Tag Archive: Cooking


Natural Egg Dyes

Filed Under: Life Crafting by Amanda — 1 Comment
March 31, 2013

Results from our Easter egg dye experiment!

Our “golden egg” – but where’s the goose that laid it??

You know sustainability is going mainstream when Fox News and Martha Stewart talk about natural egg dye methods. DIY egg dyes have been around for a long time, but are now popular enough to have their own kits sold online and in stores. And even though my great-grandmother may have dyed her eggs naturally, this is a new concept for me – I grew up thinking that placing magical fizzing spheres of color in plastic cups full of water was the only way to dye Easter eggs. View full article »

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Eggless Easter

Filed Under: Food, Health, Life Crafting by Amanda — Leave a comment
March 26, 2013

Last Easter, I raised baby chicks.  This Easter, I’m going eggless.

Do I think eggs are bad for our health or unethical to eat? Nope.  Although depending on your egg source, one could argue that certain large-scale egg production facilities are cruel to chickens.  And it’s well-known that eggs, especially the yolks, are high in cholesterol.  But my situation is far more black & white than that: if I eat eggs, I get terribly sick for at least a week and can’t leave the house for several days afterwards.  But Easter is coming, and besides the Christian holiday, it’s all about eggs, which still bring joy to my heart with their perfectly smooth, rounded, life-giving symbol.  View full article »

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Recipe Ideas for the Holidays

Filed Under: Cookies, Fair Trade, Food, Health, Media, Newspapers, Solar Cookers, Videos by Amanda — Leave a comment
November 9, 2012

Check out these recipes for planet-friendly treats!

The latest issue of The Free Weekly is out today, and Making Ripplesis all about baking and goodies that aren’t secretly baddies. Here are some recipes from Ripples to help you get started eating green and baking with organic, fair trade ingredients:

Try baking Solar Cookies with the recipe of your choice!  Here’s a how-to video from YouTube.

Want soup? Go vegan and try out this Vegan Cheddar Baked Potato Soup. Warm and comforting!

I love pancakes, and this recipe from Ripples is great for putting autumn flavor into your breakfast: Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Spice Pancakes with Apple Butter

Just for fun, our friend Chris and his students from Colombia want to teach you how to make gluten-free Peanut Butter Cookies with your host, Piggy. :)

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Vegan Cheddar Baked Potato Soup

Filed Under: Food, Health by Amanda — Leave a comment
October 30, 2012

This soup is perfect for chilly days, and can also be made soy-free!

In this case, we jumped off my dietary restriction boat for two days and used a soy-based, gluten-free cheddar block for vegans. But actually I liked the soup better without the cheddar, when it just tasted of baked potatoes and didn’t come with a side of symptoms.  I’m not supposed to be eating soy.  So alter it to meet your own needs, and enjoy a thick, hot soup for a cold winter day! View full article »

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Cuban Quinoa Salad with Avocado

Filed Under: Food, Health by Amanda — Leave a comment
October 30, 2012

I love having this for lunch when the weather is warm and I’m in a hurry.

Quinoa mixed into salad from Ozark Natural Foods

Despite the fact that it’s getting cold outside and I’ve switched to quinoa soup instead of salad, I wanted to share this recipe with you and make sure I don’t forget how delicious this was! Part of journey with Ripples has been learning how to eat whole, real food.  We aren’t 100% raw, but this year I’ve been eating more fresh foods than ever before.  This is how earthbag homes get built and vegetable gardens are sown, rather than the Pizza Hut model I used to be so fond of, which created more medical bills.  My dietary choices of a decade ago are part of the reason I’m struggling to be healthy now. I’m hopeful that through recipes like this one, I might acquire the kind of body a country life requires.  Or at least a hardier, healthier one. View full article »

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Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Spice Pancakes with Apple Butter

Filed Under: Fair Trade, Food, Life Crafting by Amanda — 4 Comments
October 23, 2012

Fall into the day with the perfect pancake breakfast!

