Friday, January 21, 2011

Seasonal Cooking and Harvesting Hope

My new favorite blog, Harvesting Hope, also happens to be written by Ten Ways world changer, Anne DeMelle.


Anne is an amazing cook, and many of her posts center around her cooking ventures. Like me, she strives to eat healthy, seasonal food, and this recent meal got rave reviews. Last night, after checking my fridge for the requisite greens (these recipes called for spinach and escarole, but I substituted kale and baby bok choy), I gave these recipes a try. A lot of the ingredients from this recipe came from local sources, including the farro, bok choy, and kale that I picked up at the farmers market.



 On Anne's advice, I added blue cheese to the farro, and the results were delicious. I plan on continuing to read her blog for more cooking and gardening tips. She's also in the process of becoming a master gardener, and she is going to guest blog on Weekly Way about some of those experiences too. Look for Anne's posts in the coming weeks, and check out her blog for more seasonal, delicious recipe ideas.

Friday, January 14, 2011

MLK Day of Service

Monday is the 25th anniversary of the holiday, and it is also a national day of service. Visit the MLK Day of Service website to find a volunteering project near you. Working on Monday or heading out of town for the long weekend? No worries; this website has resources to help you find a service project to participate in throughout the year.

What You Can Do to Prevent Another Oil Drilling Disaster

On Tuesday, the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling released its full report. Many recommendations were made with regard to restoration and safety in the Gulf. It is now up to the government to implement these recommendations. 

The Gulf Restoration Network has started a petition to send to the White House and Congress, which encourages them to take action on these important findings. Please join me in asking our leaders to take steps to restore the Gulf and implement safety measures that will help to prevent a disaster like this from ever taking place again.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Gratitude.

With a new year of adventures to look forward to, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for all of the Ten Ways and Weekly Way readers, to all those who comment and share on the Ten Ways Facebook page, to all of my fellow Party with a Purpose planners, to all of the supportive students and teachers at the MFA program at Antioch University, to all of my incredible, adventurous friends, and to all of the inspiring students I've encountered while speaking at colleges and universities everywhere from Kansas to New York to California.

First Official High Five of 2011
Your energy, ideas, and results are constant reminders that all of our efforts to make the world a better place are making a difference. From eating locally to volunteering to supporting your favorite local or far-flung nonprofit, there are millions of ways for all of us to change the world.

Here's to using our energy, creativity, and compassion to find more innovative and effective ways to change the world in 2011.