I Broke the Compact

My adorable niece turned eight last week, and one of the gifts we sent her was BRAND NEW CLOTHES! Definitely not Compact-approved, so I'm coming clean here.

Do I regret it? No way. She's wearing one of the tops in this photo, she liked it and wanted to wear it on her birthday while she opened up the rest of her gifts.

This is the first new clothing I've bought in 16 months, but I don't feel bad about it. I haven't bought anything for myself, but I'm going to stick by my Compact-lite philosophy and not beat myself up if I want to buy something new once in awhile, especially as a gift for someone I love.

I will say, though, that I didn't intentionally set out to buy her new clothes. I was looking for some pajamas for her to wear at her birthday sleepover, and I couldn't find any and thought maybe the tops would work as pajamas. But then I just decided I wanted to buy them anyway, even though she probably wouldn't wear them as pajamas. Children's pj's are in the general Compact exceptions list, I guess because they'd be too hard to find in good used condition for growing kids, and they're almost like underwear.

She really loves green these days (see the highlights in her hair? Her mom put them in for her birthday gift) and so I wanted to find something green for her. And I'm actually really happy that I found this top, she looks so cute in it.

So I'm 'fessing up about my recent non-Compact purchase. I don't feel guilty about it and I don't regret it. I'm just reporting the event. Just the facts, Jack.

Click here to see a cute photo of my niece wearing her Compact-y Christmas gift. What are your favorite Compact-y gifts for kids? Please leave your ideas in the Comments section.

Meatless Monday Recipes: Mexican edition

Meatless Monday is a nonprofit initiative aimed at encouraging people to go meatless one day a week, for their health and the health of the planet. If you haven't heard about it, click here to find out more about the campaign. If you pledge to go meatless on Mondays, you'll receive a weekly email packed with delicious recipes.

That's the secret of going meatless: having lots of terrific vegetarian alternatives. The criteria for the recipes I post here are that they be quick, easy, and delicious. Most of the time, since they're meatless, they're healthy and frugal as well. I think that's a win/win/win/win/win. Wow.

My readers came through again with some super ideas that I can't wait to try.

First, Betsy from Married with Luggage says these black bean quesadillas, which are part of the Omega diet plan for healthy hearts, are delicious. Saute one small diced onion, one grated carrot, and 1/2 cup chopped purple cabbage in a small amount of canola oil for 3 minutes. Add 2 cups cooked spinach, 3 T chopped cilantro, 1 can of drained black beans, salt to taste, 1/2 tsp. cumin, and 1/2 tsp. chili powder and cook until the spinach is wilted. Heat tortillas until crisp, add filling to each, top with 1 T cheese, and fold over. Serve with salsa.

Next, Alea from Premeditated Leftovers suggests Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos. Visit her blog to get the details. I really can't wait to try this delicious combination of sweet potatoes, beans, spices, and cheese.

Around our house, we always like to have the ingredients on hand for an impromptu taco or burrito meal. Just combine any or all of the following for a quick and tasty option: corn or flour tortillas, black or refried beans, salsa, cilantro, cheddar or swiss cheese, avocado or guacamole, peppers, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and sour cream.

Thanks for your Mexican-inspired ideas! Readers, please share your favorite meatless recipes in the Comments section, and I'll include them in the next Meatless Monday recipes post. And click here to check out previous Meatless Monday installments for other terrific reader suggestions.

The Simple Living Network Newsletter

I'm excited and honored to be included in The Simple Living Network Newsletter again this month. The network is one of my favorite resources for living the good life, non-consumer style.

The Simple Living Network website celebrates voluntary simplicity, which they define as "living an examined life, one in which you have determined what is important and enough for you, and discarding the rest." It's not about living in poverty or self-inflicted deprivation.

Duane Elgin, a leader of the voluntary simplicity movement and author of the book Voluntary Simplicity, puts it this way: "Simple living is living in way that is outwardly simple and inwardly rich."

Click here to read my contribution, "My 90% Rule."

And if you haven't checked out The Simple Living Network yet, head on over there posthaste.

Food Waste Friday plus Free Stuff

This post is very late, and it's also going to be very short.

