Ingredients:
» 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
» 1/2 cup olive oil
» 1/2 cup honey
» 1 egg
» 1/2 cup ground flaxseeds
» 1 tsp baking soda
» 1 1/2 cups wheat pastry flour
» 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
» 2 tbsp butter, softened
» 2 tbsp canola oil
»2 tbsp molasses
Makes 20 large or 40 small treats
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine applesauce, olive oil, honey, egg, flaxseeds and baking soda. Mix well. Stir in flour and mix until combined. Pour batter into the baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until cake turns golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, then cut into 20 to 40 squares. Put squares on a baking rack with wax paper underneath to catch the icing. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the cream cheese, butter, canola oil, molasses and 1/4 cup water. Beat until smooth. Icing should be thick but pourable. Dip each square into the icing and set it back on the rack to dry. Drizzle any remaining icing evenly over the squares. Let the icing set, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to two days, or freeze up to two months.
From "Chow Hound: Wholesome Home Cooking for Your Doggie" by Eve Adamson.
» Bowwow Chow Down: Cater to your canine with healthy, homemade treats.
Photo by Marge Ely/Express
IN 2004, Rogan Gregory created Loomstate, a cool brand of denim and tees made of organic and sustainable fibers. Suddenly, eco-chic could actually be called chic. The New York designer — winner of the prestigious CDFA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award in 2007 — is also the power behind Rogan, an upscale line sold at Barneys Co-Op and the like. On May 18, he'll prove sustainable style can also be attainable as he becomes the latest designer in Target's GO International Collection.
"GREEN" AND "TECH" haven't traditionally been pals; any-thing that turns on, after all, is getting energy from somewhere. Electronics manufactured overseas have to be flown in, obsolescence means we're buying new stuff all the time, and we shudder to think of the hazardous chemicals in batteries, laptops and LCDs that can pollute groundwater. But as clever entrepreneurs dream up new ways to make our gadgets nicer to the planet, being plugged in doesn't always mean slugging Mother Nature. For more tips and ideas than we could fit here, see Mygreenelectronics.com.
» To greenify your gadgets, click here.
Written by Express contributor Rachel Kaufman.
Photo by Marge Ely/Express
THERE ARE SO many eco-titles at bookstores that somewhere, there must be a barren field where a big forest once stood. But reading up on a life less carbony helps the environment, right?
Farewell, My Subaru
Doug Fine (Villard)
"I dig my laptop," writes Fine, but this didn't stop him from trying to live off the grid. Ditching the city for a more sustainable lifestyle on a New Mexico farm, Fine dabbled in everything from goat-raising to driving a truck powered by restaurant grease. His funny anecdotes put a less-preachy spin on the global-warming issue. Besides, who wouldn't want to read about a chicken-eating coyote nicknamed Dick Cheney?
Go Green, Live Rich
David Bach ($15, Broadway)
Saving the planet can also save you bucks, says this book stuffed with tips on cutting energy consumption (drive a biodiesel car, use a low-flush potty), investing in green companies and donating to eco-charities. Especially thought-provoking: stats such as for every sheet of paper you don't use, you'll save .6 cents and spare the air the pollution caused by recycling the stuff later.
Continue Reading "In the Green Pages: Read Up on Eco-Friendliness" »
FORGET SPARKLY GRAY GRANITE counter tops or chemical-loaded shag carpet in chocolate brown — the most fashionable shade in home decor and rehab these days is green. These eco-minded stores sell stuff to decrease your carbon blueprint, er, footprint.
