Tsoureki Traditional Greek Easter Bread

Growing up, one of my best memories was making this bread with my father and brothers. I remember my father stretching and pulling and then braiding the bread. We had a lot of fun making it together as a family. One of our family traditions was to put a fifty cent piece in the bread and whoever got it would have good luck in the coming year.

Here is the recipe:

Custom dictates that eggs, dyed a scarlet red, be baked in the braided crown of this Greek Easter bread.

Ingredients

3 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast

1/3 cups light brown sugar

1 cup milk, warmed to 110 degrees F

5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon zest

1 1/2 teaspoons anise seed, crushed

1 teaspoon salt

7 large eggs, 3 left whole and dyed red

6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Directions

Make the dough: Coat a large bowl with oil and set aside. Dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon brown sugar in the heated milk in a small bowl. Combine 4 1/2 cups flour, the remaining sugar, zest, anise, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment and mix on low speed.

Add the 4 undyed eggs, the yeast mixture, and the melted butter and continue to mix on low speed until a firm dough forms, adding more flour if necessary (or combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until a firm dough forms).

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand until it is soft and elastic -- about 10 minutes. If mixing by hand, knead the dough for 10 more minutes. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to the prepared bowl, turning to coat all sides with oil.

Cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in volume -- about 1 hour.

Shape the loaf: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Punch down dough, turn out onto a lightly floured board, and divide into three equal parts, approximately 15 ounces each. Using the palms of your hands, roll out one piece to create a 2 1/2-foot-long rope.

Repeat with the remaining 2 dough pieces. Braid the three strands together and seal the ends under each other to create a circle. Transfer to a baking sheet. Place the dyed eggs, evenly spaced, in the grooves of the braid and the coin for good luck (optional). Cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel, and let rise until doubled -- about 40 minutes.

Bake the bread: Brush the loaf with the beaten egg white and bake until loaf is golden and sounds hollow when tapped -- about 30 minutes. Transfer the finished loaf to a wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature.

Spring in Northern Nevada

I'm sure you heard or read this past weekend was the beginning of Spring. Well today and tomorrow we are having a snow storm with winds as fast as 100 miles per hour at the lake. These weather patterns are not unusual for the Northern Nevada area. As you have seen, vegetable plants and fruit trees are bountiful at the stores and gardening retailers already, but don't let the greenery fool you though. Until the snow is melted off of the north side of Pevine, our plants are in danger of freezing. Have a bountiful harvest this year by planting a lot this Spring!

How much for that font?

As part of the school's five-year plan to go green, msnbc.com recently reported that the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has switched the default font on its e-mail system from Arial to Century Gothic. While the change sounds minor, it will save money on ink when students print e-mails in the new font. The new font uses about 30 percent less ink than the previous one. That could add up to real savings, since the cost of printer ink works out to about $10,000 per gallon. It's great that a change that's eco-friendly also saves money.

NFCU's 1st Annual Money Run

1st Annual
401K Money Run
Saturday, June 12, 2010
10K, 5K and 1 Mile Walk
Las Vegas Outlet Center

Benefiting Nevada Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy

Cash prizes will be awarded to the 5K and 10K top three overall male and female winners.

Plus, the first 41 kids under 12 who finish the 1 Mile Walk will receive a $1 Presidential Coin!

10K starts at 6:00 a.m., 5K and 1 Mile Walk start at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 12 at the Las Vegas Outlet Center located at Las Vegas Boulevard and Warm Springs.

All participants will receive a race t-shirt, goodie bag and an official time. Awards will be given to the 5K and 10K top three overall male and female winners as well as the top three male and female in each age division. We will also have refreshments available for participants and spectators. Plus, all participants will be entered into our post race prize drawing with numerous prizes up for grab!

The event is walker and stroller friendly. Numerous folks walk the 5K!

Entry is only $25 if you register by June 4, 2010. Race fees then increase to $35. Register online at active.com or visit any branch for a registration form.

