Give the hippos control
my favorite New Yorker cartoon of the week
Wilde Things
Lemlem
A friend recently turned me on to this very inspiring example of a creative, sustainable, and fabulous way to combat economic dependence. Like, TOMS, this company is all about making it easy for you to fight poverty just by spending your dollars to look cool, something you were going to do anyway.
During a recent visit to her native Ethiopia, supermodel, actress, and World Health Organization Good Will Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, Liya Kebede, discovered that her country’s amazingly skilled traditional weavers were losing their livelihoods as western fashion had supplanted traditional woven items. In response, she created Lemlem (”to bloom” in Amharic) which now employs and, therefore, empowers, hundreds of previously impoverished weavers, who are now able to send their kids to school (ding ding! magic word, as we all know education is the key to a country’s health in every way.)
This is the definition of sustainable development, hand crafted of natural cotton (which is the same as organic, except Ethiopia doesn’t have that designation) and I am a FAN.
Check out all the amazing dresses, bags, accessories, and baby stuff, as well as Lemlem’s inspiring story,
Book Recommendation: Eating Animals
This book really kicked my decision to live a Vegan lifestyle into gear, after flirting with it for years. It’s well written (Jonathan Safran Foer is an amazing novelist as well), informative, shocking, and not at all preachy. Even non-veg heads will really enjoy this fascinating read.
But don’t take my word for it, here’s what the “other” Big O has to say:
“What makes Eating Animals so unusual is vegetarian Foer’s empathy for human meat eaters, his willingness to let both factory farmers and food reform activists speak for themselves, and his talent for using humor to sweeten a sour argument.” —O, The Oprah Magazine
Buy the book here.
There is also a fantastic website which acts as an extension of the book, with tons of resources, that you can go see here.
Crispy Vegetable Lavish Wraps with Spicy Hummus Dip
This recipe is from the awesome Little House Of Veggies blog which I looove.
I think I’ll make this for our 4th o July BBQ, using as many veggies from the garden as possible!
What You Need:
Whole Wheat Lavish Wraps (from Trader Joe’s) or high quality whole grain tortillas 1 container of plain hummus
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1/4 of a large, or half of a smaller head of cabbage, shredded
3 small or 2 large zucchini, sliced
1/8 red onion, sliced
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp regular paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt plus more to taste
pepper to taste
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Spicy Hummus Sauce (for dipping)
Place about 1/4 cup of hummus into a bowl. Add 1-2 Tbsp. of water and whisk.. You want it to be thin enough that you can dip easily, but no so thin that it is “watery”. Just slightly thinner that it was originally. Add a pinch of paprika, and cayenne pepper to taste. Make it as hot as you like. We made ours pretty spicy!
To Make:
Sliced the vegetables into “matchsticks”. Place in a large bowl and add the seasonings and 2 Tbsp. Olive oil. Toss with your hands to coat everything well. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the vegetable for about 5 minutes until just softened. Taste the mixture at this point, and add any additional salt and pepper to taste.
Add the filling to the lavish wrap or tortilla, and roll up. On a heated grill pan, or if you don’t have one, a regular pan will work fine also, cook the wrap a few minutes on each side to get it nice and crispy. Slice the wraps in half, and serve them with the spicy Hummus Dipping Sauce.
Music I love: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
I’ve loved this band for a while now, and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that they are blowing up!
Their songs bring me back to some of my happiest times in the past few years, and I know their optimistic, unique, groovy tunes will have you dancing through the streets and singing your way home.
Check them out!