Experimenting With Chicory: Another Edible Weed

You've probably noticed these blue flowers growing up along the side of the road and along the bike paths here in Chicago like I have.  I remember reading somewhere that they are the flower of an edible plant called chicory.  After some quick Internet research I found out the part of the plant most often used is the root.  It's used as a coffee substitute and also added to coffee, especially in New Orleans.  It also has medicinal value as an anti-inflammatory.  But how does chicory taste?  If it's good in coffee, could I use it in my brewing to make something like a chicory-chocolate stout?  I had to find out.

Backyard Breakfast

This morning's harvest of eggs and purslane

There is something deeply satisfying about eating a meal that came from your own backyard at a table made with your own two hands.  If you are reading this post, you are interested in the same things and probably know exactly what I'm talking about.  So we're sharing one of our favorite backyard meals in hopes that you'll

Ignorance Made You My Enemy But Knowledge Has Made You My Friend!

What a fool I've been!  I've cursed you while constantly pulling you from my garden and from cracks in my sidewalk.  I've carelessly stepped all over you without even knowing your name.

Save Money Like a Man!

If you're a man and you need to save money (and who doesn't?) why not try cutting your own hair?  If you've never tried this, it's easier than you think.  This video is just one of many out there on YouTube that shows how easy it really is.

I've been cutting my own hair for over ten yeas now.  In that time, I estimate I've saved over $1,200.00 (assuming a ten dollar haircut per month).  Think of all the beer you could buy with that money!

If you have a son, you can easily cut his hair as well.  In ten years, you'll save over $2,400.00 between the two of you!  If you make a mistake - no worries; it's just hair.  It always grows back.  So man up and give it a try!

Our Teak Breakfast Booth: Another Trash-to-Treasure Story

This is just one of a series of posts I plan to do on some of the woodworking/re purposing projects I've done for our home.  I really wish I had taken pictures of the process of making this, but I wasn't blogging at the time.  I feel like I need to post these projects because I get most of my best ideas from scanning the Internet for images of furniture that other people have made and graciously taken the time to post pictures or videos of.  These posts are my way of giving back to the "DIY" community that has helped me so much.  I hope this helps or inspires someone else out there.

One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

I don't consider myself a dumpster diver, but when someone throws something like this away, I just have to stop and take a look.  In this case, it turned out to be two pieces of solid white oak, probably from a piece of IKEA furniture that fell apart due to those great fasteners they use.  Anyway, Mary had been after me for a long time to build a coffee table and I figured this would be just the thing for the table top.

Trying Out CUB Energy Saver's Greenlets

Alan and I are members of the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) Energy Saver program, which keeps track of your electricity usage and lets you know if you've used less than you did a year ago, after implementing their suggestions. Some of these suggestions include replacing old light bulbs with CFLs, upgrading appliances to EnergyStar, turning off lights in rooms that aren't being used, etc. Despite our efforts at reducing usage, the summer heatwave here in Chicago caused our bill to go way up.

During the summer, I received an email from CUB Energy Saver asking if I'd like to participate in a "Energy Responder" pilot program to save energy. Of course! I had known about the ComEd program for their customers who have central air to reduce their usage, but since we have window units, we couldn't give take advantage of it. I learned that the CUB Energy pilot program was for people with window air conditioners, so I signed up and waited to get the required materials. Unfortunately, the materials arrived near the end of the summer, when we were using our air conditioners less. But, no matter, we can use them next summer and hopefully see a difference in our bills.

So, what does being a "Energy Responder" mean, you may ask? Here is a quick overview:

We received a package from CUB in the mail. It contained 3 "greenlets", an ethernet cable, a wireless transmitter and a plug. 

This is how the Greenlets work.You plug one into an outlet near your air conditioner and then plug the air conditioner into the Greenlet's outlet. Since we received three Greenlets, and have only two air conditioners, we used the third one for our dryer.

Then, after attaching the antenna and plug to the transmitter, you connect it to your home wireless router using the ethernet cable and plug the transmitter into the wall. When all of the lights are green, it is ready to send signals to the Greenlets to saving energy. If you look at the picture below, you will notice a black switch on the transmitter. This gives you the opportunity to "bypass" a time in which there would be restrictions on your energy usage. For instance, if you needed to dry some clothes at a certain time, but knew the Greenlet would be stopping the dryer, you would hit the switch, dry your clothes and then put it back when you were finished.

So, how do you know when the Greenlets will be reducing your energy consumption? CUB sends an email or text message letting you know of a specific peak energy use time window (about 3-4 hours) the following day. (I believe this is what ComEd does for its central air program as well.) The Greenlets will receive signals during that time window to cycle your air conditioner or prevent your other appliances that are connected to the Greenlet from turning on.

