Green ideas for your Home

How to Go Green: In the Kitchen Part 2

The Kitchen Designer blog, by Susan Serra

Green Kitchen Countertops

Following is a good start at a list of green countertop sources.

Avonite Avonite’s solution has been to adhere to the principles of sustainable design – the art of designing and constructing building which comply with the principles of economic, social and ecological sustainability and conservation. Widely acknowledged as an innovator in solid surfacing, Avonite Surfaces has leveraged that excellence to create ecologically sound products which are cost-effective and elegant.

Alkemi Made from 60% post industrial aluminum waste and resins. It is strong and exquisitely beautiful to the eye. Surfaces may sanded and buffed to a matte or high gloss.

Vetrazzo All of the glass used in Vetrazzo is recycled, and it makes up about 85% of the total material. Most of the glass comes from curbside recycling programs. Other glass comes from windows, dinnerware, stemware, windshields, stained glass, laboratory glass, reclaimed glass from building demolition, traffic lights and other unusual sources. Every Vetrazzo surface has its own history. Due to its high recycled content, using Vetrazzo can help your project qualify for LEED certification.

Craft-Art Company Wood countertops and reclaimed wood. Eight new reclaimed wood countertop options are now available from Craft-Art.  The use of beautiful wood from the 1800s and 1900s, eco-friendly and functional, supports the goal to recycle the Earth’s resources as part of the sustainable building movement. Barn Red Oak, Chestnut, Beech, Heart Pine, Cypress, Barn White Oak.

Endura Wood Products Endura Wood Products offers a wide variety of certified and rediscovered woods and wood products for homes and business. We believe that sourcing and offering only certified and rediscovered forest products is the best way to insure that our children can still see — and use — both the forest and the trees.

Syndcrete Natural cement based, pre cast product, green/sustainable, high recycled content, chemically inert, no off-gassing, aggregates: post consumer bottle glass, tempered glass, wood chips, metal shavings, shells, more. Contributes from 2-8 LEED points.

Bio Glass Glass is made of almost 100% crystalline silica in the form of quartz containing 70-72% weight % silicon dioxide. Bio-Glass consists of 100% recycled glass. Bio-Glass colors depend on recycled components (hollow glass, tableware, and/or factory shards)

Caeserstone CaesarStone is the first and only quartz surface to earn the ISO 14001 Certification for its compliance and commitment to the best green manufacturing processes. The company is committed to creating a better quality environment and is implementing procedures to prevent pollution and waste reduction at its manufacturing facility. In addition, CaesarStone is also certfied ISO 9002 (Quality Management standard) and NSF 51, is LEED (new commercial construction and major renovation projects) compliant and sports the Good Housekeeping Seal.

VitraStone We fabricate eco friendly sinks and surfaces made from a special blend of ceramic cement, fly ash, and recycled glass. VitraStone has a soft satin finish with endless color and design options. We offer a selection of standard sink and countertop systems along with a custom design service. We are available nation wide and will ship anywhere. For residential and commercial applications, VitraStone is a smart choice.

Take a look at this article on green countertops, very interesting.

Susan been a professional kitchen designer for 20+ years and she truly LOVE’s kitchens – “it’s the place where we find physical and spiritual nourishment-it’s far more than a cabinet finish! ” http://www.thekitchendesigner.org/

Awesome website of the week:

All Chocolate

http://www.allchocolate.com/enjoying/intro_to_chocolate/index.aspx

Creating your own chocolate tasting event is easy, fun and certainly delicious.

Food Joke:

The Rules of Eating Chocolate
•    If you’ve got melted chocolate all over your hands, you’re eating it too slowly.
•    Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices & strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.
•    The problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car.
The solution: Eat it in the parking lot.
•    Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It’ll take the edge off your appetite and you’ll eat less.
•    If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge.
Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves.
•    If I eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, is that a balanced diet? Don’t they actually counteract each other?
•    Money talks. Chocolate sings.
•    Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger.
•    Q: Why is there no such organization as Chocoholics Anonymous?
A: Because no one wants to quit.
•   Put “eat chocolate” at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you’ll get one thing done.
•    A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Isn’t that handy?
•    If you can’t eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can’t eat all your chocolate, what’s wrong with you?

The Wickedfood Team

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Wickedfood Cooking School runs  classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cooking lessons are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking courses are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes, these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.