Earth day!

I contributed for Earth Day by doing a poster with Ester and Mylene that explained Malnutrition and Obesity. Our goal was to shock people about the big difference around the world. There is a billion of people in Africa that dies from Malnutrition and a billion of people in the US die from obesity! This is a big contrast and our poster tried to show that.

Many people came to see our poster and everyone was really shocked as we expected because we all know the truth but we do not do anything to stop it or at least help. People really appreciate the fact that we made up some poster to educate them a little more. They learned a lot.

I enjoyed a lot Earth Day in Vanier, theree were many kiosk that we could go see and all of them brought something new to our knowledge. there was the petition against bottle of water that the majority of the people sign even if they drink into bottle of water. A booth that i found really compelling was the one with the brownies! i couldnt believe that animals contributed to it and i love brownies! Finally, i really enjoyed Earth Day, it was really constructive.

Earth Day!!

On April 22nd Jess, Theresa and I made a poster about water pollution and how companies would destroy these trees that protects the lands from hurricanes just to build these shrimp farms. I drew the poster which took me about 1 hour and a half because I was thinking about the outline and what to put on it and how to display it. My part in the project was to talk about what chemicals were admit into the sea and rivers, slowly mutating the fish and plants underwater and how they had to close down beaches because they were filled with waste, chemicals, and diseases.

A lot of people found our project pretty interesting, however some did avoid coming towards us because they were busy. The title stood out a lot because it was very colorful and attracted a few people to stop and read a few notes we posted. We did explain to quite a few about how all the farming was cause this pollution and as well as the waste land. Even though our poster stood out a lot, I credit the classmates for a job well done on their posters.

Honestly, I was surprised to see a lot of people participate. My point of view on presenting information to other students was just another project and boring, that day made me change the way I saw everything. It was fun and interesting and all the students were having fun. The one I found the most interesting was the worms, I never get grossed out so it didn't bother me at all, they even asked me to eat one. I hope they were joking about that. I always love animals so when we where heading towards Jake's I instantly ran towards the dog as soon as my eyes laid on it, it was the most adorable thing ever. It didn't bark and was very calm, he was rescued from a puppy mill after being trapped there for 7-8 years. I never supported mills and was really happy to offer my love towards that adorable dog.

Earth day was really interesting and fun because everyone at Vanier participated, without an audience there will be no one to entertain. I've also learned how to make my own iced tea! It didn't taste sweet even though I put 3 spoons of sugar but I felt refreshed and it didn't cost me a penny.

Earth Day

Earth Day is an opportunity for people to get crucial information about our planet and how we treat it, and it also puts the environment in the much-needed spotlight. I contributed to the activities taking place in Jake’s by presenting an informational poster about our eating habits, including the Slow Food Movement. Although it was difficult to get people to stop and read our poster, those who did seemed interested by the information we gave them. I myself was quite interested in several of the kiosks that were set up, but the one that was the most enthralling for me was the one about prison farming. It was presented by a representative of “Save Our Farms”, which is a campaign aimed at keeping Canada’s six prison farms open, despite the Prime Minister’s plans to shut them down. Prison farms have existed for 125 years now, and shutting them down, especially in such uncertain times, would definitely be a terrible loss to our nation. These institutions give prisoners the chance to rehabilitate themselves and to give back to the community, as well as learn several useful skills. Also, they create locally grown food. You can find more information about prison farms, and sign the online petition at http://www.saveourfarms.ca/index.html.

April 22nd: Earth Day

Before I begin, I would like to thank those of my classmates who donated to the 30 Hour Famine during Earth Day. Over 200$ has been raised thus far.

During the event, as previously mentioned, I was raising money for World Vision's event. I was also participating as a member of the Food Fight Humanities class, and working as a member of the Vanier Social Justice Committee to support the ban of plastic water bottles on campus and to raise support in keeping open the last six prison farms in Canada (one of which is slated to close in June of this year).

With my class, we did a poster around the theme of "What ARE you eating?" since people are consuming who knows what every time they eat. People seemed to be interested in our poster, but really didn't want to know while they were eating. I think it was the pictures that we stuck all over the place that drew attention to us. Some of them were just plain creepy, which a lot of people commented on.

I really liked the college activities and really wished I could have gotten a better look at some of them. The dog at the Against Puppy Mills table was just so adorable and a great attention grabber. He was just to die for. The worm table was also awesome, mainly because (weird as this is) I watched a worm- chosen completely at random- give birth on my finger. It was bizarre.

Out of all the kiosks that I saw, the most interesting one to me was done by a classmate. It was the one with all drawings and no information. It was just so out there. I found myself asking "How does Spongebob Squarepants and Garfield relate at all to Earth Day?" The rest of the drawings were understandable, but I felt compelled to know what the whole idea was. I had a vague idea to begin with, but the poster was so well done since we are required to ask questions. Good job, guys!

All in all, it was a good day. Take care now, everyone!

Alicia Scott

Vanier Earth Day!

Who would’ve thought that I’d participate in an activity occurring in Jake’s Mall! I never interest myself to the events that occur at Vanier College during school times; however, this time, I had to and I’m glad it was so, since Earth day on April 22nd was quite interesting and fun!
On this day, Karine, Sofia and I informed other students about issues in the developing world. Although the fact that there is a lack of clean water and food in third world countries is known to all, we explained to them the reasons for this problem, showed them pictures and gave them shocking statistics. While explaining to others, I felt like I was specialized in my topic and could talk for hours about this issue because I spent a good amount of time researching about it for my research paper. Individuals were listening carefully, while we were informing them, because we all know about the poverty in poor nations, but we gave them thorough reasons as to how a decrease in the amount of food was due to farmers suicides, companies who lied to India for their own profit, etc. It felt good to raise awareness about this subject; however I believe that as students, most of the explanations we gave them would probably slip their mind one day or another, thus it would have been nice to collect money at the same time as well, to give to a fund such as WFP, World Food Programme. With this, we’d not only raise awareness, but we would help directly to the cause. As an adolescent, issues such as hunger push me to want to make a change, but raising awareness does not help that much because it does not directly help to reduce hunger rates. If I gave money to a fund, I would know that I actually gave some food to a person who may have been near death due to a lack of food or water.
Other people’s booths were really interesting as well. I loved that there were activities outside too! People were planting spices and using solar energy to boil water. Since the weather was nice, it felt like Earth Day! Additionally, I got a free recyclable bag and reusable water bottle, for signing a petition against plastic water bottles at school! It was worth staying there for 2 hours, since I raised awareness and others taught me about other issues, ways to help our Earth, etc. as well. One fascinating booth was about vermicomposting. There was a bunch of earth, worms and organic matter in buckets. The organic matter was decomposing; however the worms made this process go faster and resulted to a richer earth. This activity was compelling because it was not only people speaking, but you saw the worms; it was sort of interactive. It was interesting to learn that worms could better our earth; this thought never crossed my mind. Also, another attention-grabbing information was that you could actually cook with worms! Recipes were posted up on the board and although it disgusted me, it was surprising and I definitely learnt something new from that booth on Earth Day. People should inform themselves about this because they can recycle their organic waste. As a result, the soil will be richer and there will be less garbage in landfills, which better our environment.
Earth Day has made me think twice about not participating at activities at Vanier. Next time, I hope my curiosity will help me to walk around and actually look and listen to what the people at the booths are trying to get us to be aware of.

