getting some love from Grace at the 2011 Farm Sanctuary Hoe Down

Every year in Watkins Glen, NY there is an event that turns the quiet little town into a bustling mecca of vegandom. The Glen is known to many as a NASCAR hot spot, or perhaps a place to get buzzed while buzzing around between wineries, but for those looking to have a deeper experience the Farm Sanctuary Hoe Down is something truly special.

I arrived on Friday night and set up my tent and then hung out by the camp fire, serenading myself and whoever else wanted to listen with my ukulele. I was so happy to be at the farm after a long absence that I stayed up till almost 4 a.m. I made some new friends and hung out beneath my old friends, the moon and stars.

Saturday at the Hoe Down offered a fine line-up of vegan speakers and workshops, which this year included Crazy Sexy Cancer survivor (or thriver, as she would say) Kriss Carr, vegan bodybuilder Robert Cheeke, Farm Sanctuary co-founder Gene Baur, sanctuary animal caregiver Susie Coston,  FS Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives Bruce Friedrich, humane educator Zoe Weil, author Victoria Moran, cooking demos, and more.

At night the farm transformed into one of the best vegan parties around. The transition period included a cocktail hour with live music, a showing of the documentary Forks Over Knives, and a Hilda Club tour to visit the critters on the farm around twilight (a magical time on the farm). Gene Baur gave a presentation on his trip across the country in the VW van that he once sold veggie dogs at Grateful Dead concerts from to finance the farm. Kindfood from Ontario presented Gene with a beautiful cake to commemorate Farm Sanctuary’s 25th anniversary.

cake by Kindfood in Ontario commemorating Farm Sanctuary's 25th anniversary

Once darkness was firmly established the contra dancing began in the People Barn, and the crazy vegans started to let loose. Soon after a live DJ took over and the rowdy dancers shook the rafters of the barn, earning the right to call this party a hoe down. Simultaneously another camp fire began outside for those who didn’t want to dance, or who needed to take a break to roast their vegan marshmallows. That fire went on long after I fell asleep exhausted.

Most of us camped in tents and we all enjoyed big meals served on the deck of the People Barn. Sunday morning featured a yoga class led by Katya Burns, a coffee talk with the Farm Sanctuary staff, and breakfast. I got to spend some time with Gene and Susie out on the farm, and recorded an interview for an upcoming episode of Vegan Radio. By lunch there were torrential downpours, whose melodious pitter-patter struck a soothing symphony on the tin roof of the People Barn. I had to pack my tent up during the deluge, so I got a free shower before my ride home, which my fellow travelers appreciated. I am so blessed to be part of this vegan revolution.

Be sure to check out my new galleries of sanctuary farm animals. You can click this link to see only the photos I added to the galleries from the Hoe Down.

Here are my favorite photos from the event on flickr:

I am happy to announce that the publisher of the book Ninety-Five: Meeting America’s Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs (featuring some of my farm animal photographs) has won an “Ippy” (Independent Publishers Award). Coincidentally coinciding with this event I have created new galleries of my farm animal photographs where my fans and admirers can view & purchase the photos featured in the book as well as other gorgeously stunning photographs of cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, goats, sheep, ducks and other lovely critters.

Ninety-Five, the latest book by non-profit publisher No Voice Unheard, has won the Gold Medal in the Animals/Pets category of the Independent Publishers Awards (referred to in the publishing industry as an “IPPY Award”). The IPPY’s “bring increased recognition to the deserving but often unsung titles published by independent authors and publishers.” The award ceremony took place on Monday, May 23, 2011 in New York City during Book Expo America.

Brimming with beautiful, full-color photographs, Ninety-Five is a compilation of work by vegan photographers and writers, telling the captivating stories of farmed animals living in sanctuaries and homes across the country. From Justice, the steer who broke out of a truck on the way to the slaughterhouse and who is now the self-appointed greeter at the sanctuary where he lives, to bold and irrepressible Lucas, a pig desperately infatuated with Petunia (the feeling isn’t mutual, but that doesn’t deter him), to Amelia, the turkey anxious to share a hug with her photographer. Their stories are compelling, enlightening, and always moving.

