Living good with Live Good Organic Cotton Bedding

How can you take great care of yourself while also acting responsibly towards the environment?  This is the question that drove the foundation of Live Good, an environmentally friendly,  organic line of pillows and linens.

"We founded Live Good to forge a path toward that dual achievement. We believe you don't need to compromise. You can live sustainably, supporting the long-term health of your neighbors and the planet, and also live well, in elegance and comfort. We want to help you find that state of harmony with nature, with your community, and with yourself.

So we've started a business that reflects this ethos: a Live Good line of home products that upholds each and every aspect of our mission.  Everything we make is local.  Everything is sustainable sourced and organic.  And everything is designed to increase your quality of life.  We haven't sacrificed luxury and beauty in our commitment to supporting practices that are ecologically and economically sound."


I was approached a few weeks ago by Live Good to review their organic pillows.  I'm very picky when approached by companies wishing for reviews, and gave them a thorough look over.  I am so impressed with what I saw and what they were doing.

Here's what I love:

• 100% organic cotton grown in Texas.
• Pillow inserts are made from the kapok tree, a renewable resource that makes a fabulous, soft, moisture resistant, odorless fiber which is perfect for you or baby.
• All manufacturing done in the United States, making this a locally grown product.
• All inks are water based and formaldehyde free. They are certified organic by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), which means there are no GMO's, toxic chemicals, and that workers are given a fair wage.  
• Beautiful stylish products that are lovely in your home.

We were given the center pleated pillow to sample, and it quickly became a favorite in our living room. When I opened the package my daughter noted immediately a fresh vinegary smell...not a yucky chemical smell that usually comes from manufactured goods.  The pillow is soft, comfortable and beautiful!  You can tell the pillow is well made, and the cute wooden button on the back is soft and unobtrusive.

Front

back

I'm so impressed with their pillow, I've decided to save up for new bedsheets.  Our budget is super tight, but if the pillow serves as an example they will be worth saving for.

Starting Friday, I will be hosting a giveaway on one of their children's pillows!  Their "Live Good Baby" pillow will be featured as a gift to the lucky winner.  A $100 dollar value!  Be sure to check back on Friday for giveaway rules.

Disclosure:  I was not paid to review this product, however I was given a sample for review.

Dill Pickles

This time of year I can't help but to try to preserve summer's bounty. Last year was the first year I started canning and the very first thing I tried was refrigerator pickles. They require no processing, and they are by far better then anything you'd get in the store. There is a lot to be said for refrigerator pickles too. Because they skip the processing, they retain their crispness. They will safely last up to two months in your fridge too. Trust me though, use this recipe and they won't last two months.

It's always best to start off with fresh ingredients, and if you don't garden head off to your local farm to get what you need.  I went to a farm close by here, and they were so helpful.  They reduced the price of my cukes because I bought so many, and they even ran out to their herb garden and clipped me fresh dill right on the spot.  I took it home, and treated them like I would a bunch of flowers. I clipped the bottoms off and stuck them in cold water.  Two days later, they're still looking very fresh.

When picking cukes, you want to make sure they're bright green like these fellas.  Warts are good too.  If the cuke is smooth with yellow on it, then it's been allowed to get too ripe and the seeds will be huge.  You don't want seedy cukes.  Try to find some that are straight too, they're easier to slide into your jars.

Now, I had two resources guiding me through this whole process.  The first was Pickyourown.org.  This website is a treasure trove for the earthy mom (or dad).  Not only does it have how to's, but you can also find local farms where you can...pick your own food. :) The second was a book I highly recommend called, Preserving Summer's Bounty.

When making pickles you want to avoid getting mushy pickles.  That happens for two reasons: an over ripe cuke, and over processing.  I live in a high altitude, so my processing time is increased.  So when I started cutting my cukes, I only cut them in half, instead of fourths.

I shoved them in with my fresh dill, some spices and some garlic, and sealed them up to get ready for processing.  I did have to cut the tops off them so they'd fit in the jar.  Nothing was wasted though, because those cut ones got shoved in a jar too for sliced sandwich pickles.

After processing, I set them out to cool.  I didn't process all of them because I wanted to have my fresh crispies.  The pickles should all be ready to eat in about two weeks, once the flavor has had a chance to settle in.  Take a note at the difference in color of the pre-processed pickles, and the post-processed.   Your refrigerator pickles will stay that crisp green, while the processed ones have yellowed a bit.

Here is my recipe that I use.  You are welcome to share it, but please link back if you do.

4 1/2 cups vinegar
4 1/2 cups of water
14 garlic cloves

Bring to a fast boil.

