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Savory Salsa!
In
2000, some Mexican immigrant women and their teacher at Anderson Valley
Adult School compiled a unique bilingual salsa cookbook with 25 original
recipes so they could earn enough money for a class field trip. Through
this project-based learning program, the women learned not only how
to count, measure, and speak English, they gained self-confidence, problem-solving
and organizational skills, and experience in the greater community.
The entire community came together through inter-cultural recipe testing,
book signing, and salsa-tasting events. Over 22,000 copies of the book
have now been sold!
In
2004, two retired professional filmmakers and the Salsitas made a documentary
film depicting the empowerment the salsa project has given the women
and the community. In 2001, Secrets of Salsa received the California
Human Development Corporation award for community organization. In 2002,
they received the Tabasco Sauce Western Regional award. For more information,
visit their Web site at www.secretsofsalsa.com,
email info@secretsofsalsa.com,
or call the school at 707-895-2953. All book and DVD proceeds support
the literacy program at Anderson Valley Adult School.
#1:
Citrus
Salsa (Mild-Medium)
- 1 lb.
tomatillos (husked)
- 1 bunch
cilantro
- 2-3 jalapenos
- 1 small
onion
- 4 oranges
- salt
to taste
Dice
tomatoes, jalapenos, and onions into very small pieces and put into
a bowl. Add chopped cilantro and the juice of three oranges. Salt
to taste. Peel the remaining orange and cut into small pieces. Add
to salsa. |
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#2:
Traditional
Fresh Salsa (Mild-Medium)
- 5
Roma tomatoes
- 1/2 onion
- 1 lime
- 2-3 serrano
chilies
- 1 Tbs.
sugar
- 1/2 bunch
cilantro
- 1 tsp.
salt
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| Finely
chop onion and chilies and put into a bowl. Add lime juice, sugar,
salt, and finely chopped cilantro. Dice very finely tomatoes, (discard
any juice), and add to mixture just before serving. Tomatoes should
always be added last as the salt draws out the juice. This salsa
should be eaten soon after prepared. |
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#3:
Mango Jicama Salsa (Mild)
- 1
1/2 cups diced jicama
- 1 1/2
cups diced mango
- 2 medium-sized
oranges
- 2 limes
- 2 Tbs.
chopped cilantro
- 1 jalapeno,
finely chopped (optional)
- salt
to taste
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| Peel
and chop the jicama, mango, and orange into 1/4-inch pieces. Mix
well. Add salt, cilantro, and the juice of two limes. Serve. |
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Earth Day Discount!
Order
Laptop Lunch products
online during April and receive
a 10% discount! This offer is
being publicized through our newsletter only, so feel free to pass it
on to friends, family, and other non-subscribers.
To take advantage of this offer, type "ed906"
(no quotes) in the discount code field when checking out.
Offer expires April 30, 2005.
Green Opportunities
Some
earth-friendly tidbits that have landed in our office in recent weeks...
- Looking
for an Earth Day event in your area or are you involved with an event
that you want publicized? Visit the Earth Day Network's Web site at
www.earthday.net for searchable
Earth Day listings. You can also measure your ecological footprint,
find out what's in your drinking water, and sign up to receive emails
with important Earth Day information. The Earth Day Network also provides
teachers with environmental education curricula.
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- Do
you want to know where to find nutritious meals when you're on the
road? Or are you looking for a vegetarian restaurant or health food
store in your area? Check out Vegetarian Guide, a worldwide, searchable
database of vegetarian restaurants and natural health food stores.
You'll also find nutrition & health tips, recipes, information on
raw foods, travel, and veganism. www.happycow.net
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- If
you're looking for step-by-step instructions for starting a composting
program at your school, visit www.dep.state.ct.us/wst/compost/schmanual.htm
for a free downloadable school composting manual put together by the
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
Green
Shopping
Think
about these GREEN PURCHASING PRINCIPLES from the National Green
Pages before making purchasing decisions.
When
you buy from green companies, you're "voting with your dollars"
for a new way of doing business that respects the environment,
fosters social and economic justice, cares for customers and workers,
and builds communities. Adopt the following practices and start
putting your purchases to work creating an economy that works
for all.
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START
WITH ONE PURCHASE.
Commit to making at least one type of sustainable purchase, for
example, coffee, blue jeans, or laundry soap. Use the National
Green Pages to track down sources. Increase your socially
responsible purchasing by adding a new category each year.
BUY IN BULK.
Purchase staples--beverages, organic pasta, all-natural body care
products, and recycled toilet paper--by the case and carton from
green businesses. You'll save money, reduce wasteful packaging,
and always have the items you use most on hand.
GIVE GREEN GIFTS.
Make a list of the gifts you'll give this year for birthdays,
holidays, and anniversaries. Commit to buying all your gifts from
green businesses and help spread the word about green companies.
