Grid Magazine December 2009 by Red Flag Media

to wards a

Sustainable Philadelphia

december 2009 / issue 10 gridphilly.com

The Four Seasonsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

green guru [ page 12 ]

the grid guide to a

handmade holiday Waste Not, Want Notâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; Holiday recycling tips [ page 8 ]

take one!

G d o n o a d s B r e e ers e h C KARAOKE

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Mon-Fri, 4-6pm All Drafts $3 & Belgians Too!

Ride Your Motorcycle For Drink Specials!

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215.627.6711

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Alex Mulcahy 215.625.9850 ext. 102 alex@gridphilly.com

A Hands-on Holiday W hen I was a kid, the holiday

season was all about the gifts. I remember them well: baseball gloves, bikes, electronic games. As the publisher of Grid, I wish I could tell you that all of that stuff didn’t make me happy—but that would be a big fat lie. Each year, my favorite gift and I were inseparable; it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. And the sweet anticipation the night before! My siblings and I were caught in a negative loop, so eager for the next day to arrive that we couldn’t sleep, thus prolonging our waking agony. When you become more in tune with sustainability, your relationship with stuff naturally shifts. You realize that all those gifts don’t just magically appear on store shelves—they come from somewhere, usually far away, and often by means that would make you uncomfortable. In recent years, I’ve tried to reduce the number of presents I receive (which, if you don’t express yourself carefully to your loved ones, can make you seem a sanctimonious Scrooge) while buying presents more deliberately. While navigating the holidays may seem more challenging, they can actually offer a unique opportunity to create instead of consume. Cards made with markers and construction paper, homecooked meals and one-of-a-kind gifts— handmade by you or a local artisan—are always more treasured. Their counterparts—store bought cards, take-out meals and mass-produced goods—will never feel as valuable.

We hope you enjoy our gift guide, which invites you to empower yourself (or others) with a skill, and to support the local community of artisans and businesses that make Philadelphia such a vibrant, fascinating city. A special thank you to Beth Thorpe, who generously donated her time and talent to the issue. The ornaments that grace the cover are her handiwork, as are the hat, scarf and gloves I’m wearing in this picture. And she even cross-stitched the logo on the cover. Pretty cool, right? Happy holidays, everybody!

distribution

Claire Connelly 215.625.9850 ext. 100 claire@gridphilly.com associate editor

Lee Stabert lee@gridphilly.com art director

Jamie Leary jamie@gridphilly.com assistant to the publisher

Tim Mulcahy tim@gridphilly.com copy editors

Andrew Bonazelli Patty Moran production artist

Lucas Hardison intern

Grace Antonini customer service

Alex J. Mulcahy Publisher alex@gridphilly.com

Mark Evans mark@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 105 writers

Grace Antonini Dynise Balcavage Bernard Brown Claire Connelly Erin Gautsche Tim McCullough Natalie Hope McDonald Dee Dee Risher Heather Simons Lee Stabert Char Vandermeer Samantha Wittchen photographers

Lucas Hardison Jessica Kourkounis Dan Murphy J.J. Tiziou Albert Yee illustrators

Daniel Fishel Melissa McFeeters

Printed in the usa on Leipa’s 43.9 lb Ultra Mag gloss paper. It’s 100% recycled, 80% from post-consumer waste.

published by

Red Flag Media 1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 215.625.9850

Handmade ornaments and logo cross-stitch by Elizabeth Thorpe. Yarn provided by Loop (see p. 17 for store details). Photos by Lucas Hardison.

on the cover

pho to by l u c as h ard is on

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g rid ph illy.c o m december 2009 / i ssue 10

Philadelphia University RECIPIENT OF THE USGBC AWARD 2009

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN

cover story: Grid’s best local gift ideas!

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN Energy | Boathouse Row’s energy-saving LEDs

A COLLABORATIVE,

05 06

MULTIDISCIPLINARY LEARNING EXPERIENCE

07 08 10

News | PHS earns a USDA grant New Business Honest Tom’s Taco Shop, Green Aisle Grocery, Ultimo Coffee Bar

Recycling Challenge Trees, lights and wrapping paper

Jobs | An old factory becomes a training ground for green jobs

“The principle of sustainability

12 13 14

Profile | Marvin Dixon is the Four Seasons’ green guru Music | Joshua Marcus—and his banjo—work for environmental justice

Sustainability 101: Geothermal Energy

is reshaping the way we think about the world, encouraging us to improve the way

22 24 25

Produce in Season Sweet Potatoes

we design, build and live in the 21st century”

— Rob Fleming,

Books | Bicycle Diaries, The Sibley Guide to Trees, Climate Cover-Up

Things to do Craft shows, local art and holiday fun

Recipe | A favorite lasagna, reimagined

Program Director Become proficient in Green Building Materials,

Vegan Recipe Pear Tarte Tatin

Energy Efficiency,

Essay | Giving the Good Gifts

Construction Systems and Sustainable Design

VISIT

www.PhilaU.edu/greengrid

Photography by Tom Crane & Dean Gazzo

Bottled Up

Publication Praise

enjoyed the article about local beers, and I enjoy your magazine. FYI: The following PA breweries offer at least one of their beers in returnable (return for refill) bottles: Stegmaier (Lion Brewery), Straub and Yuengling. Also, Catawissa Bottling Co. offers soda in returnable bottles. It’s great to have some local options for beverages from independent bottlers that use returnable glass. —Steve Weisser

ust wanted to let you know that I absolutely love Grid and am really impressed by what you’ve put together for this city: an inspiring, authentic and engaging magazine that I can’t get enough of! The pieces are all really well-written, the photography is beautiful and the information is high-quality—extremely rare for a free publication these days. Just wanted to commend you for a job well done! Keep up the good work! —Sara Hirschle

Have something you’d like to share? Write to us at feedback@gridphilly.com

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december 2009

food

Harvest Time

Recycling Rewards Philadelphia and Blue Mountain Recycling have reason to celebrate by samantha wittchen

n Nov. 16, the City of Philadelphia celebrated America Recycles Day (officially Nov. 15) alongside their partner Blue Mountain Recycling. The partnership has been very fruitful, increasing the city’s waste diversion rate to 13 percent—meaning a sizable portion of the city’s refuse is now diverted from landfills through recycling and composting. The event, which took place at Blue Mountain’s facility in South Philadelphia, honored the Philadelphia Recycling Office and Blue Mountain for receiving the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania’s 2009 Waste Watchers Award, given

policy

c r a ft

n e ws

design and more

With help from a USDA grant, PHS Launches the Community Grower’s Alliance by lee stabert

he Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Over the three-year lifespan of the grant, PHS will use the money to expand City Harvest, its expansive urban food growing program, through the creation of the Community Grower’s Alliance. (For more on City Harvest, see the November issue of Grid.) “The grant we received from the USDA will help us provide resources to entrepreneurial urban growers,” explains Program Manager Claire Baker. “It’s a great opportunity for growers to earn supplemental income, grow on land that is not currently in active agricultural use and make more fresh produce available in their communities.” PHS will provide resources for those urban farmers, including lumber for raised beds, soil, plants, organic pest control measures and harvesting tools. The growers will then sell their produce to local restaurants, farmers’ markets or Weaver’s Way Co-op, who have agreed to purchase all the produce that sellers offer. All that help doesn’t come free. Members will donate a portion of their yield back to the City Harvest program for distribution in food cupboards and pantries. In addition, they must grow organically, commit to grow for three years (three seasons per year), attend community education workshops on sustainable food production and marketing and contribute $100 back into the Grower’s Alliance Fund. “This is a big commitment,” explains Baker. “It’s for people who are really excited about urban farming and urban growing.” PHS is hoping for a diverse group of participants— from backyard gardeners to individuals partnered with churches or community centers, taking advantage of their unused land.

for their outstanding accomplishment in raising the city’s recycling rates. Streets Commissioner Clarena Tolson, speaking on behalf of the Recycling Office, said that the award was shared with the citizens of Philadelphia, who made the increase possible. Blue Mountain expects to process 235,000 tons of material in 2009, enough to fill Lincoln Financial Field to the top row of seats 14 times. Since 2000, the company has created 144 new green jobs in the region and hopes to add more as city recycling rates increase.

