Celebrate Earth Day The Right Way With Green Eats, Crafts & Toys

Avocado Pesto Pasta

Recipe
courtesy of Chloe Coscarelli, author of Chloe’s
Kitchen: 125 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Making the Food You Love the Vegan Way

Put
a healthful twist on a traditional Italian favorite. Adding avocados from your
local farmer’s market to pesto creates a rich and creamy texture without using
cheese. Kids often tell me this is the best pasta they’ve ever eaten.

INGREDIENTS

1
pound linguine
1
bunch fresh basil, reserve some leaves forowHH garnish
1/2
cup pine nuts
2
avocados, pitted and peeled
2
tablespoons lemon juice
3
cloves garlic
1/2
cup olive oil
Sea
salt
Freshly
ground black pepper
1
cup halved cherry tomatoes or sliced sun-dried tomatoes (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1.
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add linguine and cook
according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2.
Make the pesto by combining basil, pine nuts, avocados, lemon juice, garlic and
oil in a food processor. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

3.
Toss pasta with pesto. Top pasta with cherry or sun-dried tomatoes. Divide
pasta among 4-6 serving bowls and garnish with a basil leaf.

For local farmer’s markets near
you, check out grownyc.org.

Stylish Seed Pots

Wave
Hill, one of our favorite public gardens in the city, has a wonderful cultural
center where families can enjoy arts & crafts, inquiry-based learning and
the beauty of the changing seasons. Ilse Murdock, who leads the Family Art
Projects, has shared an easy craft idea for fams looking to add a little green
to their homes this month.

MATERIALS

Ceramic
terra cotta pot

Elmer’s
Glue

Found
objects: ceramic tiles, small stones, sea glass, shells, beads, buttons, yarn
and ribbon

DIRECTIONS

1.
Look at patterns and ceramic designs from various cultures for inspiration.

2.
Sketch out your pattern idea onto paper first with markers or crayons, and then
transfer the design to your pot.

3.
Using glue and lots of fun found materials, fill in your design and voila! You’ve created a special pot for a
favorite plant.

For more information and to visit the garden, check out wavehill.org.

Green Toys For Tots

Plan Toys Assorted Vegetable
Set

For the 18 months and up
group, little ones can work up a healthy appetite segmenting a wooden tomato, mushroom,
shallot, bell pepper and cucumber.

$20.00, plantoys.com

HABA Chris Croak Push Toy

This
all-natural beech wood frogger will wiggle his eyes and poke out his tongue as
kiddos scoot him across the floor.

$38.99, haba.de

Green Toys^TM
Build-A-Bouquet

Budding
florists can arrange a garden of lilies, daisies and petunias. Made with
recycled materials and soy ink. 

$27.99, in stores June
2012, greentoys.com

For a great list of Earth Day activities taking place locally in Central
Park and beyond, see our Family Calendar at www.newyorkfamily.com/events. And for a round-up of eco-friendly residential buildings, read “Living At Its Greenest.”