Ryan & I just discovered the solution to a vegan’s longing for holiday milk flavors: it’s called So Delicious Dairy-Free Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk (no, it doesn’t taste like coconuts – they mean “coconut milk” like “almond milk” or “cow’s milk” which doesn’t taste like cows, of course!) When combined with our pancake recipe, adapted for the vegan and gluten-free diet, and topped with Bekemeier’s Caramel Apple Butter, this breakfast is perfect for autumn. I ate the last of the pancakes this morning while basking below a sunlit sky sprinkled with falling golden leaves. This made my morning tai chi session very tasty :) Ripples shares recipes with ya’ll whenever they represent a sustainable, fair trade, or unique experience we’ve had on our journey off-grid. Whether it’s growing cilantro or devouring these pancakes, we want to share what we’ve created and learned. Enjoy! View full article »

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How to Roast (and experience) Chestnuts

Filed Under: Education, Food, Life Crafting, Native Species, Nature, Sustainability by Amanda — 2 Comments
October 7, 2012

Saturday, October 6th, I ate my very first chestnut.

It was a transformative experience which food often brings about, changing the world from ordinary, familiar and full of obligation into a place of adventure and celebration of the mundane moments dearest to our hearts.  Eating a little piece of chocolate while doing the laundry, for instance, might not be a holiday event but it’s sure to make those fluffy, fragrant towels more enjoyable.  So when it’s a dreary Saturday morning in the 50′s and quite chilly for an October farmer’s market in the Ozarks, the scent of roasting nuts overpowered me.  As I was striding quickly towards the alpaca farmer to buy a warm woven headband to protect my ears from the wind, I noticed a vendor that I’d overlooked on all my previous trips to the market.  He was the type of old which I find very appealing, the sort of elder full of wisdom to learn from.  And the lesson he had for me was in a little chestnut.  View full article »

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Food Allergies and Potlucks

Filed Under: Food, Health, Life Crafting, Non-profits by Amanda — 2 Comments
September 11, 2012

Missing the potlucks that shaped the woman I am today.

For those who have never been to one, a potluck is a fantastic way to share food among many people.  Everyone brings one dish of food and receives a full meal made up of many dishes.  And I felt lucky to eat from so many pots!  For me, potlucks used to be a chance to share a dish that you liked, sample a variety of foods that others brought, spend positive time with friends or new faces, and enjoy interesting conversation (including recipes!).  Nowadays, potlucks just make me feel hungry, embarrassed, and guilty. View full article »

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Homemade Vegan Gluten-Free Black Bean Burgers

Filed Under: Food, Health, Life Crafting by Amanda — Leave a comment
July 24, 2012

Craving a spicy burger, we made these from scratch!

Black bean burgers with tomato, rainbow chard leaves, avocado mayo, and sweet potato puffs.

Since I’m now intolerant to Greenhouse Grille’s best black bean burgers in the world, with their tasty crispness that is – trust me – hard to replicate, we tried making black bean burgers of our own.  They have turned out well repeatedly, even though the last time we had them the texture was not crisp but seemingly undercooked, similar to mashed potatoes tightly compacted.  But the flavor is pretty good, with a subtle spice and deep bean flavor.  It’s the toppings that count here, and I used tomatoes, avocado mayonnaise (vegan), and rainbow chard leaves.  Sweet potato fries complement this dish perfectly, and if you want to make your own, here’s how to do it!  But Ryan & I were lazy that night and used sweet potato puffs from the frozen food section of our grocery store.  Still delicious!  Especially with our avocado mayo (just an avocado mixed into vegenaise spread). View full article »

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Ripples’ New Locally Crafted Cutting Board

Filed Under: Fair Trade, Food, Life Crafting by Amanda — Leave a comment
July 23, 2012

The Fayetteville Farmers Market offers unique wooden cutting boards.

Bamboo tea strainer next to chai tea mix and great northern white beans.

To get the gluten completely gone from our kitchen, we had to address common sources of cross-contamination, such as the pasta strainer and cutting board.  We gave  our old (still rather new) cutting boards to friends, and at Saturday’s market I bought a new one for $40.  Purchasing a cutting board like this not only keeps my gut healthier by eliminating any potential gluten, it also takes us one step closer to the off-grid homestead by supporting a local family, and envisioning the type of kitchen we want to build (natural materials). I also bought a bamboo tea strainer a little while back from Ozark Natural Foods, and am really happy that I don’t need to worry about rust which ruined my last tea strainer (admittedly due to not cleaning it properly). Here’s a picture of the bamboo strainer, fun to use and easy to dry! View full article »

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