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/ new business Ultimo Coffee Bar

Building community one cup at a time

Honest Tom’s Taco Shop A young restaurateur provides a moveable feast

he latest trend in Philadelphia’s food scene doesn’t involve fancy menus, ambience or flashy table service. It’s all about inventive, concise options, convenience and parking—though not for the customers. Food trucks are taking the city by storm, and we’re not talking about your average hot dog cart. This new breed of mobile food service is led by bright new culinary talent, serving up cupcakes, vegetarian fare and even gourmet coffee. Tom McCusker, a graduate of Drexel’s Restaurant and Hotel Management program, is a pioneer of this new scene. He opened Honest Tom’s Taco Shop in April after being struck by the availability of fresh, delicious tacos during a motorcycle trip to Texas. McCusker brought the spirit and flavors of his travels back to University City—where he parks his beige truck Monday through Thursday at 33rd and Arch and Saturdays at Clark Park. Honest Tom’s currently features three delicious taco varieties: the famous breakfast taco (scrambled eggs, potatoes, cheddar, homemade pico de gallo and guacamole), chicken and sweet potato. McCusker sources his ingredients locally, with produce and eggs from the Food Trust Farmers’ Market. Honest Tom’s is also one of the few places in the city serving Stumptown Coffee (independent roasters who offer fair trade and direct trade brews). —Claire Connelly →→ 33rd and Arch, Mon. – Thurs., 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., Clark Park Farmers’ Market, 43rd and Chester,

Sat., 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. twitter.com/honesttoms

he vision behind Ultimo Coffee Bar in South Philly consists of three parts: Brew high-quality coffee by the cup, create a sense of community and inspire an eagerness to learn. Owners Aaron and Elizabeth Ultimo, expert baristas and coffee connoisseurs, get their coffee beans through Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC, a roaster that establishes close relationships with growers around the world. The beans, which change monthly, are ground to order at Ultimo. “We take our time,” Aaron says. “We’re definitely filling a need that nobody else is filling.” In addition to coffee, Ultimo offers sandwiches made with fresh ingredients from Lancaster Farm Fresh, Green Meadow farm, the Fair Food Farmstand and Wild Flour Bakery. Brew, the artisan beer take-out joint run by South Philadelphia Taproom owner John Longacre, will share space with Ultimo, but is still in the process of obtaining a liquor license. Once that’s up and running, customers can buy a six-pack and an espresso in one stop. At Ultimo Coffee Bar, extraordinary coffee is served in an unpretentious atmosphere. Once you try it, you may never want to settle for less. —Heather Simons →→ 1900 S. 15th St.,

Green Aisle Grocery Gourmet goods in South Philly

n an area where few options exist for those who favor local, organic foods, the November opening of Green Aisle Grocery brings change to South Philly. Owned by brothers Adam and Andrew Erace, the boutique food market features produce from local farms—gems such as purple Peruvian fingerlings, Jewel sweet potatoes, Meyer lemons and candystripe beets line the shelves. Several products are sourced from Philadelphia businesses, such as Zahav’s hummus, Pub & Kitchen’s barbecue sauce and Wild g r i d p h i l ly. c o m

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Flour Bakery’s bread. Also available are five whole bean coffees, including La Colombe and Stumptown. Rare finds such as Johnson’s popcorn and Q tonic water are common fare at Green Aisle Grocery. “We created the kind of store that I would want to go to,” says Adam, also a restaurant critic for Philadelphia Weekly. —Heather Simons →→ 1618 E. Passyunk, Mon. – Fri.,

12 – 8 p.m. Sat. 12 – 9 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

greenaislegrocery.com

Mon. – Fri. 7 a.m. – 9 p.m., Sat. & Sun., 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.

ultimocoffee.wordpress.com

/ energy

Season of Lights

Boathouse Row’s signature style goes green…red and gold

by lee stabert

he lights of boathouse row are iconic Philadelphia—they get top postcard billing alongside the Liberty Bell and the Art Museum steps. So, you can imagine the fuss a few years ago when they decided to change them, replacing every bulb with an energy-efficient, long-lasting LED.

In 2005, when the project began, the old incandescent lighting system was 27 years old and plagued by myriad issues. The environment on the river was rough on the bulbs—all that wind and water—and the city only replaced burned out bulbs twice a year. That meant tough luck for any that died even 24 hours after the bi-yearly maintenance. This led to a not-so-postcard-ready image—boathouses looking like gap-toothed jack-o’-lanterns, busted bulbs disrupting the signature silhouette. Annual maintenance costs, for new lights and labor, were around $50,000 a year. So the city eventually made the big decision to switch out the system completely— replacing the old six-watt incandescents with LED lamps. Still a relatively new technology at the time, the LEDs burn only a quarter of a watt, or use 96 percent less energy, and have a lifespan of twenty to twenty-five years.

bright idea

The process was complicated, and there were a lot of people to please. The boathouses had concerns (Fairmount Park owns the lights, but needed approval from the houses’ owners) and the Historic Commission had to sign off. Maintaining the signature points-of-light appearance wasn’t easy. At the time, there was only one company (Color Kinetics) that made LED lamps that would work, and even those weren’t perfect—the new lamps were smaller than the original incandescents and had to be placed closer together to maintain the familiar feel. More lights usually mean more energy, but the upside of the LEDs was so great that energy costs were still cut by 88 percent. Aesthetic concerns caused more than just spacing issues. On a test run, a boathouse was illuminated with half LEDs and half old incandescents. The LEDs emit a pure white light, which is much colder in appearance and looked blue next to the

familiar warm glow of the traditional system. Engineers had to program the LEDs to achieve a perfect color match. They ended up dubbing that default setting, “Boathouse Row White.” One of the upshots of the LEDs is their ability to emit light in a variety of colors. Fairmount Park brought in a lighting designer, Troy Martin-O’Shia, and he went to work on some seasonal and celebratory lighting schemes. This wasn’t easy—each light has its own distinct IP address and had to be entered into the system individually. Every light is now controlled through a central panel on the riverfront. This holiday season, when you travel down I-76, maybe you’ll take an extra look at the lights of Boathouse Row. You should see green, red and gold lights alternating close to the water, with white lights along the rooflines, simulating freshly fallen snow. ■

To green up your holiday, replace old incandescent lights with strands of energy-efficient LEDs. Not only will they help cut down on your electric bill and eliminate the issue of burned-out bulbs, but they also reduce the risk of electrical fires.

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by samantha wittchen

Your Holiday

What to do with your trees, lights and wrapping paper

hen I was young, my family had a semi-official competition for the prize-winning bow each year at Christmas. The contenders would tirelessly toil away on their masterpieces, and the winner would be appropriately admired, photographed and stored away until the next year, when it would be resurrected to adorn a less important package than the one it graced the year it claimed victory. I, of course, assumed this was commonplace. From year to year, the same lot of boxes, bows and paper would reappear, and everyone would have a swell time laughing at the 15-yearold box from the now-defunct Hess’s department store that kept reappearing. I learned this wasn’t normal when my college friends laughed at me as I meticulously removed the wrapping paper from a package to save it for future use. According to Earth911.org, wrapping paper and shopping bags account for four million tons of trash annually in the U.S. Holiday lights aren’t much better. They’re often treated as disposable products, and with 15 million sets of holiday lights purchased annually, that’s a lot of lights that eventually end up in landfills. Fortunately, the figures for Christmas trees are considerably less daunting. According to a national survey, 93 percent of all real Christmas trees are recycled in some sort of community program. Many Philadelphians want to do the right thing, but taking your tree to a Streets Department sanitation center when you don’t have a car can be tricky. And, now that you’ve switched to more energy-efficient LED holiday lights, what do you do with those old strands of incandescents? Luckily, the options for Philadelphians to improve their sustainability quotient at the most consumption-oriented time of the year keep growing.

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(EVER)GREEN

For the past several years, the city has offered a tree recycling program in January at several of their Sanitation Convenience Centers. While the 2010 schedule is not yet posted, it is likely that this service will be offered again. Trees must be free of tinsel and decorations, and they can’t be flecked with fake white snow. Residents must bring their trees to the designated drop-off sites for recycling. Any trees left out for curbside pick-up will be treated as trash and landfilled. Another resource for treecycling is the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association (NLNA). They are planning a post-holiday season chipping event for January 9. While last year’s event required residents to bring their trees to one designated site in Northern Liberties, this year NLNA will be partnering with New Kensington Community Development Corporation and Greensgrow Farm to expand collection sites. According to Lara Kelly, who organizes the event, NLNA is also looking into the possibility of having drop-off sites in other parts of the city beyond Northern Liberties and Kensington, such as Queen Village, Manayunk, Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill. The event will take place at Orianna Hill Dog Park (the 900 block of North Orianna Street between 3rd and 4th), and the resulting wood chips will be used there. While the event is free, NLNA does request donations