After cukes are cut and put in their jars, put two cloves of garlic in each jar along with:

1 whole clove
3 peppercorns or 1/4 tsp of black pepper
1 tsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. dill seed
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Then seal up the jars and processes them according to your elevation.  My elevation is about 5000 feet here in Boulder, Colorado so I had to do a wopping 15 minutes.  I've read if you do straight vinegar and not water, then you can take 5 minutes off your processing time.  If you don't want to deal with processing or if it just scares you (respectfully so!) then stick them in the fridge and wait two weeks.  You'll have some seriously yummy pickles.

Enjoy!

Pesticides in Veggies

If you weren't sure you needed to go organic, please listen why it's so important.  Especially for your children.  Click here to read the entire article.

Check your Organic Labels!!

It must be video day today, I stumbeled across this video. I know many of my readers are organic mommas, myself included. You can bet, I'm going to my freezer right now and make sure my stuff is not from China. Watch the video.

Organic Strawberries

Long long ago, way back when I was in college (ok, not that long ago) I had a sweet little lovebird. Researching what her diet should be, I was surprised to learn that strawberries were a no-no because of the pesticides put on them. This was the very beginning for me some ten years ago to question what we eat.

Strawberries this year are ranked number three on the Daily Green's Dirty Dozen. Having grown these luscious yummies, I can see why. When on the ground, strawberries are a yummy treat for everything. They'll get slugs burying holes through them, squirrels take off with them, everything loves strawberries. Can you blame them?

For a home grower, simple precautions can keep your berries all for you. First, try them in a container. Sometimes as the plant ages, containers can get too constricted, so if you must put them on the ground keep a close eye on them. They should have some kind of fence around them, and for any berries getting ready to turn red like this one here from my daughter's strawberry bush, put a plastic card or something underneath it. This will keep the slugs and bugs away.

Last fall, hubs and I took the kids to Florida to visit some family. My like-minded brother took us to one of his favorite places The Girl's Strawberry Patch. I had never been to an organic strawberry patch before, and seeing how they stack the strawberries up like that in rows, I can see why they don't need pesticides. You don't even need to bend over and pick them. A very neat place.

In the end, I would strongly suggest you do you're own research. My children either eat organic strawberries, or they don't eat strawberries. It's really that simple.

Stretching the buck --- Homemade Organic Jelly

Yesterday while at the store I got some grape juice with the intent on finishing home made jello part 2, with Agar. While I'm still planning on doing that, I got side tracked this morning and decided to use some of the juice to make home made jelly.

In my grocery store, organic grape jelly can cost anywhere from 2.99 a jar, up to 4.99 a jar. By making it yourself, you can stretch your buck, and have home made organic grape jelly for less then a dollar a jar. First, bottle of grape juice shown in the picture above was 4.79. Ouch right? The box of pectin next to it usually goes for around two to three bucks a box, and organic sugar, can also be expensive. I've searched around, and found that Costco, now and then sells a 10 lb. bag of sugar for 12 bucks. Good deal compared to the four bucks for a two pound bag at the grocery store.

So here's the directions:

First clean your jars thoroughly.

Boil them in water to sterilize them for at least 10 minutes.

In a cold stock pot, pour 3 cups of grape juice, and 3/4ths cup of water.

Add the box of pectin to the mix.

Now, turn on the heat on high, mixing in the pectin thoroughly.

When that reaches a boil, add 5 cups of sugar.

When it boils to the point where stirring it doesn't stop, allow it to boil for one minute while stirring constantly.

Now it's time for the freezer test. On a cold plate, put a glob of the hot grape jelly. Stick it in the freezer for about two minutes. Continue stirring the boiling pot. If the glob in the freezer is the right texture after about two minutes, your jelly is ready to be ladled into a can. If not, try again.

Once your jelly passes the freezer test, ladle the jelly into the jars. Seal the jars carefully and process them in boiling water again for 10 or more minutes depending on your altitude.



This one batch made 7 half pint jars for me this morning. The amount yielded will depend on how long you have to boil. It only used 3 cups of juice from a 64 oz bottle( 8 cups, FYI). Meaning I could easily make 7 more half pint jars tomorrow, and still have enough to make my kids their jello. Consider the buck stretched.

If you have questions on canning, I will happily answer.

Banana Bread

We love our bananas in this house, but there always seems to be a few that get too ripe. Or, my mom ends up bringing me hers that she didn't get to. One or the other, I find my self often with almost all black bananas, perfect for banana bread.



I found this banana bread recipe a while back, and have made it a few times. If you like a sweet bread dessert, that's not entirely unhealthy for your kids, I wholeheartedly suggest this.

Here are a few tweaks I've made:

3-4 Ripe Bananas (I don't use organic here)
1/3 cup melted organic butter
1 cup organic blond sugar (we like it sweet!!)
1 beaten egg
1 tsp vanilla extract (please don't waste your time with fake)
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup wheat all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unbleached white all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. I use a potato masher here.

Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla.

Add the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.

Add the flour last.

Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack.

