Multi-grain peasant bread
Proving yeast
  ● 1 tbsp dry yeast
  ● 1/4 tsp. sugar
  ● 1 c. warm water
Bread
  ● 2 c. all purpose flour
  ● 4-5 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
  ● 1 c. rolled oats
  ● 1/3 c. cracked wheat or bulgur
  ● 1/4 c. plus 1 tbsp. yellow cornmeal
  ● 3 tbsp. sesame seeds
  ● 2 1/4 tsp. salt
  ● 2 c. warm water
  ● 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
Glaze
  ● 1 egg white beaten with
  ● 1 tbsp water

Directions:
1. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over 1 cup warm water in small bowl; stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy.

2. Meanwhile, combine all purpose flour, 2 cups whole wheat flour, rolled oats, cracked wheat, 1/4 cup cornmeal, sesame seeds and salt in bowl of heavy duty mixer fitted with dough hook. (I have also added sunflower seeds from time to time).

3. Slowly add 2 cups warm water and oil and beat until well combined. Mix in dissolved yeast. Add whole wheat flour slowly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Continue beating 3 minutes (dough will be slightly sticky). Let dough rest in bowl several minutes.

4. Turn dough onto heavily floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (the finger poke test should produce a lasting divet), kneading in additional flour if necessary (sometimes I don't have to do this part at all). Lightly oil large bowl. Add dough, turning to coat entire surface. Cover with damp towel and let rise in draft free area until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

5. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon cornmeal on baking sheet or grease bread pans. With well floured hands, divide dough in half. Pat one piece into 9 inch wide rectangle. Starting at one 9 inch side, roll up tightly jelly roll fashion and shape into an oval loaf. Repeat with remaining dough and place loaves seam side down on prepared sheet or pans. Cover with towel and let rise 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slash tops of loaves with sharp knife. Bake 20 minutes. Brush top with glaze and vontinue baking until loaves brown and sound hollow when tapped, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and turn out to cool on racks. Wait about 5 minutes, then try a piece while it's warm!

Whole Foods Strawberry Cake

cake ingredients:
• 2 cups Flour
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 tbsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 4 Eggs
• ½ cup Butter, melted
• 1 cup Pureed Strawberries, fresh or frozen and thawed
• ½ cup Milk

Icing ingredients
• 16 oz. Cream Cheese (room temperature)
• ½ stick Butter (room temperature)
• 2 cups Powdered Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla

directions:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13 cake pan and set aside.
• Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat remaining ingredients together. Add to dry, beating with a wire whisk. Pour into prepared cake pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until done when tested with a toothpick.
• To make the frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Nutrition Info
Recipe makes 12 servings. Per Serving (140g-wt.): 410 calories (120 from fat), 13g total fat, 8g saturated fat, 1g dietary fiber, 5g protein, 71g carbohydrate, 100mg cholesterol, 350mg sodium (with first frosting)

My own notes: I made this using King Arthur organic pastry flour, Whole Foods frozen organic strawberries, and I colored the frosting using India Tree natural food coloring.

As for making the cake into a train? I turned the cake out onto cooling racks and when it was mostly cool wrapped it in wax paper and put it in the freezer for 2 hours so it would be stiff enough to work with. Using a bread knife I cut train car shapes (rectangles) and stacked them as need be to give the train more height (since the cake was denser than I'd expected and therefore thinner). Looking at the picture you can see where I cut larger or smaller rectangles and stacked them to give the engine and caboose their shapes. To make the rounded engine front I used the bread knife to give one of the rectangles rounded edges, making it half a cylinder.

The track is made with organic pretzels for cross ties and organic fruit twists for tracks. The wheels are organic cookies, the smoke stack an organic ice cream cone with the pointed tip cut off. The sides of the box cars, which are carrying raspberries, blueberries, and a 4 candle, are just very thin slices of the cake itself, and the bars on the animal cage are more pretzels, and four of them are candles. The animals, of course, are an elephant and a hippo from a box of organic animal cookies. At candle lighting time we filled the smoke stack with ice cream, just for fun.

Margherita pizza (my own take)
Ingredients (dough):
  ● 3-3/4 cups bread flour
  ● 1 pkg rapid-rise yeast
  ● 1/2 tsp salt
  ● 1-1/2 cups warm water (~100-120F)
  ● 1 tbsp honey
  ● 1 tbsp olive oil
(toppings):
  ● olive oil
  ● 2 lbs fresh mozzarella (1 inch sized balls, sliced)
  ● 2-3 tomatoes, sliced
  ● fresh basil leaves, torn
  ● prosciutto (optional—we used prosciutto wrapped in mozzarella)

Directions:
Fresh mozzarella balls should be drained for several hours to eliminate extra moisture. I started mine draining six hours before we made our pizzas by pouring the whole balls into a colunder lined with a clean towel and placing it over a plate in the refrigerator.