That's our waste for the week: snap peas, mixed greens, and a mystery herb. It might be tarragon, I'm not sure. I used it a couple of times and then it went yellow. The bagged greens I bought in a moment of weakness, when I was experiencing a salad craving in between CSA deliveries. And the snap peas I just didn't get to. Shame on me.

I'm not a very good example this week, but food waste just wasn't at the top of my priority list. On the bright side, it's all compostable so I won't be sending any food to the landfill. Also, we're still generating much less trash than we were this time last year or anytime before that. And I'm very happy about that.

Why care about wasting food? Because it's bad for the environment, and not so great for your bank account either. Find out more at Wasted Food.

FREE STUFF ALERT: Click here for 5 ways to Get Free Stuff on Twitter. Yes, I said the "T" word. Even though I don't personally use Twitter, that's no reason to begrudge my readers some great deals if they partake. I'm really having a problem focusing on some important things these days, and adding Twitter to my life is NOT going to help me with that issue. It's hard for me to believe it would be anything but one more distraction, even if it turned out to be a positive one. By the way, I got that tip from Natalie, The Frugalista herself.

Are you watching your food waste? How did you do this week? Tell us about it in the Comments section.

Thrifty Threads

Welcome to Thrifty Threads, AKA Most Stylish Compact-y outfit, where readers model their favorite secondhand clothes.

A Compact-y outfit is used or recycled, from Goodwill, a thrift store, a consignment shop, a yard sale, ebay, craigslist, or anywhere else you find secondhand clothing.

Today's model is Carmen, back for the third time on Thrifty Threads. Carmen loves thrifting, and when she realized this outfit was mostly secondhand, she took a photo and sent it to me. Thanks Carmen!

Carmen blogs at Life Blessons, with the tagline "The blessings and lessons of this little life of mine." Her blog offers a thoughtful examination of her life and values, including her faith, her marriage, and her future, along with the opportunity to follow her progress as she sets up house, learns to cook, and figures out clever ways to save money. I like the way she is on a journey, always learning new things and questioning her values. I really enjoyed this post called "Why we don't own a television."

This cute spring outfit is entirely thrifted except for the green tank top. The denim skirt was originally from the Gap and the clutch purse and cardigan are vintage. Carmen says that mix of old and new is one of her favorite things about thrifting. She loves incorporating some vintage pieces into her wardrobe and the character they bring to an outfit. I agree. The simple, modern tank top and denim skirt combo are brought to life by the handcrafted details in the purse and sweater.

Thanks Carmen for another great Thrifty Threads submission! It is so inspiring to see how you express your personality and individuality through your secondhand scores. Having unique pieces like this in your wardrobe allows you to create far more interesting outfits than the brand-new cookie cutter fashions found in the mall.

Readers, it's your turn! Put on your favorite secondhand outfit, snap a photo, and send it to me at barton.angela@gmail.com. We all want to see your fabulous finds, so don't be shy. Inspire us with your spring and summer fashions.

Please leave your tips and advice for thrift store shopping plus compliments for Carmen in the Comments section. And click here to check out previous installments of Thrifty Threads.

The Recycling Queen

Meet Ann Lesch. She recycles just about anything she gets her hands on. And what she creates out of what most of us would consider junk is fabulous.

Ann collects used plastic bags friends bring home from stores. She washes them, sorts them by color, and cuts them into strips. Then she crochets them into these beautiful purses, book bags, beach bags, and mats for lying out at the beach. She also passes the mats out to homeless people to give them something to help keep them dry.

Ann creates these treasures by covering boxes and containers with upholstery and drapery samples that she gets from interior decorating companies. Tons of these samples are tossed in the trash each season. Ann turns them into purses, beach bags, pillows (which she tightly stuffs with recycled plastic bags), and lovely keepsake boxes.

She collects outdated tiles from ceramic tile companies and covers old tables like this one. She also uses this technique for benches and chairs. If I had Ann's talent, I would have saved a lot of time searching for a tile table for our backyard.

Ann's husband John clearly supports her talent and resourcefulness.

Believe it or not, these beautiful containers are made from magazine pages. Ann turns them into lovely flower pots, vases, and fruit bowls.