Packet pickup will be at our Blue Diamond branch located at Blue Diamond and Decatur on June 11, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. You can also pick up your packet on race morning.

There is public parking at the Las Vegas Outlet Center.

If you’re interested in helping sponsor the race, visit our website.

For more information, contact Abby Royal at (702) 948-5360 or abbyr@nevadafederal.org with any questions.

$49 tickets to Cirque

If you've been wanting to see one of the Cirque shows, now is the time. Until April 30, select shows are on sale for $49. Buy them online or call 800-958-5014 and mention "Appreciation $49."

Credit Union Do's and Don't's

DO

Offer safe and sound banking

Have not-for-profit status

Have local owners

Insure deposits up to $250,000

Stand ready to lend

Protect the interests of their members

Have members

DON’T

Need a bail out

Cost taxpayers anything

Participate in high-risk loans

Profit from your debt

Gamble with your money

Have a credit crisis

Have stockholders

It's Prom Time in Northern Nevada - How You Can Participate

In the Reno/Sparks area we have a community effort known as Aly's Prom Closet. In honor of Aly, her mom has championed a "Prom Closet" to assist prom event attendees with dresses and tuxedos to attend this life long memorable event. Whether we can assist with volunteering, donations, services rendered such as hair or makeup would be greatly appreciated this prom season. Here is the web site location http://www.alyspromcloset.com/About_Us.html
Let them know you heard about them from Nevada Federal Credit Union. Participating at any level will give you a warm and happy feeling for sharing with these young men and woman! The window to help is short so act today if you can.

Free Ride

Riding the bus is a great way to go green. This month, the RTC is launching two new rapid-transit services this month. And for the first week, locals can ride FREE! Try the ACE Gold Line and ACExpress C-Line the week of March 28 - April 3.
The ACE Gold Line, Deuce on the Strip, Route 108 on Paradise Road, and the ACExpress C-Line transports passengers through the resort corridor and Downtown Las Vegas.

The ACE Gold Line will connect the southern and central portion of the Las Vegas Strip with off-Strip locations (such as Downtown Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Convention Center) as quickly as possible. The ACE Gold Line is designed to serve longer trips.

The Deuce on the Strip will provide frequent stop service along the core of the Las Vegas Strip while providing a unique vantage point. Due to the number of stops, the Deuce is best suited for shorter trips from one Strip location to another.

Route 108 on Paradise Road will connect the northern portion of the Las Vegas Strip (Riviera Boulevard to the Stratosphere Hotel) with Downtown Las Vegas. Route 108 will also serve McCarran International Airport.

The ACExpress C-Line will provide express service from Centennial Hills to Downtown Las Vegas, The Strip (at Spring Mountain Road), and UNLV. In the resort corridor, the express service from Downtown to The Strip at Spring Mountain Road will provide the ultimate transit connection between these two important areas.

Spring has Sprung

Tomorrow is the official first day of Spring. The smell of fresh air and leaving windows open in my house is such a treat for me. However, living in the desert, my house accumulates dust much faster when I have the windows open.

This weekend my husband and I agreed to do a major spring cleaning. This way, we can start fresh and just deal with maintenance and a little daily dust once the major cleaning is done. I found this website with some great "spring" cleaning tips.

Spring cleaning tips

Wish me luck on my "spring" clean. Hopefully I can shorten the time it takes by practicing some of these useful tips.

Mutts on Main Street

On Saturday, March 20, 2010, from 11:00am to 2:00pm, The District will be hosting its monthly pet adoption event. It provides the opportunity for multiple local pet rescue organizations to come together at one location with the goal of finding "forever homes" for homeless dogs, cats, birds and more. Visit and say hello to your newest member of the family.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here are some interesting facts about this celebrated day:

St. Patrick’s Day takes place each year on March 17, the traditional religious feast day of Saint Patrick.