Released last year, thousands of copies of Ninety-Five are already in circulation, causing readers to reevaluate their assumptions about farmed animals. Animal advocates have adopted the book as a personal outreach tool, giving it as a gift to friends and family to “show them why I’m veg.” They are also keeping copies on their desk or coffee table and spreading the animals’ stories via social media. Writes one advocate: “I have been able to get 30 copies in schools and libraries throughout my county. Working on churches next.” (No Voice Unheard offers a special “Giving Package” for such outreach, which includes five copies of the book at a deeply discounted price.)

Farmed animal advocacy organizations are also using the book to educate and fundraise, from the sanctuaries included in the book to organizations as far away as Australia and the UK. According to Diane Leigh, No Voice Unheard co-founder, “For every person who reads Ninety-Five and decides to adopt a vegan diet, we know that approximately 95 animals are spared – hence the title of the book. We publish to honor animals and eliminate suffering; that is our ultimate goal.”

Ninety-Five previously received an Eric Hoffer Book Award, which “honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting salient writing, as well as the independent spirit of small publishers.”

No Voice Unheard is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) independent publisher whose previous titles include the highly regarded One at a Time: A Week in an American Animal Shelter and Thought to Exist in the Wild: Awakening from the Nightmare of Zoos, by Derrick Jensen.

Ninety-Five is available through my website as well as the usual places you might find books. Please check out the galleries of my farm animal photographs on my new SmugMug pages, and show a starving artist some love. I will be adding new images and galleries throughout my foreseeable future.

Ninety-Five: Meeting America's Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs

See entire wedding here.

Robyn and Bryan got married at reBar in Brooklyn on January 15, 2011. ReBar is a “reclaimed factory loft space with terra cotta barrel-vaulted ceilings, stately columns, detailed iron and steel gates, unmilled hardwood bar, antique tulip chandeliers and stained glass windows.” It was just the place for a unique winter wedding, and Robyn & Bryan threw one of the best parties I have been to as a wedding photographer.

The fun began with the bride and bridesmaids early in the afternoon as they got dressed. They wore silk-free vintage styled dresses made to look like the 1940′s, with hair styles to match. The blue dresses with red trim (great for photographs) were custom-made by Callidora’s. Robyn’s classy white dress was from Bridal Garden, which sells sample dresses and donates the proceeds to children’s charities. The bridesmaids bouquets were hand-made red flowers while Robyn’s was meshed together with beautiful jewelry and artifacts from her family treasure chest.

The bride and bridesmaids strike a funny group pose before the ceremony.

Upon arriving at reBar I found Bryan and the groomsmen in one of the colorful side rooms. All of their stylish wool-free tuxes came from etuxedo.com. It turns out Bryan has an obsession with Superman and professional wrestling, and so his contributions to the fun of the day were theatrical and manly. His boutonniere had a Superman pin on it, and we took some photos with wrestling championship belts. When it came time to walk down the aisle Brian made a dramatic entrance to the Superman theme music.

As Robyn came down the aisle all heads turned to see how stunning she looked, and Bryan rushed halfway back up the aisle to greet her. The ceremony was filled with similar lighthearted moments, and the vows had everyone in the room tearing up, including me.

The vegan menu was simply amazing (I will post it soon) and I overheard many impressed omnivores at the reception commenting on how good it was. The plethora of vegans there were duly impressed, though we all know vegan food is incredible when done right.

Robyn & Bryan intertwined many Jewish traditions in their ceremony and reception, and I am always excited when it is time to dance the Hora. This is the ritual when the bride and groom are lifted up on chairs and danced around the room to the “Hava Nagila” song. Robyn also honored her Italian heritage by dancing the Tarantella and serving vegan Italian pastries

Bryan apparently has a background in theatre, and at one point during the reception busted out into song and dance to further woo his beautiful new wife. Later the best man gave the couple a fancy pair of engraved wrestling championship belts.

Bride and Groom with wrestling championship belts

For me one of the best parts of the evening was when we went up to the roof of reBar and took some photographs. There was a fresh layer of snow covering the roof and a stunning view of the Manhattan Bridge in the background. The images I captured up there look very surreal, as if I Photoshopped the background in. But I didn’t!

There was so much fun and love happening at this wedding it is hard to write it all down, but suffice it to say it was a night many of us won’t soon forget. When a couple puts some extra creative effort into their wedding day and breaks out of the traditional mold it can make all the difference. I will leave you with Robyn’s description of some of the details that made the wedding extra-special.