And these creations were made with repurposed yarn from scraps and sweaters.

What an inspiration! Talk about spinning gold from straw and turning trash into treasure. Ann's projects are the ultimate in recycling: an artist working with found materials.

Ann's daughter Janice says she is so proud of her 80-year-old mother. She doesn't need a facelift to stay young. Her secret is appreciating the little things in life.

Thank you Ann, for being an inspiration to all of us! Your talent is remarkable.

Do you turn trash into treasure? Tell us about it in the Comments section.

CSA Delivery

Another delicious-looking CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery today. I'm excited about the fruit, since strawberries, peaches, and apricots are some of my favorites. Celery is the only thing I could do without, but I'm sure I can use it in soup or something else. And my husband enjoys it occasionally.

This week we got (roughly clockwise from the back): cauliflower, romaine, celery, fava beans, strawberries, broccoli, cherry walnut granola bar, apricots, white peaches, artichokes, bok choy, sugar snap peas, zucchini, mint and chamomile, spring garlic, Bloomsdale spinach, and mixed baby greens.

The basic idea of CSA is bringing the Farmer's Market to you. It's worked out great for us. We're eating more fruits and vegetables and a more varied diet in general, so it's healthier. And the produce tastes much more delicious than what you usually find at the supermarket. Also, even though the $42 charge seemed a little high to me at first, our grocery budget has stayed the same or even fallen a little. I think that's because I'm buying less meat and pre-packaged items. Still, we only get this delivery once every two weeks because it's too much for us to use up every week.

If you're interested, click here to find out more about CSA and find one near you. And if you have recipe ideas or tips for anything you see in this photo, please leave your suggestions in the Comments section.

Happy Mother's Day

These photos are from my favorite plant, the Matilija Poppy. It grows like a weed, and hardly needs any water, just a lot of sun. Perfect for southern California.

I would never have been able to grow this beautiful plant and all the plants in our gorgeous front yard, without the help, advice, and inspiration of my mom, who is a gardening goddess. Before I dove into the project of landscaping our front yard with native and drought-tolerant choices, I was known to kill plants. Well, not exactly kill them, since it wasn't intentional. More like neglect them, and let them die. But now it's been worth all the work and added a bright spot to our lives, especially every time I come home to our cute little house.

Thanks, mom. And Happy Mother's Day. I love you very much.

And Happy Mother's Day to all the moms who read my blog.

Food Waste Friday plus Favorite blog post of the week

No picture this week, but we did have some food waste.

1. Half a container of almond milk. I'm not very good at using this up before it goes bad. I opened it for a smoothie, went out of town for a week, and then forgot about it. I need to either tell my husband to use it on his cereal, or have a smoothie for breakfast even if I'm more in the mood for yogurt and homemade granola, my current favorite.

2. About half a head of kale. I LOVE kale, and was so disappointed to see that I hadn't adequately sealed the plastic bag when I put this away so some of the leaves had turned yellow. I did manage to save enough for one of my favorite light dinners: warm kale salad.

• Saute torn leaves in olive oil with two cloves of minced or pressed garlic until soft. Top with salt, balsamic vinegar, toasted pine nuts, and goat cheese.

3. A bit of greek salad. This was a takeout item I had enjoyed for lunch and taken the remainder home for my husband. He enjoyed it for dinner and still had some left over. He forgot to eat it the next day and the following day it was soggy. In my opinion, this says more about huge restaurant portions than our ability to avoid wasting food.

I'm determined to do better next week. I didn't buy many groceries this week and I have a new policy of only buying one "treat" or pre-packaged item per week. When we have those easy options, we often waste more. I'm also doing an informal "eat from the pantry" month to use up some staples that have been around for awhile.

If you're new here and wondering what all the fuss is about, check out Wasted Food to learn more about how food in a landfill pollutes the earth. And go to The Frugal Girl for the roundup of bloggers who are determined to limit their waste, one blogger at a time.