KEEP GREEN CATALOGS AND WEB SITES HANDY.
If you can't find the green products you need locally, order them
by mail. Nearly every category in the National Green Pages
includes businesses with mail-order options.
USE THE GREEN PAGES TO FIND LOCAL GREEN
BUSINESSES.
When you are planning a trip, use the National Green Pages
to find responsible restaurants, hotels, and other businesses
at your destination. Order an extra copy to keep in your car or
suitcase.
MAKE REPEAT PURCHASES.
Make a list of the green online and local businesses where you
shop. Help sustain these companies with repeat purchasing.
NOMINATE YOUR FAVORITE GREEN BUSINESSES.
If you'd like to see your local business included in the National
Green Pages, nominate them by email (joincabn@coopamerica.org)
by phone (800-58-GREEN or 202-872-5307) or by mail (Co-op America
Business Network, 1612 K Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC
20006) or visit their Web site at www.greenpages.org.
ENCOURAGE
GREEN PURCHASING.
At work, school, or your place of worship, encourage friends and
associates to patronize businesses listed in the National Green
Pages. Order an extra copy to bring to the office, and send
friends and associates to the Green Pages Online: www.greenpages.org.
ENCOURAGE LOCAL BUSINESSES TO BE GREEN.
Ask the stores in your area to carry green products. Take the
National Green Pages with you and point out all the businesses
that sell wholesale--denoted by the "W" in the listings
section. Order extra copies to give to local business members.
Excerpted from the 2005 National Green
Pages.
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Baseball
is Back...and so is the Snack
NOTE FROM
A FRUSTRATED DAD...
"I'm
coaching my son's baseball team (first practice today). Somewhere
someone got the idea that every team had to be rewarded with a
"snack" that usually turns out to be something like
Oreo cookies. Since many of our games (and all our practices)
take place right before dinner, the prospect of letting them eat
junk is especially disturbing. Since healthy eating habits and
waste reduction are your bailiwick, and knowing you're baseball
moms, I'm wondering if you've got anything on this."
--Dave
Hurst, Mountain View, CA
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Good
to hear from you, Dave. As many of our friends will tell you,
the baseball snack is one of our pet peeves. We're concerned not
only with the overconsumption of junk food, but also with the
not-so-hidden messages that we're conveying. We're telling our
kids that there's little intrinsic reward in playing baseball.
Play for the snack, not because it's fun, builds skills, feels
good, and and provides opportunities to try your best. We're also
saying, "Eat something sweet after engaging in physical activity."
With childhood obesity at an all-time high, and more children
being diagnosed with diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease,
and stroke, this is something to be concerned about. So what can
we do?
1.
Make noise. Let the other parents and the league know that kids
don't need to eat junk food after games and practices. Provide
them with obesity rates and let them know that obese children
are at higher risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
They may tell you that eating junk food is part of the baseball
experience, but remind them that many families are looking for
ways to improve their eating habits. Why not make it easier for
them?
2.
Ask the coaches, team parent, or league president to eliminate
the team snack or to send out a note encouraging parents to provide
healthy snacks of fresh fruit and water instead of cookies, candy,
chips, and sugary drinks.
3.
If all else fails, set a good example by providing fresh fruit
when it's your turn. Kids love fresh sliced watermelon, cantaloupe,
honeydew, grapes, and orange wedges. Make it waste free. Cut up
the fruit and pack it in a food storage container. When the kids
have finished, collect the rinds or peels and take them home to
the compost pile.
4.
When other parents bring snacks that you'd rather your child not
have, save them for after dinner. (When our kids were younger
they used to forget all about their snacks, and we could throw
them away, but those days are over!) Together read the ingredients
on the package and decide what you want to do with it. Consider
offering a healthier alternative like some fresh berries, trail
mix, a low-sugar homemade dessert, or a dessert or snack made
without hydrogenated fat.
Remind your children that they're on the field to have fun and
to do their best. Exercise is great for the body and soul, but
if you eat a big ol' sugary snack when the game is over, what's
the point? When our children become adults, will they continue
to hanker for a snack every time they exercise? Let's hope not!
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VISION
MAGAZINE
Waste-free
Lunches:
Coming
to a Neighborhood Near You
by
Amy Hemmert, March
2005
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I
must admit that I was utterly shocked last year when I found out
that our county landfill will likely reach capacity in just 15
years. I was equally surprised a few months later when the map
of potential new landfill sites was unvailed, and the NIMBY (not
in my backyard) battles began.
It
was no surprise, of course, that few county residents relished
a new landfill in their neighborhood. After all, who wants the
added traffic, noise, air pollution, and dust, not to mention
the smell? No, what surprised me was that very few discussions
centered around finding ways to reduce the amount of waste we
send to the landfill—either in our own backyard or in someone
else’s. And the possibilities are virtually endless.
