Meatless Monday Sandwich

Compliments of K.blog.lunchboxlunch.com via Pinterest

I have been sidelined this Monday evening due to a defective windshield wiper bladehield - if you have ever driven with a broken windshield wiper in the rain or snow, you know why I'm at home. The ole Prius is spending the night at the dealership. So what to do? Experiment with Meatless Monday in the kitchen of course! I'm going to make this delicious looking vegan sandwich recipe that I found on Pinterest, compliments of the website, Lunch Box Lunch. I love the juxtaposition of BBQ and vegan along with sauerkraut and arugula, especially on MLK Day! Sounds fun right? I did have to pay a little more for the organic sauerkraut, because the cheaper brands had some strange preservatives. I'm not trying to eat anything that has sulfites. I'm replacing the white sourdough bread with toasted whole wheat ciabatta. Bon Appetit mes amies!

MLK Day/Life of Service Ideas

Hello Friends! Happy Marting Luther King, Jr. Birthday! I hope that you have amazing plans to celebrate Dr. King's birthday and achievements in some manner today or this week - though I know that Black and Into Green readers are celebrating his legacy everyday through your actions. I was evaluating today's activities on the basis of what I thought would be Dr. King approved. While there are many offerings scheduled for today, most were just not that deep - in my humble opinion. The opportunities seemed to be more family centered entertainment activities with some educational offerings in the mix - which is great if you have young children, but my young child is a freshman in college and many of you don't even have kids!! So now what? Fortunately, I found some MLK Day of service activities through the All For Good and MLK Day websites, which provides information on a variety of service projects itemized by, your local area, statewide, virtual, micro and my favorite category - self-directed. I found a local area project cleaning, organizing and sorting items for the Kids In Need Resource Center. Serving meals, coat donation and a poverty simulation were some of the other options, but what really caught my eye were the self-directed projects. These projects are attractive for a number of reasons, 1) Variety 2) Action plan templates 3) Flexible 4) Environment and Community Garden Options and 5) Control. Some projects  (planting a community garden) require more planning than others (letter writing), but there is enough variety and flexibility for you to create something that fits your resource availability and constraints. I love the idea of the self-directed projects because it gives an individual or an organization an opportunity to extend the spirit of  MLK Day beyond a day or week  and I think Dr. King would approve. In fact, I love this idea so much that I am thinking about making a small contribution towards a project that I like in the form of a contest. Get back to you later this week on that one!

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

The right to clean air and safe walkable neighborhoods, clean water, access to healthy food, food and products safe from toxic chemicals and living wage jobs in the new green economy- these are basic rights that I think Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have been at home fighting for in 2010. You know he would be all over the Haitian situation now. Fortunately for us, young folks continue to follow his example through actions to improve the quality of life for economically disadvantaged and disenfranchised people. Read more here and check out the video to learn of one young man's journey from the mean streets, to prison, to college to community activism.

I am celebrating his legacy today in a couple of different ways. Currently, I'm attending an amazing musical presentation at the art museum by the children's group, Motivation Through Excellence. The kids are extremely talented and tearing down the house! My son is volunteering at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, which is packed today. I'm going to make a donation to Green For All and then make a cake in honor of Dr. King (I'm biting off of my friend Michael's idea). If I have time left, I will work on my exhibitor solicitation letters for a regional women's economic development summit, I'm involved with this spring.

Thank you Dr. King for your dreams, example, courage and legacy!