Geraniums go from planters into cool creamy treats

Health

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June 28, 2011

Geraniums go from planters into cool creamy treats

Sweetly-scented rose geranium makes a delicate cream and a soothing tea. It’s growing somewhere near you.

Peaches, melons, apricots, plums. All in season right now in the Middle East, all sweet and juicy. Cream infused with rose-like pelargonium graveolens makes a delicious background for any of those summer fruits.

I pick a few sprigs of rose geranium from a public garden set well away from traffic pollution. The flowers, I put into arak to make an ethereal rose geranium liqueur. When it’s ready, I strain it into a recycled wine bottle. But there are other ways to use the unique, sweet flavor of edible geraniums.

For an alcohol-free, soothing cold drink, I’ll brew rose geranium leaves as tea. Children especially like this mildly candy-flavored tea. Just pour boiling water over 5 or 6 large rinsed and chopped leaves, cover, and let it steep about 10 minutes. Sweeten as desired, remove the chopped leaves, and drink hot or cold. If you collected oatstraw in spring, you can flavor oatstraw tea with these leaves, too.

And it’s simple to make geranium-infused cream for those summer fruits. In a small pan, heat 2 rose geranium leaves with 1 cup of whipping cream and 4 tablespoons of sugar. Don’t let it simmer or boil, just let it get hot over low heat. This should take only 5 minutes if the cream was at room temperature.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of cream cheese. Cover. When it’s all cool, put it away in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, the cream will be thick and fragrant. Transfer it to a bowl and set a bowl full of sliced fruit next to it for dipping. Or pour the cream over sliced fruit in individual bowls. Surprisingly, watermelon matches this delicate cream perfectly.

More innocent and milky Middle-Eastern recipes on Green Prophet:

Photos of peaches and geranium cream, top, and of rose geranium by Miriam Kresh

How Do You Stop Greenwashing in the Middle East? Wael Hmaidan Says Train Better Activists,

Lifestyle

Arwa Aburawa

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June 28, 2011

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How Do You Stop Greenwashing in the Middle East? Wael Hmaidan Says Train Better Activists,

We speak to the Lebanese eco-campaigner Wael Hmaidan about corporate funding of green organisations in the Middle East and finding solutions

In a previous post, I posed some questions about green groups in the Middle East receiving funding from not-so-green corporations. Is it a good thing if they are working together to protect nature? Or are green organizations in the Middle East simply being duped by corporations who want to look green?

These are clearly difficult questions to answer but another concern is the lack of criticism that green organisations funded by un-green corporations face in the Middle East. I sat down for a chat with Wael Hmaidan, a green campaigner from Lebanon who heads an independent organisation for activists, to discuss these issues and also what can be done to stop greenwashing in the region.

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Can World’s Oceans Become Extinct?

Travel

Maurice Picow

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June 28, 2011

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Explosive phytoplankton “bloom” in Pacific Ocean, caused by too much CO2 infusion. Photo credit: NASA

We have written time and time again in Green Prophet about environmental dangers to the world’s seas and oceans. These dangers include pollution by plastic material, chemicals and other debris; from over-fishing; and from global warming. Global warming is causing water temperatures to rise – resulting in invasions of unwanted species like jellyfish .

But the ultimate result of all of these factors is something even more horrifying; and that is the possible “extinction” of the oceans themselves.

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Zabihah’s World Guide To Muslim, Halal Eating

Zaufishan

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June 24, 2011

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Zabiha.com, the largest guide to halal eating wherever you live

For over a decade Zabihah.com has established itself as the official guide to the Muslim world’s halal restaurants and products.

Zabihah? Don’t we mean the ZAGAT guide which has become the go to source for Muslims and food? No. ZAGAT focuses on restaurants in North America and its global reviews are limited. For instance, a quick international search for restaurant reviews in England, UK, loads only ten cities from the country. Zabiha’s search equivalent shows every county and town, which means I can check out exactly what’s hot and what’s not in my hometown.

Plus, these reviews have an additional win: the halal factor.

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Yerukim Forms a New Green Economy Where the Money is Really Green

Business

Karen Chernick

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June 24, 2011

1

Yerukim Forms a New Green Economy Where the Money is Really Green

Yerukim believes that money should be “green” and if it doesn’t grow on trees, it should at least help trees grow.

