Posts Tagged ‘organic’

National Watermelon Day Recipes!

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

Yes it’s true, today, August 3 is National Watermelon Day so mark your calendars for future reference. I’ve always though watermelon is delicious but not too terribly nutritious. Wrong! It’s chalk full of good stuff like Potassium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and lycopene (the pigment found in red fruits and veggies). So let’s get fancy with it…

 

Refreshing Watermelon Recipe

The stuff you’ll need:

4 cups of cubed, seeded watermelon

Juice of 1/2 – 1 lime

1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint

*Optional (for some but not for me) Add 1/2 cup of high end organic vodka!

The how to:

Just throw it all together and mix gently in a big bowl, cover and let it sit for an hour or so in the fridge before enjoying. Ahhh!

Hot Watermelon Recipe

The stuff you’ll need:

2 cups cubed, seeded watermelon

2 tablespoons chopped onion

3 tablespoons Anaheim chile, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

The how to:

In a serving bowl, gently mix together watermelon, onion, and chile pepper. Season with balsamic vinegar and garlic salt. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour before serving. Yeouch!

 

Now head on over to the farmer’s market and pick up an organic, locally grown watermelon. If you have any fun watermelon recipes please reply below and share them with us.

 

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Delicious & Nutritious

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

Baked kale chips– my new fave snack, especially now that I have several gorgeous bunches of kale growing in my little garden. These crispy gems are a waaaaay healthier alternative to potato chips or even popcorn. One cup of uncooked kale contains calcium, iron, fiber, protein,  206% of your daily value of vitamin A, and 134% of vitamin C. Kale is also a source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells. Bam!

 

When you’re gonna want it:

  • Chow on during a fabulous movie, like Exit Through the Gift Shop.
  • Crumble on the yummy popcorn you bought from the farmers market.
  • Set out to snack on throughout the day, if you don’t eat it all straight out of the oven.

What you’re gonna need:

  • 1 bunch of curly kale
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Other fun flavors like crushed red pepper or Bragg Liquid Aminos or lemon pepper

How it’s done:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Rinse and dry the kale, then remove the stems and tough center ribs. Cut into large pieces, toss with olive oil in a bowl then sprinkle with salt and perhaps one of the other fun flavors. Arrange leaves in a single layer on two large baking sheets. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until crisp. And now would be the time to add some delicious & nutritious brewers yeast, if you’re moved to do so.

What are you waiting for, go eat your cruciferous veggies (and then make sure you check your teeth in a mirror for green stuff)!

 

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Farmette

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

Ahhh, the sweet smell of manure. Tilling soil, pulling weeds, planting seeds and watching them grow, collecting fresh eggs each morning as I say hi to the ladies who laid them- now that’s living. I’ve decided to start living off the land…sort of. I have to begin somewhere so I’ve built a raised garden bed, planted some kale, arugula, carrots and have literally been checking several times a day for those little green sprouts to rear their organic heads out of the earth and up towards the sun. It feels like Christmas Eve waiting for Santa to arrive with presents!

Spring has sprung (see the tiny green sprout)!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now I’m researching back yard chicken coops and how to raise hens. I’ve learned that the more comfortable and happy the ladies are, the more eggs they’ll lay. No problem, I love animals and can’t wait to get the hen house all cuted up and comfy cozy so they’ll enjoy their home and bust out a plethora of fresh eggs.

City Girl Farming’s top reasons to raise chickens:

  • Fresh eggs!
  • Fresh fertilizer!
  • They’re Organic Bug Killers!
  • Unlike your children, they never get too big
  • They’re cheap (no pun intended)
  • Free entertainment

This is the first step of my farmette (I’d like to call it a yokelet but that would mean “requiring but one yoke of oxen to till a small farm.” Alas, I have no yoke and not even one ox). I thought I had made the word farmette up but apparently somebody beat me to it and even added the word to Wikipedia. The entry states, “Farmetters usually rely on their tractor to plow or snow blow their driveways during the winter.” I, on the other hand, will still be using a snow shovel next winter (and let’s be honest, I’ll probably have to break out the shovel again this Spring because thats how the weather rolls in Colorado) but that won’t stop me from making my farmette dreams come true. One raised bed and a lot of chicken coop research under my English Retreads belt, I guess that officially makes me a farmetter. Yee haw!

