Green Components » food

Companion Plants that Benefit You and Each Other

greenco — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:09:41 +0000

With a little bit of planning you can jazz up your yard with some great herbs and plants that will add variety to your life, or better nourish the ones you’ve already got by providing companions. The following plants are beneficial to the environment and us because they either repel harmful insects, attract beneficial insects, nourish surrounding vegetation, or provide materials for food, medicine or topical preparations for skin care and wound cleaning.

This list is by all means not conclusive –there are many other plants that work well together around the home to benefit the members of your family. If you have some good ones to add, let us know.

Alfalfa – This is an excellent plant for busting up hard clay soil. It also fixes the soil with nitrogen. Great to use with vermiculture for quickly transforming even the worst quality top soil into the richest, most fertile soil possible.

Amaranth – There are some beneficial beetles that like amaranth, which also benefits sweet corn. Plant a fringe of amaranth next to your sweet corn patch. Amaranth is a very interesting grain that makes a yummy hot cereal, or jazzes up any bread recipe.

Anise – will repel aphids. Anise tends to host predatory wasps that will hunt many of the unwelcome types of insects.

Allium – use this near most vegetables (except beans and peas) to repel aphids, carrot lifes, moles, weevils and tree borers. Allium can be part of a garden or tree border to help protect your plants from these pests.

Basil – helps to control flies, aphids, mosquitoes and mites. Great to use by asparagus and tomato plants for problems with hornworms or beetles.

Bay Leaves - not only can these be used to bring the awesome taste of fresh bay leaves to your soups and stews, the leaves help repel insects in general as they are growing. You can place any extra bay leaves around the kitchen (in the pantry) to repel roaches and ants.

Bee Balm – attracts beneficial bugs and bees, and improves the flavor of tomatoes.

Chamomile – plant chamomile around onions, cabbages and lettuces for better flavor. Chamomile is also wonderful for gently cleaning wounds (make a strong tea), as a shampoo additive to condition hair, or soothing tea to drink. Chamomile is also often used along with marigold as a border around gardens.

Chives – not only do chives add a delicious zip to any food, they repel many tomato and fruit pests, and are also known to enhance the flavor and growth of carrots.

Garlic - here’s another one that’s good everywhere, or as part of a border mix around the garden. Garlic repels practically everything -beetles, aphids, spider mites, weevils and borers.

Horseradish – encourages potato growth and has been shown to deter many types of potato bugs. Great to have on hand for a natural way to spice of the usual dishes.

Hyssop – deters cabbage moths around grapes and cabbage and may improve growth.

Lavender – this is a great ant repellent. Lavender can be used in teas, as a decorative element in flower arrangements, made into a tea or other solution for the homemade bath and beauty items. Lavender is a very useful and beautiful herb to have on hand. Plant with peppermint around the house foundation to discourage ant infestation.

Marigold – encourages the growth of tomatoes, strawberries, beans, roses and potatoes, as well as repels several types of insects and nematodes. Marigold should definitely be a part of any garden border mix.

Mint – fun herb to have on hand for cooking and cold drink making. Mint will improve the flavor and growth of nearby tomatoes and cabbage.

Mustard – is well known as a trap crop. Place it somewhat near cabbage, radishes, cauliflower or greens of any kind. It the mustard attracts an infestation, destroy the mustard. If not, you’ve got zesty mustard greens for salad, and veen dried mustard, depending on your dedication and abilities.

Nasturium – repels aphids, several kinds of beetles, squash bugs and white flies. Cucumber and squash benefit the most from nasturium.

Onion – is sort of like garlic in its generally efficient control of several types of pests. Onions repel cabbage moths, weevils, aphids, carrot flies, moles, rust flies, some nematodes and red spiders.

Oregano – benefits broccoli; repels cabbage moth.

Parsley – repels carrot flies, rose, and asparagus beetles. Plant near asparagus, carrots, tomato, and roses.

Peanuts – encourage the growth of squash and corn.

Peas - benefit corn by adding nitrogen.

Pennyroyal – deters ants, ticks, fleas, aphids and cabbage maggots. This is an excellent choice for a yard border, especially if you have pets. Also, cabbage, sprouts and broccoli will benefit directly from pennyroyal.

Peppermint – plant with lavender around the house to repel ants. Use peppermint for teas, cool drinks, headache slaves/lotions/ointments. Like lavender, peppermint can be very useful for making bath and body preparations.

Rosemary – repels mosquitoes as well as beetles, cabbage moths and slugs. Rosemary is another herb that’s great to use in a general border around the yard, or planted in pots around where people tend to hang out.

Rue – deters Japanese beetles; roses and raspberries will benefit.

Sage – tastes great, benefits carrots, and repels carrot flies an cabbage moths.

Soybeans – add nitrogen to the soil, so put them near corn or other nitrogen-sucker. Repels chinch bugs and Japanese beetles.

Savory – plant with beans to deter bean beetles and improve the growth and taste of beans.

Thyme – Useful near cabbage and in cooking. Repels cabbage maggots, cabbage moths and flea beetles.

