A Circular Kitchen

While cooking in-the-round certainly sounds intriguing, think circular economy—a closed-loop system inspired by nature where there is no waste—but in the heart of your home! Buying organically grown, locally produced food and/or growing your own is a great start for lowering your carbon footprint—and prioritizing positive impacts. Next step: Run your kitchen as much as possible like a circular ecosystem. To make your kitchen net-zero ground zero, here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Practice “root-to-stem” cooking and create less waste: Use vegetable trimmings for slaw, soups, and broth; make carrot-top pesto or add tops to smoothies; eat organic produce with skin intact; save vegetable cooking water to use in soups and recipes. 

2. Prioritize plant-based menus—it’s better for your health and the health of the planet. Animal agriculture uses significantly more land, water, and energy, and produces more greenhouse gas emissions than growing food. Plants provide protein, fiber, and protective vital nutrients without the harmful saturated fat and cholesterol found in animal products.

3. Buy in-season and locally-sourced fruits and vegetables to lower transportation emissions, and/or grow your own.

4. Start a windowsill garden using root ends from green onions, lettuce, and celery. Sprout seeds and beans in a repurposed jar to add to salads, soups, and sandwiches.

5. Shop farmers markets and retailers that offer loose or bulk-bin items to reduce wasteful packaging; reuse bags and jars instead of buying new.

6. Inventory your fridge and freezer frequently. You’ll save money and avoid waste when you create shopping lists, meals, and menus geared to use what you already have in stock.

7. Plan your cooking with other meals in mind—try batch cooking— and get creative with leftovers.

8. Find a local green-waste option or try home composting for the food scraps that you do have. Composting can be done outside via backyard compost or inside with worm composting (vermicomposting) or Bokashi, a Japanese method using fermentation.

9. Save it before it spoils. Freeze, dehydrate, or pickle food to use at a later date; chop and parboil vegetables before freezing in airtight containers; make freezer jam or dessert sauce with overripe fruits; toast tired bread for croutons and freeze to use later.

10. Understand that food label dates don’t mean a food suddenly “expires.” Most are manufacturer-suggested “best by” dates or intended for grocers to manage inventory. MORE INFO

11. Collect grey water from cooking and dishwashing in a dishpan or bin to water plants. 

12. Store food properly to last longer. For food storage tips, GO HERE.

    Here’s to your health and a happy, circular heart of the home!

    —Hillary Black, Editor

Devoted Dads

In 1910, Sonora Smart Dodd sought to honor her father, a Civil War veteran and a widower who had devoted himself to raising six children alone with unwavering grace. Father’s Day—Dodd’s personal tribute—blossomed into a global tradition, officially woven into the U.S. cultural fabric by presidential decree in 1972.

Father’s Day’s origin stands as a reminder that love is worthy of national reverence. Let’s celebrate Father’s Day for what it is: an elegant tribute to the mentors, protectors, and quiet heroes—whether fathers by blood, mentorship, or choice—whose love shapes our personal history and defines our finest moments.

A Mother’s Day for Peace

It’s no surprise that women and mothers lead the way in fighting for positive change for their families and communities. In fact, Mother’s Day was originally proposed by more than one enterprising woman. The holiday’s roots are activism and purpose—from cultivating peace to advocating for education and public health to acknowledging women’s priceless role in the hard work of 19th-century daily life.

Known as Mother Jarvis, Ann Reeves Jarvis encouraged peace after the Civil War by promoting Mothers’ Friendship Day, a time to bring families from both sides together.

Heidi Stonehill writes in “The Forgotten History of Mother’s Day,” “…in what is called her ‘Mother’s Day Proclamation’ from 1870, Julia Ward Howe felt that mothers should gather to prevent the cruelty of war and the waste of life since mothers of mankind alone bear and know the cost.”

Jump to the 1970s Vietnam-war era, and I remember my mom wearing a distinctive pin engraved with a sunflower and the words “War is not healthy for children and other living things.” She joined the organization, Another Mother for Peace, and their first action was to send Mother’s Day cards to Congress with these words:

“For my Mother’s Day gift this year,

I don’t want candy or flowers.

I want an end to killing.

We who have given life

must be dedicated to preserving it.

Please talk peace.”

President Woodrow Wilson dedicated Mother’s Day “to the best mother in the world, your mother,” and all these years later, we celebrate mothers and mothering, biological or not. Even with all the hype and commercialism, Mother’s Day has a reverence to it, perhaps a reflection of the ideals that inspired it— and certainly inherent in this special time set aside to honor the mother who made us. —Hillary Black, Editor