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It's that time of year when the world falls in love - every song you hear seems to say,
"Merry Christmas, May Your New Year Dreams Come True!!"
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I'll be back in 2009!!
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P.S. Quiz: What's Your Tree Decorating Style? I am Snowy White.
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Friday, December 19, 2008
Friday's Photos - Deck The Halls!!
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It's that time of year when the world falls in love - every song you hear seems to say,
"Merry Christmas, May Your New Year Dreams Come True!!"
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I'll be back in 2009!!
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P.S. Quiz: What's Your Tree Decorating Style? I am Snowy White.
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It's that time of year when the world falls in love - every song you hear seems to say,
"Merry Christmas, May Your New Year Dreams Come True!!"
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I'll be back in 2009!!
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P.S. Quiz: What's Your Tree Decorating Style? I am Snowy White.
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Thursday, December 18, 2008
Have a Grateful Christmas
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The other day I was going to meet a dear friend of mine for coffee. I instead got a jolt of reality. She called me with a family emergency, but it wasn't a sick kid or car trouble - a close family member had been killed in a terrible car accident. Just like that life can be gone... so I will cherish my family all the more this holiday season and say a small prayer for those who are less fortunate.
_P.S. This year my husband and I made our yearly Christmas donation to St. Jude Hospital. Check out their website at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Give the gift of HOPE.
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About St. Jude's
_St. Jude is unlike any other pediatric treatment and research facility. Discoveries made here have completely changed how the world treats children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. With research and patient care under one roof, St. Jude is where some of today's most gifted researchers are able to do science more quickly.
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St. Jude researchers are published and cited more often in high impact publications than any other private pediatric oncology research institution in America. St. Jude is a place where many doctors send some of their sickest patients and toughest cases. A place where cutting-edge research and revolutionary discoveries happen every day. We've built America's second-largest health-care charity so the science never stops.
St. Jude researchers are published and cited more often in high impact publications than any other private pediatric oncology research institution in America. St. Jude is a place where many doctors send some of their sickest patients and toughest cases. A place where cutting-edge research and revolutionary discoveries happen every day. We've built America's second-largest health-care charity so the science never stops.
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All patients accepted for treatment at St. Jude are treated without regard to the family's ability to pay.
All patients accepted for treatment at St. Jude are treated without regard to the family's ability to pay.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Recycling - Giving A Gift To Earth
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Recycling Works!
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1,500 aluminum cans are recycled every second in the U.S.
1,500 aluminum cans are recycled every second in the U.S. _
Recycling an aluminum soda can saves 96% of the energy used to make a can from ore, and produces 95% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution.
Recycling an aluminum soda can saves 96% of the energy used to make a can from ore, and produces 95% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution. _
It takes the energy equivalent of half a soda can of gasoline to produce one soda can from bauxite ore.
It takes the energy equivalent of half a soda can of gasoline to produce one soda can from bauxite ore. _
Recycling one ton of cardboard saves over 9 cubic yards of landfill space.
Recycling one ton of cardboard saves over 9 cubic yards of landfill space._
One ton of paper from recycled pulp saves 17 trees, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 7,000 gallons of water, 4,200 kilowatt hours (enough to heat your home for half year), 390 gallons of oil, and prevents 60 pounds of air pollutants.
One ton of paper from recycled pulp saves 17 trees, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 7,000 gallons of water, 4,200 kilowatt hours (enough to heat your home for half year), 390 gallons of oil, and prevents 60 pounds of air pollutants. _
Producing recycled white paper creates 74% less air pollutants, 35% less water pollutants, and 75% less process energy than producing paper from virgin fibers.
Producing recycled white paper creates 74% less air pollutants, 35% less water pollutants, and 75% less process energy than producing paper from virgin fibers. _
Sixty percent of the world's lead supply comes from recycled batteries.
Sixty percent of the world's lead supply comes from recycled batteries._
It takes 90% less energy to recycle an aluminum can than to make a new one.
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It takes 90% less energy to recycle an aluminum can than to make a new one. Info Courtesy of Clean Air Council
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Another great find by Content in a Cottage (thanks Rosemary).
Monday, December 15, 2008
Kids Holiday Fashion
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I love these clothes from hanna Andersson - although I must confess I merely look at the styles for inspiration and then try to duplicate them at a fraction of the cost. You'd be surprised how close I have come shopping at Le Target.
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Friday, December 12, 2008
Friday's Photos - O Christmas Tree
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Are artificial trees so bad? A new study by the well-regarded sustainability firm PE Americas found that owning an artificial tree--as do an estimated 50 million households in the U.S.--caused lower carbon emissions over a decade than did buying real trees 10 years in a row, chiefly because of the gasoline used to get a cut tree from farm to living room. The big caveats, however, are that the study focused on carbon and was sponsored by the American Christmas Tree Association, which works with artificial-tree makers.
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Ask environmentalists the which-is-greener question, and most will side with the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA), which represents live-tree growers. "Even if you use a fake tree for 10 years, when you throw it away, it's not biodegradable," says the NCTA's communications director, Rick Dungey. "It's always better to use a natural product over an artificial one."
Still, I love those white or silver small artifical trees or feather trees -- the ones you can place on a table. _
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Are artificial trees so bad? A new study by the well-regarded sustainability firm PE Americas found that owning an artificial tree--as do an estimated 50 million households in the U.S.--caused lower carbon emissions over a decade than did buying real trees 10 years in a row, chiefly because of the gasoline used to get a cut tree from farm to living room. The big caveats, however, are that the study focused on carbon and was sponsored by the American Christmas Tree Association, which works with artificial-tree makers.
