[Bob Waldrop, above, one of the founding members of the Oklahoma Sustainability Network, is among a feisty group of Oklahoma bloggers writing about environmental issues. One of Waldrop’s newest creations, The Bulgar Bugle, is all about getting local wheat into your diet.]
By John Sutter
So you’ve got all this excess bulgur wheat sitting around … what’s a green guy to do? Well, turn to the Bulgar Bugle for starters. It’s one of a number of green blogs that are sprouting up in Oklahoma, as I wrote in The Oklahoman today.
On the bulgur blog, you’ll find an assortment of reciepes from local environment guru Bob Waldrop. The commentary behind the recipes is what makes the blog such a charming read, though. Here are some examples:
(June 7th) This morning I was making whole wheat pancakes for breakfast, and decided, what the heck, I have all this bulgar laying around, let’s throw some in the pancake batter.
Good choice, Bob. I used the bulgar that I had cooked overnight in the crockpot (see previous post today). My recipe for whole wheat pancakes with bulgar is as follows …
(June 11th) How American is this? We had frozen home-made “TV dinners” tonight, which included bulgar pilaf. There was a bottle of ketchup sitting on the counter, and I thought, “Why not?” So I dashed a good portion of ketchup onto the pilaf, mixed it in, and it was very good.
(June 9th) Cook some sausage and scramble some eggs (however much you need for those you’re feeding). After the eggs are scrambled, add cooked bulgar pilaf (about 1/4 cup per person). Combine all ingredients in skillet. Voila, quick and nutritious “stick to your ribs” breakfast.
My newspaper story talks briefly about how much the environmental (or sustainability) movement has grown in Oklahoma in recent years. Waldrop was among a handful of people who started the Oklahoma Sustainability Network over coffee meetings in 2002 or 2003. That group has spawned several sub-chapters, and members of the movement pride themselves on being a loose alliance of interested people rather than organizationally strong. The Sierra Club and others have been active in Oklahoma for some time, but currently none of the groups are said to employ any staffers (although Sierra Club is looking to hire one now). The groups have found a home online, through listserves and blogs. Here’s a list of some I found interesting:
Fresh Greens: Tips and anecdotes from 13 bloggers in Oklahoma City who write on topics from local foods to energy efficiency. Excerpt from their inaugural post:
Why a local blog on sustainability? Plenty of blogs and other websites are dealing with sustainability issues at a national or international level, as well as plenty of bloggers here in OKC who write on trying to live sustainably. I suppose the real impetus behind this collaborative blogging effort, is a desire to employ the Web 2.0 phenomenon in creating a center of discussion specific to the Oklahoma City sustainable community and its geographical neighbors. In the spirit of Wendell Berry we recognize the essential value of grounding our efforts in the community instead of attempting to swim against the current of our culture alone.
Here’s a video with two of the bloggers:
Oklavore: Local foods, cooking and environment blog.
New Okie Pioneers: Yahoo! listserve devoted to environmentalism and independence in rural Oklahoma. Site has 711 members. This morning, they were posting about donkeys.
Ag Law OKC Blog: A local attorney blogs on agriculture and the environment.