Global Green's Pre-Oscar Party

Our very own green fashionista, Tracey, who selects all the sustainable clothing you'll find on the All Shades racks, attended Global Green's Pre-Oscar Party last week.

What is Global Green?

It's Southern California's very own environmental non-profit that works on a global scale, creating sustainable cities and other climate change-curbing efforts. For example, it's working on rebuilding a greener New Orleans and has a whole resource center for green building in Santa Monica.

But back to the party.

(That's Tracey on the left.)

Tracey reports that a large portion of Hollywood turned out in support of the Global Green Pre-Oscars event. And a lot of other Angelenos showed up, too--the eager line wound around the block in organized chaos. 

Celebrity supporters including Leonardo DiCaprio, Sheryl Crow, Gavin Rossdale, Kate Bosworth, Rosario Dawson and Neil Patrick Harris who all joined Global Green to celebrate and support Green Schools--G.G.'s new effort to lighten schools' footprints and create healthy classrooms for the kids inside them.

Tracey's report:

"I missed the first part of the show but arrived in time to see Gavin Rossdale perform acoustic guitar. It was a rare treat to walk into the event and be greeted by the music of the former lead singer/guitarist of Bush.


Sheryl Crow followed performing songs the crowd all seemed to know.

All in all the evening was a teeming with people all friendly and happy to be out in their glad rags in support of a really great cause."

For those of us who missed the big bash, at least we can still get involved at the Global Green website. Then we'll get the news about party time next year...

Emile Henry Ceramic Ovenware

Announcing our Product of the Month: 

Emile Henry ceramic cookware from Burgundy, France.

These baking dishes are not just another pretty bowl for your table (though they are that). Each dish is made from Burgundy clay by what was and is still a family business.

These products are:

*excellent for heat distribution and retention.

*extremely durable.

*easy to clean.

*totally food safe.

Not only that, but on green subjects other than cooking itself, this cookware definitely cuts the mustard. All the packaging is recycled and recylcable and the clay (and non-clay) ingredients are both natural and biodegradable. No lead and no cadmium will be found in the glazes as they adhere to strict CA Prop 65 standards. Even the gases emitted from Henry's kilns are filtered before being released into the atmosphere. 

Read it from the source here.

We highly recommend being part of the Emile Henry tradition of good quality, safe and healthy ovenware that pays homage to the earth as well.

For the Love of Healthy, Sustainable, Home-Cooked Food

All Shades of Green Owner, Liza, shows us how it's done again (you can see her planting project here); this time, in honor of our month's theme, cooking at home with her family.

In her sustainable kitchen, Liza, her husband, Akira, and her daughter, Hannah, cook at home and get the good times rolling, mixing, and baking together. And beyond shared family time, by cooking and eating in they're getting better quality, healthier food and indulging in some creativity while they're at it.  Being in a routine of cooking at home, they continuously add new dishes to their repertoire, looking online for recipes and then making them their own.

As for sustainability, by cooking their own food most days, Liza and her family are reducing trash when they can skip the packaging and buy whole foods or in bulk. And since they compost, most of what they don't eat goes straight back to the soil.

Not only is Hannah's mood improved when she's asked if she wants to share in baking a cake, she's learning skills and enjoying whole foods at the same time.

See some home-cooking in action:

And check out healthy, organic recipes for your own sustainable kitchen at Delicious Living.

Nonprofit of the Month: Tierra Miguel CSA

CSA is becoming a better known acronym. And that's a good thing!

What is a CSA? It stands for Community Supported Agriculture and is a partnership between the growers and eaters of food where we, the eaters, get to support a local farm, the growers, who are doing right by the earth and our table.  

At the Tierra Miguel Foundation, a CSA in San Diego County, that means supporting a farm that is using truly sustainable farming practices--organic and biodynamic. The way they grow vegetables restores the soil and produces a bounty that is both beautiful and nutrient-rich. Pesticide-free, water conservation, compost as fertilizer, and crop rotation--all these are part of the package. 

And Tierra Miguel is actually more than a farm, it's a nonprofit and a demonstration farm too, with a mission of educating Southern California (from school-aged kids to seasoned chefs) about sustainable farming techniques.

How does it work? You simply make a pledge to support Tierra Miguel through the growing season and it delivers fresh, organic produce to a location near you in return. You pick it up and are ready to get cooking and sharing. (Deliveries are made within about a 100 mile radius, one-tenth of the average distance food travels to get the grocery store.)

You can read more about Tierra Miguel in this article.

(Its winter produce will make your mouth water!)

Or find out more from the source at www.tierramiguelfarm.org.

For more ideas about eating sustainably and with your good health in mind, sign up for our upcoming Sustainable Kitchen workshops! Or come in the store for all the sustainable, healthy cookware, books, and utensils you'll need for your evolving sustainable kitchen.

Naturewell

Coinciding with our promotion of loving food and enjoying sustainable eats this month, we're happy to have noticed that Naturewell has opened its doors (and this blogger has been in once so far).  Now Silver Lake has its very own bulk bin!  

So after your farmers' market produce shopping on Saturday, you can head over to Naturewell for bulk items like grains and beans--that means healthy brown rice, quinoa, black beans, and whole wheat flour sans packaging. 

A third of household waste is from, not stuff, but the packaging our stuff is wrapped in. By buying in bulk, you eliminate all that plastic and paper going to the waste stream. That is, if you bring your own sacks or jars to collect your goodies in. (We've got the perfect bags for just such a purpose in the store.) 

By BYOB-ing from farmers's stalls to Naturewell's bins, you can create a truly zero waste food shopping experience you can feel good about.  And let's not forget how much better food tastes when it's mindfully gotten and prepared. 

