Tracey Allen's Blog, page 8

How to tap Maple Trees - Simple and Delicious

How to Make Gluten-free Bread and Hamburger Buns - Simple

Watch the ten minute 'how to' video on making gluten-free bread and gluten-free hamburger buns.  They are simple and easy to make...freeze well. The complete recipe is in the book and this was designed for first time bread bakers. I hope you enjoy it.  Youtube Video

Social Assistance - Maybe we need a new approach-New Paradigm

I have been reading on a number of postings on facebook and the like about people struggling to make ends meet...prices are continuing to go up and people are on social assistance or EI - Employment Insurance for various reasons.  Money only goes so far for both individuals and government.  I'm not sure of the exact particulars of social assistance only that it doesn't seem to be enough and budgets are getting smaller while expenses are getting greater.  The solution is to find a way to create a sustainable system that government can continue to help those in need with the help of non-profits and possibly Churches.  I'm thinking a new approach is needed along the lines of this quote -
"If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish you
feed him for a lifetime."  
The main components that people need are transportation, housing and food...medications etc too but the basics are the three mentioned.  From my limited understanding money is what is given to each person to buy food or pay rent etc. what about the training part? Are we giving people anything to build on or are we creating system to keep them in the system? I remember working on a study a number of years ago and a man was on social assistance but really wanted to work - the barrier for him was that he couldn't afford his meds and work but social assistance wouldn't pay meds unless he was on social assistance.  Everyone can be productive and usually want to be within their capabilities so why not focus on what will give them a better quality of life and a hand up not a hand out.  I was at the soup kitchen once and met a person I graduated from school with - she said thank you for the hand up...she had fallen on hard times and needed a meal since the money she had was used for rent etc.  If we can consider that everyone has value and that we need to meet them where they are at.  Yes some have addictions but why do they have addictions and how can we help them? We go to third world countries to teach people to farm, and other skills while we have a ton of people here that would love to learn new skills.  So what do you think? I believe we should look to see how we can make everyone productive i.e. teach how to grow food at whatever level and means they have.  How to cook a meal from scratch i.e. soup. or create a co-operative to join forces to feed our poor, under-employed, and working poor.  Community gardens? Shared transportation options to help those that need a car for work or maybe a scooter borrow system....look at what people need, how we can tailor a program to get them off social assistance, as I'm sure most want to be self-sufficient and those that don't we can work with them to...at their current situation/level.

Free - One Week Menu - Low Cost, Budget, Local Foods

Eating healthy, local and on budget seem impossible but really with a little planning it is possible.  I did up a one week menu with recipes for you to try out.  You may like a few recipes, none or all of them depending on your tastes.  Please let me know what you think. 

These recipes use primarily local foods, or at least local foods where I am from.  They are not culinary but easy, base recipes that I hope almost anyone can make from student to first time mothers or basically anyone not used to cooking for themselves. 

I have estimated the cost per adult person as $8.35/week for this menu but it isn't perfect.  I should also note I'm not a nutritionist so there isn't a count for calories or vitamins.  Feel free to consult someone on the content of the menus or visit http://nutritiondata.com/ to input recipes for nutritional overviews.

ONE WEEK LOW BUDGET HEALTHY (I HOPE) MENU WITH RECIPES

Passive Solar House - Improvement

I was asked what would I improve or what did I 'do wrong' in building a passive solar house - more than once I might add.  At first it was nothing, everything is perfect. Now however, we have decided that while the sun is great to heat the house or a small fire on occassion plus our ICF is a great envelope to hold the heat; our greatest problem....keeping the heat in when the door opens.  Yes, originally we had an 'airlock' in the design.  At the front it would have been the greenhouse had we the budget to build it and the back door we would have had the carport to block the wind.  So the improvement I would suggest and we will attempt to do in part this spring/summer/fall is build an 'airlock' or porch to keep a little more of our heat in - instead of heating the great outdoors!

Blog Tour - Meet four writers/authors Feb 14-16

Welcome to my blog hop February 14-16th where you will learn a little more about me and three other authors: 
Luigi Benetton (Technology/Business) http://luigibenetton.com/category/technozen/  
Heather Grace Stewart (Poet/Screenwriter) http://heathergracestewart.com/new-website/
Paul Lima (Business of Writing) http://paullima.com/blog/   

I've been a  marketing/technology consultant for over 12 years and I love to write, in fact,  I've written four books so far see the book covers at the top of this blog. 

What has been your greatest success in writing? 
My greatest success has been people telling me that they have tried my  recipes or changed something in their life to be more sustainable or that they are considering building or renovating to capture passive solar energy.  To me the ultimate goal is for people reading my books to be inspired. 
 
Who has been your greatest influence to write?
I would have to say my husband.  He has encouraged me to write and is very supportive.  From an author point of view local authors in PEI have inspired me like Julie Watson or other professional writers like Paul Lima.

What advice would you like to give new authors?
To write a non-fiction book you need to focus, set aside dedicated time, and plan out the basics of your book.  It helps if you write from personal experience or an area of expertise.  Go for it – now is the time!

Where is the best place to promote your books?
The nature of my books lend themselves to experiences i.e gluten-free cooking classes, sustainable living workshops, passive solar house tours, and  other workshops.  Social media is a good tool - remember you need to provide content and information to add value.  

