Composting is good for your garden and for climate change

This is a picture of my compost bin, after putting a bunch and brown matter on top and before adding water. It’s normally disgusting looking! I started composting spring of 2018, and I had no idea what I was doing, I kind of still don’t.

I just started throwing all of my produce scraps in a trash can and went from there. I know last year I didn’t add nearly enough brown matter but it still did it’s magic. After a year of composting I added it to my soil and it turned into super soil, my garden went crazy this year. As you can see from previous pictures and zucchini and cucumber recipes. Somehow I ended up with black soldier fly larvae, which according to the internet is one of the best things you could possibly have in your compost bin, again disgusting.

Composting is actually a very important part of combating climate change. Here’s a video done by our daughter about how composting is a part of the solution. Composting can not only remove existing greenhouse gases from our atmosphere, but stop the production of methane, a GHG that is 36x more potent than carbon dioxide!

(Fun fact: Sage was filming this video when I showed up in Berkeley to surprise her for her 21st birthday)

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Zucchini is one of the most versatile vegetables. I’ve had so much from my garden this summer that I’ve been putting it in everything! From zoodles, savory zucchini pancakes, soups, shredded in salads, muffins and bread. I revamped my chocolate zucchini bread so it’s now completely plant based. You can use one kind of flour or a combination like I did. I’ve made it gluten free many times by substituting the unbleached and whole wheat flour for all oat flour or 1/2 oat and 1/2 buckwheat or rice flour. (Buckwheat is a seed, not a grain. Quinoa is another seed that’s often mistaken for a grain). My favorite way to eat this is with a little vegan cream cheese or butter.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

1 cup unbleached flour 

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup oat flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

2 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon salt 

3/4 cup white or raw sugar 

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 flax ‘eggs’ 

1/2 cup avocado oil 

1/2 cup applesauce

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini 

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans or 24 muffin tins 

For the flax ‘eggs’ use 1 Tbsp flax meal and 3 Tbsp of water for each ‘egg’ (you can grind the seeds in a food processor). You can also use an egg replacer or chia ‘eggs’. Mix the flax meal with water and set aside until it’s a gelatinous texture.

In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Once flax ‘eggs’ have reached a gelatinous texture, start adding the wet ingredients. Make a ‘well’ in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add flax egg, oil, apple sauce, vanilla and shredded zucchini. Mix until combined. Add the nuts and chocolate chips. Spoon evenly into loaf pans or muffin tins.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, for muffins bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pans; cool completely on wire rack. Enjoy!

Quick pickled cucumbers

Just like my zucchini this year, my cucumbers have gone crazy, which is nice since last year we literally had 2 before ash from a fire wiped them out. I’ve had so many all at once that I’m now making pickles! Sandwich pickles, dill pickles, spicy pickles, sweet pickles, you get the picture, lots of pickles.

I use a mandolin slicer to get the cucumbers all the same thickness, just be very very careful….I’ve cut myself too many times to count. White vinegar is what’s traditional for pickling, you can use apple cider or rice wine vinegar they are also good. Want to add a little spice? Try 1/2 a jalapeno and some sliced garlic. Want sweet pickles? Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and reduce the salt. You can just put these in the frig and they’ll be ready in a few hours. But what I’ve been doing it putting them outside for a few hours to start the fermenting process and then putting them in the refrigerator, so you get some of the benefits of fermentation. So 1/2 fermented 1/2 pickled….fickled? Haha.

You really can’t mess these up, they’re so easy, just adjust to your taste and enjoy. You can also reuse the brine just add more cucumbers, dill, garlic etc. You can use this to make Giardiniera, I made some and it came out great. The sky’s the limit with pickling!

Quick pickled cucumbers

1 1/2 cups water

1/3-1/2 cup vinegar

1 tsp sugar (optional)

1 Tbsp pink salt

1 tsp pepper corns

pinch of turmeric (optional)

4-5 sprig of fresh dill

sliced garden cucumbers

Fill a large mason jar with cucumbers and whatever other vegetables, peppercorns or herbs you’re using. Add salt, sugar and turmeric to vinegar, sit and let it slightly dissolve, add water, pour over cucumbers, put the lid on and patiently wait. Easier said than done! Enjoy.