The matching site also has other resources, including an annotated script.

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Bread was one of the first commodities to disappear — this is a well-known phenomenon, even for modest snows — and the snowfall prevented trucks from restocking. We, however, did not do without. (Indeed, I think we may have had too much, but that’s a problem for another blog.)

In short, I had a nice hand-me-down bread maker and made five two-pound loaves over the course of the blizzards. My recipe uses bread flour, water, powdered milk, wheat gluten, white sugar, salt, oil and yeast.

Water comes from the tap. The flour, milk, sugar and salt come from paper or cardboard packaging. The wheat gluten comes packaged in plastic film within a cardboard box; I suppose I could do without it. The yeast — a bulk package, normally for commercial bakers; I’ve had it for ages in the fridge, transfered to a glass jar — came in a mylar-foil brick, like mass-market coffee. Oil comes in a plastic bottle, though I’m looking to start with canned oil after I’m done.

Really not too much plastic per loaf. Sorry I can’t say the same about calories!

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But in France we saw an alternative — paper. Strong attractive paper bags — squared off, with a picture of a cheery market scene and big enough to hold a pound or two of apples or grapes — were the rule. I suspect they’re made of virgin pulp; kraft paper usually is

Bocca Sacs are the maker of the one I kept, if you’re an interested greengrocer.

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I especially love cabbage finely shredded for slaw, a quick stir-fry or to enliven a thin soup. Of course, I avoid the bagged kind for the plastic; it is also too expensive. But I prefer to shred more than a single serving of cabbage to save time and effort.

Formerly, I would cover the bowl with plastic wrap, but I decided on an alternative: the outer leaves. Washed, layered and pressed against the shreds. Obvious really, and it works well.

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With the new Administration comes a measure of optimism, if not certainty. And with optimism, resolve. While plastic-free bloggers can strip their use down to nil, real reduction will come only if we can convince producers to use less plastic and consumers to rely on it less. I’ve wondered if some actions — particularly around plastic-free alternatives to shampoo and deodorant — is more discouraging than inspiring. More about that later.

Unlike the maxim on saving — take care of the pennies and the pounds take care of themselves — I think plastic-reduction has address big uses first. So this is how I would start.

• give up plastic-bottled drinks. replace them with canned drinks, if at all.
• give up plastic-bottled cleaning supplies. replace them with pasteboard-boxed powders.
• don’t waste products that come packaged in plastic. recommended amounts –detergent, toothpaste — are often excessive.
• clean plastic goods to extend their life. that includes polyester fabrics.
• give up microwaving in plastic storage containers.
• if you eat at inexpensive restaurants, choose those that serve food with durable service pieces or sandwiches wrapped in paper.
• decline plastic bags, even if you don’t have your own bag, if you can carry what you bought.
• request that vendors not ship with plastic packaging. sometimes they comply.
• save money by not buying plastic kitsch for home decor, holidays and celebrations.

If you can make those changes, you’ll really drop your plastic use. Then, if you like, you can move to advanced studies.

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Which is why I love the sweet, chewy goodness of guava paste. It’s ticker than cranberry sauce, and has one of the “tropical” flavors you find in Hawaiian Punch. It’s not health food, but it is sugar-sweetened. It is imported — the Goya brand I like comes from the Dominican Republic — but it is canned, so shelf-stable. And California is farther from me than the Dominican Republic. And because it’s canned, it doesn’t have any more plastic than what might line the can. (Which is a problem, but not one I can solve right now.)  Served with a mild white cheese and bread or crackers, it makes one of those filling deserts — like rice pudding — that can fill out an otherwise skimpy dinner. Like a rustic winter soup.

Or for that matter, I like cranberry sauce. There’s no law that says it only needs to be eaten at Thanksgiving.

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Really? Need I say more?

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Hubby and I were out in the ‘burbs last weekend, near one of my favorite Metro-accessible Persian groceries — Yekta; 1488 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852 near Twinbrook station — for canned goods, perhaps some sweet-treat and (fingers crossed) tea not packed with any plastic. And with a tiny caveat, I found it.

For $6, I got this 500g packet of Barooti Gulabi Tea. Gulabi being a trademark of G. A. Randerian Limited, of Kolkata (Calcutta), India. You can get it online, too: an example. What gave me hope was the outer milky-colored wrapper; that’s not plastic, but glassine, a kind of oil-resistant paper once commonly used for tasks given to plastic film today. (More about glassine later.)

The only plastic I found on the outside was the shiny seal — my caveat — pictured in the first second photo: a piece of mylar so small I didn’t bother to weigh it. Past the glassine was a label glued in place — I confess to a bit of Christmas gift unwrapping-like excitement — to the pinkish (probably recycled) paper layer, under which was a square of cardboard to help the loaf of tea keep its shape. Past that was a wrapper of foil-coated paper. There could be plastic sandwiched in there, but I’m doubtful: it’s awfully thin, and apart from that shiny seal and a UPC label, I doubt the packaging has changed much in decades. But for the record, the inner foil-coated layer weighed 3g.

Now, for the tasting. Not too tannic, a little malty. Not green tasting. I bet most people brought up on Lipton’s would accept it and think it better than usual. A dark liquor. Ices well. I bet it would be good spiced, too. A winner.

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But I don’t understand the moral superiority of the same organic sugar once it’s been packed in plastic and shipped halfway around the globe. And no, sometimes I don’t want to taste the natural rawness of it, thank you. (That’s what my glass bottle of molasses is for.)

The United States produces a lot of sugar, and since I don’t use much, I’ll be happy with the twice-yearly two pound paper sack.

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But I have made one move for plasticlessness: butter. (Yes, I’m sure you’re thinking what a sacrifice.) I had been getting light margarine. But out goes the tubs of flavorless or odd-flavored palm or hydrogenated oil. Butter has more calories; I’ll use less. Butter comes from methane-depleting cattle? True, but I’ve whittled my greenhouse gasses so much. Leave me my paper-wrapped butter.

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