Fish and Remotes

We bought my almost 7 year old son a fish tank with 4 gold fish.  He has been asking for a sibling so I am really hoping the distraction works.  Personally, I would prefer to have a dog but I don’t think it would be fair to a dog to be in the house for as long as we are away each day.

Sunday night, we went to bed with 4 fish happily swimming in the tank.  We woke up to 3 fish happily swimming in the tank.   No sign of Rainbow.  We searched around the tank, in the filter, in all the accessories*.  (*My son has been calling all the stuff in the tank, the accessories.  I don’t think he yet realizes that it can refer to objects other than the fish tank stuff.  I should probably clear that one up.)  Yes.  We checked the on the floor around the tank. 

We had guests with a young girl over the weekend.  The Mom is one of my best friends from high school.  As we are looking all over this missing fish, she is making chomping faces.  She raised a bully fish that managed to not only eat all of the fish in her tank, but when she brought the fish to our junior high science teacher, the killer goldfish ate all his fish too! (Side note:  If I ever formed a punk band:  The Killer Goldfish)

After the little one and her parents left for the weekend, I sat my son down to explain that the 3 bigger gold fish probably ate Rainbow.  He laughed and laughed.  He told me they are gold fish not sharks!  He said he thought that Rainbow disappeared by magic. 

And here is my decision:  do I give my child a magical childhood?  One where fish reappear? Or do we plant seeds of the real world and discover sometimes gone is gone?

The Little One has been asking me to tell stories from when  I was a little girl…and I told him that we didn’t have remote controls for the tv.  AND I told him that the knob broke off our tv and we had a set of channel locks to change the channel.  So if Pop Pop had to use the tool outside or in the basement, we couldn’t change the channel.  He just looked at me.   No wonder he doesn’t believe me about the fish.

No drill? Go for the Saw!

The Sheetrock saw works!  Tired of waiting for the husband to get the drill back from his friend to make the holes better, I went at it with the sheetrock saw.  It worked!  It was actually much easier the nail and hammer I made the original holes in the box.

If I was starting from scratch, I am going for the sheetrock saw instead.  Speaking of starting from scratch, I think I might need to start a second box.  (boo, hiss.)  This household of three fill up the white scrap container once almost twice a week. The blue box is slow going on the break down.  It might not be able to keep up.

Of course, maybe the answers is worms.  Maybe.

Today's treat banana bread

Now that I'm an old middle aged lady who has been accused of having a mid-life crisis, there I said it! I have been trying to look at my weekly activities and decide how I am writing my son's childhood.  One of the things I would like to have my son say as an adult, I learned to cook with my mom.  My dad is a fantastic baker but I don't really remember ever cooking with him as a kid.  I remember cooking a bit (especially after my mom broke her ankle).  I really want to give my son more experiences rather than objects. Cooking with Mom is one of those experiences. 

Today, being that we are home celebrating MLK day, was one of those Cooking with Mom days.  We had some too brown bananas that needed to be used. (Of course the peels went into the scrap canister.)  I took a recipe from All Recipes.com but replaced apple sauce for oil.  I chose this one because it didn't use butter.  My insides are still complaining about the dairy I digested with our guests this weekend. (I know, I shouldn't blame them.)

Dairy-free, Oil-free banana bread

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup apple sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3 large mashed bananas
• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, beat oil and honey together. Add eggs, and mix well. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt. Add baking soda to hot water, stir to mix, and then add to batter. Blend in chopped nuts. Spread batter into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
3. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 1/2 hour before slicing.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 218 | Total Fat: 10.5g | Cholesterol: 35mg

12 days in -- second batch of scraps

This is the second batch of scraps I dumped in.  Not sure it was ready to take on more scraps but I needed to dump the counter bin.  I am filling that thing faster than I thought I would. 

I placed those 2 pieces of cardboard in there in an attempt to suck up some moisture.  It isn't working.  The cardboards are dry as a bones. There is still plenty of moisture.  The lid has a lot of beads of moisture.  

I stirred this mixture up with my compost spoon.  I have to say, the smell was not bad.  I could smell it but it wasn't intense or disgusting in anyway. I had guests this weekend.  One of my best friends from childhood...one of those people who will tell you the truth, straight up with a kindness chaser.  She is pregnant which put me into hyper-sensitive smelling mode.  If she couldn't detect the smell when the bin was closed, I think we are in the clear. 

When I lifted the inner bin out of the green outer bin, there was very little drainage. That could be because the holes in the bin need to be larger or it could be that the breakdown just isn't happening.  When I stirred, I could clearly see some banana peels, eggshells, and some ends of sweet potatoes.  I can't help thinking, would worms be faster? 

The Moldy Insides

This is day 8. Should be halfway to compost. I don't think this is breaking down that fast. The white fluffy is mold. Lots of mold. I saw it was a little too moist when I peeked in over the weekend.

The smell is really not so made. Honestly, I have found worse smells in my fridge at various points in my illustrious roommate career.

Too wet?

I think the bin is too wet! Look at the condensation. I really need to find that drill and make bigger holes.

NYCWasteLess: Indoor Composting with a Worm Bin

NYCWasteLess: Indoor Composting with a Worm Bin

If my piles doesn't break down in 6 weeks.....I am breaking out the worms!

