Our new meal sharing system

MoJo, Matt, Steve, Kat, Lee and Maria at one of our shared meals on the front porch.

Since June 2010, we have been trying a new vegetarian meal sharing system. Each of the seven people who live here cooks one night a week. For example, I cook on Thursdays. I head over to the farmers’ market and buy fresh produce, then cook up something super seasonal. Lately it has been pesto. Meals need not be fancy, but depending on who is cooking, they can get quite gourmet. Sometimes there is even dessert.

Our old system was very ad hoc. We shared basic ingredients, but people cooked only when they felt like it. It was totally unpredictable – a crapshoot as to what gets bought or made – but sometimes there were very nice surprises. People coped by eating out a lot, cooking a lot of small meals, and/or hoarding food to make sure they had a backup in case no one made anything or enough. We only have one fridge so it was always packed and the kitchen was frequently crowded with people cooking at overlapping times.

The new structured system is very predictable so we are saving money not having to eat out, spending more quality time eating together, and the fridge is much less cluttered. For anyone who misses a meal, a container is set aside for them. Often there are leftovers, so we may even have food for lunch the next day. Sweet deal!

We recently added a tweak to the plan – each of us gets one of our days off per month – it now typically works out to a commitment to cook (and clean up) for only three days a month. While there are a few days with no scheduled dinner, this does allow for using up leftovers or going out.

Sunday community dinners

Frequently on Sundays in 2009, one person cooked a big vegetarian feast and we invited people to come over for a community dinner. Usually guests were asked to bring something to contribute to the meal. The person responsible for cooking received $25 from our house fund. It can be a good chance to try out new vegan recipes.

In December 2008, Colleen and Du Fei generously provided an enormous Chinese-style feast with dozens of dishes. These two lived at the house for only two weeks but we became good friends with them. They have since returned to China.

Grape abundance

Back in Spring I wrote about having to prune our Concord grape vine by breaking several of the buds off with my thumb nail.

I wrote: “…one advantage of pruning just the buds, is that you will end up with a thick network of branches that will help block raiding raccoons from reaching the finished grapes that hang down from the vines.”

It worked. The grapes became ripe in early September and were visited by hungry racoons nightly. They ate a bunch and dropped some, but because of the thick mat of vines, many of the grapes that hung down were too hard for them to reach. The same was true for the birds. We were able to harvest grapes whenever we wanted up until mid October. I know someone who cuts all his grapes off early on and composts most of them to avoid the inevitable mess caused by the coons. Our neighbour, Josee lost his grapes to racoons last year, so this year he also cut his very early.

This pruning adaption has allowed us to share the grape abundance among all our furred, feathered and human friends.

Not Far From The Tree – picking local fruit

In September, I joined a really cool Toronto group called Not Far From the Tree. They harvest fresh fruit from people’s backyards. The group is made up of volunteer gleaners. Everyone benefits: the tree owners who get a share of the harvest and their yard cleared of falling fruit, the volunteers who get exercise, social interaction and a share of the bounty, and homeless shelters who are the main recipients of this free harvest. The program is also very good for the environment as it supports locally-grown produce – you can’t get more local than a backyard tree. Eating this way avoids agricultural pesticides and herbicides as well as the fuel for long distance shipping.

John (who lives at the house) and I went on a couple of pear picks this Fall. We were assigned to a huge tree with an enormous bounty of fruit. At the end, our share amounted to over 50 pears each. I climbed high into the tree and took the following photos.

John picking pears with Shannon and Jen, two other volunteers

Helen bravely climbs up to get another heavy bag of pears that I am about to hand her.

A couple weeks later, we picked another pear tree. This time I recorded the count: 12 large bags (and one bucket for the owners). Together they weighed about 250 pounds (over 110 kilograms). I estimate we got 1150 pears from that single tree. There were still a lot more that we couldn’t reach and others that weren’t ripe enough yet. And before we arrived much fruit had already fallen. The owner reported that a small branch weighted with pears had come crashing down a few days prior.

Our team of gleaners including the tree owners on the left. I am in the center. We picked this pear bounty in just a few hours with the help of the blue tarp in the photo. With a person holding each corner, it was held suspended below the tree while I was high up in the canopy shaking branches.

Fruit trees produce a lot food using very little land. Years ago, I researched how much land it takes to feed people. I wanted to know how the land footprint compared between vegetarians and meat-eaters. If you divide all the agricultural land in North America by the population it comes out to about 3.5 acres per person. But it turns out that vegetarians can subsist on a fraction of this amount.

