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vegan soup to combat your winter cold

Published by Cara St.Hilaire

Mind over matter, right? I’ve been willing my body not to get sick. From a healing shoulder and holidays to work travel and workload, I’ve been giving myself pep talks and vitamin C because “it wasn’t a good time to get sick.” Even when Chris, a middle school teacher swimming in germs everyday, came home ill I managed to escape. Ha–take that viruses. I win and you lose. In fact, I was just bragging about my tougher-than-nails immune system last week as I was in contact with a few colleagues at work that had minor colds.

You know where this is going. Wham! The viruses won and I think they’ve invaded every square inch of my body. It is the kind of cold that makes you curl up like a baby and whine. Thankfully, Chris humored me and bought me lozenges to reduce the length of my cold and he even made fresh squeezed orange juice for me. You read that right–fresh squeezed. Like from real oranges.

When he asked what he could make me for dinner, there was only one thing that would suffice. Soup. Hot, wholesome soup. I came up with this recipe about a year ago when I was trying to make dinner with the remnants of my pantry between grocery shopping excursions. I didn’t think it would actually be delicious. If you are like me, waging war against an army of viruses that bring mucus and other toxic waste with them, make a batch of this soup and it will make you feel better.

Vegetable couscous soup with quinoa
1 onion diced
6 cloves of garlic chopped finely
1 can of organic diced tomatoes
2 carrots chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
1/4 cup quinoa
1 cup couscous
1/4 cup parsley
2 tablespoons of fresh thyme
1 tablespoon celery salt
Black or white pepper to taste
1 tablespoon old bay seasoning
4 Rapunzel veggie bouillon cubes
1 /2 cup red wine
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 1/2 quarts of Imagine Vegetable Broth
3 tablespoons of Earth Balance spread

Soften the onion and garlic in the Earth Balance. Be careful not to let the garlic burn. Add the bouillon and stir until it is dissolved. Add the red wine and cook for a few minutes until it is slightly reduced. Next add the spices, herbs, quinoa, and broth. Simmer together for 10 minutes on low heat. Add the couscous and follow the cooking time on the package (approximately 15 minutes). Turn heat off and add the fresh, chopped parsley last. This can all be altered based on what you have in your pantry. No couscous? Add whatever small pasta you have. No fresh thyme? I am a big fan of fresh herbs but dried will be OK too. No quinoa? How about some garbanzo beans or lentils?

Serve with a piece of bread with Earth Balance spread.

Carrots Love Tomatoes

Published by Cara St.Hilaire

Every vegetarian gal or guy that has any space at all should try to grow some of her/his own vegetables either in containers on a porch or in the yard. How have I gone so long without such a must-have, classic book? This rare treasure among a sea of gardening guides? Written originally in 1975 and updated in 1998, Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening , published by the well-respected Storey Publishing, should be the bible which we all refer to when deciding where to thoughtfully place each plant in our garden. Who knew that beans and onions would hinder the growth of one another? And how did Louise Riotte know that planting celery near cauliflower would deter the white cabbage butterfly? There are no flashy photographs in this book nor dreamy prose. Yet there is such a wealth of information here dispersed among simple and informative drawings. If only I had known last year that dill may affect carrot growth in a negative way, I may have ended up with carrots that weren’t the size of cocktail weenies.

The past few years, I’ve basically walked outside with my seed packets and seedlings and simply made it up as I went. My friends and family would likely say this is representative of my life! I’ve ended up with an unorganized layout with sub-par production. From wilting peppers and tiny carrots to corn seeds that never grew taller than an inch. Then I’d look in garden magazines and wonder how on earth other gardens looked so lush, with giant red tomatoes screaming to be picked, sunflowers taller than I am, and more green beans than one family could ever even think of eating in a year? Carrots Love Tomatoes brought it all together for me. I have learned two things that can only help me this year. First, things don’t need quite as much space as I’ve always given them. Second, it truly does matter which veggies end up being neighbors. If you don’t plant the right guys next to each other, you’ll end up with HBO-worthy fighting over nutrients that will prevent one or both of them from flourishing.

