I recently bought a small sample of Organic Trail Mix at the local shop. I almost fainted at the cost of $9.35/pound (here’s my point of reference..this week lobster is going for $3.99/pound..) but bought a small sample just to check it out. .. Well, as expected, it was interesting and had a nice mix of flavors going on. However, I don’t think I’ll be buying it again anytime soon. And the reason is not so much the cost as the fact that it’s only various ingredients mixed together .. simple. And so this is something that could be customize to one’s own palate to be an even better match for you personal preferences.

For instance, almonds and walnuts would be increased, and the raisins .. these would be changed to organic jumbo raisins (which I’m pretty fond of).. And having a sweet-tooth there would probably be some broken up Newman’s O’s cookies in there. All made fresh and exactly how you like it.

In 2007 we posted a list of ideas to make your Christmas Greener. This excellent post , if we do say, can be found here. Well looking back how are things this year as a result?

Anyway, happy holidays and make this time of year yours again. Be brave and refuse to be a pawn of the stores who love to see mindless consumption and people “shopping till they drop”.

Related Link:

• Organic Test Kitchen Post “Around the world people continue to consume more organic foods“

  Well, to kick this off we purchased some Conventional Extra Virgin  Olive Oil and are looking to compare this to BJ’s Earth’s Pride Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Here’s what we found…

  First the cost. The super container of conventional olive oil was about half the cost of the organic.. Wow, that’s a tough one.

  Second, flow & appearance. We poured equal amounts of both on white saucers. They both flowed equally well. However, the organic was slightly greener and green is good. If you ever compare cheap olive oil (that’s been steamed out of the flattened olives) it has this very lame light color as opposed to the healthy green of the extra virgins…

  Third, taste. The organic tasted smoother and more full bodied than the conventional. Also, the conventional had some mildly nasty tasting background notes in it that were missing on the organic. .. This being said these differences are very subtle. It’s very doubtful that you could pick them up unless both products were being compared side by side and you were paying careful attention. … However, and this is the revision, after this was posted we were making something up and tried this comparison on food. The differences were Amazing. The organic olive oil was far superior in flavor to the conventional. Tried it on other foods with similar results. Sooo, we messed up. For some reason you really can’t pick up the differences until used on food. After which, hands down Organic is the way to go..

  Bottom line is that the organic was a superior oil in all aspects except the cost (where the conventional won out big time). And of course the additional wild card is that the organic product in general is better for the environment and will have no chemical residues which may or may not be hiding in the conventional oil. So our conclusion is that Organic Olive Oil while more expensive is well worth it.

  If it so hits you as a good post share it with a friend and subscribe (upper right RSS Feeds). By the way, this is our first use of some new camera equipment (I’m the forearm model in the olive oil shot above), hope to continue to do more… Some related posts include:

• Storing Olive Oil
• Organic Olive Oil Spiced Up with Some Heat
• Cooking With Olive Oil

 Anyway went down to the Salvation Army to see if they had a decent paring knife for sale. The reason being great price, helping a good cause and recycling a once loved kitchen tool instead of manufacturing a new one. Now usually when I say this I get the eye roll (especially from the snobs who would never consider such a thing). Well, struck out with the paring knife (my father donated a lame one which has been sharpened to the point where it works pretty well). But found this beautiful J.A. Henckels Professional Meat Cleaver. High carbon steel to hold a razor edge, great weight, great feel. Checked Amazon and this has a list price of $90.And I got this thing for $1.99! Insane. Of course it was dull but hitting it with a sharpening stone quickly brought it back to life. And you know somewhere, sometime, someone who loved to cook bought this cleaver and now it was just sitting around being useless. I kind of like the fact that it’s been brought back to life and doing what it was meant to do. .. Anyway before it sounds like I’m getting all emotional over a meat cleaver just want to mention that I also picked up a hardcover first edition “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo .. for a buck! .. Insane!

 Send this post to a friend if you think this is useful and a good way to conserve resources while helping a good cause (especially if they’re a knife store snob). Some related posts are:

• A Great Inexpensive Place to Get Good Kitchen Knives
• Paring Knives
• Mr. Safety Almost Chops His Thumb Off While Gabbing

 Anyway here’s some thoughts on brewing a very good cup of coffee:

• No instant, pre-ground or those little “convenience packets” allowed.
• Find the type of coffee you like best. Do some experimenting to determine your favorites. For example, some like an Arabica, others the fuller flavored French Roast.
• Your coffee should be freshly roasted and not sitting in a bag on the store shelf for weeks, months or even years.
• Buy your coffee in small amounts like you buy your food. Just like fish, only buy what you’ll consume during the week. And only purchase whole bean.
• Buy a small grinder so you can grind just what you need right before you need it.
• Experiment with the grind. Just ignore what the grinder says each grind is for and taste test to your favorite. The finer the grind, the more intense the flavor. However, you can go over the top for your taste buds and get to the point where the coffee begins to taste bitter. Or conversely, you undergrind and your cup of coffee tastes weak. For example, my preference is the espresso grind which is like a powder. It gives my regular cup of drip-coffee a strong taste and I don’t pick up any bitterness.. To each his own.
• Experiment with the amount of coffee you use. Start with 1 Tablespoon of whole beans in the grinder and work up from there. Most people fall in the 1-2 Tablespoons category.
• Use Spring Water not tap.
• Only make the coffee that will be consumed right away. My standard coffee maker is this little Mr. Coffee if you can believe it. I put the water to about 2.5 cups which yields one real coffee mug’s worth. I find that the paper filter produces a better cup of coffee when compared to the filter-less French Press. And other people think so too as I constantly get complements on my coffee. You know it’s not necessary to spend a fortune on a fancy single serve machine.

