Ruby Red Stilettos

~~~               

Featured in photo: Me, chatting with representatives of Morris Media Group. Courtesy of

Here I am chatting with two representatives of Morris Media Group about their new publication, "Green Home Magazine." Photo Courtesy of Mark Watkins.

Until recently, the closest I’d gotten to “going green” was painting my face for Halloween. It’s scary how I thought nothing of poor Mother Earth, who for years silently bore the brunt of my unconscious environmental abuse: my aerosol-hairspraying, Styrofoam-using, non-recycling, water-wasting ways. I never stopped to consider the value of the air, water and energy that sustain life. Until one event changed the way I think about our planet. 

On Thursday, Sept. 24, the Fairfield County chapter of Green Drinks, an international organization that encourages people in local communities to socialize and share their ideas for improving the environment, hosted a presentation at the Discovery Museum and Planetarium in Bridgeport. The last time I’d been to the Discovery Museum was for a Girl Scout field trip in the second grade. So, when a friend told me about the event, I decided to make an appearance and see what it was all about. I was especially excited that the evening would end with a light show in the planetarium, synchronized with the music of Irish rock band U2.

Heather Burns-DeMelo, founder of CT Green Scene who helmed the event along with the Connecticut Alliance for Sustainable Enterprise, described the evening’s theme as “Innovation in Developing Sustainable Solutions”—introducing new ways to save water and electricity, encouraging green habits and improving the condition of our earth.  

Wearing the well-known “Hello, My Name Is______” tags scrawled with their identities, friendly guests mingled and meandered on the first floor of the museum, nibbling on organic lemon curry brown rice and vegetable sushi from Health in a Hurry in Fairfield and sampling locally-produced organic beverages: wines such as “Live a Little” shiraz from Organic Vintages, local beer from New England Brewery, and organic agave-sweetened tea from Steaz.

Not only did I swirl my wine glass and tap my heels to the smooth, sophisticated tunes played by the Jazz Guild of Fairfield County, but I gleaned “green” tips and advice from sponsors and supporters of this affair.

A lot happened in a period of about 90 minutes: employees of HSBC bank brought an electric bike for test rides, the Morris Media group promoted its newly launched “Green Home Magazine,” a representative of General Motors’ Project Driveway, described on GM’s Web site as “the largest-ever market test of fuel-cell and hydrogen technology,” spoke about the importance of renewable hydrogen technology and offered test drives in a GM Hydrogen Equinox; Green Marine Productions discussed its plans to bring awareness and programming to casinos and Native American groups around the country. Alex Simeone, founder and director of Electronic Recycling and Research Corporation in Stratford displayed clocks he crafted out of recycled computer parts, encouraging people to get rid of their old electronics and keep them out of landfills by donating them to his organization.  Finally, Curt Johnson, Senior Attorney and Program Director of the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, briefly took the mic and informed guests about grants, rebates and incentives available to businesses and homeowners who want to become energy-savvy and save money on their utility bills.

The entire first floor of the museum featured an interactive, mini exhibit full of tips to improve the environment (e.g. a large diagram and set of instructions on how to plant a seed) as well as facts about natural gas and water use. A spin-the-wheel activity, for example, showed how many gallons of water we use during daily household routines such as flushing the toilet or washing clothes. Did you know that we use anywhere from 1.5 to more than three gallons of water on a regular flush? Or that the average household uses 16,000 gallons of water per year just for clothes?

Maybe you didn’t know that washing clothes in hot water uses nine times more energy than washing in cold water, and that a front-loading washer uses 7000 (yes, seven thousand) gallons less water per year than a top-loader, which uses as much water as one person will drink in 20 years. And maybe you had no idea that compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) use much less energy than the widely-used incandescent light bulbs. Well, now you know.

Here’s a little recap: donating your old computer or TV to the ER&R Corporation (click here for more info), switching from hot to cold and from incandescent to fluorescent are just a few easy things you can do to step up your green game. 

Burns-DeMelo says that through her Web site, http://www.ctgreenscene.com, as well as through live events, she and her colleagues such as freelance writer Eileen Weber and others work to inspire, encourage and assist people in creating a sustainable future within their local communities. One major goal is to prevent problems related to global warming.

“With the Earth’s temperature having increased one-to-two degrees Celsius [due to] excessive consumption of fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases, we face an uphill battle to stabilize our planet’s climate and avoid even more of a [temperature increase] that will lead to mass extinction and unparalleled global crisis,” says Burns-DeMelo.  