“Just about everything about this wedding was very personal. The DJ was our friend DJ LilRay, the cake was made by my friend Angela Inglis, the Italian pastries were done by Champs Family Bakery in Williamsburg. The food was crafted by the executive chef at reBar (he’s not vegan), Jeremy Leech. Our vegan friend Eric became certified just to preside over the ceremony. Jessica Mahady made the chuppah (wedding canopy). Additionally, I designed the wedding invitation, made all the bouquets, corsages and boutinnieres, plus the cake topper. The fresh flowers were purchased wholesale and placed in vintage vases I bought on eBay. The wedding jewelry was done by Bryan’s family friend. We did the Playbill wedding program ourselves.”

Vegan wedding cake by Angela Inglis

An iPhone photo I took this morning after the accident. Note my gold toenail polish...

This morning I woke up with a giant cat relaxing on my chest waiting for his breakfast. I looked at my phone and saw the time was 8 a.m., and decided I would try to make the 9:30 a.m. Jivamukti class uptown at Life Yoga with my dear teacher Libby. I fed my roommate’s cat (Puch) and my other roommate’s dog (Irie), made some almond milk and then a breakfast smoothie, got my shit together and was out the door by 8:40 a.m.

It was a beautiful foggy morning in New Orleans, the sun not yet burned through the clouds. I didn’t have any time to spare, as I was planning to take a bus from downtown to uptown, and would be right on time if I was lucky. As I approached Press Street on Chartres I heard the deep bellowing horn of a train coming, and raced towards the tracks to see if I could beat it. Once I got closer I saw that it was a block away and sped up and over the tracks.

As I breezed across Press street just on the other side of the tracks I saw a silver pickup truck flying towards the intersection on my right, trying to beat the train. The thought was crossing my mind that I should watch out for speeding cars while dodging trains when I heard the truck screeching to a stop. I slowed and looked back over my shoulder to see the truck half in the intersection with a woman and her bike down in the street in front of it.

For one brief moment the thought crossed my mind that I should keep going. The truck had stopped and two men were out talking to the woman. I could still make my class. That thought was quickly replaced by compassionate concern, and I turned around and went back.

Laney's mangled bike wheel, with railroad tracks in the background

The woman was still tangled in her mangled bike, but sitting upright talking. I offered to call 911 and the driver of the car became agitated, saying he did not have insurance and offering to help her outside of the law. His friend was trying to keep the woman calm, telling her not to look at her bleeding ankles. It took me a few seconds to decide what to do, with the woman getting visibly more upset, and so I took out my phone and called 911.

While I was trying to speak to the operator over the noise of the train and the friend and a security guard who had come out of an adjacent building the driver quietly disappeared from the scene in his vehicle, leaving his friend behind to deal with the aftermath.

To his credit, the passenger stayed and helped the woman and the police, swearing and angry that his friend had put him in this predicament. It turned out that the area by the tracks was under surveillance and the security guard went in to retrieve the footage for the police.

I stayed as a witness, but also to be a friend to the woman. She was taking it all very well, speaking positively about her recent acquisition of health insurance and a car, and that these things would make her recovery more bearable.

For me, there was a deep feeling of compassion for all the people involved. I once killed a pedestrian with my car, and this has of course stuck with me all of my life. I still today do not know how much I was to blame, but I remember waiting for the police to come, a white face in a completely black neighborhood in D.C., standing next to my pickup truck while the woman’s blood formed a pool around her head. It was dark out and she had been crossing a busy street outside of the crosswalk, a bottle of liquor in her purse. I had been messing with my radio and once I looked up there was no time to stop. The white cops didn’t issue me a ticket, and instead I have lived the intervening years wondering I was presumed innocent only because of racism. I am sure that the thought of fleeing the scene had crossed my mind as well.

I could feel the emotional turmoil inside the passenger’s heart, not knowing wether to be loyal to his friend “of ten years” or to do the right thing and stay until the police came. He was cursing his friend and pacing around angrily. I thought about how my yoga practice has helped me overcome extreme anger in most situations, yet still wondered if I could have done any better.

And then of course the biker, Laney. She took it all so well, not a trace of anger showing. Looking at the bright side, keeping it all in perspective. She was young and beautiful and I wanted to hug her but I kept my space, and instead just talked to her and tried to be good company until her friend showed up to take her to the hospital.

A streetlight post fell and crushed the bike locked to it. Perhaps another driver trying to beat a train?