Earth Day at Vanier

I have to say, nothing is better than dedicating an entire day to our planet to remind ourselves of the terrible damage we are doing to it. Too bad it’s not like this every day, our selfish needs are way too important for every person to think twice about their actions. This is what made my day interesting on April 22nd, given that, it gave me a chance to stop and think of what is really going on and how I, myself am contributing to the damage of the planet. My only disappointment that day was the fact that not many students came to visit our stand with our posters. Perhaps that may be due to the fact that we did not have a very welcoming stands as others did. For instance, we were not able to compete with groups who offered good “attention-grabbers” like free cotton candy, ice tea, and popcorn. In addition, other groups had more visitors since they were situated in the center of “Jake’s cafeteria” as opposed to us who were all the way in the back of the room. Nevertheless, besides the fact that my group and I were not as promotive, at the end of the day, I felt like a proud supporter of earth day and I was happy to participate in this event. Another thing I really enjoyed was visiting other student’s stands and learning something new for myself. For example, a group who offered free “Ice Tea” caught my attention and taught me the significance of “fair trade”. This changed my whole perspective of earth day since it made me realize that April 22nd is not about being “green” towards the planet, instead, it is about respecting the planet as a whole; that includes ourselves and others. In a nutshell, besides the fact that my group and I did not have as many visitors as we had expected, it was a wonderful experience supporting earth day at Vanier. I got to learn new things and teach new things. It really felt good participating in a good movement like this one; I would definitely do it again.

Earth Day

Blog Report: Earth Day



For Earth Day, I contributed, evidently, by creating a poster with a group and put it up in Jake’s mall. The poster spoke about fast food, and obesity. Other than that, I used a reusable water bottle as opposed to my normal plastic water bottles.

The class’s posters caught a lot of people’s attention, and I’m sure they learned things they did not already know. A lot of the information on the posters were either surprising, or simply interesting to know. I noticed a lot of people were signing the petitions that were circling around.

I enjoyed what the college provided, as it was informative and generally different. One booth that appealed to me was the animal cruelty booth, although I have to admit it was because they had a live dog named Romeo, who was super tiny. The booth obviously explained animal cruelty and had two petitions of which I signed.

Another booth that was interesting was the booth talking about plastic water bottles. It’s important to be conscious of this topic because many (including myself on occasion) decide to trash water bottles instead of recycling them. Water bottles currently greatly contribute to global warming, where 86 % of water bottles end up in the garbage, and how the production of water bottles produces tons of carbon dioxide.

In total, I enjoyed Vanier’s participation for Earth Day, and enjoyed contributing to it myself.



http://www.scribd.com/doc/15452114/Water-Bottle-Global-Warmingppt

This link provides most of the information given for bottled water.

James Lapierre ~ Earth Day Contribution

Earth Day

On Earth Day, I spent an hour and a half walking around in Jakes Mall looking at other peoples posters. The expositions that i enjoyed the most were the ones on animal abuse and cruelty, Educating inmates and bottled water. I learnt how people drink so much bottled water, and not recycle the bottles! If everyone just bought reusable water bottles we would decrease pollution. The animal cruelty exsposition was the most impacting one. So many animals are killed for food or for just plain cruelty.If we all ate less meat, and treated our animals with respect, our world would be a better place. Animals are helpless little creatures who do no harm to humans. They don't deserve to be mistreated. Also, by eating less meat, our bodies would be less inclined to developing certain diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

As for my poster, my group and I did it on the dissapearing fish and the high mercury levels in fish that we eat. My contribution had to do with the dissapearing fish. I think overall, students were shocked to find out that mercury levels in fish were rising and that our fish was dissapearing!

I felt that over all, the colleges participation was fantastic! Everyone asked questions and learnt a lot. People were willing to stand there and listen to other people talk about issues that they were passionate about.

By Jessica Ghaleb

Earth Day.

For Earth Day awareness, Cindy, Jess and I made a poster on aquaculture. We painted a picture of the shore with some undamaged mangroves. Well, at least, we tried. Then, we glued some quotes and information from our research. The purpose of our poster was to point out key facts about aquaculture and the awareness about fish, I didn’t talk to the public directly. I saw they read our posters and commented on the picture. Overall, their reaction was not overwhelming, but it was not ignorant either.

I visited some of the other booths. I signed petition about selling water bottles in vending machines. There was a petition about animal cruelty. I think I learned most from fair trade group, served with free fair trade ice tea. It was not something I didn’t know about, but I learned about the fair trade logo and how to incorporate fair trade items into my lifestyle.

Sources:

http://www.fairtrade.net/

Earth Day! ( Yayy)

As all of you know, last Thursday was Earth Day. In order to contribute to the mission of raising awareness, my group and I made a poster that represented the main ideas of our research papers. Our poster was entitled “The Consequences of your Choices” and had for main goal to make people realize that what they eat, drink and use has an impact on the environment. On our art creation, we put different pictures of how mass media portrays our food: a big hamburger as presented by fast food chains, fresh milk, a large field and ultimately, a healthy earth. Under each of our picture, we put the reality of the situation. Under our hamburger, we showed people how their meat actually looked liked: in an inhumane way. Under the fresh dairy product, we showed a dairy cow and how mistreated it looked. Under our healthy earth, we put the true consequences of our actions: a rapidly degrading earth. We hoped that people would stop being fooled by what mass media (who care only about money) portrays and get informed. We quickly realized that most people were totally unaware of what they eat and how it affects the planet.
Also, my friend Natasha and I contributed to earth day by walking around the school ground in a cardboard car. One of our goals was to complete a survey to determine how students got to school: public transport, car, walk, bike, carpool etc. Another one of our goals was to promote carpooling, which is an easy way to save our environment, one ride at a time.
One of the booths I found interesting was the one promoting the lifestyle of vegan’s. Indeed, I find it interesting because not many people are aware that it IS possible to live without relying solely on animal products. The booth offered vegan brownies (which contained NO animal products) to show that there is always a healthier and better way. Of course, I do not mean by that that everyone must become vegan, but that certain little changes in your lifestyle can make a difference. For example, I know drink a lot of almond milk, which contains no animal products, which in turn does not affect our earth.