Yet she and the CT Green Scene remain optimistic about the future. She says, “[...] we believe in the world-changing potential of the people in our network who exchange ideas, brainstorm solutions and share resources and information.”

For more information on other green events, and to learn more about CT GreenScene, visit http://www.ctgreenscene.com. 

What do you get when you put four (single) female writers in one room with a few bottles of wine and an oversized batch of chocolate-covered strawberries? Answer: lots of estrogen, endorphins and laughs about problems of the pen to problems with men. Carrie Bradshaw couldn’t write our stories if she tried. 

A few nights ago, the fabulous Lisa Divirgilio, otherwise known as Dating Diva, hosted a Sex and the City wine night at her apartment. Two of my lovely grad school friends and I sat in her living room, where we sipped chianti, dished about our relationship sagas and feasted on the berries I brought over. I’ll keep our stories a secret, but I will share my hit chocolate-covered strawberry recipe. After the first bite, Dating Diva asked me, “How are you not married with children?”

Dark and decadent chocolate-covered strawberries

• 2-3 packages of fresh strawberries (anywhere from 24-36 medium-sized strawberries)
• 1 12 oz. bag of dark chocolate chips
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tbsp. rice milk, coconut milk or almond milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Wash your strawberries and set them aside.
2. Slowly melt the chocolate chips, cinnamon, vanilla and rice milk together over a double boiler (a.k.a. an oven-safe bowl over a small pot of boiling water), lowering or turning off the heat so that the chocolate doesn’t scorch. Stir the chocolate until it’s smooth and rich. 
3. Using either your fingers or a toothpick, dip each strawberry into the chocolate mixture. Lay the berries one by one on a sheet of wax paper. Let them dry completely before serving them.

The cinnamon and vanilla give the chocolate a unique, heavenly twist while the rice milk adds silkiness. People will ask you what makes these cocoa-dipped babies so delish. Do yourself a favor; don’t tell ‘em. Keep ‘em wondering.

There’s nothing sexy about brown rice pasta (when you can’t have gluten, there aren’t many options). But cloak it in a warm, spicy red sauce and it’s like slipping into a smooth, silk gown and saying, “Look at me, baby. Give me a whirl. Give me a twirl with your fork.”

Today, I took Grandma’s meat sauce recipe and va-va vamped it into my own version of smoky arrabiata with bits of shredded pork tenderloin. That’s right. Mama’s got a brand new man-grabbin’ sauce.

Arrabiata means “angry” in Italian, but this crushed red pepper-and-tomato sauce is the gastronomical equivalent to world peace, or simply, make-up sex.

Try this recipe tonight. It’ll blow stars out of the sky, and absolutely, positively stun your guy (and if you’re a guy reading this, make the sauce for your lady and you’ll have an Herbal Essences commercial waiting to happen).

What You Need:

• 2 cans crushed tomatoes (preferably from San Marzano)
• 1 large white or Vidalia onion, diced
• 1 fresh pork tenderloin–1 lb. (can serve up to 4 people)
• 1-2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (or more)
• fresh basil (dried, if you must)
• fresh parsley
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup red wine (good, drinkable quality)
• brown rice pasta (or any other pasta if you’re not gluten intolerant)

What To Do:

1. In a large sauce pot over medium-high heat, sear your pork tenderloin in olive oil and brown it on all sides.
2. Then, you can choose to: (a) wrap the tenderloin in foil and bake at 325° for 45 minutes per pound or (b) set the tenderloin aside to rest, then add to sauce in a few minutes so it cooks in the sauce for a few hours. Choose (a) if you’re short on time.
3. Add a bit more olive oil, then add the onions and some of the red-pepper flakes. Allow the onions to become soft and translucent.
4. In order to de-glaze your pan, turn down the heat and pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup red wine in the pot. Turn the heat back up.
5. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley and a few more red pepper flakes (if desired).
6. Cover and simmer on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
7. You may allow the sauce to simmer while the pork bakes, and then once the pork is completely cooked, shred it and add it to the sauce.
   OR let the seared pork finish cooking in the sauce for 1-2 hours on medium low-to-medium heat. It will become tender and fall apart in the sauce.