We talked about our jobs and my yoga project and found we had a mutual connection. We compared our toenail polish, mine gold and hers a lovely turquoise. I gave her my card and carried her to her friend’s car when the time came. “I should bake you a pie”, she said as I lowered her into the passenger seat. I said that it might be challenging since I am a vegan. “I’m vegan too!”, she said. What are the odds, in New Orleans? I told her to email me but don’t know if she ever will. The universe brings people in and out of our lives in strange ways.

We were all racing to beat the train. If I had not been a few yards in front of Laney the pickup may not have slowed down. The stop sign certainly didn’t make a difference. Perhaps my being there saved her life, perhaps not. The karma of four individuals played out into the event, and all of us left as different people.

The driver is now a fugitive, and will face the repercussions of dishonesty and self-interest. What good can possibly come for him? The passenger will have to re-evaluate his friendship. The fallout from being honest and doing what was right will undoubtedly move him towards the light. Laney has come through a difficult situation, as we all do, to repay past karma. She was such a wonderful example of keeping the mind balanced in hardship, I felt inspired standing near her radiance. I hope that as she recovers she will continue to shine.

As for me, well, I will probably still race against the train.

click to see Morgan & Peter’s vegan menu by Local Love Catering

I met Morgan in the mid-nineties while I was studying Fine Art Photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She was a hip feminist artist with a shaved head who liked to make fun of the Pope and his phallic costume with her art. I had just left the conservative city of Syracuse and was enjoying being surrounded by feminists and vegans and queers and people who looked different than I did. RIT itself seemed kind of stiff and industrial and the winters in Rochester were cold as fuck. Morgan’s friendship was a bit of warmth and creative inspiration injected into the dirge of upstate NY academia.

Over the years Morgan and I have stayed in touch and I have been able to visit her on my trips around the country. For most of those years she lived in Chicago and was a midwestern waypoint on my journeys to the west coast and Burning Man. She became vegan around the time I did and introduced me to the culinary delights of the famous Chicago Diner. Morgan recently moved to California to work at Stanford University, where she met her future husband Peter Blank.

Peter & Morgan in the Elizabeth Gamble Garden

Morgan flew me to California to photograph her wedding. I got to stay with her and Peter for a couple days and enjoy some of the benefits of being in the Bay area; vegan pizza and vegan donuts! I usually eat a diet of whole foods – beans and grains and greens and veggies – but sometimes it is fun to eat like an American. Fried sugary food and pizza made with gooey Daiya cheese.

Morgan & Peter got married at the Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden in Palo Alto. They had a simple ceremony and reception with close family and friends. Morgan made all of the flowers and many of the other decorations from origami. One of the highlights for me was the food by vegan caterer Local Love Catering. Since it was a short daytime event there wasn’t a full meal but instead there were lots of finger foods (Morgan & Peter’s vegan menu by Local Love Catering) and everything was top notch delicious. I definitely ate a meals worth and then some. The red velvet vegan wedding cake was out of this world and made for a good brunch addition the next day as well.

I had so much fun on this trip, and got to be part of the whole wedding experience in a way that I am not usually able to, from the rehearsal dinner to the wedding day to the sunday brunch the next day. I even got to play some ukulele during the reception! Morgan and Peter both have great families who treated me very kindly and I am grateful for all of the hospitality. After the wedding I got to stay at the Stanford Park Hotel where some of us went hot tubbing and swimming until the courtyard shut down, and then woke up to a lovely brunch. I wish all my weddings could be like this!

Thanks you Peter & Morgan, I hope your lives together are filled with as much love and happiness as there was on your wedding day. I also hope I can find lots of reasons to visit you in the years to come!

A kiss by window light

Morgan and her maid of honor Nancy share a moment before the wedding

A photo of Morgan and I looking happy

Morgan's origami flowers and red velvet wedding cake

Morgan Peter’s Vegan Appetizer Menu by Local Love Catering

Cold Appetizers

• Avocado Sushi Rolls
• Crudités with 3-herbed hummus: parsley, oregano, thyme:
• Crudités with Carrot Pate
• Flax Crackers & Organic corn Tortilla Chips
• Spring Rolls stuffed with seasonal vegetables served with a persimmon dipping sauce
• Medium Spicy Muhammara stuffed endive leaves
• Polenta triangles with a pumpkin seed pesto

Hot Appetizers

• Tofu Satay with a house-made peanut sauce
• Stuffed Crimini Mushroom Caps with a chive and walnut Pate.
• White bean and Rosemary Cake with a spicy “aioli”
• Potato skins with a cashew shiitake cream

Vegan Spring Rolls (with a Persimmon Dipping Sauce) and Avocado Maki by Local Love Caterers

Local Love's vegan potato skins with cashew shiitake cream were so yummy I couldn't stop eating them!

