The Green Movement has been around for a while. But defiantly in the past year has gained momentum finally in the United States. The New Bank of America Building being built in NYC is completely GREEN receiving platinum LEED standing. The Economist Last issue was on – How business is tackling climate change. Positive initiatives are taking place. But here is one for the kitchen. I know some people have been doing this for a while but next time you go to market to pick up your groceries why not bring your own BAG.
Living in NYC I would usually bring a backpack to the grocery store it just makes it easier to carry groceries home and up flights of stairs! Recently, I received this great grocery bag, as a gift, it is the Trader Joe’s grocery bag. When I opened it there were many envious individuals☺ Thank you Mary! (It was explained to me this could also double as a beach bag) I am a big believer that it is all the little things that matter and taking your own grocery bag to the store is a start! Otherwise it will end up in the city landfill.
I thought this was a great gift and I will probably be giving it to others. It could make for a fun hostess gift.

About once a month, I attend a wine night with fr. We’ve tried everything from: white, red, sparkling, rose, regions, and last week- boxed! Now there are many different ways in which you could host a wine night. For now I will tell you how the one I attend is organized.

• It is usally about 14-15 people with new people coming each time.
• The hostess starts the evening by describing each of the wines that we will be trying. There are four wines wrapped up so we cannot see what we are tasting.
• We each pick a number out of a hat so groups are organized randomly.
• There is a sheet where we list things about each wine after we taste it from flavor to color.
• Once we have completed the rounds, the hostess does a recap and askes questions about what we thought about the different wines as they are revealed. (The hostess has titled this night Wine Snobs in Training)
• There is always scrumptious nibbles to be had!
• Each attendee chips in $10 to help cover the costs.

Now this wine night requires a lot of work on behalf of the hostess. Another way it could be done is each person brings a Pinot Grigio from Italy (with a little research) and the hostess prepares some Italian sides to accompany.

It is a great way to get new and old people together !

I have always liked flowers. I vividly remember when I was about five years old my parents came back from Paris and my mother had purchased sugared flowers from Fauchons. At the time I thought this was one of the coolest things ever. Flowers are an easy way to decorate a dish, use them in a dessert or a salad. In f act, there are a group of flowers that are edible.

Here are a group of edible flowers:

Carnation, Chrysanthemum, Cornflower, Daisy, Gardenia, Honeysuckle, Lavender, Marigold, Nasturtium, Pansy, Peony, Rose, Viola, Violet.

Sugared Flowers
Coat petals with frothy egg whites and then cover with super fine sugar, let dry on a rack