8. Cook your pasta in boiling water until al dente (about 12 minutes).
9. Ladle some of the sauce onto a skillet over medium heat, adding the cooked pasta and a bit of the pasta water to prevent it from sticking. Then toss in some extra basil and parsley. To make it hot-hot-hot, sprinkle even more pepper. Mix everything together, then turn off the heat.

Serve on a clean, warm plate with a glass of red wine. Jaws (and perhaps pants) will be dropping right about now.

“Life is not about finding yourself…life is about creating yourself.”~George Bernard Shaw

But wait: does creating yourself help you find who you really were after all?

Near the end of 2007, I decided to start a foodie blog under a fictitious character, Holly Pinafore (the blog is still up and running, and is called The Delicious Life of Holly Pinafore). You’re probably wondering where the heck I came up with a wacky name like that. Well, she’s the namesake of Holly Golightly in the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” played by the fabulous Audrey Hepburn–my absolute idol. The surname “Pinafore” is sort of an ironic play on a synonym for “dress,” because my friends have always known me as a feminist who rarely wore one until recently.

Holly, however, is the epitome of chic femininity with a cute yet sometimes sarcastic edge. I had wanted her to be a unique cartoon, but she really turned out to be a caricature of me. As I started to write through this character Holly, I started to become her. Or you might want to say Holly started to become me, or help me tap into the quirky, creative side of myself. She was like this imaginary friend I’d had all along but had just started talking to. She is me and yet she’s someone entirely different from the person I see when I look in the mirror. But I promise you, I’m no Sybil. I don’t have multiple personality disorder and I don’t suffer from an identity crisis. Well, at least not all the time!  

I love Holly because she’s fascinating and fun. I learn something from her every day, and I hope you will, too.

~Danielle

It’s just like one of those predictable movie scenes. You’re the main character. You say, “I’m absolutely not going. There’s nothing you can do to change my mind.”

Through the magic of cinematography, you arrive at Foxwoods (or Mohegan Sun) in a finger-snap with a few snickering friends by your side. They’ve won; you’ve lost. And you haven’t even opened your wallet.

You’re immediately drawn toward the Triple Seven slot machines that blare and flash their neon lights as you fidget through your pockets for a buck to try your luck. Of course, you realize the machine only accepts five, ten, twenty, fifty and one-hundred dollar bills. Bummer. You wonder, for a split second, what it would be like to pull a Clark Griswold  (if you haven’t seen the movie “Vegas Vacation,” I’m referring to the part where Chevy Chase’s character withdraws thousands from the ATM). Except you, my dear, find out that YOU owe the BANK for leaving your checking account blank.

Oops.

Still, the gaming tables–roulette, craps and blackjack, oh my!–are beckoning. You hear the smoky cackle of the 85-year-old lady who just hit the Wheel of Fortune jackpot and the cusses of college students who just lost their savings in a poker tourney. But through the clangor, the subtle shuffle of cards tickles your ears and you can hear the whisper of the gambling gods. The cosmos is coaxing you. You’re blinded by the bling of diamond pinky rings, neck chains and sequined dresses, sickened by the scents of Old Spice and cigar smoke, and distracted by the King of Diamonds winking at you from a nearby blackjack table.

It’s more than you can handle, so you escape to the restroom away from the noise…only to hear ABBA pumping through the overhead speakers: “Take a chance, take a chance, take-a-take-a-chance-chance,” luring you back to the slots, where you scour the casino floor for a friend to lend you a fifty. There’s no Suze Orman to give you a dirty look; no Kenny Rogers urging you to hold ‘em, fold ‘em and walk away.

If you, like many of us, are economically challenged and feel like a diabetic at Hershey Park the second you enter a casino, I strongly advise that you stay away. However, if you find yourself at the gambling scene, I’ll try to help you survive, and as oxymoronic as it sounds, I’ll help you save money.

Here are my ten tips to resisting temptation:

1. Say “no way” to valet. Park your own car and save the extra tip money for something else. If you have a BMW or Audi A4 that you don’t trust in the self-park lot, there’s a good chance you don’t need to heed my financial advice anyway.

2. Plan for FUN, not funds. Be a realist. Don’t expect to win a life-changing amount of money. I know it sounds pessimistic, but if you think you’re going to hit the Megabucks jackpot, it’s likely that your trip to the casino will leave you crestfallen when you realize you’re wrong. Yes, you do have a slight chance of winning, but do not make that the focus of your day. Enjoy the people around you and have a few laughs. The purpose is entertainment. If you think you have a gambling problem, call 1-800-522-4700 for the National Council for Problem Gambling’s 24-hour hotline, or visit their Web site at www.ncpgambling.org.