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to help defray the cost of the chipper, and any extra money brought in by the event will go to planting trees in the area. For more information, contact Kelly at trash@nlna.org or visit nlna.org. A unique alternative to the traditional cut tree is a live, potted one that can be planted outside after the holiday season. Last year in Northern Liberties, Jason Butsch and Bronwynn Hall began selling smaller live trees that could then be planted after the holiday season. They’re ideal for apartment dwellers with limited space, students and anyone who travels over the holidays. According to Butsch, they had “limited success but overwhelming encouragement” last year. Butsch, a restoration landscaper committed to using native plants, plans to continue the operation (named Sappy Holidays) this holiday season. Arbol Café and Mugshots Coffeehouse and Café have already agreed to work with him, and this year’s menu of available plants will include native evergreens and deciduous trees. Butsch has also contacted the Schuylkill Project, which aims to revitalize the waterfront, and hopes to partner with them to offer post-holiday collection and planting for those who don’t have the ability to plant the trees themselves. For more information, contact Butsch at phillytreecycle@gmail.com or visit arrowwoodgardens.com.

lights OUT

If you’ve upgraded to LEDs, and your old incandescent strands still work, consider donating them. If you’re replacing your lights because the old ones don’t work, there are a couple of resources out there. You can ship your non-functional lights to HolidayLEDs. com, and they will recycle them responsibly. If you’re looking for an even bigger payback than knowing you’ve diverted a recyclable product from a landfill, consider participating in the program offered by Christmas Light Source (christmas-light-source. com), which donates all the proceeds from their holiday light recycling program to a book program for Toys for Tots. Again, all you have to do is ship your lights to them. Save money and packaging by organizing a few of your friends to send theirs at the same time. WRAPPING IT UP

The other big holiday waste generators— wrapping paper, ribbon, decorations and packaging—are things that Philadelphians can manage on their own through reuse or avoidance. Paper can be reused easily from year to year, especially when wrapping progressively smaller packages. If it can’t be reused, it can probably be recycled. Avoid metallic or laminated papers, as they cannot be recycled in Philadelphia. Consider using other items, such as newspaper or old calendars, to wrap your gifts instead of purchasing new paper. As for ribbons and bows, consider using natural ones instead of synthetics, avoid metallics and reuse them from year to year. Last year’s Christmas cards can be cut up and used as this year’s gift tags. Packaging can be a little trickier because often there isn’t a choice as to how something is packaged. However, when there is an option, go for the gifts that minimize packaging, or whose packaging is made of recycled materials or is recyclable itself. Those notoriously hard-to-open plastic clamshells are also often hard to recycle, and the city of Philadelphia does not accept them at all, even if they are #1 or #2. The added benefit to all of this holiday reuse is that it costs less and it saves you time deliberating between the green and red ribbon in the gift wrap aisle at Target. Now get to work on that prize-winning bow! ■

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/ jobs

A Matter of Degrees

The old Frankford Arsenal is now home to solar panel installation training by tim mccullough

warehouse sits along the banks of Old Frankford Creek, in the Bridesburg section of Northeast Philadelphia. For a century and a half it was part of the Frankford Arsenal, manufacturing ammunition and weapons parts for the military. Opened in 1816, the Arsenal was a linchpin of Philadelphia’s economy for generations, providing muskets during the Battle of Gettysburg and ammunition for both world wars. But, by the late ’70s, the Arsenal wasn’t producing much anymore. Once a huge employer in the region, it was swept up in the tide that carried away most of Philadelphia’s manufacturing jobs. In 1977, the Arsenal closed. But that wasn’t the end of the story for this historic landmark. Today, the complex houses two charter schools and various small businesses, and, in one particular warehouse by the creek, students are learning how to install solar panels. The PV installation training class is run by the Maxwell Education Group. (PV is short for photovoltaics, a technical name for cells used to gather energy from the sun.) A small company that’s been doing various workforce development and welfare-to-work programs since 1998, Maxwell has received a federal grant to train unemployed city residents for jobs in the burgeoning green economy—and they’re starting with solar panels. In the classroom, a group of students sit in second-hand chairs taking notes. The lecturer explains photovoltaic wiring practices, electrical load analysis techniques and other techni10

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cal details of the solar energy industry. To their right are several rows of out-of-service solar panels, about 15 altogether. The students will get plenty of hands-on experience, but time in the classroom is also an important part of their training. The program is intensive—requiring 300 hours over 8 to 12 weeks, including a fourweek externship and job search. Most students earn jobs through their externships. Steve Organ, president of the Maxwell Education Group, has been in the job-training business for 35 years—and he is also one of the teachers. He has only good things to say about the students, and their futures. “We’re proud to help our students develop the broad range of skills they need to get a new lease on life in the workforce,” he says. The class is a diverse bunch. The average age is 40, and the ethnic breakdown is about 60 percent African American and 40 percent

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Now and then—the historic Frankford Arsenal (above left) houses a new solar panel installation training program (above middle).

caucasian, with one Latino student. The group includes six veterans, six ex-offenders and a mix of manufacturing experience, from extensive to none. One exception: There are no women in the class—the few that did apply didn’t make it past the entrance exam. “I guess I am an environmentalist, but I never thought of it like that,” says Sam Williams, an Iraq War veteran and one of 25 students in the first session of the job-training program. While waiting at the Bridesburg Station for his train to West Philly, he recalls the companionship he felt while in the military. He says he feels a similar bond between the staff and the students. “They really support us,” he says. “We feed off their energy and vice versa.” Williams returned from Iraq in 2005. He worked in communications for the military, but couldn’t find a job that fit his skills. When he found out about the opportunity to learn solar panel installation, he went after it. He applied for the course through PA CareerLink Philadelphia (pwdc.org/careerlink), a website run by the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board. Williams has found that the work suits him. “Working outside and working with people is what I like to do,” he explains. phot os by da n mu rph y

Ahead of the curve—a festive cake congratulates the 25 graduates, including Sam Wiliiams (above), an Iraq War veteran. Speakers included Steve Organ (top left), president of the Maxwell Education Group.

Standing in the parking lot of the former arsenal, you can look across Old Frankford Creek—it stretches to nearly 50 feet as it approaches the Delaware River—and see the vestiges of Philadelphia’s industrial past. The city was once called the “workshop of the world.” Manufacturing drove the economy and supported a population that grew to over two million. Jobs were plentiful, unemployment averaged four percent and concepts like “carbon footprint” were still decades away. Those days are gone. Now, only five percent of jobs in Philly are in manufacturing and unemployment is on the rise. Programs like this one aim to make a small dent in that downward trajectory, and point toward a more high-tech, sustainable future for the city. Organ already sees a national shift towards a new breed of business. Strolling through rows of

out-of-service solar panels, he mentions tentative plans for a solar power plant in the Navy Yard. “We saw Obama elected and knew we were going to move towards a green economy,” he says. His company received $150,000 of Philadelphia’s roughly $1 billion in federal stimulus money. The other 803 Philadelphia recipients received an average of $1.2 million, so Maxwell Education Group gets by on a tight budget. While future funding is not guaranteed, Organ feels confidant that the training will continue for at least a few more sessions. 180 people signed up for the next class. And the program is already a success. A week before their November 21 graduation, over half of the 24 students completing the program had found jobs. They’ve been hired by companies such as Aztec Solar, Eco-Merica, ESS and EOS. Their average starting wage is $15 per hour, and most will earn benefits within 90 days. This goes to show that even in this tough economy, demand for skilled workers in the solar industry is growing. “We know there’s a job market here,” says Organ. “We found it.” So, in a place that formerly made weapons, Maxwell Education Group is arming local workers with a new set of tools. And, by repurposing a stalwart from the city’s past, Philadelphia is simultaneously reinvigorating its long-dormant manufacturing economy and looking forward as part of an expanding national green industry movement. ■

‘s 12 Green Days of Christmas On the twelfth green day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 12 green gift baskets 11 solar chargers 10 iPod speakers 9 hand sanitizers detergent refills 8 7 magazine purses 6 cases of paper 5 Klean Kanteens 4 Wrap-N Matts 3 banks of tin 2 firestarters and a plantable christmas tree! all these and more Eco-friendly gifts available at the Big Green Earth Store

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/ profiles

A Man for All Seasons Marvin Dixon takes lessons learned on a farm to the luxury hotel business by char vandermeer

f the typical luxury hotel is a gaping hole of conspicuous consumption, then Philadelphia’s Four Seasons Hotel is anything but. With its hugely successful composting program, a commitment to reusing cooking oil, an aggressive commingled recycling program and a brand-new cogeneration system, it sticks out like a green thumb. And that thumb belongs to Marvin Dixon, the hotel’s director of engineering. “People always think that luxury means waste… and one of my goals is to try to change that image,” says Dixon. A Kentucky native, he remembers plowing his grandfather’s field with the help of Kate, the family mule, and religiously composting. “[My grandfather] had a great green initiative back then; we just didn’t know it was called sustainability!” Dixon, who joined the hotel staff just over five years ago, relaunched the Four Seasons’ stalled green initiatives. Over three years of work, Dixon has led the hotel staff in converting more than 430,000 pounds of kitchen waste into compost. Some of that compost makes its way back to the 12

