Keeping it light–Bulldog Salad

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OK, you ate too much yesterday, and it was totally worth it!  This week’s light post-Thanksgiving recipe is adapted from Cooking Light magazine and a recipe created by Becky Fulcher of Monument CO.

Ingredients
5 1/2 cups diced apple (about 3 large apples)
1 cup of seedless green grapes, cut in half
1 cup seedless red grapes, cut in half
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt
2 tblsp sour cream

Instructions
1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir well.  Chill.  Enjoy!

In Defense of Zoos, continued…

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I’ve posted in the past about zoos, and why I think they have an important role to play in conservation.  Basically, they allow us to experience creatures that we might never be able to see if we had to travel, while showing us how we can volunteer or encourage conservation.  Regarding the future of zoos, I stated that “I’d rather see animals like invertebrates, Amazonian exhibits where we work to see the sloth in a tree, or birds flying freely in large enclosures.” 

A recent article in Conservation Magazine that you might want to read discusses the future of zoos and makes some very interesting suggestions.  The author, Jon Cohen, predicts that future zoos will contain fewer species, but do a better job of teaching us about evolution and ecological linkages.  Fingers crossed that he’s correct!

Happy World Toilet Day!

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Did you know that only 3% of the Earth’s water is freshwater, and it’s not evenly distributed around the world? 69% of the Earth’s freshwater is found in glaciers and icecaps, while 30% of the remainder is groundwater. Roughly 12% of the Earth’s freshwater is found in Brazil’s river basins. Some countries have easy access to this resource, while others have too little or too much.

You know from previous posts that you can get involved in water conservation and cleanup in your local area through stream monitoring.  Following are two additional aspects to water conservation – you can help here too!

One simple way your water use can help the environment is to stop buying bottled water.  The energy spent just to make the bottles is a huge waste of resources. 

So we can look at the water we drink, but what about the “other end?”  Globally, water quality is threatened by the fact that 2.5 billion (yes, that’s billion with a “b”) people don’t have access to a toilet.  That’s a human and environmental disaster, and it’s why the UN has declared 11/19/2014 as World Toilet Day.  It’s a chance to learn about this issue and find about about ways we can help.

Want to learn more about creative water conservation projects?  Check out this article from Conservation magazine.

You can help with conservation research!

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Do you ever wonder if your volunteering for environmental groups or citizen science projects actually helps with conservation?  Here’s a great example of how citizen data gathering really does make a difference!  A recent study, using data from two decades of Project FeederWatch volunteers, shows a northward shifting of many bird species.  Scientists hypothesize that this shift is due to warming temperatures.

So remember, you can make a difference!  And they’re taking volunteers for Project FeederWatch right now – hint, hint…..

Rigatoni with “soysage” and fennel

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Here’s a very tasty pasta option for meat-free Friday – I love the added zip of a little bit of fennel!  I adapted this recipe from one I found in Martha Stewart Living. 

Ingredients
1 lb rigatoni
salt and pepper to taste
2 tblsp (or a little more) olive oil
2 packages Light Life Smart Sausages, Italian Style
1 fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups veggie broth
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice (or the juice of two lemons)
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
arugula for serving

Instructions

1. Cook pasta until al dente.  Drain and keep 1 cup of the pasta water.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pan or pot, and saute soysage until browned.
3. Remove soysage from the pan, but leave the oil.  Saute fennel and carrots, adding salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until tender.  Add veggie broth to the mixture and bring to a simmer.
4. Add pasta, pasta water, lemon zest, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, and soysage.  Simmer for 3 or 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow sauce to thicken a little. 
5. Serve on top of arugula.
6. Enjoy!

Wading in the water, again!

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During this past election, I saw a lot of political ads.  One issue that caught my attention was the complaining about various environmental regulations, including the “tax on the rain.” Naturally, these ads led to my explaining to my kids where the holes were in this argument.  If you’re wondering why we need to control stormwater runoff, have I got a stream for you!

Over the past two years, I’ve been chronicling our family’s adventures in stream monitoring.  We now monitor Difficult Run stream in Great Falls VA, right next to the national park and the Potomac river.  You’d think this was a healthy stream.  Au contraire!  Once again, during our Fall invertebrate monitoring, our monitoring showed very little life (fewer than 30 individuals) – this stream is heavily impacted by soil erosion and runoff pollution. 

Our everyday actions, including how we wash our cars, how we care for our lawns and gardens, and yes, even how we try to get grandfathered into old stormwater regs when we’re considering new construction, affect our streams.  The streams in my area of northern VA are in big trouble – how are yours doing?  If you missed the earlier post on what’s happening in our streams and how you can help, check out this informative video from NBC news: 

Breakfast for dinner (part II)!

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Today’s Meat-Free Friday recipe comes from guest blogger Sammy Thompson.  Breakfast burritos – they’re filling enough for dinner!

Breakfast Burritos

Ingredients:

4 eggs

2 tortillas

1 bell pepper

Salt & Pepper

2 Morning Star Original Sausages Patties

Directions:

Make scrambled eggs with the 4 eggs. Put scrambled eggs in tortillas evenly. Dice bell pepper and put in tortillas. Follow instructions on sausage box to make the sausages, and then cut the patties up into small pieces. Then put the cut sausage in the tortillas. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and voila! You have two breakfast burritos.