"Cause She's..."

Freezer Stock 2011 - The Soup Tour Continues: Frenchie Onion Soup

My soup stocking tour for this chilly January continues as today I made a lovely homemade French Onion soup using a vegetable stock, onion, garlic, a touch of vegan Worcestershire sauce (for richness), and seasoning, topped with some toasted multi grain bread and cheese under the broiler. The onions sweated and then the soup simmered for a while. After topping it with the toasted bread and cheese under the broiler, I served it along side some beautiful roasted veggies (carrot, broccoli, mushroom, onion, and a bit of garlic). I love it when a good meal comes together. Unfortunately, for my family no one else partook in the yumminess and they continue to find it "weird."

For those out there that don't believe that a vegetarian can still be a "foodie" I say to you, "HA!." There is something so marvelous about good food that is cooked slow and with care and without a lot of crap thrown into it.

Stir Fry Night

It was another stir fry night at our house. It's becoming pretty much once a week. We lay out a selection of vegetables and sauces (my meat-eating family usually chops up some sort of meat to go with it). It's a mix of what you like, what sounds good, and what is on hand. Mine usually consists of onion, garlic, shredded carrots, mushrooms (tonight was a mix of button and sliced portabellas), green onion, and broccoli. Depending on the season and what is in the fridge there may also be snap peas, lima beans, corn, green beans, asparagus, peppers and/or marinated tofu. Sauces and spices are all done to taste and changes depending on what's on hand. (My mom often will take scoop of my veggie filled stir fry and some of my brother's mostly meat stir fry to combine the two.) Served over some plain brown rice with a vegetable egg roll I have a meal fit for a queen. Of course, I have such a weakness for decent vegetable egg rolls and try (try being the key word) to keep them in the freezer most of the time.

Picked up some veggie burgers while getting veggies for tonight's stir fry. Between the veggies, the veggie burgers, and what's in the house I should be good for awhile. Although we so seem to be dangerously low on homemade salsa.

"Support you right to arm bears." -- Cleveland Armory

Quiet around here the last couple days. The new puppy is keeping us on our toes. I have been working on braiding rag rugs and have just discovered my new copy of "Vegetarian Times" (Feb 2010 edition) in the stack of mail.

"God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved birds and invented cages." -- Jacgues Deval, Afin de vivre bel et bien

January Blahs

The January snow is piled up all around and I've been scanning the web and other blogs trying not to feel so isolated. It's a mixture of the winter blahs and an impending birthday (a birthday that serves as a reminder that my twenty-something days are numbered). I'm not sure which is lending more to the feelings of isolation today... the snow and cold, the birthday thing, or the feeling of being socially isolated as vegetarian. I have a large, loud, and usually supportive family... all omnivores. I have an interesting and at times eclectic mix of friends... mostly omnivores. I even have a very sweet, very thoughtful significant other... most definitely an omnivore.

Here I sit, contemplating a new year, and new age, and the desire for an early spring. It's too early to be playing in the dirt and getting dirt ready for planting (it's all covered with that cold, white stuff). It's totally the wrong season for locally grown produce and farmers' markets (they just make me happy). The snow keeps piling up and I, not liking the snow, am forced to wear socks and shoes and all that winter gear. I know part of this is just spring fever and the January blahs, but I think I need to find something, somehow... just not all together sure what that is.

Isolation is a strange thing at times. I've been a vegetarian over seven years now and can barely remember what it was like before. It affects so many things in everyday life. I check food labels at the grocery and at home, even when I am looking at clothes. Leather? I don't think so. Fur? Absolutely not. Yet, everyday there is it blaring in my face - "You are the family freak." It doesn't have to yell, it just is. My brothers hunt. Guns, bows, ammo, and clothing sporting camo and orange are all around. A camo coated doe skull sits in the dining room as my brother's dog chews on a roasted deer bone (gotten from the guy who processors their kills). Somehow our mailbox is an interesting combination of hunting magazine and catalogues and vegetarian magazines. I guess on the plus side, my brothers don't seem to be very good shots. In all the years my three brothers have been hunting; with shotguns, bows, and muzzle loaders they have only brought home two deer (without counting the one my sister took out when it ran into her car). They eat everything they kill and it has to be better for them than the factory farm crap that comes from most groceries.



