It's not like Lauren Mioton doesn't have enough to do. She's a junior on the Purdue women's basketball team and is studying to become a doctor. Now Mioton has found enough time, and energy, to organize a cookbook to help her hometown of New Orleans. Proceeds from the cookbook, which will be titled Live to Eat, is scheduled to be released next summer and will benefit the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. The idea stemmed from Mioton returning to New Orleans during the summer to take an organic chemistry class at Loyola University. She said parts of the city still haven't recovered from Hurricane Katrina. "I finally got to look around the city and I really wanted to help in some way," Mioton said. "There's so many T-shirts and bumper stickers being sold and people are being flooded with that." After returning to West Lafayette, Mioton spoke with head coach Sharon Versyp and Terry Kix, the program's director of basketball operations. "They gave me the idea and I ran with it," Mioton said. "It was perfect. People like to eat no matter what, especially in New Orleans."

Not all the recipes will be from the New Orleans area. Some will come from the families of Purdue players and alumni. She's attempting to get former Purdue and current New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees to submit a recipe. "That would be perfect," Mioton said. Versyp wasn't surprised by Mioton's desire to help. "She's a young lady that is so well rounded and an amazing role model," she said.
Mioton said Lake Pontchartrain, which is north of the city, is still reeling. "We're trying to educate people about the wetlands and the organization," she said. "The proceeds will benefit them because they're short on volunteers and short on funding."