.

I Want To Live Here - Short Film Competition
December 3, 2008
For more details:http://www.iwanttolivehere.org.au/

Ways to reduce waste part 2: Whose responsibility is it?

2008-11-25T20:33:00.000-08:00

We're lucky in Australia that waste reduction is mandatory in the sense that all of us have recycle bins in our homes. So we all have an entrenched mindfullness about recycling and such. But how much are you recycling? If you're like us the recycle bin is constantly overfull and the normal bin less than a third. What if we were to buy less things that needed to be recycled in the first place, or only things that could be reused?

The US recently had a national recycled campaign organised by the National Recycling Coalition One school of thought from Treehugger is that

Recycling is simply the transfer of producer responsibility for what they produce to the taxpayer who has to pick it up and take it away.

The author highlights to role of big business in waste reduction 'shams' where waste may be recycled (with massive water usage and carbon footprints) rather than the use of reusable products or indeed deposited. Imagine how empty the recycle bin would be if we could re-fill wine bottles, milk bottles, beer bottles and the like? What if we paid a deposit which was reimbursed upon their return?

Ways to reduce waste part 1 : Plastic bags

2008-11-25T20:09:00.000-08:00

Pretty everyone these days knows that plastic bags are a no no. In most instances we can avoid them. But how about encouraging other people to stop or at least reduce their usage? I for one am sick of the way retail staff still reach for the bags without thinking. I'm also seeing people use them for everything even fruit that needs peeling.

I know there's been talk about baning them in various areas and some businesses charge for them. Green bags are a good start but in reality they're not all that environmentally friendly .

But what if you could do more?

Morsbags was started in 2007 by a crafty woman who was sick of seeing plastic bags in local waterways.

Join us at Morsbags!

The wonderful Steph has decided to get us started with a meet up in January.

The idea is to get together with people in your local community, drink wine and make reusable cloth bags (from old duvet covers, curtains from charity shops etc) and hand them out to the unsuspecting public for free on specified dates outside different supermarkets.

Meet new people, do something marvellous for the planet and beat other pods (groups) of baggers with your morsbag tally.

Go to www.morsbags.com to be a part of a wonderful thing.. Go to the "top of the pods" page, search for "VicPod" and join us. We've also got a facebook group you can join here.

For all our UK (Bath) readers...

2008-11-17T13:14:00.000-08:00

Probably not that many of you, but a great little publication and accompanying website that was passed to me by a friend in Bath :

www.greenbath.org

it provides listings and resources for green and sustainable resources and organisations across the area in a friendly and presentable format, produced by locals for locals!

Do you ride a bike?

2008-11-13T21:06:00.000-08:00

Even if you're a veritable beginner like me, I'd encourage you to come along to the Melbourne Bicycle Film Festival from November 21st-23rd.

It includes:

films (obviously)
A bike beauty pagent
Bike mating
loads of prizes and exhibitions
Markets and stall and heaps more!

Polka Dot Rabbit is busily working on some specially recycled bicycle themed crafts for the markets!

Craft your own bird planter!

2008-11-13T20:58:00.000-08:00

Check out this tutorial on Design Sponge to make your own bird feeder from recycled products!

Weekly container Gardening Spotlight!

2008-11-13T20:41:00.000-08:00

Sick of boring terracotta or woven hanging baskets? Kate Pruitt from Design Sponge shows us how to make these wonderful hanging baskets with a personal flair.

Home going for beginners-free workshop-November 13

2008-11-11T20:22:00.000-08:00

Paul, Adam and Nathan from Permablitz are inviting all to this free 2-hour seminar on how and why to successfully grow your own veges and fruit.Arrive at 6:45 for a cuppa before the 7pm start.No RSVP required.

For more information email permablitz@gmail.com
Address:
Kindness House - 288 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.

Time: 18:45 -21:00

Free silverbeet!

2008-11-11T19:47:00.001-08:00

Our veggie garden is overflowing with silverbeet! It's been a staple in all kinds of veggie dishes and also got me into making silverbeet and fetta pastries the other night. They were a hit for all of us, even the young child we were babysitting!

I don't have any pics, but here's how it goes...

Ingredients:

onion

silverbeet

parsley

mushrooms

tomato

fetta cheese

puff pastry

salt and pepper

nutmeg

Method:

1. lightly saute all veggies. The silverbeet shrinks considerably so use more than you thought needs.

2. add cheese and condiments and mix through. Allow to cool.

3. Defrost puff pastry ( I must confess I've never made my own)

4. Cut pastry into triangles, spoon mix to the centre and fold over pasty. Seal by tweaking the edges.

5.Bake at 200c for about 20 mins or until golden.

You could certainly add tofu and/or whisked eggs if you would like more protein.

So, if you are based in Melbourne and would like some silverbeet, please let us know. We also have an ample quantity of rosemary growing in our front garden.

Could you live on a dollar a day?

2008-11-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

Living with the lightest carbon footprint sometimes clashes directly with the reality of living cheaply. We all know that alot of organic produce are significantly dearer than their non-organic counterparts.

A vegetarian couple, Christopher and Kerrie, decided to look at the dietary realities of low cost living, spending only $1 per day on food each with no handouts allowed. You can read about their journey here . I was shocked that they couldn't afford store bought bread (having always been taught that it's cheaper than making your own) or fresh fruit and vegetables. It's an extremely interesting story that has recieved quite a bit of press such as this article in the New York Times.

Efficient energy use really does reduce bills

2008-11-07T21:48:00.000-08:00

We're very happy here at Green Renters towers as we have proof that being careful with your utilities usage really does reduce your bills...

For the past year or so our combined Gas and Electricity bill (from Tru Energy) has been a flat $100 a month that is reassessed every 6 months.

After doing as much as possible to reduce our usage our latest assessment has reduced our bill to $60 a month, which is a pretty significant drop.

Well done us!

All aboard!

2008-10-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

Weekly Container Gardening Spotlight-Tutorial

2008-10-19T18:33:00.001-07:00

I've been intending to do something about my pot plants for some time. I have quite a few cuttings(mostly succulents) that I potted a year or so ago and conveniently forgot about last summer as it was so hot everything in a pot except these died. We got a heap of new pots and pans for a wedding present so I decided to do something with the old ones. They don't look particularly pretty yet, but once they are thriving I'll post some decent pics.

The benefits of reusing the old pots are that you get to remove the crappy 'terracotta' plastic pots that so many plants are invariably housed in. These were cracked so they went in the recycle bin. Further, the pot handles make them easy to move and rotate when it's really hot (even putting them inside) so you don't kill them off.

You need:

old saucepans/pots/big lids

seedlings

cuttings

potting mix/succulent mix

water (grey ish)

power drill

Directions:
1.Get out power drill only to release the battery has died and it will require several hours of charging. Relax on the couch with the newspaper and a cup of tea.

2. Assembly motley crew of pots in the meantime to demonstrate productivity in between cups of tea.

3. Water all plants you will be repotting. I used water that had been used to rinse garden veggies for the veggie seedling and herbs and a little that had been for some mild cleaning for the rest. The succulents are pretty hardy and dont really know the difference.

Here we have thyme, cucumber, baby lettuce and baby spinach

Various succulents and some tired looking pelargoniums.

Do you like this watering can? Make Gardens Not War! Awesome wedding present!

3. Remove plants from their pots. If they are root bound like mine, chop em up as you wish.

4. Drill holes in pot and lid bottoms. Realise it is impossible to take an action shot by yourself. If you don't have a drill you could try a hammer and nails but that may only work on tin cans and olive oil containers.

5. Realise you forgot to take shots of soil filling and plants due to chatting with husband.

6. Fill pots with soil. If you are feeling really excited you could buy potting mix specifically for succulents which is a bit more sandy.

7. Cut and tidy succulents and replant in their improved glory along with the seedlings.

8. Arrange decoratively as you wish. These will be significantly more decorative once I get some more plants so I can make more pots.

I love the lid full of succulents here: The box is for our new bbq-the old bbq will be used as a herb planter once I buy more herbs.

You can see my pelargonium collection down the bottom. The pots were decorated by the wonderful Craftea Chat participants as a wedding present!

Close up of succulents. The jelly bean ones are cool.

Marvel at wedding present pots again. I still can't believe Rayna got asked for ID when she bought the spray paint for decorating the pots!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, give it a try and let us know how it goes.

Resource Efficient Gardening

2008-10-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I attended an excellent talk and discussion panel hosted by The Food Gardeners Alliance, we posted a little more on them in a previous post.

Buying produce from a supermarket is perhaps one of the most un-environmentally friendly things you can do, not just the direct resource usage of farming, but the effects of product transport, wastage, refrigeration, personal transport and much more. We only have a small patch in our (mainly concrete) back yard but it's enough to supply us with just under half of our weekly food, the statistics on this are :

A 4 by 5 metres patch can produce enough for 2 people, approximately 200kg a year with only 2 or 3 hours a week of work.

