Putting the Eco back in Economics

How we look at things can make all the difference in the world. Our own personal world *bubble* as well as the big picture.

I was sitting in my car, stopped due to road works, just outside the high school in my town recently. I was being a good doobie and had not blocked the car parks exit. I was happily waving folks out who couldn’t see to pull out and head down the other way, feeling all my karma points racking up when bliss turned to confusion.

A male adult, sitting in his new Toyota was lightening his cigarette with a match and tossed the spent match out onto the pavement. How curious, I thought, his lighter doesn’t work in his shiny new car?

He was taking great care to hold his cigarette far away so no ash would fall on his car and exhaling his smoke streams out the window as well and it hit me.

He doesn’t want to dirty his pretty new car. Not even the bloody lighter, let alone the ashtray.

This makes me irritated. While sitting with my irritation he does what should not surprise me in the least– flicks the butt out onto the road while we are still stopped waiting.

Sometimes I can not stay quiet. He was close enough I didn’t have to shout so at least give me that. I leaned out my window and said, “How nice. You seem to think it’s okay to use the earth as your personal trash can so as not to dirty your precious new car. That’s swell. Thanks.”

He was as you can imagine,embarrassed and really glad that we were now being flagged on our merry way down the road.

I’d like to hope he was embarrassed because he didn’t even realize what he was doing or given a thought past not wanting to sully his car with his dirty little habit. He was after all willing to trash his own lungs, why not also the earth?

So then, when you look at this picture, what do you see?

Garbage ~ Compost?

Veggie scraps from whatever cook-a-thon went on that day in my kitchen? That’s correct of course but it’s what I do with it that I want you to know. I keep that bag in the freezer and add to it every time I cook. I also throw fresh herbs that become to wilted in there and yes, you see an apple core.

When that one gallon zip-lock gets full of onion ends, the woody stems of shitake mushrooms, pepper ends, herb stems, apple and pear cores, etc. It’s time for me to make a batch of chicken stock in the pressure cooker.

I buy whole, free range chickens from the same farm as the CSA I belong to. Twice a season they butcher chickens and I sign up for 7-10 at a time. I put a couple whole chickens for roasting right into the deep freeze and the rest get cut-up and portioned. From doing that, I save all the chicken backs with necks attached separately just for making chicken stock. I also have the farmer bag up the feet from my chickens and use some of those for stock and some for the pups as chew treats. (Seeing my seven pound pups lying there contentedly chewing away with  chicken toes hanging out is endlessly hilarious to me but that’s a story therapy session for another day.)

The bag of frozen produce scraps is dumped into the pressure cooker along with three chicken backs and a couple feet, to that I add a couple celery stalks and carrots. A bunch of peppercorns and a few smashed garlic cloves and add water to just cover.

After about 30 minutes I have  the richest chicken stock the likes of which you will never find in any carton or can. Not to mention, a fraction of the price.

After it cools it is strained through a sieve into quart mason jars and into the deep freeze to await the day it will take it’s place in one of my recipes.

While I hope this inspires you to start your freezer bag of scraps and make stock, I will be just as happy if it makes you stop for a few moments and think about what perceptions you can tweek and make a change for the better.

For you, those around you and the earth.

Autumn Comes to Sheffield Pond in Bullville

2009 Dawn Marie Kelly all rights reserved