Earth Day

There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew. 

~Marshall McLuhan Communications theorist, educator, philosopher

Happy Earth Day!

As a garden blogger, I can’t let Earth Day pass unacknowledged.  It’s become very trendy in the past few years to be ‘green’ but I don’t think enough people really think about what it means to them personally.  The fact is everything we do on this planet affects it in some way.  If we decide to only buy organic, then we might spend more gas driving to the Whole Foods than if we just stayed closer to home and bought regular produce.  If we use only cloth diapers to keep disposables out of landfills, then we are using more water to keep then clean.  So I think the best thing we can do is make a difference in small ways that are meaningful to us and not get too caught up in doing things perfectly. 

For me, it’s about not being wasteful.  So in the spirit of not wasting things I’m sharing my ‘recipe’ for slow cooker stock.  This is a great way to use up those odds and ends of vegetables and meats.  It’s not so much  a recipe as a method so feel free to substitute what you have.


Slow Cooker Stock

• Start by adding 5-6 cups of water to a slow cooker
• Then add any odds and ends from vegetables, any leftover herbs, shrimp shells, chicken bones, Thanksgiving turkey carcass… basically whatever you have.  I keep a bag in my freezer and when I’m finished chopping vegetables or herbs and just have the ends of carrots or onions or whatever left I toss them in the bag.  When the bag is full, I make stock.
• Add salt if you like.  This is totally optional.
• Cook on low for about 6-8 hours.  Strain into quart jars (makes about 2 quarts) and use within a few days or freeze.