What is your “green dream”… home, car, job, food, etc?
What would you like to do better?
What green idea do you want to learn more about?
Green Week November 7, 2007
NBC Universal is celebrating Green Week by featuring some “green” aspect in all of their shows, and other media outlets. Check out Green is Universal for some tips on greening your life, and what your favorite shows are doing to highlight the environment this week.
My new favorite channel is Sundance. I think we’re getting is a a “preview,” so it will disappear from my tv soon, but in the meantime, I’ve enjoyed “Big Ideas for a Small Planet,” a documentary on “mom & pop shops” last night, and other thought-provoking tv shows and movies. It’s good that “green” ideas are creeping into entertainment, where they could have far-reaching effects. People spend a lot of time watching tv, and if they can learn a little bit about helping the environment, that’s great.
Take a few minutes out of your day for a fun little game called “Build your green home.” You can choose all the alternative energy sources you want to build a home for $100,000.
NBC’s Green is Universal site is getting their tips from Ideal Bite, a site I visit regularly. Today’s tip is to cut expenses (and production) by sharing big-ticket items with your neighbors. Does everyone in the neighborhood really need a lawn mower? Probably not. What happened to sharing? We can learn a lot from our neighbors, and cut production and energy consumption literally in half by sharing with just one other person. In my neighborhood, one guy mows 3 people’s lawns (older ladies) with his riding mower, and I learned about my reel push mower from my neighbors. It not only brings about a sense of community, but it saves a lot of energy, so talk to you neighbor… Share your extra-long ladder, your snow-blower, or your hedge trimmer.
The Market Path November 6, 2007
There is a wonderful new store in Highland Square, called The Market Path. If you live anywhere near Akron, I suggest you check it out.
The Market Path sells only Fair Trade certified items from Ten Thousand Villages. Fair Trade means that the workers who make the items are paid a fair wage, so they have a chance to improve their lives. Even better, The Market Path’s prices are beyond reasonable, which makes the Fair Trade concept more accessible to people who may not be familiar with it yet. The jewelry is just as beautiful as anything you’d find somewhere else, and it costs the same or less. They have everything you could want for your holiday shopping… decorations, jewelry, toys, accessories, stuff for the garden. It’s truly wonderful.
Highland Square is becoming a local-shopper’s paradise… I always love shopping at Revival, which I can count on for really cute, inexpensive clothes. Square Records is a great place to shop for music lovers. To complete your socially-conscious shopping experience, dine at locally-owned Two Amigos, or semi-local and totally delicious Aladdins. Top it off with some local ice cream from Mary Coyle.
Locals eat locally November 5, 2007
If you want to take the 100 mile diet challenge, read up on LocalFoodAkron, a site that tracks the story of Eric and Erica as they blogged about eating only local food all summer. It’s an honest approach to the struggles and success of eating local food. Eric and Erica were recently featured in an Akron Beacon Journal story. What an exciting adventure!
Eating local could mean 100 miles, or it could mean eating food made or grown in your state or region. There’s even a new term for people who eat locally – locavores.
GreenCity BlueLake provides some recipes for eating regionally. It’s becoming easier than ever to be a locavore. And, if you make a root cellar now, you could store your fresh potatoes and squashes all winter.
Public Transportation November 3, 2007
Using public transportation does more for the environment than “weatherizing a home, adjusting a thermostat, switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs and replacing older appliances with higher efficiency models, combined” according to a new report by the American Public Transportation Association.
It would also help Americans lose weight and stay in shape, if they have to walk a few blocks every day, instead of going from house to car to work to car to house.
Imagine all the reading, knitting, or just relaxing you could get done by taking a train or a bus. I hope to one day live in a city with a subway system – what a brilliant form of transportation. Some subway systems are even attempting to harness the power of footsteps to power the station’s lights and sound system!
So, if you can, consider taking public transportation. If you need help finding bus routes, check out Google Transit, which will lay out the public transportation route (including how far you would have to walk) for some cities.
Recipe Friday: Pies! November 2, 2007
Polenta Pie
Crust:
1 1/2 cups coarse cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups cold water
2 cups boiling water
a little olive oil
Filling:
1 TBS olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 thinly sliced bell pepper
10 mushrooms, sliced
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
5 to 6 medium cloves garlic, sliced
2 tsp dried basil (or fresh)
1/2 tsp oregano
fresh black pepper
1/4 lb mozzarella cheese, grated
2 small ripe tomatoes
1. Combine cornmeal, salt, and cold water in a small bowl. Have the boiling water on teh stove in a saucepan, and add the cornmeal mixture, whisking. Cook about 10 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently. It will get very thick. Remove from heat and let it cool until handleable. (polenta bubbles and splatters as it cooks and it gets very hot, so be careful and keep stirring)
2. Preheat oven to 375F. Oil a 10 inch pie pan. Add the polenta, and use a spatula and wet hands to form it into a smotth, thick crust over the bottom and sides of the pan. Brush the surface with olive oil and bake uncovered for 45 minutes.
3. While the crust bakes, heat 1 TBS olive oil in a skillet. Add the onion and saute for 5-8 minutes. Add bell pepper, mushrooms, and zucchini, and saute until everything is tender. Stir in the garlic and herbs, and saute just a few minutes more.
4. Turn the oven on broil. Sprinkle 1/2 the cheese onto the bottom of the baked crust, then add the tomato slices. Spread the sauteed veggies over the tomatoes, and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Broil until brown (about 5 minutes), and serve hot.
Candied Ginger Pumpkin Pie
1 15 oz can unsweetened pumpkin puree (not pumpkin flavored stuff)
1 14 oz can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
4 large eggs (substitute 1 cup applesauce, or tofu)
1 9-inch graham cracker piecrust
1/4 cup chopped candied ginger
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk together pumpkin puree and sweetened condensed milk in large bowl. Whisk in eggs and pinch of salt. Pour filling into graham cracker crust and bake 30 minutes.
2. Sprinkle chopped ginger on top and bake 20 to 30 minutes more, or until knife inserted in side of filling (not center) comes out clean. Cool, and refrigerate 3 hours, or overnight.
-Nov/Dec Vegetarian Times
Spice it up! Add cayenne pepper to your hot chocolate for some extra heat. Yum! (plus, cayenne pepper is good for circulation, which will keep you feeling warmer)
Subscribe to my RSS feed here