Favorite blog post of the week: I love this guest post by Naomi Seldin of Simpler Living about how to get rid of a particular kind of clutter - the sentimental kind. There are a lot of valuable lessons in this thoughtful piece. Although around our house, I can't imagine ever referring to a bottle of wine as "clutter." Naomi's blog is packed with tips and useful information for dealing with all kinds of other clutter as well.

Thrifty Threads

Welcome to another installment of Thrifty Threads, AKA Most Stylish Compact-y Outfit, where readers model their favorite secondhand clothes.

A Compact-y outfit is from Goodwill, a thrift store, a consignment shop, ebay, craiglist, a clothing swap, a yard sale, or anywhere else you find secondhand clothing.

I am very excited to have a brand new model today, Shelayna, who blogs at One Closet, One Year. Shelayna's project is to buy no new clothing, and wear only the clothes in her own closet for an entire year without repeating an outfit. That's incredible! And get this, the project was born when she was getting dressed one day and had that thought we've all had at one time or another, "I've got nothing to wear!" Well, almost immediately she realized she DID have plenty to wear, and her closet was full of treasures, but she just needed to mix it up and put things together in a new and inspired way.

She's inspired me because all week I've been digging things out that I haven't worn in years and wearing them in new combinations. Yesterday I wore the jacket from a 90s suit I hadn't been able to get rid of, and paired it with one of my favorite blouses and jeans. It was a whole new look and my husband told me I looked "elegant."

Shelayna sent me 3 different photos and it was hard to decide which one to pick but I thought this one looked the most seasonal, plus I love the umbrella. I would like to make carrying an umbrella very hip and stylish, especially in sunny climates like California, because it is so important to take care of your skin. All the ladies in Chinatown walk around with their umbrellas, but I haven't seen too many younger women doing it. But Shelayna's sporting the look, and I love it.

This ensemble is made up of a dress from Goodwill, turned down and made into a skirt, for $7.99, a white blouse from Goodwill for $5.99, and the blue sweater was free from a clothing swap. If I haven't said it recently, I am a huge fan of clothing swaps. I host one every year for some girlfriends and I have gotten some of my favorite pieces from the swap, and so have my friends. It's what has allowed me to go without buying any new clothes for almost a year and a half.

It looks like not shopping has made Shelayna more creative with her wardrobe, and that's been my experience as well. You must visit her blog to see her unique creations, it is so much fun. She's not afraid of layering, mixing patterns, wearing things backwards, or even modifying a piece that needs a little something, like when she takes this so-so dress and ties it at the bust and ends up with a much more stylish look.

Okay, readers, it's your turn. Put on your favorite secondhand outfit, snap a photo, and send it to me at barton.angela@gmail.com. We all want to see your fabulous finds, so don't be shy. Thrifty Threads has room for all shapes, sizes, and ages, and men and children are welcome as well.

Do you like to go "shopping in your closet?" Please leave us your best tips for secondhand shopping, plus compliments for Shelayna in the Comments section. And click here to check out previous installments of Thrifty Threads.

Annie Leonard: hero or communist sympathizer?

Annie Leonard's video "The Story of Stuff," was the single strongest influence on me during my first year on The Compact (I'm almost halfway through my second already).

So I was happy to see her on The Colbert Report and learn that she'd written a book of the same name. The idea that we should all be aware of where our stuff comes from and try to move toward a more sustainable model for the future seems like common sense to me. But of course, it's a big threat to those who have a lot invested in our endless pursuit of buying more and more cheaply made throwaway products. And it turns out what she's doing is much more subversive than it appears at first glance.

She's an author, environmental activist, sustainability expert, and consumerist critic. And now her critics are calling her a lot of other things. Check out this article from the Denver Post about Leonard, called "Crusading for Mindful Consumption," and let us know what you think in the Comments section. Is she a positive force or a dangerous radical whose ideas would cause our economy to crater?

And if you haven't watched "The Story of Stuff," you can watch it here. And click here to see her on The Colbert Nation if you want a laugh with your news.

Stop Those Catalogs and Junk Mail Once and For All

The following is a reprint of a previously published post, from one year ago. I thought I'd check in on my "baby step challenges" from last year and see how they're going. This post was my mid-month report on attacking junk mail, and our junk mail has decreased dramatically in the past year. This month I'll collect all the junk mail that comes in and see if I can cut it down even more. One year later, maybe I'll finally complete this challenge.