Blog Report: Earth Day

This past Earth Day, my partner Julian Hanopol and I created a poster on Malnutrition. The purpose of our poster was to make people become aware of it being an increasingly dangerous and important factor in our society, and everywhere around the world. We provided statistics, habits, impacts, and solutions to this rising problem. People from the Vanier community reacted just like Julian and I did when we started researching this topic. We were all aware that obesity was a problem, often seen in the United States, but to that extent? We had no idea. What is even more breath taking is that it isn’t only the poor that are not fed correctly, but the average to wealthy families are too! Thinking they are making the child happy and doing everything it can to please them, parents tend to buy junk food for their child, because it is what they ask for. Also, families nowadays don’t have much time to spend in the kitchen, and so take the easy way out, by going to a drive-through to buy something cheap and quick, but filling for their child.

Vanier’s activities were quite spectacular. I didn’t expect that many people to take part in the event and put so much effort and enthusiasm in explaining their project. To highlight a few, I recall seeing a petition to ban plastic bottles at the college, animal abuse and mistreatment, fruits and vegetables importance, factories abusing people in third-world countries through low wages, and so on…

Many booths were extremely interesting; I must say I learned a great deal and was shocked about many different facts at various booths. The booth that brought most of my attention and greatest interest was the one where we saw animals not getting the right treatment, living with diseases, and dying at a young age for outrageous reasons. The pictures have been daunting my mind ever since. Some say we shouldn’t pay them much interest because they think that these animals are there for us to eat, but watching them suffer is unacceptable. For us meat eaters: yes, I do believe we should eat meat, but not if they are to be treated the way they are! For example, in Western society, many own dogs as a pet, but in Asia, they treat dogs the same way we treat pigs, cows, chicken here! In short, the booth provided excellent solutions to this animal slaughter; of which I will without a doubt do my best follow. I even took a recipe they handed out of amazing brownies make of ingredients having by no means traces of animal! No eggs, no butter, no milk! Seeing this, I realized it is in fact possible to reduce animal abuse by either cooking no animal ingredients as often as possible, and by buying meat, milk, butter, cheese, etc, from farms where it has been certified that the animals are well treated.

By Shelley Malfone

I’ve learned so much on Earth Day, the planet we live on is very precious and we should take good care of it. My team and I researched on bottles of water and how they are no good for us because of the toxin BPA. People at first did not believe what they would read on our posters, saying that tap water was worst then water in bottles, but we would correct them and tell them that water in bottles come from taps, it is the same water, then reaction would start and debates also. Petitions concerning bottles of water help us explain more about what was not good about them for humans and the environment, some disagreed to sign, but most did once the explanation was clear to them.


A boot that I found very interesting was the one concerning mistreated animals. That same day I was planning on buying a dog at the pet store until I listened to all the information they had to say regarding the animals that are placed in pet stores. There is nothing wrong with them expect for those who are placed at the spca, those should be the one saved or else in a matter of ten days they will get killed. Since then I am trying to convince my mother to save a dog at the spca and forget about pet shops. People should be more concerned about it, and instead of bringing their unwanted pet to the spca, why not sale them to someone you know or anyone who is willing to take care of it, the spca will not after a few weeks.

What has also fascinated me is the brownies they made us try, which contained no animal products, I must say it was delicious and I could barely taste the difference between those with animal products.


Shelley Malfone.

Here are some links.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2163416_same-foods-animal-products.html

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/

Earth Day!

To contribute to the Earth Day event, my group and I made a poster about malnutrition. Our goal was to explain the issue of malnutrition in Western countries and compare it with the malnutrition in under-developed countries. We emphasized the differences between such countries. In Western countries, people are eating too much bad and unhealthy food; whereas in contrast, in Africa for example, every three seconds a child dies because he's not eating enough. The people who read our poster showed similar and consistent reactions; they were shocked. Everybody already knows these two facts, but actually comparing them creates a great deal of concern among most people. It upset them to make link that one country and its population is abusing its abundant supply food, causing death; all the while, people in less privileged countries die not because of food choices, but because they do not have any food to choose from.

I think that the college activities were a good way to inform students about the various issues concerning our planet and its sustainability. We often hear about earth issues, but not enough people really take the time to reflect on the issues, or take the time to try to solve the issues. This event provided a great opportunity to become aware of earth issue cause. People were about to read up on earth facts and sign petitions to show support.

The project that I found the most compelling was the one on carpooling. It affects me because carpooling is a really good solution to help the environment. I think it needs to be promoted. The activity about carpooling was interesting because the person made a car out of cardboard, and people were able to ''travel around'' in it. It was an interactive and useful way to represent the situation. Other people should be conscious about carpooling because so many people are drive and carpooling is an easy way in preventing global warming. It is also a way to divide the money spent on gas.



Here are some links about malnutrition:

http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/worldmap/cida/poverty.asp?language=FR

http://www.worldfoodprize.org/assets/YouthInstitute/05proceedings/PostvilleHighSchool.pdf

Here is an interesting book about malnutrition in Western countries:

Food Matters, A Guide to Conscious Eating from Mark Bittman

Earth day

Earth Day:

To start off, I never realized how important earth day should be and how we should contribute more time to our planet. I was surprised to see everyone coming together, learning and teaching each other about the importance of earth. Most of us act without thinking about the consequences, I believe that contributing to earth day is a perfect way to open people’s minds and let them know how important it is to think before we act. Planet earth is not a person but it sure can “behave” badly if we don’t take care of it.

My contribution to earth day was informing students about food crisis regarding agriculture in India and in Africa. My poster illustrated pictures of dry crop fields in India and Africa. Nayiri, Karine and I tried broadcasting our information by using humor on the poster; I noticed what mostly “attracted” people was our slogan and our pictures that we stuck on. We presented 15 facts: few facts about water problems in India (poising water), facts about agriculture relating to the farmers well being (famine can be involved) and some facts about crop growing problems (farms and farmers are at risk). Most people knew that in countries like India problems occurred, but what they did not know is that the problems are causing a large number of suicides and famine.

The booth I found appealing was the one where they distributed the Brownies made with no animal “substance”. I never knew that animals contributed to food such as brownies and many more. After hearing all about animals and their contribution towards us, I’ve come to realize that we use and abuse living creatures just to satisfy the selfish human being. Also, I appreciate the effort made in this booth because the people standing in the booth took their time, baked the brownies and gave them out.