I just sometimes wish there was more than me nearby. I hear myths about vegetarian romances, but I don't know if I believe in them. I hear stories about like-minded vegetarians getting together regularly to share foods and culture. I hope these exist. Maybe one day, I'll better understand them. Maybe I need to plant something inside, like an herb or something.

"When man wantonly destroys one of the works of man we call him a vandal. When he destroys one of the works of God we call him a sportsman." --Joseph Wood Krutch

Been Awhile...

In the words of 'Monty Mython,' I'm not dead yet. I just got otherwise distracted which ended up with me living for a season out of the regulalr internet zone in the middle of pretty darn near nowhere. Now that life has somewhat settled down post holiday season, I'm baaa-aaack.

Life in my world has been full of its rather typical ups and downs. Over the summer season I shared a communal kitchen with a bunch of non-vegetarians. I started seeing someone, who like most of the people I meet around here, is also not a vegetarian. He's considerate of our difference in eating habits, but also rather comfortable in his omni ways. the seven year mark of my meat-free lifestyle quietly came and went. The holidays came and went and now the new year is upon us.

There is something about the start of the new year that gives so many people inspiration and energy that can help us get through the rest of the chilled winter months yet to come. We see promise and potential, not only in ourselves, but in the world around us. For myself I am somewhat relieved for the holiday season to be over, not only does it mean a calm to things, but it also means a break from the heavy holiday foods, the regular family style feasts, and all the snacks and treats that threaten to bury us alive during this season. I am now onto a new challenge. During the summer and fall months when my family (and extended family) was in the midst of canning and freezing my aunt canned a box of assorted beans for me. Black beans, lentils, split peas, one I'm not excatly sure what it is, and a combination of all of them. I use black beans pretty regularly, but feel the need to branch out big time and take advantage of the pantry full of home-canned goodness. I've never really worked with lentils or split peas, but I intend to find a way. I'm just not sure how, yet. Inspiration will come... eventually. Wish me luck.

"The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men. " - Alice Walker

Vegetarian Culture

“Vegetarian Culture” -- a phrase heard in regarding restaurants and people understanding and embracing the ‘vegetarian culture.’ How does the concept of a “vegetarian culture” change in regards to geography, environment, family situation, upbringing, etc? Vegetarian culture in regards to internet, community, religion? Groups? “…Because they understand the vegetarian culture…” is a phrase I recently heard in regards to a restaurant and the offerings in their menu. I, like I am sure many others living a meat-free life, live in an area that does not offer a lot of like-minded individuals in this area. How does the vegetarian culture as whole affect the lives we lead with little personal interaction from other vegetarians?

This is sonething I have been thinking about a lot lately, along with the feelings isolation that is connected to loving in my house and in this part of the country. I've only a few friends who don't eat and most of them have gone back to those meat eating ways or it is a Lent thing. Once in a local grocery store I had someone ask me about my preferred type of veggie burger while I was shopping in that area. My brother, who was with me at the time, was floored. There are others!!! For a moment my lifestyle suddenly seemed almost normal to him as he met a rather normal woman who shared in this journey, but overall this has been the exception. On the whole I feel rather detached from the whole of "vegetarian culture." It's something I am a part of, but also something that seems so far away.

I meet people occassionaly who claim to be vegetarian... but they eat chicken, seafood, and attack others for choosing not to. I occasionally meet people who at least try to respect it, but I also meet a lot of people who just end up attacking me for it or puzzled over the "sacrafise." Sometimes, it feels like a rather isolated journey in a world that thinks I am nuts. Sometimes it would be nice to not feel way.
I did a net search... in hope of finding some other thoughts on it.

* "The Importance of Vegetarian Culture" http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj97sep/979cult.htm
* "Good for the Gods: India" http://www.veggieheadonline.com/india.html
* http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Building-Vegetarian-Culture/
* "Vegetarian & Vegan Diets" @ 'Home Chef' http://www.chefhome.com/Cookbook/Vegetarian.shtml
* "The Vegetarian Channel" http://www.thevegetarianchannel.com/directory/News/Publications/213.html
* "Becoming a Vegetarian" http://becoming-a-vegetarian.blogspot.com/

"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals." ~George Orwell, Animal Farm

Snow and Stuff

It's been one of those days... well a couple of those days. The cold streak in Ohio is getting old, the temperatures dropped so much w had to bring the goats in from the barn. Unfortunately, we lost one of the from the frigid tempteratures. It is a small barn and just isn't enough protection aginast the severe wind chills. (The other is in a large crate/cage in the spare bedroom with plastic covering the floor.) He seems mostly content, even laying up against the bars to be closer to the dog. I think we will all be ad when the temperatures let up and the risks go back down (he may not be a large goat, but I know he would prefer to have more room and be back in his barn and yard).

