Everyone that knows me knows that I am big on DIY projects.  Gayla even said that I was a cross between McGyver and Martha Stewart…She knows me so well…

But this is the coolest DIY project I have seen in a long time!

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I don’t often drink cokes anymore.

Now, when I say that you have to understand that cokes is a generic word for sweet, fizzy drinks.  Here in Texas you go to the Whataburger, and they will ask what kind of coke you want.  Dr Pepper? Root Beer? Cola? Sprite? Read more

I think that is my favorite image this week.    If only that table looked like that all the time!

How was your week? Mine has been super busy.  I feel like I have neglected the blog!  I have not visited much, not because I don’t wish to visit but because I have been so overwhelmed with my to-do list.  I hope to be visiting again soon.

I have a backlog of posts that I have notes for but we just spent so much time at the VA this week I couldn’t post them.   W will be camping out there a bit next week, too. Neurosurgury consult, pain clinic, labs, new CAT scan…sigh…Marc’s pain level had gotten quite intense and we are trying to find the correct amount of pain killers balancing between making him comfortable and knocking him completely out.  If you pray, please do. This has been a difficult time. Read more

Jennifer and Peggy at Treehugging Family are focusing on Earth Day at b5 all month.

Some of the big environmental issues facing consumers today is greenhouse gas, carbon footprints the size of the Jolly Green Giant, and socio-ethical issues concerning working conditions and Fair Trade for farmers and workers. It can be overwhelming to try to juggle everyone’s needs when you just want a cup of something hot and relaxing!

So, did you ever think about growing your own herbal tea blends? Herbs grow prolifically almost anywhere, do well on windowsills, and in containers, and are easy to transform from fragrant green leaves and colored flowers to a steaming cup of yum. Read more

Image: (c)Marye Audet 2007 Apron Strings and Simmering Things

Many of us put milk, cream, or half and half in our coffee and tea. Because of this I feel comfortable in the post I am about to publish being within the realm of my subject matter, ie: coffee and tea.

I am having a hard time finding dairy products without the little (U) on them. This nasty symbol means Read more

I was reading through some things on the Internet and came across an intriguing article, entitled,Buying Green Masks Reality. I read the article with great interest, and finally, with more agreement than I had at first thought I would.

You see, just buying green is not going to fix problems. It is not going to change the excessive spending habits that are crushing American families. It is not going to change the fact that on rainy days many of us drive to our mailboxes at the end of our driveways so we don’t get wet. It isn’t going to change the fact that we want to be academically superior, electronically amused at all times, and in perfect health 365 days a year.

If you are wondering how, or why, I am writing this on a coffee and tea blog, then keep reading. Read more

I have been using gold filters in my coffee and tea things for years. I like them alot because, well, I am cheap. They last for a really long time, and I hate paying money for coffee filters all the time. Plus, with as much coffee as we drink we probably would cause the deforestation of the entire pine forest in East Texas. In a week. Read more

Green Mountain Coffee, if you don’t know, is a coffee company that takes it’s coffee seriously. They deal in organically grown, fair trade, and shade grown coffees and their flavors and blends are spectacular. Hand crafted is all over the coffee from the first sniff to the final slurp.

I like flavored coffees.  Marc can take them or leave them, but to me, sitting in front of the fire with a mug of pumpkin spice coffee, generously colored with rich cream and sweetened with my favorite stevia is almost a spiritual experience.

I have described the coffees to the best of my ability, and suggested some desserts that I feel would be a compliment to them.

All images that follow are from Green Mountain Coffee. 

Fair Trade Holiday Blend: A blend of light and dark roasted coffee, with a spicy aroma. It finishes with a lingering bittersweet chocolate taste. Perfect with your Christmas Eve Buche de Noel and other rich desserts.

Fair Trade Spicy Egg Nog: Cinnamon and nutmeg, with a creaminess that is difficult to describe.  This coffee is perfect with the spice cakes, gingerbread, cookies, and apple pies of the season.

 Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice: Light body, spicy with a vanilla -nut aftertaste.  Definite pumpkin pie flavor comes through in both the aroma and then taste.  Would be great on it’s own, or with  bittersweet chocolate truffles on the side.

Fair Trade Gingerbread: Warm ginger-spicy flavor brings the holiday kitchen of your  childhood to mind with this coffee. Top it with some whipped cream dusted with freshly grated nutmeg and sit by the fire watching it snow. Or, like me, pretending that the dust blowing around outside is very tiny snowflakes. :)  Would be awesome with panna cotta, creme brulee, or vanilla  pots de creme.

Besides leaving it out over the weekend and having an irritating layer of green fuzz growing on it, I mean.

There are lots of small things we do everyday without thinking about them. Over a period of years we develop habits, things we do over and over with very little thought. Not necessarily because they are better, smarter, or easier but just because that is the way we have always done them.

Even our coffee habits. Since so often it is the little things we do that make big differences, here are some ways to green up your coffee.

1. Use your own travel mug at your local coffee shop. Starbucks usually will even give you a percentage discount if you bring your own mug. This means that all of those millions of throw away cups don’t end up in landfills or that nasty little continent of floating garbage in the Pacific.

2. Use permanent coffee filters. They are made, usually, from gold or gold plated stainless steel, and are made to last a long time. The flavor is enhanced by the use of the filter. Paper filters absorb some of the coffee flavor as they filter and cause the coffee to taste dull and lose some of it’s complexity.

3. Use loose leaf tea in a tea infuser or use a tea strainer rather than the tea bags.

4. Unplug your coffee maker as soon as it is done brewing. The clock and other aspects of the coffee maker make it use little bits of electricity all the time and that adds up. Use a thermal carafe to keep your coffee warm.

5. Use Fair trade and shade grown products when possible.

6. There is a small group of farmers from Uganda that have banded together to create a cooperative called Mirembe Kawomera, Delicious Peace. A delicious peace it is because the unique thing about these farmers is that they are Muslim, Christian, and Jewish. This is being distributed in the United States by Thanksgiving Coffee Company. As a Christian, who has been involved quite a bit with both the Muslim and Jewish cultures and beliefs I find this amazing and encouraging. It just shows you that coffee really IS a panacea for everything.

7. Buy local if you can. If you buy straight from the roaster your are often getting better, fresher coffee at a lower price and it is only being shipped once or twice as opposed to numerous times.  I would not trade our coffee for anything!  See the shininess of the beans in the picture? Those are fresh from my roaster, and contain all the oils needed for a awesome cup of coffee.

8. Clean you coffee pot or tea kettle with white vinegar instead of harsh chemicals

9. Give green. Get your peeps hooked on fair trade, organic and shade grown coffees and teas (they really do taste better) by giving them as gifts.

10. Educate yourself.  I have talked to so many people about issues I am concerned about only to have them stop me and say they just don’t want to think about it. As we make consumer choices based on documented facts  we are at least controlling our consumerism. I do not always buy fair trade stuff because sometimes I just don’t have the money. But knowing WHY I should helps me to make those choices when I can.