Happy Easter Shoreline Area! How About a Lovely Leeks Recipe for Your Spring Table

Oxalis (native shamrock) in Paramount Park

Hope you are all having a lovely Easter Sunday! And Passover too!

Here is a lovely Leek recipe I tried yesterday and it turned out very nicely.  Found it on Treehugger Blog. It is originally from the NY Times Magazine.  It called for several things I didn't have on hand so I substituted some ingredients. I switched the Sourcream and Ricotta for Quark. (Heads Up! I will have Quark available starting this Wednesday at Colombia City Farmers Market and Saturday at University Farmers Market.) Also, I substituted the puff pastry with piecrust. And, I switched the Gruyere cheese for some gorgonzola on hand.   So, it's a flexible recipe!

 It's simple, healthy and tasty!

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/04/weekday-vegetarian-leek-tart.php?campaign=th_rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+treehuggersite+%28Treehugger%29

Photo credit: Emma Alter

I often bookmark the recipes in the Temporary Vegetarian column in the New York Times, because they always sound so delicious. On the other hand, I hardly ever actually make them because the writer of the columnn gets the recipes from chefs and they are often complicated or really time consuming. This lovely little recipe is neither complicated nor time consuming and it made for a delightful light lunch.

Paired with a green salad or some grilled asparagus, this would make a very nice brunch for company, although this was just enough for two or three so you would have to double the recipe. You could have all of the components ready and then just put it together and slide it into the oven 15 minutes before you are ready to sit down to your meal. It says to serve it hot, but we ate it at room temperature and it was still very nice.
This recipe is from The New York Times, April 18, 2011.
Leek Tart
1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup sour cream
Salt and black pepper
One 14-ounce package Dufour or other all-butter puff pastry
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 to 4 leeks, white and light green parts only; cut diagonally into 1/3-inch wide slices, to make a total of 2 cups
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Salt and black pepper
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
12 oil-cured pitted black olives, torn or cut in half
1. In a bowl, combine ricotta with egg yolk and olive oil; whisk until well blended. Stir in sour cream, and season with salt and pepper.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To make the pastry, cut pastry into six four-inch squares, and lightly score a border about 1/4 inch from the edge. Lightly score a criss-cross pattern in the inside of the square. Place on a baking sheet and bake until puffed and lightly browned, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and poke the center with a fork to allow steam to escape. Cool for 10 minutes.

3. To make the topping, place a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Melt butter, add leeks and thyme, and sauté until leeks are soft and lightly caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste; set aside.

4. Brush the edge of the puff pastry with beaten egg yolk. Spread scored area of pastry with the ricotta base, and sprinkle evenly with Gruyére. Top with leeks and olives. Bake until the edges are golden brown, and the cheese is bubbling, 10 to 14 minutes. Serve hot.

Oil Use in America - Treehugger Post

Interesting article from Treehugger Blog today. It shows us how we utilize oil and potentially how we could reduce our use.  We have at least one local supplier of Solar Hotwater heaters in Shoreline -
Northwest Mechanical (located on NE 145th St.) has been a local supplier of Solar Technology since the 1970's. Solar Hot Water Heat is the most economical use of Solar Technology available.

Solar Hotwater Heater from NW Mechanical

It is also possible to get tax incentives from the Federal Government. There are obviously so many other places to reduce our energy use such as carpooling, bus, pedestrian or bike modes and easy things like
not buying throwaway plastics like water bottles.

Oiled Seabird 

Photo credit - 1 Sky Blog

All of these efforts can help us all reduce the liklihood of more horrendous oil spills and climate change impacts to our world (particulary in the Puget Sound!).  It is shocking and tragic to see the impacts of the Gulf oil spill on innocent wildlife.

What can you do today to reduce your oil use? Everyone can have an impact.

Shoreline's Aurora Ave.

