When I decided to work at home most days, a major MAJOR factor was having more time to make good food for my family. I wanted to use more fresh ingredients, and make more things from scratch. Oh, in my mind, I would be the uber foodie mom, baking and creating and freezing and canning and doing various fun food things. I should totally have a sustainable kitchen.
In my kitchen, I have gadgets for making yogurt, juice, pasta, even sausage. I have a bread maker missing just one piece. Besides that, I have the knowledge (or the ability to Google and find out) to make any number of things from scratch. I have plenty of land to grow my own stuff, and I live in Asheville, NC where it is super easy to find cool locally grown produce.
Yet, my gadgets and cookbooks are gathering dust. I still hit the Super-Walmart so I can super consume. I spend $200-plus at least once a week on groceries. And I do still, sometimes (although definitely less and less often as I am at home more), give my children processed, packaged crap. OK, I said it. I may be a foodie mom, but I am a real mom. I am buying things in extra packaging for extra money and being totally non-green when I could just make and store things at home. Criticize away, if you must.
I blame life and having lots of work and having three kids and all of that. But when my twins were babies, I was working full-time and making homemade baby food and pumping milk for them to have at daycare. It wasn’t easy, and I was pretty much psychotically exhausted. But it should be even easier now, much easier. So I clearly CAN do it.
So I’ve decided I will create this public Sustainable Kitchen Project as a way to motivate myself, to keep myself honest, to connect with other moms who want a more self-sustaining kitchen, and to track my progress. I’ve already started in a few ways, and I’ll post about these very soon. For example, we are starting an organic vegetable garden. Here is a lettuce seedling I’ve started:
And I made orange juice this week:
Here are just some of the things I want to do as part of my Sustainable Kitchen Project. Hey, are there some I am not thinking to list? Let me know…
I know I’m forgetting some. I’ll also keep track of the grocery bill, and any other side effects and impacts of the project.
Wish me luck with my self-sustaining kitchen!
Tags: food, food pictures, homemade food, sustainable kitchen project
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Wow, that is quite an undertaking. I do wish you luck. I am trying to do things with much smaller steps. A compost is on my list too.
I know it’s ambitious, so that is why I plan to take it a step at a time. I’m starting with the garden because it’s a key connection to some later steps (like preserving and making sauces to freeze, etc.). I’m hoping if I can do each step one at a time, and save some things, that by winter I will have a stockpile of some great locally-made or homemade stuff. We shall see.
I love it! I think about this every spring, but never make it past the ‘not killing the plants’ part.
Nicoles last blog post..By: Warren Whitlock
Wow! You inspire me! Go for it! And keep us updated… and I’ll take lessons along the way.
Kitchen Scrapbooks last blog post..Rich and chocolatey, 7-layer bars
[…] Sustainable Kitchen Project […]
Cool! Good luck! We’re trying to grow cherry tomatoes this year. But in pots, on the deck…
spacemoms last blog post..Dear Smithsonian Institution
[…] is why I decided to start my own personal Sustainable Kitchen Project. Obviously, one of the first steps to having a self-supporting kitchen is to grow your own […]
Hi! I ran across your website while I was doing a google search for ’sustainable kitchens’. I am an interior architecture and design student studying at the academy of art university, san francisco. I started reading about your quest to cook sustainably (…which doesn’t help my project…) but stuck with reading it because you’re from Asheville. My bf is a police officer in hendersonville so I’ve been to your part of the country quite a bit!
, let me know…I just may have come up with something by then!
You have so many great resources in your area to do what you want to do! There are so many great benefits to eating the way you are choosing to.
I have much to learn and accomplish tonight, so I am back to work. Good luck!
If you ever decide to actually change your work environment for the ‘greener’
Julie
Just made homemade pickles with all my cucumbers- Easy Fridge pickles
4cups Apple Cider Vinegar
3 cups of sugar
1/2 cup salt
Boil then put over sliced Cucumbers and onions. Add dill Garlic to taste- refrigerate for 2-4 weeks!
[…] matter which name she’s using she completely rocks! I was inspired to set my own goals for a sustainable kitchen after I read this post. Thanks Kelby, for that little push! Don’t forget you can subscribe to […]
Just read your post on Blog Nosh, and was interested to hear how you’re doing. We have a pretty-close-to-sustainable kitchen going on, and I have found a wonderful bread recipe that makes four loaves at a time.
Pamela from the dayton times last blog post..it all started with spiders
One of my favorite things is to teach kids about sustainability for them selves and the kitchen is a great place to start! Check out why my 4Hers and I have been up to http://www.thesavvyplant.com/index.php