Look at this clever little tree made from a magazine.

They say as we get older, time seems to pass more quickly. Though my 30s are still dawning, I am definitely feeling as though time is flying. And perhaps that’s why, in my mind, my last blog post doesn’t seem like all that long ago. But a dear colleague pointed out that it has been “Meatless Monday” for over a month!

Truth be told, Mr. Green and I have had a busy fall with lots of fun adventures. For instance, a few weeks ago we visited Prince Edward County – a lovely collection of small towns south-east of Belleville and along the banks of Lake Ontario. Friends of ours gave us the gift of a second honeymoon when we got married, and we really enjoyed exploring the County at their recommendation. We just loved it.

Here are some greener highlights:

It will come as no surprise that Mr. Green is pretty big on fuel economy. We don’t own a car, so when we travel outside the city we turn to our friend Sandra at the Budget on Bloor to sort us out. This weekend we were treated to a fuel-effcient sporty Fiat. Though not much larger than a bicycle, it was exactly what we were looking for – and it was great on fuel.

 We stayed at The Merrill Inn and were treated to small-town hospitality from the minute we arrived.

And everywhere we looked, we were reminded of the Inn’s commitment to the environment. From their large refillable toiletry bottles - no freebies to take home here – to their locally sourced menu. Look at this lake perch!

 Our friends also treated us to a class at one of the local cooking schools – From the Farm Cooking School. We spent the day with Cynthia Peters – personal chef and food writer – touring around picking up ingredients for the lunch we made together in her beautifully appointed farmhouse kitchen.

She took us to Fifth Town Cheese, the greenest dairy in North America, and we sampled some of the most amazing cheese ever. The best part? (Well, apart from the being green thing) They have oodles of yummy goat and sheep’s cheese – a huge bonus for milk-sensative me.

We toured several wineries and even a vodka distillery, 66 Gilead Distillery. Imagine? Locally sourced vodka … pretty awesome. The Pine vodka tastes like Christmas in a glass.

We had a perfect greener weekend and we’re looking forward to going back!  

Okay, so in our house nearly every day is meatless … but in honour of “Meatless Monday” – the American public health campaign, turned global movement for better health and a healthier planet – I thought I’d share what we had for dinner tonight. 

When the days get shorter and I start to feel that crispness in the air, it means not only that it’s time to rotate the clothes in my closest (I dream about big, beautiful walk-ins with sky-high shelving and storage), but also that it’s soup season again! 

Tonight, I turned to my dear Lucy Waverman for inspiration and whipped up a yummy Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Kale:

 1 bunch Kale or Swiss chard (I like Kale)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 cup chopped onions

1 28-oz (796mL) can tomatoes, chopped with juices

4 cups vegetable stock

1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary, or ¼ tsp dried

½ tsp Asian chilli sauce, or to taste

1 19-oz (540mL) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Parmesan or Roman cheese grated, to taste

I like to toss in other vegetables that are kicking around the house … carrots and celery work well, and I sometimes add a starch – rice or potatoes.

Cut away stems and any tough or wide centre ribs from kale and slice them. Roughly chop leaves.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, or until golden. Add onions and kale stems and ribs – and any other raw vegetables – and sauté for 2 minutes, or until soft.

Add tomatoes, stock, rosemary and chilli sauce and simmer for 20 minutes. Add chickpeas and simmer for 15 minutes longer.

Add kale leaves and simmer for 5 minutes, or until leaves wilt. If you anticipate leftovers, reserve some kale and add before you reheat your soup. Kale gets pretty brown and unappetizing looking the longer it’s cooked, so reserving a handful will brighten your soup when you’re enjoying it later!  

Season well with salt and pepper. Serve with sprinkled cheese and fresh bread – or, Mr. Green’s homemade croutons.

Mr. Green’s homemade croutons:

2 cups roughly cut dry (read: stale) bread – baguettes and Italian, or French loaves work best

1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp truffle oil, olive oil will also work well

Salt and pepper

Toss ingredients in a bowl.

Bake in 350 degree preheated for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

If you’re looking for more meatless inspiration … you could try what Stella McCartney tweeted she’d be enjoying this evening: Jamie Oliver’s Crispy and Delicious Asparagus and Potato tart

I came across this story in the NY Times … An interesting concept for those who don’t know a Mr. Green:

“Personal Eco-Concierges Ease Transition to Green”

Jennifer A. Kingston

They will run your errands by bicycle, recommend a spa that gives vegan manicures or buy organic clothes for you and your dog. They will even book you a dream vacation and buy the appropriate carbon offsets.

I mentioned our wonderful florist, Alison, from Coriander Girl … boy did she ever do an amazing job. Our flowers were sourced locally and looked just beautiful. I had long dreamed of having peonies in my bouquet and with a late spring and cool start to the summer my dream came true! The table arrangements were gorgeous and exactly what I was imagining. And those Ikea glasses we bought as vases have found new homes with our guests where hopefully they will be reused for many years to come.

