Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Carrot Gazpacho: A Tasty Cold Soup Alternative

The carrot gazpacho I made recently for lunch: delicious and a bit sweeter than the tomato version

Ever since I studied abroad in Madrid when I was 20, I’ve been a huge gazpacho fan. Like few other dishes in the world, it’s hard to make badly (even bad gazpacho’s still OK). It’s simple, it’s healthy (clocking in at between 30 and 50 calories a serving), and it takes advantage of a summer staples that are incredibly fresh and abundant.

But sometimes even old favorites get, well, old. Since one of my fave summer meals is a tomato sandwich, I wanted a delicious soup to go with, even for a tomato-lover like myself, it would be overkill to pair it with gazpacho. I recently found myself with a large bag of carrots and thought they might make a great cold soup, likely a bit sweet, but one that would mix well with the other traditional gazpacho ingredients, like cucumber, onion, red pepper, fresh parsley and cilantro. And voila, I was right!

Be sure to use fresh, organic carrots for this recipe, otherwise it won’t work; these carrots are more likely to be sweet, crisp, and full of water, which makes a better soup. I also used some tomato here, but just a couple and instead of red, I used yellow (orange would work too) as they are less acidic and sweeter than red tomatoes but still give you some liquid and a bit of the soft fleshiness that the soup needs. I don’t remove the skin from tomatoes or carrots, but you can if you want a soupier soup; I like mine chunky.

Starre’s Carrot Gazpacho Soup

5-6 fresh, medium-sized, organic carrots, chopped into five or six pieces each
2-3 small-medium yellow or orange tomatoes, chopped into quarters
1 medium sized cucumber (remove 1/2 the skin)
1/2 medium-sized vidalia onion, peeled and chopped in quarters
1 sweet red bell pepper (de-seeded and chopped in quarters)
1 clove organic garlic
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (less if you don’t like vinegar)
handful of fresh cilantro (to taste)
handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley (to taste)
juice from 1/2 medium sized lemon
2 tablespoons of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
sprinkle sea salt (to taste)
fresh black pepper (to taste)
tablespoon agave or teaspoon brown sugar (or to taste)
Sprinkle hot pepper flakes or fresh jalepeno (if desired)

Add all ingredients (save salt, sweetener, and pepper) to a blender, and blend on lowest speed. Stop blending when desired chunkiness is reached. Taste, then add salt, pepper, and sweetener as appropriate (you might need less salt than you think).

Simple Ways to a Green 2008 Holiday

Every year there are things we do to minimize the consumptive haze. This year, with the economy being what it is and people mowing each other down at Wal-Mart, many are choosing alternatives to corporate Christmas debris. Here are some of the tips that help my family to slow down, enjoy each other and breathe.

1. Get Outside: This is always the number one answer for us. When cabin fever settles in or the air is getting stale, we head for the wild. Today we took our screaming toddlers for a cross-country ski. The gray sky broke as the sun set behind snow-covered trees. My son, who only has a few words (mama, dada, eat, lulu doggie) said “Weeeeeeee” as my husband glided on the snow. Moments like this make it worthwhile.

2. Avoid wasting energy with lights, inflatable snowmen and massive automated plastic snowglobes (these strange spheres that send styrofoam snow in circles are perhaps one of the signs of the capitalistic Apocalypse?)

3. Make stuff: This year I made my tahini, garlic, lemon dressing for friends. My hubby makes a mean roasted butternut squash soup with garlic, ginger and cinnamon and we put it in mason jars with a bow. I have friends who knit, make homemade lip balm, and create art to share with loved ones.

4. If you use Christmas trees, there are several sustainable options. One choice is to use a potted tree. If you don’t want to keep it after the holiday, you can find a planter who will take the tree. Here is a great resource page on how to manage live trees. Some municipalities collect trees for mulching. Use Earth 911 to find your local waste management. Fresh Christmas Tree is a great place to find sustainably harvested trees, but by this time of year they are usually sold out. They might be able to refer you to local farms that are growing trees responsibly.

5. Recycle Wrapping: instead of spending money on wrapping I actually save old wrapping and ribbons. Gift bags get used multiple times in our house. Re-gifting is also a really good way to avoid wasteful spending.

6. Donate to a cause: For those who don’t need ‘stuff,’ giving to local charities is a great way to give a gift with meaning.

7. Give an experience: Yoga classes, massage, theater tickets, or an afternoon of hiking…

Here is an excellent resource for other environmentally conscious holiday ideas. Mahalo!
Wishing everyone warmth for the season.

Greener Printer: eco-friendly printing

As a graphic designer (print based), I’m aware of the huge impact commercial printing has on the environment. Luckily there are great eco-friendly printers out there like Greener Printer in Berkeley, CA who can help reduce the impact of printed materials.