Picking pears this Fall really proved to me how true and important this is. Just a few trees can produce more food than you could possibly eat in a year. Other plant foods such as potatoes and grains are also very productive. Eating low on the food chain frees up farmland that can be returned to wilderness. It also means less soil erosion, less dams, less pesticides and less energy use.

In addition to pears, Not Far From the Tree has picked apricots, apples, elderberries and grapes. So far this year they have picked over 3,003 pounds of fruit that would have otherwise fallen to the ground.

Past residents

In a large house like ours, there are always people coming and going. Some of us leave for a few months and sublet, others move on to other places and situations.

Here are some of our past residents. For a list of who currently lives here, see the House page.

Dec 2010: Mojo is a musician from Ottawa. She was in Toronto living with us for the past several month while she one of the coordinators working at FoodCycles, an organic farm located right in the city at Downsview park.

Sept 2010: Joe is a Master’s candidate at U of T and an avid cyclist who bikes year round in Toronto and on trips that have included Italy and the Gaspe Penninsula. “After 15 years of running my own import business (or was it running me…?), I fired myself and  returned to U of T to work towards my Masters in Education. Both my academic and non-academic interests are varied and involve both service to self and others. I seek balance in life although a little imbalance tends to keep things exciting.”

May 2010: Mike moved in with his girlfriend – “When I am not agonizing over how to write about myself, I try to invent and implement creative ways of applying my talents (in probability theory, statistics, finance, risk management and strategy) in my consulting work, volunteer efforts and civic life. Some of the issues that I am concerned about include civil liberties, civic engagement, public health, public education, climate change, ecological responsibility, cultural diversity, electoral reform and democratic work practices. I enjoy organic and locally grown foods, yoga, pilates, cycling, travel, quirky personalities, surprises, my new MacBook and trying to become a better writer.”
Mike moved into the house in Oct 2008.

Spring 2010: Miriam moved to Madonna house, a Christian farming community near Bellville. She originally moved in January 2, 2008. “I just graduated from Social Work at Ryerson. After finishing up courses, I did my final practicum with an NGO in the northern Philippines for five months. I worked with students in a dormitory, did some microcredit development work in two villages, spent time with local indigenous rights activists and danced a lot at different ceremonies. I returned to Toronto in October. I love to read, my favourite authors are Bell Hooks, Rohinton Mistry, Miroslav Volf and Henri Nouwen. I watch a lot of documentary films, I like to debate local Toronto issues, and have a keen interest in international politics and human rights issues. I’m just figuring out being vegetarian and changing my lifestyle/personal habits to be more earth friendly. I’ve been playing around with being vegetarian for about 2 years. In the last six months being vegetarian and having a more earth-conscious perspective has taken root in me, especially after returning from traveling and interacting with different people in my faith community, Freedomize.

Diana subletted from Joe for the first half of 2009. She writes: ” One year ago I moved back to TO from Victoria BC, where I was applying my music education to teaching piano, as well as: learning and instructing social Cuban Latin dancing, practicing yoga, learning and performing belly dancing, experimenting with art therapy and researching spiritual practices of healing.  Recently I travelled to India for several courses at meditation centers and hope to make travel part of my life. For about 2 years now I practice vipassana meditation and planning to attend my first long meditation course in Merrit BC this spring.  Currently I instruct piano privately to children, teenagers and adults under “Fun Piano Lessons” and would like to develop a practical teacher training program for first time teachers. I have been a vegetarian since 2002 and I am hoping that living in this house will enrich my intention of conscious living, making consumption choices that are good for the earth, and challenge and stretch my boundaries in awareness and active participation.

Dec 2008: Jasmine moved out to travel in Mexico. She had just finished her BA in religious studies at U of T.  “With her degree she will make bowls out of clay and travel to warmer places.”

Spring 2008: Basil moved back to Ottawa for work, but is now back in Toronto living nearby with his partner. Update (Nov 2010): He is now living at the house again.

Jan 2008: Meaghan moved on to Edinburgh to pursue a Master’s degree. She writes: “This past year, I worked in sub-Saharan Africa with HIV/AIDS related issues, and lived in community in South Africa as well, sharing a home with a single African mom and her son, and fellow volunteers. I am returning to school to pursue a degree in international public health, with the dream of getting back to Africa to work within these communities again. I love jogging, sewing, crafts, jazz music and reading books that change my mind.”

