Seeing this little frog enjoying a relaxing dip in a squash bloom brightened my day.
Mon 14 Nov 2011
The Garden Plants Little Pleasures into Each Day
Posted by admin under Garden, Home
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Fri 23 Sep 2011
The Dangers of Ocean Deoxygenation
Posted by admin under environment, sustainability, The World Beyond Me, water
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Today we have a guest post. Amy Lizee of environment911 has joined us today to talk about ocean deoxygenation. As I have mentioned before I am not the most scientific or technical person so I am particularly happy to have Amy join us to help us better understand the issue of ocean deoxygenation. Because scientifically inclined or not this is an issue that impacts all of us.
For me personally my love of the beach runs deep through me and the heart of my family. I am married to a man who loves to fish and we have three little fisherman boys, who jump out of bed almost every morning all summer long and grab their fishing poles. I have walked the beach with my little boys when there are great stretches of beach covered with dead fish and crabs and such…tears running down all of our cheeks. I have felt the rush as a manatee, dolphin or sting ray suddenly break through the water near me and the thrill of the sound of them splashing back underwater…thanking God it was not a shark. I have had many a blessed moment on or near the water.
But even if I never touched or saw the water again (a most horrible thought) the health of our oceans would still be important to me as a world citizen. Marinebio states it well when they describe a bit of the role our oceans play in our environmental stability, “The ocean plays a critical role in removing carbon from the atmosphere and providing oxygen. It regulates Earth’s climate. The ocean is an increasingly important source of biomedical organisms with enormous potential for fighting disease.’’
So spend of few minutes with Amy today as she explains more about this important topic…
Dangers of Ocean Deoxygenation
Deoxygenation in the world’s oceans is a looming crisis that does not appear to be getting all of the attention it deserves. The concept of ocean deoxygenation or “dead zones” is areas of the ocean that lack oxygen almost entirely. Studies have proven that while dead zones can occur naturally, the prevelance occurs “primarily near areas where heavy agricultural and industrial activity spill nutrients into the water and compromise its quality accordingly”.1
Currently, the Gulf of Mexico is the largest “dead zone” in our ocean so far and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium reported that it covers 7,722 square miles.2 According to the article, this dead zone first appeared in the 1970’s and has been steadily increasing.
Back in 2008, it was reported “new dead zones have been popping up at an alarming rate for the past 50 years”. Today, across the world’s oceans, there are now “more than 400”.3 The major reason for the decrease of oxygen in the world’s oceans is global warming. It is a fact that the ocean is not able to hold as much dissolved oxygen in warmer water. ‘
The reason dead zones and ocean deoxygenation is such a major concern is that many scientists believe they may be a preview of more serious issues to come. Not only can agricultural runoff “strip oxygen from the ocean around the mouths of fertilizer-rich rivers. But global warming has the potential to reduce the ocean’s oxygen content across the entire planet”.4
As not only humans, but almost every other form of life on Earth requires oxygen to survive, if we continue to head down this path, we may see the end of our species as well as many hundreds of thousands others due to the lack of oxygen available. If this happens, marine life will be reduced, essentially down to nothing, which reduces fish and other food sources. Not only that, but the lack of marine life will not allow the ocean to cycle and the water will become unhealthy and unusable as well.
Scientists are still attempting to determine just how much ocean oxygen levels will be affected by global warming and, thanks to various computer models, have come to the conclusion that “depending on the model, the next century will see a drop of between 1 and 7 percent” in worldwide ocean oxygen levels.
Luckily for us, dead zones can be reversed provided their causes are reduced or even eliminated. In fact, “in the U.S., dead zones have also been reduced in the Hudson River and San Francisco Bay following clean-up efforts”. Another example was a large dead zone in the Black Sea. This particular zone “largely disappeared in the 1990s following the fall of the Soviet Union, after which there was a huge spike in the cost of chemical fertilizers throughout the region”.5
In order to protect our oceans from further dead zones, we need to be vigilant in protecting them now. As individuals, we can assist in clean-up efforts and move towards sustainable living in order to reduce pollution and global warming and thereby, reversing some of the dead zones created through careless lifestyles.
