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Turkey Divan

1 bunch fresh broccoli (or 16 oz frozen)
4-6 cups cooked turkey
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp lemon juice
� tsp curry powder
� tsp black pepper
� cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups cubed fresh bread
� cup melted butter
� tsp garlic salt

Preheat oven to 350. Cook broccoli and drain. Put in bottom of a 9x13 pan. Top with turkey.

Pour mixture of soup, sour cream, lemon juice, curry, pepper and cheese over turkey.

Mix bread and melted butter. Put on top. Season with garlic salt. Bake uncovered 30 min.

Enjoy!

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Branching Out with Faith Appelquist

Questions, suggestions or comments are welcome.

Contact Faith at (612) 618-5244 or by email

Tips for Keeping Tree's Needles

Off the Floor

Whether you're headed to the parking lot of the A&W Restaurant or a Christmas tree farm after Thanksgiving, heed a few tips if you don't enjoy sweeping needles:

Which tree should you buy? The rank of the best to worst for water uptake, sap flow and needle retention:

Frasier Fir
Balsam Fir
Scotch Pine
Black Hills Spruce

Do a freshness test. Green needles on fresh trees break crisply when bent sharply with the fingers - much like a fresh carrot. Pines have different indicators because of the fibrous nature of their needles compared to firs. The needles on fresh pines do NOT break, unless they are very dry.
Cutting a few inches off the trunk before putting it in the stand opens the capillaries to allow the tree to draw moisture up the trunk and into the needles. The water level should be two to three inches above the cut.
Make sure you give the tree plenty of water for at least the first week and a half. The tree will respond to the cut on its trunk by excreting resin, which naturally seals the "wound". Then it no longer takes up as much water.
Check your stand twice daily - especially in the first week - and add water as necessary. An eight foot tree can often "drink" a gallon of water per day.
For those who believe in adding sugar, aspirin or vodka to the tree water, none of those so-called additives will help. Clean water is the best.
Choose the location of your tree carefully. Do not place it near a heat source such as a heat register, fireplace or window where direct sunlight hits it.

Tips for a Green Christmas

For the Nature Lover on your Gift List:

These six inspired writers give us more reasons to appreciate our need to crowd national parks or travel great distances to stroll on the seashore for 'reasons we can't explain'.

	The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv Published 2011 by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill Our society, says Louv, has developed such an outsized faith in technology that we have yet to fully realize or even adequately study how human capacities are enhanced through the power of nature.
	The Human Relationship with Nature By Peter H. Kahn, Jr. Published 1999 by MIT Case studies on how humans develop a relationship with nature. He seeks to answer the following questions; do people value nature, and how do they reason morally about environmental degradation? Do children have a deep connection to the natural world that gets severed by modern society? How does culture affect environmental commitments and sensibilities?
	Your Brain On Nature: The Science of Nature's Influence on Your Health, Happiness and Vitality by Eva M. Selhub, Alan C. Logan Published 2012 by Wiley This book examines not only the effects of nature on the brain--but the ubiquitous influence of everyday technology on the brain, and how IT overload and its many distractions may even be changing it.
	Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-Being by Esther M. Sternberg Published 2009 by Belknap Press Does the world make you sick? The health of the environment is closely linked to personal health. The discoveries this book describes point to possibilities for designing hospitals, communities, and neighborhoods that promote healing and health for all.
	The Biophilia Hypothesis by Stephen R. Kellert Published 1995 by Island Press Numerous examples illustrate the idea that biophilia and its converse, biophobia, have a genetic component: people develop fear and even full-blown phobias of snakes and spiders with very little negative reinforcement, while more threatening modern artifacts - knives, guns, automobiles - rarely elicit such a response; people would rather look at water, green vegetation, or flowers than built structures of glass and concrete.
	Biophilic Cities: Integrating Nature into Urban Design and Planning by Timothy Beatley Published 2010 by Island Press We humans have an innate need to connect with the natural world. Any vision of a sustainable urban future must place its focus squarely on nature. From green rooftops and green walls to sidewalk gardens, Beatley reviews the emerging practice of 'nature loving' urban design from grey and lifeless to green and biodiverse. For information on urban forestry and human benefits

Wishing you all the peace, joy, and love
of the holiday season. Season's greetings!

Thanks for reading. Happy Planting!

Faith

Faith Appelquist

President & Founder