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:
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.
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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.
What zero waste ideas have you come up with?
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.
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Here is the recipe for my homemade Vanilla Extract:
(bottle was purchased at Hobby Lobby)
slice two vanilla beans in half and then chop it up into 1.5" increments
place the beans inside the bottle
add the 400mL of vodka to the bottle with a funnel
place the beans inside the bottle
add the 400mL of vodka to the bottle with a funnel
Shake everyday and keep out of direct sunlight. Your extract should be useable within two weeks. Just continue to add more vodka and beans as you use the extract.
Today I went to Staples to pick up some dishwasher safe labels for my jars (for stable items such as flour, salt, etc.). While there I saw a package of 48 Marcal earth friendly rolls of toilet paper for only $24.99! Compared to Seventh Generation, the price was right. The toilet paper is 100% recycled paper. Each roll is wrapped in it's own paper, which can easily be recycled. The biggest downside is obvious, the plastic wrapping. I figure it is better than buying smaller amounts of toilet paper, which are also wrapped in plastic. I won't be buying any paper for quite a while. Since there are no places that sell Seventh Generation in bulk, I will continue to purchase my toilet paper from Staples. I know it sounds strange. hahaha
I would also like to mention that Hobby Lobby has all of their glass jars 50% off. I recently purchased 10+ jars for $34.00.
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I have an iPhone 4s. As many of you know, it has a great camera on the phone. Since beginning this lifestyle, I have been using my iPhone to prevent the use of paper or stickers. I take photos of the item number and nutritional information on the bulk bin. This also allows me (who is a Weight Watcher) to know exactly what I'm eating and how much is in a serving.
This photo was taken from the bulk bin at my local co-op.
This photo was taken at the Iowa City Hyvee bulk section. I didn't realize that you actually have to weigh your selection at this store and get a sticker. I refuse to get the sticker, so I will just continue photographing the info and then deal with it at the checkout.
Taking photos instead of writing down all of the info has made my life much easier.
I have also been sewing more produce bags for at the market. I realized that while I like the coolhats.biz bags, I prefer my homemade ones more. They are sturdier, it's easy to put things in them and tie the string around the top of the bag to keep them shut. I have had issues with the other ones, where they will burst open randomly. This can be quite annoying. I will continue to use them though. Tonight I sewed 7 more bags. Four of the bags are for my mom, pictured below. I basically just go to a fabric store like Joann's and purchased several fat quarters in fabrics I like and sew them up. I will need to post how I sew them, they're really easy. I am a horrible sewer, but I can still make them.
I really do wish more grocery stores would have a bulk section. Where my parents live, there are no bulk sections, so they must buy things in packaging. I am hoping that they will start using the bags for produce at least. That should cut down on the number of plastic bags brought home. I need to look further into other solutions for them also. My mom has type 2 diabetes and I really believe that she could benefit from only bulk shopping. It does tend to limit your selections to healthier choices.
What would you guys do? The closest Whole Foods is an hour away and not worth it for weekly shopping.
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