Because I received the package at the end of the summer, I never had a chance to use them with our air conditioners. However, I think one of the most beneficial aspects of the program is the email notification system. When I see the peak energy time window, I make a mental note not to use my other appliances during that time because using energy during a peak time generally is more expensive. Did the Greenlets ultimately help us save energy? I think we'll have a better idea next summer when our air conditioners will be in use. Otherwise, it just encourages my usage to shift to other non-peak times without reducing my consumption.

Feel free to tell me what you think or ask for more clarification. Would you be interested in participating or do you think it would be too inconvenient?

Root Simple: Picture Sundays: Compulsory Chickens

Root Simple: Picture Sundays: Compulsory Chickens: I found this old add on Root Simple, a blog I follow.  Just thought it was interesting that chickens were considered a war-time necessity during WWI.  Click the link above to check it out.  BTW, I highly recommend Root Simple if you don't already subscribe.

Brewing Up a Pot of Savings

There's no question that home brewed beer tastes far better than commercial beers and that's reason enough for us to make it.  But can a hobby like home brewing also save you money?  Well, that depends.  If you're a beer snob who pines for super hopped-up beers with complex flavor profiles you're not going to save money making your own brew because the cost of your ingredients will be much higher than they would be for a simple ale.  Most of the people I know who make their own beer, not surprisingly, fall into this category.  Their love of complex beers is, after all, what drew them into the craft.

If you know Mary and I, it will come as no surprise to you that we got into home brewing for a different reason:  We wanted to see if it was possible to make great tasting beer and save money at the same time.  Well, I'm happy to report that it is possible IF you stick to the simple ingredient kits like Cream Ale, Dry Irish Stout, and Irish Red Ale.  We have found the best prices on these kits at Northern Brewer.

Contents of the Cream Ale Kit From Northern Brewer (from left to right): 1 oz Cluster Hopps, 1 lb of crushed specialty grains, grain bag for steeping, and 6 lbs of Pilsen Malt Extract

I'll use the American Cream Ale we made today as an example for the price breakdown:

• Cream Ale Kit                     $21.99 (Yields 5 gallons of beer or 50 to 52 bottles.)
• Yeast                                  $6.25 (Dry yeast is much cheaper but we prefer the liquid "smack pack")
• 5oz Priming Sugar               $1.25 
• 3 Gallons of Distilled Water $3.00 (Less than a buck a gallon at Target)
• 2 bags of ice                        $4.00 (because we're too cheap to buy a wort chiller)
• Shipping for kit and yeast     $4.00 (Flat rate on all shipments from Northern Brewer is $7.99 so we buy two kits at once to split the shipping cost between kits.)

TOTAL cost of 5 gallons (50 bottles) of Cream Ale  $40.49

40.49 divided by 50 bottles = 81 cents per bottle or $4.86 per six-pack.

When you consider that a six pack of decent commercial beer like, say, Guinness costs about $10.00 after all the tax we pay here in Chicago, $4.86 for a six pack of home brew is a great savings.  The beer we make costs about half the price of the beer we usually buy since we tend to buy it one six pack at a time on the weekend, not by the case at Costco.  We could buy it by the case at Costco for about the same price it costs us to make it but we don't really like the cheaper brands or the "Beers of the World" package they offer.

Of course, this does not include the start-up costs of buying all the brewing equipment.  We have probably invested about $150 to $200 in our equipment and estimate that it will have paid for itself after the sixth or seventh batch.  We just put our fifth batch in the primary bucket today.

Bottling Our Dry Irish Stout (We got 51 bottles out of this one!)

So the bottom line is: Yes, brewing your own beer can save you money provided you have simple tastes and stick to the less complex kits or recipes. We are simple folk who just like our beer to taste like beer.  We don't need (or want) it to have citrus or piney notes.  We don't need it to overwhelm our taste buds or kick us in the mouth with its hoppy bitterness.  We like Cream Ale, Irish Stout, and Irish Red and we are always on the lookout for other kits or recipes that don't cost an arm and a leg to make but have great beer flavor.

By the way, if you're wondering if it's cheaper to find out what's in a kit you like and then buy all the ingredients separately - it's not, at least not at Northern Brewer.  I priced everything in the Dry Irish Stout kit and it ended up costing $3.22 more to buy the ingredients ala carte.  So don't waste your time.  Just buy the tried and true kit.  All the kits we've done from both Brewer's Best and Northern Brewer have turned out excellent.  So give it a try.  If you can make soup, you can make beer.

Cheers!

A Sharing Community

I just received an email from the Center for a New American Dream with a link to their newly released Guide to Sharing.