A few weeks ago, I wrote this post about May's baby steps challenge, which is to stop those catalogs and junk mail once and for all. We get WAY too many catalogs, and even before I joined The Compact, I only ordered from a fraction of the ones we receive. I'll be working on other challenges throughout the year, like using homemade cleaning supplies, composting, and air-drying laundry, but for May I'm focused on the junk mail and catalogs.

So how am I doing so far? I've already completed the first 3 items on my to-do list for the month. I'll go through them one at a time.

1. Sign up for Catalog Choice. DONE. Finally. I should have done this years ago when I first heard about it. But better late than never. This took maybe 30 minutes. I was surprised that I had to check catalogs one at a time. There's no way to simply say "no catalogs." But I tried to check as many as I could think of that we receive. Hopefully we'll see the results of this within a few months. Incidentally, if you're afraid you'll feel remorse about no longer receiving the Pottery Barn catalog or suddenly get an urge to peruse through Harry & David's mouthwatering photos, you can always go to the site and ask to resume service from that vendor.

2. Put my name on Forest Ethic's Do Not Mail List. DONE. This was actually a petition to create a "Do Not Mail" list similar to the "Do Not Call" list. Then they sent me a thank you for signing the petition and at that point I put my name on a list to stop receiving junk mail. This one probably took only about ten minutes.

3. Go to optoutprescreen.com and "opt out" of all credit card offers. DONE. This one only took about five minutes.

That just leaves item #4, which is: Every time I get a catalog or piece of junk mail, set it aside and call the toll-free number and ask to be put on their "Do Not Mail" list. NOT DONE YET. I did start setting the catalogs and junk mail aside, and two week's worth is what makes up the photo at the top of this post. That's a LOT of junk mail. A total of three credit card offers and nine catalogs.

So I've done 3 out of 4 tasks, and I'll work on making those calls this week. I haven't seen a difference yet from completing the first three, but it might take a few months.

Have you taken the challenge to stop catalogs and junk mail once and for all? Do you want to start now? It's easy! Please leave your ideas, tips, and questions in the Comments section. And let me know if you're in!

Meatless Monday: Broccoli/Potato Soup

Meatless Monday is a nonprofit initiative that encourages people to go meatless one day a week. It's good for the environment, good for your health, and good for your wallet: a perfect win/win/win.

Here's just one statistic about the impact of going meatless: if everyone went vegetarian for just ONE DAY, the United States would save 100 billion gallons of water. If you can't wrap your head around that number, it's enough to supply all the homes in New England for four months.

Click here to find out more about the Meatless Monday campaign. When you pledge to go meatless on Mondays, you'll receive a weekly email full of delicious recipes. To me, that's the heart of going without meat: having so many delicious alternatives that you don't feel deprived.

Today I want to share an easy new recipe I got from a good friend. I've been making it a lot lately, because it's so simple and delicious. Plus, it only uses a few ingredients.

BROCCOLI/POTATO SOUP

2 leeks
1 lb. peeled and cubed potatoes
1 lb. broccoli florets
2 16 oz. cans broth
2 tsp. dill
salt and pepper

Slice leeks and saute in olive oil until translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add potatoes and saute a few more minutes. Add broccoli, dill, and broth, and season with salt and lots of black pepper.

Cook in a pressure cooker for 6 minutes, or in a regular pot on medium high for about 25 minutes, until broccoli is soft and falling apart. Puree in a blender or with an immersion mixer until smooth, but not too long or the potato will become gluey. Add broth or water as needed for consistency.

Delicious as a first course or with fresh bread as a light dinner.

This soup reminds me of something they would serve at the elegant French restaurant in our neighborhood. It's perfect any time of year.

Please share your favorite meatless recipes in the Comments section, and I'll include them in the next Meatless Monday recipes post. And click here to check out previous Meatless Monday installments for lots of fantastic reader suggestions.

Food Waste Friday plus Free Museums

This post is going to be short and sweet, because... we've got no food waste this week! Yay.

