Seasonal Recipe: Pickled Herring

Ever since I lived in Amsterdam, pickled herring has been one of my favorite appetizers. Today, I wish I could simply fill a jar of it from my grocery store's salad bar (the way I purchase similar items). But one of my mottoes is: If you can't find it in bulk, make it!Herring is tough to find at the fish counter though. I learned that here, in the San Francisco bay area, the local fishermen use it for bait to catch the big (generally less sustainable) fish per consumer demand, and the herring boats send most of it to Japan for its roe. So when Kirk Lombard, a local sea forager/educator, invited...

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Fashion Friday: Overcoat and Booties

Many of you have asked for more fashion posts. So welcome to "Fashion Friday" on ZWH, a way for me to share my favorite outfit of the week and offer a view of my mini, secondhand wardrobe (and possible combinations).Today, it's Overcoat and Booti...

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Zero Waste Home essential: A cobbler

Today, I share with you another Zero Waste essential for my household: A good cobbler.Located only a couple of blocks away from my house, Misak, better known as Tony, is key to achieving Zero Waste in my wardrobe. He is not only my partner in extending the useful life of my shoes, but he also meets my needs for a short turn-around, knowing that I only own six pairs of footwear. And, his service always comes with a smile. He is actually more than your regular cobbler, his life is to be featured in a documentary! Sadly, shoe repair is a disappearing trade, yet this work is part of the grand...

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In the life of a ponytail holder...

I had a scare last week: For a day, I thought I had lost one of my most prized possession. You might ask: What would that necessity be?my ponytail holder repairedIn my previous home, my bathroom was as big as my current kitchen and dining room combined (a real waste of heating and space considering that we used it only twice a day for only a few minutes). Its cabinets and drawers stored countless products that I had deemed necessary, such as miracle creams, makeup, colorful nail polishes, nail polish remover, Q-tips, cotton balls, rubbing alcohol... and a dozen ponytail holders.Then when I moved...

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