Even if you have no yard or garden there are many tricks to be performed with containers, an issue we have also frequently covered here.

Lets take a look at a few more tips offered by some of the speakers at the discussion.

David Holmgren is an infamous figure in the recent resurgence in gardening, one of the co-founders of Permaculture he proposes a more holistic approach to gardening, considering micro cultures and climates to encourage growth and nature. It's a fairly involved process and there are many who offer courses, literature and insight into it. Rest assured it's not just applicable to those with lots of space, permaculture can also be practised easily in restricted spaces with processes such as Rooftop gardening, planting in containers, vertical gardening and aquaponic systems.
www.holmgren.com.au

Diggers is an organisation perhaps better reserved for those with slightly larger gardens, but for a source or certified organic seeds it is ideal. Specialising in vintage, cottage and heirloom varieties of plants Diggers maintains an impressive list of breeds that you've probably never heard of.
www.diggers.com.au

Jane Edmanson is a famous figure in the gardening world, host of TV shows for many years and generally a figure of respect and trust in the wider community. Her tips were generally a lot more practical and common-sensical, moving themes back into the home and the benefits that growing and eating our own produce can bring, such as gardening being a great source of exercise and that fresh produce could help reduce obesity. She also bestowed the virtues of seasonal planting, something that can frequently be overlooked when your attracted to the myriad of pretty plants available to you.
www.janesgarden.com.au

There was also an interesting representative from Sustainable gardening Australia, but I admit that I had to leave early, so missed what they had to say, expect something on the SGA in the near future.
www.sgaonline.org.au

Speed Renters the return!

2008-10-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

Not strictly 'green renting', but it's about renting, so we're half there...

After a successful debut, speed renting is back on :
6:00pm - 8:45pm
Thursday 23rd October
Horse Bazaar
397 Little Lonsdale St

See www.iwanttolivehere.org.au/sr for more details

As soon as people register you will receive an email with a link to register your preferred time and whether you are a Renter/Room-Seeker or a Leasor/Flatmate-Seeker.

Here's some links about the previous event.

http://melbourne-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/speen-renting-takes-off/
http://www.theage.com.au/national/speed-renting-may-be-just-the-right-move-for-homeless-20080919-4k9d.html

The benefits of growing your own veggies...

2008-10-12T20:47:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how beneficial home growing is in terms of carbon emissions and water savings compared to veg you'd pick up at the average supermarket as the photos above illustrate. Not to mention factors like budget and taste benefits! The Food Growers Alliance do some amazing work education the public and lobbying government on the benefits of home grown and the need for increased water access for home growers.

Want to get involved? FGA holds regular meetings on the second Wednesday of every month, our next confirmed meeting will be on November 12th. Check out their site for more information

Milk Crate Man!

2008-10-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

In response to reading about our love of milk crates, a Green Renters reader sent us details of the Milk Crate man, a phenomenon enjoyed by many train commuters each morning in the West. You can see more Milk Crate men here (scroll down) and here. Totally amusing and ingenious ways of recycling everyday house hold goods into art! (Aren't you just itching to put one on your roof?!)

Weekly Container Gardening Spotlight!

2008-10-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

This is a fantastic use of plastic containers and proof that you don't need a lot of space to have a functional balcony garden:

Drink cartons can be reused for nuturing seedlings (I'd be inclined to bury the containers in the ground once they reach a decent height rather than transport the seedlings):

Here's a rather inspiring way of combating space issues in a small back yard:

although I suspect watering would be rather tricky...

Next week we'll have something from home. We got new pots and pans as a wedding present and plan to use the old ones to plant herbs and succulents and cherry tomatoes. Their easy transportability will be great in the burning summer as we can move them to cooler spots. Stay tuned for details next week...

Green Renters news

2008-10-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

Apologies that regular aspects of our blog have been amiss. Chris and I have been busy getting married :-)

Solar Designs: The way of the future!

2008-10-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

I was intrigued to find this solar powered table made by Intelligent Forms Design.

It can be used to power personal devices such as laptops, ipods and the like. The wheels mean it is easily portable when it needs to be recharged. Unfortunately it retails for $14000US and is not surprisingly rather out of our price range!

But solar energy products aren't completely new or price prohibitive. Western Australian company Ecopia has an exciting range of products, many of which can be practically incorporated into the life of renters. I'm particularly excited by the solar bike kit which retails for $45 and the solar torch which retails at $29

Perhaps the way of the future?

Noble Park Permablitz

2008-10-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

Ever attended a Permablitz?

It's a great way of learning some new techniques and methods of handling your garden, here's the next one coming up in Noble Park on teh 8th Oct :

Details

Save water in your property : The Garden

2008-09-27T00:15:00.000-07:00

Here's the first of a few tips on how to save water in your rental property, adapted from a Yarra

Water leaflet, but picking out the highlights relating to renters...

If you have grass in your garden then run hosing from the water outlet pipe on your washing machine on to it to maintain a lovely slab of green turf. If you don't have grass, then collect some of the water into a bucket which can easily be used on non-edible plants.
Collect rainwater in buckets or tanks for future use.
Group plants on their watering needs to make the most efficient use of water.
Check the soil before watering, if it's damp already then save that water!
Most plants will not need watering as much as you think, try cutting back and keeping an eye on the plant.
Pot plants and house plants need a lot of water, do you really need then?
Remove weeds from beds, they'll only use up water plants you actually want need.
Water plant roots, not onto foliage.
Larger plants and long grass can shield smaller plants from the sun.
Use water crystals and wetting agents to keep the soil from drying out.
Consider laying compost or mulch to keep soil damper.
Plant native or drought resistant plants instead of water greedy European varities.

www.savewater.com.au
www.ourwater.vic.gov.au

There is a $30 rebate from your water supplier for products with a value of $100 or more from hardware stores or garden centres.

Need help with leftovers?

2008-09-14T02:48:00.000-07:00

Primarily UK focused, but anyway, if you wan some ideas of what to do with excess food, take a look here :

www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

A is for apples!

2008-09-10T23:01:00.000-07:00

I've decided to include local fruit in my spring recipes so stay tuned for some lovely fruit and vegetable recipes over spring. It doesn't look particularly spring like here in Melbourne, there are dark clouds and it's been raining earlier. But anyhow....

Many different types of apples are in season at the moment: Jonathan, Golden and Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Fuji, Braeburn, pink lady, sundowner and Lady Williams. But my co-blogger's favourite apple happens to be Braeburn and he was so delighted that it is now available in Australia that I'm dedicating these apple recipes to the Braeburn variety.

Apple Caramel Bars

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2 cups quick oats
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 1/4 cups butter - cold
1 1/2 cups apple - peeled, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F.
Grease the baking pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray, set aside.
In large bowl, combine flour, quick oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and egg. Cut in the butter and mix well until ingredients are crumbly.
Remove 1 1/2 cups of the mixture and set aside. Press the crumb mixture into the baking pan, bake for 15 minutes in the oven.
While crust is baking, combine caramel topping and 1/4 cup flour in small bowl; mix well.
Sprinkle the apples over the baked crust. Drizzle the caramel mixture over the top of the apples. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the caramel.
Place back in the oven for another 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Let cool completely before serving; approximately 2 hours.
Cut into 2" squares and serve.

Baked Stuffed Apples

I'm trying these for breakfast!

Ingredients

1 Braeburn apple

2 g ground cinnamon

1 g ground nutmeg

10 g white sugar

30 g cream cheese

8 g dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. Cut the stem out of the apple and hollow out the center until it is about 1 1/2 inches wide without going through the bottom. In a small cup, stir together the cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. Set aside half of this mixture, and mix the rest with the cream cheese and dried cranberries.

3. Sprinkle some of the reserved cinnamon sugar into the apple's cavity. Fill with the cream cheese mixture, and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar on the top. Place the apple in a small baking dish.

4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the apple is tender enough to easily pierce with a fork.

ambiguity is the devil's tetherball...

Recipe: Apple & Cucumber Sammy

1 slice of Bread (Organic White or Wheat)
1 TBSP Cream Cheese
1/2 Braeburn Apple, thinly sliced
1/4 English Cucumber, thinly sliced

Toast your bread, and spread a thin layer of cheese. Cut your slice of bread in half. Cover one half of the slice of bread with apple slices, and the other side with cucumber slices. Assemble sandwich. (Eat any leftover apples and cucumbers, cause they're good for you!)

Cycling related links...

2008-09-09T05:06:00.000-07:00

Perhaps one of the easiest things to do if you're interested in leading a sustainable existence in rented accommodation is to cycle everywhere!