The Celebration

Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick’s Day dish. In 2007, roughly 41.5 billion pounds of U.S. beef and 2.6 billion pounds of U.S. cabbage were sold. Many St. Patrick’s Day celebrants enjoyed corned beef from Texas, which produced 6.8 billion pounds of beef, and cabbage from California and New York, which produced 581 and 580 million pounds, respectively.

Irish soda bread gets its name and distinctive character from the use of baking soda rather than yeast as a leavening agent.

Lime green chrysanthemums are often requested for St. Patrick’s Day parades and celebrations.

The Parade

The first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in the United States on March 17, 1762, when Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City.

More than 100 St. Patrick’s Day parades are held across the United States. New York City and Boston are home to the largest celebrations.

At the annual New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade, participants march up 5th Avenue from 44th Street to 86th Street. More than 150,000 people take part in the event, which does not allow automobiles or floats.

Places to Spend the Day

There are four places in the United States named after the shamrock, the floral emblem of Ireland: Mount Gay-Shamrock, WV; Shamrock, TX; Shamrock Lakes, IN; and Shamrock, OK.

Nine U.S. towns share the name of Ireland’s capital, Dublin. With 39,328 residents in 2005, Dublin, CA, is the most populous, followed by Dublin, OH.

Population Distribution of Irish Americans

There are 36.5 million U.S. residents with Irish roots. This number is almost nine times the population of Ireland itself (more than four million).

Irish is the nation’s second most frequently reported ancestry, ranking behind German.

Across the country, 12 percent of residents lay claim to Irish ancestry. That number doubles to 24 percent in the state of Massachusetts.

Irish is the most common ancestry in 54 U.S. counties, of which 44 are in the Northeast. Middlesex County in Massachusetts tops the list with 348,978 Irish Americans, followed by Norfolk County, MA, which has 203,285.

Irish ranks among the top five ancestries in every state except Hawaii and New Mexico. It is the leading ancestry group in Delaware, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

A total of 4.8 million immigrants from Ireland have been admitted to the United States for lawful permanent residence since 1820, the earliest year for which official records exist. Only Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Mexico have accounted for more U.S. immigrants.

Did You Know?

A brief history of Reno/Sparks provided by the Chamber of Commerce:

1859 Virginia City, Queen of the Comstock is founded. The discovery of the Comstock Lode, the richest silver strike in American history, brings 10,000 prospectors within the year.

1864 President Abraham Lincoln signs a proclamation making Nevada the 36th state to join the union.

1868 In honor of Civil War General Jesse Lee Reno, the settlement known as Lake's Crossing is renamed Reno.

1869 Gambling is made legal in Nevada.

1870 U.S. Mint begins operation in Carson City. The Mint strikes its last coin in 1893, and coins bearing the "CC" marking are coveted by collectors today.

1885 Ground is broken for the construction of the University of Nevada Reno.

1902 Locomobile owned by OJ Smith of Reno is the first automobile driven to Virginia City.

1903 Reno is incorporated as a city.

1917 Sagebrush adopted as the state flower.

Thanks to the Chamber for compiling a bit of history for all of us to enjoy. I will share more discoveries for Northern Nevada in blogs to come.

Google Maps for your bike

Here’s one more tool to help you Green your life. It might save you a little money on gas too.

Google just added a feature to its maps that tells you the best route in Vegas if you want to ride your bike to your destination. The routes will factor in bike lanes, bike-friendly streets and hills. The Google tool also includes a link for you to supply new information about the suggested routes. You can watch this YouTube video showing you how to use the new feature.

Spring Break Camp

If you're a full-time working parent and don't have the week off during your kid's spring break, day camp at the Springs Preserve can be the perfect answer for you. How about 180 acres of adventure? Active day campers will explore awesome and educational activities daily. It's all there, from archaeology to animals, and from science to plants to eco-fun.

There are two different camp sessions to choose from. The first one is from March 29 through April 2 and the second session is April 5 through April 9.

Visit the Springs Preserve website for details and prices.

15% Discount Offer

The Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra is performing The Firebird Suite at UNLV PAC March 13th at 8 p.m.