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hotel in the form of rich, nutritious potting soil, filling the beds of chef Rafael Gonazles’ new rooftop garden. Not satisfied with composting, gardening, recycling over 100,000 pounds of material, reusing over 125 gallons of cooking oil per week (largely in Dixon’s oil-powered Ford F-350, which he uses to haul the hotel’s compost to Montgomery County), reducing water consumption by more than five million gallons and lowering overall energy consumption by more than 20 percent, Dixon continues to search for ways to make the hotel even more efficient. And that quest led Dixon to cogeneration, which efficiently combines heating with power. Cogeneration isn’t a new technology—it was

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widely used at the turn of the century, but largely abandoned when purchasing electricity from power companies became more convenient. Dixon’s turbines mark the first of their kind to be installed in a Philadelphia hotel. This new gasoline-powered turbine system generates 25 percent of the hotel’s energy for 20 percent less than it would cost to buy it from PECO. On top of that savings, it captures 1,200,000 BTUs of heat produced hourly by the turbines that would otherwise be lost. To put over a million BTUs into perspective, the typical South Philly rowhome’s furnace emits about 80,000 BTUs. Dixon, however, looks at that captured heat in another way: “That’s enough heat to make all of our domestic hot water and to heat our building through the spring and fall heating season. “Being in the hotel business since 1978, I’m always looking at better or more efficient ways to do things. I just think cogeneration is a perfect fit for any hotel operation,” continues Dixon. “If you produce your own electricity and you have a place to use that rejected heat, then you’re a winner.” ■

phot o by je s s ica k ou rko u n i s

Folk Fight

Philadelphia’s Joshua Marcus—and his banjo— campaign for environmental justice by lee stabert

hey say use what you got. For Philadelphia’s Joshua Marcus, that happens to be a banjo and a connection to the socially-conscious folk music of another era. Armed with those tools, he has completed This Land, a collection of seven songs and oral histories recounting the specific stories of local environmental justice movements. “The project grew out of my love for music,” says Marcus. “I’ve been playing banjo and singing songs for over 10 years. I got a job at [the] University of Pennsylvania because I couldn’t ever make enough money being a musician. I got to go to school for free and take courses in environmental studies.” Over the course of four years, Marcus earned a master’s degree and developed a deep interest in the people and places affected by environmental disasters in the United States. “There’s been a lot of hype around environmentalism, but not really environmental justice,” he explains. “It seems more nature-based than people-based.” So, he went to the people. He worked directly with seven different community activist organizations (mostly on the East Coast), writing historically accurate narrative folk songs about their experiences. The stories deal with everything from toxic runoff to tainted water to the pho to by j. J . TIZIOU

horrific violence of mountaintop removal mining. But mostly they are about the citizens of these affected places—who are as far from the cultural caricature of “environmentalist” as they come—and their struggles against anonymity and corporate interests. Selecting the groups was an involved process. Not only did Marcus need to be able to travel to the sites on a limited budget, but he wanted to create partnerships with organizations that were excited about the project. “It’s a collaborative effort,” he says. “I would write the music and work on drafts of the lyrics, but have the individuals and the groups I was working with edit them, or suggest content. So, in the end, we come up with lyrics that we’re both happy with. I do represent them.” A longtime fan of vintage social justice folk singers like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, Marcus has a deep appreciation for those old

songs, but felt they weren’t really his stories to tell. “I have a tendency—and I think most of us do—to romanticize older things that we haven’t had to live through,” he explains. “So, I would play these folk songs, and sing about the Dust Bowl, but I would never play them out because I’m not really sure about the time and place they were written—outside of reading books and imagining.” So, he went and did his own (exhaustive) research. He found causes that embody contemporary environmental justice issues, and joined that storied folk tradition, instead of simply aping it. Sparsely arranged, with Marcus’ banjo at the forefront, the songs themselves are detailed and devastating—especially when paired with the oral histories he has collected from his community partners. “It's still clear in the songs that I am an outsider,” he says. “I’m just kind of doing reporting, or grassroots storytelling.” All of the proceeds from concerts and album sales will go directly to the organizations. And, since this project is all about raising awareness, the entire album is available to stream at thislandourland.org. ■

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/ education

What Is Geothermal Energy? by claire connelly

ach year, as fall comes to an end, Philadelphians brace themselves for another long heating season. Though the weather has been milder in recent years and we’re able to wait a bit longer before cranking up the thermostat, the winter months can still have a devastating effect on our wallets and the environment. That’s why more Americans are turning to a cleaner and more cost-effective form of renewable energy: geothermal. Geothermal energy, which utilizes heat retained within the Earth’s core, is not a new concept. In fact, its origins date as far back as the Paleolithic Era, when hot springs first served as a source of warmth and cleansing. In the 1800s, settlers began building homes near springs and geysers in the western United States, taking advantage of the natural heat they provided. Geothermal technology continued to progress through the early 1900s with the invention of a heat pump designed to force heat to and from the ground. Today, geoexchange or ground source heat pumps have gained popularity due to high fossil fuel prices and a growing awareness of the effects of carbon emissions. The earth’s constant temperature makes the use of these pumps one of the most efficient heating technologies available. Since ground source pumps are merely transferring heat from the ground to your home, no fossil fuels are burned (typically, electric power is used only to operate the unit’s fan, compressor and pump) and carbon dioxide emissions are greatly reduced, creating an extremely clean and environmentally-friendly heating option. Though the installation can be more costly than regular heating systems, the benefits are seen over time with 30 to 40 percent lower energy bills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The U.S. also offers a 30 percent tax credit for homeowners who install geothermal heat pumps, and in Pennsylvania, the Keystone Home Energy Loan Program 14

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w i nt e r he at i ng m ode

s um m e r cool i ng m ode

(HELP) provides financing and rebates for high-efficiency improvements, including geothermal systems. “Interest [in geothermal] has grown in the last two years,” says Don Hull, owner of Ground Source H.V.A.C. (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) in Media. “And the 30 percent tax credit with no limit is the reason.” If you’re considering geothermal for your home, Hull, who’s been a home energy advocate for over 30 years, emphasizes the importance of following the proper steps before installation. “Start by getting a home energy audit, then call Keystone HELP and line up financing,” he says. Next, homeowners should have their household energy demand calculated, then go back to Keystone HELP with a price. The loan will include the cost of renovations and the geo-installations. For more information about geothermal installation, visit groundsourcehvac.com and keystonehelp.com.

GeT InvoLved with

Join our Street team! email getinvolved@gridphilly.co ↘

helP uS with our diStribution eFFortS

by volunteering a few minutes in your neighborhood. you’ll be assigned several locations to monitor each month. all volunteers are welcome, but we’re specifically looking for help in south philly, the main line, media, jenkintown and north Wales! email getinvolved@gridphilly.com

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Onc e t h e f i na l ou nc e of s t u f f i ng i s c onsu m e d

and the last slice of pumpkin pie disappears, millions of Americans begin the race to fulfill wish lists for family, loved ones, friends and coworkers. This year, get creative. Make your own gifts with the help of the city’s most knowledgable experts, or give the lessons themselves—a gift that keeps on giving. And, when going the more traditional route, think local: Philadelphia is rife with talented artisans and unique independent businesses offering high quality clothing, jewelry, food and crafts of all shapes and sizes, for every budget. Here in Grid’s Guide to a Handmade Holiday, you’ll find some of our favorite ideas. compiled by claire connelly and natalie hope mcdonald

Amaze your friends and brew your own

featured store Home Sweet Homebrew

2008 Sansom St.

Philadelphia's first brewery was erected in 1683, and by 1793, Philadelphia was producing more beer than all the other seaports in the country. That tradition lives on today in our award-winning local breweries and a growing number of enterprising homebrewers doing it for themselves. Local homebrewing headquarters Home Sweet Homebrew provides DIY brewers with all the tools and necessary to produce their own ales, lagers and hefeweizens. George Hummel, an award-winning brewer, has operated the Sansom Street store with his wife Nancy for almost 20 years. They’re experts in everything beer. Home Sweet Homebrew’s beginner’s kit ($69.95) includes brewing instructions, a beer recipe and all the supplies required to make your first five gallons of beer. From there, all you need, according to Hummel is, “two afternoons of work and three or four weeks of patience.” For product listings and homebrewing tips, ªª visit homesweethomebrew.com.