Here is a link of "Sugar and Other Sweeteners: Do They Contain Animal Products?"

http://www.jivdaya.org/sugar_and_other_sweeteners.htm


Sofia Zukelman

Earth Day

On earth day, my good friend Mathilde and I, got hooked up with a sweet ride. It was a cardboard box and it said " Vanier Collge Car Pool" on each side, it had headlights and stop lights, no turn signals but that was okay. We stood in the box and "drove" it around the collge, many of you may have seen us, pimpin' our ride. As we drove, we were conducting a survey which asked the question "How do you get to school?" and recieved many answers from multiple students.
Students reacted to this idea in many different ways, some were excited for the idea while some didn't even respond to our question. Students and staff were both baffled by how funny we looked, but loved the message behind the cardboard, which was "CAR POOL!" We found that what we did on earth day had an impact on those students who drove to school everyday alone.

Also I thought that earth day was an overall success, I thought that the idea of giving away free water bottles to the students who participated in petitions and listened to their arguments was an amazing approach. Not only did free stuff get many poeples attention but it informed them about subjects that were worth being informed about.
The exposition that I found most compelling was the one about animal cruelty, I found that the vularity of the pictures is always an eye opener. Seeing is believing and that is what most expositioners did that day.

Earth Day

David Carosella
My contribution to Earth Day was to recycle all items that were in paper or in plastic. If I saw any of the recycled items on the ground, I would pick it up and put it in a recycling box. There was an event that took place for the general society causing people to close down their lights for one whole day. Another efficient way of saving the environment was to use public transportation instead of taking the car to school. Not only do you save the environment, but also, you save money.
My project on Earth Day was to tell people not to eat at fast food restaurants such as McDonalds. People were surprised when I told them how the food at McDonalds was processed and injected with all kinds of chemicals. Animals were being slaughtered in a very cruel way and were sent to a factory to supply food for the public. People’s health were being at risk. I had stopped a lot of people from eating McDonald’s that day. People are now convinced of eating food that is freshly grown from the Earth ,such as fruits, vegetables, and beans.
The College’s activities were very interesting. There are many options that everyone can do to help our Earth. There was a project about how we can make objects out of used paper materials. There was a purse made out of squares of different cartons and magazines. There were also objects made out of simple popsicle sticks and straws. Every project had their unique way of saving the environment. It was very intriguing to know how there were many possibilities to make our living space a better place. It's amazing how we can make little quality materials into useful objects in society. If everyone would try to limit their pollution to the environment, we would live in a healthier place without global warming.
There was a booth on Earth day discussing on how “meat is not green”. They are trying to convert people to become vegetarians. They are explaining how the meat industry is causing global warming. Raising animals for food is causing more pollution than all cars, planes, ships, trains, and SUV’s in the world combined. In order to produce one calorie of meat, it takes approximately ten times the amount of fossil fuel than to produce one calorie of plant foods such as beans, veggies and grains. It is meat production that is the number cause of climate change. Animal agriculture uses approximately seventy percent of the world’s agricultural land and thirty percent of the planet’s total land area. It takes five thousand gallons of water to produce one pound of meat, but only twenty five gallons to grow one pound of wheat. Rain forests are being destroyed every minute in order to make room for grazing cattle.
This is compelling because we are causing harm to our environment in order to satisfy our needs. In the long term, our younger generations will suffer because of your wrong doings. Other people should be conscious because if they can buy less meat products and more fruits and vegetables, it can make a difference in society.
You can find addition information about this topic on peta2.com/MeatsNotGreen.com and http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2009/04/meats-not-green-this-earth-day-go-vegetarian-to-save-the-planet/.

Earth Day :D

My parts for this project were bringing the gore stuff about animal slaughter and turn it into something funny. We did put some funny cartoon characters in order to attract more people. We basically didn’t use any text, except for the title. A lot of students were attracted to it, it was really colourful. And one of my biggest contribution to the making of the poster was the colouring =D. A lot of students share their opinion with us as well as the students from our class. The activities they offered us during that time were very interesting. I actually liked the booth where they were trying to save the puppies from the puppy mills. They actually manage to save one, they brought it with them. They were making us sign some kind of petition in order to help them save more puppies. I am sure that not everyone is aware of puppy mills, like me at first. We should try and share this information with everyone. The way they are treated is unnatural. So if anyone wants to adopt a dog, adopt them from the puppy mills.

Puppy mills:
http://www.nopuppymillscanada.ca/

Animal slaughter (some pretty hardcore stuff: video, pictures, etc.)
http://www.animalsuffering.com/animal-cruelty.php

Earth Day :)

It is the first time i ever contribute to earth day in any way. This year along with the rest of this our class, i made a poster with 3 other students on how our actions have serious consequences. In general this is true but we were more focused on the aspect of food, and what you eat and were it comes from and what it takes to make it, and consequences relating to that. After we made the poster we we went into the cafeteria to present what we have found to the rest of Vanier. A few people did come to look at our poster and what we found. Most were shocked that all the food they were consuming was causing the world with so much pollution. Many don't consider that even the food produced to feed the animals that we will eventually eat makes a lot of pollution and contributes to global warming.
Concerning the college activities, i found they were amazing. It was so nice that so many students got involved and took the time to make other students aware. There were even people outside demonstrating solar power and planting seeds in earth. In high school i never really learned about earth day, and it is an important day, i mean our planet is the only reason were here, without the earth we wouldnt even exist. Also i think the booths set up in Jakes Mall were all very interested and interactive. They really know how to get the attention if their peers and get them to listen to what they have to say.
I don't know if it was a booth or just an activity but i found the whole car pool cardboard car pretty cool. It was a fun way to get information on how students get to school in the morning. Those two girls in the car got the attention of everyone there and got the answers they needed. Also the point of this was to show people how many of us actually bring our cars to school. All those cars pollute the environment so much. Vanier as we all know is big on carpooling and i don't think enough of us even consider it. Not only could carpooling help save the environment but it can also save us money that we spend on gas. Students and even teachers should really consider this as a serious option, i mean whats the difference were all going to the same place. Another thing i thought was pretty clever was that they were giving away plastic reusable bottles filled with ice tea. I got one of those bottles and since then i fill it up with water in the morning and no longer bring plastic bottles to school. I personally feel proud cause now i too i am doing my part in helping to avoid pollution.
A little side note, i know that the tea that they had in the bottles was Fair Trade Tea now i am not quite sure what that is but i will post a link that maybe could explain.

http://fairtradeteas.com/

https://www.carpool.ca/

http://www.earthshare.org/2008/10/green-your-comm.html?gclid=CPX_1b3TqqECFQuB5QodRmAwFg

https://vaniercollege.omnivox.ca/Estd/Net/Covoiturage/

Earth Day Blog =)

To start off, Earth Week was a lot of fun and full of interesting facts. The girls and I had to put together four different topics: pesticides, GMOs, slow food, and meat vs. veggies. At first it was a somewhat tricky, but we managed to pull through. We put together a poster that informs everyone about the biggest fruits and veggies that have been affected by chemicals, how the slow food movement will change you for the better, and the pros and cons of a meat and veggie diet. A lot of people didn't know that their favorite fruits were tampered with, no one knew about slow food, and they were also surprised to realize that a veggie diet could prevent diseases. It was amazing to see how people reacted.

