The 7th national Plastic Free Lunch Day campaign runs from November 17th to the 21st. The annual event helps schools reduce waste, protect kids’ health and build skills. Are you an educator? A parent? Go here for more info: cafeteriaculture.org/initiative/p...

How to help www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Plastic pollution is a global crisis. Sign up for the TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch livestream. Experts will answer "How do we solve plastic pollution by 2040?" Topics include microplastics & human health, environmental justice, climate change & more. Register: bit.ly/TEDxLivestream #PlasticPollutes

Annual Hachiya persimmon PSA! Enjoy these persimmons AFTER they soften—so soft, you may think they're bad. Firm Hachiya persimmons are horribly astringent. You'll never forget the day you bite into an unripe one. But after they ripen, they taste like candy. (Eat squat Fuyus any time.)

Tell the City and County of San Francisco to put an immediate moratorium on the installation of artificial turf. sign.moveon.org/petitions/ha...

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In this time of racial division and threats to our nation's core values, voting Yes on Prop 50 is critical to farm workers and our communities. Be the voice for those who need it the most. #YesOnProp50

New newsletter out today! "The best way to lower food costs: Waste less food, 20 strategies to eat all you buy." One strategy, circular cooking, will absolutely slash wasted food. Read more here: zerowastechef.substack.com/p/the-best-w... #foodwaste

I transplanted an artichoke mama to the backyard. This trunk-like stalk has 10 babies attached to it (you can't see them all here). Artichokes are perennial vegetables—at least in my zone, 9b.

Yes on #Prop50

Raising Hare ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ During lockdown in the English countryside, the author comes across an abandoned newborn hare. After initially hesitating, she brings the leveret home. She does not name it or treat it as a pet and rarely handles to honor its wild nature. The memoir chronicles their relationship.

Grocery prices are up!If you’d like to eat well while saving money, may I suggest eating more beans? (Especially dry beans. Go here for this weeks newsletter all about dry beans, how to cook and them and why you'd want to: zerowastechef.substack.com/p/save-money...

Something to keep in mind this upcoming consumer season, also known as the holiday season. (With apologies to Michael Pollan.) My secondhand Le Creuset small Dutch oven is going strong, 10 years later.

Cauliflower leaves make a tasty side. Toss in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast at 400°F for 15 minutes or until the ribs are fork tender. If the ribs are thick (1/2 inch or larger), separate them from the greens and roast separately as the leaves cook faster.

Currently reading: A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies, by Matt Simon, just in time for Halloween—this is a horror story. (But very good. Please read it!) More info here: bookshop.org/a/4585/97816...

Silicon Valley #NoKings

Halloween waste is frightful! Every Halloween, 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkin go to landfills, generating polluting methane gas. That's on top of fast fashion costumes, plastic decorations and more candy than we can eat. Go here for 7 ways to cut waste: zerowastechef.substack.com/p/7-simple-w...

If you're carving up pumpkins, save those seeds (or squash seeds, shown here) for toasting and snacking. Go here for the simple recipe: zerowastechef.com/2019/10/18/r...

Remember: The ribs of collard greens, chard, kale, beets and other greens are food! I chop mine up finely and sauté them along with onions. These collard greens and stems went into a pot of chickpea stew. Yum!

Adding a piece of kombu (a type of seaweed) to dry beans as they soak and then cook, helps reduce gas-producing raffinose sugars present in beans.

"Burns claimed butter and oil used in pans is more unhealthy than Ptfe exposure and said the cookware industry is unfairly maligned because it did not create the chemicals." Industry lies. Also...people STILL cling to the debunked 90s low-fat diet myth? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Wheat paste works well for jar labels or protest signs. I cut these labels out of a brown paper bag lying around. Go here for the wheat paste recipe: zerowastechef.com/2020/10/07/p...

The cookware industry is fighting California's bill to ban PFAS in cookware. PFAS pans don't last. The non-stick coating flakes—and we eat those plastic bits. The coating loses its non-stick properties after a few years at best. The pans are disposable. www.thenewlede.org/2025/09/cali...