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t y pe a nd illus t r at ions by m e lis s a m c feeters

You are 90 minutes away from knitting your first scarf

featured store

Craig Rosenfeld worked in property management before opening Loop in 2005. “I had been knitting for a few years and was looking Loop to make a career change,” explains Rosenfeld. 1914 South St. The colorful storefront on South Street is a full service shop that carries yarn for hand knitSpool ting and crochet, needles, hooks and finishing 1912 South St. services—everything a potential knitter could possibly need. Loop also offers classes for varying skill levels. Their Quick Start classes for knitting and crochet ($24) are great for beginners. Students leave the hour-and-a-half lesson with the ability to knit a scarf. Beginning Knitting ($106), a more in-depth introduction, includes four twohour sessions. “There are great knitting and crocheting books out there, but for a lot of people that’s hard to do,” says Rosenfeld. “I think for a lot of people, it’s easier to learn when you can have someone show you.” In March 2008, Rosenfeld partnered with his friend Laura Singewald to open Spool in the retail space next door. Spool carries a collection of eclectic fabrics and provides sewing machines for group and private lessons. At Learn to Sew classes ($48) students learn how to thread the machine, cut fabric and put together a grocery tote that’s ready to use at the end of class. Spool also offers specialty classes—teaching participants how to make a-line skirts, pillows, table runners and even pajama pants—and provides open sewing hours during the week for $10 an hour. Loop and Spool both offer private lessons as well, for those interested in ªª

one-on-one instruction. Check out their upcoming classes at loopyarn.com/ classes and spoolsewing.com/spoolclasses.

Play in the mud, make unforgettable gifts

featured

studio

The Clay Studio's ground floor houses a vibrant gallery of pots, mugs, jewelry and decorative items produced by expert The Clay Studio artisans, but the building also hosts three floors of studio space, 137-139 North 2nd St. with artists hard at work. Open since 1990, the studio offers a variety of classes and workshops at all levels, taught by both visiting and resident artists. Budding artists and craftspeople can partake in introductory classes like General Pottery and Throwing for Beginners, or learn more advanced techniques like Mold Making and Slip Casting. Advanced students can pursue their own independent projects by purchasing a Studio Passport, allowing them access to all open studios. “We’ve recently added programs for children and families which make great gifts,” says the Clay Studio's Amelia Powell. “Clay has been discussed by art therapists as one of the best things for a child developmentally.” Student Jill Meltzer hadn’t worked with clay for four years, but has been taking classes since August. “Now I’m here all the time,” she says. “It’s a nice place to get away and it’s nice for me to work with my hands, which is something I have to do—it’s not even a choice!”. For more information and class schedules, visit theclaystudio.org. ªª

pho tos by al bert yee a nd lucas hardi son

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This year, create your own ornament

featured

A combination of science and art, glass blowing may seem like an unattainable and exotic skill. The technique, which involves inflating molten glass Hudson into a bubble using a blowpipe or tube, can be a bit Beach Glass intimidating. But, at Hudson Beach Glass, the magic 26 South of playing with hot glass is within reach. Opened Strawberry St. last October by Sean Gilvey, a third generation glass blower, and his wife Emily, the shop not only produces beautiful glass products but hosts demonstrations and instruction. Hudson Beach Glass offers a variety of glass blowing classes suitable for children and adults. Their 15 Minute Experiences allow visitors to design their own Christmas ornament ($35), pint glass ($40) or pull their own glass flower ($35). For those interested in delving deeper, there are more extensive introductory classes and opportunities to learn through apprenticeships and private lessons. “When you watch a professional blow glass they make it look easy,” Emily Gilvey explains. “It almost looks like magic. Part of the thrill of trying it yourself is realizing how difficult it really is, and then moving through the heat and the strangeness to make something out of glass.” By the end of Hudson Beach’s two-hour lessons, students know how to gather molten hot glass onto the end of a pipe and form it into a ball. “That is a big accomplishment and gives the student not only a great experience in the lesson but also confidence after,” says Gilvey. “I think giving knowledge and confidence as a gift is pretty powerful.”

studio

For more information on scheduling a class, ªª visit hudsonbeachglasspa.com.

Learn to have a can-do attitude

featured

Knowing where your food comes from makes it taste better, and being part of the process is even more rewarding. That's where home canning comes Marisa in. It not only preserves garden fresh foods through McClellan the winter months but also gives you complete control—and might even save you a few bucks. In her blog, foodinjars.com, Marisa McClellan documents her adventures in canning. A compulsive jar collector, McClellan "owns more jars than she’d like to admit.” Canning was a part of life growing up in Oregon, where her mother always made jams. Now a web producer, food writer and photographer, McClellan is continuing the family tradition and passing it along to fellow Philadelphians. “It’s fun and rewarding,” says McClellan. “When you do it yourself, it makes you appreciate your food. Plus, people are so impressed when they receive something you’ve canned—and it’s really not hard to do.” McClellan teaches classes at Foster’s Homeware and has done demonstrations at Philly Kitchen Share. She’s also available for private lessons. McClellan stresses the importance of canning what’s in season and utilizes the freshest local ingredients. She plans to offer marmalade classes in January, when citrus is at its peak, and there are future plans for condiment classes, with instructions for making mustards and mayonnaise.

artisan

For class schedules and information on private lessons, ªª visit foodinjars.com.

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2 •

Happy Owl Glass Holiday Ornament ($36) This retro-style owl ornament is handmade and comes in several cool color combos. If you order more than $75 worth of gifts online you receive a free Kurt Halsey postcard set. Art Star, 623 N. 2nd St., ªª

215-238-1557, artstarphilly.com

Marble Bamboo Sweater Set ($105) Made from eco-friendly bamboo, Denise Shardlow’s unique designs are colorful and feminine. Denise Shardlow Designs, 415 E. Church Rd., ªª Elkins Park, 215-635-4381, shardlowdesigns. com

•

Save the Whales T-shirt ($16) 1 Homegrown in Northern Liberties, this unisex tee—from the designers who brought you “F the Economy” and “Palien”—is perfect for the snarkiest person you know.

1 •

Print Liberation, 319 N. 11th St., 3rd Fl., ªª printliberation.com

Rayskin Surf ($700–$30,000) and Skate Boards ($150–$2,500) 2 Hit the waves or the streets without guilt on a Rayskin board, handmade with sustainable and reclaimed wood—and featuring designs by superstars Mickey Munoz and Terry Martin.

•

3 •

Switch Foot: Skate-Snow-Surf, 33 Kings Hwy. ªª E., Ste. A, Haddonfield, N.J., 856-433-8319, rayskin.com

•

Footprint Bamboo EcoWear T-shirt ($28) 3 This soft unisex tee, which comes in seven shades, is made from 70 percent bamboo— earth’s most sustainable resource. Weaver’s Way Co-Op, 559 Carpenter Ln., ªª

215-843-2350, ext. 114, footprintbamboo.com

Hobo Arona Journal ($15–$35) Old books are gutted and creatively remade into journals, the perfect diary solution for anyone who’s ever posted one too many secrets on Facebook.

4 •

5 •

Mew Gallery, 906 Christian St., 215-625-2424, ªª mewgallery.org

“Eat Yar Peas and Carrots” Onesie ($18) This hand-screened onesie by Red Prairie Press is available in yellow, blue and pink for veggieloving wee ones starting at six months old.

6 •

Art Star, 623 N. 2nd St., 215-238-1557, ªª artstarphilly.com

•

Wrap Fork Ring ($50) 4 Made from salvaged cutlery, this whimsical ring by Denorval Bratten is stylish and sustainable. Also check out the collection of leather wristbands and glass bracelets—all made from reclaimed materials. Square Peg Artery & Salvage, 108 S. 20th St., ªª 215-360-5548, squarepegartery.com

•

Blackburn Flea Bicycle Light ($30) 5 Keep your favorite cyclist safe with this bicycle light, complete with rechargeable batteries. It's small, light and mounts almost anywhere

Basil-Anise and Ginger-Carrot Soaps ($4) 6 Pamper the people on your list with samples of Philly-made soap featuring all-natural ingredients, including herb, spice and vegetable blends.

Trophy Bikes, 3131 Walnut St., ªª

Beekman’s C.O.P.A. Soaps, 438 E. Girard Ave., ªª

215-222-2020, trophybikes.com

800-315-5690, copasoaps.com

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1 •

2 •

•

Block Bars ($7) 1 All the soaps at this Center City shop start with a vegan base of coconut, safflower and olive oils. Seasonal specialties include gingerbread, eggnog (made with vanilla oil and a touch of nutmeg) and winter wreath. Duross & Langel, 117 S. 13th St., ªª

215-592-SOAP, durossandlangel.com

•

“It’s a New Day” Notecards ($5) 2 Start the New Year off right by gifting handmade notecards featuring graphics of Philly’s own illuminated skyline. Also check out West Philly tees and stationary products at this hip shop. VIX Emporium, 5009 Baltimore Ave., ªª

215-471-7700, vixemporium.wordpress.com

Italian Gift Basket ($50) Design your own custom gift basket complete with artisan cheese, pasta, sauce, crackers, olive oil and candy at family-owned Avenue Cheese Shop in South Philly.

