Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on
15th January 2022
We count on the recycling crews to take away our recyclable waste and our landfill waste. To ease their workload we can help by ensuring that what we place in the recycling bin is clean, compacted (squashed, flatten, stacked) to prevent stuff overflowing, and in the correct bin.
Is there a ‘Maria Kondo’ tidy recycling bin award?
14th January 2022
January is the month for planting raspberry plants – usually known as ‘raspberry canes’. There are two main types, those that produce fruit in the summer and those that fruit in the autumn. They are easy to grow and are suitable for growing in pots – one cane per pot.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/fruit/raspberries/grow-your-own
13th January 2022
It is widely acknowledged that the peaceful protests made by environmental and justice groups, including Extinction Rebellion, Fridays for Future school strikes, the Climate Action Coalition, the RSPB, Green Peace, Christian Aid etc, have raised public and government awareness of the climate crisis from being a very minor issue to one of the most pressing of the decade. Would we be where we are without such protests? The Government’s new policing bill currently being reviewed by the House of Lords before returning to the House of Commons is designed to severely restrict the right to peaceful protest. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/13/green-activists-urge-labour-to-vote-against-policing-bill-climate-catastrophe
Take time to email your MP and urge them to do all they can to prevent this bill becoming law. https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/why-you-should-be-worried-about-the-new-policing-bill/
11th January 2022
Monday and Tuesday are our local recycling days when the lorries and crew collect paper, & card, food waste, metal, glass and some plastics – as well as unrecycled waste that goes to landfill. It is a job the crew do in all weathers, pulling and lifting boxes and bins into the back of the lorry, and in summer the food waste can be pretty smelly. It is a pretty thankless job: we would all be lost without it, but we are seldom out and about when the crew comes by to say thanks. We used to call them dustbin men, then refuse collectors, but neither of those describe their current role nor the important that role has in tackling climate change and ensuring scarce materials are recycled for future use.
Perhaps we should call them “recyclists”.
10th January 2022
Our cat Hilda is swopping to a new dry food which is a 50/50 mix of animal and insect protein. Cats cannot live on a vegan diet but they can have a diet that is less dependent on meat.
9th January 2022
Eating beans and pulses instead of meat and dairy products is a good way of reducing our carbon footprint. The Ethical Consumer’s Climate Gap Report lists a top ten of things we can do as individuals to reduce our carbon footprint (https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/climate-gap-report) of which the top two are reducing meat consumption by 20% and dairy by 20%.
You can use beans to make soups and stews; you can blitz them to make pasta sauces or use lentils in place of mince for lasagnes; hummus is made from chick peas and you can use other beans to make a variates of other spreads or pates. Chick peas are used in making falafel and split peas for dhal and again you can adapt these recipes for to the beans and pulses. Flour made from dried peas and beans can be used in making pastries and pasta, as well as a variation of a frittata. Soya beans and peas are being used to make alternative milks.
Try the Hodmedod website for lots of recipes – https://hodmedods.co.uk/blogs/recipes/tagged/vegan
7th January 2022
Real (as opposed to plastic) and rootless Christmas trees will probably now be on their way for recycling. Most local authorities provide a collection service, taking the trees to be ‘chipped’ into small pieces which can then be turned into compost or used as a mulch. Sometimes the trees may be put to alternative uses such as securing sand dunes or stabilising river banks. You can recycle them at home, leaving them in a corner of the garden where overtime they will decay and in the meantime may provide a shelter for birds and insects. Or you can speed up the process by chopping off the branches and – once the needles have gone brown – use them as mulch around plants that like an acid soil – eg raspberries.
The trunk you can use to make, or to add to, a log pile for garden wild life. For more nature friendly ideas for the garden see – https://greentau.org/2021/10/04/eco-tips-10/
6th January 2022
Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, the celebration of the visit by the wise men to the infant Jesus. Given the large number of traditional foods we have on Christmas Day when the shepherds visited to the Christ Child, we have very few for the Epiphany. The French have their Gateau des Rois which is something I copy in a simpler form – ie a cake made by sandwiching a layer of marzipan, flavoured with madeira, between two rounds of puff pastry. All the constituent parts can be made with plant-based ingredients.
We also mark the day by chalking a blessing over the lintel of our front door – https://greentau.org/2022/01/06/marking-epiphany/
5th January 2022
The Ethical Consumer’s Climate Gap Report highlights the importance of we as individuals making changes now so that we will as a nation be able to achieve net zero by 2030. One area where significant change is needed is our diet. We may not all need to become vegan, but we will all need to reduce our consumption of meat and dairy products. Substituting oat milk and vegan butter in our cooking is an easy option. Use oat milk for custard and white sauces etc. use vegan butter in cakes and pastries.
Bird’s Custard is an egg free custard that was originally developed because Alfred Bird’s wife had an allergy to eggs. Make it with oat milk and it is vegan custard.
4th January 2022
Seville oranges that are the key ingredient of marmalade are now in the shops and as they are a seasonal crop, now is the time to buy them and make marmalade. This recipe is adapted from one belonging to my great aunt.
7 Seville oranges
1 sweet orange
2 lemons
3kg sugar with pectin
Cut fruit into quarters and boil until skin is soft. If you have a slow cooker this is ideal – just put the fruit and 5 pints of water into the slow cooker, cover with its lid and leave gently simmering for 4 to 6 hours as necessary. If you are using a large saucepan, cover fruit with 7 pints of water and bring to the boil, uncovered. You will find the 2 pints of additional water will evaporate during the boiling.
Allow fruit to cool, slice the fruit thinly discarding all the pips as you find them.
Put sliced fruit, the strained water/ juice and sugar into a large pan, bring to the boil whilst stirring (to prevent the sugar from burning). Boil, stirring frequently until setting point is reached. If possible use a jam thermometer. Otherwise test by dripping a small amount onto a cold plate. As it cools the mixture should form jelly like surface that wrinkles when pushed.
Pour into sterilised jars and seal.
The Green Tau 