Riddle Me a Riddle

Question for you....

What connects literature, animals and the iPad?


Give up?



OK, well the answer is simple: Animal Writes, the new book club just announced by the vegan dynamo Colleen Patrick-Goudreau! Yes, not content with producing her fortnightly podcast, working on 3 upcoming books, guest lecturing all over creation, publishing everywhere good words are read, and guest column-ing (can we just pretend that's a word?) at VegNews, now she's starting a book club too.

Word has it that she's focusing on the kind of texts she occasionally reads on the podcast - books that examine the relationship we have with animals but which are not necessarily hard-core animal-rights treatise. The first meeting is going to highlight Don LePan's novel, Animals, which is set in a dystopian reality in which some species have become so scarce that 'other' sources of flesh must be found in order to satisfy man's craving for meat....

Anyways, the really neat thing about this book club is that it'll meet in the flesh (pardon the pun) if you happen to live in the San Francisco area and also online for those of us not - yet - so fortunate as to find ourselves in the Bay Area. More details are available at the website

Compassionate Cooks Book Club - Animal Writes

so, without wanting to sound like a complete cliche, go check it out!

Yes, literature and animals...not a bad way to spend an evening!

Perhaps I'll see you there...virtually anyhow! :)

Oh, and if you're wondering how the iPad plays into this - LePan's book is available in e-format through iBooks. Just saying.....

Stay vegan, friends! :)

Old Fashioned People-Food

I realize it's been a while since I wrote a good, down-home post about yummy food - not fancy, hip-widening baked goods or even arty-farty doggie cookies, but good, honest, nourishing people-food. So it's about time I rectified that with a few musings on soup: split-pea soup, to be exact.

I live in New England and, given that January is not traditionally the warmest month of the year, I decided that tonight was the perfect night for stick-to-your-ribs green pea soup from none other than Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Vegan Table



Now, for the price of a few split peas, onions, potatoes, veg stock, sundry herbs and an hour of your time, you end up with this:





To achieve this effect here's what you need and what you do...

You will need:

2 cups green split peas, rinsed and picked over
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
6-7 cups vegetable stock
2 creamy potatoes, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp liquid smoke

salt and pepper to taste


What you do:

This is simplicity itself!
Put everything, apart from the salt and pepper, into a large soup pot and cook for about an hour. Serve.


I had mine with a fresh salad and I'll confess that I think it's absolutely the best vegan 'pea and ham soup' (as we knew it back in Ole Blighty) I've ever had!




Try it - you'll see what I mean!

Stay vegan, friends!

2010 is Vegan. If You Want It.

Happy New Year!

I hate to begin the first post of the new year with an apology but I really need to. The past few months I have sorely neglected this blog for one reason or another and you all deserve better. The fact is that life got in the way and - between the kitchen renovation, side work, volunteer activities, a visit from my father-in-law and sundry other reasons - Cackleberry was the victim of too-much-to-do-and-not-enough-time-to-do-it.

This must change.

I intend this blog to be a tool for - as Gary Francione puts it - creative vegan education and of course that means actually posting more than once in a blue moon! So, with that in mind, I have decided to re-prioritize a little this year and, although I am not a big fan of New Year's Resolutions, here's a few thoughts for 2010....

This year I will...


...reach out to others more and lead by example

...make time for what's important in this life. I am about to turn 40: if I don't make time now, when will I?

...accept that my needs are important too, respect them and not put them at the end of the queue

...translate the desire to help the animals into actually helping the animals. Leverage the strength of my convictions to actually create physical change.

...take better care of my body so that I can be a good example for others of the health benefits of veganism

...remember that this life's not a dress rehearsal and take time to reconnect

...strengthen the community by actively participating and supporting the work of others

...drop the 50lbs or so of excess weight I need to lose. This padding has been my protection for too long. I no longer need it.

...eat more leafy greens and fewer vegan cupcakes

I also want to gain more confidence in, as Colleen Patrick-Goudreau puts it, speaking my truth. An anonymous comment on my last post upset me sufficiently to prevent me from writing and, while I ought to have responded clearly and swiftly, confronting the views of this individual was so painful that it become another reason not to post. It was the elephant in the room - until it was dealt with, I didn't feel I could write anything else. Well, that's going to change too: the gloves are off and I intend to learn to articulate my views more confidently. It is easy and comfortable to talk solely with the like-minded, but reaching non-vegans and those for whom animal rights is a non-subject is what's going to help the animals most. In short, I intend to belly-up and learn to communicate more effectively.

So, that's pretty much it for this first post of 2010. Thank you all for hanging in there and excusing my absence. This year will be a banner year for the animals and I intend for Cackleberry to play some small part in that. So: stay posted!

And tell me - what are your intentions for 2010?

