Sylvie

In the fridge:

2 large Leeks
A half a block Parmesan Reggiano-grated
1 large Tomato

In the pantry:

300g of Spinach Fettuccine
1 tsp. Olive Oil
Crushed Chilies- a pinch
Salt and pepper to taste

The Recipe: Spinach Fettuccine with Leek and Tomato Marmalade

Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes; Cooking time: About 20 minutes

Chop leeks, first in half lengthwise, then crosswise into thin slices. Poor the oil in a skillet and sauté leeks on medium to low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until they are slightly golden and soften. Start boiling the water, cook the fettuccine in boiling water, 10-11 minutes for al dente pasta. Cut the fresh tomato, skin on, in small 1 inch cubes and mix with the leeks, sauté for an additional 3 -5 minutes.
To finish, dress the fettuccine in a pasta plate, pour the desired amount of the leek and tomato sauce over the pasta, sprinkle a small amount of fresh grated Parmesan Reggiano over the dish. You may grind some fresh ground pepper over the dish to your taste.

Cook’s note:
The leeks have a soft buttery texture and sweet flavor prepared this way. They complement the pungent taste of the aged Parmesan. The tomato adds a fresh twist to the dish. You may add chicken, tofu or poached eggs to this further complement this meal.

Bon appétit!

~Sylvie Ryan, Boise Co-op Culinary Educator

Patty loves reusable bags!

Be conscious of resources and waste!

Boise Co-op encourages everyone to shop consciously and use reusable bags. We now have reusable shopping bags from post-consumer recycled material for 99 cents available at the front of the store!

Be proactive in your consumer behavior! Thank you to all who commit to waste reduction!!!

The following article is sourced from www.reusablebags.com. I encourage all of you to visit the site and witness the constant and rapidly changing number of plastic bags consumed this year displayed at the top… at the time of my posting, it was at 7,990,796,668!

**Facts and figures regarding the true cost of plastic bags**

Want to know more about Ireland’s wildly successful PlasTax? How about numbers on consumption? Think paper bags are better than plastic bags?…Think again, and be in the know.

Top Facts – Consumption

# Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.

# According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.

# According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)

# According to the industry publication Modern Plastics, Taiwan consumes 20 billion bags a year – 900 per person.

# According to Australia’s Department of Environment, Australians consume 6.9 billion plastic bags each year – 326 per person. An estimated 0.7% or 49,600,000 end up as litter each year.

Top Facts – Environmental Impact

# Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.

# Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade – breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.

# As part of Clean Up Australia Day, in one day nearly 500,000 plastic bags were collected.

# Windblown plastic bags are so prevalent in Africa that a cottage industry has sprung up harvesting bags and using them to weave hats, and even bags. According to the BBC, one group harvests 30,000 per month.

# According to David Barnes, a marine scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, plastic bags have gone “from being rare in the late 80s and early 90s to being almost everywhere from Spitsbergen 78 degrees North [latitude] to Falklands 51 degrees South [latitude].”

# Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation.

Top Facts – Solutions

# In 2001, Ireland consumed 1.2 billion plastic bags, or 316 per person. An extremely successful plastic bag consumption tax, or PlasTax, introduced in 2002 reduced consumption by 90%. Approximately 18,000,000 liters of oil have been saved due to this reduced production. Governments around the world are considering implementing similar measures.

# July 2003, ReusableBags.com goes live, advancing the mainstream adoption of reusable shopping bags.

# Each high quality reusable shopping bag you use has the potential to eliminate hundreds, if not thousands, of plastic bags over its lifetime.

Ryan, Vachel and Patty, doin' their part