This may surprise some people who know that I have lived in Ohio all of my life, but really, REALY am not a big fan of snow or ice or cold. It' aggitates my joints and makes me achy. This is my quiet weekend before the business to come is upon me. No one in my house felt much like cooking for lunch so we went out... a local place that has Chinese and other Oriental type foods. I've often found Ethnic food places to have meat-free options that are not always as readily available in other places (Oriental, Italinan, Mexican, etc). It was alright. My mom made dinner, forgetting about me, she put meat in all of it. I ended up making a mushroom noodle soup for dinner for myself, nothing fancy or great, but the warm both was probably for the better. I think sometimes it really just gets to me when I get forgotten when it comes to family meals. Me being meatless is not a recent, new, or on again/off again thing. It's just me, but sometimes that still doesn't seem so easy for the people around me.

I keep having this fantasy of living in a vegetarian house (more than just me and a small scattering of friends, mostly sometimes vegetarians at best), with vast connections to other vegetarians, and living in a more vegetarian world- where meat-eaters are in the minority and not me. It seems a far away fantasy, but I will keep it.

"Tongue - a variety of meat, rarely served because it clearly crosses the line between a cut of beef and a piece of a dead cow." ~Bob Ekstrom

Bow Season... Bleh!

I try to ignore that fact that in this area it is bow hunting season for deer. Of course, then I get those reminders like someone kicking you in the shin or somewhere else. My brothers hunt, my family hunts, and then there is me... the vegetarian and definatly the none hunter of the family. I try to keep my mouth shut, since it does no good otherwise. It just leads to fighting and arguments and that which does not good for anyone. So, I sit and I listen and I bite my lip as I hear them talking on the phone to the processing place regarding the deer that have to pick up and the talk about how the woods were this morning when my brother took his crossbow out, and to my sister calling to find out if anyone got one because she wants venison. I sit, trying not to listen and trying to keep my mouth shut, as I munch on my spicy thai peanut noodles wondering how I managed to become the person I am in this bunch.

"The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or wrong end of a gun." ~P.G. Wodehouse

Have you ever grilled your peanut butter?

A lot of kids grew up on grilled cheese, my family was no exception, but that was not the only grilled sandwhich that we know from childhood. For me there is another comfort food from childhood that comes in the form of two peices of bread grilled and often served along side tomato soup... grilled peanut butter. It was often grilled up along side of the grilled cheese sandwhiches my Mom made, but was something seemingly unique to my family. It's the same basic process as a grilled cheese sandwhich, but takes a little more finess when it comes to getting the butter on both of the outsides of the bread and peanut butter on the inside. Once grilled there is the nice toasty outsides so many of us remember from childhood with the oohy, gooey, melty insides of the peanut butter (crunchy peanut butter has always been my favorite). The white bread from younger days has been replaced with a multi grain oat bread, but crunchy peanut butter melting from the inside has lovingly stayed the same. For me it is a taste of childhood, a comforting blast from the past. We all have something to turn to from those childhood days, something that helps give us comfort on the bad days and during those trying moments when simplicty of days is sought. Maybe next time I get the urge to grill up some peanut butter I might even add some fruit, such as some sliced apples or bananas or something else I come across in the pantry. I was never one much for jam or jelly intruding on my peanut butter, but some might be up for it too.

Thanksgiving is coming and dinner lists are being made. Are you ready?

"Nothing spoils lunch any quicker than a rogue meatball rampaging through your spaghetti." ~Jim Davis

Happy Election Day

Happy Election Day! Hope everyone got out there got their vote on.

Made an easy vegetable pot pie. I used a vegetable stew I partially made from leftovers in the refrigerator (leftover onion gravy, lima,s etc) and a few frozen and fresh ones. Added a bit of rice and used about a tablespoon or so of instant mashed potato flakes as thickener. You could still use a flour or cornstarch type thickener, but I wanted to try out using the potato flakes. It worked well. I used unrooled croissant rolls from the refridgerator to make the top crust.

We ordered pizza for dinner.

In the words of George Bernard Shaw; "When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it sport; when the tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity."

