Napa Birthday

Mozzarella made fresh when you order it

Tra Vigne

asparagus emerging

3 aging cheese wheels

garden salad

Looking Forward

Ready to start serving

Last night was very fun and successful, thanks to everyone who came!!

This weekend I am going to wine country in Napa for my 21 birthday, I know very sophisticated. After the last few days (5 Earth Days to be exact) I feel like I deserve a little getaway. Anyways I really wanted to share my adventures there because my mom did so much research on small, sustainable wineries, olive oil, and fruit growing farms.

I am so excited for the whole trip, I’ve never done anything like this! But some of the places I am most looking forward to are:

Round Pond and their olive oils, Indian Springs mudbaths, a restaurant called JoLe that brings the farm to the table, and Frogs Leap Winery. I’ll try to take many pictures and share them here, until then lots of studying as school is almost over!

Come and Get It

Make sure you come by tonight around 5-7 3rd floor of the JCSU in front of the ball room, I recommend coming early as both the food and trashion show are first come, first serve. Also our vermicomposting lecture is this morning at 11am in the senate chambers.

Here is my personal menu, and there are (hopefully) many other delicious foods coming from other green cafe cooks on campus:

Green Café Earth Day Menu 2009:

Oat Bran Muffins

1: oat bran, baking powder, sugar, egg, oil, apple juice, salt, yams, walnut, raisins

2: oat bran, baking powder, sugar, egg, oil, milk, salt, squash, almonds, dried cranberries, chocolate chips

Pizza

1: Dough- fresh ground whole wheat flour, extra virgin olive oil, salt, yeast, honey. Toppings-olive oil, garlic, onion, spinach, mozzarella, tomato, roasted red bell pepper, salt.

2: Dough- fresh ground whole wheat flour, extra virgin olive oil, salt, yeast, honey. Toppings- olive oil, mozzarella, potato, goat cheese, caramelized onions, salt, roasted garlic.

Bean-Rice-Pasta Salad: whole wheat penne pasta, pinto beans, black beans, wild and brown rice, homemade pesto, mozzarella, zucchini, red onion, salt, pepper, olive oil.

Chocolate chip zucchini oatmeal cookies: egg, butter, brown sugar, honey, vanilla, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, zucchini, oatmeal, chocolate chips.

Chocolate avocado pudding: avocado, blue agave sweetener, cacao powder, heavy cream.

Carrot cupcakes: cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, carrots, pecans, fresh ground whole wheat flour, eggs, rice bran oil, baking powder, baking soda. Frosting: cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla.

Food Safety: This food was made with care and supervised by a woman with extensive restaurant experience to ensure the safety and quality of the food being served.

Safety was maintained by: continual washing of hands, dishes, and work space, proper refrigeration, and the use of the freshest possible ingredients.

Sources: The food comes primarily from the Great Basin Food Cooperative. Local, organic, and sustainably grown food items were used in every case possible. Bags and Bowls are from Eco-Reno.

Earth Day Menu

So I’ve started cooking for Earth Day. We need organic, local, homemade yummy food on campus and I and a few others plan on bringing quality food to campus for a few hours on Tuesday evening.

I will be bringing food up to our table on the third floor of the new student union outside the ballroom at around 4:45, so I will probably start serving 5-5:15 and the Trashion Show starts at 7.

So far the following items are promised for the event:

Mini pizzas with fresh roasted vegetables, cheeses, etc.

Chocolate chip oatmeal zucchini cookies

Chocolate avocado pudding (sounds weird I know but it is unbelievably good)

And this is JUST what I have started, as I plan on doing the majority of the cooking tomorrow.  So there will be more, such as bean, vegetable and rice salads, vegan dishes, many more desserts, etc. And of course the ingredients are organic and came from as close to Reno as possible!

Also, just in case you are salivating about the food too much, I’ll help you out by mentioning that we (UNAE 310) will have a vermicomposting workshop on Tuesday at 11am. We will have demonstrations, powerpoints, and visual aids.

I hope people take advantage of this opportunity at UNR. There are many people to be making friendships and connections with, great food to be eaten, fun entertainment, and valuable lectures.

Again the full schedule is on my previous post, please come check it out!!

Chocolate Avocado Pudding, I have to hide this so it lasts until Tuesday

Pop-eye showing off his earth day excitement!

Earth Day Prep!

We are in the final, final, final, final stages of editing our composting prospectus, making sure our facts and plan are sound and ready to go- I am sadly missing the building of the first worm bin in Reno this weekend as I am racing in Mammoth, but I hope everything goes well and as planned there so we can start the composting. We are also preparing for our Earth Day event at UNR on Apirl 20 and 21.

Below is the general plan:

UNR Earth Day: “Turning Earth Day Theory into Every Day Action”

Building on the success of the fall, 2008 Sustainability Festival (Go Green with Nevada Blue), we have teamed up once

again with the Joe Crowley Student Union (CSU), the Associated Students of the University of Nevada (ASUN) club, the Environmental Action Team (EnAcT), and the Child & Family Research Center (CFRC) to bring a multi-generational Earth Day event to the University of Nevada, Reno campus on Monday and Tuesday, April 20-21.

Film Festival & Swap:Soylent Green, the 1970’s cult classic film, will open the Earth Day event as the headliner for Monday night’s film festival, also organized and hosted by EnAcT. The film will be shown at 5:00pm at the movie theater on the third floor of the CSU. Also there will be a Book & Clothing Swap: CSU lawn during the afternoon of the 20th (weather permitting)

Recycled Art Exhibit: Several classes from the CFRC are constructing works of art that will be displayed on the fourth floor lounge areas of the CSU. Prior to the Trashion Show, EnAcT is hosting a catered, community-wide mixer for UNR students, faculty, staff , community business, nonprofit organizations and families to join. The mixer is free to everyone, and starts at 5:00 p.m. on the CSU fourth floor in rooms 402 & 403.

Trashion Show: A multigenerational Trashion Show with guest appearances by local television news hosts wearing costumes designed and constructed by undergraduates and pre-schoolers will premiere on Tuesday, April 21 in the CSU Ballroom A-C at 7:00 p.m. The Trashion Show, developed by Environmental Studies Major and EnAcT President Delia Martinez, features unique runway designs fashioned from materials that would otherwise be garbage. Tickets can be purchased at the door on the day of this event. Tickets are $5.00 for general admission and $2.00 for students.

Workshops: During the day, on Tuesday, a series of workshops will be taught by students, faculty, staff , and community partners. These workshops will feature practical understanding of topics as diverse as how to green your small business to starting up your own vermiculture composting project. The workshops will be held in two primary rooms in the CSU, rooms 320 and 356 (senate chambers). Two workshops per hour will be featured, each will be an hour in duration and each workshop will start at the following times:

–10:00a.m: Life as a Locavore: Leslie Allen, UNCE Horticulturalist & Peter Goin: environmental photography workshop.

–11:00a.m: Teaching Sustainability Across the Curriculum, Faculty Workshop: Jen Huntleysmith, UNAE& Campus Vermiculture Project: Environmental Studies 310 Students.

–1:00p.m: International Water Issues in Africa: Debora Stiver, College of Business & Panel Discussion on Alternative Transportation: Representatives from the RTC & ATC.

–2:00p.m: How to Green your Business: Kevin Dick, Small Business Development Center ‘Has Environmentalism Gone to the Dogs?’ Best Bowser Biohazard Management Practices: Mark Walker, Environmental Sciences Graduate Program Director.

We will have a vermi composting workshop on Tuesday April 21 with powerpoint presentation, live worms, informational visual aids, and fun interactive learning opportunities.

I am so excited for Earth Day. Green Cafe group will also be providing food Monday or Tuesday, possibly both depending on scheduling, availability, etc. We will have a meeting on Friday April 17 cementing the plans and forming the schedule. There will also be catering by Whole Foods, but we will be providing even more homebaked, local food. Right now I am in Mammoth, at my last ski race for the season and am ready to have more free time to commit to composting and the cafe. This semester has flown by; spring is always a blur with the traveling, and skiing, but now there are a few more weeks to work hard and make a difference.

If you want to be added to the Green Cafe email list to get info about meetings, events, etc,  please contact  me at amyjh8@gmail.com, or just leave your info in comment form on the blog.

Also I would love to hear from anyone with great seasonal recipes!