don't

few things

are as satisfying as making cookies on a sunday, naked.

vegan oatmeal-cranberry cookies:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup margarine
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ginger powder
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 3 cups quick cooking or rolled oatmeal
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Preparation:

Add flour, baking soda and spices until well mixed, then stir in oats and cranberries.

Spoon 1 1/2 inch balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees, or until done.

Book review: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

juliaberry:

Tell me if this makes sense: most Americans live within a few miles of a working farm, or a public farmers market that is fully loaded with the most bountiful fruits & veggies (& much more!) of the season, yet they hop in their fuel chugging automobile, drive to the grocery store, purchase produce that isn’t as fresh, probably costs more, is flown, trucked, or shipped in from god knows where, & is also chock full of chemicals. We’re all guilty of it, i promise you, but why do we continue to do it? it’s because “most of us are creatures so comforted by habit, it can take something on the order of religion to invoke new, more conscious behaviors — however glad we may be afterward that we went to the trouble. (pg. 38)”

Have you realized that “the majority of Americans buy bottled drinking water…even though water runs from the faucets at home for a fraction of the cost, & government quality standards are stricter for tap water than for bottled (pg. 115)”? It’s ridiculous habits like these that make other nations cringe when they think of our wastefulness. Many people the world over buy bottled water because that which runs from their tap is unsuitable for consumption. So what are WE doing? we’re just creating more plastic for the Earth to try to digest (& fail miserably, unfortunately) while also multiplying our carbon footprints each time we do it.

So what can we do? We can get in touch with our region’s food culture. You’ve tried Italian food, maybe Indian food, I’m sure you just love Chinese food, but we Americans are lacking incredibly in food culture department. Unfortunately, the only food that is known as American (aside from McDonalds, Dunkin’ Donuts, & other types of “food” that come at us quickly & conveniently), is that which we celebrate on Thanksgiving day — pumpkins (yes, they’re a food, not just a decoration), squash, sweet potato, & even the turkey. but we only take advantage of what our land is offering us on this one occasion (even then, this food probably comes from at least another state, maybe another country!) we, instead, operate by way of promiscuity. we want to eat whatever we crave (no matter its contents or if it’s in season) whenever we crave it, but at what cost? A close second to our fuel consumption by transportation is by farming for food. “A quick way to improve food-related fuel economy would be to buy a quart of motor oil & drink it. More palatable options are available. If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally or organically raised meats & produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week (pg. 5)”.

Our world has evolved to have a special balance in which all of its creatures (plants & animals) can survive, & thrive, through the support of one another. With what started during the industrial revolution, & exploded after World War II, we have begun to harness chemicals, & take from the Earth precious fossil fuels, then use these to our own benefit ignoring the effects that it has on the Earth, its flora & fauna. We are tipping the scales on the balance past anything that could possibly be repairable. By pumping chemicals into our foods (or creating new “foods” that are nearly all chemical) we are not only losing our health, but our planet. Do you know how much energy it takes to make the fertilizers used in conventional (industrial) farming? How about just to make the processed ingredients that most of these crops are being used for (corn syrups, etc.)? Then, to ship the final products from one state, or country, to another just because we want it now & don’t care how we get it? We are being selfish, gluttonous, & blind, & we don’t care as long as it tastes good.

Maybe we can’t all go to the lengths that are narrated in this book by the author herself & her family (that is, live for an entire year on only what is produced within a 100 mile radius of where they live), but there has to be something that we can do. Whether it is eating one meal a week from a local farmer, or just reading this book, there is.

what I would give for a world bereft of fashion and hunger. Especially when humans are so so so so so so wonderful and full of potential. But never would I try to change anybody or anything, for that power is yours and not mine.