3 •

Avenue Cheese Shop, 724 E. Passyunk Ave., ªª 215-389-8828, avenuecheeseshop.com

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Smoked Salmon Sampler ($49) 3 Fresh from Pennsylvania’s own sustainable River & Glen, the sampler includes three smoked salmon specialties served up with crème fraiche, capers and petite toast.

4 •

DiBruno Brothers, 1730 Chestnut St., ªª 215-665-9220, dibruno.com

5 •

Boutique Holiday Ladybugs ($29) You can’t go wrong with raspberry and mint ganaches in the shape of lucky ladybugs. These creative local chocolate makers even created special holiday box editions of favorite designs. John & Kira’s, 800-747-4808, ªª johnandkiras.com

•

Gourmet Cupcakes 4 ($2, or $22.80/dozen if you order ahead) Be the king of dessert this season when you share these rockin’ cupcakes. Also check out fine confections like fudge, black velvet cake and cowgirl macaroons at this Grays Ferry bakery. Betty’s Tasty Buttons, 2241 Grays Ferry Ave, ªª No. 1, 215-735-9060, bettysfudge.com

•

Plushkill Forest Brown Mouse ($54) Save an animal and mount this one-of-a-kind sculpture on your wall instead. Made from fabric, felt and wood by Cherrybox Studios, the adorable sculpture is cruelty free.

Adopt a Vine ($110) When you adopt a vine, the wine lover on your list receives his or her own plaque and bottle of wine, and is invited to wine tastings for five years.

Éclat Mollydooker Shiraz Truffles ($35) 5 If you hand over this 20-piece box of rich chocolate truffles, there’s no guarantee anyone’s sharing. But you can pick up a box of your own at Fork:etc.

Art Star, 623 N. 2nd St., 215-238-1557, ªª

Blue Mountain Wine and Vineyards, 7627 ªª

Éclat Chocolate, 24 S. High St., West Chester, ªª

artstarphilly.com

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Grape Vine Dr., New Tripoli, 610-298-3068, bluemountainwine.com

december 2009

610-692-5206, eclatchocolate.com. Fork:etc., 306 Market St.

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Fatman's Pottery ($10–$120) 1 Fatman calls it “playing in the mud” but his handmade custom mugs and bowls are one of a kind.

3 •

University City Arts League, 4226 Spruce ªª St., (215) 382-7811, ucartsleague.org, fatmanspottery.com

Wildflower Honey ($4) If you’re looking for a reason to head to the country, visit Fruitwood Orchards, where you can buy honey fresh from the farm in a variety of flavors like alfalfa, blueberry and Pine Barren. Fruitwood Orchards, 419 Elk Rd., ªª Monroeville, NJ, 856-881-7748, fruitwoodorchardshoney.com

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Pure Beeswax Candles ($5-$20) 2 Even the person with allergies on your list will love these all-natural beeswax candles—an allnatural way to celebrate the season of lights. Bee Natural, Reading Terminal Market, ªª 302-382-2370

Season Celebration Tray ($49) Let the folks at Chaddsford Winery wrap up customized gifts with seasonal flavor, like spiced apple wine, cranberry decadence cookies, cinnamon sticks and hot mulled wine recipes. Chaddsford Winery, 632 Baltimore Pike, ªª

Chaddsford, 610-268-5066, chaddsford.com

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Winter Comfort Tea Sampler ($30) 3 It’s not always easy to select teas from all the varieties at Steap. That’s why you can select gift boxes, like Winter Comfort, which come with four tea samples and yield 100 steaming cups.

4 •

Premium Steep, 111 S. 18th St., 215-568-2920, ªª premiumsteap.com

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Re-Gift Wine Bag ($5) Each reusable bag comes in several sizes and designs, and is made from durable natural cotton by the students at Savannah College of Art & Design—perfect for dressing up someone’s favorite vino.

Muscle Mender Spa Sampler ($32) 4 Soothe away holiday stress at home with a collection of chemical-free spa salts, message oil and body balm from WoodSprite Organic Body. Or grab a gift card for organic-only salon and spa services in the heart of Fabric Row.

Verde, 108 S. 13th St., 215-546-8700, ªª

Juju Salon & Organics, 713 S. Fourth St., ªª

T of the Month Club ($9.99 for December only) One way to warm up the winter months is to enroll someone in the “T of the Month Club” where they’ll receive samples of international teas for every fancy, whether they want to unwind after a long day or up their antioxidants.

Organic, Mind, Body and Soul Fair Trade Coffee ($12) Caffeine heads on your list will surely appreciate a bag of spicy coffee with a chocolate edge, like one-pound bag of free-trade Joe. If you buy at Mugshots, don’t forget to stop for a vegan snack, like the seitan, lettuce and tomato sandwich.

TBar, 117 S. 12th St., 215-625-3936, ªª

Mugshots Coffeehouse & Café, ªª

verdephiladelphia.com

tbarteas.com

5 •

215-238-6080, jujusalon.com

•

Compost Bin ($39.95) 5 Perfect for your loved one who wants to compost, this small and convenient compost keeper is countertop-ready. It also includes a filter to keep odors in check. Big Green Earth Store, 934 South St., ªª

267-909-8661, Biggreenearthstore.com

2100 Fairmount Ave., 267-514-7145, mugshotscoffeehouse.com de ce m b e r 20 0 9

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/ in season

Sweet Potatoes

here are few culinary moments more dramatic than when you first take a peeler to the skin of a sweet potato, revealing that shock of orange flesh. And things only get better when you eat ’em. Packed with complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, beta carotene, vitamin C and vitamin B6, sweet potatoes have long been trumpeted for their health benefits. Their cultivation is being encouraged in developing nations due to their nutritional heft, and some American schools have also taken notice, using them in lieu of their paler cousins. These days, heirloom varieties are popping up all over the place—some starchier, some more tender, some not even orange at all. During the winter, local farmstands carry an astounding array of options. Try mixing and matching colors and textures for a more dynamic dish. (The white ones are great for those with a prankster streak—you’ll have your guests scratching their heads at your culinary magic.) Many traditional American preparations play up the tuber’s sweetness, but it’s often more interesting to play off of it with heat, salt or citrus. Throw some in a roasting pan with various root vegetables and spicy sausage or mix a handful in with

8am-8pm, at 45th St. & Baltimore Ave. www.milkandhoneymarket.com • 215 387 MILK (6455) 22

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your Sunday morning homefries recipe. This holiday season, try them as an alternative in potato latkes. (I like to pair those with chopped avocado tossed with salt, chili and lime.) Our Thanksgiving table always includes two potato preparations: mashed white and sweet potatoes with sautéed onions, olive oil and garlic. Guess which one disappears first. Oven-baked sweet potato fries are quick, easy, versatile and healthy. Just slice the potatoes thin (matchsticks, chip-like rounds and heftier fries all work), toss them with olive oil, sea salt and pepper, throw them in a 425 degree oven and cook until browned and beginning to crisp. (They’ll never achieve that french fry crunch, but make up for it in other areas.) Before baking, feel free to shake on some chili powder, paprika or fresh rosemary. Sweet potato fries can be paired with all kinds of dipping sauces, creating a perfect savorysweet-salty-spicy bite of food. Try horseradish aioli, yogurt flavored with garlic, mint and lemon, or a Thai-influenced blend of nam pla, cilantro, chili, mayo and lime. If you have to go sweet, please, avoid the marshmallows. Sweet potato pie is a great option, as are biscuits turned a soft shade of orange by the addition of a quick purée. (Though, I’ll revert to my savory-sweet bias and suggest you top them with salty, braised meat or greens and a poached egg.) —Lee Stabert

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/ local flavor

Changing Standards A favorite lasagna recipe reimagined

hen I became a vegetarian, my second cousin gifted me a well-worn copy of Anna Thomas’ 1972 cookbook The Vegetarian Epicure. As I experimented with its recipes, my mother did, too, and her favorite company meal became, and remains, Epicure’s spinach lasagna with wine and herb sauce. This recipe, a new take on that old standard, celebrates the squash, root vegetables and greens that make up our seasonal winter staples. Lancaster Farm Fresh and other CSAs offer winter extension programs, some farmers’ markets continue yearround and the expanded Fair Food Farmstand at Reading Terminal Market remains stocked. I suggest serving this rich dish alongside some swiss chard or kale, lightly braised in a touch of olive oil, with a sprinkle of salt. This hearty, comforting lasagna could become your winter go-to company meal. 24

g r i d p h i l ly. c o m

by erin gautsche

Mushroom layer

1 2 4 8 4

tbsp. butter cups onion, diced garlic cloves oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced

Squash layer

Butternut Squash and Mushroom Lasagna [serves 8] 9

lasagna noodles salt

Cheese layer

25 1 ½ 1 1 1 ¾ 3

oz. ricotta cheese cups freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano tsp. dried sage tsp. dried rosemary tsp. dried thyme tsp. salt eggs freshly ground pepper to taste

december 2009

3 2 2 1

cups butternut squash purée* tsp. dried sage tsp. dried thyme tsp. salt freshly ground pepper to taste fresh sage leaves (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove and add a pinch of salt. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet or wok. Add the onions, garlic and mushrooms and fry on medium-low heat until the onions are soft and the mushrooms have slightly browned edges. Add three lasagna noodles to the boiling water. Stir occasionally until the noodles are al dente (about eight minutes). Carefully remove from the pot and place on tinfoil to prevent sticking. Repeat with the remaining six noodles. In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, phot o by e r in ga u ts c h e

half a cup of the Pecorino Romano, the herbs, salt and pepper. Add three eggs, mixing well until you reach an even consistency. In another bowl, mix the squash purée with the herbs, salt and pepper. Grease an 8 x 12 casserole dish. Place three noodles on the bottom of the dish. Top with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, 1/2 of the mushroom mixture and 1/2 of the squash purée. Add three more noodles, and repeat with the remaining mushroom mixture and squash. Add one more level of noodles and top with the remaining 1/3 of ricotta and one cup of the Pecorino Romano. Cover the casserole with the sheet of aluminum foil, well-greased to prevent the cheese from sticking.

Bake covered for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes, until the cheese is golden and the lasagna is heated through. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting. Garnish with fresh sage, if you wish. * To take advantage of the abundance of squash in the fall and winter, I boil chopped squash until it is soft, purée it with an immersion blender or food processor, and freeze it in gallon bags to use later in soups and main dishes. If you don’t already have squash purée, you can peel, seed and chop a large butternut (or other sweet winter) squash. Boil the squash in just enough water or salt-free vegetable broth to cover until it is quite soft, about 12 minutes. Drain, blend until smooth and enjoy!

Sweet Pastry

cups whole wheat pastry flour plus a few more tablespoons for rolling dough 8 tbsp. vegan margarine, softened 4 tbsp. powdered sugar 6-8 tbsp. soy or rice milk ¼ tsp. salt

Vegan Pear Tarte Tatin [serves 6] by dynise balcavage, urbanvegan.net With its gorgeous concentric circles of ginger-scented pears, this dessert is a seasonal alternative to the more traditional Apple Tarte Tatin. It provides the elegant “wow” factor required for a holiday dessert. And it’s not as difficult as you may imagine! Serve it warm with soy ice cream and/or a drizzle of chocolate sauce. Don’t be afraid of inverting the tarte. The trick is to let the tarte cool for a few minutes, clear the edges with a knife, and then quickly and confidently flip it onto a dish. Tarte

2 6 8 ½ ½

local pears (Bosc or Bartlett), peeled, cored and quartered tbsp. lemon juice tbsp. vegan margarine tbsp. brown sugar tsp. ground ginger tsp. cinnamon

pho to by dyn ise bal c avage

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel, core and quarter pears. Toss in a medium bowl with lemon juice. On stove top, melt two tablespoons vegan margarine in a nine-inch cake pan. Remove from heat and sprinkle with four tablespoons brown sugar. Arrange pears on top in a tight, concentric circle, then dot with remaining vegan margarine and sprinkle with four tablespoons brown sugar, ginger and cinnamon. Cook cake pan with pears, margarine and sugar on stove top over medium heat until a loose caramel starts to form (about 20 minutes). Place in oven for five minutes to cook the tops of the pears.    Mix all pastry ingredients together and roll out to a ten-inch disk. Place over top of the pears and trim or tuck in the edges. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Remove from heat and cool on a rack for five minutes. Trace the edge of the pan with a knife to loosen any dough that might be sticking. Place a large plate over the top of the tarte and quickly flip the pan. Before removing the cake dish, tap to loosen any remnants that might be sticking. (This should not be a problem if you use enough margarine.) ■

a casual, affordable, neighborhood belgian brasserie Full menu available ‘til 1 AM nightly 200+ world-class bottled beers No Crap On Tap! 100% Wind Powered for all of our electrical needs “The Soul of Belgium in the Heart of Philadelphia”® Tom Peters and Fergus Carey, proprietors serving fine Belgian ales since 1985

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The Sibley Guide to Trees written and illustrated by David Allen Sibley Knopf, $39.95

Sure, you’re a tree hugger, but do you know who you’re hugging? As a subject for the urban naturalist, trees have a lot going for them. You don’t have to work to find them—just go outside. You can study them as long as you need to; they won’t fly away before you can find them in the guidebook. But which guidebook? All guidebooks face a basic tension; the more information you include, the clunkier it is in the field. Eight years ago when I first became enamored with trees, I used (and still use) the Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Trees, which errs on the side of compact utility—focusing on the basic facts to know what you’re looking at—but a beginner might do better with The Sibley Guide to Trees. Sibley is friendlier to the new tree lover, with a less technically-written introduction to tree identification and more features illustrated for each species, a big help while you master the finer points of bud scales. Of course, that makes it too big to slip in your pocket and take with you into Fairmount Park, but maybe that’s why we have backpacks. —Bernard Brown

Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming

Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne

Viking, $25.95

n the early ’80s, David Byrne rediscovered the bicycle. It quickly became the Talking Heads frontman’s primary means of transportation around New York City. Soon after, he began taking a fold-up bicycle with him on tour for downtime explorations. A practice born of convenience, cycling through unknown terrain fostered a profound connection between the artist and his bicycle. From this fixed point—the panoramic window of a bicycle seat—Byrne has connected with the modern world, particularly its cities. His musings are collected in the newly published Bicycle Diaries. While enjoying the manicured bike lanes of Berlin, Byrne ruminates on the different ways Americans and Europeans negotiate their surroundings: “Europeans’ attitude toward their landscape is to cultivate the continent as if it were a vast garden, while Americans prefer to subdue the landscape by force.” Across the continent, he discerns the connection between capitalist democracy and socialism in the changing architecture of Istanbul. “These buildings represent the triumph of both the cult of capitalism and the cult of Marxist materialism,” he writes. “Opposing systems have paradoxically achieved more or less the same aesthetic result.” Back on the homefront, while attempting to cross a freeway in Detroit, Byrne laments the destruction of the urban neighborhood through the “slicing up” of the city with “elevated expressways and concrete canyons.” Fortunately, Bicycle Diaries is not all lamentation and critique. Byrne also celebrates the souls of the people and the cities he experiences, whether it’s the peasant tradition in Buenos Aires’ music scene or little-known murals in a Millvale, PA chapel. —Grace Antonini 26

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by James Hoggan with Richard Littlemore, Greystone Books, $15

It is no accident that about 41 percent of our fellow Americans believe that the seriousness of global warming is being exaggerated. It’s hard to believe that there’s any doubt anymore—it’s like believing that smoking doesn’t cause health problems. Climate Cover-Up, written by James Hoggan with Richard Littlemore, reveals, explains and systematically dismantles the public relations machine behind this politically debilitating confusion. Hoggan is a PR man himself and co-founder of DeSmogBlog. He has an old hand’s ability to delineate how industry groups have used think tanks, clever advertising, bogus “experts,” and corporately-funded “astroturf” groups to create the illusion of scientific uncertainty, a perception that an inexpert media has carelessly reported as real debate. Climate Cover-Up offers a clearer understanding of how the other side operates. Hoggan calls on us to be well-educated and vigilant, but shouldn’t we also be learning something from our opponents? Winning requires savvy PR as much as the truth. —Bernard Brown

city

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This month at The Schuylkill Center: Adopt an Animal Each year, The Schuylkill Center’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic cares for thousands of native birds and mammals that are injured, orphaned, or displaced. By adopting an animal, you will make a much needed contribution to the care that restores our patients to health, and returns them to their rightful place in the wild. Visit our website to learn more about our Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, and our new Adopt an Animal program. The Schuylkill Center oﬀers: Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Land Restoration Environmental Art Environmental Education for children and adults

8480 Hagy’s Mill Road Philadelphia, PA 19128 Tel.215.482.7300

Let Eos show you how Smart Solar can be.

