Did you know the Prius was first Introduced in U.S. 10 years ago this month? The Toyota Prius is the quintessential hybrid vehicle, with its instantly recognizable shape it has become an icon that has transformed the way we look at personal transportation.  Yet, Toyota sold barely 5,000 Prius in the U.S. when it was introduced a decade ago.  Still, the car became an instant hit with ‘treehuggers’ and electrical engineers alike before going ‘mainstream’ with its second generation in 2004.  That was the first year that sales of the iconic hybrid crossed the 100,000 mark. 

Any one who lives in the Madison area or has visited here would probably agree one of our biggest and most beautiful assets are our lakes. And every one would probably agree it's in our best interest to keep those lakes clean.

One group that has a vested interest in that cause is the Mad City Ski Team, who started something called the Clean Lakes Festival back in 2007, with the goal of raising awareness about the lakes and raising money to fund lake clean-ups.

This soup is so quick easy to make! Using plenty of pesto (which I previously blogged about, here is my recipe) and sun-dried tomato puree (paste) gives it a rich, minestrone-like flavor.

3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cans butter beans (can substitute canellini beans)
4 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste (I used regular tomato paste)
5 tbsp pesto
salt + pepper to taste

Drain and rinse the butter beans. Put the drained beans in a large pot with the stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and stir in the tomato puree and pesto Cover, bring back to a simmer and cook gently for 5 minutes.

Transfer 6 ladlefuls into a blender or food processors, scooping up plenty of beans. Process until smooth, then return to the pot.

Heat gently, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, then season if necessary.

I started my first container garden this summer and it's been going great! I planted the tomatoes in late May (with a $5 starter plant from Driftless Organics that I got at the Farmer's Market) so I've already been reaping the benefits of that plus I've been growing lots of lettuce and basil (both from seeds.) The sugar snap peas have not been going so well - I don't think they were meant for a pot, but I'm still hopeful something resembling a sugar snap pea will form at some point! The tomatoes + lettuce have been making excellent BLTs for the past few weeks, but now that the basil is overflowing, it's time to make a bunch of great pesto.

As most everyone knows by now, all the rain this summer has resulted in hordes of mosquitoes across Wisconsin and folks at all state parks are forests are urging people to bring plenty of repellant if they plan on recreating outdoors this weekend. Summer lovers aren't going to want to hear this..but some very early color is starting to show up on maples and leaves are beginning to fall from walnut and birch trees in parts of the northwoods.

Events at the UW Arboretum this weekend include Insect Serenade, a night walk Saturday at 8pm. Meet at the Visitor Center.

Join Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Community Action Coalition for South Central WI, Inc. (CAC) and the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin on Saturday, July 24th for a free bike tour of four Madison and Monona community and food pantry gardens. This event is open to all who are interested in exploring the bounty and beauty of neighborhood gardens and the bike paths that connect them.

The bike tour begins at 9:00 a.m. at the East High Youth Farm, off Milwaukee Street on Lamplighter Way, behind Kennedy School and Park. At 10:15am, the tour will visit the Glendale Elementary school garden at 1201 Tompkins Drive, followed by a visit to the Monona United Methodist Church community and food pantry garden, located at 606 Nichols Road at 11:15am. The tour will end at noon at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church, 5700 Pheasant Hill Road, where lunch will be provided.

For more information: click here.