When you've been doing that for a while, here's two links that may interest :

Ride to work day, Oct 15th
Around the Bay in a Day Challenge, Oct 19th

Make your own Worm Farm

2008-09-08T04:02:00.000-07:00

This article had a little bit of guidance from a post found on Sustainability Victoria, which now seems to have disappeared off their website. It's a wok in progress project for us, so we make no guarantee that it will work, but I see no reason it wont. Our aims were to keep it as easy and cheap as possible, so in reach of almost everyone's budgets and limitations.

Worm Farms are great ways of making fertilizer from food scraps in any rental property with a bit of space. You can buy worm farms with everything you need, but they're quite expensive ($100+) and larger, it's not too hard to make your own, here's how!

Find yourself three (in fact two initially, the third is for future expansion) containers, old polystyrene vegetable boxes like the one pictured below are ideal.

We'll start here with two boxes and add a third in the future, so take one box and using a sharp implement (I used a small screwdriver) make some holes in it's base, they don't need to be particularly regular, but you will need a fair few

These holes are for oxygen, but also for the worms urine (which forms one part of the fertilizer) to pass through into the second box below. Ending up with something like this.

Next you need something to cover the bottom of the box, to allow the urine to pass through but so the worms don't fall through, we used several layers of newspaper, which should hopefully work. We also placed a few sheets of dampened paper around the inner edges of the box.

Next we add the worms! When I first started down this path I thought I could go digging in the garden and chuck a few earth worms in a box. Firstly you actually need special worms and secondly you need about 1000 of them to start, so I would have been there for a hell of a long time! This is the singly most expensive part of the process, but 1000 worms cost me $50 and included a healthy amount of dirt for the worms to live in. Carefully pour the worms on top of the news paper and evenly spread them about.

Next add another thin layer of paper on top of the worms, paper is mainly good to balance out the heavy nitrogen content of the food scraps.

Now it's time for the food scraps, again spread them thinly and don't put too much in at once. Ensure everything is nice and moist, when we made our worm farm it was raining, ensuring that everything was sufficiently damp!

Now find a cool and shady spot and something to raise your farm off the ground (perhaps an ever helpful milk crate weighed down with some bricks), place this box (with it's lid) on top of our unmodified box and voila!

Add your food scraps on a regular basis, ensuring that you don't add too much, keep everything damp and be patient, things wont happen overnight.

We shall return to this topic as we discover more and as our own little farm develops.

TIPS :

What composting worms like to eat
- Plate scrapings (cooked vegetables and stewed fruit leftovers)
- Fruit peelings (not too much orange or lemon peel)
- Vegetable scraps and peelings (not too many onions)
- Hair clippings and vacuum cleaner dust
- Stale biscuits and cakes
- Coffee grounds and tea bags
- Crushed egg shells
- Saw dust
- Soaked cardboard

What composting worms don't like to eat
- Manures
- Acidic foods (onions, citrus, garlic, shallots)
- Garden waste
- Dairy products
- Meat

Gardening shennanigans!

2008-09-07T01:42:00.000-07:00

I bought these little birds at St Andrews Markets the other week:

Here they are protecting the lettuce and silverbeet:

Pretty flowers grown from seed:

Cabbages, garlic, chives and parsley are all going well:

Celery is ready to harvest!

And to celebrate, I'm making celery soup! We have lots of celery so stay tuned for more celery recipes...

Celery Soup Times Ten Recipe
Ingredients

1 bunch celery (including leaves), chopped

1 large sweet onion, chopped

6 cups vegetable or chicken stock or broth

1 potato, peeled and finely shredded

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

salt and ground white pepper

1/2 cup whipping cream or half and half

Directions

In large saucepan, saute celery and onion in a small amount of olive oil just until vegetables begin to brown.

Stir in stock or broth. Bring to a boil.

Stir in potato, reduce heat and simmer 30 to 45 minutes.

Cool slightly. Puree in food processor or blender.

Return to saucepan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Stir in cream or half and half.

Ladle into bowls to serve hot, garnished with a celery leaf.

Chill if serving cold. Ladle into bowls and garnish with finely chopped celery and leaves for "crunch".

Enjoy!

weekly container gardening spotlight!

2008-09-02T22:22:00.000-07:00

All houses have toilets, but what makes you decide to find a spare one and put it in your garden? If you're looking for some inspiration.....

from here

from here

And for some overkill...

Eeek! But an impressive display of water saving plants.

W is for Watercress!

2008-09-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

Today dear readers, is the 2nd day of spring! Woo! Stay tuned for recipes using spring vegetables. I hope you have enjoyed the recipes as much as I have :-)

I've not tried watercress recipes extensively, as I've found it hard to buy, particularly if you don't want to go to big supermarkets. If you can't find it and would like to try these recipes, I'd substitute salad greens of your choice.

Goat's Cheese and Watercress Quiche

FOR THE PASTRY

225g gluten-free flour , plus extra for rolling
100g butter
1 large egg , beaten, plus extra beaten egg for brushing

FOR THE FILLING

1 medium onion , finely chopped
1 tbsp oil
100g watercress , roughly chopped
2 large eggs
150ml milk
150ml log soft rindless goat's cheese , in rough chunks
freshly grated nutmeg , optional

Method:

Put the flour and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the egg and about 1-2 tbsp water to form a soft dough. Knead well then wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Knead the pastry again and roll it out to line a 20cm loose-bottomed flan tin (the pastry won't shrink, so no need to chill). Patch holes with spare pastry and brush the base and sides with egg.
For the filling, fry the onion in the oil until just soft, add the watercress and cook until just wilted. Beat the eggs and milk and stir in the watercress mixture and goat's cheese.
Season and if you like, add a pinch of nutmeg. Put the flan tin on a bakingsheet and bake the pastry blind for 5 minutes. Add the filling and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 180C/gas 4/ fan 160C and cook for 25-30 minutes or until lightly set

Watercress and Pinenut Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

1 bunch of watercress
1 cup of fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup of cream
2 tbsp of toasted pine nuts
3 tbsp of plain mayonnaise
salt and pepper

Method:

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Pick all the leaves from a bunch of watercress. Together with a cup of fresh parsley leaves, throw the watercress in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain well and mix the blanched leaves with 1/4 cup of cream. Puree and pass through a sieve.

Place in a saucepan and boil gently until only about 3 tablespoons of green paste is left. Puree 2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts and add to the paste. Stir in 3 tablespoons plain mayonnaise and season.

T is for turnips!

2008-09-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

If the thought of greyish, mushy boiled turnip makes your stomach turn, then read again and see if you can gain a greater appreciation for the tastiness of the humble turnip.

According to wikipedia you might want to consider the swede, (yellow) turnip, swedish a root which originated as a cross between the cabbage and the turnip. Its leaves can also be eaten as a leaf vegetable. It looks like this:
My experience with turnips is most commonly seeing them packaged in a 'soup' vegetable packet at the supermarket containing carrots, turnips, parsnips, onion and celery. I've been determined to find tastier ways to cook and consume...

Turnip and Fennel Flan

Ingredients:

400g white turnips
400g fennel, trimmed weight
1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tbsp mascarpone
120g egg whites
2 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
40g butter
100ml extra virgin olive oil
8 baby turnips, very thinly sliced into rounds
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
6 tbsp chives, finely sliced

Method:

Peel the 400g of turnips and slice into 1/2 cm thick rounds. Trim outer leaves from fennel and cut into 1/2 cm slices.

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and plunge in turnips, fennel and onion for 3-4 minutes until tender. Drain, cool a little and roughly chop, then mix with mascarpone.

Beat egg whites and rosemary together lightly with a fork and mix with turnips, fennel and onion. Season well with salt and pepper.

Butter six 12cm diameter ramekins and fill with mixture to a depth of 2cm. Bake in a preheated 160C oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a frypan and fry baby turnip slices on both sides until golden.

Drain on absorbent paper. Serve flans with turnip slices on top as well as diced tomato and finish with chopped chives.

Serves 6

Turnip and Potato Patties

Ingredients

1/2 pound turnips, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 1 1/3 cups)
6 oz potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 cup)
2 1/2 Tbsp thinly sliced scallion green
1 egg, beaten lightly
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Grapeseed oil, peanut oil, or canola oil (high smoke point vegetable oils)
Salt and pepper

Method

1 In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the turnip and potato cubes for 15 to 17 minutes, until they are tender, and drain them. In a bowl, mash them with a fork and stir in the scallions, the egg, flour, and salt and pepper to taste.

2 Coat the bottom of a large, heavy bottomed skillet with about 1/4-inch of the oil. Heat the pan on medium high heat until the surface of the oil begins to shimmer, but not smoke. Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of the turnip potato batter into the pan, flattening them into 1/2-inch thick patties with the back of a spatula. Fry the patties until they are golden, turning them once, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer the patties to paper towels to drain off excess oil.

Makes six patties.

