As usual I'm making this a multi-topic post. I can't help it...being green is a very multifaceted pursuit!

My last batch of rice and beans was gigantic. Ginormous even. Needless to say my desire to eat just rice and beans is on the decline. Since I'm not one to throw out perfectly good food just because I'm getting bored I decided to get creative! So here are a few options if you're starting to get sick of your rice and beans too:

* Burritos! We do "make your own" at our house and use other leftovers or failing foods (like shredding leftover chicken, using up the last bit of bell pepper, shredding some limp greens, etc) The tortillas do come in plastic bags but we only purchase them rarely and the bags get re-used to store all sorts of things. I would love to buy tortillas without plastic or even learn to make them myself but I haven't found them sans plastic and I haven't figured out how to easily make flour tortillas at home. I guess I could try making something like chapati or naan.

* Curries! I love curries. Indian, Thai, Vietnamese...it doesn't matter. Instead of cooking fresh rice to cover with veggies and sauce I've been using my rice and beans. The beans add a great new level of texture and nutrition and are a great way to make your curry filling without adding meat or tofu.

* Vegetarian "lasagna" casserole. This was a bit of a creative operation of me and it came out very nicely. I layered tomato sauce, rice and beans, eggplant, and zucchini (both cut lengthwise like lasagna noodles) and added some fresh garlic and basil. I topped it with grated parmesean cheese and baked it until the veggies were soft. This was tastey and filling!

In other kitchen news, I made this Strawberry Rhubarb pie with a crumble and lattice top. I haven't tried it yet as it was late when I took it out of the oven but it looks and smells amazing. I no longer use white sugar or white flour for anything so I used organic turbinado sugar and organic unbleached whole wheat flour for the crumble and organic unbleached regular flour for the crust. I can't wait to try it tonight!!

My hair is my final topic. I haven't been counting the days but it's been awhile since I decided to use baking soda and vinegar to wash my hair. It's going well. It seems to get greasy looking more quickly if I workout than it did when I was using commercial products. Though I can make it look nice again with a water wash. There are often times when it feels oily but doesn't look greasy so I don't mind that. I think I've only used baking soda and vinegar 3 or 4 times since starting. I really don't need to use it often. I wait until my hair actually starts looking greasy and that's about once a week.

I'll keep you posted on the pie ;)