Smells Like Green Spirit

I just got back from a trip with my mom to Alaska. One of the most amazing things about this trip was all the wildlife and the vast forests and stretches of untouched land. Driving down the street we saw a black bear, a mother moose with her babies, several male moose, and several foxes!  

It was definitely an interesting change from Chicago, where the wildlife I interact with is rats, pigeons, and the many bugs in my house (windows with no screens=lotsa little friends crawling and flying around).

I found this website interesting, with Illinois wildlife in mind. I’m sure there exist websites like this for wherever you might be reading from.

Check it out!

Living with Wildlife in Illinois 

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As some of you may know, I’ve long been obsessed with the brussel sprouts from Feed. Unlike most soggy, boiled brussel sprouts, they are crispy, slightly tangy, and oh so delicious! 

After some experimentation (because asking would have just been too easy) this is how I figure you can make them yourself. Even those who aren’t usually into brussel sprouts won’t be able to resist this delectable side dish!

INGREDIENTS

brussel sprouts (duh!)
1-2 tbsp oil or butter
soy sauce
worcester sauce (optional, but yummy)
lemon juice

DO IT

1. Prepare brussel sprouts as you usually would (i.e. chop off the ends, peel off the outer leaves as needed)
2. Slice up the sprouts with horizontal cuts, making them end up ring shaped.
3. Heat up your oil/butter over high heat.
4. Stir fry the sprouts with soy sauce, a little worcester if desired until done (about 5 minutes?)
5. Sprinkle with lemon juice
6. Eat!
7. They’re yummy, right?!

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My latest obsession is the (I think) adorable Nutria, with its fat little body and Cheetos-orange chompers. They can grow to be two feet long, three and a half feet if you count their tail!

Nutrias, as you may well know, were brought to North America from South America by furriers. During a ferocious storm, some of the nutrias escaped their cages and have been proliferating across the continent ever since. Although some people claim nutrias make wonderful, docile pets, and others claim they make for delicious bbq, most consider them an “invasive species” as their ravenous appetites and lack of natural predators cause them to destroy many wetlands and river banks.

All I know is…if I didn’t live in a tiny Chicago apartment, I would totally want one! Read this one fella’s blog about his nutria pets, it’s too cute: Riverlogue

For more nutria info:

Nutria.com

Wikipedia on Nutrias

National Invasive Species Information Center

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One of my favorite things about walking around Chicago is the network of alleyways the city has weaving through the city, very fun to duck through, often laden with treasures like discarded bedside tables and old record players.

Mayor Daley is now going through with his Green Alley initiative, where alleys will now be outfitted with environmentally sustainable material. Water will be able to penetrate the permeable concrete or porous asphalt, get filtered in the underground stone beds, and rejoin the underground water table or Lake Michigan rather than becoming polluted runoff.

Created from recycled materials, the green alleys will reflect heat (rather than absorbing it) in the summer and stay warmer in the winter, and the alleys will even be outfitted with new lighting to conserve energy. Congrats to Mayor Daley for helping Chicago get greener and greener!

For more info:

New York Times Article

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