"eco" news and stories

If you pay any attention at all to celebrities or fashion or celebrity fashion, then you might know something about Anya Hindmarch's "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" bag that created quite a mad rush when they hit US stores. Many designers took advantage of the cheeky eco message, some simply creating more re-usable shopping bags, and others taking and tweaking the "I'm not a ___" message, like Decor Craft Inc., which has created the "I Am Not a Paper Cup" cup. Naturally, coffee mugs are reusable, but DCi's "I Am Not a Paper Cup" reminds coffee drinkers that even when taking coffee to go, you can help the eco cause by not using the disposable paper cups that will end up in landfill somewhere. The cups are porcelain with a silicone lid

There really isn't anything that special about this following list of recipes for vodka cocktails, other than the eco-inspired names and the fact that they are made with 360 Vodka, a brand new, environmentally friendly premium vodka. 360 Vodka is made entirely from American grain and bottled using 85% recycled glass and biodegradable packaging. The manufacturer, McCormick, is setting aside $1 for every 360 Vodka bottle closure returned through its unique "360 Close the Loop" program that will allow it to support recognized environmental organizations. Recipes for Green Princess, Green-tini, Enviromintz, Green House Gas, and Eco-tini after the jump:

In the kitchen, Amy Scattergood goes gourmet glam with tacos, with recipes for Achiote-marinated fish tacos, Duck tacos with chile-cherry compote, and Shrimp tacos with pumpkin seed sauce. To go with those tacos, some sangria, or refreshing tea-infused ices and granitas from the Times' archives. Product pick for the kitchen is organic clementine preserves from Les Comtes de Provence.

On the restaurant scene, Russ Parsons looks at what it really means for a restaurant to be "green." Speaking of "green," LA chefs are making Caesar salads from non-traditionally Caesar ingredients like butter lettuce and frisee. S. Irene Virbila goes to Traxx restaurant and gives it 1½ stars.

Of course we know that Earth day should be every day, but sometimes a special day like Earth Day, which is Sunday, April 22, is a good reminder to take good care of this planet on which we live.

One way to do that, aside from choosing earth-friendly chocolate when indulging, is by using bamboo kitchenware. Bamboo is a plant that grows quickly, which means it is highly renewable, which means it works for sustainable living. Anything in your kitchen or on your dining table that is plain old "wood," you can switch to bamboo -- serving trays, salad bowls, dinner plates, and cutting boards. And what a lovely thing that bamboo looks so pretty, too.

Everyone needs to grocery shop at some point, fueling the continuing desire to live, even if you're not a big fan of doing your own cooking. Grocery stores have their own standards for packing bags based upon how to enable your foods to travel well: cold items with cold items, produce in one bag, don't cram too much in. The last rule is the one that gets tricky because sometimes it seems like you end up with 10 bags for 10 items when you're leaving the store. It could be more, if some of the plastic ones are doubled-bagged. Recycling the paper and plastic bags is an excellent idea, but switching to canvas grocery bags is an even better one. They are reusable, so they help cut down on waste, and many stores will even give you a per-bag discount for bringing them in! The bags can be purchased at many supermarkets, as well as being available online, and will pay for themselves in a few uses. They usually cost from $7-12.