A new economic project is slowly growing in Kiryat Ono, Israel with a currency based on rewarding good environmental deeds. Sound crazy? It just might be, but it is slowly growing and it will be interesting to see if it really works. The idea is fairly simple: residents of Kiryat Ono keep their recyclable plastic bottles and aluminum cans and call for a pick-up when they’ve collected at least 20 items. Then they call Yerukim, who arranges for the bottles and cans to be picked up (and recycled) and for “green” money to be left for the residents in exchange. Lastly, the residents can use this “green” money at participating businesses in the area.

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Make Compost In Your Living Room

Health

Miriam Kresh

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June 23, 2011

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Nourish your garden or potted plants with compost made in your home.

Praxxus55712. The nick of a mysterious Minnesota gardener. We’re given only his first name, Ray. He uploads excellent videos for home gardeners to YouTube, freely sharing his gardening expertise with a gentle, humorous touch. Although I’m all in favor of composting and would like to make a project of it with my teenager, I thought I couldn’t make compost. All I have is a little apartment balcony. But after watching Ray mixing compost up on his living room rug, apartment composting has become accessible.

The equipment is simple: one bucket and maybe an old shirt to cover it. The ingredients: plant material. Coffee grounds, and if you make coffee like a Middle Eastern native, you can start saving some grounds up now. Some dirt. Water. And – the amazing secret ingredient – mint thins. Don’t believe me? You have to see to believe.

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HooHa Cyclists’ House Geared Towards Housing Visiting Cyclists in Northern Israel

Travel

Karen Chernick

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June 22, 2011

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HooHa Cyclists’ House Geared Towards Housing Visiting Cyclists in Northern Israel

HooHa Cyclists’ House in northern Israel gives traveling cyclists a bike-oriented place to stay.

Eco tourism has been spreading all over the Middle East, with more and more professionals in the hospitality industry becoming aware of the demand for more sustainable travel. Generally eco touristic options involve sustainable facilities, seeing wildlife, or staying at accommodations situated in a remote natural location (such as a nature reserve). But sometimes eco tourism destinations mean that they encourage greener forms of transportation, such as cycling. Such is the case with HooHa Cyclists’ House in northern Israel, a hotel that specializes in catering to bikers.

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The Explosive Truth About Veggie Burgers

Health

Tafline Laylin

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June 22, 2011

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The Explosive Truth About Veggie Burgers

There are several compelling reasons to re-think veggie burgers and other non organic soy-based products.

If there is anything to be learned from America’s industrial food machine (in case you missed Food Inc. and other seminal critiques), it is this: nothing can be trusted. Until recently, many vegetarians have been all too happy to jump on the veggie burger bandwagon for a yummy protein fix, believing in earnest that theirs was a healthy choice that benefits the environment. Including me.

But a recent report published by the non-profit organization Cornucopia Institute reveals that most non-organic soybean-based goods produced in the United States are bathed in a highly explosive mix of petrochemicals that are used to extract the soy protein. And hardly anybody seems concerned to address what could be a public health nightmare.

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GE Sets Green Tech Shop in Israel

Tech

Maurice Picow

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June 22, 2011

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GE looks to create wind, solar and smart grid technologies with Israeli engineers.

Already in a number of clean technology partnership projects, including solar energy and desalination, America’s giant electrical products company, General Electric – GE – is setting up a “multidisciplinary” research and development center in Haifa Israel Globes reports. The center, the cost which is estimated to be between $3-5 million, will concentrate in research in medical devices, water, and clean energy. Twelve researchers will be hired to staff the center, which will bring to a total of 462 GE employees working in Israel. What’s going on with GE in the Holy Land?

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Baked Apricot Jam Recipe

Health

Miriam Kresh

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June 21, 2011

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***Hurry and make your fresh apricot jam while the delicious yellow fruit’s still in season.***

Fresh apricots have so short a season in the Middle East that bukra fil-mishmish (tomorrow, in apricot season, said in Arabic) is what you say to promise you’ll get something done quickly.

Probably that’s why there are almost no Arabic recipes featuring the fresh fruit. But why buy imported apricot jam when you can make your own apricot jam from fresh, local fruit? Or, for that matter, why buy chutney? Try our apricot chutney recipe too.

Many of the best jam fruits ripen in summer, so standing and stirring jam on a hot day seems inevitable. But baking jam in the oven allows you to walk away from the whole process and just scoop the caramelized fruit with its thick syrup into a clean, dry jar.

Making apricot jam couldn’t be easier, and the flavor is incomparable: bright, tangy, and true to the apricot. The amount of sugar here makes a rather tart jam. You may increase it to 6 cups, which will give you a 50/50 proportion of sugar to fruit.