Nov 2007: Darrick left to go to South East Asia to make a film about orphaned wild animals. He has been a vegan/animal rights activist and environmentalist for many years. Prior to that he was involved with peace activism. He is a member of the Sea Shepherd Crew, works as a fire fighter, and does renovation jobs to raise money for worthy causes.

Eight mice that no longer live here

As mentioned last month, John caught a little mouse in the sink by putting a glass over him. Later we released him outside. When you can actually catch a mouse with a glass, that is probably a sign that you are over-run with them.

At the following house meeting we decided to get some live traps. I was down at the Green Living Show a couple of weeks later and Green Leaf pest control was there selling the Ketch-All trap for $20. We gave it a shot, and its a magnet for mice! Caught 8 altogether over a period of about three days with no bait.

I thought it was some new technology, but I googled it, and the trap has been around since 1924. What makes it so effective is that it takes advantage of a mouse’s natural curiosity to explore. The trap has a tunnel through it. When a mouse enters, a spring-loaded baffle side swipes them into a spacious side chamber. Then we release them outside. I found a good spot by some railway tracks.

As more mice get caught and released, they leave behind their scent inviting more mice to explore (or perhaps they are looking for their friends). It is suggested that you place the trap against the wall. The trap’s tunnel then seems like a shortcut to mice running along the wall. While no bait is necessary, I placed a piece of apple inside so that the mouse wouldn’t get too thirsty once caught. It was pretty obvious, though, when a mouse was inside as they chew on the metal, making a loud sound.

I think we caught them all. The trap has been silent for over a week and there is no sign of mice.

For more information, see Veg.ca’s excellent article called Dealing with mice and rats: A humane approach to pest control. The ultimate solution is to seal up all your cracks. Our kitchen is full of holes which will eventually be filled when we get to the pending renovation. Until then, we will have to rely on humane mouse trapping.

Update: Since this post, two mice have been seriously injured in this trap and two others died. We contacted the manufacturer and this is a known problem with the Ketch-All trap. He recommended a more humane (and apparently equally effective) trap called the Pro-Ketch. Also, I was able to modify our trap and appear to have fixed the problems. Keep reading for more on this.

Signs of Spring – crocuses, the first garden edibles, and mice

Spring has sprung here in Toronto. Along with the first crocus flowers, there are tender edibles in the backyard and burdock and Jerusalem Artichokes to dig up. There are also more mice scurrying about our kitchen, and a few black ants.

Horseradish sprouts are one of the first harvestable plants in the Spring. They are spicy but quite delicious especially in a sandwich or with corn chips. They don’t last long, in a few days they will be too spicy and tough to eat. But by then the stinging nettle will be ready.

Stinging Nettle shoots. These are another early edible green. You have to cut them with scissors as the pricks will sting your skin, but once you boil the young leaves for a few minutes they go limp and are quite delicious in soup or by themselves. A friend of mine transplanted some for me several years ago. We keep them in a separate shady part of the garden as they grow like a weed and spread.

In the backyard we also have burdock roots and Jerusalem Artichokes (kind of like a potato) to dig up, and there is always dandelion greens and roots.

This year, once again, I forgot to trim the grape vines during the winter. Once Spring starts, any cuts will result in sap pouring out. A solution is to break several of the buds off with your thumb nail. Pruning a grape vine makes for larger grapes, and one advantage of pruning just the buds, is that you will end up with a thick network of grape vine branches that will help block raiding raccoons from reaching the finished grapes that hang down from the vines.

John caught this little mouse in the sink by putting a glass over him. Later we released him outside. We also trapped a little guy that had gotten himself locked in one of our cabinets. I also found one dead in the shower. I suspect that the neighbours maybe poisoning them. We share a party wall. Veg.ca has a good article called Dealing with mice and rats: A humane approach to pest control.

Eating local organic in February!

At the house we aim to eat a fair bit of local foods which isn’t always so easy in the winter. We shop at the nearby Dufferin Grove Farmers Market where the selection has whittled down to potatoes, beets, cabbage, onions, squash, leeks, turnips, shiitake mushrooms, celery root, carrots, apples, fresh baked bread from the brick ovens, and baby greens from a greenhouse. That last item turns out to be not necessarily the best choice for the environment. Greenhouses often require large amounts of energy for heating and lighting. See previous article.

Many of these items were harvested a couple of months ago, but hearty roots, cabbage, squash and apples are technically still in season since they are easily stored.

