Today I received a package that took me by surprise and made my morning, day, week.

The lovely folks from Stumptown Coffee Roasters sent me this amazing care package.  I don’t even know where to begin…seriously.  Perhaps with the chocolate bars studded with coffee beans.  I mean, what better way to start my day then with Mast Brothers Chocolate made from  72% cacao beans that features Stumptown’s direct trade espresso beans from Haile Gebre’s Mordecofe farm?  Well it’s only 10am, so maybe it’s best to start with a french press of some of their fantastic coffee?   Just can’t decide between the Anniversary Blend, Kenya Gaturiri Reserve or the QUEEN of all coffee, the Panama Esmeralda Especial.  I’ve never actually had the opportunity to try this coveted coffee because it is so incredibly rare, so much so that only 47 roasters were able to get their hands on it in the 2009 auction. If you don’t know about this magical coffee, read about it here and buy it directly from Stumptown here.

Thank you Wendy and Duane for this incredible package….

Last night we took inspiration from this month’s Food and Wine feature and whipped up this delicious dish while listening to Lykke Li and enjoying how good it feels to be home after our adventures in Berlin and San Francisco. We declared it one of the best meals we’ve ever made.  The addition of the fresh limes at the end brighten the whole dish up and are a perfect contrast to the earthiness of the kale and beet greens.   Enjoy.

Red Rice with Sliced Sirloin Steak and Peas

1/2 cup red rice (see Note)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 ounces thinly sliced sirloin steak
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
4 cups thinly sliced mixed dark leafy greens such as beet greens and kale
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen peas
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Lime wedges, for serving

1. In a small saucepan, cover the rice with the water and bring to a boil. Cover the saucepan and cook over low heat for about 25 minutes, until the rice is tender and the water is absorbed. Spread the rice out on a baking sheet and let cool.

2. In a skillet or wok, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil until shimmering. Add the garlic and cook over moderately high heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sirloin, season with salt and cook, turning once, until browned, 1 minute; transfer to a plate.

3. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the skillet. Add the onion and ginger and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the greens and stir-fry over high heat until wilted, about 1 minute. Stir in the rice and peas, then the soy sauce and steak and stir well. Season with salt and white pepper and transfer to a bowl. Garnish with the cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

Make Ahead

The red rice can be prepared through Step 1 and refrigerated, covered, for up to 2 days. Bring the cooked rice to room temperature before proceeding.

Notes

There are many varieties of red rice; Yu prefers Thai red cargo, which can be found at Asian markets and at Whole Foods.

Pentagram created this beautiful, interactive piece that asks four simple questions about your personality. Your answers determine what font or type face represents you.  I’m Architype Van Doesburg.  What are you?  Use “character” as the password.

Some of you are undoubtedly familiar with TED and some of you are not.  So let me just give a little background.

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a nonprofit foundation best known for its conferences that are devoted the concept of presenting “ideas worth spreading.” These  lectures aka TED Talks, are an amazing thing and I highly recommend you spend some time checking them out.  They are free to watch here and are some of the most inspiring, engaging and powerful things you will ever come across.  Seriously, they are that good.

In 2005, TED launched the TED Prize, which awards a $100,000 to an exceptional individual to make their “one wish to change the world” come true.  This year, Jamie Oliver was the well deserving recipient.

You’ll have to watch the video to hear his wish.  But I promise you, it’s worth it.  So stop checking your email or thinking about what you’re having for dinner tonight or how much you are dreading Monday morning and just be here, now, listening to what this incredible man has to say.

Watch this video, read the action plan and offer to help.

We need to make this happen and have the power to do so.

Pepsi made a choice.  For the first time in 23 years, they chose to forgo buying commercial time during the Super Bowl.  Instead, they redirected the $20 million to launch the Pepsi Refresh Project, a viral marketing campaign that awards grants to non-profits in a variety of communities across the catagories of health, arts & culture, food & shelter, the planet, neighborhoods, and education.   Anyone can submit a grant idea online and everyone is welcome to vote.

Naturally, what I like most about the campaign is that is does GOOD.   $20 million goes a long way in these organizations and certainly has a longer lasting impression than a 30 second spot.

But that aside, I give the campaign props because it requires Pepsi to engage with their consumer in a way that few of the big companies choose to do.  This engagement between brand and consumer is real and the experience can’t be replicated.  Gene Liebel, partner for user experience at Huge, which was involved in the development and design for the site, said “the emphasis the campaign places on social media demonstrates how a big brand is letting what used to be called the audience take part in what can become a movement.”  I like that.  Let’s be a part of this movement and encourage other brands to rethink not only  the way they spend their advertising dollars, but how they can impact the world.

GOOD Magazine recently featured some of Dan’s photos from a project he did during the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing that were part of a larger multimedia piece he did for PBS.  The project focused on the hutongs, traditional courtyard residences, that are currently being demolished to make way for new roads and buildings.  Dan is passionate about China and its intricacies and I think these photos exemplify that.  I love the way he has captured every day people doing every day activities yet their surroundings are far from what we would consider normal.

You can see the multimedia piece here and the GOOD Picture Show here.

A few photos from our most recent trip to Italy taken with my iPhone and spiced up with one of my favorite apps, ShakeItPhoto

Collaborations are a thing of beauty.  This month, Grand Opening and Our Goods have teamed up and formed Trade School, a month long experiment that offers classes in a variety of subjects including Business School for Artists, How to Make Butter, Intro to Participatory Learning & Action, Grantwriting and a number of other fascinating topics.  Trade School omits the dollar system and operates solely on barter. Teachers are compensated in work space and students pay for class by bringing goods to trade.  I signed up for “PLAY: Improv for Ideation,” a class that teaches a series of interactive ideation and process exercises aimed at informing and enhancing the creative practice.  In exchange, the teachers, the duo behind MakerHappener, have asked for any of the following:

One-time access to a laser cutter
1 hour of WordPress assistance
A jar of organic peanut butter or raw local honey
Stumptown coffee beans
A winter coat for a 70 pound black lab
Art
Plants
Cool maps or art books

I love the idea of people coming together across a variety of disciplines to share resources and teach one another.  Who wants to join me?