The good news is you have July 5th off. The bad news is you had too much fun on the 4th and are nursing a serious hangover. The final recipe in our pickle series and the perfect I-had-one-too-many-beers/margaritas/sangrias/etc. cure, the Mean and Bloody is a hot and spicy twist on the classic Bloody Mary and gets its name from the spicy pickled Mean Beans that garnish it.
Let’s get mean!
Ok, technically this isn’t a recipe since it’s basically going to the grocery store, slicing up pickles and cheese and then putting it on a plate, but that’s a minor detail on the road to deliciousness.
This is the perfect platter to put out as an appetizer or to take on a picnic. It doesn’t get much easier than this!
-Sliced cheddar, gouda or any mild cheese of your choice (a nice complement to the fragrant gherks)
-Crackers
–Kool Gherks, sliced into rounds
Tasty add-ons: brie, salami, olives, almonds, grapes, dried figs or dates.
Ok, so it’s not quite as patriotic as red, white and blue, but it looks festive enough for the Fourth, no? This tasty treat is a breeze to make and is great if you have some extra blueberries around (maybe leftover from a blueberry pie or a flag cake:)?). The sweet and earthy taste of the beets and the blueberries are a great complement to the mild goat cheese and salty crunch of the crostini.
Let’s turn it up!
Rick Field’s Happy Appy
-Fresh goat cheese, softened
-Crostini or crackers (To make your own, slice a day-old baguette into ¼” rounds. Brush both sides lightly with olive oil and toast in 400 degree oven for 7-10 minutes until crisp and golden. Cool completely.)
-Rick’s Picks Phat Beets cut into 1” pieces
-Fresh blueberries (optional)
Spread a teaspoon of goat cheese on crostini or crackers. Place a Phat Beet on top. Crown with a blueberry!
Other ideas for Phat Beets:
Add Phat Beets to a spinach salad with mild blue cheese and thinly sliced red onions. Toss with your favorite vinaigrette.
Stir chopped Phat Beets into Greek-style yogurt and season with salt and pepper. Dip you favorite veggies or crackers for a healthy snack!.
Happy Fourth of July weekend, everyone!
Don’t you just love going to county fairs and seeing the frying cart where they fry everything from candy bars to pickles to Oreos to Twinkies…it’s gross, delicious and fascinating all at once! In honor of the wonderful American tradition of frying, my boyfriend Chris and I decided to fry a jar of the People’s Pickles (an extremely appropriate democratic name) and chow down on this all-American delicacy.
Let’s get started!
A few years ago, a neighbor moved out of our apartment building and gave us her washer/dryer. Instead of doing our laundry in the building’s basement, we could now do it at home. But there was one catch: our building prohibits the use of dryers. To solve that problem, we decided to keep the washer, pass on the dryer and become air (aka line) dryers with the help of a couple folding metal racks.
It’s a little more work, but I enjoy it, much in the way I like composting or cooking. It’s a welcome contrast from my digital existence and makes me feel a bit more grounded. It’s also a household chore that my sons can participate in (with only a limited amount of grousing).
Last year, I read an article about a non-profit called Project Laundry List that was fighting for people’s right to line dry their clothes. Apparently, some towns ban line drying for aesthetic reasons. Project Laundry List’s founder Alex Lee is an environmental activist who believes in the energy savings of line drying. It makes a lot of sense, since line drying gets the job done in 24 hours using zero fossil fuels.
In talking to Alex about his efforts, I learned about the current “Care to Air” design challenge being sponsored by Levi’s and Myoocreate. The Care to Air contest challenges people to design “the world’s most innovative, covetable, and sustainable air-drying solution for clothing.” Levi’s is offering up a $10,000 prize for the best design, and they are doing this in conjunction with their new product care labels that instruct customers to cold water wash, air dry and donate the jeans to Goodwill when they’re done with them. UncommonGoods was invited to participate in the design challenge and help judge the winning entries next month. Ultimately, we hope to be able to bring one of the designs to market. If you’ve got an idea, please visit Myoocreate to submit. Good luck!
1) Product Name: Cat Chalet
2) Background Research: I just adopted my first pet, Tammy Faye Baker the cat, and wanted to make sure she was sufficiently entertained, with a toy as cute as she is.
3) Hypothesis: Cats love cardboard boxes, so Tammy Faye will love a fancy cardboard cat chalet even more!
4) Experiment: Assemble adorable cat chalet and see if it would catch the Tammy Faye’s interest.
5) Results: I assembled the chalet, which is about a 10 minute process. There are several decorations to chose from to place over the door – I chose the cardboard fish.
I hung one of the cardboard ball toys from the roof with some yarn, set the chalet in the middle of my living room, and waited to see what would happen.
She was a little cautious at first, and walked all the way around it, sniffing all the way. Finally, she decided to go inside. (A little catnip may or may not have been involved in this experiment.)
Now she loves to retreat to the chalet for short intervals (I call them her “vacations”). She doesn’t chew on it, but she does use it all the time to scratch her face. I also stick a laser pointer in the back and wait for her to pounce.
6) Conclusion: Cats DEFINITELY love cardboard boxes and cardboard chalets!
Wowza — talk about taking on a project! Electrolux is stepping out of the box and into the deep blue sea by backing a project that would pull plastics from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (you’ve gotta see this) and use them for home appliances like vacuum cleaners. TreeHugger asked the questions of whether this is really sustainable considering the amount of work going into getting the plastic. What are your thoughts? Get the whole story on TreeHugger.
Between vacations, visitors, cookouts, pets and sandy beach shoes, our homes have a way of getting really dirty when it’s warm outside. I’m the kind of person that puts things off until my apartment looks like it might be condemned and then I go on a cleaning spree! My old routine: spray everything down with multi-purpose cleaner, a dash of bleach and a pinch of comet. I would hold my breath and hope for the best.
These days I realize that’s pretty dangerous…not only for me, but for everyone (and thing) around me. By using non-toxic, or even all-natural cleaning products, I seem to get the same results just without the deathly smell and with a little more elbow grease. There are some money-saving, simple ideas on green ways to clean your home on Care2. From plants to types of water, this information will be a huge help come chore time!