Honey-Glazed Rutabaga or Turnip

Doesn't have a picture but it sounds good!

2 lb Rutabaga or turnips

2 tb Butter

1/4 c Liquid honey

1/4 ts Ground ginger

Salt and pepper

Ingredients

Peel rutabaga and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices; halve or quarter slices. In pot of boiling salted water, cook rutabaga for 15 minutes (turnips for 8 minutes) or just until tender; drain.

Stir in butter; cook over high heat, shaking pan often, for 1 minute or until coated. Stir in honey, ginger, and salt and pepper to taste; cook, stirring often, for 1 minute or until glazed. Makes 4 servings

Teapots are cool!

2008-08-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

I saw these recently on the awning (I think that's the right term) of a cafe in Hawthorn

And I've always used teapots as vases for cut flowers. Here's a tutorial of how you can use them to hold plants:

And I love these windchimes made from recycled teapots and cutlery (sold at St Andrew's Markets):

Free energy light bulbs

2008-08-28T19:08:00.001-07:00

Just saw this in my local paper, in case anyone's interested. http://livegreen.com.au/about.html
Some details:

What
A great offer to start living green, by receiving FREE modern energy-saving light bulbs and having them installed also for FREE! It’s that simple! This quality product will help you stop wasting energy and money immediately.

How
Book a preferred time for the free service.
Weekdays and weekends available.
Call 1300 855 362, (8am – 5pm, Monday to Friday).

When
Trained installers will be visiting homes for a limited time only.
Don’t miss out – book now!

Who
Live Green With LESS is managed by Low Energy Supplies & Services – an Australian environmental services company. This project is proudly supported by Glen Eira City Council, Stonnington City Council, Kingston City Council and City of Yarra Council.

We Love Milk Crates!

2008-08-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

(inspired by the efforts of Chris over the weekend)

Light installation rom Treehugger:

Milkcrate furniture from this site

Crate bookshleves from Flickr : (The description is worth a read as the author is desperate to state their fashionableness hehe)

How cool are these crate briefcases!

And you can find milk crate art here including our very own Milk Crate Man!

Make your own shelves

2008-08-27T03:41:00.000-07:00

God bless Pura Crates! God knows what any rental property would be without them...

This is really easy and obvious, but I have seen people take this further and make really glamorous shelves out of old crates, but we'll stay simple here....

Get your Crates, I'm never sure where people actually get these from, they seem to just be in every rental property... Clean them...

Then simply stack them, with the large hole to left of the right so that no items fall through. If your items are too small and fall through the gaps in the crates then you can use wood or card to prevent this happening.

Voila! Who needs Ikea!

green washing again!

2008-08-24T22:21:00.000-07:00

ACCC to probe green beer claims
Julian Lee
August 25, 2008

A LEADING brewer's attempts to cash in on demand for green products has landed it in hot water after marketing claims that its beer is better for the environment were challenged.
The competition watchdog has been asked to investigate ads calling Cooper's Australia's greenest beer and encouraging drinkers to walk to the pub to save greenhouse gas emissions.
The company's failure to back the claims with hard evidence has prompted consumer organisation Choice to complain to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that the ads — which use the line "big beer, tiny footprint" — are false and misleading.

The move comes as advertisers and environmentalists release guidelines to stem a flow of greenwash, the term used to describe marketing that overstates a product's benefits to the environment.

In the past year, Woolworths, Saab, LG, Goodyear tyres and Origin Energy have all been accused of greenwashing.

Last week the environmental organisation Total Environment Centre issued a 10-point checklist for marketers.

Among other things, it asks companies to back claims with proof and to resist overstating environmental claims in order to gain a commercial advantage. This week the advertisers' association will release a draft of its self-regulatory code for public consultation. It is not expected to go as far as the centre's checklist in stripping hyperbole from ads for green products.

Both these join the ACCC's own guidelines as well as those issued by Choice.
Environmentalists acknowledge that the rise in greenwash allegations could stymie demand for green or ethical products.

Coopers did not return calls.
From The Age

You can find out more about efforts to thwart greenwashing by the Total Environment Centre here

Container Gardening Weekly Spotlight!

2008-08-21T23:47:00.000-07:00

This week I wanted to dedicate to tyres. Yes, tyres. Now, I don't actually own any besides the ones on my bike. But when I was a kid, tyre planters and decoration were a proud possession of any neighbour who prided their front garden, and were usually handpainted and carefully placed on white pebbles (these rested on a bed of plastic).

If you fancy making your own, you can even find a tute here
by Ron. Here's an example of his work:

Here's some other examples

from here

oh lord, it's an entire flock!

sourced from here

S is for Sweet Potato!

2008-08-21T22:49:00.000-07:00

Sweet potatoes are much loved by many people. The thing I find most fascinating about them is that they are as commonly used in sweet dishes as savory recipes. So without further ado...

Image from here

Sweet Potato Oven Fries

Ingredients:

3 sweet potatoes- peeled, cut into narrow wedges
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
A few dashes of cayenne pepper

Heat oven to 450°F.

Gently toss potatoes, oil, salt and pepper in large bowl until potatoes are evenly coated. Divide potatoes between two large cookie sheets or jelly-roll pans. Bake 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients

454 g sweet potato
115 g butter, softened
200 g white sugar
120 ml milk
2 eggs
2 g ground nutmeg
1 g ground cinnamon
5 ml vanilla extract
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions

Boil sweet potato whole in skin for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin.

Break apart sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a souffle, and then will sink down as it cools.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping

4 large or 6 medium sweet potatoes, cooked and peeled
2 tablespoons margarine
1/4 cup soy creamer or soymilk
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
3/4 cups chopped pecans
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray a 2 quart casserole dish with non-stick spray (or wipe with canola oil).

Mash the sweet potatoes with the margarine until smooth. Add the soy creamer, orange juice, vanilla, sugar, maple syrup, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour into prepared casserole dish.

Mix the topping ingredients together until well-combined. Spread or sprinkle over the casserole and bake for 45 minutes or until hot throughout.

You can't go to school with your period!

2008-08-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

Imagine missing about a week of school (or work) a month because you have your period.

In many areas of the world, access to adequate menstrual supplies is difficult to come by. Many women and girls rely on rags, newspaper, camel skin or nothing at all for their menstrual needs. A lack of sanitary pads can be a big barrier to a girl’s education.

I was recently told about Good 4 Girls a non-profit organisation who seek out donors to sew or purchase new, reusable menstrual pads for donations to areas of Africa where these products are needed most, such as schools and refugee camps in Sudan and Kenya.

Providing reusable supplies not only provides a more environmentally friendly alternative for these young women (in areas of adequate water supply for washing), it reduces their dependence on outside aid organizations to continue providing for their monthly needs.

I’m currently organising a sewing-bee to make a stack of reusable pads to be donated. Can’t sew? Maybe you can cut out patterns or iron seams or something. Or perhaps you’d like to donate some fabric (cotton flannelette) and thread?

In case you have no real idea what I am talking about in regard to a cloth pad, this is one example of a cloth pad from Health Home and Happiness.

If you would like to get involved and join the sewing bee (the first one will be at Chez Cate in early September in Melbourne), feel free to send an email to me: ms.cate@gmail.com . At some stage I will design a flyer with all the relevant details.

I realise this is not about renting per se, but making your own re-usable pads would be an excellent environmental initiative.

R is for Rhubarb

2008-08-17T23:05:00.001-07:00

I've always been a bit scared of rhubarb. Any plant that contains poisonous bits makes me nervous. But after a rather excellent crumble, I'm planning on planting some seedlings.

Apple and rhubarb crumble

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 bunch (425g) rhubarb, cut into 2cm pieces
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoons caster sugar
finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange
3/4 cup self-raising flour, sifted
3/4 cup Healtheries Berry & Apple Bircher Muesli
100g butter, chilled, cubed
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Put rhubarb, apple, sugar, orange rind and juice into a rectangular ovenproof dish (26cm x 16cm). Stir until well-combined.
Combine flour and muesli in a large bowl. Add butter. Using your fingertips, rub butter into flour and muesli mixture. Stir in sugar and hazelnuts. Sprinkle over rhubarb and apple mixture.
Bake for 45 minutes or until crumble is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Rhubarb Champagne (who can resist alcoholic fruit?)

Wash and finely chop 1kg of rhubarb.

Squeeze juice from 2 lemons, finely shred the rind and place these and the rhubarb into a bucket or ceramic bowl with 1 1/2 tbs of white wine vinegar, 750g sugar and 4.8 litres (1.25 gallons) water.

Cover and stand for 48 hrs. Strain through muslin 3 times, bottle and seal with spring loaded caps (corks will pop). Stand 2 weeks in a cool, dark place.