This year, I took the time to plan my garden out–plant by plant–with Carrots Love Tomatoes as my reference. First, I started to draw a plain old grid and couldn’t get into it. Since I’m a visual person, I decided to literally grab some plain old colored pencils and draw it out. The way I see it, this will prevent overspending (buying too many plants and not having room for them) and it will also ensure that each plant is placed thoughtfully somewhere. How many times have I purchased a lovely new perennial and then had absolutely no idea where to plan it in my small, urban yard?

Planning is so liberating! For example, I didn’t think to plant anything right next to my birdbath, but my mother suggested planting something in a half moon around it to make the birds feel safe and protected while providing partial shade. I didn’t have any idea where to give my corn a try again, so voila–I’ll plan corn around the back side of the bath. If I hadn’t planned this out, I would end up wandering around my yard with corn seed before likely giving up and going without this year.

Here are my plans for 2011.

Bed #2 is on the front and side of my house and this is where many of my flowers are housed, along with small shrubs. This mulched bed is a mixed bag in regards to hours of sun per day, so I have to be extra thoughtful about what I plant there. Most of what you see here is already growing because I really turned my nose up at annuals last year. However, this year I’m expanding with some annuals good for cutting and also impatients on the corner merely because they are so bright and happy when I turn onto my street after a long day. They also have an extraordinarily long growing season, which means I will have riots of color from June through October.

Bed #3 will hopefully deliver many delicious vegetarian dinners this summer! Raised beds are such a great way to grow vegetables and herbs if your soil isn’t perfect.

I have other beds that currently house perennials like roses and butterfly bushes and I haven’t yet planned out all of the containers on our back deck, but I feel so much more confident going into planting season with these three main beds nicely planned.

Here are just a few great tips I learned from my new favorite book:
* basil helps keep tomatoes healthy from disease while improving growth and flavor
* beets and kohlrabi grow well together because they take soil nourishment at different levels
* broccoli is hindered by tomatoes

Also, you’ll see that I have nasturtium planted everywhere because it repels aphids, squash bugs, striped pumpkin beetles, and wooly aphids. I don’t know what a wooly aphid is, but I don’t want it!

Tomatoes (4gardengirls.wordpress.com)
Chickens In the Garden: Spring Chickens (heartseasecottage.typepad.com)
a Backyard Universe of Vegetables! (backyarduniverse.wordpress.com)

love and delphinium

Published by Cara St.Hilaire

Yesterday the touch of the frolicsome breeze seemed harsh, my beloved, and the sun’s beams seemed weak, a mist hid the face of the earth, and the waves of the ocean roared like a tempest.

I looked all about me, but saw naught but my own suffering self standing by my side, while the phantoms of darkness rose and fell around me like ravenous vultures.

But today Nature is bathed in light, and the roaring waves are calm and the fogs are dispersed.
-from the passage “Resurrection” in The Treasured Writings of Kahlil Gibran

This week has not been a good one. In fact, the last few weeks have been full of fog and rough waves. Work, sleep, health, guilt, work, stress, late, cold, obligation, forgetting, fears, thoughts, hurry, work. Sometimes life seems to be moving so fast and racing thoughts fly by so quickly that we are lucky to be able to reach out to grab hold of one to focus on. Get an oil change, clean the house, make dinner, get the project done, get all the other projects done, go to the meeting, worry about the future, get up early, stay up late, remind your family you still love them, remind your friends you still love them, send a thank-you note, pay the bills, hold it together, get a haircut, do the laundry, and don’t forget to try to do it all without getting into the car and driving off a cliff like Thelma & Louise.

This past week, I was saved by two thing: my mother and delphinium.

My mother and I had a plan; a mission. Within thirty minutes of her arrival, our plan started to crumble and it never stopped crumbling. But with my mother, everything is meant to be. She was like an angel in a baby blue wool jacket, setting our new course and reminding me of all the important things. “Get back to basics,” she said. “One thing at a time.” And when I would veer off course back into the rough waves, she sat with me and talked things out. “Without your health you have nothing,” she emphasized. “We can be our own worst enemies.” Then of course, “You have so much to be proud of and you are so loved.” This leads me to my next bright spot.

