Happy (belated) Earth Day!

I know that Earth Day was last week, but really, don't you think that we should celebrate our Earth everyday? I do. So that's why I don't feel bad about posting this a little late.

What I did on Earth Day 2009
By, SuperCareo

• I celebrated with my office by making cupcakes from scratch (with organic baking flour from Whole Foods). They were Devil's Food with chocolate frosting (also from scratch) topped with organically dyed green and blue sugar crystals on top. They were scrumptious! - Pictures coming soon!
  
• I went to the local recycle center to drop off the recycling for my office.
  
• Thought about ways to make this blog more awesome (that counts, right?)
• Dug recyclables out of the trash (at work and at home)
• My dad took me to lunch and told me:
• I could start a garden in their yard
• I'm turning into a hippie (so I want to live on a farm with some chickens, sheep, a lama, my friend's sickly horse and grow all my own food. Is that so wrong?)
• (Oh, and also a mini cow or two).

How did you celebrate your Earth Day?

Cooking at home never looked so good ...

How ironic. On the day that I get this tip from Ideal Bite about skipping the take out, I also read about the two employees at Domino's who filmed themselves shooting snot rockets onto sandwiches that then then delivered to some poor soul. If you want to read about the Domino's scandal, you can check it out here. If you want to check out the video, look here. Want to know what Domino's has to say? Then you should watch this video too.

Um ... gross. I have already really cut down on the number of times I get take out during the month (partly because it saves me money and partly because I'm on a health kick right now) and seeing stuff like this just reminds me how much I dislike having other people (read: people I don't know) prepare my food unless I can see what they're doing. Also, whenever I am at a restaurant, I am always super nice to the waiter or waitress. Armini used to wait tables and we both saw waiting ... I am terrified to piss off anyone who will be going near my food when I am not there to protect it.

I feel bad for domino's because this is going to lose them a ton of business I'm sure but at the same time, it just reinforces my desire to bring my food preparation into the home. I want to know where my food has been, who has touched it, and what is in it. The other day I made my 2nd and 3rd loaves of bread (ever - and without a bread machine to boot) and it is so delicious. And whenever I eat a piece of it I know that I don't have to worry that it has been overly processed or that it has high fructose corn syrup in it or that somehow I am going to get some salmonella in it from the one bad peanut in the place (which I suppose could still happen, but at least I won't be sending it out into other people's homes and I will only have myself to blame).

I know that this post isn't exactly the most 'green' that you will find here, but keeping abreast of the goings on of our country is good for you. Plus, maybe this story will inspire to take the time to whip up some homemade pizza dough, sauce and get some organic and locally produced cheese (and other toppings) and make your own pizza. It'll be less expensive overall AND you will have the satisfaction of eating food that you made with your bare hands. And take it from me, it's a pretty cool feeling (plus, everyone who hears that you made your dough and sauce from scratch will be so impressed with you. It's very good for the ego).

I have a few really fun challenges in the works, some product reviews that are getting ready to be posted and I plan on revisiting some older posts to actually make the projects. I think that I am also going to start posting my favorite recipes for easy meals that you can make from scratch. Make sure you stay tuned!

Vermicomposting: Going for the Worms

As just one of the Neon Green projects I plan on starting this spring, I want to start vermicomposting. That is: composting food scraps with the help of some delightful little red worms. I know that Beth had talked about composting before in this post, but that's all I could find in the archives (but to be honest, I didn't feel like spending more than a minutes looking so there could be more).

If you read that post than you know that there is a super awesome, one stop shop website called Red Worm Composting that's run by The Compost Guy. So naturally, that's where I decided to start looking for information and ideas for my own happy little compost bin.

And will you LOOK at what I found. It's awesome, and good looking and I totally think that this is what I am going to use to start my journey into composting:


It's called a Worm Inn and I think that is not only great looking, but from the reviews that The Compost Guy have give it, it works just fine. Plus, on the RWC you can purchase your very own Worm Inn with 1 or 2 pounds of worms. I think I'm going to go in for the Inn with 1 pound of worms. It's only $88 and just think of how much space I will be saving my local landfill (and besides, it's cute so I won't have to dig out space under the sink for a bin) AND I will get some awesome fertilizer for the garden that will be happening ... soon.