One thing that has helped is buying less when I shop for groceries. The past two weeks I've crossed a couple of things off the list that could wait. This is especially true for packaged items, which tend to take precedence over other food we should be using up from the pantry or freezer. So I'm starting a new policy: only one packaged "treat" per shopping trip. Frozen pizza, cookies, and chips are all included. I'm not cutting them out entirely, but I'm not throwing them into the cart willy nilly anymore either. When we don't have those items readily available, my husband tends to get more creative with what he eats for lunch, and it usually ends up being healthier as well.

This is possible because of our CSA delivery, and a well-stocked pantry. We won't be going hungry anytime soon, so I can cut back on what we bring in a little bit. And buying less food has been the Number One best trick for wasting less. The bonus is that we save money in the bargain.

To learn more about how wasted food harms the environment, visit Wasted Food. And check out The Frugal Girl to get tips from other bloggers learning to minimize their food waste.

FREE STUFF ALERT: It's that time again: Bank of America's Museums on Us program, which lets you into participating museums free all day the first Saturday and Sunday of the month. That's this weekend, so if you're a customer, get out your debit card and click here to find participating museums in your area.

Are you watching your food waste? How did you do this week? Let us know in the Comments section, along with any great freebies you've heard about lately.

Thrifty Threads

Welcome to another installment of Thrifty Threads, AKA Most Stylish Compact-y outfit, where readers model their favorite secondhand clothes.

A Compact-y outfit is used or recycled, from Goodwill, a thrift store, a consignment shop, ebay, freecycle, a yard sale, or anywhere else you find secondhand clothing.

Today's model is Sandy, who blogs at Hip to be Cheap. Sandy is back for a repeat performance on Thrifty Threads, with this excellent summer outfit perfect for enjoying the outdoors in beautiful Canada.

This photo was taken with her son at Echo Lake in British Columbia, near where they live. She got married here and they visited again on their anniversary. Sandy says the area is full of beautiful lakes like this.

Sandy got this pretty top for about a dollar and she made the skirt from old jeans and Freecycled ribbon. Very cute! She says her son is usually in Thrifty Threads as well, and always looks stylish no matter what he's wearing.

Sandy says it's Hip to Be Cheap, so head on over to her blog to read about her style of frugality. Sandy's tagline is "I'm cheap and that's okay," and her profile describes her as a "modern woman trying to lessen the load of debt, consumerism, and materialism and find out what truly makes me happy." I still say she's frugal, not cheap, but maybe that's all just semantics. I appreciate the honesty in her blog about how day-to-day life doesn't always go according to your best laid plans and intentions, and I've also gotten some fabulous baking recipes there.

Thanks Sandy for sending in that great photo. It really puts me in the mood for summertime. You can click here to see her first appearance on Thrifty Threads. Okay readers, it's your turn. Put on your favorite secondhand outfit, snap a photo, and send it to me at barton.angela@gmail.com. I always need more photos, and we all love to see your fabulous finds. Any and all submissions are welcome, including men, infants, and children.

Please leave your best secondhand shopping tips and compliments for Sandy in the Comments section. And click here to check out previous installments of Thrifty Threads.

Frugal vs. Cheap

I recently had an experience that left me determined not to be cheap, with myself or anyone else. And it got me thinking about the difference between being frugal and being just plain cheap. Sometimes there's a fine line...

I would consider myself mostly frugal, thrifty, and resourceful, and I consider those to be positive qualities in others. However, what is decidedly NOT a nice quality is cheapness. I want to be generous in life, with myself, my time, and my money. Living on a budget is no reason to be stingy with others.

Here are a few examples of being frugal versus being cheap:

1. A frugal person doesn't go out to dinner when they can't afford it, and pays their fair share when they do. A cheap person doesn't leave enough money to cover their portion of the bill, thereby causing the rest of the group to pay for them.

2. A frugal person borrows DVDs from the library. A cheap person makes illegal copies of the DVDs for their own personal library.

3. A frugal person has a grocery budget and cooks healthy meals from scratch. A cheap person eats Top Ramen every night even though they can afford much better food.

