Enjoy and get ready for spring gardeners!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w&feature=player_embedded#!
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Found this article on Linkedin at one of my eco friendly groups. Stop, think and remember: If our garbage were placed in our own backyard, how much differently (consciously) would you live? ;-)
Posted on May 30, 2012 in Water Conservation by Matthew Speer
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a true testament to the ignorance of our modern world when it comes to the environment around us. As you take a swig from the BPA laced plastic water bottle that was brought back from the grocery store in a single use plastic bag, think about what happens when they are both tossed away. This discarded plastic and other litter often ends up in our oceans and thanks to strong ocean and wind currents it creates an enormous mass of floating plastic spanning thousands of miles. The lifestyle of wasteful convenience experienced in America and other industrialized nations has allowed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to grow at an estimated hundred-fold in the past four decades.
The Pacific Ocean has become the world’s largest landfill in an area known as the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. This area boasts a slow moving group of spiral currents that create an oceanic desert with very little sea life. These currents also create an odd side effect, collecting floating trash from around the globe and focusing it in this one region. According to studies by the United Nations Environment program, it is estimated that every square mile of ocean contains 46,000 pieces of plastic, an alarming figure that has likely grown since the 2006 study. A significant portion of this garbage consists of small particles of plastic floating just beneath the surface, this makes measurements more difficult. Based on sampling data it is estimated that the Great Pacific Garbage path could make up 8.1 percent of the entire Pacific Ocean or 5,800,000 million square miles.
The infamous Japanese Tsunami caused enormous amounts of damage and ravaged the island nation, washing homes, businesses and lives out to sea. The debris from this tragedy is now caught up in the Pacific’s currents and is beginning accumulate, adding to the already littered Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The trash that isn’t stuck in the currents has also begun to wash up on the west coast of the United States in places such as Oregon, Washington and Alaska.
The obsession we have with single use plastics and other non-reusable items is the root cause for a large portion of this mess. Prevention is really the only logical step we can take at this point as clean-up measures would prove implausible. Instead we should implement some basic methods that can help curb the rapid growth of the debris field, allowing Mother Nature to work on cleaning up our existing mess. The following tips can help you take action in preventing the spread of the Great Pacific Garbage patch and help create a sustainable earth at the same time.
- Ditch the Plastic Water Bottles: Two million plastic water bottles are used in the United States every five minutes. The water bottles are known to be laced with BPA which can cause birth defects and weight gain. Grab a reusable water bottle to help you stay healthy and go green by reducing the plastics tossed away. Buy a reusable water bottle now.
- Take Your Own Bags: I never did understand the plastic bag concept, reusing bags just made sense economically and for the planet. By taking your own reusable shopping bags you can reduce the litter from finding its way into the ocean and lower the supermarkets operating costs, which could be passed to you in savings. Find reusable shopping bags on Amazon now.
- Travel on Cruise Lines with Ocean Friendly Policies: Up to 20 percent of the trash found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is thought to be related to ships dumping trash. Many of the top tier cruise lines are no adhering to strict “no dumping” and recycling policies. This is great for business as the cruise line industry relies on a clean ocean to draw passengers on board.
I am a father of three and I often wonder what shape the planet will be in when we pass it along to the next generations. The Great Pacific Garbage, sadly, was preventable, though our desire for convenience and money led us to poor decision making over the past few decades. Let’s take a lesson from our previous generations and think about using products that last and put our kids first, not our portfolio.
So folks, remember “Be the Change” you wish to see.
Salut!
If you have the best veterinarian EVER, like I do ;-) you want to always ask what their favorite cookie is. Right? Not just at Christmas time when everyone is baking way too much sugar. But of course when one of your furry children has a very bad ear infection. I love my vet!! He has a special calling for sure. So off to baking I go!