I loved my dress that was made here in Toronto, not China. Our food was grown close to home, and it was so fun to walk between our venues rather than hop in a limo (I hate limos anyway).

One thing we did that will have the greatest impact on the environment was that we purchased offsets in India through The International Small Group & Tree Planting Program (TIST) in lieu of favours, so that our wedding was carbon neutral.

TIST strengthens poor communities by empowering subsistence farmers to reverse the effects of deforestation, drought and famine. In turn, these farmers reduce levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by planting diverse tree species, implementing conservation farming techniques and reducing fuel use with efficient stoves.

Mr. Green consulted a couple of his colleagues with offset expertise to determine our approximate footprint, and then we bought offsets to neutralize the environmental impact of our wedding – and our overseas honeymoon.

Offsetting is a great way to reduce your impact on the planet, and, like in case with TIST, a way to improve the lives of people in developing countries. But instead of turning to offsets as the sole way to reduce the effect of our wedding on the planet, we did what we could to minimilize our impact by making responsible environmental choices at every step of the way. And I think that’s the way we should use offsets – rather than thinking they give us a free pass to be wasteful, we should think of them as a way of complimenting our greener activities.

Apart from our day being greener, it was absolutely perfect – far exceeding our expectations.

We felt relaxed and happy all day long, to the point where our cheeks were sore from smiling and laughing with all our guests.

It was so special to be surrounded by our family and friends, and to feel their love and excitment for us.

I’ll never forget how I felt the moment I stepped into the church … The sun came out and there was Mr. Green waiting for me at the end of the aisle to start our lives together.

I was calm and beside myself with joy. After our beautiful ceremony we partied!

The kitchen utensils my roommates and I used as microphones while dancing in our unversity kitchen made a nostalgic return, and we were so pleased to see everyone having such a good time with them.

Thanks to everyone who made our day so memorable xoxo

You know what makes planning a wedding so darn fun? Working with people like Alison from Coriander Girl. Alison is our florist and she’s a real gem.

Despite my limited flower vocabularly, she’s the kind of person who just makes me want to jump up and down with excitement when we’re talking flowers. And her Parkdale shoppe is the sweetest. THE SWEETEST! It’s an inspired combination of country charm and English whimsy, just perfect.

You know what else? Alison is a reuser! She uses beautiful antique vessels for her arrangements. Think tea cups, mason jars, milk glass vases and apothecary bottles. Her designs are fresh, creative and so, so pretty. But perhaps the thing I love most about Alison’s floral designs is that they remind me of the beautiful chaos of my grandmother’s English-style garden.

Grandma spent hours tending to her colourful gardens and I used to love getting my hands dirty alongside her. I was an expert “dead header.

“My “vision” for our wedding flowers is one that incorporates the elements that I so loved about Grandma’s garden. We’re not working from a colour palette, instead we’re hoping that all the various colours, shapes and sizes of flowers that worked so well together at Grandma and Grandpa’s house will also work just as well on our harvest tables at the Gardiner.

I knew Alison “got” my style when she told me that she had saved the same photos of bouquets and table arrangements from various wedding blogs that I had sent to her for inspiration.

I can’t wait to see what she designs for July 2!

Oh! And here’s a tip for getting “better value for dollar” (a classic Mr. Green phrase) if you’re planning your wedding:

Instead of renting vases from a florist, opt instead to buy your own. I checked out a couple of different florists before we decided to go with Alison* and each one of them quoted a few hundred dollars for vase rental and I thought: if I’m spending that kind of money I want to, at least, get to keep them!

In the end, Mr. Green and I probably spent more time than either of us really wanted to hunting for vases. But spending less than $100 on our vases (read: drinking glasses) made our adventures through Chinatown, various antique and second-hand stores, and Ikea on a Saturday worth every penny! 

Of course, we tried to do the reuse thing first, but we just couldn’t get the quantity we were after (thank you Ikea). BUT since we own the vases, we hope that our guests bring the arrangements home to enjoy and that they reuse the vase in their own home.

We are getting so excited for July 2!!!

*Alison’s vases were a little too whimsical for the modern style of the Gardiner.

Mr. Green and I looking a little windblown and very excited!

It’s true! Mr. Green and I are engaged! His proposal caught me completely by surprise (awesome) and we’re both over the moon excited to be getting married. On July 2, I’ll become Mrs. Green! Imagine?!

We’re in full planning mode and that’s why I’ve been a little absent from Greener at First Sight.

Speaking of plans, many people are wondering whether we’re planning a “green” wedding. Well, we’re certainly keeping the environment in mind as we plan our day, and we’re doing our best to be as green as possible.

So far, I’ve bought a beautiful dress that won’t be travelling by coal powered boat from China; instead, my dress will be made right here in Toronto. Yay for Becker’s Bridal! We’re getting married at Trinity Chapel and hosting our reception at the Gardiner Museum where Jamie Kennedy will serve up a local, sustainable, and delicious dinner – it might even be completely vegetarian! Note: both locations are accessible by the TTC for the more adventurous – and green – travellers.  