Pet Peeves

It was a mostly decent weekend (We had a good opening weekend, Halloween, some dancing, some hanging out with friends, all good things); but one full of some fairly annoying attacks to my way of being and eating and the whole vegetarian thing. We all have those peeves that just want to send us over the edge of just wanting to lash out at people and struggling not to.

Firstly, a friend of the family farms and their family all hunts (much like my own), they called to ask my mom and brothers if they wanted the meat from the deer one of the boys just got. (If they are going to hunt at least they use the meat or know people that will.) So since yesterday all I have heard around the house is about feild dressing, how long it can safely hang in this weather, getting it processed and butchered, finding a place to process, and what they are getting done with this meat (bologna, steaks, burger, etc.) and possibly the hide as well. There were phone calls, debates, conversations, gloating. I try to just ignore it... it doesn;'t do a bit of good to say anything, I just wish I did not have to hear it constantly. That was the start of yesterday.


Then came part two... the real point of my aggravation. It was Halloween weekend as well as an opening weekend for our show. This, unsurprisingly, means going out both night. (Halloween night I dressed as Mother Nature in a flowly, sheer, autumn inspired dress.) Well last night and into the wee hours of this morning we ended up at Denny's (after everything else was closed) and some of the group were still under the influences of alcohol (which probably did not help). Everyone had ordered and the food had just came. As the one girl (one that I had just met had already found myself shaking my head at more than once) began to dig into her chicken strips announced something about her being a vegetarian. I looked across the table at her plate then up at her, "Um, no your not." (This is probably one of my biggest pet peeves of people.) "Yes, I am. I'm just a vegetarian that eats chicken and seafood, I don't eat all things like beef or pork. You know there are all kind of vegetarians and vegans." She continued one babbling and raiing my blood pressure as she was going to lecture me about how a true vegetarian could still eat chicken and seafood and still be a true vegetarian. I don't think she liked my reference to "vegetarians" or eat such as semi-vegetarians. Finally she took a breath (I was getting more and more annoyed and just flat out aggravated) and something was said about me being a vegetarian (two fo the others at the others at the table know that I don't eat meat) and that I really didn't need her to tell me what one was. She asked what I ate and I explained as patiently as I could that I didn't eat anythign that had once had a face, that included chicken and seafood. So she started in on me about being a fake vegan... I don't claim to be a vegan and never had. She also started bragging about how good seafood was and how tasty her chicken strips are. These are the types of people who help make life harder for the rest of who us who actually do not eat meat. She kept at me about how good her chicken tasted and how I was a pretend vegan. I tried to explain why semi vegetarians who still eat some meat make it harder for the rest of us... when we go places people actually try to use chicken breath as "vegetarian" and fish as a "meat alternative." She was too caught up in her idea of always being right to even listen. I can't help it, but it just seems far worse to have pretend and fake vegetarians stirring up trouble than the meat eaters who just don't understand. It also confuses the meat eaters who think we can and do still consume things like that.

Check out these links:
http://www.theveggietable.com/articles/whatisavegetarian.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism
http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/OtherInfo/VegetarianTypes.htm
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianvegan101/tp/TypesofVeg.htm

"To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being. I should be unwilling to take the life of a lamb for the sake of the human body." ~Mahatma Gandhi

It's another day in my veggie paradise (or as near to paradise as I have so far found) and my entire family seems in a tizzy about the upcoming weeding this weekend. There seem to be a number of weddings this weekend, involving both family and friends. To top off the excitement I am in the wedding party of the cousin's wedding that is this Saturday and I am the only known vegetarian. The wedding food wasn't much of an issue (I was told), but the real "excitement" came when I asked my aunt about the menu for the rehearsal dinner (a mixture of simple curiousity and thought process about bringing something for me). As she went through the menu she started to come to the realization that there wasn't really anything for me... once again the token vegetarian as this family event. She was planning on calling the restaurant who is doing the catering for the rehearsal dinner and have something ordered for me. I hate adding extra work to people when it comes to stuff like that and I try to not only be especially appreciative when they do make special plans for me, but also to be willing to adjust as needed without giving up my ideals. (Much of the wedding dinner is being made by family members and my mom is making seperate pasta salad for me, minus the pepperoni she put in the pepperoni she put in the rest.)