On June 5th I kicked off my 2010 vegan wedding season at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in Woodstock, NY. The couple, Sloane & Matt, are animal rights activists from NYC who hired me based on a recommendation from sanctuary founders Doug Abel and Jenny Brown.

Sloane & Matt were blessed with a beautiful saturday full of sunshine and tattooed vegans. It is interesting to participate in weddings at sanctuaries (and vegan weddings in general). There are always the friends who are excited to be at a wedding where they can eat all the food and spend time with the amazing farm animals who are the residents. Then there is the family, who are sometimes a little freaked out and worried how they will get through several hours without eating anything that comes from an animal, all the while being surrounded by creatures that they usually only encounter in a different form on their plates.

the flower girl plays with a kitty before the wedding

I like to think about all the ripples of compassion that spread out from events that make a splash in people’s consciousness. The flower girl seemed most enraptured in the company of the animals. Children live so much with their hearts for as long as they can keep at bay the cultural conditioning that emphasizes apathy over empathy. This is often the time when young girls become vegetarians, or have the epiphany that leads them in that direction.

My hope is that even adults who attend vegan weddings at sanctuaries will spend some time with the animals who live there, and some time thinking deeply about the reasons why vegans and sanctuaries exist. I have met people who have become vegan through visiting sanctuaries, and I am sure this transformation occurs at weddings as well. Weddings are about love, food and ritual. If there is to be a transformative effect all three of these elements must work together. Matt & Sloane’s wedding was a great example of how this can happen.

Matt & Sloane kissing next to Billy the goat

a tattooed vegan wedding guest with a vegan tattoo

A photograph I took at COSM Fire 2007

i was already there before i took the mushroom. the soft hairs on my skin were bristling to the invisible pull of the future, there was a subtle energy running through me. i could not see the future but i could feel it, that something was about to come over me. like watching a storm move across the ocean, perched on a column of stones being misted by waves that thrust against the shore.

i had always imagined that i would have to memorize thousands of pages of my own writings to understand myself. the universe whispers, it leaves signs and traces. i have known for some time that i am more than me. i have waited for the manifestation of my higher self. thoughts flow through me like water, from a spring eternal. i have read and forgotten scriptures, buried them in me like dead sea scrolls. the god that can be remembered is not the true one. there is nothing we can hold on to.

i find the trouble with writing any miracle down is i. i is ego. where to put i in the midst of the miraculous? i wants to be the miracle. i wants to say “i am the one who manifests this!” yet the miracle dissolves as soon as it is described. i believe that last night i channeled the divine. i ingested a hearty dose of medicine and the universe poured into my being. or perhaps i just imagined it did.

the COSM fire was beautiful, with mushroom sculptures burning inside of a perfect sheath of flames, beckoning the autumnul equinox. it was a fire that drew me to it before it was lit. when i was unable to find a ride i decided to rent a zipcar so that i could be beside it. i drove two and a half hours bristling with energy. something deep was running through me.

for some time i just sat with the flame, a little closer than anyone else present. where normally i would have been extremely uncomfortable from the heat i instead felt nourished by it. i heard people around me talking about me, and realized they were talking about themselves. they projected onto me who they thought i was. or perhaps i projected onto them who i thought they thought i was. crossing my legs i moved closer to the flames.

fire ritual new years eve 2006

soon the asanas began to work through my body. mudras shaped my hands and fingers. i began to sing. this sound that has come to me before. deya. deya. i found that i could stare into the intensity of the fire without blinking. i could feel my eyes healing themselves. my shoulders that had been aching and damaged for years began to heal. i twisted myself into shapes that helped me heal. i sang for everyone there, to heal them too.

i had a bottle of water next to me but felt no thirst. i found that i could breathe or not breathe for long moments as i chose. the circle of souls around the fire were watching me, enraptured in whatever it was that was coming through me. i sat beside myself, feeling the divine. i closed my eyes and sang. i could feel the entire universe. i could hear the voices speculating about my condition.