–Ms. English, The Bag Lady

 

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Support: local coalition to help restaurants reduce their environmental impact

Monday, March 14th, 2011

I still remember the late summer evening I was in the Kitchen Upstairs eating a delicious squash risotto with my girl friend, and the bar manager pointed at a table of farmers and said, “They grew that squash you’re eating.”

The abundance of local, organic food is phenomenal in this area; we at English Retreads make sure to take advantage of it whenever we can. Just today, we discovered an awesome network called Eat Greener Denver. It’s an independent restaurant coalition that aims to be responsible members of the community through environmental, purchasing and employment practices. The network was formed in 2010 and is currently partnering with the EPA to create a 12-month plan to help restaurants become more efficient and environmentally-friendly.

To help them along their path, tomorrow evening (Mar. 15, from 4:30 p.m. onward) come to a “green night out” in Denver’s Uptown neighborhood at Olivea, recent winner of the 2011 Zagat America’s Top Restaurant Guide and one of the founding members of Eat Greener Denver. Eat, drink and be merry with wine, three courses of tantalizing Mediterranean cuisine and conversations with leaders from Denver’s sustainability movement.

(Posted by Amy Segreti)

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English Retreads book club

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Heather and I  got turned on to a terrific book and now we are both reading it. A couple of weeks ago the Goop newsletter (Gweneth Paltrow’s tips, recipes and eco-friendly ideas ) arrived in my inbox with a book review that captured my attention.

Power Trip by Amanda Little is a terrific read. It chronicles her trip around the country exploring America’s “hunger for oil” in all its forms.

I keep finding surprises as I turn the pages. I considered my organic, no-car lifestyle to be petroleum free, but “even though we rarely think about it, energy is as much a part of our modern survival as air, food and water. It does more than power our iPhones and laptops—it grows our crops, fights our wars, makes our plastics and medicines, warms our homes, moves our products, airplanes and vehicles, and animates our cities.”

We at English Retreads are doing what we can to minimize the petroleum footprint. We reclaim petroleum-based rubber inner tubes and, using a carbon negative production process (offset by wind energy) turn what would be waste into stylish handbags and accessories that last a lifetime and come with a guarantee to ensure our products remain as useful as they are chic.

Check your local library, or if your reading pile teeters as high as mine does, you can probably wait for the paperback version that will be available mid-September. We hope you enjoy the read as much as we do.

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An even-better Thanksgiving

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

I must admit: this is my favorite holiday of the year. How can you go wrong with good food, friends and family? It’s nearly impossible, but by making it eco-friendly you can rid yourself of any doubt. So here are some quick tips for an even-better Thanksgiving:

  • Buy local. Not only are you supporting local farmers but the food always tastes so much better! (and better for you)
  • Bring everyone together. Family, friends, the neighbors. The more the merrier.
  • Go organic. Buy organic fruits, vegetables and grains. All are grown without chemicals and pesticides. Take it one step further with organic meat, made without antibiotics or artificial hormones.
  • Don’t go overboard. Yes, food is awesome but please only make as much as you can eat. Don’t let any food go to waste.
  • Tradition. That’s what this holiday is truly about. So take some time to relax and socialize. Stick with those family traditions and keep them going.

In a couple of weeks when I head home to spend time with my family, there’s one thing that’s for sure—I’ll be encouraging them to participate in an eco-friendly Thanksgiving.

Sammy, Blog Maven

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Swag bag giveaway!

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

In Touch Weekly is giving a few lucky readers the chance to live like the stars with their Critics Choice Awards gift bag giveaway! The swag bag is stocked with the hottest eco-friendly products of the season, including the English Retread’s Large Beetle handbag.

Some of our favorite products in the giveaway are purple VANS high-tops (from their Eco Vault Collection) and Loomstate’s amazing organic denim. Pair them with any English Retreads handbag and you’ll be eco-styling all the way to catwalk.

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Nimli means “fashion-forward”

Friday, December 12th, 2008

I’m sure most of you green fashionistas have been shopping at Nimli for years, but if you haven’t, I suggest you take a look. The buyers at Nimli have perfected the art of finding fabulous fashions that are all organic and natural.

The website is my go-to guidebook for finding the latest green trends, beauty tips, and even accessories for my pooch! Nimli also happens to carry the entire English Retreads line. Holiday shopping made easy (and organic!).

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