Seeing Jake's Mall with all the booths set up was really exciting. Everyone had something important to say. I got to meet new people which is also a plus. One booth that was extremely memorable was the one that spoke about animal abuse/cruelty. There was a puppy. I got to know his story. He was raised in a puppy mill where they pulled his teeth out just so he wouldn't bite the other puppies. His story was such a sad one, but he was saved by one of the teachers here at Vanier. I'm glad he's happier now. **The girl at the booth advised that we don't buy pets from pet stores because they most likely buy those pets from puppy mills. She said it would be best to go to the SPCA and other rescue centers.

The most memorable booth was the one against bottled water. To be honest the free bottles got me, but the girl at the booth was very informative. She spoke about the different companies that practically own everything and how the products we use everyday is bad for us and the environment. A good majority of the products and items are things we have at home like the shampoo and conditioner and Vaseline. Wow! These companies don't think about the people who help make their products. She taught us about Fair Trade, which is a movement to help workers in developed countries gain better working conditions and fair wages. It really makes you think twice about what we buy.

Here are more links on puppy mills and Fair Trade:

http://www.fairtrade.net/

http://www.nopuppymillscanada.ca/

http://transfair.ca/

Earth Day at Vanier!

Earth Day at Vanier was time well spent. I definitely learned more than I thought I would learn. I went to see one of my classmates in my Culture, Politics and Geography class, because he was doing his oral assignment on earth day. He talked about plastic bottles and how they affect our health and many other things. One thing that shocked me was the fact that not only do plastic bottles cause both breast cancer and prostate cancer, but they can cause health problems such as uterine fibroids. The chemical Bisphenol A is a dangerous toxin found in our plastic bottles. It's time that we stop using plastic bottles and switch to stainless steal bottles, I know I did. I bought one from the Vanier Book Store and it's pink. :)

For the first time in my life, I ate a vegan brownie. I thought it was delicious. I loved it so much that I grabbed the recipe and for those who didn't taste it, I'm including the recipe so you can make it and try it yourself.

Easy Vegan Brownies

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups demerra or turbinado sugar*
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 359 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan with some vegetable oil.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, backing powder and salt.
3. Stir coffee granules in hot water until dissolved. Add water to the dry mixture. Add vegetable oil, applesauce and vanilla.
4. Mix well, until blended. Add nuts, if you're using them.
5. Spread evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is no longer shiny. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting into squares.

*Granulated sugar can be refined sugar derived from sugar cane. If it is, then the purification process involves filtering sugar through activated carbon, or charcoal. Many can refineries use bone char, which is charcoal made from animal bones, to filter their sugar. Some people feel that this can make granulated sugar non-vegan. Demerra or Turbinado sugars do not go through this process, making them a great vegan choice!

There was a team in our class who made a poster on animal cruelty and there was garfield drawings and cartoons, I thought it was adorable and proved a great point. Plus it was very well drawn. After earth day, when I went home, my mom had made hamburgers and I was upset, because I didn't want to eat it, so I drove to IGA and bought my FIRST veggie burger. I was so proud of myself, plus it tasted really good.

On earth day, my psychology teacher showed us movie called Can We Save the Planet Earth. And I jotted down some interesting facts about how we can do something to help the planet.

1. Keep the fridge clean, because a dirty fridge that's filled consumes more energy that one that is clean. ( I told my mom to clean the fridge and she did this weekend)
2. Lower the thermostat to 19-20 degrees
3. Keep the television unplugged and DVD players or anything electronic unplugged when you're not using them.
4. Keep the house nicely insulated.
5. Buy more locally grown foods. (So we can reduce the Food Miles)
6. Change the way we drive by driving more fuel efficient cars.( I know this one is hard, because we can't all afford cars like that, but my psychology teacher actually decided to walk on earth day instead of taking her car and I thought that was cool.)

I was also happy because our poster on obesity got some attention. People didn't realize how much of the food they ate had High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). Overall I think our class did a great job on the posters. The Car Pool one was pretty cool too.

Personally, I don't think that we can drastically change the world and change everything about our lifestyles, but we can all make small changes that will benefit not only the planet but our health as well in the long run.

Interesting links:

Use of bone char to filter sugar :

http://www.jivdaya.org/sugar_and_other_sweeteners.htm

49 simple ways we can save the earth :

http://www.mattneuman.com/49simple.htm

Rita Minassian

Earth Day!

Blog Report: Earth Day!

By: Julian Hanopol

Earth Day was fun at Vanier, seeing all the posters and booths, I made a few contributions by singing petitions against factory farming and to stop selling plastic bottles in Vanier. Also my partner and I made a poster with information about malnutrion in Canada and the US, where many children and adults are sick and suffer diseases from eating unhealthy. There were already a few other posters that talked about similar ideas of ours but ours gave solutions to some problems. I also noticed a lot of other posters had the same picture of a young boy eating McDonald’s. This picture did grab the attention of a lot of people made people look at the poster.

The college’s display was very good and the booths had great information and shocking pictures. One booth that attracted me the most was the booth with a power point presentation with info about the variety of the colors of fruits and veggies and how each color plays a role our body’s components. For example how red fruits and veggies reduce prostate cancer and lower blood pressure. Fruits and veggies that are yellow contain lots of vitamin C and make you look younger. The green ones, helps your vision and the digestive system. Blue is a good source of fiber and limits cancer cells. This is very good to know and helps a lot when making the right food choices. It’s very simple information and can also be good for young children to learn as well.

Here are some links with information about the colors of fruits and vegetables.

1. http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/fn595w.htm
2. http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/benefits/index.html

Genetically Modified Fruits to Fast Food and Everything in Between-Caroline Elfassy

Wendell Barry once said “The earth is what we all have in common.” However as the years go by more and more individuals seem to be neglecting our precious earth. This is why we need to take action and show people around world how important it is to take care of our planet. We only have one! This is why on Earth Day of 2010 some of the students of Vanier College have participated in raising awareness on the way we treat our planet. We all teamed up and created beautiful posters about the truth and harsh realities that occur everyday on our planet.