I came home from work one night this week and found Chris cooking away in our kitchen, a glass of wine poured for me, and the most beautiful bouquet of blue delphinium I’ve ever seen. He knows more than anyone how much I miss my garden in the winter. Could it be the numerous boxes from Amazon containing gardening books lately? The hour that I spent, tiny little brush in hand, trying to help our hydroponic cherry tomatoes pollinate? The three hours I spent at our table with a sketch pad and colored pencils, drawing out the plan for our garden? The way I continually flip through a seed catalog, reading all of the descriptions? Or perhaps it is the nearly pathetic way I flip through the packets of seeds over and over and over and over?

He must have decided it was high time we had some real flowers in this house to offset the dirty white snow outside and the dying container of thyme by our kitchen window. I, for once this week, didn’t blubber though I did feel a lump in my throat at this small, yet enormous gesture. He hasn’t had a very easy few weeks himself but he wanted me to know that he thought of me by driving around to try to find my favorite flowers.

The waves will calm down and the fog has lifted a bit. How lucky am I?

Growing delphinium
Did you realize that now is the time to start your delphinium seeds indoors for spring planting outdoors? First, freeze the seeds for about 2 weeks, but do not freeze the dry seeds! You’ll want to place the seeds in MOIST light soil meant specifically for starting seed, then place 1/4 inch of soil on top of the seeds prior to freezing. When you take them out, make sure the soil doesn’t dry out and germination takes about 12 days. As your little seedlings grow, it is best to mist them or water them from the bottom up.

finding beauty in nature and imperfection: wabi-sabi

Published by Cara St.Hilaire

Mother Earth News arrived the other day and I was drawn to an article called “Wabi-Sabi: Finding the Beauty and Peace in Ordinary Things” on page 50. It was an unusual article for Mother, which usually has a focus on things like growing potatoes or installing eco-friendly heating systems. This then led me to pick up a four month old copy of Whole Living that I’ve been meaning to finish for too long. To my surprise, there was an article on page 102 called “Wabi Sabi Your Life: Simple Strategies for Embracing Imperfection.” I rarely read an article more than once and I found myself reading these two articles over and over because I felt so connected to this philosophy.

What is wabi-sabi you ask? It sounds like it should be a side to sushi. It is really hard to find a proper Webster’s definition, but it is a Buddhist and Japanese idea that we should find beauty in flaws and connect with the natural world. It is open to interpretation, but it seems to have begun at Japanese tea ceremonies, when the pottery used would be asymmetrical, chipped, and rustic. A key point in the Whole Living article: “Wabi-sabi is handmade pottery, crow’s feet, and the frayed sleeves of a favorite wool sweater, exposed brick and the first draft of a difficult letter. You won’t find wabi-sabi in Botox, glass-and-steel skyscrapers, smart phones, or the drive for relentless self-improvement.” And the article in Mother Earth News tells us, “Wabi-sabi is flea markets, not warehouse stores; aged wood, not laminate.”

This shouldn’t be confused with allowing junk to pile up or allowing your veggie garden to become overrun with weeds, which is just sloppy. To me, the idea is simply honoring imperfections, bringing the natural world into our lives, and putting the most value in our objects that have meaning. It is Sunday and sunny and earlier I decided to spend time simply walking around my house and identifying what felt wabi-sabi, not only to inspire me but also to add a little lightness to a day full of “to-do’s.”

This organic tomato has more antioxidants and it was not grown using pesticides, which is better for the environment and better for our health. It may have some imperfections, but the taste is better.

This mug was purchased from a potter in Pennsylvania when I was in my early 20s. I remember being so broke at the time, but I loved the earth tones of his work. All of these years later, I’d prefer to drink my coffee or tea from this lovely piece of art than an unoriginal mug with my company logo on it.

Yes, I have shelves of worn out paperbacks and mass market fiction. However, I cherish these Harvard Classics from 1910. They were given to me by my grandparents and spent many years on a shelf built by my great grandfather. Though they are in wonderful condition, the pages have a lovely yellowed edge and the spines have started to unravel.

Another bit of history from 1910 would be my very worn floors, which would have to be one of the things I love most about my 101 year old home. There are gaps and cracks in the wood, but it only adds to the beauty. You have to imagine who was walking on these very same pieces of pine 100 years ago.

