Need a New Sustainable Recipe This Summer?

Try making Elote Corn! This savory and refreshing dish is perfect for a summer day!

Ingredients:

4 ears of corn

1/3 cup of sour cream / Mexican crema

1/3 cup of mayonnaise (you can substitute with vegan mayonnaise)

1 teaspoon of ancho chili powder

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 tablespoons of finely minced cilantro (optional)

1/2 cup of crumbled cotija cheese (optional)

1 teaspoon of Kosher salt

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (if grilling)

1 pot of water (if boiling)

1 Lime

Instructions:

– In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, sour cream, most of the chili pepper, most of the cumin powder, and the 1 teaspoon of salt. The remaining chili powder and cumin will be used to garnish the corn at the end. Set aside.

– Prepare the crumbled cotija cheese and cilantro, these ingredients will be used to garnish the corn at the end.

Grilled Corn

– Brush grill grate with vegetable oil. Heat grill to high heat. Place corn directly on the grill. Grill corn, turning occasionally until cooked and lightly charred for about 10 minutes.

OR
Boiled Corn

– Boil your peeled corn for 10 minutes. After boiling, carefully remove and pat dry.

– Brush the corn with the mayonnaise and sour cream mixture.

– Sprinkle the cotija cheese crumbles (optional), chili powder mixture, and cilantro (optional) in that order.

– Squeeze lime over the corn and serve immediately.

Extra Tip!
You can cut the corn off the cobs and serve with spoonfuls of the mayonnaise /sour cream mixture and serve as a side-dish with other foods!

Craving sushi but worried about the sustainability of seafood?

Miss your favorite fish, but can’t make the dish?

Don’t fear, we have a solution for you!

Here is a sustainable fish dish to satisfy your sushi cravings. This branzino (also known as Branzini, Mediterranean seabass, European seabass) ceviche is perfect for 2 people as a dish or for 4 people as an appetizer!

Ingredients:

– 1 lb Branzino filleted (use the freshest fish possible, if it smells fishy, don’t use it!)

– 1 to 1 1/2 tspn coarse kosher non-iodized salt (Note: use less salt if using fine salt)

– 4 to 8 ounces of lime juice

– 1/2 a small red onion

– 1 ounce of cilantro or micro cilantro sprouts (optional)

Instructions:

– chop the red onion into thin slices

– Dice the branzino into bite sized cubes

– Place the red onion slices and branzino into a bowl

– Add salt into the bowl and stir the mixture with a spoon. Stir well for 10-20 seconds

– Add the lime juice into the mixture

– Adjust the salt for taste

– top with cilantro

If you want to learn more about sustainable fish options, check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium guide to seafood.

Water Campaign Friendships

Two years ago, Aquatic Society of Omaha from Nebraska and St. Roza from Uganda joined our 2017 Water Campaign. These two teams met each other through the Campaign as partner teams and learned about methods to improve water quality and water conservation efforts. During the Campaign, the two teams communicated a common interest in water conservation, food security, and improving sustainable agricultural efforts. Since first meeting each other, Aquatic Society of Omaha and St. Roza have collaborated on several environmentally focused projects and have kept in contact in future Campaigns. We’re happy to see our Campaign teams get along so well!

Continued Collaboration

These veteran Grades of Green Campaign teams have continued to participate in environmental efforts together- most recently in the Pollination Project. Aquatic Society of Omaha and St. Roza are committed to learning about modern agricultural practices in order to improve agricultural efforts, learn about water dynamics in soil, and improve sustainable resource usage. Both Aquatic Society of Omaha and St. Roza are working to improve awareness and solutions for water issues by researching the impact of water scarcity and by working on food growing units. By improving food growing aspects in incremental steps, the teams are improving water and quality by incorporating water testing and soil testing kits into food growing units while taking action on other agricultural measure. Other innovations include adding nets to the bottom of food growing units to prevent pests from attacking food roots and adding enriched soils to these kits.

Join the Water Campaign!

Want to join teams like Aquatic Society of Omaha and St. Roza in fighting water issues around the world? Feel free to join us in our next Water Campaign here!

Who knows? Maybe you’ll find a great partner team to collaborate too!

The Grunion Gazette featured Grades of Green and the Waste Campaign!

