Food Picture Time!

I haven't been doing a lot of interesting cooking lately because I'm still waiting for my first paycheck and the grocery budget has temporarily shrunk (at least I hope it's temporary). Also I've been being a lazy bum doing a Star Trek marathon for the last few weeks.

But here are some of the few things we have made recently!

Eggplant and Black Eyed Pea Curry

From The PPK of course. It was a pretty simple recipe even if it did seem to take a long time (we were starting with dried beans). I liked it but Danielle didn't... something about the eggplant being bitter I guess. We left out the fennel seed. It made what felt like a ton of food for two people... We were eating it for the next 2 days.

Sunflower Mac

This was a pretty simple recipe too actually! I liked the way it tasted, even if it turned out a little gritty because our blender decided to DIE halfway through the process of making the sauce (RIP BLENDER. Thanks for dying when I have no money to replace you!) but I'll just say, despite what people may claim, it still doesn't taste like Mac n' Cheese. It's good, and I do like the flavor, but if you're going for authentic this isn't really it. I'd still recommend it to vegans though since a lot of people really love it.

Peanut Butter Blondies 

omg this recipe was so simple, and so rich it was ridiculous! Overwhelming peanut butter flavor. It was almost too much for me, and I'm a peanut butter addict o_o

Sweet Potato and White Bean Soup

I halfway made up this recipe myself by looking at recipes for soups involving white beans. This is a picture of my first try which didn't include kale... I like it better with kale in it though. I think this is basically how the recipe went, but you can always experiment with more herbs if it's too bland.

2 TBSP olive oil
4 cups veggie broth
1 onion, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2-1 bunch chopped kale (depends on the size of the bunch)
1 can white beans
1 cup crushed italian style canned tomatoes
1 sweet potato or yam, chopped into smallish chunks
1-2 tsp of dried thyme

Fry up the onion until translucent, add garlic for a minute or two, then put in the broth, kale, tomatoes, and yam, along with thyme. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until yam is tender  (may take longer) Add white beans and warm through... add more salt, thyme, or fresh rosemary to taste (dried takes too long to soften).

Sushi

One day when we needed creative ways to use veggies, I made the zesty black bean and corn salad, and then whipped up these! It took ages but I had a lot of fun. They're very simple ingredients-wise... but time-consuming. I used the sushi rice recipe out of an excellent book called Kansha, and the recipe for the sushi itself came from a little book full of cute vegan sushi called Vegetarian Sushi Made Easy.

Nava's Hearty Lentil and Mushroom Shepherd's Pie


From the Fat Free Vegan blog. This recipe went way beyond my expectations. We used kale instead of spinach. Delicious comfort food, right here. I can't wait to make it again!


Raspberry Truffle Brownies

These are probably the best vegan brownies I've ever had. My first bite was so overwhelming it was hard to go on, but then I had to, and then I couldn't stop. Ugh... really rich and fudgy, I love it. Recipe includes applesauce.

And last but not least... I'm sad to say that I ate the last of our
Bob's Red Mill 10-Grain Cereal

Which is delicious with almond milk, brown sugar, nuts, sunflower seeds, and dried fruit on it.
Did you know that if you eat 2.5 cups of this stuff, that's 60 grams of protein? That's less than 10 grams shy of my daily recommended intake, and probably goes even further over the edge with the 6 or so grams from the sunflower seeds, and another 6 or so from a slice of peanut butter toast. Plus it's warm and comforting and super filling. I need to get me some more of this stuff.

So there you have it... a sampling of the best stuff I've been eating lately (we don't need to go over the endless amounts of cold cereal, oranges, pasta with marinara, toast, applesauce, and triscuits spread with various nut butters and jams, do we?)

Lent and Other Spiritual Things

I love Lent! That may seem a bit odd, since it's not an LDS tradition. I was first introduced to it by Danielle, since she was raised Lutheran. Lent is when you give up something for the 40 days before Easter. Our second Lent was when we decided to give up meat together. It was the very first step in what would become our vegan spiritual journey.

Have a photo of crocuses - one of the first signs of spring!

This year I've decided to set aside more time for spiritual things. I recently tried meditating for the first time and I liked it so much that I'm trying to set aside 30-60 minutes every day for a sort of daily devotional, which includes time for journal writing, personal prayer, meditation, and the singing or writing of hymns. So far I have noticed a great improvement in my overall emotional state... I was semi-depressed before starting meditation and now I find it much easier to keep a positive attitude about things. It's odd, but taking a moment to just BE in the present moment and appreciate the fact of your own existence, the significance of each breath continuing your life, is really powerful and good for shifting one's perspective out of self-defeating thought processes. It can be very easy to get depressed when there is so much wrong with the world, and to feel like things will never get better and there's no point in trying. But there is never a moment in any of our lives where we have no significance or value. Veganism has already taught me that about animals, but sometimes I forget it about myself.