Note: start the jam in the early evening and let it cool overnight in the oven. That way you’ll avoid having the oven on during the hottest part of the day.

Baked Apricot Jam Recipe

yield: about 6 cups

Ingredients:

I kg. – 2 lb. fresh, rinsed and dried apricots

1/4 cup water

4 tablespoons vanilla sugar or 1 vanilla pod, split open

750 grams – 4 cups plain granulated sugar

Method for making apricot jam

Cut the apricots along their natural division and extract the pits. Halve them. Place apricots in a shallow baking dish and pour the water over.

Mix the vanilla and plain sugar and pour it over the apricots. If using a vanilla bean, place it in the middle of the fruit. Do not cover the fruit.

Turn the oven on to 325 F – 160 C.

Bake for 3-4 hours, checking occasionally to make sure the fruit is continuing to cook without burning, and to stir the vanilla bean around if using. The liquid will become thicker upon cooling. Once the fruit is slightly charred (and a delicious aroma fills the kitchen when you open the oven), turn the oven off. Allow the jam to cool in the oven. Refrigerate.

If preserving for long-term use, remove the jam from the oven while still hot and pack into hot, sterilized jars.

More local-fruit preserves on Green Prophet:

Bonn: The Latest Climate Talks and the Middle East

Business

Arwa Aburawa

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June 20, 2011

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Bonn: The Latest Climate Talks and the Middle East

An update on the latest climate negotiations in Bonn as well as Middle Eastern countries which made the headlines during the talks

Believe it or not, the latest climate negotiations at Bonn – which discussed the future of the Kyoto Protocol which ends in 2012 as well financing adaptation – have come and gone without making much of a stir. The lack of media attention is surprising, even if we take into consideration the total failure of Copenhagen and a growing realisation that climate summits are not where we are going to find solutions for climate change.

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Israeli Government Officials Prepare to Paint the Knesset Green

Business

Karen Chernick

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June 20, 2011

0

Israeli Government Officials Prepare to Paint the Knesset Green

Five governmental committees and eight scheduled discussions plan on painting the Israeli Knesset green tomorrow during “Environment Day”.

Every one gets his or her day in court, and hopefully every important issue gets its appropriate representation in governmental legislation. Tomorrow is the environment’s day, as the Israeli Knesset will be observing it’s own “Environment Day”, which has become somewhat of an annual tradition. The day will be observed by five parliamentary Knesset committees, as well as several members of Knesset (including Dov Khenin), government officials, and heads of Israeli environmental organizations.

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Thai Migrant Workers Poach Wildlife for Food in Israel

Travel

Maurice Picow

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June 20, 2011

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Thai Migrant Workers Poach Wildlife for Food in Israel

Thai workers are hunting for illegal game in Israel to supplement diet on meager income. The problem is they’ve over-hunted endangered animals

Illegal hunting of Israeli wildlife is contributing towards further reductions of both wild birds and mammals; and is even pushing species towards the “red line” of being threatened with near extinction. Illegal hunting, as well as unstoppable real estate development has led to a serious loss of natural wildlife habitats in the country, and the depletion of many wild animal species. Some of these animal species, such as rabbits and hares, partridges, foxes, and other species, that were once common even near developed areas, are now rarely seen. One of the reasons is that foreign Thai workers are trapping them for food.

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Jerusalem Festival of Light 2011 Brings Eco-Art to the Holy City

Bracha Arnold

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June 20, 2011

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jerusalem light festival
Echinodermus and Pissenlit–created by TILT.

With towering trees made of light, flying acrobats, and psychedelic music, the Jerusalem Festival of Light seemed more like a big carnival for grown-ups than a forum for environmental art. Happily, many of the artists featured at the festival made sure to include sustainability and social responsibility in their designs. I found two innovative artistic installations that stood out.

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Jordan Gets A New UNESCO-Protected Pit Stop

Travel

Tafline Laylin

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June 20, 2011

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Jordan Gets A New UNESCO-Protected Pit Stop

It’s hard to believe that Jordan -thought worldwide to be nothing more than a sliver of desert – would have rushing waterfalls to protect.

At the end of June, 2011, UNESCO is expected to name Jordan’s Mujib Nature Reserve a protected biosphere reserve. The second such site in this small sliver of country, the Mujib Nature Reserve definitely deserves this distinction.

Home to a spectacular variety of fauna and flora, the 212 km2 reserve also features an incredible topography that climbs from 416 meters below sea level (near the Dead Sea) to high altitude summits.

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