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Ask environmentalists the which-is-greener question, and most will side with the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA), which represents live-tree growers. "Even if you use a fake tree for 10 years, when you throw it away, it's not biodegradable," says the NCTA's communications director, Rick Dungey. "It's always better to use a natural product over an artificial one."
Still, I love those white or silver small artifical trees or feather trees -- the ones you can place on a table. _
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Thursday, December 11, 2008
Recipe and Photos From Spain...On The Road Again
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I recieved an email the other day from Zoe whose agency bigMETHOD represents the program Spain... On the Road Again . She included a recipe (which I will make and report back about at a later date) and the above photo. While watching the show this week -- I wished I could climb right through the screen to taste some of the fabulous food they were enjoying! Who wouldn't want to go on a delicious, food-drenched journey through Spain, taking in all the country's regional cuisine, art, history, and culture along the way. Below is a recipe I've already tested, and loved -- from Episode 2.
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CALDO GALLEGO (EPISODE 2)
CALDO GALLEGO (EPISODE 2)
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This is the traditional, restorative soup of Galicia. With a little bread, you‘ve got a great meal. Serves 4 to 6
_This is the traditional, restorative soup of Galicia. With a little bread, you‘ve got a great meal. Serves 4 to 6
1/2 pound thickly sliced pancetta or slab bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 cup dried white beans, soaked overnight in water to cover
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 turnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/2 pound Spanish chorizo, casings removed and sliced 1/4 inch thick (see note at bottom)
1 pound turnip greens (or other dark leafy green), stemmed and coarsely chopped
_Cook the pancetta in a large heavy pot over medium heat until most of the fat is rendered, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the beans, add them to the pot, along with enough water to cover them by 2 inches and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam, then lower the heat and simmer gently, partially covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the beans are beginning to soften.Add the onion, potatoes, and turnips and cook for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened. Add the chorizo and greens and cook for 10 minutes, or until the greens are tender.
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Note: Here in the USA, many people are familiar with the Mexican or Caribbean chorizo, both of which are very different from the Spanish chorizo in both taste, texture and appearance. Mexican or Caribbean varieties cannot be used as substitutes for Spanish chorizo in Spanish recipes. If you need a substitute, try using Portuguese Linguica sausage, which is generally very similar to Spanish chorizo.
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Online source for Chorizo - HOTPAELLA
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Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Cranberry Tea Bread
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Cranberry Tea Bread
Cranberry Tea Bread
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Crystallized ginger elevates the flavor of this not-too-sweet tea bread. Spread a warm slice with cream cheese for the perfect breakfast.
_Per serving: 276 calories; 6 g protein; 10 g fat; 42 g carb; 2 g fiber
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Prep: 20 MinutesTotal: 1 Hour 10 minutes
Prep: 20 MinutesTotal: 1 Hour 10 minutes
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Ingredients
Serves 8
Ingredients
Serves 8
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1/4 cup canola oil, plus more for pan
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 large eggs
1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup canola oil, plus more for pan
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 large eggs
1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, coarsely chopped
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Directions
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil and flour an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Spread oats on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Place in a large bowl; stir in flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil and flour an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Spread oats on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Place in a large bowl; stir in flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom.
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In a separate bowl, stir together yogurt, oil, and eggs; whisk until combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid ingredients; stir until just combined. Fold in cranberries and ginger.
In a separate bowl, stir together yogurt, oil, and eggs; whisk until combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid ingredients; stir until just combined. Fold in cranberries and ginger.
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Spoon mixture into the prepared pan and smooth top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of the loaf comes out just clean, about 50 minutes. Check the loaf after 30 minutes and tent with aluminum foil if browning too quickly. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, and then run a metal spatula around edges and invert loaf onto a rack. Turn right side up to cool completely before slicing.
_Spoon mixture into the prepared pan and smooth top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of the loaf comes out just clean, about 50 minutes. Check the loaf after 30 minutes and tent with aluminum foil if browning too quickly. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, and then run a metal spatula around edges and invert loaf onto a rack. Turn right side up to cool completely before slicing.
Recipe Courtesy of Whole Living
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Kelly Corrigan - Circus of Cancer and The Middle Place
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Newspaper columnist Kelly Corrigan was a happily married mother of two young daughters when she discovered a cancerous lump in her breast. The Middle Place is a heart-wrenching and humorous memoir of her struggle with breast cancer. The chapters alternate between detailed descriptions of her chemo and radiation treatments and her happy childhood growing up in a large, loving Irish family. She is also the creator of CircusOfCancer.org, a website to teach people how to help a friend through breast cancer.
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I have been following her story for some time now and what an impressive story it is.
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Monday, December 8, 2008
Our Food
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How important is our food to us? For all of human history, the most important thing to people has been where their food comes from. Suddenly, in just a couple of generations, we've lost that knowledge. That loss has come at a cost to our health, our economy, and our environment. Agribusiness and corporate food industry has taken control of the process and told us, "you don't have to worry about that...we'll take care of it", and we have let them. Now we find ourselves in a health crisis - because of poor nutrition in our junk food diet - a cultural crisis because of the loss of small farms - and an environmental crisis because of the fuel intensive pesticides and petrochemicals going into our food system.
_As stated in a recent Time Magazine article: Farm policies are a welfare program for the mega farms that use the most fuel, water and pesticides: emit the most greenhouse gas; grow the most fattening crops; have the most illegals; and depopulate rural America.
_This is scary stuff and we need to vote with our pocketbooks against it. There is a wonderful article worth reading in the New York Times Magazine on this very subject. It was written by Michael Pollen (author of Omnivores Dilemma) and is an open letter to the next president. It is called "In Chief".
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Friday, December 5, 2008
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