4. A frugal person doesn't spend every penny they earn, and leaves an inheritance. A cheap person eats cat food for dinner and lives in squalor while they have a million dollars in the bank.

Those are just a few examples, you get the idea.

It's possible to be cheap with others, and with ourselves. Not taking care of our own health and well-being could be considered being cheap with oneself.

I want to be both frugal and generous, and I don't think they're mutually exclusive.

What are some other examples of when frugal goes too far and enters the land of the cheap? Please share your thoughts in the Comments section.

It's CSA Delivery Day

This delivery was so over the top, I couldn't even fit it all on the table, and you can't really see the absolutely ginormous stalks of swiss chard in the back because they're covered up by the kale and golden beets. It took me about an hour just to put all this away, because I had to trim the greens off the beets and the swiss chard off the stalks, because otherwise it wouldn't have all fit into the refrigerator.

My husband watched me while eating his portion of the walnut brownie treat that came with the delivery, and he said, "Let's be honest. Not everyone could do this. It's a lot of work."

I told him I had mentioned that before, but in case it's been awhile, I have to admit it IS a lot of work to keep track of all of this, plan menus around it, and make sure we use it all up. It's worth it, mostly because it tastes so good, but also I like knowing that we're eating local and organic and I think it's much healthier for us. But I just wanted to give full disclosure about it - my husband and I have flexible schedules and we can swing it, but it would be very difficult with two people working full-time jobs. The delivery is a convenience, but the rest of it is a project.

I'm not complaining, mind you. Just telling you how I see it. I'm always very happy to see some of my favorites with each delivery, and with a few exceptions, I've discovered several delicious new recipes planned around an item we were previously unfamiliar with.

This week we got (roughly clockwise from the back): Bloomsdale spinach (our current favorite), kale, swiss chard, golden beets, some kind of beans, zucchini, maui onions, broccoli, navel oranges, fuji apples, artichokes, potatoes, grapefruit , sweet potato, cabbage, strawberries, snap peas, green garlic, an unidentified bunch of herbs and a walnut brownie (not pictured).

I'm a huge sweet potato lover, and am excited to eat possibly my first local, organic sweet potato. For dinner tonight, I'll get to that swiss chard right away with our new favorite Guadalajaran Swiss Chard Quesadillas, and tomorrow I'll make a potato/leek/broccoli pureed soup. That leaves a lot of other dinners to figure out!

Click here to learn more about CSA and find one in your area. And feel free to leave your thoughts in the Comments section, along with recipes for anything you see in the photo.

Food Waste Friday plus favorite blog post of the week

What's in the container? The rest of some delicious cooked beets that I couldn't get to before I left on vacation last week. My husband will eat almost anything, but he has a strict no beets policy. The beets in the last CSA delivery were so huge that I was eating these things for lunch and dinner for a couple of days. It's incredible that I would ever waste beets, I love them so much, but I'm not perfect.

My husband did better: he ate all the cilantro, lettuce, and radishes while I was gone. And I gave it my best with my attempt to use up some turnips with a Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie that I found online. It was horrible, and I don't think I'll be able to eat turnips again for quite awhile. We ended up scraping the mashed potatoes off the top and dumping the turnip stew underneath. So that was a bit more waste. The recipe was not a keeper, and the worst part was that I ended up spending almost two hours cooking it! I very rarely spend that much time on dinner, and when I do I expect it to be spectacular! But I do believe you have to keep trying new things, even though it doesn't always turn out to be a positive experience. At least I don't have a husband who throws a less-than-tasty dinner in the sink and stomps out of the house, as my mom claims her father did (!) when my grandmother would try something "exotic" like Chop Suey.

It's hard not to waste any food at all, but it's not too hard to waste less, with a bit of planning and effort. You can read all about how wasting less is good for the environment at Wasted Food, and check out The Frugal Girl for the folks who are documenting their waste in an attempt to do better.

And head on over to The Non-Consumer Advocate for my Favorite Blog Post of the Week, about how some folks seem to think being green is a competition with their "I'm greener than you" holier-than-thou attitude. It really got me riled up!

Are you watching your food waste? How did you do this week? Please let us know in the Comments section, and feel free to weigh in on the "green" controversy as well.