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      Drinking with Seaweed- An Umami Adventure

      Drinking with Seaweed- An Umami Adventure

      If you are looking to add a bit of fun and adventure into your next happy hour- try seaweed.  Seaweed is gaining popularity in all sorts of dishes mainly for it's high nutritional content and earthy umami flavor but seaweed can also be found in alcohol.

      I heard about Marshall Wharf's seaweed beer a few years ago and got very excited-  the idea of seaweed and beer!  Honestly, I'm not a big beer drink but their Sea Belt Scotch Ale is yummy.  It's a dark beer with some lovely ocean notes.

       

      Have a umami happy hour with Maine seaweed.

      Whiskey is another way to try seaweed.  Celp from Scotland has a piece of seaweed floating in the bottle.  It's the Scottish version of a good tequila.  

      And how about changing your Bloody Mary to  an Ocean Mary by adding a rim of seaweed flakes around the glass.  Seaweed salt is easy to make- mix equal parts of your favorite seaweed flakes with a nice sea salt.  For a spicy, slightly celery mix add a bit of Old Bay Seasoning.

      Mix equal parts salt and Maine seaweed flakes for a wicked Bloody Mary

       

      To get your happy hour and the weekend started right- join our Plastic Free Friday Giveaway on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/DulseandRugosa/

       

      Plastic Free friday Giveaways

      Use Good Soap- It's Good for You and the Environment

      Use Good Soap- It's Good for You and the Environment

      .Hand crafted soap is good for your body and the environment. 

      I've been using handcrafted soap for years.  I still remember my first bar, Carly gave as a gift.  It was so magical especially as I used a commercial bar full of chemicals.

      Here's a list of ingredients found in my commercial soap-

      Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Sodium Tallowate or Sodium Palmitate, Lauric Acid, Sodium Isethionate, Water, Sodium Stearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoate or Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Chloride,Tetrasodium EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Maltol, Titanium Dioxide

      But to my surprise the ingredients are only part of the problem.  I was surprised and saddened by the amount of plastic packaging found in the soap aisle of my local grocery store.  First, liquid soaps have taken over from bar soaps.  There may be times when liquid makes practical sense but it's not good for our environment.  Bottle after bottle of plastic to keep us clean while our world gets more polluted.

      Liquid soaps have taken over from the traditional bars of soap and this means a lot more plastic.

      Even bar soaps packaged in cardboard boxes were wrapped in plastic.  It's really tough to reduce your plastic consumption and one easy way is to use a hand crafted, low packaged bar of soap.

      Commercial soaps are packaged in plastic, hand crafted soaps tend to use minimal packaging. 

      World Ocean Day

      World Ocean Day

      World Ocean Day is Wednesday June 8th.  The theme this year is plastic. According to http://www.worldoceansday.org/  "The ocean and its wildlife is choking on plastic and we need to not only clean it up but stop this pollution at its source."  Sadly, the source is us.

      Celebrate World Ocean Day by changing your plastic habit.

      The first thing that needs to happen in reducing our plastic consumption is awareness.  Becoming aware of how much plastic you use is sobering.  In this day and age I'm not sure it's possible to completely plastic free but you can change your behavior and be single use plastic free.  Single use is any plastic used only one time- think straws.  According to Adrian Grenier, star of HBO's Entourage, "in the US we throw out about 500 million plastic straws a day." These straws break down into tiny, attractive "food" for many small sea creatures.  It's possible to buy reusable straws made out of bamboo or steel.  And you need to let food servers know that you don't want a straw or stirrer in your drink.  It sounds relatively simple, but it will take some awareness and forethought to be 100% successful.  

      Another easy way to reduce your plastic use is not ever using a plastic shopping bag.  Keep a couple of spare bags in your car or purse.  Of course, it will be inconvenient- you will forget your bags and have to walk back to the car or just load your items in the shopping cart without any bags.

      Simple changes and being aware can help reduce your plastic consumption- bring your own bags when shopping.

      Sometimes when the news is so daunting it seems like there is nothing you can do.  But, every small step helps and spreading the word about our current overuse of plastic is vital.

      Get outside to your nearest ocean, river, lake or stream and enjoy the beauty of water.

      Here are some links for more information

      http://www.worldoceansday.org/

      http://www.refinery29.com/2016/05/111091/adrian-grenier-water-pollution-whales-essay

      http://www.lonelywhale.org/foundation/