In other news I ran across some interesting news on Oprah. If you get a chance check out her 21 day Cleanse blog and about how she's doing vegan. http://www2.oprah.com/foodhome/food/cleanse/blog/blog_main.jhtml

"The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot." ~Mark Twain, What Is Man, 1906

Family Game Night with a Veggie Twist

About once a month my family gets together for a Game Night. It started out on Friday nights meeting with my aunt for dinner somewhere then often going back to her house and playing boardgames. It expanded from there with other family members included and eating mostly at her house. Some nights are more extensively planned than others, but it all comes down to sharing food, games, and time with family. Of course there is added planning when it comes to the lone vegetarian... me. I uslaly make something that compliments the rest of the spread, but highlights the yumminess of not eating meat. Last night was no exception. They planned to make 'haystacks' which basically comes down to a layered personal taco salad with homemade ice cream. Instead of taco meat for me I made a taco inspired mushroom mix by sauteeing mushrooms with garlic, then added some popper flakes and a mix of spices (all to taste). The spice mix included some onion powder, cumin, paprika, pepper, and chili powder. Added a touch of tomato sauce to give a little liquid and color. Then I let it all cook down and cook nicely together into a lovely spiced bit of mushroom taco yumminess. We had a very nice selection of additions for our 'haystacks,' that included corn chips (like fritos or the prefered), the taco mixture, cheese, nacho cheese, tomatos, sliced black olives, onion, sour cream (not a big fan, but my mom is), and shredded lettuce. Then everyone layers it on their plate or in their bowl to their own preferance.

My aunt has an ice cream recipe that does not include raw eggs. (Something that has always made be rather cautious about a lot of homemade ice cream.) We ended up making two beautiful bathches of vanilla and then has a selection of thigns to put in it; multiple candy bars to crush up onto it, carmel, peanut butter sauce, multiple chocolate sauces, pecans, toasted almonds, peanuts, whipped cream, and cherrries.

We did what we did best... we ate, we aggravated each other, we played board games, and we spend time together that a lot of families can not hardly begin to understand.

Quote attributed to George Bernard Shaw: "If a group of beings from another planet were to land on Earth - beings who considered themselves as superior to you as you feel yourself to be to other animals - would you concede them the rights over you that you assume over other animals?"

I'm Baaaaack

So, I haven't gotten lost. Mostly, I was on a cooking strike at home. My brothers, being the meat and potato type of guys that they are complained about one too many meals of mine and refused to cook for them anymore (or until they decide to act like decent human beings). In the meantime we've been eating a lot of pizza, take-out, and other assorted quick fixes or restaraunts. It has been this ways for the most part, with the exception of my Easter quiche. (It was fabulous and well-received by other members of my extended family.)

Now that it is spring and I have been working to get soil ready for planting, I have beem ready for some home-cooking.... my home cooking. Last night I went through my recipe collection and decided to try some new recipes. I had a recipe for homemade black bean veggie burgers, peanut soup, and a spinach bisque. I cut all the recipes in half and hoped that I would like at least one of the three. The spinach bisque was lovely, the peanut soup was pretty good, but the veggie burgers were a complete other matter (and usuallyI enjoy veggie burgers). I even followed the recipe as written (which goes against much of my nature), The patties were too soft and fell apart when I tried to turn them (I tried a few things to try to make it work, but no), then when I tried them they tasted like they were missing something... not anything I forgot to put in, but just pushing bland. I froze a serving of each soup for later use and now feel like I am back to my cookong phase, even if my family often does nto appreciate trying new things.

Jean Paul Richter quoated: "Because the heart beats under a covering of hair, of fur, feathers, or wings, it is, for that reason, to be of no account?"

Unforgettable

I know it may seem like I have forgotten and abandoned you, but I have not. Hopefully, uou have not forgotten me either. Things have just been a bit hectic around here. Keeping busy in the kitchen; baking, cooking, and trying new recipes. I still can't get certain family members to try new foods, but a person can't make changes over night that easily.

