Skip to main content

Dregs for Plants and Plans for a New Food Co-op

When it comes to environmentalism we Angelenos are not exactly known to be heavily invested. Quite the opposite. L.A. is synonymous with cars and freeways and too many miles driven - and that's just one aspect.

The other day I was leafing through this month's issue of Whole Living magazine when a reader's suggestion caught my eye: Etienne L. is telling us that he has started to collect "all the dregs" in his family of four's water glasses "to take care of the house plants". Etienne simply empties "the last drips into a pitcher instead of pouring them down the drain". He thereby saves "enough water for (his) indoor plants and potted herb garden". Now that's what I call commitment.

Dregs for plants. Etienne is from San Francisco of course (Oakland, to be precise). We in L.A. could never pull that one off - but it's not like we don't try to be green. At least some of us.

Take an enterprise called Arroyo Food Co-op in Pasadena, one of the cities on the northern edge of Los Angeles county. The cooperative is still in the works but members are being recruited and the coop's initiator, Patrick Reagan, hopes for a community owned store to be up and running soon. The market would offer "truly local food" from "local farmers and food companies - from right here in town to a few hours away". Sounds like a plan to me. That way at least our food would stay off of airplanes and far away freeways.
Labels:

Comments

Reese said…
My uncle uses coffee dregs for his treasured mango tree. Not sure if it is true, but his mangoes always turn out to be the sweetest.
March 17, 2011 at 6:37 PM
debi said…
Christina,

Our local (right here in Frisco) farmer's market will open in a couple weeks. I'll be there the first Saturday.

I so enjoy the fresh, inexpensive goods and that I am supporting the local economy.
March 18, 2011 at 6:47 AM
Christina Schweighofer said…
I love the farmers' market. Mangoes too!
March 24, 2011 at 6:09 PM
debi said…
Hmm... I wonder if we could figure a way to grow mangoes and avacodos here...?
March 24, 2011 at 6:17 PM
Christina Schweighofer said…
Avocados grow very well in California. Mangoes? I doubt it. That's the thing about going local: no grapes in winter, no mangoes, papayas, or even bananas... It involves a whole new way of thinking.
March 24, 2011 at 6:32 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Schokoladenstückkekse? No Chocolate Chip Cookies in Austria

Today as I was making chocolate chip cookies it came to me: these baked treats which any US American child grows up with don't exist in Austria. There isn't a German term for them. Schokoladenstückkekse? The word doesn't exist. German recipes for chocolate chip cookies call them just that, by their American name. The funny thing is Austria is famous for its pastries. I have some wonderful recipes for Christmas cookies:  Vanillekipferl, Kokosbusserl, Ischler T ö rtchen, Lebkuchen, Spitzbuben, Nussstangerl...   They are all delicious but not one is as easy to make as a chocolate chip cookie. My recipe for chocolate chip cookies is from the Los Angeles Times.  I found it in the printed edition many years ago. Unfortunately I cannot locate the online version of the article but here is the scanned original: I make the cookies much smaller than the LAT chefs do, using about one and a half tablespoons of dough per cookie and baking them ten minutes at most. As yo...
3 comments
Read more

A Book Club Divided: How Funny Is Franz Kafka?

Yesterday evening my book club discussed Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, in which a man wakes up one morning and finds he has turned into some kind of vermin. Opinions on the 50 page story were sharply divided. My Austrian friend and I talked about how we cracked up reading; our American friends shared their feelings of depression and disgust. Is it a coincidence that the difference in perception runs along lines of nationality or is it cultural? Put differently: do you have to be Austrian/Central European to feel comfortable with Kafka's humor?
6 comments
Read more

Ban on Plastic Bags Bugs L.A. County

Paper or plastic? Bag from South Africa. My friend recently came back from a trip to South Africa and brought me a reusable grocery bag. It is from Woolworths, one of the largest retail chains in South Africa; it is made by a community project and serves as a symbol of the company's commitment to sustainability and social development. I will think of this whenever I use my new bag. Thank you, dear friend! The Woolworths bag is not my first reusable bag. I carry two baggies which fold up into packs smaller than a deck of cards in my purse and a bunch of bigger ones in the trunk of my car. To me this feels like an easy way of making a difference environmentally. Others seem to have a harder time. When the county of Los Angeles recently introduced a ban on plastic bags for its unincorporated areas the new ordinance was met with resistance. Shops bemoan that paper is more expensive than plastic. They charge customers ten cents for every paper bag. Shoppers complain about ...
10 comments
Read more