Fill sterilized jar with 1 pound assorted hot peppers such as jalapenos, serranos, and habaneros. In a large pot over high heat, bring 4 cups of apple cider vinegar and 2 tablespoons kosher salt to a boil. Remove pot from heat and ladle hot vinegar-salt mixture over peppers, seal jar. Allow jar to sit for a minimum of 1 week before using. Refrigerate after opening.

Yogurt Pops
Finn absolutely loves yogurt pops.  Here’s a quick and easy recipe to make your own. Use only the ripest fruit in your fruit bowl—cherries, berries, bananas, peaches—and mash with a little sugar. Then stir into plain unsweetened yogurt. Freeze the pops in plastic molds using popsicle sticks – you can buy them at the craft store.  Adults love them too.

Decorating. Rather than turn on every light in the house, save electricity and set the mood by killing some lights and dimming others. Hang strings of LED bulbs, which last longer and use less electricity than typical incandescent bulbs.

Food. Cooking a full-fledged meal for a crowd can drain you and your kitchen of energy. Host a potluck to lighten the load and ask guests to bring fresh salads and raw vegetables. Regardless of what you cook, opt for local ingredients.

Table Settings. Use real dishes and silverware. Sure, you’ll have more cleanup, but you’ll drastically reduce waste. If you must use disposable, look for eco-friendly options.

Drink. Aluminum is relatively easy to recycle, so offer cans of soda rather than bottles. If you’re purchasing wine or beer, shop around for local and regional labels.

Cleanup. Set up bins or decorative baskets to gather recyclables. If you have a dishwasher, scrape dishes clean and fill it full for optional energy and water savings. Want to finish cleanup before you can run another load? Fill the sink with warm soapy water rather than leave the faucet running.

Invitations. Avoid waste by forgoing paper invitations. Instead, send an e-mail or an invite from evite.com or paperlesspost.com.

• 3/4 pound prosciutto, sliced thinly
• 1 tub chive whipped cream cheese.
• 18 spears fresh asparagus, blanched

Boil water in a large skillet and blanch trimmed aparagus spears for 2-3 minutes.

Preheat oven to broil (high heat)

Spread prosciutto slices with whipped chive cream cheese. Wrap slices around 2 or 3 asparagus spears. Arrange wrapped spears in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Bake until cream cheese just starts to melt.  Serve immediately.

Along with President Obama, which was one of the 30 finalists in the MoveOn.org Manifest Hope competition, she’s created portraits of Mother Theresa, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Abraham Lincoln, Michael Jackson and more.

http://www.eleanorpigman.blogspot.com/

Since 2006, A Fresh Squeeze has helped Chicagoland’s conscious community to live more simply and sustainably through timely information and tips, Since then, A Fresh Squeeze has built a loyal, opt-in following of subscribers throughout Chicagoland.

In January 2010, they unveiled a website driven and managed by an entire community of local experts, businesses, video producers and sustainability enthusiasts, with the idea of making the Chicagoan’s path to sustainability easier through a single, integrated resource. The new Squeeze features several new twists:

Regular columns are written by local green gurus in design, events, parenting and nutrition, to name a few.

SqueezeTV features short-form local shows about green living, produced by A Fresh Squeeze as well as other area video and TV producer.

Green job board aims to link conscious Chicagoans with opportunities they can be passionate about.

Green business directory is actively managed by the businesses themselves, to ensure the most up-to-date information and highest level of transparency.

Fresh Deals enables visitors to dynamically search the constantly-changing discounts and promotions offered by area merchants through their Squeeze Card™ sustainable savings program.

This is a super party dessert.