Environment911.org is an interactive website for individuals to come and discuss the environment from green business to natural disasters. We feel it is important for people to come together and share their thoughts, ideas and visions for the future. www.environment911.org
1 http://www.emagazine.com/earth-talk/ocean-dead-zones
2 http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2301
3 http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2301
4 http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2301
5 http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2011/08/21/what-is-a-%E2%80%9Cdead-zone%
Fri 16 Sep 2011
In a previous post about helping your children through a new baby transition I mentioned the belly butter I used to help prevent stretch marks when I was pregnant. While I was pregnant with my first child a friend shared this recipe with me. It works great. I used it with all three pregnancies (gaining and losing about 45 pounds with each pregnancy) and have very few stretch marks. In fact, if judged only on stretch marks I could still wear a bikini.
So I pass this belly butter recipe on to all my friends and family when they are pregnant. It is very simple and cost-effective. You may already have all the ingredients in your house.
Here is all you need…
3.5 oz hard cocoa butter
1/2 cup aloe vera gel
2 tablespoons vitamin E oil
Simply mix everything together and apply daily. I would recommend using it for several weeks after delivery. I found that with everything shrinking it was important to keep using it. I didn’t with my first pregnancy and discovered a few stretch marks popped up post baby.
Do you have a great natural remedy you want to share?
Wed 7 Sep 2011
“What’s an easy, eco-friendly habit that could help families save money?”
Posted by Gretchen Covine under Home
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Circle of Moms asked, “What’s an easy, eco-friendly habit that could help families save money?”
We save money and reduce our environmental impact with this one question… “Can I EASILY accomplish the same thing with less waste, expense and/or processing and transportation?”
Take something as simple as popcorn for example. Popcorn is a popular snack in our home. Once I started making and throwing away a bag or two of microwave popcorn a day I tried making it myself from kernels. I remembered my parents making it in a pan over the stovetop with a little oil. So I bought a bag of popcorn seeds which will last me usually at least a month or more for under $2.00. Throw in a shaker of popcorn seasonings and for the same price as box of microwave popcorn (which would be gone in less than a week) we had a month’s worth or more of popcorn supplies. Popping the corn did not take any more time or inconvenience as sitting watching a bag or two of popcorn in the microwave. So now we enjoy the same snack with much less waste, expense, and processing. Not to mention it is healthier too.
This same equation can be applied to just about everything. It goes way beyond the kitchen…
- Household cleaners – baking soda and vinegar can tackle most of what you use chemicals to clean. Even if you still want to occasionally clean with chemicals substituting vinegar and water a couple of cleaning a month will reduce environmental impact and expense.
- Egg trays for seedling trays.
- The library for books, movies, magazines and eBooks instead of the bookstore.
- Plugging in entertainment center equipment into power strips that can be turned off when not in use or leaving the house with one switch.
- Programming your thermostat to be warmer or cooler when no one is home.
- Reusing glass and plastic containers that come with your groceries.
- Buying second-hand. One second-hand big ticket purchase alone can save your household thousands of dollars and reduce environmental impact.
- Grouping your errand running by locations to save time and gas.
- When you are grocery shopping purchase a couple of easy dinner items so you can skip takeout the next time you are short on time or energy.
I could go on and on, but you get the picture. If you are short on time or inclination start with just one simple change and when you see how easy it is to save money and reduce your environmental footprint without additional inconvenience or diminishing your quality of life you will want to do more. Pick a starting place that will give you the most personal satisfaction and go from there.
Here are some other ideas for you to consider. Got an idea you want to share? Please do!
Thu 1 Sep 2011
You may encounter some formatting issues
Posted by Gretchen Covine under Home
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Thank you for visiting EdenFeed. We are in the process of moving EdenFeed over to a new server. During this process you may encounter some funny symbols or formatting issues. We will have these issues resolved over the next few days. We apologize and hope you will visit us again soon.