Granted, I'm also probably happier lately because I have finally got a job! I was hired by a small cleaning company which is run by a young Christian couple. They are extremely nice people and I feel privileged to work for them. I only had my third day of work yesterday, and I feel like I'm really slow at it compared to my boss and the more experienced cleaners, but everyone has been really encouraging and friendly, and I do take satisfaction in knowing I am thorough even if I'm not fast yet. It's a great feeling to step back after cleaning something thoroughly and say "I did that! I made that look beautiful." And my body will get stronger, too. It's quite a work out, cleaning all day long! Humans need to feel useful in order to be happy I think.

As a side note of news, Danielle and I are volunteering for Field Roast's booth at Seattle's Vegfest on the 24th! I'm super excited because that probably means free food samples! :D

Let's see... what else... I recently went to a Relief Society planning meeting where I suddenly got invited to teach a class on Vegan cooking, but that is getting rescheduled for another as yet undetermined time.

Here's an awesome quote I recently read related to veganism:
"But for the sake of some little mouthful of flesh we deprive a soul of the sun and light, and of that proportion of life and time she had been born into the world to enjoy."
- Plutarch

I continue to search for answers about what God is really like. I recently took heart from reading this short article from the Christian Vegetarian Association's newsletter.
_______________

The Gospel According to John begins, “In the beginning was the Word [Greek: logos], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…” What is the logos?

Ancient sources use logos in a variety of ways, including to denote “word” or “speech.” The context of the writer of John’s Gospel suggests to me that this writer used logos in the sense that the Greek philosopher Heraclitus (ca. 535-475 BCE) used it. For Heraclitus, logos was a general concept – a principle of order and knowledge. Therefore, I think the writer of John was asserting that a logos/general principle has always guided the universe, and this principle was manifest in Jesus of Nazareth.

Is there evidence for such a guiding principle? A look at nature, where animals routinely kill each other, suggests that if there is such a principle, it is not benign. However, in nature creatures also delight in life and even showing kindness and compassion for each other. Indeed, nonhumans will care for friends and even strangers, and sometimes even members of other species. Similarly, humans manifest both extremes of cruelty and callousness as well as love and altruism.

Christian scripture and tradition teaches that the logos was made incarnate in Jesus. To understand the logos from a Christian perspective, we need to explore the life and teachings of Jesus. Here, we find a person who repeatedly showed love, compassion, and concern. He taught that “the greatest commandment” was love, and this accords with 1 John 4:8, which reads, “He who does not love does not know God; for God is love.”

I think that belief that there is a logos is similar to a belief that God exists. We find evidence for both in our lives and in the world around us, though we are also challenged in our faith by evidence to the contrary. Ultimately, we have no choice but organize our lives around principles, whether those principles involve love on one extreme or narcissistic self-interest on the other, and whether or not those principles include God or other metaphysical dimensions. As a person of faith, I choose to try to align my life with a notion of the logos in which the creator God (however clouded in mystery God might be) is loving and caring. I think seeing God as aligned with a single principle is crucial for monotheism, which I will explore next week.

Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.

Animal Advocacy News

Here is some general news about Veganism which has been cropping up on my Facebook and email lately. Each title is linked to further information and/or a way to take action.

The Turlock Hen Rescue
A factory egg farm recently shut down his facility, leaving 50,000 hens to starve to death. Animal Place and one other organization have taken the initiative to rescue some 4-5 thousand of the hens but are completely overwhelmed with the need for food, bedding, and other supplies. These people are amazing, they are giving their all to save these hens' lives. I could only donate a tiny amount, but by sharing it I have been able to get donations from some family and friends, and I hope that those who can do something for this cause will. It's not every day we have a chance like this to make a real impact on such a huge number of suffering animals. You can also sign this petition to bring the farm owner to justice.

Ag-Gag Bills
There is one in Utah which has passed the House. For those of you living in Utah, please contact your senators and let them know that this is not okay. In order for people to learn the truth about factory farms, we need to continue to be able to send in undercover investigators to document the horrors without being treated like terrorists. One such bill, the first of its kind to pass, has already recently passed in Iowa.
People from MFA are protesting it. I hope it does some good : \


Antibiotic-Resistant Super Viruses
This is the second article I have found talking about how our overuse of antibiotics in factory farms (necessary to keep animals alive in such awful conditions) is breeding new antibiotic-resistant superbugs which are now infecting humans. The first was from a German news source, Der Speigel.

Fox Penning in Virginia
Click above to sign the petition against fox penning. It's a really horrible practice... I don't see how anyone can justify it.

Horse Slaughter in Missouri
Another petition link above.

Use of Pigs in Combat Training
Another petition

Ban the Sale of Whale, Dolphin, and Porpoise meat
and another.

Dying Cattle at Sea
The practice of shipping cattle overseas for slaughter is probably even worse than shipping them by truck. 3,000 cattle recently died when a ship got stranded....

Although there are a lot of other issues and petitions to look for, I'll let anyone who wants to look them up do so on their own. There are many problems in this world and it's easy to get overwhelmed. But we all just have to focus on what we can do, and do it, not get depressed about what we are not doing.