We recently finished our 2022/23 Sustainability On My Mind Session. In this session, we had 8 workshops: moisturizing hand/body butter, candle making, homemade laundry detergent, homemade moisturizing foaming soap, mason jar herb garden, food preservation, tin can luminaries and green cleaning products. Here are the instructions and recipes for three of the workshops: food preservation, tin can luminaries and green cleaning products:
Food Preservation
Pickling – Kirby Cucumbers
Ingredients & Materials
- 2 cucumbers
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of dill or ¼ cup of sugar
- A mason jar
- A knife
- A cutting board
- ½ tablespoon of salt
- A tablespoon
- ¼ measuring cup
- ½ measuring cup (optional)
- A large container
Instructions
- Wash the cucumbers
- Cut the cucumbers into the desired shape – either coins or spears
- Place the cut cucumbers into the mason jar
- In a large container, mix the white vinegar, dill and salt together
- Pour the vinegar, salt and dill over the cucumbers
- Close the mason jar and shake the mixture
- Place in the refrigerator, remembering to shake every couple of hours
- After 6 hours, the pickles will be ready
Refrigeration – Carrots
Ingredients & Materials
- 1-2 carrots
- Water
- A mason jar
- A knife
- A cutting board
Instructions
- Remove carrots from bag
- Rinse carrots off
- Cut off the tops of the carrots
- Cut the unpeeled carrots into the desired shape (spears or chips)
- Place the carrots into the mason jar, packed in
- Pour water into the mason jar, making sure the carrots are submerged
- Seal the mason jar and keep refrigerated
- Change out the water every 3-4 days to prolong the freshness of the carrots
- Before eating the carrots, rinse them off again, you can also peel them
Tin Can Luminaries
Materials
- Frozen tin can with ice in it
- Paper
- Scissors
- Marker
- Nail
- Hammer
- Paint
- Paint Brush
- Tape
- Candle or a Light
Instructions
- Draw the design that you want for your luminary on a piece of paper
- Cutting out the shape, tape the paper onto the frozen can
- Following the shape, use the hammer and nail to punch holes into the can
- Once finished with the design, remove the paper
- Run the can under hot water to remove the ice or place in a large container filled with warm water
- Dry off the can and paint it
- Place the candle or the light in the can and enjoy!
Green Cleaning Products
All-purpose cleaner
- 1 cup distilled water
- 1 tbsp Castille Soap
- A spray bottle
Soap Scrub Cleaner
- 3/4 baking soda
- 1 tbsp water
- 4 tbsp Castille Soap
- A mason jar