Tue 30 Aug 2011
Successful seedling session today
Posted by Gretchen Covine under Garden
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This morning my toddler, Nick, and I managed a pretty successful seed planting session. Successful in that Nick did not drink out of the water barrel, eat any plants that required a call to poison control, or pour out the planted seedlings. As far as the actual seedlings being successful we will have to wait a week or so to determine that. But getting seeds planted is an important first step. Now I have to find a safe place for my seedling trays as Nick likes to mess with them and dump them out. I think he considers it a seed hunt.
We planted lettuce, dill, cucumbers, parsley, zipper peas, green beans, okra, lettuce and arugula. We also planted okra and peppers but in my haste to get the seeds planted before Nick got bored and resorted to orneriness for entertainment we ended up double planting those seeds in the same seedling row. I discovered this when I completed my notes outline I keep to help me remember what is planted where and when I actually planted it. So we will just keep whichever of those seeds make it up and separate them if they both make it. I know it is a little late for the zipper peas and the okra, but I have plenty of each those seeds and after my brother’s serious success with planting cucuzza in the spring I am doing a little more experimenting with planting times myself. This time when I was planting the tiny seeds like the lettuce and dill I used my brother’s method of pouring the seeds out on a white plate when working with them. It makes it easier to see them and capture just one or two to get into each space. I am looking forward to seeing if the dill and arugula make it as those seeds I used today were from my drying experiments last spring when I took the seeds pockets from the plants and dried them for future use.
Things were going so well with Nick today not only did we get the seeds planted, but we also got several cuttings started. I got the cuttings of Dawn Dewa and Red Hibiscus I brought from my mom’s last week into pots. I made some cuttings of red and pink pentas from a potted plant I have growing over in its pot in the front yard. It was wonderful to have a successful session in the yard this morning as I have got to get my garden groove back on now that is garden time. Between a couple of summer planting busts, the heat, the rain, and my toddler toils the garden has not been my happy place of late. Hopefully we are turning the corner with a new season.
Tue 16 Aug 2011
So far it is not a compost garden, but rather another mouth to feed.
Posted by admin under Garden, Home
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I have a term I often use to describe myself, “ambitiously lazy,” because I look for ways to get a lot of output for minimal input. I want to get a lot done, but I don’t really love the whole “work” thing.
I am also not really a scientific or technical person. That is why I like to let the worms take care of composting for me.
When I first learned about the concept of a compost garden it seemed a perfect fit for my ambitiously lazy characteristics. Once established the compost garden requires very little weeding, feeding and watering time. It also fits my limited space needs. From a technical or scientific standpoint, I can handle green layer/brown layer. There is no turning, etc. necessary.
So at the beginning of summer I picked out a good spot in my yard for the compost garden. We settled on a spot in the side yard that we use for the garden anyway. It has the benefit of not being visible from the back porch and family room sliding glass doors while we get the project established. Yet it still seems to get enough good sunlight.
We started the project in late May planning to give it enough “cook” time so it could be ready for fall planting. Unfortunately, we are still in the filling it up stage and only at about half full.
This “filling it up” is turning out to be as challenging to do with the compost garden as it is with our three boys. So we have started referring to it as another mouth to feed. Every time I add more to it, I go out a few days later and it has quickly gone back down. I am looking forward to completing this “fill up” stage and moving to the next where the mouth produces rather than consumes. I will keep you posted on our progress or challenges with “THE MOUTH.”
I am expecting progress as everything is growing like crazy in the yard right now. As if it is it has been challenged by “THE MOUTH.” So I have plenty of things that need to be trimmed and added regularly. You see how this is all sounding an awful lot like “WORK.” I guess this is the ambitious stage of my ambitiously lazy. Unfortunately it is aligning with the hottest and wettest time of the year.
Stay cool and dry my friends.
Thu 4 Aug 2011
It is World Breastfeeding Week. Here is some straight talk on breastfeeding.
