Posts Tagged ‘bottlehood’
Hello Earth Week!
We often get caught up in the day to day so much that we forget that we all are a part of a much bigger picture…ahem, planet. Earth Day is another great time to make new resolutions geared towards improving your own impact on the planet. These promises will not only benefit your own well-being but ultimately that of Mother Earth.
Here at BottleHood, our team obviously has tried to come up with a better solution for used glass bottles and we can say with confidence that we think we’ve done a pretty good job, but we always strive to do better. It’s when we all go home at night that the mundane takes over and the small things become bigger than they really are. I began searching the internet for things that my co-workers and I could add in our day to day routines outside of the office that would also help out our planet and the environment in which we dwell.
Much to my dismay there were loads of articles on composting. I have always had this misguided image of “Compost” as being some sort of rank creature with knobby fingers that lives in a backyard swamp feeding off of old coffee grinds and banana peels. As I read various articles on composting, my cartoon image of “Compost” began to slip away and found that the concept and delivery could be quite simple if done correctly. How to Compost is a fantastic resource to what is involved in the process and The Garden of Oz provides an easy crash course of the benefits to both your garden and to Mother Earth. Now convinced that my Earth Day Resolution will be to start my own compost project, I found some affordable containers to help conceal the mess. The Environmental Service Department of San Diego even provides workshops to help! Check your local environmental departments to see what they could offer to you.
If you already compost or you are still terrified of the duties involved, 14 Surprising Things That Harm the Planet
is one last article that I found interesting about small and simple things to do. Every person leaves a carbon footprint on this planet and we are all responsible for the things that we take away from our Mother Earth. Please remember that you are not too small to play a part in helping maintain our planets resources for those generations to come. Have a Happy Earth Week everyone!
![IMG_1346[1]](http://www.bottlehood.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/IMG_13461.jpg)
To Your Heart’s Desire — Alesmith’s My Bloody Valentine served with Pasta Arrabiata.
It’s February, Valentine’s Day is upon us and it’s been a cold week in San Diego. In order to stay on track with a few of our New Year resolutions some of us have decided that we will run the San Diego Rock n’ Roll half marathon in June. For those running, it is a daunting task but with short-term goals, a good training schedule and office accountability, we hope the joy we feel at the finish line will be nothing less than awesome. With all of this cold weather and running going on, pasta seems to be on a lot of our plates.
Working at BottleHood means we are constantly searching for new bottles to cut. This week in particular we’ve received a few of Alesmith’s “My Bloody Valentine” which not only tastes of deliciously balanced notes of sweet caramel and hops, but also comes packaged in a graphically awesome bottle. While staring at the words “My Bloody Valentine” and discussing this week’s training schedule with co-workers, I realized I had a solution for Valentine’s Day dinner…Pasta Arrabiata (Arra-Beer-ata)!
Spaghetti noodles always remind me of the adorable first kiss between Lady and The Tramp, therefore, in my opinion, spaghetti with red sauce is the most romantic kind of meal you could cook at home for your sweetie. Arrabiata sauce is traditionally a little spicy as it gets its name from the Italian word for angry. Spicy romance? Yummm.
This recipe is easy to follow for anyone and can be found on page 91 of the Brew Food cookbook — a collaboration of recipes between professional chefs in San Diego and local craft beer. This recipe by Nate Soroko, North Park’s Toronado head chef, uses a Flanders Red, a sour red ale that replaces the traditional red wine and vinegar that is found in Arrabiata sauce. I wanted to keep with the local theme and so I used “Red Poppy” by The Lost Abbey (San Marcos, CA), and I will warn you that it is expensive. If you want to spend less, “Rodanbach Grand Cru” will work nicely as well and you’ll get twice as much for your buck. If your Valentine likes pasta, beer and spicy sauce this recipe is a no brainer. No Valentine? Call your friends, your mom, whomever! Or make it for yourself…it’s delicious.
PASTA ARRIABIATA
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 large shallot, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup red sour or kreik beer
½ cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons honey
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper
2 pounds Roma tomatoes, pureed
1 pound spaghetti (I used spaghetti rigati)
4 tablespoons butter
4 ounces fresh, chopped parsley
Grated Parmesan cheese
- Put a pot of water on to boil (enough to cook a pound of pasta).
- In large skillet or sauté pan, heat the oil to hot and sauté the onion, shallot and garlic until translucent, about 6 minutes.
- Stir in the beer, honey, tomato paste, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Combine well.
- Mix in the pureed tomatoes, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered.
- Cook linguine or spaghetti until al dente. Drain and add to sauté pan. Cook for 1 minute with sauce.
- Just before serving, swirl in the butter to melt, add salt to taste, and sprinkle with about 4oz of fresh, chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.
Buon Appetito!