» Amicus Green Building Center
Flooring made of reclaimed barn wood. Clay paints that'd give any room a mottled, "Are-we-in-ancient Rome?" vibe. Almost anything that goes on walls or floors, or in kitchens stars at this green shop in Kensington, Md.'s warehouse district. Owner Jason Holstine consulted for clients like the EPA before opening Amicus two and a half years ago because he was tired of telling folks about "cool products you had to go to Seattle to get." Now his customers might start with a $37 spring-cleaning kit or go "deep green" with rain-catching barrels or Bean-ee-doo, a soy-based goo remover. Cabinets in FSC-certified wood, bamboo or wheatboard can also be ordered, and Amicus works with contractors who know how to install this stuff. "Greening up can be confusing," says Holstine. "We help people learn." (4080A Howard Ave., 301-571-8590; Amicusgreen.com)
» Eco-Green Living
On a recent afternoon at this Logan Circle temple to the green life, owner Keith Ware used a blowtorch to demonstrate how the sprayable insulation he sells works. Applying a flame to a piece of metal treated with the stuff, he then handed it off to a customer, and, sure enough, it was cool. "Ninety percent of people who walk in here want one thing, like a tankless hot water heater," says the chatty eco-warrior. "Then they'll realize all the other things they can do." The shop sells loads of good-for-the-globe stuff, from Anna Sova silk sheets to solar tube lights that get their glow from the sky, even on cloudy days. "What surprises people is that going green isn't more expensive," says Ware. (1469 Church St. NW, 202-234-7110; Eco-greenliving.com)
Continue Reading "The Eco Home Depots: Where to Shop Sustainably" »
NATALIE PORTMAN's been getting loads of attention lately for her line of vegan shoes for Tecascan, and Stella McCartney's sleek synthetic handbags drive fashionistas crazy. But Inder Bedi, founder of the Matt & Nat line of handbags, has been creating edgy, leather-free clutches, hoboes, satchels and totes in soft-as-butter plastic and canvas since 1997.
The urban, often-futuristic pieces of arm candy are so fashionable that even steak-loving, suede platform-wearing style mavens sling them on their bangled arms. His bright canvas Re-Run line is made of recycled water bottles, and other bags are produced using less energy and resources than their hide counterparts. The Montreal-based Bedi recently dropped by Cusp at Tysons Corner Center, where his bags are sold, to tout his spring designs and chat with us.
» EXPRESS: When and why did you give up meat and leather?
» BEDI: My family is actually Eastern Indian in origin. I was born in the U.K., but my parents came to Canada when I was young. I grew up knowing everything about my Indian background, but not being religious. My parents were very liberal-minded and had all these friends who'd come over to the house. One of them was a Hare Krishna, and he asked me, when I was 18, to go vegetarian for 30 days. And it changed my life. After not eating meat for 30 days, I didn't have the desire anymore. I started looking more into vegetarianism and animal rights.
Continue Reading "Handling Everything: Hipster Bags from Matt & Nat" »
"WHAT DON'T YOU LIKE about them?" Rachel Gutter, the U.S. Green Building Council's Schools Sector manager, asks a group of students at Alexandria's new T.C. Williams High School about one of the school's eco-friendly, water-saving features.
She's referring to the waterless urinals in the men's bathrooms, and the kids insist they're stinky. "I'll talk to the architects — they aren't supposed to smell," Gutter says.
Bathrooms are a big part of Gutter's job. She also just checked in with the kindergartners at Germantown's Great Seneca Creek Elementary to see how they like their dual-flush toilets. (They love them, especially the labels that explain, in detail, which button to push based on what's in the bowl.) She's collecting their thoughts to help the USGBC, the nonprofit that created the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system, build a model of a green school that will tour the country.
Across town, Marty Kearns and his five co-workers at Green Media Toolshed are helping eco-friendly companies interact with journalists, providing consulting services and training for young organizations. These two companies couldn't be more different, but they have something in common. That fashionable, ubiquitous, let's-hope-it's-more-than-a-buzzword, green. Suddenly, having a green job doesn't have to mean donning hip waders and sampling stream beds for pesticides, though it can.
"Green jobs," the umbrella term encompassing solar-panel installers, environmental engineers, lobbyists and horticulturists, seem to be everywhere. Nonprofits and research groups estimate millions of jobs will be created by 2020. The industry was worth $265 billion in 2005 and is growing, says Kevin Doyle of eco-consulting firm Green Economy.
It's funny how these things start, how these seeds, if you will, get planted. A newspaper article about polar bears sparks outrage, or maybe pollution hits closer to home in the form of the Chesapeake. Or maybe the perfect job happens to combine two passions. Gutter, 26, has been with USGBC for almost a year. She started her career as a teacher, then worked for a year at a green architecture firm.
In 2006, she attended USGBC's Greenbuild conference and learned the organization would soon create a separate LEED certification for schools. (Previously, schools could be certified under the council's "New Construction" standards.) "I remember calling my mom, saying, ‘I figured out what I want to do,'" says Gutter. She learned she'd need experience working in a school that was already LEED-approved, "so, I called the Montgomery County school district and said, ‘How would you like a free intern?' [They said], ‘You can start in three days.'"
Continue Reading "A Changing Job Climate: Green Jobs Grow in D.C." »
Addison Road