Combine 3 cups of the flour, the yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add the warm water, honey, and olive oil, stirring until mixture begins to leave the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface knead for about 10 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic, adding enough of the remaining flour to keep the dough from sticking.

Place the dough in a large oiled bowl and turn it to coat evenly. Cover with a damp towel and keep warm and free from drafts (I warm my oven just a tad ahead of time then set it in there with the oven off). Let the dough rise for 30-40 minutes or until doubled in size.

Punch the dough down and knead, on a lightly floured surface, about ten times to release the air bubbles. Cut the dough in half and shape each piece into a ball. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes, then roll or pat each ball into a 12 inch round. Place rounds on pizza stones or other baking sheet. Use a brush to coat lightly and evenly with olive oil, then top with tomato slices, cheese slices, prosciutto (if using), and torn fresh basil leaves. Bake at 450 for 10-13 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is beginning to brown.

Pappardelle is a wide ribbon Italian noodle. I made two different kinds—a standard white flour noodle and a spinach noodle. Of the two our favorite was actually the spinach noodle, and I have a it on my list to try a whole wheat noodle next time as well.

Homemade pappardelle

Ingredients:
  ● 2 cups flour
  ● 2 large eggs
  ● 1/4 cup water
  ● 1-1/2 tsp olive oil

Directions:
1. Put 1-1/2 cups of the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the center of flour and add eggs, water, and olive oil. Stir until flour is moistened and leaves the side of the bowl.

2. See step two (and on) below,

Homemade spinach pappardelle

Ingredients:
  ● 1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
  ● 1 large eggs
  ● 1-1/2 cups flour
  ● 3-4 tbsp water
  ● 1/2 tsp olive oil

Directions:
1. In a blender or food processor, combine the spinach and egg; cover and blend until pureed. Put 1 coup of the flour into a large bowl; make a well in the center and add the spinach puree, 3 tablespoons of water, and the olive oil. Stir until well blended, adding additional water if it seems dry.

2. Turn the dough out onto a slightly floured surface and gather it into a ball. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic, adding as much of the remaining flour as need to keep it from sticking (be careful, though, too much flour will make for brittle noodles).

3. Shape the dough into two equal balls; wrap each ball in wax paper and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

4. Working with one ball at a time, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and flatten it into a round withthe palm of your hand, then use a rolling pin to roll it into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/16-inch thick. If the dough is too elastic to roll out, recover and allow it to rest longer. Once rolled thin, cover loosely with a towel and allow to try for 30 minutes.

5. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut dough to desired width of noodle (pappardelle is usually about 3/4-inch wide). Separate noodles and allow to dry for another 30 minutes to 2 hours (I draped mine over my cooling racks. I also have a friend whose Italian mother does not dry additionally but just drops the noodles right in to cook, so I'll be trying that next time).

6. To cook noodles, bring salted water to a boil and add noodles for just 2-3 minutes—they cook fast, so don't overdo it!

And here they are, served with spicy Italian sausage sauteed in olive oil and 3 cloves of garlic with julienned red and yellow peppers, and vidalia onions and garnished with chopped fresh tomatoes and basil (from our garden!). This was superb!

Avocado and Watercress Salad

Ingredients:
  ● 1/4 cup rice vinegar (not seasoned)
  ● 1 tbsp. grated sweet onion such as Vidalia or Walla Walla (use large holes of a box grater)
  ● 1/4 cup finely grated peeled Gala apple (use small holes of box grater)
  ● 4 tsp. soy sauce
  ● 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
  ● 6 cups watercress (thin stems and leaves only; from 1 large bunch)
  ● 1 firm but ripe avocado

Directions:
Stir together vinegar, onion, apple, soy sauce, and sugar until sugar has dissolved, then stir in oil.

Just before serving, toss watercress with enough dressing to coat. Quarter, pit, and peel avocado, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Gently toss with watercress.

