I made my dough around 1pm and baked the pizza for dinner, so I didn't photograph the process.
Pizza Dough
3 cups all purpose flour (organic)
1 packet yeast or 2.25 teaspoons (tried a special pizza one but will use regular from now on)
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (I used safflower oil)
1 teaspoon salt (bough in bulk)
1 tablespoon sugar (bought in bulk)
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
Sift the dry ingredients together into a large bowl.
Mix in oil and water, mix with your hands to create a nice sticky dough.
Cover the bowl and place into your refrigerator until you're ready to use.
Heat oven to 375 degrees
Begin by rolling the dough into a ball. Begin to pull the dough into a large flat circle. Flatten to about 1/8" inch in thickness. The circle doesn't have to be perfect. Place either on a pizza stone or stainless steel pizza pan.
Once you have spread your pie to the desired size, spread a thin layer of olive oil all over the dough. Then spread your sauce. I used organic pasta sauce because I don't make pizza often and it would be wasteful buying a separate sauce.
Then spread on your cheeses. I grated my own mozzarella and parmesan. This saved money and also prevented unwanted or needed plastic waste.
After you're done with the cheese, slice and add your choice toppings. I chose mushrooms and onions.
Bake for 25-35 minutes or until finished. Enjoy!
The entire process takes just as long as it does to order and wait for a pizza. By making your own, you know exactly what you are eating and can substitute to your needs. You can also make it a family activity and have fun with it.
I love making these recipes. The stock I use when cooking fish, chicken and sauces. The yogurt I put in my oatmeal or cereal. =) I was amazed how tasty the yogurt is in old fashion oatmeal.
Homemade Yogurt 4 cups of milk (I use fat free) 2 tablespoons of vanilla yogurt cooking pot (stainless steel is best) Glass jar for yogurt cooking thermometer Place the 4 cups of milk in the pot and turn on high heat. Place the thermometer in the milk. Bring the milk up to 185 degrees and then turn off the heat. Pour the hot milk into your glass jar and place the thermometer in the milk. Allow the milk to cool down to 110 degrees. Add the yogurt to the milk. Place the jar into your oven with the pilot light on. Make sure the milk stays at 110 degrees. Allow the milk to sit for 4-12 hours. When the yogurt has cultured, place in refrigerator. This yogurt should last for about a week.
You can add homemade vanilla extract and stevia for vanilla yogurt.
Homemade Vegetable Stock pinch of salt cabbage scraps kale scraps leek scraps onion peelings carrot peelings and scraps any vegetable scraps available Glass bottle for storage Place the vegetable scraps (washed please) into a large stock pot. Add water to the pot until the vegetable are barely covered. Add the salt. Bring the water to a boil. Allow the vegetables to soak for 30-45 minutes. Take out the scraps with tongs. Pour the stock into a glass bottle. Use within a week.
Yesterday I decided to try out Agar Agar powder when making jam. I know berries in this area are out of season, but I needed new jam and wanted to try a new recipe. I purchased 36oz of natural blackberries (they were on sale) for this experiment. I also purchased some Agar Agar powder. Agar Agar powder is a vegan gelatin and is used in petri dishes to make bacteria grow. I just thought that was an interesting factoid. I usually use pectin when making jam since it is much cheaper than the Agar powder, but I had to try it.
Here is how I made my blackberry jam and please ignore the blurry photos, my iPhone didn't want to cooperate:
Rinse your berries throughly with hot water and shake the colander as rinsing. (shown in my Preserve colander)
Place half of the berries into your blender and puree for about 10 seconds. You still want the puree to be slightly lumpy for texture. When you are done pureeing the berries, place them in a pot.
Add your other ingredients to the puree:
2 tsps of agar agar powder per 2 cups of liquid
2 cups of organic sugar (I split my sweet ingredient between sugar and stevia to lower the calorie count)
Bring to a boil and lower the heat to medium.
Stir until fully mixed.
Allow the mix to boil until it has reduced about a 4th.
Bring out your sanitized jars and fill each jar with 1" remaining at the top. (Mixture should fill 6 7oz jars)
Clean the edge of the jars before closing.
Place the jars in a canning pot with 1" of water covering the jars.
Bring the pot to a boil and boil for about 20-25 minutes.
When the jars have sealed you can leave them in the pot to cool or remove them to a heat resistant surface to cool.
Check the seal of one of the jars.
Enjoy!
My opinion of the agar agar powder is that it sets very quickly, is still spreadable even if it seems solid and does not change the flavor of the jam. It is about 5 times more expensive than pectin and does not have the typical gelatin texture of pectin.
I also took some photos of ridiculous amounts of plastic at Target the other day:
You receive five cents back for every bag you bring to the store. . . .that can add up over time.
While I was petsitting my parents' two dogs and african grey parrot, I made more changes to my lifestyle. I have purchased more bins and tools to help me de-clutter and organize my life and home. I purchased two of the Umbra "crunchable hampers" to use at the grocery store and maybe the farmer's market. I bought both in the green colour. I have already used one and I really like it. It fits perfectly in a cart and holds everything I purchase.
I also purchased two of these bins to help organize my large amount of printer paper.
I also splurged on a Diva Cup. I will try it and give you guys a review later on.
My mom gave me a strange look, as usual since I started making these eco-friendly changes to my life. You should have seen her reaction to my use of the jars. Of course where my parents live, the idea of taking your own containers is awesome, but still very strange. I have definitely already seen benefits from using jars. I buy less and waste less food. I have also been using up foods in my cabinets that had been "lost" in the chaos of how the cabinets used to be. My life feels less stressful since I actually know where everything is now.