There are oodles and oodles of blogs out there with heaps of ideas for the big day. I’ve been browsing a handful of them and some are even geared toward green weddings, like Eco Beautiful Weddings and Dream Green Weddings . With so many choices and so much inspiration out there, it’s been difficult making decisions!

Flowers and invitations are next up on our radar … stay tuned for details!

Upcycled chop sticks! Idea and Photo credit: Danny Seo, dannyseo.com

We’re nine days in to 2011 and while the holidays – ah, the holidays – seem but a distant memory now, I’ve yet to declare any resolutions for 2011. I’ve been trying to think of ways to take this greener living thing to the next level (surprised?) and in so doing, I was reminded of all the greener things I did and learned in 2010. I’ve come a long way, baby!

That’s why instead of making grand resolutions to make dramatic changes in the year ahead, I’m resolving to continue along the greener path I’ve set for myself and look for a few new ways to live greener.

For instance, inspired by recent design show marathons and green living expert, Danny Seo, I’m resolving to reuse items I already have and try my hand at upcycling!

I’ve always enjoyed making things and exploring my artistic side so, upcycling – turning things you already own into something new and beautiful – seems to be the perfect challenge for creative, crafty me.

And I know Mr. Green will be a fan of upcycling. After all, he’s the guy who goes searching for “treasure” when we’re out exploring the city. He’ll stop at the top of people’s driveways to explore their discarded items or excitedly pull me aside to examine the remains of renovation projects. Mr. Green isn’t all that motivated by the thought of finding items to reuse or turn into something new. Nope, he’s hoping to find the next windfall item for Antiques Roadshow. I think he’s convinced he’s going to find a Picasso at the side of the road.

Check out some of my inspiration here and consider how you can turn things you might otherwise have discarded into something new and inspired.

You know what they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure …

½ cup butter

30 large marshmallows

1 ½ tsp green food colouring, don’t stop adding the colouring until you get a rich green colour

3 ½ cup Corn Flakes

Candied cherries cut in quarters, or so

Method:

Melt butter and marshmallows over low heat, stir lots

Add vanilla and food colouring, take off of heat

Pour melted mixture over corn flakes, stir like crazy

Drop rounded tablespoons onto wax or parchment paper. Trick: use a greased spoon

Top with cherries

Allow to set and cool … Enjoy!

Last year we bantered back and forth, attempting to convince the other that we had the greenest answer when it came to decking the halls.

I believe that a real Christmas tree is the smartest choice for the planet and, perhaps surprisingly, Mr. Green disagrees. He believes that the polyethylene branches of a fake tree are the most responsible environmental choice.

In my mind, the toxic plastics and energy required to produce, then ship a fake tree, usually all the way from China, makes using the real thing the greenest choice. And surely based on how you dispose of the tree alone, composting vs. a lifetime in a landfill, would tip the scales in favour of a jaunty pine or balsam tree.

On the other hand, Mr. Green believes that chopping a tree down every year – robbing the planet of its environmental benefit – is wasteful and he’d rather reuse a fake tree for 15 years than chop 15 real ones down. He tells me that once the fake tree is manufactured it is “inert,” meaning it won’t have any more affect on the environment. I wasn’t buying that, so asked him about how harmful it is to have landfills full of plastic trees with branches leeching harmful chemicals into the soil and water systems. He simply replied that our landfills are sophisticated enough to dispose of plastic trees safely. 

Last Christmas the debate ended in a draw, but this year with more on the line – we actually were planning to buy our first tree together – our debate continued over many days and until we reached a decision.

Drum roll please …

Thanks to some internet sleuthing on my part and with the help of some Montreal environmental consultants and David Suzuki, we bought a real tree!

It’s a handsome little Douglas Fir that we found on the cheap and happily carried home on the subway – the urban equivalent of driving out to the woods and bringing your freshly chopped tree home on a sleigh.  

Mr. Green trimming the tree

Recently, Ellipsos, a sustainability research firm, conducted a life-cycle assessment of real and fake trees, and they found that a fake tree would have to be reused more than 20 times to be greener than buying a real tree annually.

Another thing to consider is that Christmas trees are grown like crops, with the sole purpose of being harvested and later enjoyed in people’s homes. And in the years before they become the focal point of holiday decorating the trees provide a natural home to birds and other species, all while generating oxygen and cleaning the air.

Christmas tree farms also preserve valuable green space and farmland from developers. And for people who have farmland that can’t support other crops, farming Christmas trees offers a viable way to make a profit.

The final point goes to one of the Ellipsos researchers:

“When you really consider it, if you exchange a couple of days of commuting by car with carpooling or riding a bicycle, you’ll completely overcompensate for whatever the impact of the tree is,” he said. “It’s not such a big deal. Enjoy your tree, whichever one you prefer.”

It seems that this Christmas Mr. Green got a little greener and we got to pick out our first real tree together. And for those of you who are wondering, the LED light battle is one I can’t win. But despite the blue-ish glow of our white twinkle lights, our tree looks just lovely. Don’t you think? 

Our first "green" tree!

: