RECIPES
Blueberry Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg -- beaten lightly
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 tablespoons oil -- plus additional for
brushing griddle
1 cup blueberries -- rinsed and picked
over
maple syrup
Directions:
1. In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder,
baking soda, and salt and whisk in egg, buttermilk, vanilla, and
2-1/2 tablespoons oil, whisking until smooth. Fold in blueberries
gently.
2. Heat a griddle over moderately high heat until hot enough to make
drops of water scatter over its surface and brush with additional
oil. Working in batches, drop batter by 1/4-cup measures onto
griddle and cook pancakes 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side, or
until golden. Transfer pancakes as cooked to warm platter.
3. Serve pancakes with maple syrup.
FAMILY
10 tips to help your family go
green
With politicians and celebrities
alike focusing on the environment, more and more teenagers are
expressing interest in making a difference in the world around them.
Besides encouraging your kids to reduce, reuse and recycle, here are
10 ways to help get your teens to think green.
1. Set an example: You won't have any
credibility with your teen if you talk the talk without walking the
walk. Make sure you're doing your part before you insist they do
theirs.
2. Discuss the issues: Talk to your
teens about what politicians are saying and doing when it comes to
the environment. Ask them who they would support in an election and
why.
3. Get the facts: Watch documentaries
together and share magazine articles about environmental problems
such as global warming, overpopulation, acid rain and species
extinction. Talk about changes your family can make to positively
affect the environment in your home and your community.
4. Encourage environmental efforts:
Help your teen find time in his or her schedule to join
environmental clubs or efforts such as the Otesha Project (www.otesha.ca),
a youth movement towards sustainable consumption or the Canon
Envirothon (www.envirothon.org), North America's largest high school
environmental education competition where teens solve real
environmental issues through in-class projects and hands-on field
experiences.
5. Go gadget green: If your teen is a
gadget fiend, make sure you've got enough rechargeable batteries on
hand to keep them running. And when they've outgrown or upgraded
their cell phone, MP3 player, hand-held videogame console or digital
camera, make sure it's not thrown away, but either recycled or
passed on to someone else. Organizations like ThINK Food /
Phones-for-Food (www.think-food.com) accept cell phones and printer
cartridges for recycling, which in turn raises funds for local food
banks
6. Paper or plastic? Neither: Outfit
your family with reusable bags—the funkier the better—and get your
teen into the habit of refusing the disposable kind when shopping.
7. Green is gorgeous: Encourage your
fashionista teenager to buy from eco-friendly companies when it
comes to clothing and makeup. Help your teen along by buying green
products as gifts. Check out the latest colours and styles from
environmentally friendly stores, The Body Shop (www.thebodyshop.ca)
or Mountain Equipment Co-op (www.mec.ca)
8. Coffee to go: If your teen has
discovered the joys of chatting with friends over a cup of java,
offer to buy a reusable travel mug to cut down on waste. Note that
if you want your teen to actually use the mug, let him or her choose
it and don't expect your style-conscious high schooler to use the
freebie you got at the gas station.
9. Serve locally grown food: If you
do the cooking in your family, make the conscious effort to serve
locally grown produce. Explain that the average food item travels
2,000 km to reach your kitchen, which affects freshness, taste,
nutrition, greenhouse gas emissions, high energy costs and local
economic health. By serving locally grown food, you help reduce
these effects.
10. Listen: Find out what your
teenager is thinking about, angry about and worried about when it
comes to the environment, and then help channel those feelings into
actions that can have lasting, positive effects.
Credit: www.newscanada.com
OUTDOOR ENTERTAINING
Grilling Quick Tip: Be creative on the grill
Delight your taste buds by trying some new
grilling tricks this summer. Different grilling methods and
ingredients can make your classic summer favourites exciting and
new. These suggestions are sure to impress:
Basting Seafood Sauce: A splash of Worcestershire
sauce, added to a spoonful of horseradish, plus some tomato ketchup,
creates a terrific basting sauce for grilled shrimp skewers.
Burger Delight: A splash of any BBQ sauce,
stirred into mayonnaise, makes a zesty condiment for burgers and
grilled sandwiches.
Orange Glaze: A splash of HP Sauce blended into
melted marmalade, makes a tasty glaze for grilled chicken, or pork.
Fancy Fruit: A splash of Diana Sauce on fruit
such as pineapple or peaches is a delicious addition to any summer
salad.
BBQ Bake: To make summer cooking easy, you can
use your BBQ not only as a grill but as an oven too – and do all of
your cooking in one place: outdoors.
Veggie Dip: A splash of chili sauce stirred into
a prepared onion-style dip, makes a sweet-and-savoury treat for
veggies or breadsticks to accompany your BBQ favourites.
Credit: www.newscanada.com
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