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Small acts of resistance in everyday life.

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#RevolutionaryHeroes Malala

The one name says it all. She is the face of girls’ education around the world. Consider this: Malala was born in 1997. True, she was born in the last century. Technically, we’re still at the beginning of this one, so that makes her pretty darn young.

Malala Yousafzai – know her last name in case you go on Jeopardy – started blogging on the BBC at age 12, spoke in front of the UN General Assembly on her 16th birthday, and won the Nobel Peace Prize when she was 17 years old. Yeah, but what has she done lately?

That’s right! The Malala Fund created to see a world where every girl can complete 12 years of safe, quality education. That girl knows how to stay on message! Malala also promotes and shares the voices of girls from around the world through her blog.(https://blog.malala.org/) She is currently on tour promoting girls’ education with her Girl Power Trip, with stops in the US and Canada.

To put her accomplishments into perspective, I looked up other famous people born in 1997. While millions of people were born that year, the two household names that appeared on the list were Kylie Jenner – the reality star, and Simone Biles – gold medal winning Olympic gymnast. Now the three have something in common.

#YesAllGirls Malala.org

#RevolutionCookbook – Chicory – Italian Style!

As many of you know, I’m just wild about greens. Couldn’t live without them. Ah, but like many wonders of nature, greens require some special love and care before they’re willing to reward you. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Today I’ll start with one of the more exotic greens, but I suspect that you’ll start to see a pattern with the greens recipes as I share them over time. (For example, this recipe is just as good with dandelion greens, which must be prepared the same way.)

Get ready for green goodness with….

Chicory – Italian Style!

Ingredients:
• A good-sized head of chicory (looks like even curlier green-leaf lettuce)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Red chili flakes to taste
• A few squirts of fresh lemon juice

Directions:
1. Place fresh chicory in boiling water and boil for 7 minutes or until tender.
2. Strain the chicory and let it drain.
3. In a pan combine the oil, minced garlic, salt and chili flakes and saute on medium heat until the garlic begins to turn golden.
4. Add the drained chicory to the pan and toss it gently on low heat for a few minutes.
5. Serve hot or cold with a lemon wedge for squeezing.

Enjoy with fish, meat or tofu main dishes!

#QuirkyNYC -- Signs of the Times

Four boroughs, five signs. I’ll say it right up front. Poor Staten Island. They get no respect. Clearly, I’ll have to do a special edition for this slighted borough of New York City.

There’s something for everyone at the San Marco Botanica in the Bronx.

Graffiti may be a dying art, but giraffiti has found a place in Queens.

End of the line in Brooklyn…

but a culinary experience awaits.

Before there were flowers, this Lower East Side Manhattan eatery made them!

#Resist – and how: Make a difference

Do you want to make a difference? Then join something. Join anything!

One of the things we find ourselves doing these days is ranting at our devices. I’m guilty as charged. Read the news. Rant! Check out Facebook postings. Rant! And not a thing has changed.

Joining can be scary. I recommend taking baby steps. As long as you’re in front of your device right now, (I know you are, because you’re reading this), why not google Meetup. Then add a term that interests you, say political. Voila! There are political meetups all over the world.

https://www.meetup.com/topics/political/

Now you can rant with others! Better yet, you’re a member of something bigger than yourself. As the saying goes, there’s strength in numbers. Numbers can attract attention, identify opportunities, take action.

Of course, you could always sit alone ranting at the universe. I hear there might be life on one of Saturn’s moons.

#WednesdayWomen Dr. Brenda on St. Marks Place, NYC

# RevolutionaryHeroes Rachel Carson

You may not know this, but Rachel Carson has had a HUGE impact on your life. Ah, where to begin? Unleaded gasoline. The discovery and control of acid rain in our forests. Making the dumping of toxic waste in low-income neighborhoods illegal. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) out of your life forever.

Exactly, 55 years ago, Rachel Carson wrote ‘Silent Spring.’ This book triggered a grassroots environmental movement so strong that it changed the government. Literally. Not only did her work manage to outlaw hazardous pesticides like DDT, it is also directly responsible for the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Yes, that EPA, which is in the process of being dismantled as we speak.

So what does the EPA actually do? The EPA makes sure that all Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn and work, (i.e., everywhere).

How do they do it? Some may consider it the unexciting work of government. When Congress writes an environmental law, the EPA writes the regulations—and enforces them.

The big question is: who stands to benefit the most if the EPA disappears? Answer: Not you. The people, or rather the organizations, that would benefit are the same ones that tried to stop the EPA from coming into existence in the first place—chemical companies, corporations that burn fossil fuels, and the mining, lumber and agricultural industries to name a few.

Are you going to let this happen?