Archive - Sep 2008 - Blog

With all the tomatoes and tomatillos I've harvested over the last few days, I needed to use them or lose them. I choose to make a couple salsas. Here are the recipes I used. One note. When handling the pepper, it is best to use gloves as they will continue to burn your hands for a long time afterwords.

Tomatillo Salsa

• 1 1/2 lb tomatillos
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 2 Jalapeño peppers OR 2 serrano peppers, stemmed and seeded. (hold seeds aside)
• Salt to taste

Remove the husk from the tomatillos and rinse them off to remove all the sticky wax from them.

Cut tomatillos and peppers in half. Place on a cookie sheet (foil can be added for easy cleanup). Broil for 5-8 minutes, until browned to lightly blackened or dark brown.

Place all ingredients into food processor or blender and pulse until desired consistency. Add salt last to taste.

Taste. If too hot, add more tomatillos. If not hot enough, add a few of the pepper seeds you held aside. Let sit several hours for flavor to fully blend.

Tomato Salsa

• 2-3 medium sized fresh tomatoes (from 1 lb to 1 1/2 lb)
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 jalapeño chili pepper - stems, ribs, seeds removed. Hold seeds aside.
• 1 serano chili pepper (stems, ribs, seeds removed). Holds seeds aside.
• Juice of one lime
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste

Chop the tomatoes, onions, peppers and cilantro to the desired consistency. If you want it chunky, cut it chunky. If you want it smooth, use the food processor.

Combine all ingredients. Taste, if too hot, add more tomato, if not hot enough add a few pepper seeds. Let sit a few hours for flavor to fully blend.

For a while I've been wanting to build a database of plants with seeds and bulbs and whatnot so that if people are looking for a particular plant, they can search in one location and get results from a bunch of nurseries. I'm often seeing people on the various groups I either participate in or just read asking if anyone knows where to find such and such a plant. Well, this catalog would help.

There are numerous on-line nurseries. Each one of them has their own catalog and each of them has different products for sale and different prices. There is no standard id (like ISBN for books) to differentiate the different seeds, but still a search for "June Strawberry" with results for all the plants that say strawberry and June in the title or description would be a lot better than going, individually to 10 different nurseries looking for June bearing strawberries and comparing the prices.

In the results I plan on including links to informational sites, like Wikipedia, the USDA Plant Index, The International Plant Name Index, and more. I will also include results from Amazon on books that match the results, and possibly other places as well (eBay?, YouTube?). Originally I wanted to house an informational index myself, but that is a huge task. There are millions of plants out there to index and even if I just picked a single plant family (say Cucurbitaceae) you are still talking a huge task. Cucurbitaceae has about 125 genera with 825 species. Doing justice to that would take a really long time and other places have already done a good job. I've decided that instead of trying to do it all myself, I'll just be a middle man and connect you to all those places.

I hope this is a tool that people will be interested in. I've started work on it and should have an alpha version ready in a week or so. I am trying to have it ready for you to see, in beta, in a month. If you would be interested in testing this product for me, let me know and I'll give you a link to the test site. Right now it does nothing useful, but when it does anyone who wants to be a tester will get first crack at using it.

I've moved the site to a new server. I've not been happy with my previous host, so I've moved. In the move I also upgraded the software and started to move to a new theme. I've just got the basics in and it is late tonight. I'll get the correct image into the header tomorrow and check to see if anything is missing (I see that the tag cloud is missing).

I've also gotten rid of a couple of advertisement blocks that I was getting no income from. The Project Wonderful and Entrecard widgets. This will hopefully make the site load a little faster and I can live without the $1.00 a month I was making off the two ads.

If you have any comments, or would like to see something else in those spots, let me know. I'm always interested in what my readers like.

If you have been reading here long, you may have noticed that the content has changed over time. I thought I'd talk about that a little.

I started this site mainly for sustainable tips and tricks. I, however, am just learning about this and while I'm learning a lot and pass things along when I get something good, my family is also important. I'm writing a lot more about family things and memories. I'm also planning on adding more fiction, but don't expect a lot.

Do you have something you want to hear about? Make a suggestion with a comment and I'll take it under consideration.

Do you watch 24? I don't watch much TV. In fact, last year I barely got to watch anything other than cartoons. I do like 24 though. I got last season on DVD, since I did not watch it two years ago, when it was on. With the prequel coming out in November and the next season in January, I wanted to be up to date so that I could watch it.