Call 895.ARTS and mention BLVDS to receive a 15% discount on your tickets.

On Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time begins in the United States.

Every spring we move our clocks one hour ahead and “lose” an hour during the night and each fall we move our clocks back one hour, and “gain” an extra hour. But Daylight Saving Time (and not Daylight Savings Time with an “s”) wasn’t just created to confuse our schedules.

The phrase “spring forward, fall back” helps people remember how Daylight Saving Time affects their clocks. At 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March, we set our clocks forward one hour ahead of standard time (“spring forward”). We “fall back” at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November by setting our clock back one hour and thus returning to standard time.

The change to Daylight Saving Time allows us to use less energy in lighting our homes by taking advantage of the longer and later daylight hours. During the eight month period of Daylight Saving Time, the names of time in each of the time zones in the U.S. (map) change as well. Eastern Standard Time (EST) becomes Eastern Daylight Time, Central Standard Time (CST) becomes Central Daylight Time (CDT), Mountain Standard Time (MST) becomes Mountain Daylight Tome (MDT), Pacific Standard Time becomes Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), and so forth.

Daylight Saving Time was instituted in the United States during World War I in order to save energy for war production by taking advantage of the later hours of daylight between April and October. During World War II the federal government again required the states to observe the time change. Between the wars and after World War II, states and communities chose whether or not to observe Daylight Saving Time. In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act which standardized the length of Daylight Saving Time.

Daylight Saving Time is four weeks longer since 2007 due to the passage of the Energy Policy Act in 2005. The Act extended Daylight Saving Time by four weeks from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November, with the hope that it would save 10,000 barrels of oil each day through reduced use of power by businesses during daylight hours. Unfortunately, it is exceedingly difficult to determine energy savings from Daylight Saving Time and based on a variety of factors, it is possible that little or no energy is saved by Daylight Saving Time.

Arizona (except some Indian Reservations), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have chosen not to observe Daylight Saving Time. This choice does make sense for the areas closer to the equator because the days are more consistent in length throughout the year.

Daylight Saving Time Around the World

Other parts of the world observe Daylight Saving Time as well. While European nations have been taking advantage of the time change for decades, in 1996 the European Union (EU) standardized a EU-wide European Summer Time. This EU version of Daylight Saving Time runs from the last Sunday in March through the last Sunday in October.

In the southern hemisphere where summer comes in December, Daylight Saving Time is observed from October to March. Equatorial and tropical countries (lower latitudes) don’t observe Daylight Saving Time since the daylight hours are similar during every season, so there’s no advantage to moving clocks forward during the summer.

Kyrgyzstan is the only country that observes year-round Daylight Saving Time. The country has been doing so since 2005.

Energy Assistance Program

With many Nevadans struggling this year, we need all the help we can get. There is a government run program to help with high energy bills this summer.

The Energy Assistance Program (EAP) assists low-income Nevadans with the cost of home energy. Funding is provided from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) block grant through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and from Universal Energy Charge (UEC) monies distributed through the Nevada Fund for Energy Assistance and Conservation.

The EAP program year begins July 1st and applications are accepted through June 30th, or until funds are exhausted, whichever comes first. Prior year recipients may not reapply until approximately 11 months after they received their last benefit. Application packets are mailed to prior year recipients when its time for them to apply. Eligible households will be awarded assistance once each program year. The benefit is based on the household's gross income and annual energy use.

12 steps to ensure a comfortable retirement

I found these tips on MSN's money page.

1. Zero in on a retirement date
To know if you can comfortably retire, you'll need to have a target retirement date, because how much money you'll need and how much you'll get (from Social Security and other options) depends on this.