My contribution to earth day consisted of making the students aware of where our food comes from. The title of our poster was From Crops to Food and Everything in Between, this was meant to attract students and to make sure they understood exactly what they were eating. People really underestimate the amount of products and chemicals that go in our food. Throughout the whole presentation, I felt as though some students really connected to my project, as if they really understood what I was trying to communicate with them. A student came up to me and asked me, "Do we really eat those cows?", pointing at the picture of the dead cow that was on my poster. I explained to her that we do in fact eat meat that has been brutally butchered, that has been treated for many horrible disease such as Listeria, Salmonella and E-coli, and that was exposed to an unimaginable kind of lifestyle. After telling her the hardships these animals go through (cattle, chickens and pigs) everyday, she seemed utterly horrified. I am positive that if people knew what is really going on in factory farms, they would feel ashamed to eat that type of meat.

After explaining my project to students, I decided to walk around Jake’s Mall to see the other projects that were being showcased. The booth I found particularly interesting was the one on factory farming. After reading the articles given to me, I was completely devastated. I already knew so much on factory farming and yet, there seemed to be new and shocking information. The pamphlet, Factory Farming Institutionalized Cruelty, was so direct and heartbreaking, that it disturbed me. I have done research on factory farming but there was no article that was as graphic as this one was. It talked about the pain that is inflicted on each animal, how the employees treat the chicks, calves and piglets. Most animals that live on factory farms never see the light of day! Reading all this information showed me how important it is to care about our animals. Other should start caring about livestock because these animals are like any type of other animal, they have feelings and needs as well. No one would want to hurt a puppy so why is it okay to torture an innocent calve or piglet? We need to start talking action, we need to be the voice for these innocent animals.

To get more information please visit:

www.goveg.com/

www.gan.ca/

www.facebook.com/peta2

www.myspace.com/peta2

www.twitter.com/peta2

Vegetarianism: a way to end animal cruelty By Kamalini Seevaratnam

Our topic was animal cruelty linked to vegetarianism, the way I contributed was I demonstrated my ideas through my art skills instead of just putting pictures and texts. The point of making our poster this way was to draw more attention especially adding cartoon characters and then make them think about what our poster meant. We provide information to their thoughts and even add on. We give them detailed information about how animals, these days, are getting tortured to become our food, and it's inhumane. You can get enough vitamins and proteins by just becoming vegetarian and get a satisfaction of being filled without killing animlals.
Many people were drawn towards our poster, especially because of our characters, and the colors we have used which made them think.
I was very surprised that our college spent a week talking about environmental issues and it gives us hope that change can happen for our world to become a better place. They informed us a lot and this all added to our knowledge.
The one booth that caught my attention was the one on animal cruelty towards cats and dogs. I learned that it is better to adopt from the SPCA rather than buy from the pet store. The pet stores are very cruel to the animals, they do not take good care of them and many animals are endangered these days. This made me feel bad and I lost respect for the people who do this upon the animals.

For further information go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruelty_to_animals
http://community.adn.com/node/151336

Animal Cruelty/Vegetariasm By Georgia Babaroutsis

My contribution to our topic was basically taking our ideas and putting it into art. We added a few humourous characters like Garfield and Spongebob Squarepants to create attraction. In the end, we were pretty successful. We attracted a lot of students and they were sharing ideas and opinions about animal cruelty, and vegetarianism. By doing this, we fed on their knowledge, added it to ours, and we shared our different views with the viewers.
In my opinion, the college is doing a very good deed by informing us about the world's problems and different cultures in modern society. It makes us more aware of our surroundings, and it adds on to our knowledge and the way we view the world now.
One booth that I interacted with was the "recycling booth". The teacher poured me bottles, milk cartons, coke and 7up cans, and other garbage. He, then, told me to classify whether they go in the recycling bin for paper, recycling bin for plastic, recycling bin for cans and etc. I did my part and put everything where I thought they went. I realised that there are some things that we think go straight into the garbage but they can be recycled. All they have to be is washed.

For more information, you can check this out
http://www.recyclenow.com/what_can_i_do_today/can_it_be_recycled/index.html
http://www.oberlin.edu/recycle/facts.html

Earth day, bottled water and dead zones?

hello everyone,

once again we find ourselves writing on the blog but this times it's about earth day. Me and my fellow partners, Adil, Shelley and Chris were talking about bottled water and dead zones which even if it doesn't seem related are very related in the end. They influence each other. When we got to jacks mall, i was given an important mission by my humanities teacher. I recruited my partner, Adil, and we when to war searching for hope and completing our important mission : filling a petition against selling bottled water in vanier. Most of the people were with us and some were against us. We got many bad looks as if we were doing a crime but we also got many encouragement . Since i had an important mission on my shoulders i couldn't really explore the activities that were happening in jacks mall but i saw some interesting stuff like free books, kiosk about animals, bottled water, farming, amd many others that i didn't really have time to check. From what i saw, I liked the idea of the free books because instead for throwing these book in the garbage like many of us do, they we giving them away for free which i say is a good thing. Also i liked the kiosk that was talking about animal because it was talking about protecting them. the lady that was presenting this kiosk had a cute liltle dog with her which in a way makes people more sensitive about what she was saying. Since i have a husky (i attached some pictures) myself i really want to protect the animals for the reason been that they are not what we thing they are, they are just different and we, the humans, hate what is different ( most of the time)*.

*i can't really complete this instruction of the homework because of my mission Sorry... .

curry chicken with peas and rice

This is a meal I really enjoy my family and I eat it very often due to a part of our Caribbean heritage. Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients

• 4 skinless chicken breast, cut into little cubes
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 2 inches piece gingerroot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 red chilli pepper, without seeds
• 1 tablespoon mild curry paste
• 1 2/3 cups coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Rice and peas

• 2 cups long grain rice
• Can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a medium size saucepan over a medium heat and add the onion, garlic and chilli. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes
2. Add the chicken and cook for 5 mins, or until lightly brown.
3. Add the curry paste and cook for 1 min, add 3/4 of the coconut milk and simmer over a moderate heat for 20 minutes
4. Stir in the cilantro and let simmer another 5 minutes
5. While the curry is cooking, start the rice. Cook the rice then 5 minutes before the rice is done cooking, add the rest of the coconut milk and red kidney beans.
6. Drain out the rice then serve onto the plates, place the curry chicken on top and voila you have created Caribbean curry chicken and rice.

MELANIE MILJOUR

Vietnamese desert: Che Dau Trang

One of my close friends made me taste this desert her aunt made not long ago and i thought that it would be a good idea to prepare it (with a little bit of help from my friend) and share it in this blog since the desert basically consists of rice and beans with a hint of coconut. This desert is very easy to make and the taste is wonderful.