I stayed up way to late watching it, several nights in a row, but I got through the entire season. I don't recommend doing that. Screwing with sleep patterns is not good for you and sleeping is very important. Besides, spending that much time on a tv show means that I spend less time playing on the internet :D.

I've also noticed that watching a show like 24 causes me to be a little more grouchy. All that violence and fear effects me. Even if I know it is all fiction, thinking that something like that could possible happen is scary enough that it makes me a bit more grouchy. Maybe I shouldn't watch it, but I'm hooked. Of course, thinking that there might be people like Jack around makes me feel better.

Throughout Christianity, and most other religions, it is said that love is the most important thing. It does not matter if you a a Jew, Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Budist, all talk of the love of God. We may not all agree on what God looks like but we all agree on the importance of love.

Not only is love all that matters, but so is God. If love and God are both all that matters, then God must be love. If you want to love, you must have God in your life. He must be there, even if you don't know it. God believes in you, even if you don't believe in Him. You are His child and He is love.

In the world today, it is more important than ever to show love. Love thy neighbor recures throughtout both the new and old testament (Leviticus 19:18, Romans 13:9, Matthew 5:43, 19:19, 22:39, Mark 12:31-33, and more). We know that neighbor does not mean the person who lives next door to you, but everyone. Your neighbor in the country next door. Your neighbor in the terrorist cell, the freedom fighters fighting against your government, the government oppressing your people, the person next door who plays their music too loud, the murderer who killed your friend, the child who bit your daughter, your father who molested your friend before taking his own life.

All these people have my love. I may not be able to forgive some of the things they have done, but I have to love them. I am told I should forgive, but for me, loving is easier. I can hate the things they do, but still have love for them. I have trouble hating a person. That for me is hard. Hate is painful. Can you love the hated?

We all love reading about green things. That is why your hear right? Well, I've just started a new carnival that will be a carnival that will only list other carnivals. I will not list any blog entries, unless they are carnivals. Requests for entries into the carnival will be accepted and placed in a seperate location, but mostly this will be for the carnival itself.

If you maintain a carnival, please enter it here. I may attempt to hunt some down, if I have time, but to make sure yours gets on the list, please add it. If you don't maintain it, but you like it, you can add it as well. If your canival as more than one issue during the period that the Carnival of Green Carnivals covers, then add them all. If you have more than one green carnival on your blog, add them all.

I will be the final judge as to whether the carnival is green enough. If you think there is a possibility it would be considered, feel free to make a statement as to why it should be considered. It must have some green quality though. It also has to have posted within the last 45 days prior to the intended post date. This is not a hard fast date. If it posted 46 days prior, I'll still accept it. If it was posted 90 days prior, I probably would not, but I might if I was feeling generous (or wanted more material).

Enter early and often. The short rules below:

• You can enter as many carnivals as you like
• The carnivals must be about some sort of green living (sustainability, not the color or money)
• Should have been posted within 45 days of the post date of this carnival
• Must be in English, but not all the entries need be.

As I may have mentioned, I want to have some chickens. I've not build a coop yet, so I can't get chickens. Well, I have done some research on coop design and have designed me a coop. I'm going to use scraps to build it as much as possible and then clean it up with a fresh coat of paint, so it does not look like a shanty.

I've attached a copy of my hand drawn plans. Please don't laugh at my dismal drawing skills... Alright, laugh away, it is pretty bad. It does give me an idea of what I need. I will be using these plans as a guideline, not as law. I have a bunch of various scraps I'll use for it. I have some old cabinet doors that will be used for doors into the coop. I have some old heating vents that will be used for air flow vents. I have some decking I'll use for the base and some scraps of 2x4 and 2x2 that will be used for the frame. I saw an old headboard that a neighbor has a free sign on. If I can, that will become a wall for the coop (if it is in good enough condition and good enough quality).

I also have a bunch of hardware that will be used in it. I have draw pulls, hindges, hooks, hardware fabric, etc. I think I'll be able to build it for nearly nothing. I'll probably have to go buy some more hardward fabric and something for the roof. I think I can manage everything else with what I've got here. If Elizabeth allows it, I'll start on it tonight. If she does not, then I'll start tomorrow. Pictures will be posted along the way.

