Cob Cottage Gifts

This piece is meant to be an editorial, and I respectfully ask that you take everything I say with a grain of salt, knowing that this is nothing more than my personal opinion.  I encourage you to form your own thoughts and opinions on the matter, and want to express my thoughts as a gesture of sharing.

So often I hear students say, “I’m not very good at yoga,” or “Wow, I could never do that,” and my least favorite, “I’m just not flexible enough to do yoga.”  All of these sentiments break my heart because yoga has absolutely nothing to do with the human body, and even less to do with how deeply one can stretch.  It hurts my soul to know that there are people who believe yoga is meant for a certain type of person, or that to take a yoga class you should be able to touch your toes (or some other arbitrary sign of flexibility).  These ideas could not be farther from the truth.

I am one of the clumsiest human beings I’ve ever met.  Think Deena from Jersey Shore clumsy.  For much of my life I’ve stayed away from yoga (despite the fact that my family is filled with yogis) because my limbs are ridiculously long and a bit uncontrollable, my balance is equivalent to a pubescent boy, and up until a few years ago I couldn’t sit still for more than 30 seconds.  I used to be a person that believed yoga was just not made for me because I didn’t have (what I thought was) the prerequisite flexibility, balance, and poise.  How wrong I was. Continue reading “Clumsy Yoga” »

Spinach has been termed a “super food” by many food experts and dietitians. However, it isn’t always easy to eat a huge plate of spinach. This baked pasta is both comforting and full of spinach.

1 lb. rigatoni pasta
15 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese
3 cloves of garlic, minced
½ c parmesan cheese, grated
½ c parsley, chopped
4 c of fresh spinach (I use the prewashed and bagged spinach)
¼ onion
2 c mozzarella cheese
1 ½ jar marinara sauce
salt and pepper
olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 350 F degrees.
Cook the pasta to the directions on package, but take it off 2-3 minutes before the time indicated so it is slightly undercooked.
Sautee onion in a large pan with olive oil until translucent, add garlic and sauté for another minute. Continue reading “Spinach Baked Pasta” »

For the past several years I have lived an exceptionally nomadic life, often living out of a back pack, sleeping erratic hours, and eating substances of questionable quality (does anyone truly know the nutritional value of sour gummy worms?).  With far less than a permanent address and an ever expanding collection of possessions, travel can sometimes be exhausting and cumbersome.  However, I have found that one does not need a yoga mat, blocks, blankets, a strap, a cushion, or a beautiful open studio space in order to practice yoga.  In fact, it is through the challenge of constant migration that I am able to embrace the gift of stillness, as they truly feel like gifts in the ocean of transportation.  Here are a few pearls of traveling knowledge that may aid in your migrations.

Yoga for the Air

In auyerveda it is believed that each person is a unique mixture of three primary doshas, or constitutions.  The doshas are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha and each dosha is associated with different natural elements.  Vata is the dosha associated with ether/space and air/wind; Pitta is comprised of wind and fire, and kapha is made up of water and earth.  Every individual has all three doshas but usually one or two of these doshas will take a dominant role.  Continue reading “Pack your yoga (travel friendly asana)” »

To go along with our Weekly Green Challenge for this week, I have decided to share a few no-heat hair styles. Many of these hair styles require you to have wet hair and let it air dry, so unless you have a lot of time during the day to hang around the house, you may want to do this an hour or two before bed.

There are lots of different styles that can be done without heat.

Crimping-Crimping isn’t  a lost style, it’s just gone into the back ground.  If you are interested in bringing it back, section your hair out into small squares and get to braiding.  The smaller and tighter the braid, the smaller the crimp will be.

Waves-If you know how to Dutch Braid or French Braid your own hair, section your hair into about four sections and give them a good Dutch or French Braid.  This will provide a large crimp that will turn out to be very wavy.

Curls-Have you heard of rag curls or pin curls?  They are not hard to do, and they can have some fantastic results.  IF you have foam rollers, they work really well, but don’t go out and buy them for the sake of getting curls.  Reach for the bag of scrap fabric or the old Tee shirt drawer.  Section your hair out, I usually start at the bottom and clip all of the hair I am not working with to the top of my head. Grab a section of hair and start wrapping it around the fabric. When you have rolled it to the top, tie the fabric strip in a knot.  Go to sleep.  When you get up in the morning, simply finger comb the curls out or use a pic.  the smaller the sections of hair you use the smaller the curls will be.

A quick Google search will bring up plenty of tutorials for any of these methods.  Give them a try, tell us what you think.  My daughter just LOVES for me to put rag curls in her hair.

Lentils are a good source of: fiber, protein, B vitamins, calcium, iron, and potassium. These cheesy lentil joes are easy to make, store well, and make lentils fun to eat!

Brown Lentils 1 Cup –washed
Yellow Onion – ½ – diced
Olive Oil – 3 Tbsp
Diced Tomato – 1 15 oz can
Garlic – 2 cloves minced
*Tomato Paste – 3 oz
*Ketchup – ½ cup
*Mustard – 1 tsp
*Chili Powder – 1 Tbsp
*Molasses – 3 Tbsp (I used blackstrap molasses)
*Vinegar – 1 Tbsp
Aged Cheddar – ½ cup grated
4 whole wheat buns
*If you are pressed for time, you can trade the starred items for 1/3 cup of barbecue sauce.