These were brought to me by Dina Crowell of Fredericksburg, Virginia (Knew I would love her, another Virginia gal!!) at Buttercream Bakehouse (http://buttercream-bakehouse.com). She has a wonderful website with much better pictures than mine and has a distinctive talent for Perfecting cakes. These did NOT disappoint and you can make them and then refrigerate for a day or two (recovery time in the kitchen when you are spread waaaaaay too thin (um Yeah..that never happens)!
Meanwhile back at the ranch, these were delivered with rave reviews and I have orders coming in!! Oy!
Here’s all you do:
PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Ingredients:
2 cups bread flour (secret ingredient)
1 1/2 cups cake flour (secret ingredient)
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
1 1/4 tsps baking soda
1 1/2 tsps salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chopped walnutsInstructions:
Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars approx 5 mins until light
Add eggs while mixing well between each addition.
Stir in the vanilla.
Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix 5-10 secs – should be combined.
Stir in semi sweet chocolate chips and walnuts.
Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
Using a small or medium cookie scoop, scoop up ball of dough and place onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake one cookie sheet at a time on the middle rack.
Bake for 10 minutes or just until they start to turn golden brown
Let cool on cookie sheet for five minutes then transfer cookies to a wire cookie rack to cool completely.
As I said, expect orders!
Bon Appétit!
What else is there to say other than It’s Spring time in the kitchen! Ummmmm…just smell that clean zest smell. Love when that happens.
Here’s all you do:
Orange Yogurt Cake…from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite
Ingredients:
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons strained orange juice
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup vanilla flavored Greek yogurt (see cook’s note below)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Confectioners’ sugar (optional)
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch cheesecake pan with fixed sides. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; grease. Dust pan with flour. Set aside.
2) In bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat eggs and sugar until thick and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add orange zest and juice and beat until well combined, about 1 minute longer.
3) Sift flour, salt and baking powder together into another bowl. Fold into batter.
4) Add yogurt to batter and stir to mix. Add oil and stir to combine.
5) Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake in lower third of oven until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and continue to cool on a rack. Transfer to a cake plate and dust with Confectioners’ sugar if using. Yield: 8 servings.
I made this with Grapeseed Oil and also Olive oil just to play around with some oils other than vegetable oils. And have used butter as well. The veggie oil is the most of the three….imho!! ;-)
Bon Appétit!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHqD16s-jNE
Give Natalie Holmes a big round of applause! It’s a perfect day.
Remember to support the arts and the artists who make us smile and tap our feet!!
Enjoy the day and may sunshine warm your homes and hearts!
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Sláinte agus táinte!
Pssst it’s easy being green! ;-)
Are you a Chocolate and peanut butter fan like myself? Can you NEVER turn down a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup? Yeah, thought so. Then this is the recipe for you. I don’t know why I never made these before but these were just delicious.
My DARLING neighbor did me a wonderful favor this week. I came home from work one night…., actually was going to work the next morning and noticed that someone had taken great pains to mow and trim my front lawn. (I LOVE when that happens – sweet surprises) With the winter months slowing everything down, it usually gets a low priority until spring time. Aren’t great neighbors the BEST!!! Thanks again Josh and hope you and the family enjoy those cookies!
Here’s all you do:
Reese’s Chewy Chocolate Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey’s cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1- 10 oz bag of Reese’s Peanut butter chips
DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 350˚. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Beat softened butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Gradually add flour mixture , beating well. Stir in peanut butter chips.
Drop by rounded teaspoon (I did tablespoon) onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 – 10 minutes. DO NOT over bake, these cookies will be very soft. Let them sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Cool completely. These will be soft cookies. When they hit the cool air they still will be chewy and ever so slightly crunchy! Enjoy with a large glass of cold milk!
Bon Appétit!
We all know how much I love soup in the winter months and I found YET another keeper! This was so perfect and I didn’t even use the “variety” pack of mushrooms. There was such a sale on plain old regular, that I dived in and just made it with one toadstool ;-). Can’t even imagine how delicious this would be with three different kinds of mushrooms.