i feel the path has chosen me. the years of practicing hot yoga. the years of purification through veganism and whole foods. the fearlessness i have for ingesting quantities of medicine that most people don’t trust their consciousness to endure. the fire sign, aries, that i was born unto. emerging theories of evolution cycling through my mind in daily epiphanies. the practice of ahimsa, so strong and deep.

fire ritual new years eve 2006

COSM is a sanctuary on a sacred ground. nearby there are other sacred sites. the woodstock farm animal sanctuary. right down the road from there is the home and ashram of jivamukti founders sharon gannon and david life, who i was recently blessed to meet. this trinity of places and people, my heart and destiny belongs to all three. i feel a purpose to build the connection between them.

there are really no words. words just grasp at truth. i am often dissolving, feeling things i can not quite comprehend or describe. i feel a unity between all creation. beyond all our fear there is something profound that binds us.

i cherish this divine in the other. this spark we all share. felicia, who came to offer me water and suggest that perhaps i was too close to the flames. another man came to draw me away, and i hugged him and told him it was ok. when i was ready to retreat from the fire the universe brought jason to escort me. my face today is as red as if i was in the sun all night. my eyes today glow like embers. the spark is everything.

there is of course the possibility i dreamed the whole thing. in this dream i move a bit closer to believing some of those stories of the sages and gurus of india, pulling jewelry from thin air, infusing objects with fragrances, walking over coals. yet i resonate more with thic nhat hanh’s quote “the miracle is not to walk on water. the miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.” that we are here, breathing and conscious, is so beautiful and strange.

fire ritual new years eve 2006

our consciousness and our biology are  rooted in the dream we dream. they evolve by the will of our whims. we can all find the way to dissolve the boundaries that limit our imaginations. there are sacred plants all around us. there is wisdom in the soil. we are woven into the fabric of an everything reacting to even the fluttering wings of a butterfly. how delicious the mango that we let ripen. how wonderful are the teachers all around us. with merely our minds we can turn particles to waves in an endless sea of possibility.

just as the everyday is truly miraculous, so the miraculous is the everyday. there are those who doubt that the human race will ever lose our violence. there are those who doubt that the world can ever know ahimsa. they chant mantras of “free range” and “humane meat” to keep truth at bay. deep in our hearts we know these words are illusions attempting to conceal violence. this is the time for us to evolve beyond the i and towards the we. we can share a vision of the future . abhaya. anicca. ahimsa. a deya!

On July 31st, 2010 Petrina and Kevin got married at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in Woodstock, NY. This was the second vegan wedding I got to photograph at the sanctuary this year, which makes for a good year! I met Petrina a few years back at a Farm Sanctuary Gala in NYC. She was assisting WFAS founders Doug Abel and Jenny Brown in videotaping the event for posterity. Since then we have all become good friends and Petrina has been very helpful volunteering for WFAS in various ways. Somehow she ended up in Great Britain with her future husband Kevin, who she came back here to marry.

A vegan for life handbag hangs off a guest's chair

The timing of the wedding was very auspicious for me, as I got to go take a Jivamukti yoga intensive the next morning right up the road from the sanctuary. It turns out Jivamukti founders Sharon Gannon and David Life live within a short bike ride from Woodstock Sanctuary! Every year they host a month of intensive classes at their Wild Woodstock Ashram home studio. I got to officially meet Sharon and David, which was an honor. I gave them a cd containing the Vegan Radio Podcast I produced featuring Jivamukti yoga in New Orleans.

Upon Sharon’s urging one of her friend’s and advanced yogini named Julie Kirkpatrick took me to visit the Catskill Animal Sanctuary that is a few miles from WFAS. I am slightly embarrassed that I have never been there, since I am known as a photographer of sanctuary animals and it is so close to Woodstock. I guess I feel a fierce devotion to my friends Jenny and Doug and their sanctuary. But as with all love, the more we share the more we find in our reserves. I did not take any photos on this trip but I am now resolved to return in the future and spend some time photographing the critters there.

All in all it was a great weekend, spent with good friends and practicing the yoga that I connect to the most. I feel so lucky, as if the universe arranges itself in a lovely asana just to tickle my fancy. Of course it will slap me down to size every now and again too. Annica, annica! Petrina and Kevin, I wish you all the best as you spread your vegan happiness across the ocean. Just come back to visit us every now and again.

