Green thumb!

Now that I'm not getting home from work at 7pm, after the sun has gone down, and completely exhausted. I'm working on developing hobbies, trying new recipes, making friends, and just generally trying to better myself. One issue that has really been important to me is taking as little from the environment as possible and trying to give as much back as is feasible. I'm getting ready to start vermicomposting. I'm going to take the easy way out and purchase a Worm Factory (http://www.naturesfootprint.com/worm-factory-360) for about $115 which has been scientifically designed to enhance composting. There are also DIY methods that include a big plastic storage bin, worms, and newspaper.

I'm also trying to reduce the amount of meat I consume. This is not necessarily on account of the Earth's well-being but more for my own. One day I just didn't want to deal with cooking it anymore. This is great because it has forced me to delve into a whole new cooking realm. This isn't to say I don't still enjoy a good burger, it's just that I don't cook it at home.

I went to a seminar last week regarding food preservation taught by the owner and chef at a local restaurant called Woodberry Kitchen (http://www.woodberrykitchen.com/). It was really informative and we got samples too! The aim of the restaurant is to get everything local.

Woodberry Kitchen relies on longstanding relationships with the growers of the Chesapeake to provide the ingredients that nourish and delight our guests. At our table, you join us in supporting sustainable agriculture that respects the abundance and traditions of the region while helping to ensure its future.

The menu is ever changing with the availability of local ingredients. Because of this, they've had to learn to can and preserve foods from growing season so they can still make amazing dishes throughout the winter. As many butchers like to take the "head to tail" approach with animals, they do it with all kinds of foods. I think more people (myself included) need to take a page out of their book. Even if you may desire something else, you should work with what you have, and maybe you can create something great out of it! One of the coolest things I thought they did was that they are unable to get local olives to put in their drinks so they use tiny, unripened, green, pickled tomatoes which they are able to get locally and pickle themselves as garnish. They look so similar to olives and they tasted almost exactly the same! A little creativity can go a long way. The dining prices are probably a little more steep than most graduate students can afford but maybe sometime I'll make it there. In the mean time, I can use some of the things I learned to bring a little bit of Woodberry Kitchen to my kitchen.

The chef from Woodberry Kitchen has several growers/vendors he picks up from, but I posed the question of the practicality of doing this for an individual. It's not really practical for me to drive to an orchard and hour away just to get a pound of apricots and then drive somewhere else to get come cucumbers. The chef directed me to Hopkins CSA. After researching this idea, I think it will help me to eat more seasonally and locally. "CSA" stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You pay one lump sum and get 24 weekly deliveries of fresh local produce (from One Straw Farm) delivered right to Hopkins Medical Campus and you need only stop by and pick it up. For under $25 a week, you'll get a basket of whatever fruits and veggies are in season. A typical week's booty might include: 1 bunch of leaf lettuce 1 quart basket of tomatoes 1 large eggplant 3 cucumbers 3 peppers 2 bunches of kale 1 quart basket of potatoes 1 whole watermelon

I think for how much food you are getting, that price is comparable to the price at the store. I have always hesitated because I simply can't eat that much before it would go bad. However, you can also "share" a share. So for ~$12/wk I could have half of that. Another cool thing that they do is that there are always leftovers that people don't pick up. You can read about what happens to the food here, http://www.livablefutureblog.com/2010/09/food-dignity, but essentially for every 10 shares purchased, the farms donate one share to local organizations that provide emergency food assistance. Helping myself and helping others at the same time-- in the words of one of my sorority sisters, "loves it!"

I'm also trying my hand at gardening.The only problem is that I'm attempting to do it on our deck (about 7'x 14' of space). For someone who doesn't have a green thumb in the first place, trying to grow a few kinds of plants in pots is difficult.

Grow already! This was a few weeks ago so I'll update with my new setup soon. I still haven't figured out why I get incredible joy out of watching my plants grow. Oh... the simple pleasures in life.