Ask Not What Your Coffee Grinder Can Do For You – Just Use It!

Coupla weeks ago I ended up at the dentist with a red and swollen spot on my lower gum.  Yuck.  The dentist’s hypothesis was that I scratched my gum and the cut had become infected.  Before I could verbalize the question “how the heck had I scratched it?” I knew.

A week or so earlier my 12-year-old coffee grinder had suddenly bitten the dust. Undeterred, I used my new toy – the grinding attachment of my shiny new KitchenAid immersion blender – to grind buckwheat for some raw cookies.  Said attachment created, not flour, like my now defunct grinder, but jagged smaller pieces of buckwheat.

“Oh this will give the cookies a nice crunch,” I thought to myself.  Nice crunch indeed.  Even whilst eating those delicious little suckers I knew they were trouble. I’d bet dollars to gluten-free baked donuts that is how my gum became injured.

The moral of the story is that if you need to grind seeds, nuts or any other sort of grain into a flour-like powder, bypass the fancy grinder and go straight to an el cheapo coffee grinder.  My new one cost 15 bucks and completely pulverized and decimated both buckwheat groats and flax seeds this afternoon.

Enjoy!

 

An Exciting New Artist!

Dear Friends,

I hope you have all had a wonderful summer.  Mine has been busy hence the dearth of posts over the last two months despite the list of topics that tempts me. I am proud to say that it took a special person to motivate me to get back to it.

My cousin Dave is a very cool guy.  Without going into details, let’s just say he is an inspiration.  A trained chef, a diligent law student (at Dalhousie Law school in Halifax), just the sweetest guy, and now, I find out earlier this week, via CBC radio no less, an artist!

His work is original, interesting and eco-friendly to boot.  He takes broken bike parts, cleans them up and creates sculptures of beauty that serve practical, functional purposes.  This young man never ceases to amaze me.

You can see for yourself at Dave’s Bike Art Stuff.

Way to go Dave!

Water, Water, Everywhere

Our son, Zack’s, grade 2 class just finished a water study.  Each water use i.e. brushing teeth or washing dishes was assigned a specific amount of water for each minute of the activity.  Running the dishwasher or the washing machine was deemed to use a set number of gallons.  The children were required to keep track of what went on in their respective homes each day for one week.

At the end of each day they added up the household’s total water usage.  At the end of the week they came up with a grand total of gallons used during the week.

Notwithstanding my lack of enthusiasm for having to report how many times we flushed the toilet each day, I thought it was a great concept and hoped the project would inspire the children and their parents to look at their water consumption and consider ways to conserve.

Sure enough Zack’s teacher, Lisa, told me that feedback about the project was positive and that many parents were now talking with their children about using water more carefully by, for example, turning off the tap while washing hands and brushing teeth.

My hat is off to you, Lisa.  This was a great idea and I hope other teachers adopt this project and perhaps even expand it to include electricity…

P.S.  Zack sat with me while I wrote this blog and wants you to know that he was jazzed to report our daily toilet flushes

Mother’s Day

Four years ago tonight my best friend died of cancer.  She was a pivotal person in my life and her memory inspires and motivates me every single day.

She led by example and was always finding ways to do for others. This blog is my way of sharing what I’ve learned in the hope that this information will make a positive difference for someone else.  If even one person benefits from my experience then I have accomplished my goal.

Another important thing she taught me was to take care of myself by planning for the rough times as much as possible.  So today, in anticipation of this difficult anniversary, I arranged to attend a restorative yoga class.  Restorative is a meditative form of yoga which involves resting in a relatively few, well supported, positions through the course of the class.

It is ironic really because my friend tried to interest me in yoga many times but it was not until after I lost her that I was moved to try it.  All these years later, I go regularly to Yoga.  Hot, not hot, props, no props, active or restorative.  Its all great.  Invigorating and, ultimately,  relaxing.  Never one to say “I told you so” I can see her shaking her head and smiling as I admit this.

Good night Mum.  I love you.

The Sunscreen Conundrum

This morning, the Mom of one of our son’s classmates told me that she doesn’t like to sunscreen her kids because the ingredients in her sunscreen “aren’t too good according to what [she is] hearing on the radio”.  Since I hear comments like this frequently, I think a second annual safe sunscreen blog is appropriate.

The good news is that there are safe sunscreens that actually do work.  The ones you want are mineral based, stay on the skin’s surface and do not include ingredient descriptors like “nano” particles, “micronized” or “ultrafine”.  An opaque consistency is another safety indicator so, sorry, but if the screen goes on clear it is probably not the one you want.  The good ones stay on the skin’s surface and contain active ingredients that include zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.  Then you want as many organic ingredients as possible and from there follow the common sense test – look for ingredients that are familiar and pronounceable.

The sunscreens you do not want are the chemical based varieties.  They include ingredients like retinyl palmitate or retinol, oxybenzone, a synthetic estrogen and octyl methoxycinnamate (OMC).  These ingredients are downright nasty and can cause everything from skin tumours to hormone disruption.

The Environmental Working Group’s list of acceptable sunscreens seems to be growing.  While this is an encouraging trend, your best bet, as always, is to read individual labels and comments from other users before choosing one for your family.  We’ve been using Badger sunscreen for years. It is long wearing, water resistant and it works.  None of us has ever had a burn.  They now offer an unscented formula which I much prefer.

The research coming out on vitamin D is startling.  We need it.  The good news is that the sun is our best source.  The less good news is that after 20 minutes we have our daily dose.  So while I am not a big fan of sunscreen there are times when it is necessary.  Why not be prepared by investing in a few minutes with this list.

A Buzz-Worthy Mower

Mark Kawabe wrote in to share a link for a sharp, in every sense of the word, push lawn mower.  The Momentum Reel Mower is made by Fiskars who brings us those fantastic stand up weeders.

Correct you are, Mark.  Nothing old fashioned about this baby!  Thanks for letting us know!

 

 

Summer Buzz

This is about neither a haircut not what’s hot at the movies – although I understand that The Hangover 2 is ripping up the box office.

This is actually a subject I’ve written about before but I believe it deserves repeating. Despite the relatively short time they are used each year, lawnmovers contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.  They also make the air smell bad.  So if you are in the market for a new grass cutter, perhaps this is the year to consider an old fashion push mower.  Not only will you get some exercise and save money on gas and electricity but you’ll treat yourself, and our air, to the absence of exhaust fumes.

I’m apparently not alone in suggesting we turn back the clock in this respect.  Some lawn maintenance companies are now offering customers the option of manual grass cutting.  It’s a little costlier because the cut involves more muscle and takes longer but if you  have the luxury of having someone else cut your grass this is something to consider.