For more information about these and other programs:

www.schuylkillcenter.org

215.787.9999 • www.eosss.com de ce mb e r 20 0 9

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nov jan

26 10

A Longwood Christmas

Stroll through Longwood Gardens’ beautiful indoor and outdoor gardens this holiday season for a spectacular display of lights, fountains and breathtaking floral arrangements. Don’t miss the gardens at sundown, when all the trees and fountains are lit up along the pathway to the DuPont Mansion and the Conservatory, which houses 5,500 plant types in 20 unique gardens. Carolers, organ singalongs and performances by vocalists and ice skaters will also be a part of Longwood’s Christmas. Check online for details on specific events.

Passive House Table Talk

As winter begins in earnest, here is an opportunity to learn about lowering the heating and cooling costs for your home or office by as much as 90 percent. These intimate luncheons look to educate about the Passive House standard, an energy-centric building standard that can be applied to both new and retrofitted buildings. Passive House solutions are mostly low-tech and could permanently enhance the value of your property. Sessions are limited to 10 people, so please reserve in advance.

10 11 17 18

→→ Dec. 10, 11, 17 and 18, 11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.,

GreenSteps, 719 E. Passyunk Ave., 267-5193564, greenstepsonline.us

→→ Nov. 26 – Jan. 10, Longwood Gardens,

1001 Longwood Rd., Kennett Square, longwoodgardens.org

dec

Sustainable Business Network Annual Holiday Party Fundraiser and Crafts Fair

dec

A Very Kensington Christmas Fair

This December, the Sustainable Business Network will host their Seventh Annual Holiday Party Fundraiser at Philadelphia Brewing Company. The event will feature Cosmic Catering snacks and PBC’s own seasonal brews. For a sliding fee, members and non-members can enjoy this festive evening of sustainability, socializing and shopping.

This holiday season, Greensgrow Farm has partnered with InLiquid Art and Design Network for A Very Kensington Christmas Fair. The four-day holiday market will feature arts, crafts, Christmas trees, natural goods and holiday libation specials from Philadelphia Brewing Company and Memphis Taproom. InLiquid artists will also be selling their work, providing the perfect opportunity to grab Philly-made gifts in time for the holidays.

→→ Dec. 10, 6 – 8:30 p.m. $25-$45,

→→ Dec. 12, 13, 19 and 20, 1 – 6 p.m.,

Philadelphia Brewing Company, 2423-39 Amber St., sbnholiday09.eventbrite.com

dec apr

05 03

12 13 19 20

Greensgrow Farm, 2501 E. Cumberland St., greensgrow.org

Schuylkill Center Presents Nest and Branch

The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education’s new juried gallery exhibition opens this month, hosting nine artists inspired by the Center’s 340 acres of wild land. Featuring works in a variety of mediums—including printmaking, drawing, painting, digital media, installation and book art—the exhibit, titled Nest and Branch, explores the mysterious world of birds through themes such as migration, flocking and nesting.

→→ Dec. 5 – Apr. 3, 8480 Hagy’s Mill Rd., schuylkillcenter.org

← Dont Go Go Away by Matthew Derezinski Archival Digital Print 8.5 x 17 inches, 2008

dec 12

Second Saturday: Handmade Holiday Shopping Party

This holiday season, there are more opportunities than ever to buy local. This “Handmade Holiday Shopping Party,” hosted by the Danger Danger Gallery in West Philly, will feature live music by the Dill Pickles and artisan crafts ranging from handmade jewelry, soaps and lotions to hand-knit baby clothes and quilts. This monthly event is presented by Satellite Cafe and Vix Emporium. →→ Dec. 12, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Danger Danger

Gallery, 5013 Baltimore Ave., vixemporium. net, myspace.com/satellitecoffee

dec 12

Greenable Building Supply + Design Grand Opening

Philadelphia’s top resource for green building materials, Greenable is celebrating both the holiday season and their new location in Northern Liberties. →→ Dec. 12, 7 p.m., 820 N. 4th St.,

greenable.net

dec 18

Schuylkill Center’s Nature for the Young: The Bird Tree

The Schuylkill Center’s Nature for the Young offers programs for kids aged 18 months to 4 years. Alongside their guardians, participants engage with nature through stories, songs, crafts and outdoor adventures. At December’s program—the final one of 2009—kids will learn about the seasons and decorate bird trees for the Schuylkill Center’s winter bird populations. →→ Dec. 18, 1:30 – 3 p.m., $8 members, $10

non-members, 8480 Hagy’s Mill Rd., schuylkillcenter.org

dec 31

Waterfront Fireworks (Times Two)

New Year’s Eve usually stinks (ah, the tyranny of high expectations), but fireworks are always awesome—and almost always free. This year, the city of Philadelphia will present not one, but two fireworks shows. The traditional midnight extravaganza will be joined by a show at the decidedly more family-friendly hour of 6 p.m. There will be loudspeakers near the river blasting the rousing soundtrack, but if you can’t get close enough to the mayhem, tune into KYW Newsradio (1060 AM) for the musical accompaniment. Consider the bright colors your warm-up for Friday’s big Mummers Parade. →→ Dec. 31, 6 p.m. & midnight,

the Delaware River Waterfront

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december 2009

“Most compelling reason to return to West Philly”

–City Paper Choice Awards 2008

Handmade gifts Unique Creations by Independent Artisans From Philly and Beyond...

5009 Baltimore Ave.

Craft Show & Music! Dec. 12 11-5! W e s t215.471.7700 Philadelphia  vixemporium.com

jewelry, home, baby, accessories & more shop local this holiday season!

Don Hull

Geothermal Specialist

Ground Source HVAC

Geothermal Systems GeoExchange Heat Pumps www.groundsourcehvac.com groundsourcehvac@gmail.com 610-306-6245

In the Chestnut Hill Farmer’s Market: 8229 Germantown Ave. 215.753.1991 | cosmicfoods.com

It‘s harvest season!

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dee dee risher

Giving the Good Gifts

ven though I’m not a big consumer, from mid-November well into January, I feel like a recovering alcoholic stocking a liquor store. I’ve painstakingly retrained my U.S. consumer brain to evaluate my needs and wants. I have quelled my inner bargain hunter and nurtured instincts to invest in long-term ecological sustainability instead of planet exploitation. But I know how tenuous my recovery is. The quest for the bargain is a powerful cultural lure. And everyone knows that if you need to buy stuff, this is the time to get the rock-bottom deal. Everywhere we turn, clamoring voices tell us what we want. They offer us things that they assure us will make our lives and the lives of those we love complete. They are ready to exploit any insecurity and promise to redeem all sad memories and losses. But at the core, they are incapable of telling us what we really want. What is it that we really yearn for? What are the good gifts we can give one another, ourselves and this aching world? To answer that, we will have to turn from the lights, the mall, the frenzy. Whether or not we feel connected to these traditions, we can hardly escape the many mid-winter festivals which are core to human culture—Solstice, Hanukkah, Advent and Christmas, Chinese New Year (often in mid-February). All seem rooted in a primitive desire to reassure humans that the great light of the sun would return, and the cycle of seed and harvest would continue. It is a deep irony that today, long past the era of superstitious fear that human rituals are responsible for wooing back the sun each year, fears about the death of the natural environmental cycle are suddenly all too real. When it comes to the future of our planet and its cycles, many of us balance on the cusp of fear and hope. We dream of a future that can sustain planetary life as we know it even as we fear drastic repercussions if our culture buries its affluent consumer head in the sand. My own tradition, Advent, is rooted in a powerful metaphor. Originally, the Advent wreath was made from the wheel of a medieval farm wagon—removed, brought indoors, and festooned with greens and lights. What would happen if I followed suit in 21st century fashion, and removed, say, the front passenger tire from our family car? My consumer life would downshift three gears. I would have to pay a completely different kind of attention to my true yearnings. (One year, we rolled a big tire inside and, as a symbolic offering, threw on it all the things that utterly distracted us from our deepest wants—a glittering pile of iPhones, BlackBerrys, videogames and credit cards.) When I listen, our yearnings are remarkably similar. We desire relationship, community and a place to stand. We wish our work and life to have meaning. These are precisely the things that the sustainability movement is trying to rebuild—local economies structured around authentic socioeconomic ties. However you celebrate this season, begin by knowing what you want to live toward. Set aside some quiet spaces to think 30

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about what you most deeply honor and love. How can you, in this season, live toward those things? There are a hundred ways to incarnate our dreams of a healed environment and revitalized communities. This is precisely the season to chart some new and intentional paths. ■

illus t r at ion by da ni el fi s h el

BarberGale designing sustainable brands. We are a brand communications firm wishing you a peaceful Holiday Season and a New Year blanketed in social, environmental, and economic prosperity.

w w w.b arb ergale.com

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