Tommy Bahama's joins the Tea With Iris Composting Program.

Yesterday I met with Tommy Bahama's restaurant on El Paseo in Palm Desert, California to start composting their kitchen waste as part of my Tea With Iris Composting Program.  It is only a couple of blocks from my house so it is a perfect addition to my composting pickup route.  The managers, chef and kitchen staff were all very receptive and enthusiastic about starting the program.  I dropped off a 5 gallon container with lid to start them out with collecting their vegetable waste.  "We are excited to start this new endeavor with Tea With Iris" said manager Waleska Coffman.

The chef just called me an hour ago to pick up the bucket and requested 2 more 5-gallon buckets.  It's great how easy it was to start out with such a large restaurant; it just proves to me that my small business of one can make a difference in reducing waste locally.


Here is an article from Palm Desert Patch on my composting program.

Waste = Food

It's official...I started the 'tea with iris composting program'.

WHY?

• one of my favorite books, Cradle to Cradle, says it perfectly..."WASTE EQUALS FOOD.  Nature operates according to a system of nutrients and metabolisms in which there is no such thing as waste."

• 1/3 of global food production goes to waste.  I want to change this statistic at the local level.

• my biggest success in growing my own food started with home-grown compost.

I plan to hit restaurants within a 2 mile radius of my house and start collecting their food waste and turning it into nutrient-rich compost. I started this week with Keedy's diner, since we practically grew up at the formica counter relishing their chocolate malts.  It was also my father's first job in high school which makes him sort of a VIP if you can say that in a diner. So they were very receptive to my plan of picking up their food waste.  I'm starting small by taking their coffee grounds, then I'll move on to egg shells; I don't want to disrupt the kitchen's whole cooking process overnight.

This is also an open invitation to my neighbors and friends that live near us to bring their food waste to our compost bins.  Here is a helpful link on what you can and can't compost:

http://www.compost-info-guide.com/beginner_guide.htm

UNIQUE L.A. this weekend!

I'm going to visit Unique L.A. this weekend in downtown L.A.  This is for all that like anything but the ordinary and support the handmade movement.


My cousins will be there in booth 124.  Jackie Sepulveda of Voz Clothing & Art creates works of art out of vintage bags and luggage.  Lauren Sepulveda of Rebel Road Designs designs a collection of hand-embroidered vintage menswear and one of a kind accessories.


I hope to see you there!

Garden Party!

Earth Day event at the Green Zone

Last night I attended the Earth on Edge event at the Green Zone in Palm Desert with my sister Meghan Kelly and daughter Elle. There was an exhibit by the Scrap Gallery (scrapgallery.org) showing how creative the local students of the valley are by turning everyday waste into works of art.  

The Green Zone is the first commercial property in the Coachella Valley to be renovated by and leased exclusively to local green and sustainable businesses. I particularly love the recycled red glass used for landscaping the front of the building, as shown in the photo above.  The Green Zone is located at 75-181 Mediterranean Avenue in Palm Desert, CA.  You can find out more about it at

coachellavalleygreen/greenzone

The event also showed the documentary Carbon Nation...

It was so great to meet like-minded people and I hope to be more involved with these organizations so that we can work together to make a bigger difference in the Coachella Valley in protecting this beautiful place we call home.  

EARTH DAY 2011

A history of Earth Day...

One of my favorite memories during my Peace Corps service in the Philippines was being a part of this local outdoor group, SAK-A.  Their motto was...take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time.  Great words to live by this Earth Day 2011.

Here is a local event in the Coachella Valley to celebrate Earth Day...

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=177947822252776&index=1

Meet me at my house and let's ride bikes there together!

Coloring Easter Eggs with Natural Dyes

  

Here's a natural, healthy way to dye Easter eggs plus a few photos from our Easter egg decorating party and hunt with friends in the garden...

Skip the packaged dyes for ones you can make yourself. The prep for this egg-dying extravaganza takes a little bit longer than plopping artificial dye into hot water, but the results are just as lovely and a lot more natural (not to mention safer to eat!). Make the dye ahead of time, or have your kids decorate their hard-boiled eggs with crayons while you cook up the colors on the stove. Once the dye has set on the eggs (it’ll take 5 to 15 minutes, depending on how deep you want your colors).

PINK-

15 ounces of beets

1 cup of water

1 teaspoon of vinegar

Bring beets and water to a boil, let simmer for 5 minutes. Pour through a colander into a bowl to retain the liquid. Cool, then stir in vinegar.

YELLOW-

1 tablespoon turmeric or curry powder

2 cups water

Bring spice and water to a boil, let simmer for 5 minutes. Cool.

GREEN-

1 cup water

3 chlorophyll capsules (available at health food stores)

Bring water to a boil, then remove from heat. Open up the capsules and stir into water. Cool.

BLUE-

2 cups blueberries

2 cups water

1 teaspoon vinegar

Bring blueberries and water to a boil, let simmer for 5 minutes. Pour through a colander into a bowl to retain liquid. Cool, then stir in the vinegar.




You can also experiment with produce in your kitchen. I have used the water from cooking spinach and cabbage, then add vinegar to the liquid.

Upcycling boots

Elle's favorite boots have seen better days.  We couldn't really donate them since they were so worn out and I don't think these rubber boots are 100% recyclable so we decided to put plants in them and add them to her playhouse garden. Here's a short tutorial from my daughter and I...

Festival of Opera & Art...this weekend!

I will have a table at the Festival of Opera & Art this coming Sunday, April 10, 2011 from 12:30pm-4:30pm at the Civic Center Park Amphitheatre in Palm Desert.  Please click on link below for more details:

http://www.operaarts.org/festival.html

FACEBOOK EVENT LINK: www.facebook.com/festival of opera and art event

I will be making plant prints from some of my favorite plants from  the garden.  Please join me in making plant prints.  I will have fabric available but you can also bring a plain, light-colored shirt of yours or any other clothing that you would like to spruce up.  I would like to promote the concept of 'upcycling' at the event so pull out that old shirt and make it more beautiful with a plant print.


UPCYCLING: the practice of taking something that is disposable or downcycled and transforming it into something of greater use and value.  This process allows for the reduction of waster and virgin material use.

A few great waste-reducing tips from my friend Dannan.

A friend that works in Beijing for a carbon marketing company called Climate Action, recently sent me some of her personal favorite waste-reducing tips...


 "I started using olive oil and baking soda for most of my toiletry needs. Olive oil has become my face wash and moisturiser (I used to have oily skin and now it's completely self-regulating!) and baking soda as shampoo (twice a week -- shampoo inbetween -- gets rid of all the build up incredibly well), as body wash (great exfoliant) and as toothpaste (there's enough fluoride in the water).  Minimizing the number of bottles and task specific products I have has become a hobby!"


She also sent me this link for making your own non-toxic cleaning products:


Non-toxic Home Cleaning & Care - Eartheasy.com Solutions for Sustainable Living


Thanks Dannan!