This peach tree is part of the gift economy. In 2021, I snagged it as a sapling from a community garden share and planted it in my yard. Last year, it bore a bit of fruit. This year, it provided more. In the near future, it should produce more fruit than we can eat 🤞 and I'll share the harvest.

"Compostable" means about as much as "natural." These single-use products are compostable where facilities exist. If "you're one of the millions of Canadians whose municipalities do not accept compostable items, it's nearly impossible to access a commercial composter." www.cbc.ca/news/marketp...

“The cascading acts of cowardice from the people best positioned to resist Trump’s authoritarian power grabs have made him seem exponentially more powerful than he actually is, sapping strength from others who might have discovered the courage to stand up” www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Check out my new post! We can have clean homes without turning the cabinet under the sink into a hazardous waste depot. zerowastechef.substack.com/p/low-waste-...

Crushing cabbage to prepare sauerkraut helps relieve stress, kind of like one of those stress ball things. Looks like I need to prep some every single day... Eating fermented foods can also help reduce stress. Go here for the sauerkraut instructions: zerowastechef.com/2014/03/29/s...

Everyone who eats needs to read We Are Eating the Earth by @mikegrunwald.bsky.social. Read my short review in this week's newsletter: zerowastechef.substack.com/p/were-eatin...

My simple lifestyle boycotts many corrupt cowardly corporations by default. Read more here: zerowastechef.substack.com/p/i-cant-kee...

Citibank is one of the largest funders of oil and gas expansion in the Amazon, worsening the climate crisis and displacing local communities. Instead, Citibank should fund just, community-owned renewable energy projects. Tell Citibank: Stop destroying the Amazon! act.350.org/sign/jul-25-...

CARTOON OF THE DAY 🇺🇸

The freezer is a giant food preserving machine that requires no skills, no time and no additional kitchen tools. Go here to read more: zerowastechef.substack.com/p/feed-a-fre...

The soil contains even more microplastic pollution than the oceans. We need regulation to mitigate this crisis. www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

The birds that visit our hanging bird feeder planted themselves a beautiful yellow bird feeder. It should be ready for harvesting in a month or so.

We have used enough TP over the last 30 years to stretch across our solar system 😳 And most of it comes from virgin wood pulp. Make Bidets Great Again. Thank you for your attention to this matter 💩 www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

I'm almost finished reading The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth, by Zoë Schlanger. Plants communicate, recognize (and favor) their kin, hear sounds, store memories and some even change their shape to mimic nearby plants 🤯

Reminder: Your food doesn't need to look Instagram-worthy and neither does your kitchen 😉

On July 23rd, from 5 to 6pm PT, I'll be chatting with David Crow, a plant medicine expert, clinician, consultant, researcher, educator and author, on Zoom about microplastics and how to avoid them at home. Please go here to register for this free event: www.crowconsultations.com/opt-in-page-...

If you don’t live in California, you might be unaware of all the ICE mayhem. Here’s just part of the @latimes.com front page right now

The economy is just a distraction from the concentration camps

It's hot... 🥵☀️ Make sure to put out plenty of water for birds & wildlife so they can keep cool and have enough to drink. They'll thank you!

To resist, stay calm.

I'll be giving a talk on plastic-free living this Sunday at the Sunnyvale Public Library at 1:30pm. Please go here to register: sunnyvale.libcal.com/event/14602391 Shown here: Cutting mushrooms (or any food) on a wooden cutting board sheds no microplastic. #plasticfreejuly

I made your any fruit galette yesterday using some gorgeous plums. So pretty and so good.

Strawberries and boysenberries for stress baking this weekend. I transport them home in my own container to prevent both squishing and plastic pollution. #plasticfreejuly

As of right now, House Republicans don’t have enough votes to pass Trump’s Tax Scam that would gut Medicaid to give billionaires more tax cuts. Keep calling GOP representatives: indivisible.org/resource/cal... Join a phonebank to contact voters in key GOP districts: www.mobilize.us/moveon/event...

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Why is this hard www.theguardian.com/environment/...