Thanksgiving Leftovers

I hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving with plenty of yummy food on your plate and some to spare. My favorite part of Thanksgiving is when our enormous family sits around the table and we each state something we're grateful for. My second favorite part is the leftovers. A few years ago I created what I believe to be the best and easiest way to use up all those delicious Thanksgiving leftovers before they go bad.

Thanksgiving Pot Pie

2 roll out pie crusts
1 pie pan
ALL leftovers

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Dump all leftovers, including cranberry sauce, into a large bowl and mix together.
3. Roll out one pie crust over the pie plate and press into the plate.
4. Dump all ingredients into the pie plate.
5. Roll the other crust out over the top of the mush and press the edges together.
6. Cut a vent hole in the top of the crust (or make a fancy design, if you wish).
7. Pop it in the oven for about an hour until the crust begins to look golden brown all over.
8. Take it out and enjoy.

"Safe" Plastic is NOT Safe

Broomhuggers posted a link to an article about why "microwave safe" plastic containers are not really safe. Take a look.



And please remember. It's not just the microwave that brings out the chemicals. Placing any hot food or liquid inside plastic will do the same thing. Patrick and I have made the transformation from plastic to glass over the past year. We have very few plastic containers and those are only used to contain things that are not hot and will not need to be heated within the container.

Black Friday is Buy Nothing Day

Most Americans will go shopping next Friday with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads thinking they will score the best deals of the year on everything from food to electronics to furniture and clothing. While that MIGHT happen (that's a big might), most likely you will wake up way too early, stand on a line that is way too long, be pushed and shoved by other crazed consumers and encounter a disgruntled cashier just to get a deal that will occur again a week later. Did I forget to mention the wasted gas? Maybe there's a reason it's called, "Black Friday".

My solution: Buy Nothing Day.

Buy Nothing Day has been celebrated since 1992 and has been becoming more and more popular ever so slowly but surely in recent times. The day's founder, Ted Dave, came up with idea after being fed up with comsumerism harming the world around him. His basic premise is that shopping is rapidly using up the world's resources so the only way to save the earth is to consume less. I think he's on to something. What do you think? Visit his site to learn more about Buy Nothing Day and what you can do to help.

Leaf Blowers

I took a walk this morning around the neighborhood next to ours. We live in a condo complex so when I go out for a walk or jog I like to go to the next development over because I feel the scenery is better. However, I was disappointed to see no less than seven different leafblowers in use. The scenery may have been okay but I couldn't hear the birds or smell the leaves because these loud, smelly machines were running all over the place.

Did you know that running a leaf blower for 30 minutes will put out more emissions than a car driving 2,000 miles? The exhaust contains high levels of hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen, which can lead to respiratory and other health problems in addition to smog and other environmental hazards.

So what should we do with all our leaves? Well, there's always the old fashioned rake. Like shoveling snow, raking leaves is a good workout. If you're not into the rake, or if you have back problems and don't want to hunch over for that long there is another option. Mow the leaves. Take out the lawnmower and run right over those leaves. They will break down faster and serve as compost for your lawn. Come spring you will have a beautiful green meadow for a yard. Want to be even greener? Use a manual hand mower.

Please help keep our walks healthy and serene.

Obama Wins!

Barack Obama has won the presidential election! I'd like to say that I am happy about this and I wish him the best of luck in his term. I know he will do the best he can do which I'm sure will be great.

Animal's Matter - A Book Review

"Humans cannot continue to be at war with the rest of the world. The fragility of the natural order - the delicate balance of life - requires that we all work harmoniously so as not to destroy nature's wholeness, goodness, and generosity. Humans are a part of nature, not apart from nature." - Marc Beckoff

Beckoff has convinced me to give up all meat, fish and poultry. It is because of his compelling arguments in Animals Matter that I will not be eating turkey on Thanksgiving. Asking such questions as, "Why do we interfere in wild animals' lives?" and supplying such facts as, "Animals get the blues in zoos.", Beckoff convinced me we should be treating animals as living beings who feel emotional and physical pain.

Did you know that we could feed the world with the grain we feed cows? WE COULD END WORLD HUNGER!!!! Of course he also discusses the hormones that are injected in animals that are used for food and the health problems that can cause in humans.

Animals Matter is worth the read.