Eager to to make your own DIY wine — but want a treat you can enjoy while it’s still 2009? Then let me suggest a very cute, tasty, and eco-themed gingerbread house! Three to try:

>> LEED-certified ginger pre-fab: gingerLotus. A couple years ago, eco-architect Michelle Kaufmann created a gingerbread version of one of her full-sized home designs, the mkLotus. All of mkLotus’ cool green design features, from the rainwater catchment system to the green living roof, are included in the mini version.

Download the PDF instructions and pattern to get started. You’ll love that even the gingerbread recipe calls for sustainable ingredients, from fair trade molasses to cage-free, organic eggs.

>> Hot chocolate with a house garnish: Tiny Gingerbread House for Mug. Horrified by the un-eco, suburban size of the gingerLotus? If you’re the tiny house type, Not Martha’s got photo-illustrated instructions for creating your own lilliputian gingerbread house, small enough to sit on the rim of your mug! (via Craftzine)

Start by printing out this simple, 1-page PDF pattern and start bake-building. Stick to organic ingredients and candy garnishes to keep your house green — and sip proudly, admiring your tiny house and its correspondingly tiny carbon footprint.

>> Edible eco-architecture for Angelenos: Cake Study House. Firmly believe architecture should keep location in mind, whether for native landscape backyards or for passive solar heating? Kristina Hahn Atelier’s Cake Study House is all about drought-resistant gardening, as you can see from the banana succulents to almond cacti to pepper palm tree. (via Treehugger)

Made of natural edible eco-chic building materials that shun artificial food coloring, the Cake Study House’s open spaces make natural lighting easy. The one un-eco but very L.A.-suburb aspect of the house: Its 2-car garage shows the building’s automobile-dependent.

Unfortunately, no PDF of the plans are available — but since the site lists both the building materials and provides photos of the house from all angles, the intrepid foodie-architect will likely be able to cobble together a twin house.
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For more green gingerbread inspiration, read my latest post on FilterForGood to drool over other little eco-ginger creations — including my own gingerduplex!

Photos via Michelle Kaufmann, Not Martha, Kristina Hahn

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