Sunday, February 1, 2009

Weekly Challenge Update- Catsup and Birdbaths


Sharon's Independence Days Challenge-Week 33
Plant Something: Just some lentil sprouts
Harvest Something: Some radish sprouts, some alfalfa sprouts
Preserve something: Just some frozen food
Store something: Just some food I put in the freezer
Manage Reserves: Did a quick check of the freezer, made a mental note of whats in there for later, did a quick check of the garage Frigidaire too
Cook Something New: Mung Bean Sprouts Slaw, Homemade catsup
Prep Something: Made some new sprouting lids to fit on mason jars
Reduce Waste: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair: This is a tricky one this week- My Microwave died, one of those over the stove models so I had to buy a new microwave and a vent hood- before taking the old micro to the appliance recycling at the local land fill, I stripped the power cord off of it to use on the vent hood and I took out the glass off the turntable and the turntable ring to reuse them as well maybe as a tray or a small table top or something or keep around as a replacement, and I reused all the ducting since it was the same as what I needed; Turned grandma’s roll-away tool box into a sofa table; Bought a lamp, a silver plated tray at thrift store and made a birdbath out of them
Learn a New Skill: Learned how to make catsup- very easy; learned how to make “bows” out of plastic shopping bags- a “skill” that may come in handy for the holidays next season or for gifts during the year
Work on Community Food Security: Got into sprouting again; showed a couple of people at work how I make my sprouting jars;

MELINDA'S BUY SUSTAINABLY CHALLENGE: Well it is all in how you conceive it- I bought 4 Pyrex ramekins, a Pyrex cake pan and a Pyrex loaf pan and a pyrex pie pan at the thrift store for $14 all while I was looking for a cheese grater and I found a metal tube turkey baster!. I finally ended up buying a new cheese grater at the local kitchen shop, so while new it was a local purchase from a local merchant- and was still $2 cheaper than the ones at the grocery stores; My Microwave died, one of those over the stove models so I had to buy a new microwave and a vent hood- before taking the old micro to the appliance recycling center at the local land fill, I stripped the power cord off of it to use on the vent hood and I took out the glass off the turntable and the turntable ring to reuse them as well maybe as a tray or a small table top or something or keep around as a replacement, and I reused all the ducting since it was the same as what I needed, I bought some screws from the hardware to put up my vent hood; But I reused the power cord, and the ducting from the old, saving $$$ and crap from going into the waste stream; Bought some Dog Stew for Romeo at the Natural Pet Food Pantry; Bought a lamp, a silver plated tray at thrift store and made a birdbath out of them

Crunchy’s Freeze Yer Balls off Challenge:Same – 65 when here and awake- 55 when gone or asleep

Sergeant Chile’s Operation Clean Out-Working on straightening up my Craft and Hack supplies into Grandma’s tool boxes

Crunchy’s Food Waste Challenge: first night- made leek soup-found some leeks that definitely seen younger days. Came up with a recipe for Mung bean sprout slaw, before my Mung bean sprouts went bad; Cleaned out Frigidaire to be in compliance with the challenge