To cook lentils, put washed lentils and 4 cups of water in pot and simmer on med-low for half an hour stirring every 5 minutes.
While lentils are cooking, put olive oil in a pan and heat it up to med-high heat. Put in diced onions and cook until translucent. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, ketchup, garlic, mustard, chili powder, molasses, and vinegar. Cook for about 8-10 minutes on med heat.
Drain lentils and combine with sauce.
Serve open faced on whole wheat buns and garnish with the aged cheddar on top.

I mentioned last week about getting your composting bins set up, but that it wouldn’t be easy to compost in the winter.  The microbes that are required for the breakdown of the material tend to slow down…. a lot…. during the winter, which of course means that the organic materials in your compost heap will not break down as fast.   Having said that, there is no reason that you couldn’t do a little kitchen or bin composting during the winter.

We have talked about composting in the past, and I wanted to be clear that there are two very different types of composting.  There is the small scale bin composting that can be done indoors and then there is the large scale composting that can be done outside.  During the winter there is no reason that you couldn’t do some bin composting inside.  I have explained in detail how to start your composting bin here.

I tried to research how long it would take for your waste materials to compost, but I unfortunately hit a dead end on the question, because it depends on several different factors.  But in general, if you have a warm bin with healthy happy worms, it should take about 4 1/2 months to complete the composting process.

Continue reading “Speeding up Your Indoor Composting” »

Let’s talk about our hair for a while, what is your daily routine?  What chemicals do you put in your hair on a daily basis?  What alternatives to these products are available?

What kind of shampoo do you use?  Do you know what the ingredients in it are?  Have you considered any alternatives?  There are some natural recipes that are easy to make available to replace your shampoo.

Not ready to go completely shampoo-less?  Don’t worry, there are organic options available as well!

What about your conditioner?  There are some natural conditioner recipes in the link above as well.  But again, if you are not ready to throw out the manufactured options,  there are organic conditioners available on the market as well.

What about the blow dryer?  Do you wash your hair in the mornings, then blow dry it and then use hot tools like flat irons or curling irons to style it?  Why not skip on one of these electricity sucking items?  Try washing your hair the night before and letting it air dry?  This will save you some time in the mornings as well as some electricity, and it’s better for your hair!   Continue reading “Weekly Green Challenge: Green your Hair Routine” »

I will be the first to admit, my love affair with the snooze button may be a life long romance filled with days when I swear today is the end of everything – I’m going to be a morning person, and others where I hedonistically forfeit to the charisma of that oh-so-easy button.  Somehow, eventually, after many incoherent noises and an unconscious shuffling out of bed, I wake-up with little pizazz.  If you are at all like me, or at least have the humility to pretend you are, here are my yogic tricks for slightly less unpleasant morning rising.

Breath of Joy

This is a great pratapana (warm-up) that you can utilize at any time during your day.  In the morning this will help you to wake up by bringing oxygen and blood to your brain, opening your lungs, and gently moving your spine.

For this pose you’ll need to be standing, both feet firmly pressing into the ground at hip width distance apart.  Square your hips so that you can stand with an erect spine, allow your arms to rest heavy by your side.  Before you begin, take a few deep breaths and check in with your body. Continue reading “Goodmorning Yoga” »

Many of us realize that going forward with green lifestyles, and saving the planet sometimes means using techniques and technology from the past.  One such piece of old technology that is making a comeback in the green movement is the hand reel mower.

Yep, the push mower with the neat little spiral cylinder blades.  Many companies still build these and they are still on the market, and I don’t mean just online!  I have seen them in Lowe’s Hardware stores!  There are so many advantages to purchasing this type of mower instead of a gas powered one.

The first advantage is an obvious one, you won’t have to buy fuel for it, just use your own “people power” to get the job done.  Secondly it is quiet, not silent, but at least quiet enough that if you are an early bird, you won’t have to worry about waking your neighbors.

They are cheap compared to your gas and electric alternatives! Generally they range between $100 and $150. You can also purchase a grass catcher to collect your clippings so you can compost them, and they are usually less than $40.   Continue reading “Green Future with Tech from the Past” »

Staying warm during the winter months is extremely important for everyone, but there are ways to keep warm without breaking the bank when it is time to pay the electricity bill.  And of course, if you are saving on electricity, you are helping our planet!

Here are the top 5 easiest tips to keeping warm in the winter without raising your electricity bill.

1. Wear warmer clothes.  I realize that this may be a no-brainer to some, but if you wear warmer clothes while you are in the house, you can keep the thermostat turned down a little lower that you would if you were wearing tee-shirts and shorts around the house.  Having blankets on the couch for TV and movie watching are also great ways to keep warmer.

2. Use a space heater. If everyone gathers in a central room, such as the living room or dining room, set up a small space heater for the room.  By doing this, you can turn the central heat down and not waste money and electricity on heating the entire house.   Continue reading “Winter Heating Savings” »