Phase  II now underway which will provide BRT lanes, improved pedestrian/bike modes, and reduce stormwater runoff.

from -
TreeHugger Blog

Where Oil Goes in the US (Images)

by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York  on 06.14.10

BUSINESS & POLITICS 

Not all of the oil burned in the United States is used to power cars and trucks. The majority of it is, but not all -- there are myriad other uses as well, many of which fly under the radar. This may seem like obvious stuff, but it's worth reiterating -- especially considering that some of our nation's most senior legislators aren't aware of where our oil goes. So, here's a quick look at how our nation uses its oil:

This graph is taken from a great post by Craig Severance on what it would take to end our oil addiction over at Climate Progress, and though it uses raw data from 2000, the breakdown is believed to be the same today:

So while freight and passenger travel make up for the broad majority of oil consumption, there are obviously some areas rife for even easier remedy than transitioning to more efficient forms of transportation -- in the area of heat, especially. Switching from antiquated heating oil to natural gas heating or better yet, solar powered water heaters, could eliminate a full 15% of our dependence on oil. And Severance notes that 1% of the US's oil consumption is attributed to electricity generation, which could clearly be eliminated. Both seem like good places to start.
And obviously, huge gains stand to be made in the transportation sector -- this is broken down at CP as well:

Obviously, there's much being done to cut oil use in all of these categories, and we're fond of highlighting such work here on TH -- electric cars, high speed rail, biofuels; this is the stuff you see gracing our pages more often than not. But Severance points out that getting our freight rail lines -- high speed or otherwise -- back in action (much of our rail was torn up after trucking companies received subsidies that trains couldn't compete with) could eliminate the need for so much truck-based freight, and cut into that area of oil dependence as well.
Needless to say, there's a lot to think about, and plenty of areas where we could sever our oil dependence without throwing a wrench into the economy.
More on Oil Dependence
US Military: Massive Oil Shortages as Soon as 2015
The US Imports 1.5 Billion Barrels of Oil a Year from "Dangerous, Hostile Nations"
Sarah Palin's Energy Plan for the US : Oil , Oil , and More Oil"

Celebrating our "ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY" for "Of Paramount Importance" Blog all day today! We'll feature stories from various areas of the environmental spectrum.

Thanks to all of our "Followers" "Commenters" and everyone who's checked in on our new adventure. Look forward to your future participation, tips and ideas as our local blog evolves.

It here for all of you to use to share information, issues, good news and challenges.

Best Wishes in February 2010 - Janet Way

Here is more good news for the environment from Treehugger Environmental Blog.

Steven Chu Announces $1.4 Billion Loan to Nissan for LEAF Electric Car

by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 01.29.10

BUSINESS & POLITICS

BUZZ UP!

Photos: Nissan, DOE

About 1,300 New Jobs at Smyrna Factory
Steven Chu announced that the U.S. Department of Energy agreed to loan $1.4 billion to Nissan for the modification of their Smyrna plant in Tennessee. This will help Nissan start production of the LEAF electric car (coming to British Columbia in 2011 and the rest of the world in 2012) and build an advanced battery manufacturing facility.

Photos: Nissan

Dr. Chu said: "This is an investment in our clean energy future. It will bring the United States closer to reducing our dependence on foreign oil and help lower carbon pollution. We are committed to making strides to revitalize the American auto industry and supporting the development of clean energy vehicles."

Nissan's goal is to make about 150,000 LEAFs and 200,000 battery packs a year in Smyrna once production is up to speed. This should create about 1,300 jobs.

In September 2009, Ford received a $5.9 billion loan, and just last week Tesla's $465 million loan with the DOE was finalized.

It's Finally Starting to Happen
Getting electric cars to market is taking longer than a lot of people would like, but manufacturing on this scale is long and expensive. It seems like a couple years ago, everybody was coming up with electric concept cars but almost nobody was actually taking actions to commercialize them. Now we seem to be entering a new phase: Companies are working hard to find financing, build/retool factories, make partnerships with battery companies or bring that expertise in-house, etc. Certainly a step in the right direction, though widespread adoption of EV will still depend a lot on oil prices in the next 5-10 years, and on battery technology improvements.

Once again, a carbon tax (revenue neutral would be best) would help make this happen much faster. As long as people don't pay directly for the cost of air pollution and global warming, the playing field won't be level with clean(er) technologies.

Via DOE

More Nissan LEAF Electric Car
Nissan Working on New Battery to Double the Leaf's Range by 2015
Nissan LEAF: Instead of Engine Choices, People Might Have Battery Choices
Nissan LEAF Electric Car to Come to British Columbia First (in 2011)