This afghan was made by a friend (Joanne) as a wedding gift. It took her four months to make and, knowing how much I care about the environment, she used leftover scraps of yarn that she’d been accumulating. The blanket is so bright and comfortable…and completely hand-made with love.

These earrings were a birthday gift from my dear friend, Jackie, last year. I don’t know how old they are, but I love that she found them second-hand somewhere and thought they “looked like me.” They have a lovely blue stone material surrounded by silver. Some may say the silver is tarnished, but I say it has a patina.

This is one of my kitties, Winston. The chair and blanket are not old, but one aspect of wabi-sabi is accepting imperfection. So, I am trying to be less cranky about kitty fur by realizing that it just is. I’d rather have my three kitties than fur-less furniture and blankets.

I no longer buy leather shoes (or anything leather for that matter), but these deserve a moment of honor. I purchased these eco-friendly shoes in Seattle a long time ago and they represent so many memories, from gardening to vacations to sadder events that have shaped me as a person. From “I Love My Shirt” by Donovan in 1968: Do you have some shoes that you really love/ Ones that you feel so flashy in ?/ You don’t even mind if they start to get some holes in/That only makes them nicer still.

When Chris and I first moved in together, we lived right on the beach. We’d go out for walks constantly and if we were feeling really mushy and ridiculously in-love, we’d pick up a rock and go home and paint the date on it. They sit in a clay pot on a windowsill and I forget they are there. Looking through them brought back memories and I might just paint the date on a rock again soon.

I was helping my grandmother clean out a bunch of shelves. Way in the back, we found a box of old blue Mason jars. She gave one to me because I couldn’t get over how beautiful the color was. It serves as a perfect vase for flowers or herbs.

Though I think wabi-sabi does have a lot to do with material objects or aesthetics, I think we can all use some bits of this philosophy in our lives. For example, in my own life what is more important? Meeting a work deadline or making sure I’m there when my husband’s kids (he is a music and chorus teacher) have a concert? Taking the time to make a simple but wholesome dinner or ordering Chinese takeout? Buying a bag of regular apples that are shiny and perfect or a bag of local, organic apples that are imperfect but taste better? Eating macaroni and cheese because it tastes good or choosing instead something without dairy so that my conscience can be more at peace?

If you can’t read the two previously mentioned articles, here are three things you can do now to make your life more wabi-sabi:
1. Go through a room and simplify it. Take out all of the stuff that can cause clutter in your mind. Make sure one thing you have an emotional connection to is featured in your view.
2. Grab a pair of pruners, go outside and cut a few thin branches/twigs, and put them in a vase or jar in your home to allow some of the natural world in.
3. The next time you are at the grocery store, pay a little bit more money for the funny-looking organic vegetables. They are healthier, grown by a more thoughtful farmer, and this action will make you feel better about yourself and your meal – I swear.

Remember one thing: we are all imperfect. For more reading about wabi-sabi, you can read this (coming in May 2011) or this.

land of sun and seals

Published by Cara St.Hilaire

My first real impression of San Diego involved a very muscular guy standing proudly on a roof deck containing loads of gym equipment. He, of course, was not wearing a shirt and I think he may have even been flexing into a mirrored window.

Then the buildings cleared out and I saw an entire block simply covered in purple flowers and the muscle man was quickly forgotten. As the taxi drove up to the hotel, all I could hear were birds chirping and I spotted the most gorgeous hibiscous. Don’t these sun worshipping Californians know it is January? Though on a work trip, the months of work-stress and winter ickiness literally started melting away with the beads of sweat accumulating on my forehead. If I hadn’t been with a carload of people I work with, I might have just started running through the parking lot with arms wide open singing “The Hills Are Alive” like Julie Andrews. Instead, I walked calmly to my room, passed a large sign for an herb garden (making a mental note to check it out at a later time), opened the door to my balcony overlooking the bay, and simply took a deep breath.

On Monday, a few colleagues and I decided to make a break from conference activities and headed to La Jolla to soak up some sun. Camera in hand and surrounded by ocean and vegetation, I didn’t think photographic opportunity could be any better.