The 4 areas Greener Printer focuses on are: 1. Water Conservation, 2. Solid Waste Reduction and Recyling, 3. Energy Conservation and 4. Pollution Prevention. In addition, Greener Printer prints on treeless and recycled content papers, exclusively prints with low VOC soy and other vegetable-based inks, uses energy efficient equipment, and offsets 100% of their energy usage with windpower. They are also a certified Green Business.

To give an idea of what they offer, Greener Printers prints business cards, calendars, brochures, postcards, catalogs, posters and many other print communication items. For non-local clients, printing is super easy— just upload files to their site and get the orders shipped (all jobs are shipped “climate cool“).

In short, if you have materials printed for yourself, your organization or your business, make sure to consider printing with environmentally responsible printers. At this point, the costs for eco-friendly printing are reasonable, the finished products are beautiful and the reduced footprint is considerable. Check here and here for info and tips on printing green.

100-Mile Challenge

 

What cute Turkeys! I like to see them scuffling through the leaves in the woods, not on a plate!

Treehugger encouraged folks to get their whole Thanksgiving meal within 100 miles of their homes in the aptly named 100-mile Challenge, and though I’m not entering their contest, I am trying to get most of the tasties for my feast locally. I think this is a great idea, and especially for people who don’t cook much (that would be me!) and really do it up on Thanksgiving.

So here’s my menu, and my local (or not so local) choices. FYI, I live in Southwestern Connecticut:

-Homemade Tofurkey (my favoritie tofu is made in Middlefield, CT, 54 miles away, seasonings I already have, and are from all over the place)

-Bread stuffing for Tofurkey (bread is from bakery less than a mile from my home, though I don’t know from where their ingredients come from…)

-Cranberry sauce (cranberries are from Massachusetts bogs- over 100 miles away, regional)

-Pumpkin Bisque soup (pumpins are pick-your-own from farm about 60 miles away, organic cream is from New England dairies)

-Mushroom Quiche (eggs from New Hampshire, less than 200 miles away, mushrooms are from California, cheese and cream is from New England dairies)

-Tat Soi (like Bok Choi, but darker- from my garden!)

-Pumpkin muffins (uhh….from the box!)

-Mashed potatoes and gravy (Idaho organic potatoes and premade gravy from California)

-Green salad with dressing (greens from California)

-Chardonnay (from California)

-Cherry pie, apple pie (apples are local, I buy organic pre-made crust, cherries are from the can! but organic)

-Ben and Jerry’s Vanilla Ice cream (fair trade beans, but not really local…but at least regional- from Vermont, about 200 miles away)

Ok, so that’s my dinner. I am glad to see that the bulk of my food is actually from the Northeast, at least. Maybe I’ll nix the salad….I haven’t bought some of my ingredients yet, and I’m headed to the farmer’s market on Wednesday, so maybe I’ll see if I can get onions, potatoes and some mushrooms there instead of Wild Oats, which would make my meal much more regional and would support Connecticut farmers.

Happy Thanksgiving to All the Eco Chicks (and guys too)!

Hail to the Co-Op

Living in Vermont during my formative years provided me with a true education in what it means to be “green.” I had my first experience with a grease car, had my first friends who were eating almost entirely from their garden, and had my first exposure to the term co-op. The mecca for this sustainable lifestyle in Southern Vermont is the Brattleboro Food Co-op. Founded in 1975, the co-op, which was once a small buying club, is now a massive store of 16,000 square feet. Visiting the co-op is an opportunity to stock up on necessities and enjoy socializing with like-minded folk.

Being a member of a co-op means taking a direct part in where your food comes from, which in this day and age is vital to many. These democratic organizations are non-profits owned and operated by the members. Co-ops are popular because individuals actually participate in all levels of the process, from ordering produce to running the cash register. This democritization of food-buying leaves people with a strong sense of community and a powerful support for sustainable businesses. Plus, these community hubs usually provide a much more enjoyable shopping experience, with plants everywhere, painted murals on the walls, and often have a kid’s section, as well as yummy deli service.

The Brattleboro Co-op, in particular, has the best deli I have ever frequented. When you first walk into the store, you hit the deli section which is chock full of delicious homemade salads, soups and whole food dishes. Next is the fresh flowers and ready-made teas and coffees, where they have some of the best chai around. The produce section is phenomenal with an array of exotic and domestic organic fruits, an ecclectic selection of fresh locally harvested greens and all the roots and veggies one could imagine.

The commitment to whole foods has made the Brattleboro Co-op a favorite and is highly recommended for anyone travelling through Vermont (there is also the Hunger Mountain Co-op in Montpelier, which is terrific). The food is always vibrant and fresh, and the staff, being members, are always helpful and fun to talk to. My new favorite is the Berkshire Co-op. For more info on co-ops in your area check out the directory. This eco-business list is also useful.