Posted by Gretchen Covine under Mothering
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Breastfeeding only served to strengthen my awe of Mother Nature. The fact that the human body can grow another human being is pretty impressive. So is the ability to feed them with ZERO IMPACT to the environment and without spending a DIME. When your baby needs more milk, your body simply makes it. When your baby requires less, the body slows its production. Not an unnecessary drop is produced or wasted. Totally amazing, isn’t it? It is because of this amazing feat that I am surprised Mother Nature did not think to also deliver us one more set of arms with the baby. The extra arms would really come in handy and could simply go away again, like the milk, when we weaned the baby. Who knows …maybe in a future evolution? 
I have nursed three babies to whole milk and sippy cups. I am a big proponent of nursing. However, what I want to share with you today is not all the reasons why one should breastfeed. Rather, I want to share some straight talk about some of the challenges many encounter when they first breastfeed. Things you can’t see in all those sweet, peaceful pictures of mothers nursing their babies. My goal is most definitely not to dissuade you from breastfeeding. But to let you know that you are not alone. That mother who so sweetly sits nursing her baby in the picture. She had to get through some challenges first.
While breastfeeding is natural that does not mean it is necessarily instinctive. Very few of us easily and naturally take to breastfeeding like a duck to water. There are many things that trip us up along the way. Many of them so powerful and intimating that many give up.
For instance, nothing feels natural about forcing this gigantic breast (somehow your boob has swelled to a size that is twice as large as your babies head) into your sweet baby’s tiny mouth trying to get them to latch on. This sight and act alone can turn many off. Trust me, even those of us who have enjoyed the benefits and bliss of breastfeeding moments will tell you that this is definitely not one of them.
Then there is the matter that you can’t see your baby actually getting anything. A formula bottle gives you the confidence of actually seeing milk consumed. As a breastfeeding mother you sometimes have to rely on the baby’s diapers and the soft spot on their head to help you know they are getting enough sustenance. If a baby gets dehydrated their soft spot sinks. As far as diapers go…you have to be getting something in, to be getting something out. It can be really hard to remain calm when you fear you are starving your baby.
There is also the uncomfortable pressure one may feel when an anxious husband or loved one asks…“Are you sure they are getting enough?” “Why will the baby not latch on?” “Why is the baby crying or hungry again, you just fed them?” “Are you sure you are doing it right?” And you think, “Hell if I know. Yesterday these were my breasts and today they are baby bottles that DID NOT COME WITH INSTRUCTIONS!”
Now having delivered and nursed three children, I have the gift of experience and hindsight. During the first night in the hospital when my third baby was born, I saw clearly how quickly and easily all these factors could add up and leave one believing breastfeeding was not going to work for them. The nurse came into my room in the middle of the night to check on me and the baby. She asked how I was doing. I was honest. I rolled my tired, sore, just-popped-a-baby-out-of-it body to nurse and calm my crying newborn on the other breast, YET AGAIN. I answered the nurse, “I am at the point where many new moms give up breastfeeding.” She smiled knowing exactly what I meant. She had probably seen that moment a million times.
In that moment (through the lens my experience and understanding gave me) I could see very clearly how this moment could easily push me away from nursing forever. I was tired. I was sore. It had been a big 24 hours. The baby woke up fussing what seemed like every 15 minutes. My husband was asleep on the couch and all I wanted was a little sleep too. The fastest way to get it would have been to give the baby a bottle. But my experience told me this is just the baby getting my milk to come in. In a few hours we will all be sleeping and safely on the other side of this stage. Had I been a new mother I may have opted for a bottle and the nursery. Especially if I had more challenges like not being able to get the baby to latch on or not having a strong and calm support group.
