I’m really excited to get to write a blog post about Earth Month because I’m one of those people who subscribes to the “Every day is Earth Day” philosophy.  I carry a reusable bag in my purse, use the back of printouts as scratch paper, buy produce from local farmers, use energy-efficient light bulbs, etc.  I inherited that from my parents—when I was a kid, my family took group trips to the recycling center, had a small compost heap in the backyard, and we even owned one of those tin can crushers that reduces the size of your cans so they take up less room in the recycling bin…though, I’m not sure if we had that because of the environmental benefit, or just for my dad’s enjoyment…

Though I grew up in a “reduce, reuse, recycle” family, the thing that really convinced me of the importance of being eco-conscious was when my elementary school teacher showed my class photos of the local trash dump.  I couldn’t get over the sheer size of it.   As they say, a picture’s worth 1,000 words.

Regardless of whether you grew up like I did, you probably still have a pretty good understanding of what we should be doing to protect the earth, and even if you need a little convincing that you should do your part, I thought there might be better photos to show you than those of the local dump.  That’s why I thought I’d take you on a brief photo tour of some of the natural wonders I’ve been lucky enough to see that truly remind me why I work to preserve Mother Earth.

Vintgar Gorge, Slovenia

Whitsunday Islands, Australia

 Lake Ohau, New Zealand

- Valerie

Growing up in the south, Memorial Day barbecues and pool parties always signified the start of summer.  Now that I live in New York, summer really starts for me when Union Square Green Market comes alive.  Week by week, I anticipate summer and watch it grow closer based almost entirely on what produce is for sale on Saturday mornings in Union Square.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been able to stock up on fresh asparagus, mushrooms and herbs.  This weekend, the first batch of strawberries made their debut, and each week as the summer progresses, I’ll pick up something new--including amazing tomatoes, apricots and sweet corn.

The beauty of all these fresh ingredients from local farmers is that you don’t have to do much to them to make them taste good.  I usually show up at the market, pick up whatever I think looks good and work out a plan when I get home.  

Last week, that meant a super-simple, summery potato salad with cremini mushrooms, shallots, dill, oil and vinegar.  Who knows what next week will hold…

Valerie