"If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian." as quoted by Paul McCartney

Loving Veg-friendly Leftovers in the Freezer

Thanks to my frozen leftover system, tonight while my brothers sucked down some turkey thing I enjoyed homemade white vegetable lasagna with garlic toasted french bread. I was thinking about making a new pan for dinner one night next week (and of course making enough to freeze for later). Dinner time is a constant attempt to create more middle ground in our eating habits without me giving up my vegetarian ideals and making sure they are getting some vegetables in their diet. Generally speaking, they are very meat and potaotes type guys who dislike a lot of vegetables. Normally, they all eat corn, but only one will eat peas. Lima beans (my favorite) is a lost cause as well as things like asparagus or most any green vegetable. The one is opening up and will sometimes eat spinach in things (still hasn't tried my white lasagna ut he confided that he might try it one time i make it). Carrots are an occassional success, but only with ceratin preperations. It is maddening at times, but I am deteremined to get some vegetables in their diets and give them the options of increasing the types of vegetables they do eat (one way or another it seems). Hope ya'all are enjoying all the bounties of life and having a fab new year.

As said by Christine Stevens: "The basis of all animal rights should be the Golden Rule: we should treat them as we would wish them to treat us, were any other species in our dominant position."

Chili for Now and Later

As with my typical view about being a vegetarian and eating a diet without flesh does not mean going without. I made a nice pot of chili for dinner (and froze the rest). Sometimes there is just nothing better than a spicy, steamy bowl of chili served over plain cooked pasta (especially like rotini, although any noodle will do inlcuding spagetti).




I sauteed some chopped onion and a clove of garlic in oil and water until everything was translucent and lovely. I added it to a pot with chili beans, kidney beans, and black beans. Then added tomato juice as needed with the chili spicespepper flakes, and hot sauce. Sometimes, I add tomato soup straight out of the can to work as a little bit of thickening, but not necessary. Pretty much whatever looks good to put in it. (I love adding the black beans with the other to add another level.) I let it cook through, then boiled some pasta noodles and drained. So yummy. When everything was ready I made a nice pile of pasta on the bottom of my bowl, sprinkled it with hot sauce and shredded cheese (without the cheese it is meat and dairy free), then toopped with a heaping portion of chili and a sprinkles of cheese. Fabulous and delicious.





Chili night has always been a fairly big night in my house. The table included not only a big pot of chili, but pleanty of fixings; cooked pasta noodles, corn chips, cheese, shreddded lettuce, salsa, hot sauce, hot pepper flakes, chili spices, sugar (my mom and brother prefer to sweeten it a bit), and whatever else looks like an apealing addition. Everyone has their own way and own preferences right down to how spicy it should be and what it chould be served over. I started adding black beans to mine and increasng the overall amount of beans in it (as well as the diced onion) to adapt to no longer including hamburger. I still make a decent amount and then freeze the extras for another day. (I do this alot with things instead of making single sized portions.) It's nice to have on hand when I don't feel like cooking.

As said by Marty Feldman: "I won't eat anything that has intelligent life, but I'd gladly eat a network executive or a politician."

Chinese Food Yumminess

I am a big lover of what a lot of people would call "ethnic foods." Plus, they often offer more options for the vegetarian eater than a lot of the Americana-themed steak houses. I went yesterday to a local Chinese place with my mom and brother for lunch. Not only could I find things to eat, they have a bar full of veggies and noodles that they will grill up for you with whatever sauces you prefer. I find yumminess where-ever I can. Haven't really decided what to cook yet today, although I think I may have had an oatmeal-inspired dream last night

In the words of David Brenner; "A vegetarian is a person who won't eat anything that can have children."

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!!! I hope it was a peaceful and hopeful ringing in of the new year.

We celebrated the New Year's Day as a family and extended family for our Christmas. (It seemed so much easier somewhat before my teen years and New Year's Eve parties.) Everyone cooks and brings something, we play Christmas Bingo (family tradition) that involved wrapped and inexpensive gifts that eventually are stolen from each other as the pile runs out), eat, and just spend the day together. Somehow everyone was able to make this holiday, including my two cousins that work in emergency services. The food, as always, is plentiful and filling. We took veggie pizza, a strawberry truffle, and soda. Despite my one cousin's continuing ignorance and long standing offensive vegetarian/vegan comments, there was plenty for me to fill my plate with; homemade macaroni and cheese, green beans, scalloped potatoes, fresh veggies, vegetables pizza, and dessert (one cousin made homemade mini cheesecakes with cherries on top... yummmy!). It was a filling day of family and talk of an upcoming wedding (I'm a bride's maid in it), my cousin's new pregnancy anouncement (twins!), and playing with the babies. I was stuffed (of course then I came home and heated some hot pretzel and cheese pizza bites).

From Henry Beston's 'The Outermost House' (1928): "The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth."