Happy Sunday morning! I love sharing news bites and links with you each week and have some fun ones that I will get to in a moment. Promise!
First, I wanted to quickly wrap up my weekend. I shared my snowy morning on the farm with you yesterday.
View from The Guesthouse kitchen at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary
After volunteering for a few hours at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary I headed out to see the animals. They were so cozy, warm and happy in their barns! I got to meet Curly, one of the new pigs. She’s a doll.
What’s she doing? Well, five minutes prior we enjoyed a serious petting session in which she rolled over and gave me her belly, and left glute, and subtly (ahem) requested a deep massage. I was there to serve so I rubbed her like the princess that she is. I stepped outside of the barn for a few minutes and when I came back she started to lick and chew my boots. Ah, she wanted to eat the snow on them! So here she is finishing off a nice pile of fresh, yummy snow from my boots. Last night I shared this on Facebook:
Have you rubbed a pig belly?
It was time to head home but I couldn’t resist a late lunch at Garden Cafe in Woodstock. This was a return visit — you may recall that I dined there the first time I visited WFAS (my first VLOG post!)–and it was just as fabulous this time.
My toes were still a little cold from my playtime with the animals so I was immediately drawn to the special soup of the day.
Onion Soup
Wow. This was my first onion soup as a vegan. I was so pleased that the chef realized there was no need to cover this soup up with vegan “cheeze.” The soup was packed with delicious onion, croutons and herbs and spices. Simply perfect. This was actually the cup size, which was incredibly substantial. A bowl would have absolutely been a meal.
I’m glad I ordered the cup, though, because I wanted this meal, one of the “bowl” specials of the day.
Cashew Quinoa Bowl
The plate/bowl was filled with everything that warms a vegan’s heart, soul and belly! The quinoa was prepared with cashews and carrots; the grilled tofu was covered in a delightfully warming ginger sauce; the kale made my heart sing! Garden Cafe offers generous portions. Since this was a late lunch, and I wanted to get on the road for my drive home, I split it to enjoy half for lunch and to take half home (lunch today).
You know I want you to make a point to visit WFAS this spring and I encourage you to plan on lunch or dinner at Garden Cafe. You will be so pleased that you did.
Okay, I know you came here for some news, so let’s do it!
Did you see this Martha Stewart video about factory farming?
Powerful!
Speaking of factory farming, I’m scratching my head trying to figure out just what the FDA is actually up to after listening to this: The FDA’s Confusing Message On Antibiotic Use On Farms.
I know this has to be done, because it’s “news.” Paula Deen. Oy. If you have been avoiding all television, news and internet this week it’s possible that you don’t know that Food Network “chef” Paula Deen announced she has Type II diabetes. She also announced she’s been taking a drug (and is now the spokesperson for it) and barely mentioned a change to her diet. Moderation, y’all. There’s been lots and lots of commentary on this topic so I’ll just share my absolute favorite, from Christina Pirello: An open letter to Paula Deen…
I was sorry, although not surprised, to hear of your diagnosis of diabetes. Having watched your cooking show for years, I guess it was just a matter of time before your style of cooking caught up with you, so to speak.
Now, in interviews, you say that you always preached “all things in moderation” but in all my experience of you, I have seen nothing remotely close to moderate. Instead, I saw a homespun talent delighting in wrapping macaroni and cheese in bacon before frying it. There was no mention of moderation. I watched as you constructed a sandwich of Thanksgiving leftovers that included mayonnaise, mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and bacon. No mention of moderation there either.
Now that you have pulled back the curtain on your struggle with the disease… (continue reading)
Could not have said it better myself!
If Paula decides to try a plant-based diet she could get some great tips here: Eating Vegan: A Complete Guide to Vegan Cooking for Beginners. Deen aside, I know some of my readers are vegetarian or vegan-curious and I think you’ll find the topics in the guide very helpful:
- Vegan Basics: Knowledge is Power
- Vegan Grocery Shopping
- Vegan Yum No One Told You About
- Eggless Baking and Scrambling
- Cream of the Crop
- Tools and Tricks for Easy Vegan Cooking
- Embrace Vegploration
- Hola, Herbivorous Habits!
If you are not yet vegan, but considering it, I would love to hear what you think of the guide.
Moving on to vegan fashion, which I posted about this week, I offer you high- and low-end tidbits:
- GUNAS Vegan Handbags | Progressive Fashion Hits the Runway (the “JL” in this interview is Just Luxe, not me, the original JL). I was turned on to Gunas by Joshua Katcher (The Discerning Brute) when he offered a coupon code for a steep discount.
- There’s a vegan boot sale on Alternative Outfitters. I did a little shopping this morning and entered the coupon code 20moreboots for an additional discount and qualified for free shipping! This sale ends TONIGHT at 11:59 p.m.!
On the blog this week: 
- MONDAY: Veganizing my winter wardrobe (it’s a process)
- TUESDAY: Soy and Sake (NYC) with the women of Our Hen House
- WEDNESDAY: Tempeh Tostadas
- THURSDAY: Face plant on the sidewalk
- SATURDAY: Good Morning from the Farm
On Stop Chasing Skinny:
Stop Chasing Skinny is now accepting February submissions: Pursuing Health. I hope you will consider sharing!
As always, thank you for reading. I hope you have a terrific Sunday!
