August 4th, 2011
According to Wire & Twine, during an average year, an American uses approximately 2,200 paper napkins—around six each day. If everyone in the U.S. used one less napkin a day, more than a billion pounds of napkins could be saved from landfills each year. Wow – that’s a lot of disposable napkins!
How can you ditch disposable and reduce your napkin waste? Opt for a reusable alternative. Better yet, opt for an eco chic, organic cotton reusable napkin.
Using certified organic fabric from the Harmony Art collection, A Greener Kitchen offers organic cotton napkins to help you reduce your carbon footprint and bring a sustainable style solution to your kitchen and dining experiences. Tip for Using and Reusing: Break out them out for more than just a fancy dinner occasion… pack with your lunch, bring on a picnic, use as the base for your table’s centerpiece. The options are endless!
Tags: a greener kitchen, organic cloth napkins, organic cotton napkins, reusable napkins
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July 28th, 2011
‘Tis blueberry season and those blueish-purple berries are lining the shelves at grocery stores and filling tents at farmers markets. What’s a girl (or guy) to do when they find themselves bringing two pounds of blueberries home? I suggest they fulfill a comfort food craving with this delicious Blueberry Crisp!
Blueberry Crisp Recipe
- 5 cups fresh blueberries
- 3 tablespoons turbinado or granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or cinnamon
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- Place blueberries in a 2-quart baking dish. Stir in the turbinado or granulated sugar and the 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour.
- For the topping, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. stire in the nuts and sprinkle the topping over the blueberries.
- Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until blueberries are tender and topping is golden.
Recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens.
For an extra bit of fun and to protect your clothes from a dusting of flour, throw on an organic cotton apron while you prepare this Blueberry Crisp recipe! As for the blueberries, how else will you enjoy them this season?
Tags: a greener kitchen, better homes and garden, blueberry crisp, comfort food, organic cotton apron
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July 21st, 2011
Have a set of A Greener Kitchen’s reusable produce bags? Want to use them, or perhaps a second set, in a whole new way? Here are five ways you can re-purpose A Greener Kitchen’s reusable produce bags:
- Not just for produce, you can use the reusable bags for bulk goods at your grocery store or farmers market. Fill with granola, dried beans, almonds, you name it! Then cinch the top closed with the elastic loop.
- Taking a trip? Store cotton balls or q-tips in the small produce bag instead of using a plastic bag.
- Carry a freshly baked loaf of bread in the large produce bag to a dinner party. Bring an extra to leave with the hostess!
- Fill the small or medium bag with dried beans and sew the top shut. Heat in the microwave for a natural heating pack.
- Use the produce bags to wrap a gift and give two gifts in one. Double up the bags so the recipient can’t see the present before he or she unwraps it. The large gift bag fits up to two bottles of wine.
How would you re-purpose A Greener Kitchen’s organic cotton reusable produce bags?
Tags: a greener kitchen, bulk goods, re-purpose, reusable produce bags, toiletry bag, wine gift bag
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June 30th, 2011
Thank you to everyone who participated in A Greener Kitchen’s Lose the Plastic! Sweepstakes. You took the Lose the Plastic! Pledge, voted for the campaign charity, and entered to win a $100 prize – AGreenerKitchen.com gift certificate.
We announced the winner last week on Facebook, but in case you haven’t heard… Stephanie Hill was our lucky grand prize winner! If you too, want to Lose the Plastic! and have fun shopping online at AGreenerKitchen.com, use code “LTP” to save 25% on your order. Hurry though! The offer expires August 31, 2011.
When our sweepstakes entrants took the pledge, they also got the chance to vote on one of three charities to receive 1% of all produce bag revenue in 2011. The three charities in the running for the campaign were The Organic Center, Organic Consumers Association, and the Sustainable Cotton Project. You voted and the winning charity is… the Organic Consumers Association. We are thrilled to support this amazing organization. And you can help, too! Just purchase a set of organic cotton reusable produce bags and 1% will be donated to the Organic Consumers Association.
Good for you, good for the environment, and good for the Organic Consumers Association, tuck the produce bags into your reusable grocery bags prior to running errands. At the grocery store or farmers market, open the bags to fill with your favorite fruits, vegetables, or dry goods; then cinch close with the built-in elastic loop, an eco-friendly alternative to the wire twist tie or lengthy drawstring. Produce can easily be seen through the lightweight material, a two-ounce voile, as they go through the checkout line.
Available in sets of six, the organic cotton reusable produce bags are made in the USA using upcycled material leftover from the organic cotton aprons also found on the website. The printed fabric is sourced from Harmony Art, one of the USA’s few eco-friendly textile artisans. Organic cotton was chosen for this product, as conventionally grown cotton is one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the world and with some of the most deadly chemicals.