Rhubarb muffins

from It’s Raining Plums by Xanthe Clay

Makes 12 muffins

You’ll need:

250g soft brown sugar
120ml vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
225ml buttermilk or plain yogurt
170g rhubarb, diced into 1cm pieces
80g walnuts, chopped (optional)
280g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
40g wheatgerm

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/200C/400F. Grease or line a twelve-cup muffin tin.

2. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, oil, egg, vanilla extract and buttermilk or yogurt.

3. Stir in the rhubarb and nuts.

4. Sift over the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, and add the wheatgerm. Fold together until just blended but still rather lumpy and uneven looking. Spoon into the muffin tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

5. Leave for 5 minutes to cool before removing from the tin.

Recyclable storage #2

2008-08-13T21:57:00.001-07:00

Book rack
From a coathanger!

Yep if you clicked on the link, it's in Portuguese, but pretty easy to suss out from the pics.

And this would be pretty easy to make. I found the pic on flickr.

Do you ride a bike?

2008-08-13T21:26:00.001-07:00

These are great for cold wintery mornings and evenings

Bicycle riding gloves

$16 from polkadotrabbit.com

P is for Parsnips

2008-08-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest with you, parsnips are actually my most hated vegetable. I've tried to like them but I don't really and have often come across them in dishes hoping they were potato. But they are quite good blended to disguise the taste, and here's some ideas for those of you who love them:

Root Vegetable Crumble

Ingredients

Serves 4

300g Chantenay carrots or baby carrots (or small carrots, chopped into chunks)
500g peeled and cubed mixed root vegetables eg parsnips, sweet potato, swede, celeriac, kohlrabi
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
40g plain flour
40g butter
400ml milk
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp crème fraiche
1 tbsp horseradish
50g grated mature cheddar
50g wholemeal breadcrumbs
sea salt and black pepper
some grated nutmeg

Method

Heat the oven to 180DegC.
Heat a frying pan, add the olive oil and sauté the Chantenay carrots and the mixed root vegetables and onion for 4-5 minutes, until softening. Season with sea salt, black pepper and some grated nutmeg.
Place in an oven proof dish.
To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and mix together and cook the mixture for 1 minute. Do not brown. Remove from the heat, pour in the milk and whisk the mixture until smooth. Place back on the heat and slowly bring to the boil, whisking constantly until just boiling. Simmer for 1 minute, remove from the heat.
Add the horseradish, crème fraiche, season well, pour over the vegetable mixtures.
Mix together the cheese and breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the vegetables. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes so the vegetables are cooked and the topping is golden brown.

Parsnip Crisps

These would be great at a party I reckon!

Ingredients

Parsnips

vegetable oil

salt

Peel and slice the parsnip. It is important to make sure that the slices are all the same thickness so that they all cook at the same time. They do not need to be as thin as you would expect potato chips to be I would suggest to try about 1/2 cm thick. Boil the parsnip for five minutes and then strain of the water and leave to cool. Spread out on a baking sheet and brush with some oil. Bake in a preheated 160 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Check every 5 minutes as they can burn very easily.

Great served warm or cold on their own sprinkled with salt or with dips.

Roasted parsnips with caper vinaigrette

Yotam Ottolenghi's roast parsnips. Photograph: Colin Campbell

The addition of vinaigrette to freshly roasted vegetables gives them a freshness and juiciness they don't normally have; the acidity brings out new shades of flavour, too. The combinations are endless - try adding yam or salsify, or celeriac and beetroot. Furthermore, the dressing can easily take a sweet note, if you prefer - just omit the capers and add honey or maple syrup. Fold in some fresh herbs, such as basil or oregano, chopped at the last moment, and a little grated lemon zest to take it even further. Just try. Serves four.

4 parsnips (around 700g in total)

2 red onions

90ml olive oil

4 sprigs of thyme

2 sprigs of rosemary

1 head garlic, cut in half horizontally

Salt and black pepper

2 sweet potatoes (around 600g)

20 cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tbsp white-wine vinegar

2 tbsp baby capers (or larger ones roughly chopped)

1 tsp mustard

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/ gas mark 4. Peel the parsnips and cut them into two or three segments, depending on their lengths. Cut each piece lengthways into two or four - you want pieces that are roughly 5cm long and 1.5cm wide. Top and tail the onions, peel them and cut each into six wedges.

Place the parsnips and onions in a large mixing bowl and add 60ml of olive oil, the thyme, rosemary, garlic, a teaspoon of salt and some pepper. Mix and spread out on a large roasting tin. Roast for 35 minutes.

While the parsnips are cooking, top and tail the sweet potatoes. Cut them (with their skins) into two widthways and then cut each half into six wedges. Add the potatoes to the tray with the parsnips and onions, stir and return to the oven for another 35-45 minutes.

Once all the vegetables are cooked through and golden brown, stir in the halved tomatoes and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Whisk together the vinegar, capers, mustard, 30ml of oil and half a teaspoon of salt, and pour over the roasting vegetables the moment they come out of the oven. Stir, taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Scatter the sesame seeds over the top and serve straight from the tin.

weekly container gardening spotlight!

2008-08-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

Got a spare toilet hanging around whilst you wait for your landlord or hard rubbish?

Here's an idea from flickr.com:

The decorations are particularly inspiring ;-)

How bout a broken blender? (surely I'm not the only one who cracked it blending soup that was ah, too hot).

Got some spare tyres? I quite like this idea as the tiered effect reduces the need for water:

Any Green Renters?

2008-08-07T08:13:00.000-07:00

Bush property - Panton Hill.

• Share living on 1-acre bush property with female owner and wildlife.
• Fully furnished freestanding small bedroom, with leadlight windows, electricity and telephone.
• Share kitchen, bathroom and living area in the main house. (Fully furnished.)
• Closest railway station Hurstbridge. (Train to city takes about 1 hour.) Would need bike (hilly area) or car to get to station.
• Close to St Andrews Market
• Looking for Eco-friendly person.
• Definitively non-smoker.
• Vegetarian or near vegetarian.
• Ideally a person who will take part in property, bush and veggie garden maintenance and who would be prepared - on occasion - to assist with care for sick, injured or orphaned native wildlife.
• Cost negotiable.

Please call Monique 9719 7661 BH and AH (Please do not leave a message on the mobile phone.)

L is for Lettuce

2008-08-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

Pic from here

Despite living on salads in winter, lettuce is actually a winter vegetables. We have a few varieties growing in our garden which seems to acquire very little attention to keep them happy. When I think of winter, I don't really think of salads, unless there's roast vegetables or goat's cheese involved. But here's a few ideas:

vegan lettuce wraps

Ingredients:

coriander
minced shallots
thai chillies
chopped peanuts
toasted coconut
minced lime

Finely dice and place on lettuce.

Lettuce wrap 'sauce' (more like a paste)

> 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted

> 1/4 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts

> 1/4 cup brown sugar

> 3 Tbsp tamari

> 1/3 cup water

Combine the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Transfer to a blender or food processor and process until smooth.

Braised Lettuce with Peas

small knob butter
1 small onion , finely chopped
4 Little Gem lettuces
200ml fresh chicken stock
4 tbsp single cream or crème fraîche
500g bag frozen peas

Melt the butter in a large sauté pan with a lid. Fry the onion gently for about 5 mins, until softened. Meanwhile, pull any damaged or coarse outer leaves from the lettuces and trim the bases. Cut the lettuces in half lengthways, through the base.
Place the lettuce cut-side up on top of the onions and cook for half a minute, then turn over and cook for another 30 secs. Pour over the stock and lightly season. Put the lid on the pan, reduce the heat to the minimum and cook for 10 mins.
With a slotted spoon, lift the lettuces out and put into a sieve over a bowl. Raise the heat under the pan and boil the juices until reduced by half. Add the cream or crème fraîche and petits pois and boil for 1 min until heated through. Arrange lettuces in a serving dish and pour over the pea-and-cream sauce.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, March 2005 .

Do You Compost?

2008-08-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

Have you tried one of these?

Bokashi Buckets are aimed at renters who don't have the backyard space for a big compost bin.

$100 seems a lot... I'm wondering how hard it would be to DIY one....without having to spend up on the fermented stuff

Our green goals for August

2008-08-05T18:48:00.000-07:00

Here's some goals we're going to try and achieve in August, we'll get back to you on our progress and advice...

1) Make our own environmentally friendly laundry powder/liquid and hand soap, or at the very least investigate fully the existing options out there. Does it really save money? Is it any better than the enviro stuff already on the market?

2) Give away all unwanted furniture/kitchenware, ensuring it goes to good use and not landfill as much as humanly possible! (Anyone want old seats, rabbit hutch, clothes horse, massive sheet of glass?)

3) Plant late winter veggies: leeks, spring onions, cauliflower, more lettuce.

4) Consider giving any compostable waste away, maybe to CERES, they're only down the road...