For a 2-quart pot, you'll need:
1/2 cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight
1 cup glutinous rice
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 15-oz can coconut milk

Rinse beans and add them to pot with 2 cups of water.
Turn heat to high and when it boils, turn the heat down to medium-low to simmer for about half an hour for the beans to soften.
Add 1/2 cup sugar, 1 can of coconut milk, and 1 cup uncooked glutinous rice and let simmer for another half hour to cook the rice until soft.
The rice can be at the consistency of rice porridge or thicker, it depends of how you like it.
Add more sugar if you wish it to be sweeter.

I am not a great cook. As a matter of fact, I am a very bad cook. I do not have the patience for it. When preparing this desert, I found it not that hard. And I was exited to share it with my sister and boyfriend since I rarely cook. They liked it :)

The ingredients are easy to find and it does not take too long to put everything together. You might not want to eat too much of this desert because the sugar level is very high.

Fool mudamas

This dish is very simple and takes about 7 minutes to prepare. I believe it's a traditional Lebanese dish but i think a lot of middle eastern people eat it.
I usually buy the can of assorted beans from Adonis, but i'm sure you can find them at any ethnic grocery store. The can cost about 1.29$. Along with that, you should grab one onion,olive oil and some pita bread. remove the lid from the can. Heat beans on a low heat for about 7 mins or until beans start to bubble. Pour beans into a boil and add about 2 tbsp of olive oil to the beans. Cut up your onion into slices similar to when you are cutting up an orange. Add a bit of salt for taste and voila! You take a piece of pita bread with a piece of onion and scoop up the beans. This is a very healthy meal full of fiber and is very economical. There is no mess to clean up except the pot you cooked it in. Don't forget to recycle the can afterwards! I shared this meal with my cousin and it was delicious!

By Jessica Ghaleb

Sekihan & something extra

Sekihan(red bean rice) is made with Azuki bean(red bean or Hong Dou) steamed with sticky rice. It will give the rice a reddish color because of the red bean. The dish comes from Japan and it's very traditional because it is often served in festivals, birthdays, weddings, etc. This dish tookapproximately 30 minutes to make, the only thing that was really time consuming was making the rice, other than that it's very easy and simple to make. I made it on a Friday at my friend's house since she wanted to try it out, she enjoy seeing me cook since I rarely ever touch the stove. While I was preparing the dish, I found that having only rice and bean was too plain for my taste therefore I made a rolled omelet(super easy) and a fruit salad. Also in Japan they have something called "Bento" which is basically a boxed lunch, a lot of people tries to avoid anything that contains liquid (soup, spaghetti,etc.) So having fruits and rolled omelet with Sekihan is perfect for a bento! Not only it is super easy to make, its has no meat and it's a light meal which is perfect during lunch time and its pretty colorful without any artificial coloring.

To make Sekihan

• 1 cup of Azuki bean(canned)
• 2 cups of rice (I didn't use japanese rice so it didn't stick)
• salt

Wash the rice with water several times until the water becomes clear. Open the can of Azuki beans and wash them with water as well. Put the beans and rice together in a rice cooker and 20 minutes after it should be done. Also, season it with a bit of salt and keep it as simple as possible.

Rolled omelet(you can put anything you want in it)

• 2 eggs

Beat the eggs in a bowl well, heat the pan to a medium and pour a bit(A BIT) of oil. To spread the oil on the pan just use a paper towel and wipe it around the pan, it won't remove the oil it will only evenly coat it. When the pan is hot enough pour about 1/3 of the whipped eggs and then you roll it, its the same process until you run out.

Fruit (salad) depends if you want it with juice.

• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Oranges

Im sure you guys know how to do it already but all you got to do is cut the oranges and strawberries to bite size pieces and odviously, wash them.

Rice and Beans

Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 75 minutes
Servings: 4


INGREDIENTS:
 2 cups cooked Black beans (use rinsed can beans)
 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
 1 cup long grain rice
 ½ cup of water
 6 ounces thick salsa, mild or hot
 1 ½ cup V8 vegetable juice or tomato juice
 ½ tea spoon of oregano
 ½ teaspoon of cumin



DIRECTIONS:
I. Combine all ingredients
II. Spray 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray
III. Bake uncovered 1 ¼ hours at 375 or until rice is tender
IV. Can be served with sour cream, tortillas, cheese, or whatever you desire


--> Quick to throw together, healthy, tasty dish that can be either a side or a main dish. Limited only by your imagination.

Rice and beans (Jamaican Recipe)

Serves four people

My mother’s boyfriend comes from Trinidad so island dishes are popular in my house. Rice and beans are sometimes served and this recipe is a common one. The ingredients are bought from an Indian grocery store in Cote Des Neiges and are very cheap. I love these dishes because island dishes are my favourite meals and I feel better about myself when I’m eating something healthy. Nothing in this recipe is processed which is perfect for the environment.
Here are the Ingredients:

■ 250 ml (1 cup) drained and rinsed kidney beans
■ 625 ml (2 ½ cups) water
■ 2 garlic cloves
■ 5 ml (1 tsp) fresh crushed ginger
■ 2 Jamaican peppers(or 2 ml (½ tsp)
■ 2 cloves garlic
■ 0.5 ml (1 / 8 tsp) ground nutmeg (spice)
■ 250 ml (1 cup) brown rice
■ 250 ml (1 cup) chopped onion
■ 1 sprig fresh thyme (or 5 ml (1 tsp) dried thyme)
■ 5 ml (1 tsp) vegetable oil
■ 1 ml (¼ tsp) sea salt

Instructions:

1.Preheat oven to 190 º C (375 º F).
2. In a large pan, boil water then add the cooked red beans and seasonings. Cook about 10 minutes.
3. Add rice, onion, thyme, vegetable oil and sea salt
4. Poor in a pan then place in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes.

Broccoli & Tortellini Light Alfredo

Prep Time: 5 Min | Total Time: 35 Min | Serving Size: 4-6

Ingredients:

1 pkg (300 g) tortellini (any flavour)
1 pkg (500 g) Green Giant* VALLEY SELECTIONS* Frozen Cut Broccoli
1 tsp (5 mL) canola oil
1 tbsp (15 mL) finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup (250 mL) skim milk
4 tsp (20 mL) flour
1/4 cup (50 mL) no-fat sour cream or yogurt
1/4 cup (50 mL) grated parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) nutmeg
white pepper and hot pepper sauce to taste

Method:

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, add broccoli; drain well.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a small saucepan over medium high heat and cook onion and garlic until translucent.