And then we saw the seals…and I lost my heart. Tons of them, all colors and sizes, frolicked like fat little dough balls with the cutest faces you’ve ever seen. They barked at us in gruff voices and “ran” on their bellies, enjoying the sun just as much as we were. We watched them for a long time in silence because their antics were just so engaging and captivating. I’ve learned a few things since. First, it is rare for the seals to haul-out (leave the water to rest on the beach) very close to humans, so the situation we saw was incredibly unique. Second, we were almost in time for pupping season. Oh how I would have loved to see the seal pups! I also learned from this great site about a recent controversy that may have resulted in the displacement of these dear creatures (but the seals and the good-hearted residents of La Jolla won, don’t worry).

Seals have a tough struggle, you know. Though seal hunting has decreased due to a lower demand (always remember, it is always about supply and demand!), brutal hunting does continue. This video by The Humane Society of the United States is both celebratory but shows there is still work to be done. In Hawaii, Monk Seals frequently get caught in fishing lines and overfishing is diminishing their food supply. You can read more in this article. And then of course, overseas the seals have to battle crazy men like Eddie McCarthy of Scotland (in this 2002 article) planning to shoot them because they kill salmon and have “little to no financial value.”

I’m happy to say that on that gorgeous day in the “golden state,” the seals’ largest concerns seemed to be showing off for their admirers and taking a casual dip in the water every now and then. You California folk have it made.

Toyling: 1988 – January 3, 2011

Published by Cara St.Hilaire

You never see someone for the last time and realize it will be the last time. It was Sunday night when I last touched our elderly cat, Toyling. I didn’t realize it would be the last time I’d see his little face ever again as a living, breathing family member. Though I wish I had a chance to say a proper goodbye, I’m glad he died as an old man in his home instead of under harsh lights at a veterinary office.

A few years ago, Toyling came to live with us when Chris’s grandmother moved into assisted living and couldn’t keep him. Our chubby black kitties didn’t know what to think when this slender, long-legged, brown, loud, and exotically named Siamese cat came to live with us. If he was cranky, we knew. If he was hungry, he howled! If he just wanted love (and oh did he need a lot of love), you couldn’t escape. Though he looked a little past his prime, the vet assured us he had years. And years he did end up having–good years I’d say.

His wacky personality traits are what I love so much. We always say Winston is the big fat man, Stevie is the snob, and Spooky is the street-wise scrapper who isn’t all there. Toyling was the old man, yelling at the whippersnappers, hobbling around, eating too much, breaking all the rules of etiquette, and complaining loudly quite often. However, he was also full of love and affection too.

When I went to where he sleeps to check on him, something seemed off. I knew before I was half way up the stairs that he wasn’t with us anymore. I can’t tell you how. I suppose it was in part because he usually jumped down from wherever he was perched when he heard my footsteps. Or maybe it was just the eerie silence. It is amazing how perceptive our senses are; how intuition kicks in and tells us something is wrong before we even logically confirm our fears. Even though he was an old man, I just wasn’t prepared to see his little body without any life. I had no warning. I freaked out, cried, called a friend, and called my mother. “What if he suffered?” “What if he died crying out for us and we didn’t hear him?” Finally, I made the dreaded call to Chris. When he got home from work, we dug a deep hole, wrapped Toyling in his favorite blanket, and had our own sad goodbye. Chris said it perfectly to him as we buried him: “you were a good kitty, Toyling.”

The house is so quiet right now.

Toyling, born in 1988 and originally from Nashua, New Hampshire passed away on January 3, 2011. Beloved cat of the late Mildred Ordway and later Chris and Cara St.Hilaire; spunky step-sibling of Stevie, Winston, and Spooky St.Hilaire of Winthrop, MA. Cherished relative of Susan St.Hilaire of Bedford, NH. Toyling, who died of natural causes, is survived by his many devoted care-takers that will miss him immensely. A private Funeral Service was held on January 3, 2011 in Winthrop where Toyling will rest permanently. Contributions may be made in his memory to The Humane Society of the United States.

3 veg restaurants in 3 days

Published by Cara St.Hilaire

I grew up outside of Binghamton, New York and I just went back for a visit. I found myself feeling really proud of my hometown. Though Binghamton is not a huge city, it was quite easy to find vegan/veg fare. Now, two of these joints I will tell you about are not solely vegetarian restaurants, but they clearly cater to that crowd by making a substantial part of the menu veg instead of the traditional one veg option that many restaurants have (which is usually some lame, overpriced pasta dish).