More garden -- planting

Yesterday we worked pretty hard but we weren't able to finish the left front garden. Last night after my lessons, I stopped by Lowe's again, got more dirt to finish the job, and I did end up picking up two apple trees. I've been doing some fruit tree research, and I have some stuff to share! More on that later.

 
The type of gardening I do is purely organic. I think I've mentioned this before, but some of you may not quite be sure what that means. Basically gardening organically means that I do not use any synthetic materials in my garden. I don't spray insecticide, and I don't fertilize with synthetic materials. I also don't use genetically modified seeds (Monsanto!! Grrr!). Some organization is needed when you're planning out an organic vegetable garden. I have found that disorganized chaos is really what works best. Have I lost you yet?

 

When I plant new seeds I do so in rows. The picture above has markers and below those markers are straight rows of two different seeds. They are markers for cauliflower and kale. Next to that, are little red bulbs, which are my onions, and on the other side of those I have some spring lettuce mix. Along the back wall there I have also planted sugar snap peas. The diversity in each section of my garden will help keep any diseases that might crop up (teehee) quarantined.


For seed organization, I tend to put seeds in storage baggies. I found these in the craft section of Walmart (I know, Walmart is the devil!), and these little baggies really come in handy. Use a sharpie to label, and viola, you have organized seeds. I also put different seeds in Ziploc baggies, like flower seeds, or early spring seeds, etc. The major benefit though of putting your seeds in baggies like this?? Water proof, which I was grateful for this morning after I completely doused them when watering the bed. Oops! No harm done though. ;) Happy Gardening!

Garden time!

 

It's a little early to be out in the garden still in Virginia, with the possibility of freezing still I have to be careful. I couldn't help myself though, my daughter requested we garden today and I wasn't difficult to convince. My husband last week had dug out a bit on the side of the house, and we had taken pictures to show his handy work with the lattice. Before we got started, I had him bring it out just a bit more so it was wider.





 So, Erin and I went to Lowe's and picked up some more bags of this stuff. I garden organically only, and this is my dirt of choice. I got four bags today, and of course it wasn't enough, so I'll be going back tonight after work. I'm picking up apple trees too, however I might change my mind. With hubby still out of work, I know I can decide to garden for the summer, but what will we do come fall? So, we'll see.



 This is the other side of the house, that is need of some serious TLC. Winter was tough on my lavender you see there in the middle. It will come back, but what a mess. So, while pouring out the dirt in the new section of the garden, I sent Erin over here to dig out rocks. Erin loves helping out, I don't even have to bribe her with money though like I do her brother. She's so happy to be outside and in the bugs and sunshine. She loves it.




 
Next we planted some sugar snap peas. These are an easy thing to start so early in the season. The kids love them, my son last year would pull them off the vine and eat them. The peas are so sweet, it's like sugar water snapping in your mouth (and it's healthy too!!). They are easy to grow, and if you note, I put a little fence behind them to grow up on. This is my front yard, so I try to keep things relatively pretty while practical.



Next we moved on to a little strawberry plant we saw at Lowe's today. It was only three bucks and had a pretty pink flower on it. Erin was stoked. I've grown strawberries before, but I've never put them in the ground before. They spread so easily, I've always been nervous. We'll see how things go, I tend my garden so much I can keep it from spreading out of control.



  Here's the end of day one. Not much to see, nothing's growing. I planted some lettuce and some onion sets. Tomorrow the plan is to start some broccoli, cauliflower, and maybe some kale. Spring garden's are great in Virginia. You should see my bedroom though, it's turned into a greenhouse where all my summer vegetables have started in their pots.

Tomatoes Pt. 3!!

So, for part three as promised, I have canned tomatoes. Canning can be risky if you're not careful, and I'm not going to boast that it's this easy simple process. You have to be careful, you can't skip steps. If you don't think you can be thorough and precise, just freeze. I am not lacking in freezer space yet, but I have about 15 chickens coming from my farmer in a few weeks, so I might be tight on it soon.

Anyhow, first step in canning is sterilizing your things. The cans, and the lids need to be boiled down. You should also consider boiling down your utensils. Next, you need to peel the tomatoes. If you drop them in boiling water for about thirty seconds, then drop them in a bowl of ice water, the skin practically falls right off.




 

I strongly suggest hot packing your tomatoes. Raw packing is considered safe by few, but with all the new hybrids it's hard to know if the tomatoes that your using are actually safe to raw pack. Hot packing only takes a few extra minutes, heat your tomatoes up for about 10 minutes, then slip them into their perspective cans.

 

Here you see the set up in my kitchen. My husband got a shot of the large pot I use to sterilize the jars, the boiling water in the back I used to dip the tomatoes in and the bowl of icewater next to it. Then in the front is where the peeled tomatoes went.