Stay vegan, friends! :)

Jumping on The Table

Please forgive me if this is a case of jumping on the bandwagon but I can refrain no longer from saying a few words about the newest addition to my cookbook arsenal - Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's 'The Vegan Table'.



I am lucky enough to own a copy and it has opened my eyes to all manner of new taste sensations. With the emphasis firmly on sensations!

Divided into occasion- and season-themed chapters, The Vegan Table gives menu and recipe guidance for every occasion - from a romantic night-in for two to catering a formal dinner for ten. Now it is true that I personally will never be in the position of having to cater such a large gathering - the anxiety would just about kill me! - but, with a mite of common sense, each recipe can easily be scaled to your specific requirements.

And, for me, what elevates this above the myriad other cookbooks 'out there' are the supplemental sidebars - the mini discussions of common issues for vegans such as turkeys and Thanksgiving, embracing our ethics, and consciousness-raising. It is so much more than a recipe book: it's a survival guide....and a mighty elegant one at that!

Check it out and stay vegan, friends!

Happy Birthday Boss!

OK, perhaps I'm a suck-up, but I can't help it. Today, our whole dept celebrated our boss' birthday and I made the cake! I like baking, as you know, but I am also trying to refrain from eating everything I cook (in an attempt not to end up looking like the side of a barn!), so baking for someone else makes perfect sense!

See...it's not altruism, it's self-preservation!
:)

And so, a little food porn! This was the cake:



And for a closeup:



With Humphrey's eyes glowing weirdly blue in the background!



It was a chocolate cake from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Joy of Vegan Baking coupled with a basic 'buttercream' frosting spiked with Glenmorangie and coffee liqueur. Oh, and a little candy store in Northampton (MA), Sweeties, supplied the vegan 'cordials' - the delightful little choccie balls on top!

It went down well.



Happy Birthday and here's to the next one!

Eat cake and stay vegan, friends!

Are you 'In the In-Club'...?

I am not usually what (we) marketing types call an 'early adopter' but I was just so excited about this that I had to become a member straight away!



Colleen Patrick-Goudreau of Compassionate Cooks has launched her brand spanking new Membership Program which offers rewards such as superb recipe packets, regular and special discounts for Compassionate Cooks swag (and who doesn't need another t-shirt????), 'Soup to Nuts' a members-only newsletter and - maybe best of all? - the opportunity to be in touch with Colleen directly!

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm acting like a teen groupie, but I can't help it. I love the current newsletter she sends out and each new podcast episode just about makes my day, so I can't help but be excited.

So want to join me in the In-Club????
:)

Oprah Goes Vegan

Yes, I know that's a headline you are going to read on a million blogs, but I just had to jump on the bandwagon too! Yesterday, from 3 separate sources - and later also from my Dear Mama who is staying with us right now - I heard the excitement that Oprah was undertaking a 21-day cleanse that includes cutting all animal products out of her diet.

This is a great development for the vegan community as she is such a mega-star and can only do us good. I found a link to submit comments, questions and notes to Oprah's production team (no, I am not sufficiently naive to believe she reads these all herself, but no matter!) so I emailed the following:

*******************

Oprah!
I am a long-time fan, of course, and also a new vegan so am very proud of the steps you're taking. I truly hope the transition brings you what it has brought me: peace, integrity, renewed energy and hope. The vegan lifestyle is so very rewarding and life affirming - every day, in the simplest way, we are living our values of compassion and mercy for all creatures. Plus we are giving our bodies what they need to carry us through this remarkable adventure. One of my greatest inspirations as I move along this path is Colleen Patrick-Goudreau of Compassionate Cooks and I wonder whether she could be a guest on your show? Eloquent, intelligent, engaging and dynamic, she is undoubtedly the most charming spokesperson for veganism I have ever met and you would just love her! She can be reached at www.compassionatecooks.com, I believe.
Have fun with your challenge!!
Best wishes,
Amanda

*******************

As a complete hero to me, I would love to see Colleen on Oprah! And if you feel the same, why not click on this link and suggest it too!!!!

Oh, and to follow Oprah's journey, bookmark this link.

Stay vegan, Friends!

Happy Birthday, Colleen!

A very special person has a birthday coming up, so this is a shout out to her - Happy Birthday, Colleen!

As you may know from previous posts, I am addicted to and inspired by the Vegetarian Food for Thought podcasts produced by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau of Compassionate Cooks. Colleen's work is consistently thoughtful, highly-researched, balanced without pulling punches, and above all each podcast embodies the compassion she advocates. She truly is a hero to me and I recommend her work to anyone with even the faintest interest in healthful, sustainable eating or animal welfare. To learn more, search for vegetarian podcasts in iTunes, or click here to visit her website.

My teacher, my guide, my friend - Happiest of Birthdays to you!

:)