Does the food you eat involve burning dirty fuel?

Eat local, seasonal and low on the food chain to minimize climate chaos gas emissions

According to a UN study reported in the Guardian, climate change emissions from shipping amount to 1.12 billion tonnes of CO2 a year, or nearly 4.5% of all global emissions of the main greenhouse gas. This is almost three times higher than previously believed. Ships exploit a ready supply of the world’s cheapest, most polluting “bunker” fuel. Marine heavy fuel oil, which is burned by all large ships, is the residue of the world’s oil refineries. It is as thick as tar. Burning the stuff also releases alarming levels of cancer-causing air pollution (see pdf graphic). The industry has grown rapidly – to the point where it now carries more than 90% of the world’s trade by volume, and has tripled its tonnage carried since 1970. Cargoes also have to travel further due to a shift of production away from the US and Europe to China and south Asia.

“Food imports from China have exploded over the past decade, rising nearly 300% to more than $705 million last year,” says a May article in the Toronto Star that cites Statistics Canada. China is now Canada’s fifth largest supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables. Another big category is fish and seafood. At the Toronto Food Terminal, Chinese peas sell for ten dollars a case. A vegetable wholesaler told the Star, “In Canada you couldn’t do it for that price if everybody worked for free!” There is the risk of Canadian farmers being priced out of existence.

On a positive note, sea-freight emissions are much less than if you were to ship the same weight by airplane. The aviation industry is responsible for about 650 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year. And due to their huge cargoes, ships are usually more efficient than trucks, and you don’t have to build highways.

Local foods not always best

The New Yorker has an eight page article titled Big Foot that takes a close look at carbon footprints. The local 100-mile diet – eating only foods produced within a 100 mile radius – has been promoted as the ultimate in ecological eating. But it turn out that when evaluating food, you have to consider the entire life cycle of the product. For example:

• Importing New Zealand apples and other foods may result in less carbon emissions because the country receives plenty of sunshine and gets most of its power from dams.
• “Importing beans from Uganda or Kenya – where the farms are small, tractor use is limited, and the fertilizer is almost always manure – tends to be more efficient than growing beans in Europe, with its reliance on energy-dependent irrigation systems.”
• Greenhouse-grown roses in Holland require six times more energy than roses flown from North Africa to Europe.
• Because of methane emissions and feed crops, local meat has a much higher climate change footprint than imported vegetarian alternatives (more on this below).

I buy imported avocados, limes, rice and lentils. But learning about the environmental costs of shipping reminds me to keep the focus on locally-grown and seasonal foods. Seasonal means eating stuff when it is in season (such as strawberries in June), or hearty foods such as roots, cabbage, squash and apples that have had their season extended by proper storing. Dry foods like grains, legumes, nuts and seeds are effectively always in season because they easily store for months and months. Preserving local food by freezing, drying or canning is another solution.

Treasure from another person’s garbage. Tips and finds

A few weeks ago I wrote about how to give away stuff you don’t want anymore. The other side of that is finding free stuff. It can be fun and rewarding to go scavenging for treasure. You never know what you may come across. Currently, I stick to non-bagged residential “garbage.” Foraging for stuff behind stores, known as dumpster diving or skipping, is more involved.

Below are some reasons, tips and suggestions, as well as photos of recent finds.

Why pick up garbage? You can …

• find free stuff that you need.
• discover treasure.
• prevent useful things from being trucked to landfill or incinerators.
• find gifts for family, friends or strangers.
• give new life to an item that needs some simple fixing.
• rescue cans, bottles and papers that belong in recycling.

There is an excellent photo series at Instructibles called Dumpster Dipping (for a small planet or just for fun). The author describes it as:

“… an enjoyable activity involving a pleasant bike ride, a hunt, the thrill of discovery, the mystery of recent archeology, forensic storytelling, good Karma recycling, and a form of shopping with green environmental impact. It helps me get in touch with my early human hunter gathering roots. It is similar to gold panning, … It is also possible to undo your entire carbon footprint through the recycling of other people’s former stuff.”

Tips

• Go around your immediate neighbourhood. Nearby finds are easier to carry back.
• Garbage day offers the best selection, and the last chance to save stuff from landfill.
• Look for houses that are throwing away a large amount of stuff – after a Spring cleaning or someone moving out. The first of a month is a good time to find stuff left behind by former tenants.
• I don’t bother opening up bags, unless they are located beside a lot of nice unbagged items, and look like they may contain useful stuff.