My 3 day vegan journey began in Allston, which is just outside of Boston. We were scrambling around, running some pre-trip errands and decided to head over to The Grasshopper, which is Asian vegetarian bliss. The “beef” lo mein was so out of this world.

The next morning, we set off on our 5 hour drive to Binghamton. Black coffee, trail mix, peanuts, and Twizzlers sufficed for the trip. Once we arrived, we stopped by a favorite of mine called The Lost Dog Cafe in the center of town. Though this restaurant is not vegetarian entirely, it offers vegetarian and vegan options (indicated by a V or VO on the menu). Two words, people: asparagus cakes. Oh they were good. The veggie burger was also pretty delish.

The next day, we went to another old fav of mine: The Whole in the Wall. While in college, I used to swing by “The Whole” often to visit my best friend, who at the time was a tie dye wearing waitress (who now is a new momma!). Serving up all kinds of yummy natural foods, this lovely establishment offers many a vegan option there from tofu to falafel. They also have organic sodas and the best pesto in the entire world. Did I mention you can sit at the table Phish sat at in 1992? The list of celebrity diners (from Metallica to Ani Difranco) is shockingly extensive!

coolest natural foods restaurant in Binghamton

Java Joes, an adorable local coffee shop on State Street, also gets a shout out. I was thrilled to find I could get a latte with soy milk at a place not called Starbucks.

It is getting easier and easier to find places that serve food with a conscience. Amen.

herby onion veggie gravy

Published by Cara St.Hilaire

I was telling my friend, Becky, about my vegetarian gravy yesterday and she encouraged me to post the recipe. Becky is one of my very first vegetarian friends and though I didn’t know it back when we first met, she was one of the inspiring people that–without trying–encouraged me to become a vegetarian. She never pushed me not to eat meat. She didn’t criticize my turkey sandwiches or tell me all of the ethical reasons I should give it a try. She was simply healthy and had conviction about the food choices she made, which can be an even more powerful tool than steamrolling someone into giving up something that has been a foundational part of their diet for a lifetime.

Thanksgiving, to me, is all about returning home to a warm place full of family and friends, yummy food, late night games of Pinochle, crunchy leaves, crisp air and sweaters, red wine, and stuffing and cranberry sandwiches for breakfast the next day. There are also mixed feelings because of the main food choice on this lovely and non-commercial holiday: turkey. I still call Thanksgiving “turkey day” sometimes. I have to force myself not to be sad about all of the turkeys who give up their lives to be the carved-up centerpiece on American tables.

If you don’t eat meat, it can be a difficult day to navigate. So, below is a recipe for my veggie gravy that is as decadent as regular gravy, but completely vegetarian. Vegan, actually, if you don’t use butter. You can put it on stuffing, mashed potatoes, and all of the other good stuff.

Herby Onion Veggie Gravy
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
5 tbsp Earth Balance margarine
4 tbsp flour
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 ½ tsp Old Bay seasoning (or use poultry seasoning if you don’t have Old Bay)
½ tsp celery salt
1 bouillon cube (hint: best bouillon ever is Rapunzel vegan vegetable bouillon with sea salt & herbs)
2 cups vegetable broth (another hint: best broth by far is Imagine organic)
1/2 cup sherry
pepper to taste

Ingredients

Melt the margarine in a medium saucepan. Add the onion, bouillon, Old Bay, celery salt, and herbs of choice. Keep on low heat for about 10 minutes or until the onion is really soft. Add flour and mix until a thick paste forms. Add the sherry, stir, and let it simmer for about 3 minutes. Add the broth and stir, keeping it on the heat for another few minutes. You can adjust to your desired consistency by adding more broth if you choose. Take the gravy off the heat and add desired amount of pepper.

The prep time is about 5 minutes and the gravy itself literally takes less than 20 minutes to create.

Yum!

I hope you enjoy the gravy and have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

The Kind Diet

Published by Cara St.Hilaire

Last Christmas, a dear friend gave me a copy of The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet by known animal activist and actress Alicia Silverstone. Today, I picked it up off my shelf and decided to read it again.