Maybe the best way to celebrate Earth Day is to make a pledge, on this day, to celebrate and protect our planet every day for the next year, and every year thereafter, by making just small changes one at a time. Making just one change at a time keeps me from feeling overwhelmed, and focusing on that change for an extended period of time helps me to really internalize the change, to make it a long term lifestyle change instead of a temporary one that will come and go as quickly as any fad. We have been working on making little changes for quite some time now, but the following is a list I found in an article on the Care2 website and it seems like a good place to start. I have highlighted the changes we have already made in our household, and clearly it has taken us more than a single year to complete even those changes, but whether the transformation is quick or drawn out, any improvement is better than none at all.

Months 1-3: Your Kitchen

• Replace food in kitchen with organic, whole foods.
• Replace plastic cooking utensils with wood or bamboo.
• Replace Teflon and aluminum cookware.
• Switch to nontoxic cleansers.
• Safely dispose of toxic cleansers.
• Install a water filter. (on our list for this month)

Months 4-6: Your Body

• Replace formaldehyde-treated linens with organic.
• Replace dry cleaning with laundering.
• Replace commercial wash detergents with eco-products.
• Replace skin care products with natural, organic products.
• Avoid using “disposable” products of all kinds.

Months 7-9: Your Home

• Replace toxic carpets with renewable wood or bamboo.
• Dispose of toxic pesticides for natural repellents.
• Purchase an air purifier. (on our list for this summer)
• Replace pressboard furniture with renewable wood pieces.
• Use alternative building materials for renovation projects.
• Use low VOC paints in place of toxic brands.

Months 10-12: Your Energy Use

• Drive your car less and walk, ride a bike, or share rides.
• Keep your car tuned and/or buy a hybrid.
• Wash your laundry with cold water.
• Insulate your home to cut down on energy use.
• Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.
• Replace commercial batteries with rechargeable batteries.

Wednesday: Grilled chili lime shrimp, bulgur salad, pear slices

Thursday: Stuffed portobellos, spinach salad, kiwi (vegetarian)

Friday: Leftover shrimp and bulgur salad, peaches

Saturday: Cheese and nut stuffed shells, spinach salad with cranberries and toasted almonds, pudding and berries for dessert (vegetarian)

Sunday: Leftover portobellos, wilted kale, limed apple slices

Monday: Zucchini and cheese frittata, orange slices

Wednesday: Veggie lentil tostadas, strawberries (vegetarian)

Thursday: Grilled pesto burgers with provolone and tomato on homemade buns, grilled zucchini, canteloup and blueberries.

Friday: Chicken scallopini, wilted chard, canteloup and blueberries

Saturday: Leftover pesto burgers sprinkled over whole wheat spaghetti with green onions, tomatoes, feta, and spinach, pear crumble

Sunday: Leftover chicken scallopini, zucchini, kiwi

Monday: Quiche with feta, spinach, and mushrooms, orange slices

Sesame Tofu Stir Fry

Ingredients:
  ● 1/4  cup finely chopped peanuts
  ● 1  tbsp. sesame seeds
  ● 1  tsp. grated fresh ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  ● 1  12- ounce package extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  ● 1  tbsp. sesame or peanut oil
  ● 1  16- oz. bag frozen stir-fry vegetables, thawed, or fresh veggies chopped (I often use fresh broccoli, carrots, peas, or whatever I have on hand)
  ● 2/3  cup bottled stir-fry sauce or something similar (or your own concoction)
  ● 2  green onions, thinly sliced (1/4 cup)
  ● 1 cup forest or shitake mushrooms

Directions:
1. In a bowl combine 1 tablespoon of the peanuts, the sesame seeds, and ginger. Add tofu; toss gently to coat.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu mixture to skillet. Cook, stirring gently, for 3 to 4 minutes until sesame seeds are toasted and tofu begins to brown.

3. Remove tofu mixture to a bowl (I usually just push it up to the sides of the wok). Add vegetables to skillet; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through. Add stir-fry sauce; cook and stir gently until mixture is bubbly. Stir in tofu; heat through. Serve over rice. Sprinkle each serving with some of the remaining 3 tablespoons peanuts and the green onions.

Nutrition Facts (makes 4 servings)
    * Calories 386,
    * Total Fat (g) 14,
    * Saturated Fat (g) 2,
    * Fiber (g) 6,
    * Protein (g) 19

Wednesday: Grilled salmon, grilled zucchini, feta orzo, pineapple

Thursday: Leftover stir fry, grapefruit wedges (vegetarian)

Friday: Dinner out to celebrate Calvin's first piano lesson

Saturday: Homemade pizza with pepperoni and mushrooms, spinach salad, pear slices

Sunday: Grilled English cheese sandwiches with tomato, spinach salad, apple slices (vegetarian)

Monday: Leftover pizza