I Guess I Am Kind of Crunchy

For nearly a year now I have been having moments where I say to my husband, "I know, I'm a hippy, but you love me." I never felt the term was quite appropriate, but as was changing our lifestyle, it seemed to fit. Garret and I like nice things, but the consumerism was beginning to get to me. All the waste. All of the unneccessary things we are somehow convinced we need. We are frugal, and we don't buy a lot of large items that we don't need (our t.v. is the same one I have had since I was 19 living in a dorm room, and I turn 25 in 3 months) but we do accumulate a lot of little things that we could do without. So due to my new obsession with blogs----what an excellent way to find out about other people's experiences and share ideas!---I decided that in addition to my other blog about our life (www.uneviechic.blogspot.com) I would start this blog about how I have become crunchy and how much it has actually given back to our lives.

I am trying to stop our using paper towels (we bought quite a few flour sack towels, glass drying towels, and barcloths for cleanup) because it seemed like so much waste, and it's highly annoying when you run out and don't realize it until it's too late. All the white towels we bought to use instead are white and therefore easy to throw into the wash with a bit of bleach.

A big thing I am on the bandwagon about lately is how much food people waste. My husband and I shop for the food we need when we need it, but I will admit that there have been items that I have let go to waste (for example, neither of us is a huge fan of celery, so after I was done with a recipe I had the bad tendency to throw the rest in the compost bin). Now I take stock of what is in the refrigerator that needs to be used and I use it up or freeze it. I have been freezing vegetables to eventually make some homemade stock. But I have also been cleaning the freezer out. The other day we had chicken I defrosted that I baked in the oven. Then I sauteed up some onions and garlic with olive oil and added some balsamic vinegar to add some tanginess. I plated a bed of rocket, topped with a chicken breast sliced into strips and added the onions on top. The onion was from a bag I bought 2 weeks before, and so I used that up, with the freezer chicken and Garret and I both thought it was something we will have to make more often!

To start using up a jar of yeast I have had in the fridge I have decided to start making bread more often. So this morning I made 4 French baguettes. They were a yummy accompanient to dinner. However, they were more dense than I was wanting (I like my French bread crusty on the outside but light and fluffy on the inside, rather than like heavy soda bread) so any recipes people are willing to share will be welcome!

My main purpose of this blog is to be an extension of my other blog. I believe in living a chic life. I believe in still eating great tasteful food, but in a mindful way. Garret and I are starting to really notice where our food has come from (many grocers in Britain have highlights about local farmers they use on the outside of packages). I think you can lead a life that is both mindful and kind of crunchy, giving thought to how things harm ourselves and the environment, but still live decadently. For instance, Garret and I love hot cocoa on these cold nights in England. But instead of Nestle or Swiss Miss, we either make our own from scratch, or we use Godiva (who has limited ingredients) and I whip up some heavy cream with sugar for a delicious whipped cream topping, instead of using Cool Whip. I don't judge people who use those products, but I can tell you, my hot cocoa is better because I don't. It's taste is something you would expect to pay good money for (especially the version from scratch that is so rich you would swear it should be a meal unto itself) and it doesn't have all the unnecessary added ingredients.

I hope I meet some like minded people through their own blogs, so feel free to leave comments and ideas. We are always looking for ways to live more naturally.