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An Easter tribute
Hi Fair Trade friends,
I realize that I am a little slow on the draw – again, but I’m hoping that i’m giving you just enough time to make yours a fair trade Easter. 
Last year, I posted about Cadbury eggs (who is owned by Hershey) and the sad truth that they won’t’ participate in the anti-child labor agreement. Unfortunately, the case has not changed and so you can still join the campaign to urge Cadbury & Hershey to sell fair trade chocolate.
I did do a brief internet search to bring you some lovely Easter items, but the most abundant place for Easter things was on Serrv’s website. But I must admit, that Lucuma.com has some great finger puppets and hair accessories for Easter baskets. And, for a more local approach, try out Sweet Earth Chocolates who uses fair trade chocolate for their sweet bunnies and eggs.
And although I was racking my brain for other ideas, I kept coming back to Cadbury eggs. THEN, I remembered something – BAKING. And so, my friends, I present you with an Easter cupcake.
Apricot Lemon Cupcakes from Earthbalance.com
Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 60 minutes
Servings: 12
1 1/4 cup(s) of organic all-purpose flour
1 tsp. of non-aluminum baking powder
1/4 tsp. of sea salt
1 cup(s) of organic fair-trade sugar
1 cup(s) of Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread, softened (this is a butter substitute)
4 ounce(s) of unsweetened organic apple sauce
4 ounce(s) of dairy-free lemon yogurt
4 tsp. of grated lemon zest
9 tbsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. of lemon extract
1 cup(s) of dried apricots, chopped
Steps
1.Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
2. To make the cupcakes, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the refined sugar, 1/2 cup Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread, apple sauce, yogurt, 2 tsp grated lemon zest, 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon extract.
4. Combine the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on low-medium speed
5.Add in the apricots and stir by hand until they are evenly distributed in the batter.
6. Pour the batter into a cupcake tin and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted and removed cleanly.
7. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before topping them with frosting.
8. To make the frosting, combine the confectioners’ sugar, 2 tsp grated lemon zest, 6 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1/2 cup Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread in a large bowl and mix on low-medium speed for 1 minute. Try a bite and if you want the frosting to be even more sour, add in more lemon juice, one tablespoon at a time.
Decorate your cupcakes and eat!
few more inspirational ideas:
Land and Ethopia
I just received an email from Cultural Survival and thought it would be interesting to share with you all. One of the things I hear from friends and family over and over is: “I just don’t see how what I buy makes a difference.”
There’s some truth in that.
There’s also a lot of lie in that.
As somebody wise (though i’m not sure who) once said, “I may not be able to help everyone, but I can help just one.” And that, friends, is the same truth that prevails when it comes to what we buy. We can’t do everything. We can’t help everybody. But if every person shopped a little more consciously, imagine all the change we could bring about.
Ok, back to Ethiopia. The article makes note of the Anuak people who are being forced off of their land for agriculture. And, if this doesn’t sound familiar, I encourage you to think about the past posts on food, the GMO movement, and such. It sounds like this could have some serious, serious implications not just for these indigenous peoples but for the country. And those implications don’t sound good to me.
In the words of the email: “Ethiopian soldiers are forcibly removing Anuak and other Indigenous minorities from their homelands in the Gambella region, relocating them in state-built villages, and leasing their farmlands to foreign investors. Forests, wetlands, river valleys, and grazing lands are being bulldozed to plant agrofuels and food crops, mostly for export. This land grabbing is destroying ecosystems and devastating Gambella’s Indigenous communities.
“[The] government brought the Anuak people here to die. They brought us no food, they gave away our land to the foreigners so we can’t even move back.” — Anuak elder forcibly moved to a state village (from the Human Rights Watch report, “Waiting Here for Death.”) “
So, I encourage you to check out this video to learn a little more. The article mentions ways to get involved. One of the best things you can do is share and use what you know.
Watch about Ethiopia’s Land Rush.
Cheers! ~Liz
Pin it.
Source: globalexchange.org via Brenda on Pinterest
Pinterest. Have you heard of it? Well, I just became a fan… not the stalker-i-can’t-get-enough-of-this fan like I keep hearing about, but a fan nonetheless. Don’t tell, but the deep secret mission of mine is to pin beautiful fairly-traded handmade things. Then, the world will see – or at least a few people who normally wouldn’t – and maybe come to understand the value of fair trade. Now personally, I couldn’t figure out how to just make an account for this blog, BUT I did manage to create a board called “Fair Trade & Sustainability” on my personal pinterest account. Follow my account “Liz McTeer” – (although, honestly I’m not yet quite sure how to follow someone…). Doing a quick search on pinterest.com I see a small selection of fair trade goods there (mainly from the UK).
So, i have a challenge for you this week. If you don’t have a pinterest account, get one. And then when/if your pinterest account is ready, find one beautiful fairly-traded gift, food, or decor, and pin it! And when you have to say something about the product, make sure you tell your soon-to-be-viewers that it’s fair trade. Maybe do a litle promotional talk on there too… if you’re feeling like an activist.
Find a beautiful Fair trade something. Pin it! Re-peat! Or at least follow me…
