Etsy Website

I just found this awesome website! I'm probably slow and everyone knows about it but I wanted to share this if you haven't seen it yet. http://www.etsy.com/

In their own words Etsy.com "Our mission is to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers. Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice: Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade."

They have an option to search all of their vendor's by location. I typed in Madison, WI and I got 100 local artist/craft/shops. What a great place for gifts, nice jewelry and pottery made right here in town and everything is pretty reasonably priced!

I found the artist's shop who made this necklace I purchased on the Capitol Square last year too! So I'm confirming the accuracy of the website as this artist is definitely a Madisonian.

I think I've found a new place to buy inexpensive jewelry....Sorry Target you just got bumped off the list.

What is for Dinner?

Madison is such a great place for dining out. I'm always impressed with the amount of locally owned restaurants that we have in town especially during the economic struggles that we've seen across the country. There are also many restaurants in town that cater to the growing locavore crowd. A locavore being someone who makes a commitment to purchasing locally made or grown foods as much as possible. REAP is a local non-profit that helps promote this type of dining lifestyle. They created a Buy Local Buy Fresh program that partners farmers, chefs, and restaurants in order to get local products on our plates when dinning out. The restaurants and chefs who are involved in this program build relationships with local farmers to purchase their meats, eggs, vegetables and so on.

Here's a list of restaurants that are on the Buy Local Buy Fresh list.
http://reapfoodgroup.org/Programs-Events/buy-fresh-buy-local.html

Some of my favorite restaurants in Madison include Brassarie V, Crema Cafe, and The Greenbush Bar and they are partners in this program. It seems that this list has been growing recently with I believe the newest member being Monty's Blue Plate Diner...another wonderful restaurant. I have to believe that programs like this help keep our money in our community and have played a part in keeping the Madison economy strong this past year. Great locally owned restaurants featuring great locally grown food made by great local chef's...what could go wrong!?

Even with all of the great options we have for dining out, one of my goals during this challenge is to begin making more of our food at home. I think Mike and I do a pretty good job of cooking meals at home rather than eating out. This has helped us in keeping our dining budget under control and I like knowing exactly what ingredients are in my entrees and where they have come from for both health and environmental reasons.

Last night I made fresh pesto from basil that my mom gave me from her garden and some locally grown garlic. The recipe is so simple and you only need a small food-processor or a "chop-master" as I like to call them. This is the recipe I used and it turned out so delicious!

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano
  
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

We had the pesto on roasted vegetables last night and we have a whole jar that should last in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks so we can use it on pasta or just spread it on bread for a snack.

Last night I also made some home-made balsamic vinaigrette from Emeril Lagasse's recipe. It is much better than anything I've purchased in the store recently and I can't wait to have it on my lunch today! I did change the recipe a bit by adding less sugar and adding some water so it wasn't quite as sweet and oily.

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar, optional*
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup olive oil

In cooking more staples like sauces and salad dressings at home, I hope to reduce our waste (no more plastic salad dressing bottles) and when I use local ingredients I don't have to worry that my salad dressing was packaged and placed on a train or semi-trailer to travel hundreds of miles just to end up on my dinner plate.

Let's go crazy...Let's go local!

Kickapoo Country Fair

The Kickapoo Country Fair took place this past weekend in La Farge, WI. It is the Midwest's largest organic food and sustainability festival. I happened upon it last year because one of my favorite musicians, Brett Dennen was the Musical Headliner. I went for the music and ended up falling in love with the fair. I always have to catch myself when I tell people about this event because I want to say "county fair" instead of "country fair". The words "county fair" seem to trigger images of cotton candy, Ferris wheels, petting zoos, carnival games and rides. This is something much different, though they do have cotton candy (locally made maple syrup cotton candy) and an area with farm animals for petting...or hugging if you feel so inclined. The Fair takes place on the grounds of the Organic Valley headquarters in the beautiful Kickapoo Valley. You can sample a lot of the Organic Valley products including drinkable yogurt and of course it's Wisconsin so lots of cheese. There are booths promoting everything "Green", from Green Home Building to The Green Party. There are two music stages and a children stage as well as stilt walkers, face painters, delicious food vendors and of course the panoramic view of the Valley.

It is great for children and adults alike!

