The ydt Blog is our place for news, events, outside articles, and coverage of information that doesn’t make it into our Monday through Friday articles. Often times news and events just happen, so this is the place for spontaneity in our lives.

Please give us a heads up on local news and events you discover too!

March 10, 2010 Written by Your Daily Thread Team

Here are recent photos of the L.A. River near Griffith Park after recent rains.  As you can see, many plastic bags are clogging up the river (and these aren’t even the one’s that made it to the ocean).

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Remember, always Bring Your Own Bag (and if you do have to use a plastic one, make sure you recycle it properly).

March 9, 2010 Written by Danielle Davis

What if one way to make L.A. more people and less car friendly were to narrow the streets? What would tapered streets look like? How would a two lane road instead of a four lane one change the mood of a thoroughfare? How might they encourage/necessitate alternative transportation? What would it be like not to be “sunning at an outdoor cafe just steps from the edge of a six-lane, 50mph road”?

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So asks David Yoon at Narrow Streets: Los Angeles. http://narrowstreetsla.blogspot.com/

And then he makes it happen. In photographs anyway.

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Here’s Main and Hill in Santa Monica.

And here’s the same, but narrow.

It looks a lot more inviting to pedestrians and pedalers with sidewalk size in proportion to the street. And crossing now looks like a hop or skip versus a jog.  Here’s Sunset and Virgil by the Vista Theater.

And here’s the same, but narrow.

That vast expanse of asphalt has certainly shrunk as has the distance between destinations. Narrow Streets: Los Angeles takes requests if you have a street in mind that needs some shrinking.

February 22, 2010 Written by Lauren Johanson

Tracy and Lauren at the Mar Vista farmers market on SuperBowl Sunday 2010. Lauren is sipping on local, raw cane juice with ginger and cayenne pepper. Made her soar throat feel much better

February 19, 2010 Written by Your Daily Thread Team

If you go to green events in LA, you’re bound to run into the Ben aka the Go Green Moving Boxes Man.  Go Green Moving Boxes is a company that buys and sells lightly used moving boxes.  So whether you’re about to move or just finished moving, check out www.gogreenmovingboxes.com

Go Green Moving Boxes Man has just started a podcast series too.  He recently recorded our Tracy Hepler at The Go Green Expo.  You can hear the podcast here.

February 17, 2010 Written by Your Daily Thread Team

• The USA gets its first Ocean Power Farm off the Coast of Oregon.  Currently it’s planning on supplying energy to 400 homes – seems pretty bad ass (via Causecast.org).

• The Los Angeles City Council Recommends to not support the Ballot Initiative that will fund California State Parks (not sure what I think of that move) (via Laist.com).

• Curious about what to do with expired condoms?  Ecouterre shows us a new meaning of waste not want not with a series of dresses made from expired condoms (at least they’re not used) (via Ecouterre).

• Have you seen the Hollywood Sign, or should we say the Save the Peak sign.  The Save the Cahuenga Peak Movement is trying to raise 13 million dollars to stop developers from building luxury homes in the area. Turns out the sign has worked, they have already raised over half the money need (via Ecosalon).

Image via Ecouterre

February 14, 2010 Written by Tracy Hepler

I arrived in Vancouver a couple of days ago for the 2010 Olympics. It has been an incredible experience from the moment we got on the airplane. From meeting Shaun White to being mistaken for an Olympian several times, each moment has been memorable. Yesterday, I went running along the sea wall to ensure I got a workout in before heading back to the Games. I put on my LuluLemon tights, hat, Team USA vest and my dad’s running shoes (I had left mine in LA). I ran out the door and was on my way. I admired the beautiful scenery, the chilly air against my skin, but most of all I noticed how easy it was to breathe. Typically in LA, I have to stop after the first 5 minutes of running and clear my lungs before I can run for a long period of time. Here, I was breathing with ease. Every inhale powered my next steps and I ran further and faster and usual. The poor quality of air in Los Angeles compared to Vancouver also reminded me a lot of the issues around the air quality in Bejing in 2008. When the Olympics came to town, the government shut down some of the major polluting factories to minimize air pollution and it was still bad. So when you think that sustainability is just about what you where and what you do, consider what you breath.

If you want to get more involved with air quality issues in Los Angeles, check out the Coalition for Clean Air at http://www.coalitionforcleanair.org/

Guest post from Lauren Selman of Reel Green Media who is blogging from the Winter Olympics

Image Via Fitsugar.com

November 30, 2009 Written by Your Daily Thread Team

Most people would think to simply discard radish leaves and only use the actual radish, but did you know that these leaves can be turned into a delicious pesto? This recipe comes from our contributor Margaret Jennings who loves to turn food that is typically discarded into delicious, flavorful cuisine.

Radish Leaf Pesto

Ingredients

·         Leaves from one bunch of radish thoroughly washed and dried

·         2 handfuls of raw cashews

·         2 cloves of garlic roughly chopped

·         2 ½ oz Gruyere cheese roughly chopped

*All amounts are approximate and can be varied to taste.

Directions

Blend all ingredients in a food processor to your preferred consistency.

I like it quite coarse with pasta or gnocchi and slightly smoother if I’m using it as a dip with fresh crusty bread.

The flavor of the radish leaves fades quickly so aim to use it the day you make it, although if you have used a good quality extra virgin local organic olive oil it still tastes delicious a week later!

If you prefer less pungency from your garlic you can cook the roughly chopped cloves gently in the olive oil over a low heat for a few minutes to reduce the ‘fire’ in it.  Remember to let it cool down before you add it to the other ingredients in the food processor otherwise you will melt the cheese and it will turn into a sticky mess!

November 23, 2009 Written by Tracy Hepler

Tired of turkey sandwiches the day after thanksgiving. Try Mulligatawny a South Indian inspired soup made with curry and leftover stock and meat from your Thanksgiving Turkey.  It’s sure to add some new spice to your post Thanksgiving celebration.

Directions and Ingredients

Saute:
3 TB butter
1 clove garlic/minced

Add and saute:
2/3 cup uncooked rice

Add:
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup shaved carrots

Add:
11 cups turkey stock (strain broth from boiled carcass)
1 tsp. curry
1/2 tsp. saffron (optional)

Mix:
1 cup light cream or evaporated milk
4 TB corn starch

Add corn starch mixture to broth (heat up and stir for 5 to 10 minutes).  Add pepper to taste.

Add:
2 cups chopped turkey.

Serve and enjoy!