Adventures in Eco-Living

Going Green for Valentine's Day: Indulgent Natural Gift Sets that Pamper

Add a twist of green to your Valentine's Day this year! Not only will these fabulous and indulgent green gift ideas melt the heart of your loved one, you will be treating your planet, too- with healthy, sustainable, recycled, and organic products. There's no better way to say "I love you"!

GREEN GIRL PASSION GIFT SET

This set makes green so romantic! Includes handmade recycled silver earrings with Fair Trade pearls, an aromatherapy soy candle scented with exotic essential oils, 100% natural Sensual Jasmine massage oil, Nag Champa incense, all in a recycled gift box, wrapped with recycled wrapping paper and tied with a natural Sinamay ribbon.

GREEN SPA GIFT SET

Ahhhh... nothing says "Pamper Me" like a relaxing day at the spa.... now you can bring the spa experience home, while enjoying some of our most popular natural, organic, and luxurious products. Set includes Organic Eye Relaxation Pillow (chamomile or lavender), Natural Passionflower Soap, Ayate Fiber Washcloth, Organic Comforting Clove Dead Sea Bath Salts, Sea Soap Natural Spa Shower Wash, and a pumice stone. And, of course, it's all boxed and wrapped in recycled gift wrap!

GREEN MASSAGE GIFT SET

What better way to spend Valentine's Day evening than getting a sensuous (and green!) massage? This set is definitely a gift that will be enjoyed by both of you! Includes Sensual Jasmine Natural Massage Oil, a laminated Massage Chart describing the important hand and foot pressure points, a wooden Footsie Massager, and an exotic aromatherapy soy candle, boxed and wrapped in recycled paper!

GROOVY GREEN GIRL GIFT SET

 

This is the gift for that groovy, fun-loving girl in your life! This set includes Organic Tie-Dyed Leg Warmers, Organic Cotton Scarf, Recycled Phone Card Fair Trade Earrings, Natural Lip Shimmer, and a natural soy Aromatherapy Candle. All boxed and wrapped in recycled paper and tied with a natural Sinamay ribbon, of course!

Need more green gift ideas? Check out our Valentine's Day Gift Guide.

My Breaducation Has Begun: Easy Crusty Bread

In my quest to learn how to make bread that doesn't come out of a bread machine, and doesn't take all day to make, I have stumbled across this most excellent recipe for No-Knead Bread. Yes- this bread requires no kneading whatsoever, and pretty much no work on your part. And as you can see, it produces a wonderfully crispy and tasty bread.

You simply mix up a few ingredients (about 3 minutes of your time), let the dough sit for 12-20 hours, and then plop (literally) into a pan and bake. Couldn't be easier! (And so perfect for the more lazier-inclined of us!) The secret is in the waiting: slow fermentation produces far superior results, and so is preferable (really, it is just an added bonus that you don't have to do any work, either.)

There are a couple of versions of this recipe out there, so I am including links to a few of my favorites. I really like the YouTube Video, because you can get a good feel for what the dough should like at each stage. One of the things I realized after watching the video was that my dough was not moist enough, and I needed to add more water. When you are letting the dough ferment slowly, the dough can be much moister than a quicker-fermenting dough can be. The video also recommends a higher baking temperature than the Steamy Kitchen recipe, and that worked well for me- but play around with your oven and see what works for you.

Now I can bake two loaves of the most heavenly bread each day with only about 10 minutes or so of my time. How cool is that??!!

Steamy Kitchen Recipe: No-Knead Bread that Even a 6-Year Old Can Make

YouTube Video: Easy Crusty Bread

NY Times Article: The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work

Shameless Plug: The bread in the photo is resting on one of my husband's hand-crafted cutting boards. They make great bread boards, and are made from sustainable wood. You can check them out at The Greater Green.

Happy Baking!

The Possum Lives!

I was delighted to open my front door this afternoon and discover my little possum friend, who had mysteriously disappeared for a few weeks, hanging out in a tree. I was even more delighted to discover him nowhere near the chicken coop, in the front half of our land, nearly 1/4 mile away from the chicken coop. And since he hasn't been stealing eggs lately, perhaps this means that we can live together in harmony, after all. (Don't tell my husband, but I named him. Pedro. Pedro the Possum.)

We did do a couple of things to deter him:

• We are a lot more careful about leaving the chicken coop open when we are not around.

• We decided it was not a good time for Tock to have a nest of 21 eggs and growing, especially since she carelessly leaves them unattended for hours at a time (which means there is no way there are live chicks in them, at least not in this frigid weather). So we gathered all of her eggs, and dumped them back in the woods, for some random creature to feast on (perhaps our possum?).
• We now head out a few times a day to remove the eggs as quickly as possible. You know, to remove temptation and such. Besides, since our chickens started eating their own eggs, we have to be quick, anyway, if we want to have any eggs at all.

On a side note, I had this sneaking suspicion that my goofy cat, Ducky, who is a Friend to All Creatures (she loves to let our dog nibble all over her back and belly), was hanging out with the possum. I saw her behind the chicken coop a couple of times after I had just recently flung the possum over the fence back there. (That's Ducky in the photo, engaging in one of her most favorite pasttimes.) So can you guess who was hanging out in front of the house when I found the possum there? That's right, there was Ducky, not ten feet from the possum. Coincidence? Perhaps. I, however, prefer to think of them as buddies.... it does happen, you know....

Why Chickens Eat Their Eggs

We've made a startling discovery: chickens will eat their own eggs. Actually, it is the eggshell they will eat, pecking little holes in the top of the egg, eventually crushing the whole shell if not removed. Surprisingly, it turns out there is a reasonably good explanation for this unusual behavior...

It all started after our little possum starting sneaking into the chicken coop and feasting on the nest of eggs that Tock had been so diligently caring for. He would crack open the eggs, suck out the insides, and leave the shells scattered on the floor of the coop. And we foolishly often left the crushed shells for a day or two before removing them. It wasn't long before the chickens, who instinctively peck at just about everything, started pecking at their own egg shells. And in doing so, they apparently decided they liked them!

It turns out that hens need lots of calcium to produce eggs with healthy and strong shells. The most common way to provide this is by feeding a layer mash that has added sources of calcium, or by adding ground oyster shells to their scratch. Another alternative, though not usually recommended, is to grind up their egg shells and mix that in with their feed. We now know why that method is avoided: because once the chickens get a taste for their own eggshells, they will start pecking holes in their eggs. And voila, that is how our eggs have come to look like the one in the photo!

The eggs are still edible, as they have a very thick inner membrane that still holds the yolk and white snugly inside the egg. But they sure don't look pretty, and we can't really pass on eggs with holes to friends and family.... We're not sure how to stop this strange behavior, other than to check on the chickens a few times each day, and try to get the eggs out of there before they have a chance to munch on them. And hopefully once spring comes, and the chickens have plenty of forage available, they will stop this silly behavior!