This came together in minutes, especially if you lay out all the ingredients in the morning, albeit the dairy, and come home from work and put together. You will have smiles all around. Serve with a warm baguette and salad. Comfort food all the way.
Here’s all you do:
Homemade Mushroom Soup
courtesy of Season with Spice and Art and the Kitchen
Ingredients:
- 2 cups fresh mushrooms – cleaned and chopped (A variety if you choose)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic – finely chopped
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 – 2 bay leaf
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp flour dissolved in 1 tbsp water
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup milk
- Dash of nutmeg
- Fresh ground black pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley or thyme for garnish
Instructions:
- Heat olive oil in a sauce pan. Add butter and lightly sauté garlic on medium heat.
- Add in mushrooms, thyme, bay leaf and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the moisture from the mushrooms disappears.
- Add in chicken broth. Stir occasionally until broth boils, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add diluted flour in, and stir constantly (while simmering) until the mixture thickens. Season with salt and nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Finally, add milk and heavy cream, and bring to a simmer. Turn heat off.
- Serve hot in your soup bowl. Add freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with fresh parsley or thyme if you have them on hand.
I baked some home made sesame seed bread with flax seeds and molasses. YUM!! Utter comfort!
Bon Appétit!
Documentary on GMO Trees. There has to be a way to stop this. Please view and pass around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w437uQf_A7c
Smile and make someone happy ;-)
You might be the one to make their Whole Day!
Our Valentine Aprons are going to be at market this week. Come check out the beautiful, fully reversible sweet hotty Aprons!! ;-)
Photos available week of January 27th.
Kiss Kiss!
Wag and Woof!
My favorite cake in the world (*I think) is my almond cake. And this year I made my very own batch of marzipan instead of buying the grocery store version. I had been told it was super easy so I had to give it a try. It did not disappoint. Of course, how could it, it’s Marzipan!! I think I’m going to write a song about Marzipan….it’s time.
Marzipan is simply ground almonds…..fine ground almonds (1 1/4 cup), confectioners sugar (1 1/4 cup) and one egg white. You can also kick it up a notch by adding a 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract, but that’s not necessary. Unless like me you can never have enough almond essence in your food.
Enjoy with a fresh cup of joe and think of all the great things this year will bring. I did!
;-)
Here’s all you do:
ALMOND CAKE
1 1/3 cup sugar
8 ounces of almond paste (I made home made marzipan!!)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon orange flower water
6 large eggs, room temperature
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch diameter spring form pan, dust with flour, and tap out any excess. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a food processor, pulse the sugar, almond paste, and 1/4 cup flour until the almond paste is finely ground and the mixture resembles sand. Add the cubes of butter, the vanilla and almond extracts, and the orange flower water. Process until the batter is smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, processing a bit before the next addition, scraping down bowl as needed.
Add half of the flour mixture to the food processor bowl and pulse a few times. Transfer the batter to a large mixing bowl and add the remaining half of the flour mixture. Mix by hand until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Do not over mix here (I just left it in the cuisinart and folded mine in for fear of over mixing). Pour batter into prepared spring form pan and bake for 65 minutes, or until the top is deep brown and feels set when you press in the center.
Remove cake from oven and run a sharp serrated knife around the perimeter, loosening the cake from the sides of the pan. Let the cake cool completely in pan; once cool, remove sides of spring form pan and invert cake onto rack. Remove bottom of spring form pan and parchment paper from the cake. Carefully turn cake back over and onto a cake plate for serving.
This is perfect for special guests, special occasions. Again, I thank the Marzipan Gods for creating such a perfect, delicate staple in my pantry!
Happy New Year and Bon Appétit!
I want to wish all…..All…..ALL my amazing customers who made this year, like all those since we began, another amazing milestone year. My customers are those folks who ARE THE CHANGE, KNOW THE CHANGE and are smarter than the average bear! Thank you for being so conscious of what we do, why we do “Made In AMERICA” and the difference they make on this planet!
May your year be better and brighter than we all imagine!
Happy Happy New Year 2013.