Tomato – planted near roses will protect them from black spot.

Remember, starting a garden doesn’t have to be a huge ordeal. You can start as small as you want, with a potted herb garden. Using one of those Claw garden tools (you can get at any home or garden store) is actually pretty easy to use for putting in borders, and provides a good workout if you’re making long borders. Also a good tool for stirring up mulch near plant stems.

You might consider watering your plants via harvested rainwater.

Healthy Green Drinks for Summer

greenco — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:40:54 +0000

I’ve been making this first drink for about a year now, and will never go back to artificially sweetened diet fruit drinks, but if you’re feeling even more adventurous, skip down to learn about shrub, a colonial-era fruit concentrate made from fresh fruit that can be added to water or soda water for some deliciously different and naturally refreshing drinks.

Stevia Lemonade / Limeade

As I was trying to get rid of my artificial sweetener habit (particularly Crystal Light) I gravitated toward stevia, but it took a few adjustments to find the right drink and preparation to make it just right. Here’s what I’ve learned. If you have other suggestions, please share with us by leaving a comment.

For a long time I thought I had to make whole pitchers because that’s what I was used to, but discovered that it’s just as easy to make stevia lemon/lime -ade by the glass, and the stevia staid suspended much better this way (in a pitcher you have to stir it again each pour, or use liquid stevia). You’ll have to experiment to see what people like, but a good guideline is one whole lemon/lime per large tumbler.

Per-Glass Stevia Lemonade / Limeade

1 lemon / lime
2 stevia packets
large glass of water

Dissolve stevia in citrus juice by stirring briskly. Add water and stir again.
Variation: Use liquid stevia for better suspension of stevia. Liquid stevia also works better for making large amounts if you don’t want to have to stir before pouring from the pitcher, but liquid stevia tends to cost more too, so these are the considerations…use what works best for you.

And now for something a little more exciting:

Shrub

Shrub is a wonderful traditional type of naturally made fruit concentrate that is used to flavor water or other liquids. During the colonial era shrub was used to flavor soda water and several other soda fountain concoctions and cocktails. You can make your own using the simplest of ingredients and have full control over the quality. Buying organic and fair trade fruit are ways to make your shrub a truly green drink. Using stevia instead of sugar or replacing some sugar with stevia will also make your shrub healthier.

Berry Shrub

2 quarts berries (8 cups)
Enough cider vinegar to just cover the berries (about 7.5 cups)
Stevia / Sugar – about 3 tbsp Stevia (dry or liquid), or 7.5 cups sugar

Cover berries with vinegar and cover with towel or lid. Let steep for at least 2 days. You can let it steep for up to a week, but it’s a good idea to keep it in the fridge if you want to let it steep for longer than 2 days.

Drain the vinegar off the berries by straining it into a very large pot. Using a strainer above the pot, add fruit to the strainer (in batches) and mash liquid out through the strainer. Cheesecloth is good for getting all the juice.

Add stevia/sugar to the liquid.

Heat to a rolling boil and keep there for 10 minutes.

Skim off any scum.

Pour into storage containers.

Store in a cool, dry place (refrigeration is not necessary).

Shrub lasts nearly indefinitely as long as it’s kept sealed and in a relatively cool location.

To enjoy:

The general rule is 1 part shrub to 5 parts water or soda water, but many people like to add just a couple of teaspoons to a large glass of water or regular sized bottle of water. A great way to add an interesting flavor to bottled water, or add it to soda water for all-natural, homemade soda pop.

Some notes on ingredients:
If you use strawberries you will need to steep a second batch of fruit to get a strong flavor. Cider vinegar can be used in combination with a wine vinegar for slightly different taste. Also, you may wish to combine a natural sugar and stevia, in which case convert the removed sugar to stevia. See the conversion chart below for more assistance.

In case it comes in handy for those of you who wish to combine sugar and stevia, here is a stevia / sugar conversion chart:

Stevia / Sugar Conversion Chart

Sugar amount	Equivalent Stevia powdered extract	Equivalent Stevia liquid concentrate
1 cup	1 teaspoon	1 teaspoon
1 tablespoon	1/4 teaspoon	6 to 9 drops
1 teaspoon	A pinch to 1/16 teaspoon	2 to 4 drops

I like berry shrub the best, but sometimes add the juice of 6 lemons or limes to add a citrus flavor to the berries. Have you tried any other shrub variations or have a favorite recipe of your own?

Easy Vegetarian Cornbread Bake

greenco — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:07:32 +0000

I accidentally discovered this super easy and delicious meal when I was looking for a quick, low-cal, vegetarian meal for the family. Pretty simple: corn bread, veggies, vegetarian meat crumbles (or strips) and gravy, but we like it so much we’ve had it once a week for the last month.

The brown gravy version has a satisfying tamale flavor. The cream gravy version is, well creamy. Both dishes are surprisingly low in calories considering how tasty and satisfying they are. Very economical as well.