Scrappy Central

I really wanted Santa to bring me worms for Christmas.  I hit up every relative when they inquired what I might like.  I can't really say I was surprised when none of the tower of gifts contained the Red Wigglers I requested.

I have read (here: http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/22095854391389323_PJTfPqfB_b.jpg) how to set up an apartment-sized compost bin sans worms.   I did get a pleasant little kitchen scrap keeper. I started using it as soon as we returned from our holiday travels.

Gift from my lovely sister to kick start my composting.

By Tuesday, it was full.  I had no choice but to build the next stage bin Wednesday night. 
This counter composter is rather standard. It is a heavy ceramic with a filter in the lid. My sis thoughtfully provided me with an spare filter with the order info for more.

From Saturday to Tuesday, I would say that I cooked less than normal so I'm a little worried about how fast this baby filled up.  What was in it?  Coffee grounds with the paper filter, orange peels, egg shells, garlic peels (loads of them), and odds and ends of some veggies.

I used a hammer and nail (and a bit of brute force) to put the recommended 10-12 holes in both the lid and the base of the bind. I used a thin pointed nail, then worked through a larger nail through each of the holes.  I started this lovely project after the kid went to bed so I was happy to not need to break out the drill.  But note to self, my fingers would appreciate the drill after all the nail wiggling to enlarge the hole.

Bins: 2 as recommended

The articles I read recommended having 2 bins because the worm-less process is a bit slower.  I have dry paper scraps (junk mail and all that brown kraft paper that Amazon sends in their packaging.)  The dry scraps (dead plant leaves and stray hairs can be used as well.)  

No drill used.  Hoping for the best in terms of aeration and drainage.

One of the tips I hope to follow:  Have scrap paper on hand to keep the smell at bay.  In order to keep this whole decomposition process moving quickly it is key to have everything small.  Small veggies scraps, small pieces of paper.  I think I might have to enlist the kid to work on his scissor skills on getting this paper cut up. Or a shredder might be in my future. 

The first layer is first, then paper, then scraps, then more paper.  (see pics below)  I closed up the bin, then placed that bin inside a larger bin and tucked it into the corner.  When I came home from work the next night, I noticed that a corner was popped up.  Did I not seal the box tightly?  Or did it pop open from the decomposition process?  I'm thinking the prior. (It was WAY past my bedtime when I finished.  And then I decided to toss in a dryer sheet into the bin to ward off the evils of smell.) 

Layer of paper

Four inches of potting soil to start things off

And then the layer of scraps....I will post again when the kitchen counter bin is full again to report back on the progress on this batch.  Oh who am I kidding?  I'm sure I will be nosing into the bin well before then. 

Lunch is looking good!

Red cabbage, green beans and left-over vegan loaf. Yum!
Now if I can keep my hands out of the jerky my sister sent.

Healthy Meal to start the year.

I found this recipe on Spark People.  

We will  see how ready for a healthy change my parents, son and husband are.  If they aren't, I will have yummy lunches this week.

Vegan Bean Loaf

Submitted by: HEYBEEPBEEP on Spark People

Delicious and Nutricious:)

Minutes to Prepare: 15

Minutes to Cook: 45

Number of Servings: 7

Ingredients

2 TB water or broth for steam-frying One onion, diced One large garlic clove, minced One large carrot, peeled and grated 2 cups cooked black beans 1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable broth, as needed 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal 1/4 tsp. dried thyme 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 2 TB soy sauce

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray a loaf pan or 8x8 square baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside (an 8x8 pan makes a crisper loaf).

Grind the into a coarse meal using a food processor or spice/coffee grinder. Place in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Saute any vegetables you've chosen in the water or broth for steam-frying until soft. Add to the large mixing bowl along with all the remaining ingredients. Mix and mash together well, adding only as much liquid as needed to create a soft, moist loaf that holds together and is not runny (you may not need to add any liquid if the grains and protein are very moist). Add more binder/carbohydrate as needed if the loaf seems too wet.

Press mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until cooked through.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a plate or platter and slice. Serve with potatoes, vegetables, and vegetarian gravy, if desired.

Cold leftover slices of make a great sandwich filling.


Number of Servings: 6

WW Points Plus*: 3

* I used the recipe builder on weight watchers e-tools.  I added the recipe to the community section.  No affiliation with Weight Watchers intended or implied. 

2012 Thoughtful Choices

Here we are, a new year!  By all accounts, I am blessed.   But this is the year I start filling in the blanks.  Life happens in the build up of minor, thoughtless choices until you find yourself living but not thriving.  This blog is to track my path to a life that feels more authentic to me.

While there are times that I would love to just sell the house in Brooklyn and start over in one big brash step, I am going to try to avoid the inevitable: now what? of that choice.

Basic goals for this year:

• Eat more plant-based meals.  
• Start composting.
• Choose local options whenever possible.
• Learn the art of canning (to extend the life of those local options)
• Continue upcycling, recycling, reducing waste. 
• Start web-based business selling ethnic foods.
• More creative projects with my son.
• Learn how to care for a fish tank (son's idea)
• Increase yoga practice

My goal with this blog is to brag (even if it is just to myself) about the choices I make.   I hope to review this on New Year's day 2013 and be amazed by the small but crucial changes my family has made.