If you could travel anywhere – where would you go and why? 
I would love to go to Germany to see the environmental models, renewable energy, green roofs and my  heritage is from Hess in Germany on one side of the family.  

I love to talk to readers and give feedback when I can – please email me with any questions.

Homemade Dog Food - Sustainable Eating

Since I'm always talking sustainable food I thought what about our son's dog - Emma..a real cutie see her picture at the end of the article! I know there are certain foods dogs shouldn't eat like onions, garlic, chocolate, etc. Here are a few more sources to check:
ASPCA List to Avoid
and
Canine Journal List to Avoid
Combine sustainable food for everyone with the most recent dog food problems of poisoning and I decided to try to make a dog food that was both nutritious, not too expensive and one she would eat.  The picture at the left shows what I made for her....and she loves it.  If a dog lliterally skips to her food bowl and starts smacking her lips before she has eaten you know that she likes it.

Recipe I use

Ingredients:
Rice (4 cups cooked approximately)
Carrots (2-3 carrots chopped)
Chick peas (1 cup)
Nutritional yeast (2 Tbsp)
Coconut oil (2 Tbsp)
very small amount of salt as this isn't good for them in large quantities.
Everything is cooked and then blended.  I tend to puree some of the rice and all of the carrots/chickpeas.  Mix and store in fridge.  You can make a larger batch but I find making every 3 days isn't too hard. 

Wheat-free Gluten-free Mediterranean Pizza

I made this recipe last night - just opened the fridge to see leftover cooked rice and cooked chickpeas with craving for sweet potatoes and two requests for pizza...this was the result.  And it was soooo good all three of us agreed it is a definite make again recipe. 

Thank you to Heather McGrath for suggesting the recipe title.

Pizza Base
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 large raw sweet potato chopped
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
2 Tbsp oil (olive or other)
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp salt or to taste

Sauce 
3 Tbsp mayo 

Topping is feta cheese, purple onions, nutritional yeast, red pepper, mushrooms, and olives.

Instructions:
1. Use leftover cooked rice and cooked chickpeas (or cook them and/or use canned chickpeas).  Combine cooked rice, raw sweet potato chopped, chickpeas and salt and purree in a food processor until smooth.
2.  Oil pizza pan and then spread with spatula the base.  Add minced or chopped garlic on top of base. Cook in preheated oven of 375F for 20-25 minutes or until a little crispy.
3.  Remove from oven and mayo for base and add toppings (I added them raw but feel free to cook them first if you like) and return to oven - cook until finished to your liking.

Quick & Easy Salad Dressing

This has to be my favourite dressing recipe.  It has five ingredients and is very easy to make.  From a sustainable point of view - we have a lemon tree coming in the spring to grow our own...it is a start and we have 30+ maple trees to tap for our maple syrup.

Maple Syrup Salad Dressing

Servings: Makes a small jar good for a few salads at least.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed is best)
1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves of garlic minced or finely chopped
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt or to taste

Directions:
1. Put all ingredients in a jar and shake.
2. Put on salad and mix. Serve.

Sustainable food supply - food prices increasing

I was shopping in the grocery store the other day and it struck me like a ton of bricks that food prices are really starting to climb.  Of course, we were warned they would in a number of newspaper articles Food Prices Predicted to Rise in Canada in 2003 to name just one.  And this isn't the first time I've visited the grocery store to see a huge jump in prices for certain items. Tuna and peanut butter were two products I noticed a jump in price a few months ago.  This last trip it was asparagus from $4.99/lb to $7.49/lb...you guessed it, I didn't buy it. (organic broccoli $4.99 a head to $7.49 a head) I'm not saying the producer doesn't deserve a profit and I know their costs are going up but I'm saying that to have a sustainable food supply we will start seeing higher prices.  One of the reasons I wrote The Sustainable Table: Take Back Your Plate was to share my experience of moving to a more sustainable read simple, inexpensive and steady food supply.  The concept is to start producing your own food via gardening, fishing, honey bees, based on your current situation.  The other idea is to start making your own food from scratch...and I provide recipes.  I can say I've reduced our grocery bill considerably and I will continue to change how and when I buy groceries to match the increasing costs.  This time of year it is way cheaper to buy carrots, turnips, cabbage, potatoes etc. given their storage potential and my local growing climate, while asparagus grown in California maybe not so cheap right now.  This spring when my asparagus comes up I'll feast and preserve and think - this is not costing me $7.49/lb!
What do I suggest you do:
1) Start creating your own food supply either buying local/grocery and preserving for when food is out of season and more costly.
2) Start growing your own food whether it is sprouts in your kitchen, a tomato plant on your window ledge or a full scale garden.
3) Start building your 'cook from scratch' easy food recipes to eat or freeze for later giving you more control over your food.
4) Consider starting a pantry like they did in the old days when going to the grocery store wasn't an option or weather prevented them from going out. 

It is February and I'm eating swiss chard, spinach, kale, lettuce growing on my window sills...the tomatoes and peppers are blooming.  It can be done and doesn't take much effort but the results are awesome....and I'm not travelling out of my house to get the food!

Start with small steps and build on it - save your grocery bill costs, eat healthy and create your own sustainable table.