Brown Gravy (Tamale) Veggie Bake

2 cornbread packets
2 vegetarian brown gravy packets
1 pack vegetarian crumbles or veggie steak strips
2 eggs (or egg substitute)
1 1/3 cups soy milk
4-6 cups raw vegetables (your choice. I like 1.5 cups onion, 1.5 cups mushrooms, 1.5 cups zucchini )
1 small can green chilies
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
4 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
small amount of olive oil

Cream Gravy Veggie Bake

2 cornbread packets
2 vegetarian cream gravy packets
1 pack vegetarian crumbles or veggie steak strips
2 eggs (or egg substitute)
1 1/3 cups soy milk
4-6 cups raw vegetables (your choice. I like 1.5 cups onion, 1.5 cups mushrooms, 1.5 cups zucchini )
1 small can green chilies
small amount of olive oil

Spray 13×9 inch pan with natural cooking spray. Mix cornbread according to packet instructions (using the egg and soy milk listed above). Pour prepared cornbread into pan.

Prepare gravy according to package. Let sit while veggies cook so it can thicken. If you’re making the brown gravy version, stir the cocoa, chili powder and cumin into the hot gravy.

Heat oil on medium heat. If you’re cooking onions, simmer these until they are translucent. Add all cut vegetables to heat and heat through (4-5 minutes), but veggies should still be slightly crisp. Feel free to add seasoning like pepper or whatever you like.

Add green chilies and vegetarian meat substitute (crumbles or veggie steak strips) to the veggie mixture. Stir together and let cook just a few minutes.

On top of the cornbread mixture, pour veggie mixture and top with gravy. Cover with foil and bake at 375-degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Makes 6 servings with about 400 calories / serving.

Can you really cook and even bake with a solar cooker?

greenco — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:09:28 +0000

What if you could cook supper without using gas, electricity, charcoal or firewood? Talk about a green cooking solution!

Solar cooking is the greenest solution for preparing hot meals and beverages. With a little preparation (yes, it does take a bit longer than a conventional oven) you can cook hot meals and even bake cakes or muffins all in a solar cooker.

Let’s explore some of the types of solar cookers.

Types of Solar Cookers

There are nearly as many different types of solar cookers as there are recipes for cooking in them. Yet nearly all solar cooker designs fit into one of three main types:

Box Cookers

Solar cookers of the box type are the most widespread type used worldwide. There are hundreds of thousands of these solar cookers being used in India alone.

These solar cookers cook at moderate to high temperatures.

The main advantage of using a solar box cooker is that you don’t have to fiddle with a stand or setting up flaps. Another advantage is that the heat distribution is more even. This makes box cookers good options for baking or evenly cooking large amounts of food.

One disadvantage is the bulky size of these solar cookers. While some do fold down, many do not. Another potential disadvantage is that the cooking temperatures are lower -actually an advantage if you are baking.

Curved Concentrator Cookers (also called Parabolic Cookers)

Curved concentrator solar cookers (”parabolics”) have increased efficiency through the concentration of the sun’s rays by way of the curved dish. In China, in particular, there are several hundred of these solar cookers in use. These cookers are especially well suited for large-scale cooking.

The main advantage of this type of solar cooker is the speed of cooking due to the high temperatures achieved with this design.

The main disadvantage of this type of solar cooker is that frequent adjustment is needed to continue capturing the strongest sun rays. Also, supervision is required for safe operation.

Panel Cookers

Panel solar cookers are a combination of box cookers and parabolic cookers. Arguably, these are the most used types of solar cookers, yet as classification may place these solar cookers in either of the first two categories of solar cookers, the statistics on usage of these cookers are not as clear.

There are two main advantage to panel solar cookers. One, they are very inexpensive to purchase or construct. Two, panel cookers take up the least amount of storage space. This is especially important for those of you camping or living an itinerant lifestyle.

Frequently Asked Questions

(click here for a comprehensive FAQ)

How long does it take to cook a meal in a solar cooker?

There are several factors, such as which type of solar cooker you are using, the time of day, amount of sun/ cloud coverage, amount of food, and the amount of water. Generally though, a solar cooker will take about twice as long as a conventional oven.

You cannot not control available sunlight, but you can speed cooking time in a number of ways:

Food that is started cooking at 9 or 10 AM will cook much faster than food started at 12 or 1 PM.

Cutting food into smaller pieces (or less overall food) will decrease cooking time, as will using a pot with thinner sides, and using less water.

How hot do solar cookers get?

A single panel box type solar cooker will not get much hotter than 300° F, yet this is more than enough to cook most meals -a temperature of 200° F is all that is required to safely cook food. You can experiment with different solar cooker types and designs to increase cooking speed, yet it should be noted that the cooking temperatures listed in conventional cookbooks are primarily used for cooking speed and quick browning. Many people who use solar cookers prefer the slower cookers because they do not have to check on the food and can just leave it for hours while they go about their day.

Is solar cooking for you?

Many people are making solar cooking a part of their daily lives. As with any life change, there is some adjustment -you may find that certain recipes do better than others, and you may discover alternative steps in preparing specific types of food, such as pasta.

What have been your experiences using the sun to cook food?