To learn more about A Greener Kitchen’s organic cotton reusable produce bags, visit AGreenerKitchen.com.
Tags: a greener kitchen, Harmony Art, lose the plastic, organic consumers association, organic cotton, reusable produce bags
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June 15th, 2011
Raise your hand if your Father’s Day celebrations consist of dad flipping burgers on the grill.
This year, do something a little different. Dad may not want to give up his place in front of the burning flame, but give him a hand and help him cook up a component or two! I find it’s easiest to take on the side dishes. Last year, I took charge of the prep for the corn and made a chilled grilled zucchini appetizer. While there were no official recipes involved, I’ll share with you my methods for pulling them both together.
Grilled Chilled Zucchini Appetizer
- Slice green or yellow zucchini into 1/4 to 1/2 inch disks. Brush each disk with olive oil.
- Grill over medium low heat for 1 to 2 minutes on each side.
- Remove from the grill and let chill in the refrigerator.
- Place chilled zucchini on an appetizer tray. Lightly drizzle with olive oil.
- Place a tablespoon (or so) of fromage cheese (or other soft cheese – a smokey blue cheese perhaps).
- Sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts and fresh cracked pepper.
Grilled Corn on the Cob
- Peel away the husks, but do not remove them from corn. Keep them attached as you will be re-wrapping them in their husks in just a few moments.
- Remove the “silk” (the white threads underneath the husks). They can sometimes be a bugger to remove, but using a wet towel to wipe down the corn seems to do the trick.
- Repeat until all of your corn cobs are prepped.
- Butter, salt, and pepper each corn cob.
- Re-wrap each cob with the husks that are still attached to the end.
- Wrap each cob in tinfoil to protect the husks from burning.
- Grill over medium heat for 5 minutes, turn 1/4 of a turn and grilled for 5 minutes. Total cooking time will be 20 minutes.
Tags: a greener kitchen, father's day, grilled corn on the cob, grilled zucchini, grilling, grilling with dad
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June 8th, 2011
June is all about students graduating from school, moving into a new place, stocking their own kitchens. And about honoring dads and their skills on the outdoor grill.
A Greener Kitchen has a gift to suit the eco-conscious Grads & Dads in your life. Keep scrolling to find out how you can save on the perfect gift!
DADS
For the dad who loves to cook, we’ve got a myriad of gift ideas to keep them grilling and sauteing in an eco-friendly fashion.
Add one of more of these gifts to your dad’s eco-friendly cooking kit for less dough than you planned! Use code “DADGRAD” at checkout to receive 35% off your order. Offer expires June 30, 2011.
GRADS
Start your grads out on the right foot with these eco-friendly tools for their post-graduation kitchen:
Celebrate your grad’s diploma at a discount! Use code “DADGRAD” at checkout to receive 35% off your order. Offer expires June 30, 2011.
Tags: a greener kitchen, father's day, grads and dads, graduation, green gifts for grads, organic cotton aprons, reusable produce bags
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June 1st, 2011
We recently put together our own outdoor compost bin to collect our yard and food scraps. I read and re-read tips and tricks on how to get started and I’d like to share a few of those tips with you, whether you want to be a city, indoor, or backyard composter.
Here are a few ways to get started:
1. If your city offers yard waste or composting service, sign up immediately! All you need to do is collect your yard and food waste trimmings in the city provided bin. To keep the bin clean, you can line with Tall Kitchen Biodegradable BioBags. The city will pick up once or every other week based on their schedule and will turn your waste into compost. You may see it as compost at your local garden store the following spring. This type of composting offers the lowest maintenance.
2. Lack outdoor space, but still want to compost? It is possible! You can use a kitchen composter, a small self-contained unit, to collect food scraps only. They will churn your waste into nutrient-rich compost. Another method for indoor composting is vermicomposting, the practice of hosting a small population of worms to compost your kitchen debris. It is said that vermicomposting produces some of the most fertile compost in the world.
3. Ready for a compost bin in your backyard? Besides vermicomposting, I’d say this can be the most intimidating way to compost, but here are five simple steps to get you on your way to outdoor composting:
- Build your bin. I would highly recommend reusing leftover wood pallets to build your compost box. Not only are you re-using, but you could also save money on the project as you can typically pick up pallets for free. Pallets allow for air flow through the bin as well. You can also purchase outdoor composting bins from your local hardware or garden store.
- Layer #1. Collect “brown” matter – twigs, dried leaves, pinecones, dead plants, newspaper, eggshells – and place on the bare floor of your compost bin. This layer should be six inches deep.
- Layer #2. Collect “green” matter – leaves, grass clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps – and place on top of the first layer. This second layer should be three inches deep and topped with a bit of soil or finished compost.
- Layer #3. Add an additional three inches of “brown” matter, lightly mix the top two layers together, and moisten the compost pile with water.
