Author Archive
Meatless Monday with Porcini Parsley Pasta from Rachel Ray
Posted by: | Comments
It is another Meatless Monday and we find ourselves asking the all important question: What’s for dinner? Well, here is an eco-friendly organic recipe, that is easy to make and the ingredients are readily available. This recipe comes courtesy of my favorite food-network-personality-turned-daytime-talk-show-host Rachel Ray. This recipe does say that you can use either vegetable or chicken stock, but please remember that if you want the taste of chicken stock without having meat in the pasta you can use an eco-friendly organic vegetarian chicken stock mix. Another way to make this an even healthier meal is to use either whole wheat or spelt pasta, whichever you can find in your supermarket.
Ingredients:
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 pound pappardelle or fettuccine noodle Pasta
- 1 quart vegetable or vegetarian chicken stock
- 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 large organic shallots, chopped
- 1 cup packed flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1 cup dry white wine
- A wedge of Pecorino Romano cheese, for grating at the table
Preparation:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it, add the pasta and cook to al dente. Drain.
- While the pasta is working, in a saucepan, simmer the vegetable stock and porcinis until the mushrooms have softened, 15 minutes.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the shallots and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 7-8 minutes. Add the wine and reduce heat to low.
- Read More→
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
An eco-friendly Garry Marshall movie – Valentines Day
Posted by: | CommentsDid you know that the mega-successful movie Valentines Day, directed by the incomparable Garry Marshall, is the first movie ever to go green? Well, it was. Garry said that even in the beginning Warner Brothers and New Line Cinema were both behind the idea of an eco-friendly movie set. Marshall explained that both the studio and production company understood that this might cost more, but that it needed to be done. However, in the end, Marshall says that it turned out that they were able to break even, in the sense that the addition cost incurred was nullified by the savings that an eco-friendly production like this can yield.
So how did they merge the idea of social responsibility with an eco-friendly focus? It was done in ways both big and small. Marshall mentioned that they did something as simple as change the plates used by craft services to biodegradable plates. Ashton Kutcher, One of the many stars of the movie, explained to Mother Nature Network’s Ecollywood that “there was a lot of dedication on this movie to using solar panels and clean energy and recycling. The fact that the movie was shot in L.A. actually made that easier to make happen. I think that every opportunity we have in our industry to make what we’re doing a more environmentally conscious effort is a good thing.”
The film utilized reusable set pieces, solar-powered lighting, hybrid or biodiesel vehicles, solar and biodiesel generators to achieve an eco-friendly movie set. Warner Brothers estimates that it reduced the carbon dioxide emissions by 67 metric tons. This all showcases the idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR) because every level of this production understood why they should be implementing these changes. Garry Marshall has been quoted as saying “there are a lot of things wrong with our environment, so to ‘go green’ seemed to be a very good thing. It’s not that big and effort; if we could do it, others can do it”.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
An Eco-friendly Collectible from Broadway play RENT
Posted by: | Comments
RENT Key chain made from 100% post consumer recycled tires
Any fan of popular culture, Broadway or rock music probably remembers the 1996 smash hit Broadway play RENT. The play that won countless awards including four Tony Awards, a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, became a global phenomenon, ran for 12 years on Broadway and was made into a major motion picture. For those that do not know Rent is Based loosely on Puccini’s La Bohème, Rent tells the story of a group of friends living in New York’s East Village struggling with life, love, drugs and AIDS. This was a play that spoke to people in a way that mainstream theater never really did, and brought new people to into the tradition of the American theater. During a recent tour aptly title RENT: The Broadway Tour, it came to my attention that the play made an eco-friendly move into this new decade.
RENT has always been on the cutting edge of theater and its souvenir merchandise is now no different. As is the case for many frequent theater goers, I have often noticed that an eco-friendly product is hard to find, playbills, and souvenir books are hardly earth conscious. The clothing they sell is not made of organic cotton fabric, and the rest of the merchandise tends to follow suit. RENT however, seems to making a difference, something a fan of the musical theater would appreciate as in keeping with its philosophy of “no day but today”.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Eva Longoria Parker Manages an Earth Friendly Business and a Green Home
Posted by: | Comments
ABC’s Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria Parker may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think about eco-minded celebrities, but she is authentic in both her personal and business life. In an interview with Jennifer Schwab from the Huffington Post Longoria Parker discussed her earth friendly business and explained why green issues mean so much to her:
“Growing up on a ranch with lots of land and animals, I came to appreciate the beauty of nature and the simplicity of life. It is because of this that I have an intense love for the earth and Mother Nature. My father instilled in me the idea of conservation at an early age and it has stuck with me since. He would take us camping for days at a time and teach us how to eat and survive off the land. He taught us how to find water, what berries to eat off trees, how to plant our own vegetables. I remember my dad always walking around the house turning off lights constantly and always yelling at us if we left the water on while brushing our teeth. To this day, I cannot be in a house where there are lights on in a room that is not being used. And I often yell at Tony for leaving the water on while brushing his teeth. I have managed to carry my conservation ideas into my own life. I don’t use bottled water in the house; we recycle, and use reusable bags at grocery stores. So when the time came to build out Beso and the Nightclub Eve in Vegas, I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to do this right for mother earth”.
Eva Longoria Parker's Beso and Kiss Kiss Lounge
How exactly did the talented actress and restaurateur manage to make the second Beso an earth friendly business? As anyone who watches entrainment news magazine show like Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, Extra and E! News etc… knows, Beso is an uber trendy and successful L.A. hotspot. “The City Center edition was created as a green version to meet LEED certification, with upgrades such as: a special $350,000 stove hood and scrubber to filter volatile organic kitchen compounds; Swarovski crystals which were reclaimed from the Oscars broadcast for use as chandeliers; reclaimed woods throughout; recycled wallpapers; recycled and compostable to-go boxes; recycled paper menus; a green cleaning crew; lots of natural light to save power during the day; locally sourced building materials to save on shipping and reduce the transportation carbon footprint” according to the Huffington Post article.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!