3. Eat before you go. Bring snacks in the car. Do whatever you can to avoid high-priced meals at the casino eateries. If you wind up at one of the restaurants, order a few different entrees to share among your friends. This way, it’s a lot cheaper, and everyone gets a bite.

4. Leave the debit card home. Bring a small amount of cash with you and if you must, carry ONE credit card in case of emergency (e.g. you need to stay overnight because your car won’t start). Do not bring the ATM card. There’s a chance you’ll be tempted to dip into your checking account at some point. Don’t do it! 

5. Think before you drink. It may sound obvious, but the point of alcohol at the casino is to loosen you up so you’ll loosen your wallet. If you’re confident that you can tolerate a few drinks without making gambling decisions you’ll later regret, good for you. If so, your best bet would be to walk around and look for a cocktail server on the casino floor. When you see one, wait for the server to come around and take your order. Wine, beer, cocktails, coffee, tea, bottled water and soft drinks are complimentary. Wait around for your drink and be sure to tip. Do NOT order any drinks at the bar or away from the casino floor. It doesn’t make any sense because they’re too costly anywhere else.

6. Shop (lightly) instead. No, shopping does not help you save money in normal circumstances. However, it can lead to satisfaction and LESS spending at the casino. Sorry Suze, but in this case, if you’re itching to spend something, I think it’s better to spend a few bucks on the bar of grapefruit-scented soap from a spa shop than to let a slot machine eat that cash. At least you’ll be coming home with a tangible object–a consolation prize, to say the least. But don’t get carried away with the shopping! Reward yourself with a small, relatively inexpensive item.

7. Act like a kid. Visit the arcade with your friends and play some table hockey or Skee-Ball for about fifty cents to a dollar per game. The arcade kills time and can actually be fun when you need a break from the casino commotion. And who knows, you just might win a prize.

8. Let them entertain you…for free. If you visit a casino on a weekend, there’s always some kind of free band performance, magic show or comedy act to keep crowds happy. Visit the casino Web sites for a list of these complimentary concerts. Seating is usually available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Best of all, you don’t have to spend a dime. 

9. Hit the clubs instead. Visiting the on-site nightclub costs less than gambling and is, in my opinion, much more fun than staring at a video poker machine. You’ll meet new people and dance away the poor girl (or boy) blues. Just don’t waste your money on high-priced cocktails in the club unless someone else is paying. 

10. When all else fails, sit and observe. After a few hours at the casino, your energy will be zapped. Instead of thoughtlessly throwing more money into a machine or at a table game, find a bench, pipe down and people-watch. Observing human behavior at a casino can be great fun. Try it at least once. If you’re a writer, you’ll get some great character ideas. If not, you’ll simply realize how many different, amazing types of people exist on this earth. 

If you’ve got any other ideas on how to save money at the casino, I’d love to hear ‘em!

Until then, gamble, drink and party responsibly. 

“We are the music makers. And we are the dreamers of dreams.” ~Willy Wonka

How many of you use the word “scrumdiddlyumptious” on a day-to-day basis?

How many of you have felt like a blueberry that had to be rolled out of the room (well, I guess most people have, at least on Thanksgiving)?

If neither of these questions apply to you, at least you know the following statement is true: as a child, people thought you were crazy when you tried to lick your wallpaper, thinking it would taste like Snozberries. 

Am I right? 

Okay, then…maybe, like Veruca Salt in the “I Want It Now” scene, you once flung your mom’s grocery cart into the wall because she wouldn’t buy you a package of Double-Stuf Oreos. 

Full of greed, gluttony, and Gloop (Augustus, that is), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971- the original- sorry, Johnny Depp) has to be one of the greatest kiddie films of all time.   

I’m sure all the staunch nutritionists and elitist moms out there won’t let their kids watch it in fear that they’ll fall victim to the obesity crisis through television osmosis (you know, the way Mike Teavee gets sucked up into Wonka Vision in the penultimate scene of the movie). But even I, an advocate for good health, say it’s GREAT once in a while. And I WISH my dairy allergy didn’t inhibit me from wolfing down a Wonka Bar right now.