I'm sorry this is so late. My daughter was sick, then my wife and then me. During that time, I forgot to post. Sorry. We have some great posts this month and I'll let them speak for themselfes this month.

Matthew Philip presents Removing the Fossil Fuel Blinders | EnviroHumanImpact | EnviroHumanImpact posted at EnviroHumanImpact, saying, "We recently published an article titled, "Removing the Fossil Fuel Blinders," which details the main problems regarding our current energy situation, the damaged economy, climate change, and global/national security. We discuss factors that contribute to the current situation, including government subsidies, politicians overlooking truly clean alternative energy in favor of offshore drilling schemes, and potential solutions and approaches we may take to abate the problems."

Kathy Hester (GeekyPoet) presents Drinks to Make with Fresh Mint posted at Chow Spice.

Jamie McIntosh presents Garden Pot Recycling posted at Suite101: Organic Gardens blog, saying, "Keep plastics out of the waste stream by reducing or eliminating your use of non-recyclable plastic gardening pots and trays."

Stephanie presents The Potato Harvest (or lack there of) posted at Stop the Ride!.

Mark J. Donovan presents Winterizing a Garden posted at HomeAdditionPlus, saying, "Mark Donovan of HomeAdditionPlus.com discusses the steps in preparing your garden for winter."

Jamie McIntosh presents Save Money With Organic Produce posted at Suite101: Organic Gardens blog, saying, "Organic food sales are down at the market, but consumers still desire safe and natural produce."

Stephanie presents What is Green? posted at Stop the Ride!.

Ena Clewes presents Dealing With Garden Pests the Organic Way - Gardening Articles - Organic Gardening posted at Organic Gardening, saying, "For many gardeners, a good offense is better than a good defense when it comes to pests in the garden."

AdmirableIndia.com presents Lalbagh Botanical Garden, Bangalore: Part 2: Bonsai garden, Lotus Pond, Lalbagh lake and Rose garden posted at AdmirableIndia.com, saying, "Bonsai garden"

Melinda presents VIDEO!! Gardening 101: How To Hand-Pollinate Tomatoes & Peppers posted at One Green Generation.

Piedro Molinero presents Rose Gardening posted at DIY Gardening Tips.

Stephanie presents A Quick Easy Tomato Dish posted at Stop the Ride!, saying, "An easy way to use those tomatoes!"

Jamie McIntosh presents Sawdust in the Organic Garden posted at Jamie's Blog, saying, "Put wood shavings to work in your compost bin or garden storage area."

Sam presents How To Grow a Herb Garden in a Pot. This Tasty Garden is All About Flavor!!! posted at Surfer Sam and Friends, saying, "How to Grow a Herb Garden in a Pot This Tasty Garden Is All About Flavor Flavor, Fragrance and Flowers Herbs make a great starter garden for the beginner. And they reward you with their fragrance, flowers and flavor. No backyard? No problem! Create a herb garden in a clay pot. Your herbs will thrive in a pot on the balcony, the fire escape, the back step or inside at a sunny window. A herb garden is a good way for the novice gardener to get a successful start. Fresh herbs add more kick to your cooking and lots of vitamins for your health. Herbs grow vigorously and tolerate growing conditions that are not ideal. Creating a herb garden is quick, easy and inexpensive."

webrunner presents Coffee Grounds In Garden posted at Garden Treasures.

We have been looking for a church we like since we moved here. Alright, the look has been half hearted. We spend a few weekends looking a couple years ago, but mostly we have not really looked at all. We liked our church in Gresham and always seem to have other things going on on Sundays.

We have been so richly blessed with our wonderful daughter, this nice little home, the ability to have Elizabeth stay at home and my go back to school. We feel like slackers by not going to church. We need to be filled with God's Spirit and we need the community.

One thing I've been thinking about that might make it a little easier for us is an on-line church. I'm a little mixed on these though. I like them in concept, because they make it easier for some of us to worship. Part of church though is the social aspect that I'm sure is missing from an on-line church. You can't shake hands, hug, or even share a meal. I might try it, just as a way to get my family thinking about church again. It might even work on for the better for us. But I think I really want that social aspect and a congregation I can touch.

What do you think? Do you know any on-line churches or have any comments about them? Please use the comment form below and tell us all about your thoughts.