Do you resolve to make resolutions at the beginning of each year? The first resolutions were those of ancient Babylonians making promises to pay off debts and return farming equipment with the hope to earn favor from their gods. The Romans declared January 1 as the first day of the year to honor Janus, the Roman god of beginnings who has two faces that allow him to look into the past and forward to the future. In 46 BC Julius Caesar allowed the previous year to drag on an extra 90 days in order to realign January 1st and the Roman calendar with the sun.
I did not know much of the above. In these modern times popular resolutions consist of goals to become healthier, more physically fit, more positive and more spiritual. A lot of people resolve to spend more time with their loved ones. Some wish to improve upon their financial state. I can tell you that getting into shape, losing weight, and to quit biting my nails are my top three resolutions every year and I’m right on track for making this year (or next) the one in which it all happens!
Please allow me to introduce myself; my name is Michelle and I work at BottleHood. I am part of a team of fantastically creative souls who have a wonderful thirst for life and its many adventures. Recently, I asked my fellow employees to relay a few of their New Year’s resolutions to me for inspiration. While most shared the same goals as the popular aforementioned declarations of the general public (myself included) a few co-workers had some more unique ideas. Jewelry Manager, Kelly, said “to not type ‘LOL’ unless I have really laughed aloud.” Evan, our Sourcing Manager replied, “I want to learn more jokes!” (Backstory: Evan sits behind me and I make him tell me jokes.) I loved Marketing Director Leslie’s resolution “to eat less chocolate, drink more champagne and practice more yoga in between.” But my favorite by far was from Jonathan who works in packing and shipping. He replied simply ”to eat more calories.” Yes please and I wish.
What better way to keep goals than to share them with your friends, loved ones and perhaps a co-worker or four? Together, we have new resolutions for our company! For starters, we want to learn more, grow in knowledge and in product! We want to make new friends and take more trips to see what other developments are going on in our industry and in our community. BottleHood will expand and try new ideas this coming year and we resolve to keep telling you what we are doing and the things that keep us inspired! So it begins (again)…our renewed blog, a superb resolution.
You know, we occasionally take a story from SIPS Magazine, the quarterly we produce for Alliance Beverage Distributing Company, and re-publish it here on EATERAZ after the issue has come out. However, in this instance, the story was so cool, we’re letting sending out to ya before it hits the printed page. There’s a column in the magazine called Green Matters and it talks about, well, green matters in the spirits industry. In researching stories for the next issue, we came upon a company called BottleHood you probably would like to know about.Ever wonder what happens to that bottle of Grey Goose once all the vodka has been poured out? Some bottles end up in a landfill. Other bottles end up in the recycling bin. Some just litter your garage floor. (Just us? Oh, okay). But the luckiest bottles get reincarnated by this company, BottleHood. They become sets of glasses, tumblers, vases, or light fixtures from this innovative, environmentally minded company.
It is estimated about 7 million tons of glass bottles are wasted annually and glass takes around 4,000 years to decompose! Repurposing glass uses far less resources than recycling it. BottleHood takes used bottles such as liquor, beer, wine, or soda and converts them into practical and stylish uses. What a cool, simple, and eco-friendly idea. In addition, BottleHood can deck out your house or restaurant in eco-friendly style with their interior design services.
The good folks behind San Diego-based BottleHood find attractive and functional uses for discarded wine, beer, liquor and soda bottles, which they creatively repurpose into tumblers, juice glasses, vases, pendant beads and light fixtures. We’re loving these handcrafted spice jars made from pinot grigio bottles, which are topped with renewable cork stoppers to keep kitchen goods fresh. Simple and unpretentious, the spice jars add a homey feel to any kitchen.
If it isn’t recycled, glass takes more than 4,000 years to break down. BottleHood reclaims glass from local restaurants, bars and events and repurposes it into everything from glassware to lamps to jewelry. The company even reuses the wood from barrels for platters to make functional housewares, going beyond typical drinking glasses to additional, creative designs.
Now that you know one of the Go to Girls is on point with her Holiday Cards, by her own admission in this post, I felt like I should come clean in regards to the fact that I am beginning my Christmas shopping. I ALWAYS get this burst of efficiency as soon as I begin seeing jack O’lanterns pop up around the hood. Now that I have thrown that declaration out there, please note that any of you out finishing up your shopping during the last days before Santa makes an appearance will ALWAYS run into me frantically getting my last few gifts. So, don’t beat yourself up too much. I digress.
Bottlehood is a great little retailer that I have wanted to share for quite a while now. Headquartered in San Diego, CA,Bottlehood repurposes wine, beer, and spirit bottles into amazing glassware. These thinkers are keeping discarded glass out of landfills (which they tell me takes 4000 years to decompose!!!) and providing jobs to boost their local economy. Love.
Personally, I’m a sucker for little teeny glasses, and so the Coca-Cola juice glasses pictured above are some of my faves. Insert a longing sigh here. ($27 for a set of 4)