Communications Contractor Justin addresses the importance of environmental education in his interview with the Grunion Gazette by stating:

“When students take the lead and pursue environmentally conscious projects, it really encourages people and other students to do more projects like this.”

Students in Grades of Green’s Waste Campaign have an opportunity to not only learn about waste issues, but to do their own research to see what they can do to improve their own environment. Long Beach Grades of Green Mentor Cathy states:

“This contest isn’t just calling for students to get out and pick up trash- that’s a good thing of course, but Grades of Green is trying to get young kids to think deeper about helping the environment.”

Read the full article HERE

Grades of Green was featured in South Bay Magazine!

The Southern Californian magazine highlighted Grades of Green student efforts in communities, local governments, and beyond. Co-Executive Directors, Allie and Emily go on to talk about how Grades of green started and how much the programs have expanded. In the article, Allie mentions Grades of Green’s humble beginnings, stating:

“[Grades of Green] was an idea from a group of passionate parents who really wanted to work with their young children and the peers of their children to help them learn some environmental habits they could carry with them for a long time,” says Allie. “It started off with the idea of engaging students in simple habits like turning off the water when brushing your teeth or using both sides of paper before recycling it. It evolved from students not only wanting to practice those habits but also lead environmental projects and activities in their communities.”

Click here to read the rest!

As VERTE 2019 draws near, we are cooking up a storm in anticipation!

Gourmet Global Tasting Menu Representing Grades of Green Eco-Leaders

We will be noshing on a gourmet global tasting menu at VERTE courtesy of Chef Octavio Sabado. Chef Sabado is creating an exclusive meal experience similar to Epcot Center at Disney World where you can sample cuisines from around the world – all countries and areas representing a Grades of Green school. We’ll be dining on everything from Mediterranean cuisine representing Turkey to Texas BBQ!

LA Confidential named the Westdrift Hotel and Restaurant one of the top reasons why celebs are suddenly flocking to Manhattan Beach. “Westdrift channels beach-cum-urbane chic. Its lobby intentionally echoes the Manhattan Beach pier with massive wood pilings, while the indoor-outdoor eatery, Jute, overseen by SLS Bazaar’s Octavio Sabado, continues the city’s celeb-chef love affair,” wrote LA Confidential Lifestyle reporter Alexandria Abramian. Executive Chef Octavio Sabado’s Jute Coastal Bar and Restaurant was also named a Best New Restaurant by Tasting Table.

You will not want to miss all that he has prepared for VERTE 2019!

Chef Sabado

Chef Sabado honed his skills under Chef Jose Andres, the Michelin starred Spanish chef known for his international cooking style and philanthropic food efforts, at The Bazaar and the luxury SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. With some serious international cooking experience under his belt, Chef Sabado is the right chef for this task.

We look forward to celebrating with you, on April 20th at the Westdrift Hotel. Table Sponsorships are still available. You can purchase tickets to VERTE 2019 here.

Annual Report

Every year, Grades of Green conducts an audit to track where the dollars donated to Grades of Green go. We strive to build trust with our donors by holding ourselves accountable with our finances. We are always to happy to share our findings, but we are particularly enthusiastic about this year’s report. The 2018 annual report shows that for every 1 dollar donated to Grades of Green, 86 cents goes directly into student programs.

What Does That Mean?

This means that 86% of all donations go DIRECTLY into programs that teach students- this includes the expansion of programs like our ongoing Waste Campaign. You can feel good about donating to our students as we help them fight environmental issues together. Click here to donate!

The Community Creates

Cal State LA students created a series of community documentaries focusing on environmental efforts in Los Angeles. Grades of Green, Green Technology, and Communities for a Better Environment all worked with Cal State LA’s talented and passionate students throughout the semester to create videos showcasing their work. Many non-profits depend on the talented and compassionate volunteer work from teams like the CSU LA media team and we cannot thank them enough for their efforts!

Come Watch with Us

Grades of Green staff and board members will be watching these videos at their premier. Grades of Green’s video will be showcasing our semester long campaigns that tackle an issue like water issues. The showing is open to all audiences at no cost- join us by registering to join the event HERE

December 15, 2018

7:30 PM – 8:30 PM PST

Hauser & Wirth

901 East 3rd Street

Los Angeles, CA 90013

Remember to register to join the event and we will see you there!