couscous with saffron

3 cups (1-1/2 pounds)  couscous

3 cups chicken broth

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled

   salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the couscous in a 9x13-inch baking dish; set aside.

2. In a small saucepan, heat the chicken broth, butter, saffron, and 1 teaspoon salt over medium-high heat until the butter is melted and the broth is hot. Pour the mixture over the couscous and mix well.

3. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake until the liquid has been absorbed by the couscous, 10 to 12 minutes. Let sit at room temperature, covered, for 5 minutes. Drizzle the olive oil over the couscous. Using a fork gently mix to coat the couscous in oil and break apart any clumps. Transfer to a serving dish.

creamy spinach

 

3 bunches  spinach (10 to 12 ounces each), trimmed and washed

2 tablespoons  unsalted butter

1/4 cup  minced scallions or spring onions (white and light green parts)

3/4 cup  heavy cream

  Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

  black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salting it well (about 1 tablespoon) Add the spinach to the boiling water and cover the pot to return it to a boil. Uncover and boil the spinach until it wilts completely, about 1 min. Drain in a colander and hold the colander under cold running water to cool the spinach. Squeeze the spinach with your hands to remove excess water.  Chop the spinach coarsely (you should have about 1 cup); set aside.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the scallions and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chopped spinach, the cream, and the salt. Raise the heat to medium high. Cook, breaking up the spinach with a wooden spoon, until the spinach is tender and has absorbed most but not all of the cream and the pan is still a bit saucy, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, season with pepper, adjust the seasonings as needed, and serve. 

natural holiday /christmas decorations

1. Use seasonal fruits as decoration, which you can eat afterward, or are at least biodegradable. Pomegranates and gourds are good choices.
2. Seedlings or potted evergreens are another option. When it's time to take down decorations, you will have a tree to plant.
3. Decorate with bulbs. Amaryllis plants are always popular at Christmas, and they can be potted after the holiday.
4. Try pulling a few branches from an outdoor tree to decorate around the house.
5. Other found objects like pine cones, horse chestnuts, and leaves are great natural touches. 

cashew spinach

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 cup chopped unsalted cashews

1 (10-ounce) bag fresh spinach

2 tablespoons  lime zest

2 tablespoons  lime juice

1/2 teaspoon  salt

1/4 teaspoon  black pepper

1. In a skillet, heat vegetable oil and sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add cashews and toast for 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Add spinach and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, or until spinach is wilted. Add lime zest, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until heated through. 

berry almond gratin

1/3 cup  slivered almonds, (1 1/4 ounces)

1/2 cup  granulated sugar, or Splenda

2 tablespoons  all-purpose flour

Pinch of  salt

1   large egg

1/3 cup  firm silken low-fat tofu

1 tablespoon  butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon  pure almond extract

3 cups  mixed berries, such as raspberries, blackberries and blueberries

  Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 1-quart gratin dish or a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray.

2. Spread almonds in a shallow baking pan and bake until light golden and fragrant, 4 to 6 minutes. Let cool.

3. Place sugar (or Splenda), flour, salt and almonds in a food processor; process until finely ground. Add egg, tofu, butter and almond extract; process until smooth.

4. Spread berries evenly in the prepared gratin dish. Scrape the almond mixture over the top, spreading evenly.

5. Bake the gratin until light golden and set, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool for at least 20 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve warm.

gift packing materials

Reuse or recycle gift packing materials - Bubble wrap can be stored for reuse, or recycled. Foam packing chips are not as easily recycled; if you don't want to store this material for reuse, take it to a shipping center like Mailboxes. etc, who will accept it for their own use. Cardboard boxes should be opened flat and recycled; storing and reusing these boxes is even better as no additional energy is used in re-manufacturing.

holiday tree for the birds

Decorate a tree for the birds - place seed bells, suet, pine cones with peanut butter, fruit / dried fruit and seed trays on any tree in your yard. To attract a wide variety of birds, use varied seed types such as black oil sunflower seed, wild bird mixed seed and nyger seed bells. This is a great activity for all ages, and offers an important food source for birds during the winter.

almond brussels sprouts

 

2 pounds fresh or frozen Brussels sprouts

2 tablespoons  olive oil

14-ounce chicken broth

2 tablespoons  butter

3/4 teaspoon  ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon  salt

1/3 cup  sliced almonds, toasted

1. Trim stems and remove any wilted outer leaves from Brussels sprouts; wash sprouts. Halve Brussels sprouts. In a very large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add Brussels sprouts; cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.

2. Add broth to sprouts. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Uncover and continue to simmer about 10 minutes more or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sprouts are tender, stirring occasionally. Add butter, pepper, and salt, stirring until sprouts are coated. Gently stir in toasted sliced almonds. Serve warm. 

the green card

Do not send a traditional card but use an electronic card which does not require physical resources to make or distribute. Many electronic cards can be personalized.

LED lights for christmas / holiays

Use LED lights. Trade in the old style light bulbs with modern LED lights. LED lights use 80-90% less energy compared to old light bulbs. You can also use living lights like people do in many countries. You can choose soy, vegetable, wax or beeswax candles all of which are renewable and biodegradable materials rather than paraffin wax candles.

Tofu Lettuce Wraps

Filling

2 teaspoons  vegetable oil

1   medium onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)

1 tablespoon  minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon  minced lemongrass

2   cloves garlic, minced (2 teaspoons)

1 pound  extra-firm tofu, crumbled

1   8-ounce can water chestnuts, drained and chopped

4 tablespoons  low-sodium soy sauce

4 tablespoons  hoisin sauce

1   to 2 teaspoons chile sauce (exp: sriracha)

16   butter lettuce or iceberg lettuce leaves

Garnishes

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

1/2 cup finely chopped peanuts

  Hoisin and chile sauces

Directions

1. To make Filling: Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, ginger, lemongrass, and garlic, and cook 7 to 10 minutes, or until onions are soft and beginning to brown. Add tofu and water chestnuts, breaking tofu into small crumbles; cook 4 minutes, or until heated through. Stir in soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and chile sauce. Transfer to serving bowl.

2. Place lettuce leaves on platter, and set out garnishes in small serving bowls. Let guests wrap tofu mixture in lettuce leaves, and top with their choice of garnishes.

giftwrap alternatives

• Skip wrapping paper whenever possible. Wasting an entire roll of paper disguising a new bike, for instance, is a real waste.
  Try hiding gifts around the house and then giving kids clues as to where they are—if a gift is well hidden, it needn't be wrapped at all.
   
• Recycle magazines, fabric, newspaper, or paper bags into wrapping paper.
   
• Get even more creative by using old maps, posters, kids' coloring book pages, or sheet music to wrap gifts.
   
• Make the wrapping part of the gift by using scarves, kitchen towels, pillowcase or tablecloths. A canvas bag can hold gifts and be reused for grocery shopping throughout the year. A tin full of cookies can be used again. A pair of earrings could be placed in a wooden box used later to store buttons, jewelry, or safety pins.
   
• Reuse bows. 

 

exfoliating sugar scrub

2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon jojoba oil
16 drops lavender essential oil
7 drops peppermint essential oil

Mix oils and sugar.

Use in shower or bath.  Apply the sugar scrub in gentle circular motions.  Rinse.

cranberry jalapeno relish

1 cup  cranberries, fresh or frozen

2 cups  diced fresh pineapple

1   to 2 jalapenos, seeded, diced

2 tablespoons  fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon  chopped fresh cilantro

2 teaspoons  light brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon  salt

1. In processor, pulse berries to finely chop. Mix with remaining ingredients. Refrigerate 1/2 hour or up to 4 hours.