- Maintenance. Turn the pile with a pitchfork every one to two weeks. Compost should be ready within one to four months.
Happy Composting! Which of three composters are you?
Tags: a greener kitchen, backyard composting, city composting, indoor composting, outdoor composting, vermicomposting
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May 25th, 2011
This post is a back to the basics, so-to-speak. We talk about reusable produce bags non stop it seems, but we’ve realized that not everyone knows just what to do with them or how to use them. We have a one-step-at-a-time philosophy at A Greener Kitchen and this post is about reeling it back and starting from the beginning. This is a quick tutorial to dispel the mysteries of the organic cotton reusable produce bag and help get you on the track of losing the plastic!
First things first. Once you’ve acquired your own set of cotton produce bags, be sure to tuck them inside your reusable grocery bags so as not to be left at home. You will forget every once in while… so be easy on yourself! Every little step makes a difference.
Filling the bags. Once you get to the grocery store or farmers market and spot the produce or dry goods you’d like to purchase, add the item to the appropriate-sized bag and secure close. Most cotton produce bags come with a drawstring to cinch the top, but others may offer different closures. For example, A Greener Kitchen’s organic cotton produce bags come with an elastic loop that you can swoop over the top to close.
Making the produce purchase. To make life easy in the checkout lane, choose a lightweight cotton produce bag that the checkout attendant can see through or one that can easily be opened and re-closed. For bulk goods, it may be helpful to keep a list of the product codes on a notepad or in your phone so you can easily provide without the attendant having to look them up.
Transporting the produce. Cotton produce bags are intended for transportation purposes only and not for long-term storage. When you arrive home with your groceries, be sure to remove your produce or bulk goods and transfer to an eco-friendly container to be stored long term.
Washing the bags. For the lowest environmental impact, it is recommend to hand wash your cotton produce bags and hang to dry. They may also be tossed into a washing machine and dryer.
Consider adding a set of organic cotton reusable produce bags to your grocery shopping toolkit and be one step closer to losing the plastic!
Tags: a greener kitchen, lose the plastic, organic cotton reusable produce bags, reusable produce bags
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May 18th, 2011
100% organic cotton produce bags replace plastic and help save the earth with 1% of profits going towards your earth charity of choice
A Greener Kitchen has re-launched our organic cotton reusable produce bags and along with it, we have launched a campaign to Lose the Plastic! If you’re ready to ditch those plastic produce bags at the grocery, then we invite you to take the pledge.
When you take the pledge, you also get the chance to vote on one of three charities to receive 1% of all produce bag revenue in 2011 and you will be entered to win a $100 A Greener Kitchen gift certificate. The three charities in the running for the campaign are The Organic Center, Organic Consumers Association, and the Sustainable Cotton Project.
After taking the pledge, take the plunge and get a set of organic cotton reusable produce bags. Eco-friendly and easy to use, these reusable bags are on a mission to eliminate plastic produce bags in the marketplace and give back to the earth.
Tuck the produce bags into your reusable grocery bags prior to running errands. At the grocery store or farmers market, open the bags to fill with your favorite fruits, vegetables, or dry goods; then cinch close with the built-in elastic loop, an eco-friendly alternative to the wire twist tie or lengthy drawstring. Produce can easily be seen through the lightweight material, a two-ounce voile, as they go through the checkout line.
Available in sets of six, the organic cotton reusable produce bags are made in the USA using upcycled material leftover from the organic cotton aprons also found on the website. The printed fabric is sourced from Harmony Art, one of the USA’s few eco-friendly textile artisans. Organic cotton was chosen for this product, as conventionally grown cotton is one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the world and with some of the most deadly chemicals.
To take the Lose the Plastic Pledge and learn more about A Greener Kitchen’s organic cotton reusable produce bags, visit Facebook.com/AGreenerKitchen.
Tags: a greener kitchen, lose the plastic, organic cotton reusable produce bags, reusable produce bags, sweepstakes
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May 11th, 2011
When Pastry Craft founder, Laurie Pfalzer, asked A Greener Kitchen about custom aprons we knew we had to find an organic fabric strong enough to put up with flour, butter, and chocolate! We found an organic cotton twill that we knew would be fit for the job and put together a sample for Laurie to test out.
She wore it. She washed it. She even splattered chocolate on it. The apron passed the Pastry Craft test and Laurie ordered a whole set for her students to wear during class. Customized with the Pastry Craft logo, these eco-friendly custom aprons were a perfect fit.
Are you interested in
custom organic cotton aprons for your business? Contact
lacey@agreenerkitchen.com for details.
How would you customize your apron?
Tags: custom aprons, custom organic cotton aprons, customized aprons, organic cotton twill aprons, pastry craft, Pastry Craft Seattle
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