So should you find yourself in a similar situation, know that you are not alone. You are not some misfit mother who did not get the breastfeeding gene. You are perfectly normal and this is precisely why they have lactation consultants at the hospital (notice when you are in the hospital how the lactation consultant is always busy…that is not because you are the only one who needs help) and support groups such as the Le Leche League. Lean on your support group and network. Call in that lactation consultant, even if she was just there an hour ago. Let them help you. Reach out to your friends, family and colleagues who have gotten through these hurdles. Trust me they will want to help. While not a lactation specialist or trained individual, I am happy to offer my support and share from my experience. Send me an email at gcovine@gmail.com and I will get back to you ASAP. If you can push through these hurdles, very quickly you will be the mother in that picture sweetly and peacefully nursing their baby with ZERO IMPACT to the environment and without spending a DIME.
Happy World Breastfeeding Week!
Wed 20 Jul 2011
Nana’s Cucuzza Recipe
Posted by admin under Food, Garden
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By Tony Covine
Remember when cooking cucuzza (links to last blog) you will want to peel the cucuzza like a carrot and they do have seeds in them. Depending on the size of the cucuzza, you may be able to leave them in and consume them. The general rule of thumb is the larger the cucuzza the tougher the seeds will be. You’ll be able to tell during prep if you will be able to eat them or not. Large seeds will be obviously hard and almost yellow in color. Edible seeds will be soft to the touch.
Nana’s Cucuzza
2 small to medium sized cucuzzas (with seeds removed if needed) chunked.
4-6 cloves of garlic pressed
1 large onion coarsely chopped
¼ cup or so extra virgin olive oil to coat the bottom of your pan
2 eggs
¾ cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese*
Salt and pepper to taste
- Coat generously the bottom of a large pan with olive oil and heat on medium high.
- When you begin to smell the olive oil heating, add pressed garlic and chopped onions. Simmer on low until onions are almost clear.
- Raise heat to medium. Add chopped cucuzza and cover. Stir frequently. As the cucuzza cooks it will begin to make its own juice.
- When cucuzza reaches desires tenderness, reduce the heat to low.
- In a separate dish beat the two eggs into mixture.
- Add egg mixture and cheese
- Cover and cook more to ensure the eggs are cooked.
- Salt* and pepper to taste.
* Pecorino Romano cheese is a sharp, sometimes salty cheese. You may want to taste the dish before adding salt. You may substitute with parmesan cheese.
Want more ideas on how to cook up cucuzza?
Sat 16 Jul 2011
Cooking up Cucuzza
Posted by Gretchen Covine under Food, Garden, Home
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We have been cooking up cucuzza like crazy at the Covines. My brother has had a bumper crop. He has been sending fresh cucuzza our way for a few weeks and I have been cooking it up and sending some finished goods back his way. It is what we call a win/win situation. With the help of all this cucuzza, I am getting very close to perfecting my stuffed cucuzza recipe.
Some of you may be asking what is a Cucuzza? A cucuzza is a long squash. There are several tasty ways one can cook cucuzza. The first way I had it was my husband’s Nana’s recipe where she cooked it up with garlic, olive oil, onion and then added eggs and cheese towards the end to make a very delicious and rich casserole type dish. I will get that recipe posted for you soon.
When cooking cucuzza you will want to peel it like a carrot. Cucuzza does have seeds. Depending on the size of the cucuzza, you may be able to leave the seeds in and eat them. The general rule of thumb is the larger the cucuzza the tougher the seeds will be. You’ll be able to tell during prep if you will be able to eat them or not. Large seeds will be obviously hard and almost yellow in color. Edible seeds will be soft to the touch. If you bite into the raw seeds and can chew them, you can cook them.
Here are a couple of recipes for different ways to cook cucuzza.
- Chicken and Cucuzza with basil. We add garlic to this recipe and serve it over rice. This makes a lot and freezes well.
- Italian Cucuzza Stew. This is good even without the fresh thyme. I served it with fresh bread. My parents put the leftovers in the blender and then served it over pasta and LOVED it.
- I haven’t tried this baked cucuzza and tomato recipe yet, but it is on my list to try.
- Cucuzza Cake. This recipe is also on my going to try list. I will keep you posted.
As soon as I get my stuffed cucuzza recipe perfected I will share it too. I hope everyone is having a great summer!