 So right now brewing a cup of coffee is like 1-2-3. Take out the whole beans from a small container in the freezer, measure out 2 Tablespoons of whole beans into the grinder, hit the grinder button (it’s an auto timed thing), .. while this is grinding I put away the coffee, get the spring water out of the frig and fill the maker, plop a paper filter in the machine, open the coffee grinder and pour the grinds into the paper filter (use this flat lab spatula thing to make sure I get everything), smooth out the top and make sure the grinds fill all the indentations of the paper filter, close the top and hit the “on” button. Sounds like a lot but it really gets knocked right out pretty fast. Then warm up your mug right before the brew is finished and enjoy. If you compare this to stopping at Starbucks every morning just calculate the money & time you’ll save. It’s amazing. And you’ll get a cup of coffee customized just for your preference and fresh as can be. Taste after all is what it’s all about.

 What I got was a high carbon steel knife for about five bucks. I’m guessing it use to belong to some chef sometime in the past. Sure it needed sharpening, but I took care of that and right now I can almost loose a thumb it is such an effective knife. But think..not only did the darn thing cost only five bucks but it was a perfectly good tool that was recycled. No need to mine, smelt, manufacture, transport with all the unnecessary energy and pollution involved. And if this weren’t enough you’d be contributing to a very worthwhile organization at the same time. It really doesn’t get any better than this. But the key in finding such bargains is to check-in every so often until what you want shows up. Now the Gourmet Shop Knives are very fine, don’t get me wrong. I just like the idea of how pleased the original owner would be if he knew that his knife is still contributing to excellent meals for an entirely different generation.

Related Links:

• Mr. Safety Almost Chops His Thumb Off While Gabbing
• Paring Knives
• Sharpening Chefs Knives And Other Knives

 This is just to give the OTK Readers a heads up. We’re not in any way affiliated, paid off or wined & dined (..uhh.. I wish) by Macy’s, Kohl’s or KitchenAid.

Related Links:

• KitchenAid Standing Mixer

 Jeff Foxworthy has said “If you have matching salad bowls and they all say Cool Whip on the side…then you might be a redneck”..So while I’m not one of those guys living in a house made of empty beer cans I am definitely a man who uses his garbage.

 Let’s face it we live in a world that will provide us with as much throw away garbage as we can handle. Now there are steps we can take to minimize this such as bringing a reusable shopping bag to the grocery and getting your milk in reusable bottles..However, inevitably will be some “garbarge” you get that can be reused. We could run through a list here but you know what they are. Minimize waste buy avoiding purchasing products that come with it as much as possible and for those that you can’t avoid think of how you can reuse it.

 This will save energy, cut back on resource consumption & the pollution and save you money. Win, win, win all the way around.

  This all boils down to three things:

1. Maximize the efficiency of your driving machine…Spark plugs, Air Filter, Proper Tire Inflation and Lighten the Load…the More Unnecessary weight you’re hauling around the more gas you’ll use.
2. Operate your driving machine for the maximum efficiency. You’ve heard it before no Jackrabbit Starts, drive at a constant speed (the ups and downs eat up fuel which is why a cruise control saves you $$), and anticipate stops. Also slow down. Your vehicle maximizes efficiency at the slowest speed you can properly run when in the highest gear. This doesn’t mean doing 45 on the highway which is unsafe. Rather it means doing 55 if that is the speed limit.
3. Eliminate unnecessary operation of your driving machine. This is the biggest saver of all. Don’t idle unnecessarily, shut the vehicle down. Also, just cut down the amount you use your vehicle. Use public transit, a bike, walk and combine your driving trips. By combining the gym, office, bookstore and grocery into a single outing yesterday I saved over an hour and a half of driving…That’s an hour and a half spent relaxing with music. And over three gallons of gasoline not consumed that would have been converted to greenhouse gasses and taken about $9 from my wallet…. Say you did this three times per week that’s 468 gallons of gasoline not consumed, over 234 hours of time freed up from staring out a windshield and $1,404 found money in your pocket. Nice.

 Drive smart..less pollution, less money & more time. It’s a no brainer.

Related Links:

• Making A Positive Impact On Greening The Environment
• Being Organic Means Being Environmentally Conscience
• MSN Autos Article on Green Driving Tips