Mediterranean Pizza Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS

1 loaf whole wheat French bread
1 can (no salt added) tomato sauce
Rosemary
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder
1 tsp honey
Handful of spinach or chard leaves, cut into strips
1-2 Roma tomatoes, diced
Black olives, halved (pitted)
Zucchini, thinly sliced
Bell pepper, diced
3-4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
Mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven 350°F degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil (makes clean-up easy).

Slice bread to into 6 inch long segments.

Stir 1 teaspoon of each of the seasonings and the honey into tomato sauce, mixing well.

In a separate dish, combine spinach/chard and other vegetables. Coat with olive oil. Add more of the seasonings (to taste) and the garlic. Toss to coat well.

Spread tomato sauce evenly on bread. Grate mozzarella cheese over the sauce. Top with the vegetable mixture, and another layer of grated cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes OR until heated through and cheese is melted.

Winter Pruning Benefits

By Roberto of "Living Canvas Organic Gardening & Lawn Care"

There are three main objectives when deciding to prune a tree or shrub: strength, shape, and airflow. Winter offers easy access and a good view of the tree’s “skeleton” – its structure and underlying composition. Their dormant phase is ideal for pruning and shaping.

Pruning for strength means to prune so that the limbs and branches are strong and stable. Removing weak limbs and small angles will improve the general health of trees and shrubs. This will eliminate the chances of it being damaged by winter elements.

Pruning for shape will produce an aesthetically pleasing tree or shrub that is balanced and sized correctly for the space it occupies. Trees and shrubs have an overall structure, and some branches will grow into their structure while others will grow too far out and spoil the overall shape. Removing out of alignment branches will improve its overall structure.

Trees and shrubs are part of your landscape as a whole and may also need to be pruned to accommodate the need of other items in your yard.

Internal branches fill the structure of a tree or shrub and both inhibit airflow and reduce light to the interior of the tree. This creates a perfect environment for disease-causing organisms to take hold.

Pruning trees and shrubs promotes a good airflow. Thinning them out is also important because branches that are growing into their internal structure and they will eventually butt against one another. Their junction can gather moisture and cause decay. There is also a tendency for the limbs to grow together, which is not healthy for trees.

Water sprouts or suckers are found in the interior of the tree as well as at the base of the trunk. They grow rapidly and use more of the tree’s energy than they return, so they are better pruned away.

All these problems will be apparent in late winter and can be corrected without tangling with excess growth in spring or summer. Late winter pruning should be completed before the new growth cycle begins.

Living Canvas Organic Gardening & Lawn Care

A professional environmentally friendly company committed to providing sustainable gardening practices. Using human powered gardening tools, we offer silent maintenance and alternatives to pesticides.

Visit our website for more information: http://www.mylivingcanvas.com

Curried Collard Greens with Chick Peas

INGREDIENTS

1 onion, cut into pieces
1 Tbsp crushed garlic
2 lbs collard greens, chopped
1-2 sweet potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, sliced
1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnut pieces (optional)
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp turmeric
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)

DIRECTIONS

This recipe can be prepared in a microwave oven, on the stove top, or in a large slow cooker (crock pot).

Place all ingredients in a large cooking pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until the onions become translucent and a fork will slip easily into the sweet potato pieces.

About one half hour before you are ready to eat, prepare some brown basmati rice. Serve the curry over rice with a tossed salad.

Broccoli and Cornmeal Upside Down Cake

INGREDIENTS

One head of broccoli
3/4 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 eggs
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt & black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
A handful of raisins
A handful of walnuts, toasted and chopped

DIRECTIONS

Wash the broccoli and cut it into florets. Steam until bright green - cooked but not limp. Run cold water on it to stop the cooking and set aside in a colander to drain thoroughly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a little olive oil to grease an 8-inch cake pan.

Whisk together the cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs, and oil, and salt and pepper to taste. In a medium mixing-bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, and baking powder. Fold the liquid mixture into the dry mixture until just combined (the batter will be thick). Do not overmix; it's fine if it's a little lumpy.

Arrange the cooked broccoli at the bottom of the cake pan. Sprinkle with the walnuts and raisins. Pour the batter evenly over the broccoli and smooth it out a bit with a spatula.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden and crispy. Let rest on the counter for 5 minutes before cutting.

To serve, run a knife around the pan to loosen the cornmeal crust, cover the pan with a serving plate, and flip quickly (protect your hands with oven mitts, of course) so the cake lands, broccoli-side up, on the plate.

Cut in wedges, preferably with a sharp knife so as not to smoosh the broccoli. Serve warm, at room-temperature, or cold. Reheat leftovers for ten minutes in the oven if you wish to revive the crispiness of the crust.

