Ratatouille

I love to cook, and I'm always looking for delicious new recipes! And I recently found this one, it's for Ratatouille (Remember that Disney movie :) and it looks very yummy! Here's the recipe if you want to try it out. Good Luck!

www.foodnetwork.com 

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 or more garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups (1 large) sliced onions
• 3 cups (2 medium) sliced zucchini
• 4 cups (1 small) cubed, cubed, peeled eggplant
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 green peppers, seeded and cut into strips
• 11/2 cups canned plum tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon capers
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet, add the garlic and onions and saute until the onions are transparent. Meanwhile, slice the squash and peel and cube the eggplant. Flour the pieces lightly. Add the squash, eggplant and green peppers to the skillet, cover and cook slowly about 30 minutes. Add the tomatoes and capers and simmer, uncovered, until the mixture is thick, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot or cold.   

Bundle Up

With fall and winter approaching we have to stay warm, but still be eco-friendly. That means not turning up the heat and emitting fossil fuels into the air. Here are some ways to keep your house warm without cranking up the heater. Inspired by the Daily Green's post. 

                               http://allourneedsarespecial.blogspot.com/2009/11/countdown-is-on.html


1) Run your fan backwards. Some fans have handy-dandy switches to make the fan spin in reverse therefore heating the room or space. 


2) Use a draft snake. Place a draft snake next to your door, blocking between the floor and the door.You can easily make one by cutting off a sleeve from an old long sleeve t-shirt and filling it with sand or rice, and sewing both ends closed. 


3) Hang heavier curtains. They will let the sun flow through and keep the heat in your room or house. 


4) Close off any unused rooms. By closing off unused rooms "the closed door makes that room another barrier between you and the frigid outdoors. It also stops air from circulating as much, which reduces heat loss." -http://www.wikihow.com/Stay-Warm-at-Home-Without-a-Heater


5) WEAR A SWEATER!!! I think that is pretty self-explanatory. :)

Organic Gardening

In my backyard I have 16 tomato plants, three stalks of corn, 2 huge zucchini plants, parsley, four cabbages, snow peas, peanuts, potatoes, an orange tree, a lemon tree, a forest of mint and a rather large compost bin. My family is very interested in organic gardening. Every spring we set off to the nursery and pick up various plants, my dad starts off with one or two tomato plants and ends the summer with over 10.

                            sunset.com

Organic gardening can help reduce your carbon footprint. You do not have to drive to the super market to pick up fresh veggies, the fruits and vegetables are not transported across the country to your local Ralph’s or Trader Joes, and the produce is the most locally grown it can possibly be! You can choose to add bug repellent and things of that nature, but I choose not to because I think it interferes with the delicious natural taste of the fresh veggies. So, consider dedicating a small part of your yard to organic gardening.  

Green Lipsticks?

Cargo Cosmetics has released a new cosmetics line, PlantLove, which is completely organic, natural and environmentally friendly. Celebrities such as, Whitney Port, Denise Richards, Evangeline Lilly and more have designed all the PlantLove lipsticks. The packaging for the lipsticks are all biodegradable because they are made of corn, not plastic so they will not clog up landfills. Also, the lipsticks come in cool boxes that have wildflower seeds embedded in the paper. If you wet the paper and plant it, flowers will grow! It is pretty awesome. 

Each lipstick costs $20 and there are 22 gorgeous colors, my favorites are Eve Pinky, Lindsay, Sarah and Cherry Bliss. Also, two dollars from each lipstick that is sold is donated to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. So, you are paying $18 for a beautiful, green lipstick and donating $2 to a children’s hospital. Great! I am definitely buying some of these lipsticks! 

                                

Vroom Vroom

http://www.greencleaningideas.com

You under 16-year-olds must be excited at the prospect of when you get to drive, right? If we follow in our parents footsteps the earth will become that much closer to complete environmental disaster! Instead we should use more environmentally friendly methods such as public transportation or biking. 

I personally prefer biking for these three reasons:

1)    It’s free

2)    It’s good for the environment

3)    It keeps you healthy and fit

Of course, cars are convenient when you have to go somewhere far away or the weather is not satisfactory (AKA rain or snow). If your destination is in the neighborhood or close by, biking is a great idea! 

Countries like the Netherlands and Denmark have great bike lanes and public transportation. Write a letter to your local government to make bike lanes safer and larger.

treehugger.com

PETA Apparel

      As you may know, one of my favorite organizations is PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and I recently found out that in their PETA Catalog they have some awesome clothing items! Like cute shirts and sweatpants and adorable shorts, bags and necklaces. Some of my favorites are these shirts. They each cost about $20 and can be purchased on the PETA website. I'm pretty sure the proceeds go the organization, but I'm not positive. I'm definitely buying some of these great things!!!

Too Much Stuff

Please watch this short, cute and very informative film on the world over-buying and consuming too much stuff. http://storyofstuff.org/ Click on the link that says "Stuff" when you reach the website. 

I recently saw this video thanks to a fellow blogger, Dare To Be Square, and it got me thinking that we DO use too much stuff. So I am going to try to remember those three "Rs" that we learned in the third grade, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. It is in that order for a reason. Reducing is the most important, if we reduce our consumption of products we will not need to reuse or recycle. Next is reuse, when you buy products it is better to buy reusable things. Like, lunch-boxes vs. brown paper bags or Kleen Kanteens vs. plastic bottles. Read this blog post to learn more about reusable water bottles. Lastly, recycle; people think that recycling is the most important thing to do. It is important, but it is the last thing you do after reducing or reusing. It's like the last resort. So really, consider this little video and try to change your method of consuming.

http://www.nataliedee.com/