General goings-on

Bread update: my first sourdough that I made only from my starter turned out very small, but probably because I didn't use much flour. Not very sourdough tasting; overall, kind of disappointing. I'm looking forward to continuing the experiment...

Also- I'm very excited to report that milk in glass bottles is located a mere mile away at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket, right by Prospect Park. Milk costs $3.75, which includes a $1.50 bottle deposit. Not exactly cheap, but I think it's worth it to avoid the cardboard carton waste. We have officially said goodbye to soy milk, as well. We are making a little less yogurt these days, as Colin has started a day-time job, and no longer eats an 11am meal.

Been cooking up a general storm and straying from the cookbooks that I'm normally attached to. Made a very tasty risotto with butternut squash, prosciutto, onions and parmesan cheese. Ran out of chicken stock, so I used beef bouillon cubes instead. We simply broiled the squash, cooked up the onions, made the rice part and added the mashed squash, prosciutto and cheese at the end. Sometimes leaving the cookbook on the shelf produces the best results...!

No other news, but I might have a project involving a LES co-op coming up soon...

The Next Step...

The way that Colin and I have been living a more sustainable lifestyle is piece by piece. I'm the kind of person that becomes very passionate about something, tries to make drastic changes, and then loses heart quickly. However, by taking things one step at a time, our lifestyle has become quite different from a year ago (when we moved in together). While Portland is certainly a more earth-friendly city, we have not had to change too much in our lives when we moved to Brooklyn. In a way, this city has forced us to think about being sustainable even more because it is so easy to see the people who just don't care.
Currently, my new step is baking bread. Although Colin and I don't buy all that much bread, we buy the occasional baguette or bagel for soup or brunch. However, I've found that it is incredibly easy and better tasting to make my own (not exactly a surprise). I'm working on a sourdough starter which I think might be a long process as I figure it out. I'm trying out my first sourdough bread as I type this.
My other step, which isn't really a step at all, is winter biking! I must admit I was afraid of it at first, and wanted to have my car in Brooklyn. However, I'm quite glad I didn't end up doing that. So far, we've been lucky with the lack of snow, and the weather has been beautifully sunny, if unbeautifully 20 degrees. Still, with long underwear, two pairs of gloves, a face mask and a hat, it is bearable to bike. Last winter in Portland we didn't bike nearly as much, because we had two cars at our disposal. Without that luxury, however, biking is the only way to go. So...I very much hope it doesn't snow too much this winter.
By the way, any suggestions on what we can do to take our sustainable living even further are much, much appreciated.