Random Firings of the Synapses: RePurposing

Time.com

Quote du Jour
Nothing will benefit human health and increase 
chances for survival of life on earth as much as
the evolution to a vegetarian diet. ~ Albert Einstein 

Beyond the dinner table
Plant-based Living Benefits the Whole World
Part of our VeggieBound mission is to 
1)   stop using products that cannot be broken down 
      by nature's decomposing organisms
2)   minimize waste by repurposing where possible


Update: Jeans Repurposed
Using old-fashioned methods - braided and patchwork - to create rugs with a contemporary vibe, I've taken apart 20 pairs of denim jeans with the goal of making several throw-rugs. 

The first rug will use only the pockets. Back pockets, change pockets, front pockets: 20 pairs of jeans yields a whole lot of pockets! 

To get ideas for ways to place the pockets together, I Googled "patchwork," and ended up at a great website: Inhabitat.com. 

Though this website won't help with my patchwork-pocket rug design, it will inspire in many other ways! Their mission: Green Design is Good Design | Good Design is Green Design. 

Three Minute Interview
Emulate How Nature Solves Problems
Inhabitat Interview with Janine Benyus, Founder of Biomimicry Institute

Didja know a poke is a type of pocket or sack?
Pig in a poke!

To every thing, there is a season...

Today we laid my mother to rest. 

Back in 2006, soon after my father passed away, I picked up his Bible and found he'd marked Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. I've considered these lines often since then, line by line, wondering at the pairings of contrasting ideas, the yin and yang...on the one hand, but on the other hand...

A time to mourn, and a time to dance...grief will fade, and joy will return. Give every thing...time. 

Quote du Jour    

    To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

    A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that 

    which is planted;

    A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

    A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

    A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to 

    embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

    A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

    A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

   A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

                                                                                  ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

                                                                                     King James Bible

A link to my mother's obituary

Anna Paulina von Stietz Wikander

Sunrise: December 18, 1923
Sunset: January 9, 2014

Here Today, Tamales Mañana!

Quote du Jour
One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things.
                                                                             ~ Henry Miller
In plain sight, under my nose all along

The Plant-based Foods of our Continent
It's the last day of our road-trip on the last day of 2013 and it's a sunny 73*. Many separate ideas about the plant-based diet of the indigenous people of the southwest come together as I spend a pleasant half-hour wandering around El Tapatio Market in Corona, California. Here's a link: El Tapatio Markets.

The produce department impresses, with both the quality and the low prices of tomatoes, tomatillos, all kinds of peppers, potatoes, cilantro, lemons and limes, onions and garlic. It's New Years Eve - winter - yet the produce looks radiantly ripe and fresh.

The farther south and the closer to the equator you go, the plant-based foods of the southwest can be grown nearly year round. (In Northern California, I plant tomatoes after the last frost, which can happen as late as mid-May. When my brother lived in Tuscon, Arizona, he'd plant tomatoes in January). Over the next few months, much of the fresh produce sold across our country will come from Mexico.

Finds 

1. Bins of dried chili peppers: Choose one or buy a dozen - you don't have to wonder what to do with any remaining peppers in the pre-packaged chili peppers. Just get what you need
2. All kinds of hot-to-mild pepper sauces
3. Lard: boxes, buckets, cans and fresh, looking like white bricks, in the meat department
4. Dried corn milled in all kinds of ways, from flour to grits
5. Prepared tortilla dough, sold in 10 pound bags, ready to cook and serve fresh and warm
6. Quantities of dried herbs and spices in small bags
7. Tamale making ingredients displayed together...hmmmm...everything that's needed to make tamales...okie doke...I'm going to try making tamales...mañana!

The Flavors of Our Continent

It's fun grocery shopping in a store that caters to the Mexican community. You can bet I'll check out local Mexican Grocery Stores when I'm back home. These stores essentially carry the indigenous foods of Central and South America. Foods enjoyed by Aztecs, Mayans...and me!

I may need to make a bumper sticker

I stop at Farm Stands! 

Here's what we came home with:

1. Pinto Beans, grown at high elevation in Colorado. I'm curious if the flavor differs from plain ol' pinto beans. Also, I love the burlap bag!
2. Various types of dried chili peppers for chili powder, see my December 29, 2013 blog
3. Roma tomatoes, purchased fresh at El Tapatio Market in Corona, they looked so good! 
4. Tomatillos, also looked awesome, so I bought these, too 
5. El Pinto Salsa, purchased at El Pinto Restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico 
6. Piloncillo: unrefined whole cane sugar, typical in Central and Latin America, which is basically a solid piece of sucrose obtained from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice. ~ Wikipedia. I'm curious how to cook with Piloncillo.
7. Honey from the Dallas, Texas area
8. Relatives in Texas love this hazelnut roast coffee from the H.E.B Markets in the Austin area. 
9. Indian Fry Bread mix...couldn't resist...I know I know, it's processed...just deal
10. Pecans, from The Pecan Shed near Wichita Falls, Texas, www.pecanshed.com. The chocolate covered pecans did not make it all the way back home!
11. Tortilla mix...okay, this is processed, too...but geez already!
12. Various fresh peppers: I just love the color, smell and feel of great produce! 
13. Tamale flour: a coarser grind of dried corn
14. Anasazi Beans: I'm starting to find these locally. The flavor is meaty and a bit smoky
15. Beans: Frijol Rojo de Seda, may be plain red beans...just teeny
16. Dried corn husks: These can be bought locally, but since they were part of a Tamale ingredient display, and I love being efficient, I bought them!

and T: Ingredients that will be used to make Tamales for the next blog.

And Then There's Chocolate - xocolatl

Can you imagine living in a world that never had chocolate? Say, Europe, Africa or Asia pre-1400? It makes me shudder...those poor people! I am grateful to be alive in 2014.

Happy New Year All y'All!