I did have a breakthrough with my mom though. I made her some homemade all purpose cleaner. The other day she tried it on their parrot's cage and loved it! She claims the vinegar based cleaner dissolves the feces and foods scraps very well. At least I convinced her to change one thing.
This week I am pet sitting my parents two dogs and parrot while they treat my grandparents to a cruise to Belize. Their house is very different than mine now. They rely more than anything on processed and packaged foods/items. My mom gave me strange looks when I took my jars and bags to the store. She understands, but thinks it's too different to do.
I will be buying my coffee in bulk and grinding it at home from now on. It is cheaper and you know the coffee is fresh. You can then store the coffee in an airtight container like a larger fido hermetic jar.
I will say one thing, they are lucky when it comes to their milk. Their grocery stores carry Oberweis Dairy Products. It's a dairy company in Northern Illinois. Oberweis sells their milk in returnable and reusable glass bottles. I am jealous. My co op used to sell milk in glass bottles, but I don't know what happened. I am going to keep two of the bottles for myself. They are very useful for storing things.
While shopping at one of their local grocery stores, I saw roma tomatoes on sale for $0.38 a lb. I bought about 5 lbs and made it into tomato paste/unseasoned sauce. I made exactly 2.5 liters of canned tomatoes.
I will say one thing, the hermetic jars do take longer to properly seal than the mason jars. I used my hermetic jars because the entire thing is reusable. Unfortunately, the lid of the mason jars aren't reusable.
I have also noticed that it is soo easy to marinate meat in the jars. I have been adding cut garlic cloves, pepper, salt and lemon juice to the meat over night. Definitely saves time. To also prevent creating waste, cook your meal in one dish. I cook a lot of my food in one skillet at the same time. I first place my vegetables in the skillet with 1/2 cup of water. Put the heat on high, add your meat, oil and spices. Cook until finished, you may want to flip your protein over to fully cook it.
Here is a photo of my shopping supplies. I usually take 6-8 cloth bags, 3 jars, one glass swing-top bottle and two reusable shopping totes. I use the smaller shopping totes because they are easier to carry. The current jars I am using for meat and cheese are shatterproof acrylic jars. I also sometimes take my smaller glass Anchor Jars.
The colourful bags are ones I sewed using "fat quarters" I had in storage. I was going to send them to my quilting sister, but she didn't want them. I also used a flour sack towel for my bread bag. I sewed two of them and use the other three for cleaning. The mesh bags were purchased from my local co-op and are from www.coolhats.biz. You buy a set of three, each bag a different size for only $9.00. They work well for most produce. I bought a couple of sets for my parents and they love them. My dad claims the broccoli stay good longer.
I have 15 (5 of each size) Bormioli Jars being delivered Monday from Specialty Bottle. I can't wait until they arrive!
I am quite surprised how the people who work at Hyvee and New Pioneer Co-op respect my wishes for my meat and cheese to be placed in jars. I have yet to have someone ask why or say no. I don't get strange looks either. You can take your own containers easily, they don't have to be glass jars, they can be plastic containers. The goal is to lessen the amount of garbage you bring home.
After beginning these steps, my garbage is already down! I have only filled one bag this week, this bag also includes items I am getting rid of for good. I will also be going through Mac's toys and my towels this week. They will be donated to my local Humane Society. They are more than willing to take older toys, even if they're slightly ripped.
Good luck to everyone attempting this lifestyle change like me@
Hi! I'm Liz and I have started this blog mainly for myself. I want to archive what I am doing to help make my world a better place to live. Here are a few facts about myself:
- I live in Iowa (very cold!)
- I am an avid knitter (most gifts I give are wool hand knits such as socks or hats)
- I live with my 5.5 year old Australian Shepherd and 8 year old adopted Cockatiel
- I have a bachelors from the University of Iowa
- I am willing and wanting to give as close to a zero lifestyle I can a chance
- I am newly engaged to the love of my life
So, let's talk about zero waste. I have been following Bea's zero waste lifestyle for quite a while. I was most recently inspired because I will be moving soon and need to cut down on the amount of "stuff" I have. I believe by going zero waste and cutting out unnecessary things, it will be easier to move me into a smaller place. I also am on a weight loss journey and eating fresher and healthier food also helps.
Here are some tips to start living a zero waste lifestyle (remember you don't have to do these things):
- go through EVERYTHING and donate unnecessary things
- clean out your pantries and refrigerator of all expired items
- begin to use up all foods in plastic or paper containers or bags
- try to recycle everything possible
- lower the amount of processed food you purchased
- begin to make house hold items and favourite foods at home
- learn to love your vegetables
- purchased either glass or plastic holding containers for foods
- make or purchase produce bags
- begin to purchase foods in bulk and/or free standing foods
- ignore and walk past prepackaged foods (they tend to be bad for your wallet as well as your body)
- purchase a reusable coffee mug and water bottle
- stop buying magazines! (ok this was a little hard for me since I like to rip recipes, etc out of magazines)
- wear your jeans for a week (seriously)
- use rags or microfiber towels instead of paper towels (this was the easiest thing to do!)
- use up all of your toxic cleaners or take them to a place where they can rid of them properly
Okay! Well, it's time for bed. I hope everyone has enjoyed this post. Tomorrow I will post about the changes I have made in my bathroom and show you my shopping kit!