5) Look into the effects of eating Fish / Seafood and maybe give up fish... Meat is done and dusted, but now we're not so sure that Fish is really all that good for the environment either...

Three Recycled Storage Ideas

2008-08-05T17:11:00.000-07:00

Storage is often a challenge when you rent. You might be renting a place like ours which has no living room, bathroom or bedroom cupboards. There's often just not enough places to put things. And if you're like us non-drivers, furniture shopping can involve a maxi-cab, begging a lift off a friedn or delivery service, all adding to the cots.

Here's a few novel ideas you can made from things around the home:

1) Fabric storage
As a crafty chick who loves all things vintage, retro. pre-loved or recycled my biggest challenge is keeping things in order.

After seeing a post on Craftster last year about different ways to store fabric I bought some of these

from Minotaur Comic book store

Basically they are firm cardboard rectangles a bit smaller than A4. Comic book collectors use them to sandwich comic books to protect them. I use them to store fabric by folding and wrapping the bits of fabric around them. This allows them to be stored standing up in a plastic box or book case so that all fabric is tidy and visable. Visable means I am more likely to make something with what I have rather than buy more.Makes such a difference!

Incidentally I appeciate this is not the tidiest picture, it was taken when I was storing the fabric in our bedroom before we got another book case (and the spare room back as a study/craft room!).

2) Storing pots and pans
This is great if you like the idea of hanging them, but can't exactly drill a hole in the ceiling:

You can get the instructions here

3)Storage bins

These are a definite on my list of things to make (I have plenty of fabric hehe). You can see the instructions by J Carolyn Creative here

4.

The Climate Action Calendar

2008-08-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

Anyone interested in finding things to do, places to go and people to meet in the fields of sustainability and the environment in Victoria should subscribe to the Climate Action Calendar.

The Climate Action Calendar covers events in Victoria and major events elsewhere. Regular updates are sent out, roughly every week to ten days.

To add an event to the calendar please e-mail the details to Monique Decortis decortis@bigpond.net.au

If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to the calendar please email Monique decortis@bigpond.net.au with your details and “subscribe CAC” or “unsubscribe CAC” in the subject bar. The calendar is not sponsored.

I Want to Live Here Film Competition

2008-08-03T16:01:00.000-07:00

What are your chances in finding a bright, sunny rentable house near a train station and some hip shops? Some say it’s cheaper to rent than own. Is that healthy?

We’re inviting all concerned people worldwide to make short films that address the growing affordability and housing crisis (up to 3 minutes in length). How can there be a housing crisis when apartments and blocks of land can be seen empty throughout the city? There must be more to the story than meets the eye.

The ‘I Want to Live Here’ myth buster film competition is designed to encourage storytellers to explore the myths surrounding housing and land issues in their area.

Homelessness, exorbitant rents and lack of availability are huge problems. We want to know your stories, ideas and solutions. We encourage films of all genres and styles. Be as creative and interesting as possible.

Register now

The winner will receive a $3000 cash prize and a big kiss from all renters.
Entries close at 5pm on Thursday October 2nd.
Rough or polished, the story is the key - you’ve go to be in it to win it.

The True Cost of Food-Tonight

2008-07-31T20:22:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder:

A kilogram of beef contains between 15,000 and 100,000 litres of embodied water. For every kilogram of wheat grown in Australia, seven kilograms of topsoil are lost. We give lip service to concerns about peak oil and greenhouse gases, yet our agricultural industry is utterly dependent on unsustainable quantities of polluting petrochemicals.

There’s no reason why this insanity can’t be quickly and effortlessly changed to a geoist system of economics which inherently recognises the true value of natural resources. The major obstacle to change actually lies with the peddlers of our current neoclassical economics. You can side with these peddlers and relax, ignore the food riots, have a beer and flick on the TV, or you can come and be prepared in the knowledge that will help in the transition away from the consequences of our dietary choices.

Speaker: Karl Williams (a.k.a. Mr. Ed)
Time: 7 pm, Friday August 1st
Venue: EarthSharing Australia, 1st Floor, 27 Hardware Lane, Melbourne

All welcome, light supper provided, gold coin donation,RSVP appreciated to Karl Fitzgerald or via 9670-2754

Have you exchanged your shower head yet?

2008-07-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

Find out more about it here

K is for Kale

2008-07-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

pic from here

We had friends over for lunch on saturday and one bought a big bag of home grown vegetables including some rather wonderful kale. I put some in a veggie thai green curry with tofu but cooked the rest last night with some home grown spring onions, parsley, chilli, brocolini and parmesan and added some pasta-delish!

Here's some recipes I've found:

North African Chickpea and Kale Soup

1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced or diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8-1/4 teaspoon chilli powder or cayenne
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
generous pinch saffron, lightly crushed
2 bay leaves
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
8 cups vegetable broth (or water plus bouillon)
1 large bunch kale, thick center ribs removed and chopped (at least 8 cups)
about 2 cups water
salt to taste

Spray a large saucepan with olive oil spray and heat it. Add the onion and carrot and cook over medium-high heat until the onion begins to brown (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the spices, including bay leaves and cinnamon stick, and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the chickpeas and stir to coat them with the spices. Pour in the 8 cups of vegetable stock, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the chopped kale and stir. If necessary add water to cover the kale and cook until it is tender, about 10-25 minutes, depending on how cooked you like your kale. Check frequently to see if it is becoming dry and add water as needed. Add salt to taste and serve.

Winter Vegetable Hash

45 ml olive oil
30 g butter
455 g Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
225 g fresh shiitake mushrooms, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small acorn squash, diced
1 shallot, finely chopped
6 g garlic powder
1 g salt
1 g ground black pepper
65 g chopped kale
4 sprigs fresh sage

DIRECTIONS

Place oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Melt butter and mix in potatoes, mushrooms, pepper, squash, and shallot. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender.
Mix kale and sage into skillet. Continue cooking 5 minutes, until kale is wilted. Serve and enjoy!

Kale and Roquefort Parcels

I'm a sucker for pastry so will be trying these for sure!

Ingredients

250g shortcrust pastry
200g kale (or Swiss chard or winter spinach)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
100g blue cheese, e.g. Roquefort or Stilton
Handful pine nuts
Salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C.
Heat a large frying pan with no oil and toast the pine nuts for 2 minutes, stirring often, until lightly browned. Remove from the heat and set on one side.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently sauté the onion with the garlic for 10 minutes until it is soft.
Wash the kale well and dry thoroughly. Shred it finely. Add the kale to the pan and sauté with the lid on for 5 minutes, until the kale is wilted. Then remove the lid and continue to cook until most of the moisture has evaporated.
Roughly chop the pine nuts and mix in with the kale. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and stir well.
Roll out the pastry to about ½ cm thick. Use a saucer and a knife to cut 4 circles, to make the pasties.
Put 2-3 tablespoons of filling into the middle of each pasty. Crumble the blue on top of the filling.
Brush the edges of each circle with a little milk or beaten egg, then seal together to make a pasty shape. Brush the top of the pasty with milk or egg.
Put on a greased baking tray and bake for about 40 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crispy.

Are you gardening with concrete? Weekly container gardening spotlight

2008-07-24T23:07:00.001-07:00

Today's spotlight is from one of my favourite websites, Instructables
It's a brilliant resource for DIY with instructions on how to do all sorts to things posted by everyday people on pretty much everything!

Noodles Box garden:

I like this idea, besides the handles, the box could be planted with seedlings and buried to break down...

This inverted planer is awesome and makes me long for summer and cherry tomatoes:

This is also a great use for CD Packaging

I'm planning on doing some gardening myself this weekend. I'll post some pics next week :-)

Media Green Awards coming up

2008-07-22T16:42:00.001-07:00

Could be a good opportunity to promote the cause of Green Renting...

The NEWS.com.au Green Awards recognise and celebrate the determination of Australians to tackle the challenges facing our environment. They recognise innovations and solutions that can be easily adopted to help reduce our impact on the planet.

It's also a good chance to nominate some people or corporations in the 'Can do better' category-gosh so many to choose from....

To find out more go here

C is for Cauliflower

2008-07-21T19:15:00.001-07:00

Well winter veggies are certainly overrepresented in the beginning of the alphabet! But from tomorrow we take a significant leap down the list...

But for today:

I like cauliflower (not as much a broccoli though), we are even growing some in the garden. When all the 'low carb' eating was the rage, I used to see a lot of recipes that substituted cauli for mashed potato. But I was never fooled.