Who doesn’t want to feel great, lose weight, save the planet, and of course look like Alicia Silverstone? Before you discredit this as celebrity propaganda, I ask you to give this book a chance. Look past her character in Clueless and look at the energy she expends being the front woman for PETA, promoting The Farm Sanctuary, and passing knowledge to the world via her book and her online community The Kind Life. Silverstone became vegan after making the connection between pets and farm animals.

“Why did we buy some of them cute little doggy beds while slaughtering others? I had to ask myself–in all seriousness–why don’t I just eat my dog?”

I think this is how many of us start and it is quite a bridge to cross when one day you look at a hamburger and picture the face of a cow. I ate hamburgers often for the first 28 years of my life before suddenly making that connection.

She leads by going through the “nasty” foods, which are meat, dairy, and other foods such as sugar. She doesn’t preach. She tells you why they are nasty to your body, the planet, and animals while highlighting a “superhero” here and there. The information is factual and she delivers it in a way that hits home by exposing the suffering, damage to the environment, and health. For example:

*More than 95 percent of eggs sold in the US come from birds confined in wire battery cages so small they can hardly move. (p. 31)
* It takes more than 11 times the energy to create animal protein than grain protein. (p. 26)
* Remember, cow’s milk is designed to turn a baby calf into a 400-pound cow. (p. 36)

Next, she runs through the “kind” foods such as vegetables, grains, and why not to eat GMO (genetically modified organism) foods before launching into nutritional facts and how to execute this ideal lifestyle. The entire second half of the book is devoted to Alicia’s recipes.

Now, if you are a meat-eating, milk-drinking consumer, Alicia’s definition of flirting may seem intense, even though she lists brands that you may already use, such as Morningstar, Earth Balance, and Amy’s. Give it a shot. Those fake meats are actually delicious (Gardein is one of my favorites for example). For those of you who are already vegetarian (even part time), the book takes you a step further into vegan status and later superhero status by eating primarily macrobiotic foods (if you choose).

Overall, the thing I enjoy most is her humor (such as highlighting photos of cute vegan boys) and frankness (like when she tells us how gassy she gets after she eats cheese). Further, the positive energy she sends out in every page makes you want to run out and buy leafy greens and whole grains while snubbing the fattening cheese department with attitude. Yet, she celebrates what you can do, even if you aren’t ready to make that big leap just yet. The one downfall of this book didn’t even occur to me until I read other Amazon reviews. I live in Boston. If I want to go buy something off-beat like dandelion greens or daikon, I can run right over to Whole Foods Market. If you live in a place with only a traditional grocery store nearby, it might be hard to even find tofu. Regardless, it would be impossible to read this book without walking away with at least one lifestyle change. I’ll continue to revisit it from time to time to remind me to put the parmesan cheese down and use a little more garlic instead.

the inevitable end of harvest

Published by Cara St.Hilaire

Putting the garden to bed for the winter is a sad and daunting task. Even though we have a small yard, we have managed to stuff it full of vegetables and flowers in both beds and pots. We even planted a baby apple tree, though I have no idea how that will go over once it starts to actually grow. This past Sunday, we got up and did the “inventory” to see what is left to do. We must have had a frost, as the tomatoes and peppers were officially gone. To my surprise, there are a few plants hanging on for dear life and–shockingly–flourishing. The amaranthus is going strong. We will still have carrots for a little while it seems. The mums are of course in their prime. The dahlias were still in full bloom and the red roses were (and still are) incredibly bright against the dull November gray background.

November Dahlia

Besides a steaming cup of coffee, crunchy leaves, and the time spent with Chris outside, what made me happiest was seeing the herbs green and growing. The rosemary topiary went into a pot for indoor winter use and I picked chives, parsley, and thyme to use in our brunch of eggs (certified humane Pete & Gerry’s), grapes, Morningstar Farms veggie sausage, and Sarabeth’s marmalade on toast).

From April through autumn, there are always cut flowers in our house from the garden. The best little gifts November left for us were two last bouquets: white mums put into an old blue canning jar from my grandmother and dahlias, hollyhocks, and mums in a plain glass vase. Winter hasn’t started and I am already aching for spring, but when I look back at what my little garden gave me this past season, it makes me smile.

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