Eat well, save the world = my kind of diet

Nov. 2, 2009

Well, it’s a Low Carbon Diet, and food is not the only focus. I joined a team of 15 or so valiant Village Homes residents and folks who live nearby to figure out how each of us can reduce the carbon we use in our homes and lives. We’re part of a larger Davis city effort, which is part of a big state drive.

The best way to start meetings, and this is our fourth, is to eat well. Derek and Carl are on the team and they live in Sunwise Co-op in Village Homes, which is an offshoot of the original Davis Student Co-op that was once home to my sister April. Small world.

OK, the menu tonight was amazing. It was Derek and [Andy!] Carl’s turn to cook anyway, so they invited our team to eat dinner with the Sunwise gang. Three of us took them up on the offer: me, Elizabeth Thigpen Hunt, our amazing team leader (and chef extraordinaire), and Virginia Thigpen, Lizzy’s mama and ground-breaking Davis green builder for more than 30 years. We thoroughly enjoyed the sweet potato soup with avocado, cilantro, tortilla chips and grated cheddar toppings, and the yummy lentil stew that was based on a Moroccan dish Derek said ended in “-ade.” The co-op garden is still producing terrific lettuce and other greens and the salad with walnuts, lettuce, cranberries and raisins was fabulous.

Oh, yeah – we also shared our carbon-reduction recipes for our homes and learned a few new things from each other. Virginia and Elizabeth gave their refrigerator a good workout today with a refrigerator coil brush they got at the hardware store; I’ve brought it home to give it a try. Derek and Carl have been experimenting with turning the gas pilots on their big stove off, and they’ve analyzed the co-op trash with some interesting findings: a good percentage of their trash is the aseptic cardboard containers for soy milk. They’re thinking of going to the refrigerated larger containers of soy milk or making their own almond milk. At the last meeting, which I missed, they talked about how separating all their trash carefully and composting the damp items allows them to put dry trash in a container without any bag (plastic or paper). An idea worth trying.

We’re working on details about our individual home and life carbon footprints, and will probably meet again for a celebration. I’ll be talking to Alan to set a personal home goal for carbon reduction, and dear sweet Lizzy will hold us to the fire.

I’m falling asleep at the wheel, so enjoy these photos of some of our team members with the Sunwise Co-op gang, the lentil stew, sweet potato soup, and the wonderful fresh salad.