Cauiliflower and Potato Pie

1 cauliflower, separated into florets
11/2 cups mashed potato or 3-4 cooked potatoes
3 tablespoons cream or sour cream
Freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan or other hard cheese (our hard tomme cheese is fine)

Preheat oven to 180degrees Celsius. Steam cauliflower. Drain very well. Process for 30 seconds in a food processor or chop by hand. Mix cauliflower with potato (crush the cooked potatoes, if using). Add cream and seasonings. Use half the oil to grease an ovenproof pie plate or gratin dish, then drizzle with remaining oil and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Cauliflower Poppers

1 large head of cauliflower
juice of 1 lemon
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried dill
fresh black pepper
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Directions:

These are soooo good - sometimes when I want a light dinner I'll just make a batch and eat it all myself, easily as good as French fries!

Preheat the oven to 400, and separate the cauliflower into bite-sized florets.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients and toss with the cauliflower, then bake for 40 minutes, stirring once about halfway through the cooking time.

They're ready when they get nicely browned and they're tender but not mushy -- I like to leave mine in until they get chewy blackened parts, but that's just me. ^^

Serves: 4-5

Preparation time: 10 minutes plus 40 to bake

Fresh Pappardelle With Cauliflower and Zucchini

Serves 3-4

2 heads garlic (if roasting, or 1-2 minced cloves if just sauteeing)
4 T. butter
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
1-2 medium zucchini, cut into 4 lengthwise strips and then sliced 1/2 thick
pinch of tarragon
1 lb fresh pappardelle noodles
black pepper
salt
pecorino romano, cut thin with a vegetable peeler

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Put your serving bowls somewhere to warm.
If you want to roast the garlic, trim the upper 1/4" off of each head, rub them with some olive oil, wrap in tin foil and place in the toaster oven (or regular oven) at 400 F for about 40 minutes, until easily pierced with a fork. If you don't have that kind of time, skip it and just add a minced clove or two to the saute.
In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, melt 3 T of the butter. Add the cauliflower, and stir. Add a couple tablespoons of water and cover for a couple of minutes, until just starting to become tender. Squeeze in the cloves of roasted garlic, taking care not to add the skins. Add the tarragon and 1 t. of salt. Add the zucchini and stir occasionally. Check the seasoning.
When the vegetables are 3 minutes from done (probably just after you add the zucchini) turn them down to the low heat and drop the noodles in the boiling water.
When the noodles are al dente (about 3 minutes for fresh pasta), drain them and toss with the remaining 1 T. of butter.
Divide the noodles among heated bowls, top with 1/4 of the vegetable saute, several nice shavings of pecorino and freshly ground pepper.

Forum on housing affordability and other isues: TONIGHT

2008-07-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

Future Of The City OB With The Architects

Tuesday 22nd July @ Beer Deluxe at Fed Square, Melbourne

Triple R's The Architects present The Future Of The City, a live broadcast discussion forum looking at the opportunities and challenges facing Melbourne.

Stuart Harrison and Simon Knott will explore how we can act on the pressing issues of urban density, sustainability, housing affordability and public transport in order to shape the future of Melbourne.

Featuring an expert panel including Associate State Government Architect, Shelley Penn, and Director of RMIT's Globalism Institute, Paul James.

The Future Of The City – a Triple R live broadcast with The Architects for the State of Design Festival. Tuesday the 22nd of July @ 7.00pm outside Beer Deluxe in the atrium at Federation Square.

This broadcast is proudly sponsored by Electrolight – www.electrolight.com.au - lighting designers who are passionate about light and lighting

For more information on the State Of Design Festival, visit www.stateofdesign.com.au

The True Cost of Food

2008-07-21T18:42:00.001-07:00

"There’s no reason why this insanity can’t be quickly and effortlessly changed to a geoist system of economics which inherently recognises the true value of natural resources. The major obstacle to change actually lies with the peddlers of our current neoclassical economics. You can side with these peddlers and relax, ignore the food riots, have a beer and flick on the TV, or you can come and be prepared in the knowledge that will help in the transition away from the consequences of our dietary choices".

Speaker: Karl Williams (a.k.a. Mr. Ed)
Time: 7 pm, Friday August 1st
Venue: EarthSharing Australia, 1st Floor, 27 Hardware Lane, Melbourne

All welcome, light supper provided, gold coin donation,RSVP appreciated to Karl Fitzgerald or via 9670-2754

Got Kids?

2008-07-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

Do they need convincing as to the lack of merit in Plastic Bags?

Try this...

www.greengorilla.com

Exchanging Urban Produce

2008-07-18T22:46:00.000-07:00

All of you out there who grow your own produce and have an excess, get involved in a local exchange scheme...

www.homegrowers.ning.com
www.ceres.org.au/farm/urbanorchard

Lost of useful resources!

2008-07-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

A whole load of useful resources for Green Renters everywhere...

www.environment.gov.au/settlements/local/publications/index.html

Courtesy of the Government, gawd bless them!

Palm Oil

2008-07-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

A slightly difficult and mysterious issue to fully expand and explain, but the mass production of Palm Oil causes untold havoc all around the world, form the levelling of rain forests, the suppression of local farmers by multinationals, the killing of wildlife and much more...

Added to that, it's not a legal requirement in Australia to state whether Palm oil is included in food products and is normally listed as 'Vegetable Oil'. Issues like this affect all of us, as it's quite easy to do something about them, boycotting certain foods and letter writing to members of parliament and food companies all help...

So, get going renters everywhere!

There are a lot of resources out there, but here's a good Australian one.

www.palmoilaction.org.au

Eat Green Design

2008-07-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

Not much time left to see it, but if you're in Melbourne take a look at the following exhibit / restaurant / space that aims to encourage thoughts and explorations of sustainable living.

www.eatgreendesign.com

Food Gardeners Alliance

2008-07-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

I came across a local campaign attempting to lobby the Victorian Parliament to recognise that relaxing the current water restrictions on vegetable gardens will, in the long run, help the environmental problem, not hinder it.

The organisers behind the campaign share a similar ethos to our good selves, so take a look!

www.fga.org.au

C is for carrots

2008-07-17T18:45:00.000-07:00

I've never been much of a fan of raw carrots I must confess. Carrot juice even less so. But baked carrots are definitely the bomb!

Baked Carrots
Ingredients :

4 cups of carrots, sliced.
½ cup of water.
6 tablespoons of butter.
2 tablespoons of sugar.
1 teaspoon of nutmeg.
1 teaspoon of salt.

Instructions:

In a casserole dish, mix the sugar, nutmeg and salt with water.

Add the carrots and dab them with butter.

Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes.

Allow to rest for 3-4 minutes.

Serve.

Carrot soup

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, halved lengthways, thinly sliced
6 carrots, peeled, chopped
4cm piece ginger, peeled, grated
2 cups salt-reduced vegetable stock
2 cups water
light sour cream, dill, and toast, to serve

Method

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leek, carrots and ginger. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until vegetables start to soften.
Add stock and water to saucepan. Cover. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, or until carrots are very tender.
Remove from heat. Set aside to cool slightly. Process or blend soup until smooth. Return to saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until hot. Season with salt and pepper.
Ladle soup into bowls. Top with sour cream and dill. Serve with toast.

Super Food Ideas - April 2004 , Page 30

Recipe by Alison Roberts

Vegan Carrot Cake

Ingredients

- 200 g grated carrots
- 200 g whole grain flour
- 100 g brown sugar
- 1 handful of walnuts or hazelnuts
- 2 tablespoons of raisins
- 1 tablespoons of baking soda
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder
- nutmeg
- ground cinnamon
- Juice of 1 orange
- 1/4 cup of mild olive oil
- salt
Instructions:

1. Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. Add a pinch of every spice listed and a bit of salt.

2. Add the liquid ingredients and mix until homogeneous.

3. Place it on a baking tray covered with margarine or baking paper

4. Bake at 170 ºC for 45 minutes.

5. Decorate with chocolate shavings or powdered sugar. Let it cool down before you slice it.

NB-I've had several bunnies living with me over the years and the whole carrot thing is a bit of a myth. Buns shouldn't be fed carrots except as an occasional treat, they are far too high in sugar. My buns favourite veggies were parsley, celery and asian greens.

Do you like chocolate?

2008-07-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

The Chocolate Ride - Saturday 9th of August
******************************

************************
11am (for 11:15 start)
All Nations Park, Dennis St Northcote, (Mel 30 G7)

Indulge your love of cycling and your love of Chocolate with a ride that
takes all the Chocolate Cafés between Northcote and the City.
This will be a ride at social pace via quiet back streets and off road
paths that takes in Coco Loco (High St Northcote), San Churro (Brunswick
St Fitzroy), Coco Black (Lygon St Carlton), Frau´s (Victoria St North
Melbourne) and Max Brenner (Melbourne Central CBD).

It will be a decadent day that would make Augustus Gloop proud.
And for the truly gluttonous there´s always the option finish up at the
Chocolate Rush Festival at Abbotsford Convent
http://www.chocolaterush.com.au/ (but that costs money to get in.)

organiser: bikenerd

Are you gardening with concrete? Weekly container gardening spotlight!