 

To insure acidity levels are safe, I put two tbsp of lemon juice in each can. I don't add salt, however you can safely add salt. I prefer to preserve these tomatoes as simply as I can because they're used for cooking, so salt can always be added later. Leave about an inch of head space, clean the tops of the jars and put the lids on. Not too tight! Air has to vent out during the water bath to create a vacuum.

 

Set the cans in a pot so they aren't touching each other, with at least an inch or two of water above the cans. Process them for 45 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the cans sit in the hot water to cool for about 10 minutes before pulling them out. They may hiss when you pull them out, and there may be tomato debris in the water. That just means there was not enough space and some of the contents boiled out. It's ok. On the flip side, if too much water boiled out and if your tomatoes aren't completely covered in the jar, that's ok too. I had that happen with this batch, and I found that if the jars are processed correctly, the tomatoes not completely covered in water may darken, but will still be safe.

Hope my bit of rambling has been helpful to any potential canners out there. Happy and safe canning!!

Tomatoes!!! Pt. 2..... Spaghetti Sauce

So last night I burnt the crap out of my hand making those roasted tomatoes. I'm not going to post the pic, but cooking at midnight sucks. So here's what I did with the tomatoes today. I started off with the yucky tomatoes. The ones that have rotten spots, and bruises. I cut the spots off and cored them and stuck them in my food processor.

 

I'm ahead of myself though as always. In this pan, there is one green pepper, two small onions, and two cloves of garlic. I drizzled some olive oil on them, and cooked them on a low temp. Mostly because you don't want your olive oil to smoke, then it's rancid. Low temps here!!! Now, while that is simmering on a low temp, let's go back to the tomatoes.

 

Depending on how chunky you want your spaghetti sauce depends on how long you blend them. If you don't have one of these a blender would work, or just mushing them up. I did keep the seeds and the skins on this batch. I hate to waste, and there are healthy nutrients in there!!

 

So once I was finished with all of those tomatoes, I poured them in the pot, and cooked it uncovered for two hours. The last hour I kept a close eye on it. Waited for it to thicken. I added salt and pepper to it at this time, along with oregano, basil, two bay leaves (which I removed before storing), and a pinch of baking soda.


 

The next shot is an hour and a half later, just before it really started to thicken up. The whole family was complaining they were hungry because I was torturing them with spaghetti sauce.

 

To store them, you can water bathe them and keep them canned up, however I am uncomfortable with that. If you do choose to go that route, add 2 tbsp of lemon juice and boil the cans for at least 45 minutes. My safer route shown here, was to put them in cans with plastic lids. The head space is different in the two cans shown. The one with those most air space on top is destined for the freezer. The other will be tomorrow's dinner. I keep an eye on my cans when I'm freezing them. They go through a two step process. They go in the kitchen freezer first, and I check on them regularly. These cans can and do shatter, so I keep a close eye, making sure they don't expand so much the glass breaks. Once they've frozen solid, I take them in the basement to my big freezer, which will keep them at a lower temp.

 

Anyway, I hope this helps anyone not sure what to do with tomatoes. Be safe if your considering canning, know what you're doing. Part three will be canning!!

CSA -- Community Supported Agriculture

I know it's been a while since I've posted, life has kept me busy and enjoying the beautiful spring weather. My garden is growing and hopefully I can convince my children that sugar snap peas are delicious right off the vine before they're gone!!

In recent weeks my husband has come more on board with some of the things that I've been talking to him about with food for years. He heard an interview with a local radio host on his way to school about a movie called Hungry for Change. When I started my natural food diet about 6 years ago, it was met with critism from my family. My husband lovingly humored me, and my parents thought oddly enough I was doing a disservice to my children. My mom last year told me she saw an article about food coloring and the unknown effects on the brain, causing hyperactivity in children and more. Even more scarier is the information found here about MSG.

My simple approach to all of this information is to purchase organic products that are as local as possible, and to do any processing at home. I was lucky enough to stumble across a local organic farm, and gladly purchased a share in their CSA. Yesterday was my first pick up and I had a huge brown bag full of vegetables. I had to work yesterday, so I didn't get to eat any of them until last night. I found a swiss chard recipe and cooked up about half of the beautiful rainbow chard she sent. My children thought the chard was special because of the pinks and yellows from the stems. I nibbled on the bag of sugar snap peas while I cooked, and my husband was a trouper. He tried everything, and didn't really like it. He tasted the sugar snaps, and wasn't a fan, and even tried the chard recipe...(which I'm making again btw...it was AMAZING!)

This summer will be excited foodwise I think because of this. I'll be trying vegetables I think I never would have otherwise. Today I'll be cooking some escorole in some soup with some lentils and a botched batch of bread. The snap peas I'm sure will be gone, good thing I have a vine of my own still producing like crazy. More soon, hopefully I won't be a stranger!