Take
the school lunchroom, for example. If you’ve taken a peek at the
typical “homemade” school lunch recently, you know what I’m talking
about—a lunchbox (or single-use plastic bag) filled with processed,
prepackaged, single-serve items, like squeeze yogurts, fruit-flavored
candy ribbons, cheese sticks, bags of chips, and the ubiquitous
drink boxes, pouches, cartons, and cans.
Parents
love these items because they’re convenient, can be purchased
in large quantities, and have a long shelf life. Kids love the
clever packaging and the sweet or salty taste of these
high-sugar, high-fat treats, but with landfill space in
short supply, packing this type of lunch is clearly unsustainable.
School Programs
Fortunately,
many schools across North America have
figured this out and have responded by implementing waste-free
lunch programs. In a waste-free lunch program, the school community—teachers,
students, parents, administrators, and custodial staff—all work
together to reduce lunch waste.
Some
schools focus on lunches brought from home. Some completely revamp
their hot lunch program. The most ambitious tackle both. The first
step in any program involves communicating the benefits of the
program to families and staff, and obtaining a commitment from
as many people as possible. Usually this involves meetings, letters
to families, memos to staff, and of course enlisting the help
of volunteers.
Schools
that strive to eliminate disposables from homemade lunches often
provide strategies and incentives (either intrinsic or extrinsic)
for participating in the program. Many provide families with reusable
food containers and drink bottles or cups.
Some
schools conduct waste audits to educate families and to measure
program success. Others implement or expand existing composting,
recycling, and garden programs. Still others obtain funding to
provide students and staff with reusable food and drink containers.
Many coordinate field trips to the local landfill and recycling
center.
Waste-free
lunch programs that center around the hot lunch program often
eliminate disposables by switching to reusable or compostable
plates, cups, and utensils. They also find ways to reduce the
amount of food waste that ends up in trash cans, for example,
by switching to self-serve salad bars.
What Families Can Do
If
you’re not yet packing waste-free lunches and would like to make
the switch, it’s easy to do. First of all, you’ll need to find
a set of sturdy reusable food containers that will accommodate
the type of food you like to eat. Old yogurt and cottage cheese
containers work well as do stylish Japanese-style bento
boxes. Make sure you have a refillable drink bottle instead of
relying on disposables. (The American Plastics Council estimates
that 620,000 tons of soft drink bottles end up in landfills each
year, not including juice boxes, pouches, and cans.) To further
reduce landfill waste, pack a cloth napkin instead of paper and
reusable utensils instead of disposables.
A
few additional tips for families on the go include packing lunches
the night before and storing them in the refrigerator overnight,
preparing extra food for dinner and packing the leftovers for
lunch when you’re doing your dinner clean up, buying in bulk whenever
possible (reuse your produce bags and tubs), and keeping plenty
of dried fruit and nuts on hand. Finally, consider purchasing
a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share or shopping at farmers'
markets.
In
addition to reducing landfill waste, waste-free lunch programs
educate students about the impact of their food and packaging
choices, and demonstrate that making small changes in their daily
routine can have widespread effects. In fact, the New York Department
of Conservation estimates that a child taking a disposable lunch
to school will generate 67 pounds of trash annually—and that’s
just one person’s trash from one meal of the day. So the next
time you hear someone complain about a landfill coming to a neighborhood
near them, make sure you ask them what they’re doing to reduce
the amount of waste they’re sending to the landfill and be sure
to tell them about the benefits of packing waste-free lunches!
For
more information on waste-free lunches, visit www.wastefreelunches.org.
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What Works...Success
Stories
Do
you have a success story or photo to share? Email it to us at newsletter@obentec.com.
Featured Web Site:
www.dinegreen.com
| |
The
Green Restaurant Association (GRA), a national nonprofit organization,
provides services in research, consulting, education, marketing
and community organizing. The GRA utilizes a collaborative strategy
that involves restaurants, manufacturers, vendors, grassroots
organizations, government, media, and restaurant customers. Their
mission is to provide a convenient way for all sectors of the
restaurant industry to become more environmentally sustainable.
Visit www.dinegreen.com
to find a green restaurant near you.
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May Highlights
Nutritious
desserts and treats, green opportunities, and yard sale strategies!
© April 2005 Obentec,
Inc.
849 Almar Ave., Suite C-323
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
831-457-0301
REPRINT PERMISSION
Feel free to reprint
or forward this newsletter with the following acknowledgment and contact
information clearly visible: "Thank you to Obentec, Inc. for permission
to use this copyrighted material. For more information, contact Obentec,
Inc. by email at info@obentec.com
or by phone at 831-457-0301, or visit their Web site at http://www.obentec.com.
Reprint permission granted with this full notice included."
Back to www.laptoplunches.com.
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