2008-07-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

Some of my favourites:

Sick of waiting for hard rubbish to throw out those broken drawers? Here's an idea:

I've always loved these big olive oil tins as pot plants.
You can often find empty ones at the back of restaurants.

And these boots are just cool:

Winter Cooking is fun!

2008-07-13T17:58:00.001-07:00

So much colour and vibrancy!

Help the environment and live longer!

2008-07-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

Whoo!

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/vegetarians-live-longer.php

Real Food Film Nights #3

2008-07-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

Lost in Palm Oil
Wednesday 9th July, 6.30pm
Loop Bar, 23 Myers Place, Melbourne

The feature documentary ‘Lost in Palm Oil’ (63 min) investigates the negative impacts that oil palm plantations have on forests, climate change, water pollution, biodiversity, with a focus on Indigenous communities in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. How does this relate to food? Palm oil shows us that food issues, forests, people, culture and animals are interconnected. Palm Oil is used in 1 in 10 supermarket products, yet there no requirement for it to be labelled.

Guest speaker Jessica McKelson from the Melbourne Zoo Orangutan Sanctuary will present an uplifting slide show of her recent trip to Nyaru Menteng Gunung Leseur National Park in Indonesia where she saw the impacts of Palm Oil on the Orangutan population first hand. The wild organutan population is heading towards extinction, but the rescues and release work witnessed by Jess gives us hope that there is a future for them.

The film nights so far have been awesome! I strongly recommend this one. To find out more check out FOE

C is for Cabbage!

2008-07-08T19:40:00.001-07:00

I live in fear of residing in one of those rental properties that smell like boiled cabbage. I also hate storemade coleslaw. But I love the frilliness of cabbage:

Click here for more arty cabbage picks

When searching for saucy cabbage picks I came across the infamous Cabbage Soup Diet-you all know that's a piece of poo, right?

 VEGETARIAN CABBAGE ROLLS
(no picture but they sound yum!)
 Ingredients:
    2  Cabbage heads
                     
FILING:

3/4 c Barley
3/4 c Bulgur
6 c Water -- salted if desired
1 c Rice
1 lg Onions
1 tb Paprika
1/2 ts Chili powder
4 Garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 c Pine nuts
10 1/2 oz Tofu, firm
1/2 bn Parsley -- chopped
6 tb Sauce, soy
4 tb Molasses
2 tb Oil, sesame

-----SAUCE, PER BATCH-----

2 c Prego
1/4 ts Sea salt
1/4 ts Onion powder
1/8 ts Garlic powder
1/8 ts Chili powder
1 tb Sugar, brown
1 1/2 tb Vinegar, wine

-----SAUCE, REMAINING BATCHES-----
6 c Prego
3/4 ts Sea salt
3/4 ts Onion powder
3/8 ts Garlic powder
3/8 ts Chili powder
3 tb Sugar, brown
4 1/2 tb Vinegar, wine

 
   Filling:  Precook grains in water until done.  Crush tofu.  Saute
   remaining ingredients in oil until cooked and add cooked grains.

   Sauce:  Season tomato sauce with remaining ingredients.

   Cabbage: Core cabbage and cook in boiling water for several minutes.
   Pull leaves away as they soften.  Cut out hard core of leaf. Cut
   largest leaves in half.

   Preheat oven to 300.  Oil 9"x13″ casserole.  Place enough tomato
   sauce to cover bottom.  Fill cabbage leaves with cooked filling and
   wrap, tucking sides and ends in to form neat rolls. Place rolls
   snugly in casserole against each other. Spoon remaining sauce over.
   Cover tightly and bake 2 hours. Leave in oven until serving time.


Colcannon
This stuff is seriously good, I had it at some dodgy Irish pub in London
and loved it!

Ingredients (serves 6)

900g sebago (brushed) potatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped
50g butter
300g savoy cabbage, hard core removed, shredded
60ml (1/4 cup) milk
60ml (1/4 cup) pouring cream
White pepper

Method

Place potato in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, and cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and return to the pan. Use a potato masher to mash until smooth. Transfer to a large heatproof bowl.
Melt half the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes or until the cabbage softens.
Add the mashed potato and remaining butter to the pan and stir to combine. Gradually add the milk and cream, and stir to combine. Season with salt and white pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

B is for Brussel Sprouts!

2008-07-03T23:35:00.001-07:00

Like many children, I was bought up to hate Brussel Sprouts. Mum never cooked them and I never had anything to do at them at all, except when I admired their appearance ( a bit like mini-cabbages) at the supermarket.

Until I started today's research, I knew they looked like this:
But I never really had given any though to how they grew which is apparently like this:

(Thanks to this site). Amazing stuff! How cool do they look, talk about ornamental gardening! You can even plant some now! Yes, I'm getting excited about Brussel Sprouts! And to prove it, here's some yummy recipes...

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts Recipe

This is the only way to eat brussels sprouts: cut in half and cooked until deliciously tender inside and perfectly brown and crusted on the outside.

Use brussels sprouts that are on the small size and tightly closed. You can finish these with many different types of cheese but I tend to go for Parmesan when the weather is good. I trade that in for heavier cheeses like gruyere or Gouda in colder weather. I finished them off with some toasted hazelnuts the other night - delicious!

24 small brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don’t overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they’re tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.

Serves 4.

The recipe is from 101cookbooks.com

Are you gardening with concrete? Weekly container gardening spotlight!

2008-07-02T20:23:00.001-07:00

Here's few ideas to inspire:

The car is protesting about car parking, “More parks less parking” can be found written on the car. You can find out how to make your car garden here

The only good use for a coke bottle....

A good way to use the empty delapidated kitchen bins that always seem to be lying around in hard waste

Here’s a bicycle container garden.

And here’s your kitchen chair in the garden. Just cut out the seat and add a planter.

B is for Broccoli

2008-07-02T20:22:00.001-07:00

I'm definite in saying that broccoli is my favourite vegetable in the world-steamed, with butter, in a soup...all awesome! We're growing some at home and whilst it doesn't look quite like this yet, I have high hopes...

Broccoli and Tahini Soup

For the soup:

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
florets (about 250-300g, 9-10 oz) from 1 head of broccoli, chopped
vegetable stock
2 Tbsp tahini
black pepper to taste

For the gremolata:

leaves from 1 head of broccoli
an equal volume of flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
salt to taste

For the croutons:

12 thin slices (1/4 cm, 1/2 inch) from the interestingly-shaped part of the broccoli stem (see photo)
olive oil
salt and black pepper

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, and saute the onion for about 7 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and chopped broccoli florets and stir briefly to let the garlic release its flavour into the oil. Pour over hot vegetable stock to cover, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes until the broccoli has softened (the amount of time it takes will depend on how much stalk you left on the florets).

2. (Optional) While the soup is simmering, make the gremolata: chop the broccoli leaves together with the parsley until very finely-minced. You should end up with 2-3 Tbsp of the minced mixture. Stir in the lemon juice and olive oil, and season well with salt. Set aside for the flavours to infuse.

3. When the soup has finished simmering, stir in the tahini, season with black pepper, and puree in the blender. Return to pan and keep warm.

4. (Optional) Make the croutons just before you're ready to serve. Heat a generous layer of olive oil in a small frying pan, until very hot. Season the broccoli slices with salt and freshly-ground black pepper and then fry them in the hot oil, turning once (I use chopsticks to do this), until lightly (or darkly!) browned, according to taste. The ones in the photo are done to my taste, which is well-browned. Drain them briefly on kitchen paper after taking them out of the oil.

5. To assemble the soup, pour it into four warmed bowls, balance the croutons on top, and drizzle over a little of the gremolata. Serve at once, with the rest of the gremolata in a small saucer for people to add as required, or dip their bread into.'

From Kake's Vegan Cookery Site

Vegan Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients

1 med Potato -- peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon Salt
Couple of bundles of broccoli chopped
4 oz Tofu, firm -- crumbled
1/2 md Carrot -- scraped and
1/2 c Nutritional yeast flakes
1 tb brown Rice, brown, instant
1/2 med Onion -- peeled and
10 oz Mushrooms sliced
1 cup water

Instructions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, bring potato, carrot, onion, 1 cup water and salt to a boil over medium high heat. Lower heat to medium, cover and simmer until potato and carrot are tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, thaw frozen broccoli in a colander under hot running water, then set aside and drain well.

3.When potato mixture has finished simmering, pour into a blender and add tofu, yeast, lemon juice and garlic.

3.Blend until very smooth and creamy. Pour into a shallow, greased 1 1/2- to 2-quart casserole.

4. Add broccoli, rice, mushrooms and 3/4 cup water. Stir well and smooth top of casserole.

5.Bake for 40 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Serves 4

from Big Oven