It's funny that I just got it today because I had been thinking about this very thing earlier in the day. Since we've gotten our chickens, several people have called dibs on our eggs. (Our hens won't be ready to lay for another 5 months or so.) My mom even bought us a bag of chicken feed in exchange for future eggs. Our neighbor also has given us a bunch of empty beer bottles to use for our home-brewing in exchange for some beer. I could definitely see us building on this model of trade, or "sharing."

The Center's Guide to Sharing provides a plethora of ideas, including book swaps, car sharing, toy libraries, and potlucks, for ways to share in one's community. I'm most interested in the community clothing swap. The step-by-step instructions look like they'd be very useful in organizing one. I've thought about having a clothing swap at my kids' neighborhood school because it could be helpful to families who can't afford to buy new (or used) clothes for their kids. The Guide might be just the spark I need to put this idea into action. Any of my fellow school parents interested in helping out?

The idea that I am most hesitant about is the tool lending library. I don't know if it's a Chicago thing, but everyone I know locks up their tools. Garages are usually cleaned out when a door is left open inadvertently. I knew a plumber who's van was regularly broken into for his tools. Somehow, I don't think a tool lending library would fly in my neighborhood unless everyone had a key to the place where the tools were stored and it was kept a secret from non-participants. That's just my cynical, but realistic, self speaking.

Several months ago, I visited Nettelhorst, a school in the Lakeview neighborhood, along with several parents from my kid's school. Nettelhorst has really taken this community-sharing thing to the max. Most of the amazing work that has been done to the school, both inside and out, has been done for free by members of and businesses in the community. Parents at the school were able to draw on the wide variety of talents available in their area to turn the school into a real place of community.

I think it would be great if my kids' school also could be a place of sharing within the community: providing vegetables from a garden, hosting clothing swaps, offering classes teaching skills to both parents and students, and so on. We've already started working on becoming a focal point by planning to turn the school's asphalt playlot into a green landscape. You can check out the design here.

Before I get ahead of myself with these big dreams, I need to remember that it is better to start small. So I'll just start sharing beer and eggs with my friends and neighbors and see where that takes us. I'll be building a list of things Alan and I can share over time. Hmmm....homemade bread, fresh herbs, lots of kale, Alan's woodworking skills....If I share with you, will you share with me?

Chicago's Sustainable Backyards Program

Last year, I found out about Chicago Sustainable Backyards Program from a flyer I picked up at the North Park Village Nature Center. It was with surprise and delight that I discovered that the city could help us pay  for rain barrels, native plants, compost bins and trees. Imagine getting a check, instead of a bill, from the city! And for something that we were already planning on doing anyway!

I was already interested in planting native flowers before I found out about the rebate program, but it gave me the extra push I needed to get going. The previous year, I had dug up most of the plants left by the former owners of our home. I am not fond of tiger lilies or hostas and they had overtaken our garden space. Unfortunately, Alan had just found out that he was being laid off from Chicago Public Schools, so we didn't have the money to buy plants to fill in the empty space I had just created. Whoops! There's nothing like looking at dirt in front of someone's house, huh?

Anyway, that gave me time to research what plants I wanted to put there when we could afford it. I really don't like gardening that much, partly because it causes the eczema on my hands to flare up. Alan's more of the gardener, though he prefers vegetable gardening. So, I wanted to get flowers for the front of the house that would be both easy to maintain and tolerant of shade. Our climate is not the best for growing plants, which is why I decided to go with native plants. I knew they would survive here and require less work than non-native plants.

With the city's rebate program in mind, I looked for a few books on Illinois native plants: Rodale's Low-Maintenance Landscaping and Perennials for Illinois by Aldrich and Williamson proved to be the most useful by providing color illustrations and detailed descriptions of native plant care. While reading these books, I highlighted the plants I liked that would tolerate shade in our front yard.

After checking out the list of approved garden centers for the city's rebate program, I ended up going to Home Depot and Meinke's Garden Center in Niles and bought the plants. (This was after Alan had been re-hired at a new public school.) Since the receipts didn't list the names of the plants, I wrote them in next to the price. Then, I filled out the rebate form, put it in an envelope with the receipts and mailed it. A few months later, I got a check in the mail for $60. It was nice getting a check and not a bill from the city for once.

Here's a few of the plants I purchased:

"Monkshood"

"Blue Star"

The plants are beginning to bloom again in our front yard, though it's still pretty sparsely planted. I'm giving myself plenty of time to fill it out. I didn't know plants could be so expensive!

My next goal is to take advantage of the rain barrel rebate. Our basement flooded the first summer we lived here and I'm hoping that maybe the rain barrels will help alleviate that problem.

I'll add the link to the sustainable backyard program to this blog for easier access. If you're still sitting on the fence about buying a rain barrel or compost bin, now's your chance! The deadline for purchasing these items is Dec. 31, 2012.