Whisk in milk, flour and bring to boil.

Reduce heat, stir in sour cream, cheese and seasonings.

Serve over pasta broccoli mixture.

For this recipe you'll need Valley Selections* Cut Broccoli

Nutritional Information: 1 Serving (1/4 of recipe) : Calories 430 Total Fat 18g (Saturated Fat 4g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 50mg; Sodium 870 mg; Total Carbohydrate 42g (Dietary Fiber 5g, Sugars 5g); Protein 26g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 45%; Vitamin C 30%; Calcium 6%; Iron 25%

Tip: Take advantage of summer's fresh herbs, by adding basil, oregano or thyme to this guilt-free pasta dish.

MUNG BEANS AND STICKY RICE IN COCONUT MILK A.K.A GINATAANG MONGGO

My dish is literally a rice-and-beans dish. It goes by many different names: Ginataang monggo, tinutong, or lelot balatong. It is a well-known Filipino dish that is eaten for “merienda” (merienda is in between lunch and dinner). In my family we tend to cook a lot of meals with coconut.

Ginataang monggo is very simple and fast to prepare. The list of ingredients is short and inexpensive. The mung beans, coconut milk, and sticky rice can be found at any Asian grocery store.

I made this dish with my sisters. We ate it before dinner. It doesn’t fill you up at all; it just gets you ready for the main course. We don’t usually have merienda so it was something new and different to try. It was a lot of fun making.
Mung beans originally come from India. Physically they are green on the outside and yellow inside. Mung beans include Vitamins A, B, C, and E and they also are a source for minerals like calcium, iron, and potassium. It is also and excellent source of protein and fiber. I find this amazing, seeing as it is something so tiny.

Ingredients (4 servings):

- 1/4 cup mung beans (monggo)
- one 14 oz can of coconut milk (gata), about 1 3/4 cups
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup sticky rice (malagkit na kanin), thoroughly washed and drained
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions:

1. In a dry skillet over high heat, toast the mung beans until dark brown. Stir or toss continuously to evenly brown the beans.
2. Using a rolling pin, gently crush the mung beans with just enough pressure to split in half and dehull. Separate and discard the hulls if desired (or keep the hulls intact for added texture and nutritional value).
3. Reserve and refrigerate about 1/4 cup of the coconut milk.
4. Pour the remaining coconut milk (about 1 1/2 cups) and 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Add the toasted mung beans and washed rice and bring to a boil. Simmer while uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, just until the rice and beans are thoroughly cooked but still firm. The porridge should have the consistency of loose risotto.
5. Stir in the sugar and salt to incorporation.
6. Serve ginataang monggo hot or cold and top with the reserved coconut milk.
7. DIG IN! AND ENJOY

Pasta e Piselli

Food Fight Vincent Vitale

Pasta and peas

My simple Italian recipe for a quick pasta dish is Pasta e Piselli otherwise known as pasta and peas. If you know how to boil water, you won’t have a hard time making this dish. It’s a pretty strait forward.

You will need;

- 1 bag of peas (frozen or not you’re choice).

- ¼ cup of olive oil.

- ½ of Onions.

- 1-¼ cup of tomato sauce (fresh, bought, whatever floats you’re boat).

- A box of 450 grams, short pasta (preferably something like Orecchiette or some other shell looking pasta).

*Recipe may vary. This is a general way of preparing it.*

1. So you start off by boiling a pot of water. When it comes to a boil you drop in the peas. Cook until they are just under done.


2. Simultaneously, heat olive oil in a pan (not to high…medium should be fine) and drop in the onions. Cook until lucid (clear).


3. Add the sauce and the peas in with the onions. Also pour in ¼ of the water you used to cook the peas in with the rest. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes.


4. As the sauce is cooking, boil some more water in a large pot. Drop in a pinch, or two, of salt and in goes the pasta. Cook on high heat (much faster) until desired texture, (preferably al dente; firm but not hard.)


5. Drain the water out of the pot, leaving only the pasta, and mix with your sauce. Make your dish, adding the amount of sauce and cheese that suits your tastes.

*If I’m not mistaken, you could have about 4 servings with 450 grams.*

This is probably one of the classic Italian recipes. I learned it from my parents. They learned it from they’re parents, and my grand-parents must have learned it from they’re parents…

We would eat this when my grand-mother would call us over for lunch on Sundays. Sometimes we’d prepare it when we want something simple and fast. It’s a basic pasta dish, depending on what you add to it. In my opinion, it seems like a healthy alternative to frozen pasta diners…Yuk! (No offence to those who like frozen pasta diners).

Vegetarian Risotto

My grandmother used to make risotto all the time, but she put meatballs and sausage in it. Risotto is an extremely versatile dish, so it's pretty easy to modify it without changing the nature of the recipe too much. What I basically did was replace the meat with zucchini, and change the beef broth for vegetable broth. While this recipe takes quite a while to make (it can take around one hour if you use store-bought borth and canned tomatoes), it is a great dish that can either accompany a meal, or be used as a main dish. The environmental effects of this dish are practically inexistant, especially if you make your own vegetable broth and prepare the tomatoes yourself instead of buying canned tomatoes. We grow zucchini and tomatoes in our garden, so had I made this dish in the summer, that would have also diminished the carbon footprint in regards to the petrol used in the transportation of the vegetables. As for the health benefits, very little oil is used in comparison to other meals we usually eat, and you can replace the parmesan cheese by another, low-fat variety if that is a concern.

Ingredients:
Some butter (just enough to fry the onions and zucchini in)
A bit of olive oil
2 onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of rice (most sites recomment you use Arborio rice, but we always use regular Uncle Ben's rice :P)
2 cups of canned crushed tomatoes (or you could make them on your own if you have time c: )
1 cup of vegetable broth (you can use any store-bought broth, or you can make your own)
Pepper and salt
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
2 small zucchinis

Directions:
Heat butter in a frying pan. The pan should be quite large and deep, because you will be adding the tomatoes to it later on. Throw in diced onions, chopped garlic, and diced zucchini, and cook for a few minutes until they become soft andstart to brown
Add the tomatoes to the pan, and simmer the mixture for about 15 minutes, or until it has turned to a thicker consistency
Meanwhile, heat the broth in a seperate saucepan over medium-low heat
Once the tomato mixture is ready, add the cooked rice into the pan
Stir the mixture well, and turn the heat down to low
Very gently pour in the broth little by little, stirring the entire time. You may need someone to help you pour the broth while you stir.
Let the rice absorb the stock for about 20 minutes.
Finally, remove the pan from the stove, and stir in the parmesan cheese and some salt and pepper to taste.