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Zabihah’s World Guide To Muslim, Halal Eating

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Zabihah.com, World Guide To Halal Eating, muslim restaurant guide screenshotZabiha.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.

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

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"green recycle project"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.

Make Compost In Your Living Room

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image-composting-indoors
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.

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

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hooha bicycle hotel israel, bike sign;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.

The Explosive Truth About Veggie Burgers

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soy protein, petrochemicals, veggie burgers, baby formulaThere 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.

GE Sets Green Tech Shop in Israel

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geo israel clean techGE 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?

Baked Apricot Jam Recipe

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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.

baked apricot jam, miriam kresh in small glass jar with spoon sticking out

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

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bonn climate talks photoAn 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.

Israeli Government Officials Prepare to Paint the Knesset Green

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"green israel knesset"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.

Thai Migrant Workers Poach Wildlife for Food in Israel

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israel fox trappedThai 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.

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

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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.

Jordan Gets A New UNESCO-Protected Pit Stop

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biodiversity, eco-tourism, biosphere reserveIt’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.

Egypt’s Dark Age Could End With New Caltech-Style Research Institute

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science and technology, Egypt, CairoMade to reflect California’s leading Science and Technology institute, the Zewail City of Science and Technology in Egypt could lift the country out of its semi dark age

Egypt experienced a huge brain drain during the three decades that Hosni Mubarak ruled the country. Formerly a highly acclaimed center for culture and education in the Arab world, literacy fell to just 66% in 2008.

To help lift his fellow countrymen and women out of its veritable dark age, Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zewail is working to establish a Science and Technology Institute in Cairo that will be modeled after the California Institute of Technology (home to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory). A Caltech Professor, Zewail has already enlisted six Nobel prize winners for the board of trustees, secured an enormous slice of prime real estate, and raised millions of dollars to achieve what has been a twelve year dream.

Dead Sea Inspires Advantix Systems’ Cooling Tech

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Advantix Systems is yet another new Israel-based cleantech company just entering the U.S. market with an innovative solution for a big problem for US states as the climate heats up with climate change, while simultaneously, fossil fuels become rarer and more expensive, in the ongoing journey down the other side of Hubberts Peak. The company has pioneered a cooling technology that uses half the energy of traditional HVAC systems.

Already the US Department of Energy has anointed the Israeli firm Linum Systems with ARPA-E funding for its radical innovation in cooling technology. ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) was set up within the agency, to advance potential groundbreaking clean energy solutions to the climate crisis. Only super high-risk, high-reward clean energy technologies are selected.

Nuclear Radiation Exposure Distorts Natural Gender Ratio

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Under normal conditions, her baby has a slightly higher chance of being a boy, but new research suggests that exposure to radiation unnaturally skews the sex ratio.

The Japan nuclear disaster confirmed what we already know for certain: radiation is dangerous to human populations. In particular, mutagenic effects have long been reported, and we also know that sperm that are exposed to radiation can result in a man having diminished sexual health and sperm viability. Now, new science illuminates additional surprises: the gender of an unborn child appears to be effected by radiation exposure.