Here's to good food, without the fancy plastic dressing!

Naturewell

3824 West Sunset in Sunset Junction 

(323) 638 - 5894

I can't forget to mention that Naturewell's also  got organic juice combinations to keep you healthy and keep you coming back for more. We'll be seeing you there, bulking up all the way.

(Photo courtesy of laist)

The Sustainable Kitchen: Cooking for Personal and Planetary Well-Being on Saturday and Wednesday!

Our sustainability coach, Deborah, has cooked up two servings of one of her most popular workshops for you (just pick the one that fits your menu this week...):

The Sustainable Kitchen: Cooking for Personal and Planetary Well-Being

Saturday, February 21st 

10: 00 a.m. to noon

and

Wednesday, February 25th

7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

@ All Shades of Green in Silver Lake 

(more details on our calendar)

It's good for you, it's good for the planet. Deborah's even talked to Evan Kleiman at KCRW's Good Food about some of her eco-minded eating ideas. Listen to that podcast here.

More For Your Green Valentine

Looking for more treats for your Valentine?

Consider handmade, natural soaps from Valley of the Roses. No synthetic scents, dyes or preservatives to be found there.  See some of the offerings we've got in our store (they almost look good enough to eat!).

We've also got an assortment of goods from good clean love, the natural love doctor that makes organic lubricants and love oils free of any harmful chemicals, synthetic fragrances, petrochemicals, and parabens.  It will feel good to have clean products for your intimate Valentine's Day activities.  Find out more from the source here.

And finally, what lovefest is complete without a sweet.  We have Farmer's Daughter Valentine chocolates for your tasting pleasure.  They're organic, of course!

Felt Fuzzies for Valentine's Day

We're so pleased to carry the felt creations of Tender Loving Work here at All Shades.

The mastermind behind these lovelies uses animal fiber  of all kinds--sheeps, goats, you name it--to create natural felt that is both super soft and sturdy at the same time.

See how she does it here.

We think you'll especially love her local lavender-filled sachets for on bedside tables and atop pillows and inside bedroom drawers for Valentine's Day. They're wool or alpaca and hand-dyed and contain the perfect balance of calming lavender and love for your sweetheart. 

She also has natural felt-wrapped soaps and exquisite scarves.  You can even get one that secretly says "I Love U" if you hurry. See more of her collection here.

Home Performance Open House (It's Free!)

We're pleased to host an evening with home energy and performance experts at 

All Shades of Green on Monday, February 9th.

You will get your questions answered by:

-A Home Performance Tester
-Contractors specializing in Insulation and Windows
-Specialists in Heating and AirConditioning
-A neighbor whose home has been tested and remediated- hear what's changed!

Did you know that most houses in Southern California are under-insulated, if at all?
Do your heating/air conditioning ducts leak? Most do!
Did you know that the DWP and other local utilities have received permission to increase their prices starting this year?
Are you thinking about going solar? If so, increasing your home's energy performance means decreasing the number of panels you'll need to buy.
Are you uncomfortable (too hot, too cold) in any part of your home?
Do you think your gas and power bills are too high?

If you answered "yes" to any one of those questions, this event is perfect for you.

Home Performance Open House

Free!

Monday, February 9th

7:00 p.m.

3038 Rowena Avenue

Los Angeles, (Silver Lake) 90039

(323) 665 - 7454

Please RSVP to info@allshadesofgreen.net--our limit is 30 people, so act now!

February At ASOG

Our theme this month:

For The Love of Food.

And, wouldn't you know it, we've got a couple of workshops on that very topic.

We hope you'll enjoy February in all its lovey, heart-healthy, delectability.

And here to help are two sustainable kitchen workshops:

The Sustainable Kitchen: Cooking for Personal and Planetary Well-being

Saturday, February 21st from 10:00 a.m. to noon

and 

Wednesday, February 25th, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

*Please call (323) 665- 7454 or email creativegreen@hotmail.com for more information or to register.*

Green Resolutions for Today, This Week, and This Month

We just love this tool from National Geographic's Green Guide to help you make this year one of going green in terms of food, energy and everyday purchases.

It will surely spawn ideas for you to green your life, one step at a time:

today,

this week 

and this month.

We wish you good luck on the journey!

Green Resolution: Growing Things

January may be over, but green resolutions never go out of style.  

Here's another one: organic gardening.

By planting something, almost anything, we get the pleasure of connecting to nature, to its cycles, and in the case of planting edibles, we get to connect more fully to our own food. Plus, the fruits of your own labor, fresh from the garden, always taste better than that which has traveled 1,500 miles to get to our fork.

So even if you don't have the gusto be an all-out organic farmer, you can continue to support them by buying from a farmers' market or CSA (which typically travel under 200 miles to get to cooks and eaters) while supplementing your produce with what you grow yourself as organic farmer in training. No land to speak of? Try containers for everything from rosemary to blueberries(!!) to squash.

All Shades owner, Liza, is growing some of her own food organically in Israel. Check out her soy milk carton containers for seeds that she's planted (with the help of her own home-brewed nutrient-rich compost).  When they've grown into seedlings, they'll be headed for the soil.

The containers: 

Planting seeds in soil/compost mix:

Water for the thirsty:

And wouldn't you know it, we've got a workshop that can help you on your path to a green thumb.  Once a month, sustainability coach Deborah will hold a weekend workshop in a local backyard for all gardeners in training to dig, plant, and talk shop about how to grow an organic garden.  And Deborah should know, she's been doing this for over a decade and is certified in permaculture design, bio-intensive organic gardening and compost education.

Organic Gardening Workshop

Saturday, January 31st

1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Los Feliz

*Please call (323) 665- 7454 or email creativegreen@hotmail.com for more information or to register.*