So what do you think? Would you spend that much for an aesthetically pleasing compost bin or would you just make one of your own?

We're Baaaaa-aaaack!

Hi! I'm SuperCareo and I am super excited to be a contributer to Neon Green!

I'm sure that since there hasn't been any regular posting going on here, the readership (if there was any) has dropped off considerably. Well, that's why I'm here! To bring the green-ness (and maybe the reading-ness) back to Neon Green!

My interest in "going green" is something that has started small and continued to grow with every new salmonella outbreak and every news story talking about how all of the ingredients in our food are going to give us crazy fat and ultimately kill us. It's enough to make anyone stop eating. At least if you starve to death you can be assured of the outcome.

I also just really like spending time in the yard and in my kitchen. This spring will mark my first ever garden, and I have just recently started cooking 95% of everything that I eat. It just seems like it's the right direction to take.

So, since Beth has so graciously allowed me full access to her blog to do as I please (BWA HA HA HA - I mean ... just kidding!), I hope that we can take this journey together. Also - Beth has laid a completely awesome foundation of green information for me to build upon further. In fact, I think we may have a post with pictures on candle making coming in the future.

So stay tuned. Neon Green is coming back online and it is going to be totally awesome - I promise.

Vinegar and Vodka = Natural Cleaners

I realized the other day that I have never, not even one time, talked about how to make cleaning supplies with vinegar. Which is just awful because if you look at any other green blog it's probably going to be one of the first things they will tell you to start doing. But today I am going to remedy that by not only telling you about the wonderful things you can do with a little vinegar in a spray bottle but about another, surprising, liquid that can help you clean around the house and avoid using nasty chemicals - vodka. Yup I you read it right, vodka. Now you'll have an excuse to have a little drink while you're cleaning the house. How much better can it get?

White Distilled Vinegar
The most basic surface cleaning recipe I found for vinegar is this:

• Equal parts water and white distilled vinegar
• Essential oils as desired for smell
• Shake well before using to be sure that everything is mixed up
  

I mean, how much easier can you get? I looked around for a recipe that could be made using apple cider vinegar (since you might already have a bottle in the house if you have decided to go no 'poo) but I couldn't find any. However, I did stumble across this page from the Vinegar Institute that has recipes that use vinegar for everything from freshening up your laundry to making sure that your car windows don't frost overnight.

Vodka
Yes, that's right. You can use vodka around the house as you clean ... can you imagine being able to take a swig out of your spray bottle whenever you wanted to and not having to call the poison control center after you do it? Oh the freedom (and the fun)! With these as one of my household cleaning tools, I might actually want to do some cleaning.

Here are few of the things you can do with vodka, all of which I found on a page from a website called the Daily Green.

• Bug Repellent
• Spraying directly onto the bugs or on yourself will help to keep you from becoming a moving buffet.
  
• Hair Beautifier
• Adding a jigger (1 1/2 ounces) to your bottle of shampoo (you'll need to add 1 1/2 oz for every 12 oz in the bottle) will help keep your locks soft and shiney.
  
• Mold Killer
• Load up your spray bottle and let fly. Let it sit for about 15 minutes and then attack with a toothbrush and your problem should be solved!
  
• The Natural Version of Febreeze
• Just spritz it on your smelly clothes and let it dry in a well ventilated place. When the vodka's dry it won't leave an odor and it will take the nasty ones with them! (A tip that can also be helpful the next time you want to sneak out to the bars ...)
  
• Poison Ivy Remedy
• When poured directly onto the affected area right after exposure, vodka will wash away the oil that will make you itchy and give you that nasty rash. It just one more reason why taking that flask with you on your next camping trip is actually a great idea!