2. Figure out where you're going to live
Will you stay put in a paid-off home, or will you still have a mortgage?

3. Consider long-term-care insurance
There is no expert consensus on when you should buy this coverage, if you buy it at all. Consumer Reports doesn't recommend the coverage before age 65, some advisers prefer their clients buy a policy before they turn 60

4. Don't forget to include medical costs
Paying for health insurance before age 65, when you qualify for Medicare coverage, can be extremely costly

5. Deal with your debt
Ideally, you'll enter retirement with no debt, but you definitely want to blitz any credit card balances or other consumer loans before you get there.

6. Draw up a retirement budget
Now that you're almost at the finish line, you can replace the usual retirement rules of thumb ("plan on spending 70% to 80% of your pre-retirement income") with concrete figures.

7. Review your Social Security and pension options
You can draw on Social Security as early as age 62, but the longer you wait to start taking payments, the bigger your benefit checks will be.

8. Check your withdrawal rate
The consensus among financial planners has been that you shouldn't withdraw more than 3% to 4% of your retirement savings the first year, though that has its critics.

9. Consider an immediate annuity
For clients who don't have traditional pensions and who can swing the cost, financial planner Sheryl Garrett, the author of "Just Give Me the Answers," recommends taking a portion of their nest eggs and buying an immediate annuity. This is an insurance product that promises you a lifetime stream of income in exchange for a lump-sum investment.

10. Stress-test your plan
You now should have enough facts and figures to see if your plan will work.

11. Review your estate plans
Your chances of being incapacitated -- too ill or injured to make your own decisions -- rise as you age. Make sure you have updated durable powers of attorney for finances and for health care so that someone you trust can take over for you.

12. Meet with a financial planner
The decisions you're about to make are too important to your future not to get a second opinion. Contact Nevada Federal’s Investment Group at 702-641-4323 or visit ininevadafederal.org

Click here for the full article on Money in your 60s: 12 steps to take

Interesting Facts About Nevada

Eighty-seven percent of Nevada land is managed by the federal government.

Area 51, a top secret area of Nellis Air Force Range and Nuclear Test Site, is rumored to have housed the development of the first Stealth bomber and alien and UFO research facilities.

Nevada is the seventh largest state in size.

The nation’s largest silver deposit, the Comstock Lode, was found in Nevada in 1859.

Nevada is the driest state in the nation with an average annual rainfall of seven inches.

Nevada has the only complete skeleton of an Ichthyosaur, an extinct marine reptile measuring 55 feet.

Nevada is the largest gold-producing state in the U.S. and third in the world behind South Africa and Australia.

Gambling was reinstated in the State in 1931.

Hoover Dam is the largest public works project ever undertaken in the U.S. and has a greater structural volume than the largest Egyptian pyramid.

Virginia City, founded when the Comstock Lode was discovered, was home to 20,000 people at its peak in 1870. Now only about 800 people live in this modern ghost town.

Nevada is the gambling and entertainment capital of the U.S.

Las Vegas has more hotel rooms than any other place on earth.

Nevada means “snowcapped” in Spanish.

On average, 150 couples are married each day in Las Vegas.

In 1899, Charles Fey invented a slot machine called the Liberty Bell, which became the model for all slots.

Nevada has over 200,000 slot machines, one for every 10 residents.

In Death Valley, the kangaroo rat can live its entire life without drinking a drop of liquid.

Nevada has more mountain ranges than any other state.

Nevada’s Humboldt River has no outlet to the ocean; the river sinks into the ground, feeding a massive underground aquifer.

Is IT Really Available?

With all of the short sale and foreclosure information surrounding us, I feel compelled to share a word of caution. Especially with Nevada - both North and South being the hardest affected areas in our country. Due to the economy, many folks are looking to rent a home verses purchasing these days. But, is the sole owner property really available? So what am I trying to say, is even though a house may be for rent, it does not mean that it is current on its mortgage payments. A property can be behind in mortgage payments and in the midst of a short sale or even worse in some level of foreclosure process. I just want the renter to do prudent homework before giving someone the first and last months rent as well as a security deposit only to discover in a few months that not only do you not have a home to live in, but the monies deposited have been lost in the transaction. Renters, please be aware of what you get involved in.