Tuesday's Salad full of grace

An Inspiration from 1909, Portugese born but raised in Brazil samba singer and actress, Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, aka Carmen Miranda.

Known for her iconic image of colorful outfits and fruit bedecked headgear, the lady in the tutti frutti hat performed in a 1945 film, "The Gang's All Here". She became a household name in the US and the highest paid female performer during World War II.

Mango & Guava Salad

Ingredients:

Unripe Mango - grated

Seedless Guava - grated

Mint leaves - chopped

Coriander (cilantro) - chopped

Salad greens

Dressing:

Pound or blend together:

Shallots

Tomato

chili (optional)

Dried prawns - pound finely and grill till golden brown

Add to the above:

Fresh Lime juice

Olive oil

Bragg Liquid Aminos

Honey or brown sugar for taste

By MarieC1

Eco Metals

Mining and extraction of precious metals is one of the most environementally destructive practices on earth. For every ton of gold produced, it generates three-million tons of chemical waste. According to "No Dirty Gold Campaign" (www.nodirtygold.org) a single gold mine in Papua New Guinea generates 2000,000 tons of toxic waste each day, more than all the cities in Japan, Canada and Australia combined.

Toby Pomeroy, jewelry designer with a beautiful conscience

As a child, Toby Pomeroy lived in the foothills of the Himalayas with his medical-missionary parents. He was inspired by the native artisans and his designs are influenced by nature. Pomeroy, became one of the first industry artisans to exclusively use reclaimed metals for his pure reused gold and silver jewelry.

By MarieC1

Meat Free Monday

Salad greens with pomelo, grapefruit and mango

A quick and easy salad dressing:

Lime juice

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

By MarieC1

Hole in One

The higher you climb.....the harder you fall

The harder you fall....the higher you bounce back

By MarieC1

Blowing bubbles in the wind

Jack Frost Nipping On Your Nose

Imagining a white Christmas in the tropics

By MarieC1

Organic Transition

A visit to a local market - Nov 2009

I am holding a bundle of sweet leaves (sauropus androgynous), a green perennial vegetable found mainly in S.E.A. It is rich in Vitamin D and is among a few flora containing vitamin K. There are occasional reports of headaches when too much is consumed. It has also been linked to obstructive lung disease when taken in massive amounts due to the high concentrations of alkaloid papaverine.

Food grown with aid of chemicals can affect our well being. By going organic, you can limit your exposure to toxic chemicals, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and genetically modified foods. Moreover, organic farming uses 50 % less energy and water resources as compared to conventional farms, thereby reducing the environmental impact and disturbance to earth's ecological balance.

Going organic can be a challenge especially when organic foods cost 50% or more than non organic foods. I have found a few tips on how to make the transition and buy organic on a budget. If you can't afford a complete conversion to organic, you need to identify those categories of "must have" foods where you will receive the greatest benefit.

1. Some fruits and vegetable require very little pesticides if any. Therefore you don't need to buy organic ones. For example, bananas, pineapples, oranges, papayas, brocolli, sweet potatoes, avocados.

2. Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season as prices are less competitive. Also keep a look out for the sale of the week.

3. Bulk purchase is cheaper. As such you could consider sharing these purchases with friends, families or neighbours.

4. Meat eaters may want to switch to antibiotic, hormone, pesticide-free meat and 100% grass fed.

5. Avoid conventional milk especially for your children. Dairy cows are injected with GE hormones rBGH/rBST and possibly fed with genetically modified grains and hay.

6. Cloned food sounds creepy to me! Genetically engineered food contains genes derived from bacteria and virus.

7. Eat out less if you want to eat more organic foods.

8. Start a garden. Grow your own herbs. For those small spaces, a container garden is a good alternative.

♧♧♧

DIRTY DOZEN: CONVENTIONAL CROPS WITH THE HIGHEST PESTICIDE LOADS

1. Peaches

2. Apples

3. Sweet bell peppers

4. Celery

5. Nectarines

6. Strawberries

7. Cherries

8. Lettuce

9. Grapes

10. Pears

11. Spinach

12. Potatoes

For more information on foods that you should buy organic, please do take a look here at:

The daily Green

A Environmental working Group and Consumer Report:

Shopper's guide to pesticides

♧♧

By MarieC1

My utmost thanks goes to Prima, my wonderful assistant who helped me nurture my garden.

Through The Voice Of An Angel

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them"

Mother Teresa

Today, I witnessed a gift from God and I am humbled by an invaluable life lesson

learned. Susan Boyle made UK chart history with her depth of purity that transcends

through her voice but more than her singing, is her inner strength and perseverance

to stay committed to a dream despite her critics.

The truth is, sad to say, our society has such high standards that we often judge too

much by appearances. It is easier for us to put others down than it is to deal with

our own insecurities. I am ashamed to admit..... I sometimes need reminding.

God speaks to us in mysterious ways, sometimes through the voice

of an angel.

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

♡

By MarieC1