Quick, Healthy, and Green Breakfasts On the Go

By Dan Shapley

Stock up on fruit

Nothing is more portable and easy to eat on the go than an apple or pear. No packaging is more green than a banana's. Full of antioxidants, vitamins (and even those addictive breakfast sugars), fruit is an easy option.

Mix up a fruit salad, a yogurt parfait, or even a smoothie

Slice and dice your fruit the night before, pack in a reusable container and sample an assortment of fresh fruits in the car or at the office. Or try mixing your favorite fruits or berries with organic yogurt and granola for a simple parfait you can enjoy at your desk. A few minutes of preparation at night lets you avoid all the hassle in the morning.

Making smoothies, too, can be surprisingly quick if you've prepared the fruit the night before. After blending the ingredients, give the blender a good rinse and then set aside for a thorough cleaning after work.

Bake your own breakfast bars

Spend less than an hour in the kitchen, and you'll have breakfast (or part of a breakfast) for a week or more. See "Fruit and Oat Granola Bars" on The Daily Green (http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/recipes/600) for one example.

Consider the portable egg

Hard-boiled eggs are easy to make, easy to carry and easy to eat. Set aside a few minutes twice a week to boil eggs, and you'll have a high-protein breakfast waiting for you each morning.

Brew your own coffee

Get a reusable travel mug and make coffee at home. It will help you resist the temptation to eat a sweet, sticky something at the coffee counter. Can't manage the hassle of measuring coffee in the morning? At least have your coffee shop refill your mug to save on disposable cup waste. (And look for fair trade organic coffee roasts whenever possible.)

Reconsider the breakfast sandwich

Why not take the cue from lunch and "brown bag" a sandwich? Natural peanut butter and honey on whole wheat is about as simple a meal as there is to prepare, and it's loaded with vitamins, minerals, protein, and all the health benefits of honey.

Eat hot or cold cereal at your desk

Take advantage of that hot water spigot on the company water cooler, and treat yourself to some hot oatmeal in the office. Buying a tub of oats is among the cheapest ways to eat breakfast, most any cubicle can find space to store one, and the meal can be spiced up with dried fruit. Or, if your office has a refrigerator, there's no reason you can't bring a bowl and a box of cereal and eat breakfast while skimming through the morning e-mail.

Get creative with your carpool and co-workers

If you share a car to get to work, or sit a cubicle wall away from your best office buddy, why not designate one person each week to be responsible for breakfast for the group? Set some ground rules about health, and then let the creative spirit lead you to new discoveries.

If you must eat on the go, eat smart

If the day gets away from you before it's begun, think twice before you eat. Stop at the grocery store for some oatmeal from the breakfast bar before you pull into the drive-through lane. Consider a whole wheat bagel. And choose options with the least amount of packaging, so at least the problem of empty calories won't be compounded by overstuffed landfills.

USDA Makes a Deal with Monsanto

Hey Farmers! Buy Genetically Modified Seeds, Get Insurance Cheap

By Dan Shapley, www.thedailygreen.com

Taxpayers are subsidizing the use of genetically modified seeds through a strange arrangement between the Department of Agriculture and chemical giant Monsanto that was enthusiastically endorsed by Congress in 2000, the Chicago Tribune exposed in a report today.

The corn seeds are manipulated so they produce pesticides that ward off insects, or resist herbicides so farmers can kill nearby weeds.

The deal was made possible when Congress agreed to give farmers a break on federal crop insurance if they planted crops that resist pests and produce higher yields, making them less vulnerable to crop failures, and U.S. taxpayers less vulnerable to large insurance payouts. That, the seeds do.

But environmentalists and green food advocates have long argued that genetically modified seeds may be dangerous in ways both subtle and obvious. Subtle, in that plants can hybridize, introducing human-injected genes ("genetic drift") into natural ecosystems with unknown consequences. Obvious, in that farmers using herbicide-resistant crops can spray more pesticides, increasing the use of the toxic substances (though the use of crops that grow their own pesticides would reduce the need to spray).

In practice, however, this deal may do less to increase the use of genetically modified seeds than it does to give farmers big and small a break on insurance payments. Between 2000 and 2007, the use of genetically modified corn seed grew from 25% of acres planted to 73%, even without discounts on federal insurance.

Hidden Costs in Conventional Foods

Although organic food might seem more expensive than conventional foods, conventional food prices do not reflect hidden cost borne by taxpayers, including nearly $74 billion in federal subsidies in 1988. Other hidden costs include pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal and clean up, and environmental damage.