I must admit it is hard to commit to some of the many workshops and lectures available because I'm always drawn to the vendors, music stages and of course the food and beer. This year I did have an opportunity to hear parts of Temple Grandin's talk. Temple Grandin is a Doctor of Animal Science as well as an author and activist living with high-functioning autism. She is considered a leader of both the animal welfare and autism advocacy movements. She is world famous for designing humane slaughterhouses and I've learned that most US slaughterhouses have been influenced by her work. It has also been noted that she is the most accomplished adult with autism in the world and she is widely sought after to provide her personal look at autism. People came out in high numbers to hear her speak on Saturday to hear her speak on both the subjects of animal science and autism. What a treat to have her at the Fair this year!

Fair grounds were quite muddy given all of the rain we had recently received and it took me a few hours to commit to having muddy toes but my feet do seem softer after the mud-bath they received (at no extra charge).



We were at the fair most of the day on Saturday. Sunday we came back for the delicious "Breakfast on the Farm" which is served up in the Organic Valley cafeteria. I enjoyed a feast of fresh vegetarian quiche, biscuits and mushroom gravy, organic yogurt with fruit and granola, cinnamon rolls and organic fair-trade Kickapoo Coffee Company coffee. I was so looking forward to this breakfast because I could remember how great it was last year and I must say this year exceeding my expectations! I wish I would have taken a picture of my plate...it was truly spectacular!

Mike picked up some great Organic Valley coupons at the fair which will be helpful next week when we determine the percentage of organic/local groceries that we purchase!


Who's YOUR Farmer?!?

Home Visit Completed

We're getting closer to our August 1st start date of this Challenge! Today Anne and Sonya from ENACT came to visit our home and give us some pointers to help us reduce our eco-footprint. They spent about an hour and a half with us going over some standard questions. We talked about our current living situation and our goals for improving our lifestyle and our home. Before ENACT left we did a short walk through. Short-because our place is so perfectly small!

ENACT recommended a few quick things that we can do right away to reduce our water and energy consumption.

They recommended that we clean the coils on the refrigerator. I was not aware that dusty/dirty refrigerator coils can make your refrigerator work harder (less-efficiently) and thus can be a huge drain of energy. The refrigerator is one of the largest energy hogs in your home behind your furnace and air-conditioner units.

They also recommended that we install a low-flow shower head and a dual flush component on the toilet. Sustain Dane (a local non-profit in Madison) sells the dual flush for $55 if you're willing to install it yourself.
http://www.rainfordane.com/about/index.php?category_id=4223

And I've found multiple low-flow shower heads online for under $30.00.

We are also thinking about replacing all of our paper towels and napkins with cloth napkins (that we will make ourselves) and installing a compost bin and clothing line in the back yard.

I will post more details as we take on some of these projects!
I'm so excited to get started!

Eco-Challenge Home Visit

ENACT representatives who are sponsoring this Eco Challenge will be coming to our house for a walk-through on Wednesday. I believe the purpose is for ENACT to see our living space and perhaps give us some tips on how to quickly reduce our energy and water usage. I am excited and a little nervous to see what grade we get during the home visit. Of course we just installed an air-conditioning unit yesterday...so it should be interesting to see how that hurts us. Especially as currently a wooden knitting needle, a John Grisham book and an incense box are being used to help keep the the cool air from escaping back outside the window. I thank my father for teaching me these MacGyver skills and hope ENACT appreciates my efforts. Maybe this resourcefulness will come in handy during the Eco-Challenge.

Stay Tuned

The ENACT Greener Faster Challenge will begin August 1st 2010.
Below is the essay I wrote for consideration to participate in this challenge!

How does one make a greater impact when they have already taken huge steps in reducing their ecological footprint? With the grim environmental outlook, I have asked myself this question daily. I currently live within walking distance to two grocery stores and within biking distance to work. My boyfriend and I live in a one bedroom condo and share one vehicle, a Pontiav Vibe that gets 22 mpg city and 29 mpg highway. We belong to two local co-op grocery stores and in the summer we purchase a half CSA share from a local farm. I received my BS in Environmental Science, had a short life as an environmental educator and another short life as an LTE hoping to create changes working for the Department of Natural Resources. Currently I'm employed at the University of Wisconsin where I work on a computer for most of my day reviewing research grant agreements and contracts. I feel that at age 29, plummeting into my thirties, I have lost the young girl who wanted to make a difference, who wanted to change the world...to save the world. I know that this challenge will take drastic measures and support from experts to show me the way. Can I really help change the fate of the world by biking to work, sharing a car, and living in a small home. I know that it is a start but I want to do more.