Bride with Annie the goat

Kevin and Petrina being playful by the river

Dana takes a delicious taste of shaved watermelon at Karma.

The world spins too fast sometimes. I cover the souls of my shoes with velcro and still I can’t hang on. The hottest day seem to go the fastest, as if Sun is exciting Earth with his radiant splendor, making her molecules vibrate faster. We all benefit from Sun’s frolics with Earth. From their union we are blessed with an abundance of fresh vegetables, herbs, fruits and flowers. Bees and butterflies and little creepy crawlies chip in to help spread life all around. The farm share I split with a friend is so abundant with fresh organic food I can barely keep up with eating it all. In our backyard we pick cherry tomatoes and wrap basil leaves around them for a succulent snack. Life is good.

There is a beauty eating plants fresh from the soil. Plants hold Sun in their cells. They hold Rain. They transmit minerals and medicines from Earth into our bodies. They have enzymes and wisdom. Cooking them may not always be bad, but it can diminish the flavor, smell and nutritional splendor of fresh veggies.

A new vegan raw foods restaurant called Karma is opening today in Northampton. It is an ambitious project with a restaurant, a juice bar, a store, and eventually a yoga studio and body work offices. Karma will be serving raw vegan dishes, as well as a few cooked vegan menu options. The juice bar will serve wheatgrass shots, green drinks, smoothies, teas, various elixirs and purified charged water. I will be working there in the juice bar and in the kitchen, learning new skills and sharing old ones.

On Saturday August 7th Karma had an invite-only dinner to try out some of their recipes on guests. I was able to get some friends from the local vegan and raw foods communities on the guest list. They were all impressed with the atmosphere of the restaurant and the delectable flavors offered in the dishes.

The food was presented in a five course meal. The first course was a salad featuring organic greens with onions, carrots and an oil & vinegar dressing. Next was a “palate cleansing’ with shaved frozen watermelon juice, which was amazingly good. The third course was tomatoes layered with sliced zucchini, almond cheese, basil and olive oil. It was heavenly. The fourth course was zucchini noodles covered in tomato marinara sauce with a cashew cream mushroom alfredo tossed with carrot and butternut fettucine. And finally the raspberry coconut cashew cheesecake in an almond crust, simply divine.

Karma opens today and I will be working my first juice bar shift. I hope you will stop in to say hello and treat yourselves to some life-giving deliciousness.

Karma owners Coree and Brian with assistant chef Rin

A view of Karma dining from above

Christopher Phillips with his two daughters Sky and Sirena

Oh Sweet Mama Megan Shackelford arrives with her friend Paul

While in New Orleans my friend told me about the first annual Global Vegan Waffle Party happening all across the universe on May 30th (also on facebook). I decided I would organize a Northampton version once I got home and signed up to do so. With the chaos of moving and re-establishing myself here I soon forgot all about it. A few days ago my friend Andee Grrrr invited me over to make waffles for breakfast that Sunday, which just so happened to be May 30th. I woke the morning after she invited me remembering the waffle party and recognizing the synchronicity of it all. I decided I would photograph and blog about the occurrence and that would be a good contribution. I would like to credit to the wonderful ms. Grrrr who inspired the whole affair, and who taught me all about smlove.

Andee with her best friend Pippi

Smlove is a decadent chocolate pie recipe that is featured in Isa Chandra Moskowits’ Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. It features caramel peanut butter, maple candied pecans, and chocolate drizzle layered over a chocolate pie filling in a graham cracker crust. Andee had experienced the smlove pie before. She has a friend who once tried to eat the whole thing on a dare. Poor dear. Because of her smlove had achieved legendary status in our conversations so I suggested we make smlove waffles. Ms. Grrrr was thrilled by the idea, and so on the appointed date I paid her an early Sunday visit.

Andee came up with the recipe modifications. Instead of the chocolate pie filling and graham crust we made the chocolate waffle recipe from Isa’s Vegan Brunch cookbook. We altered the recipe slightly, replacing the beer it called for with more almond milk. We also made candied almonds instead of pecans. Other than that we pretty much stuck to the recipe, and in the end enjoyed some delicious dessert waffles. I share the recipe here with you in my first-ever food blog.

MAKING SMLOVE

Maple candy almonds in the frying pan

Step 1: Maple Candy Almonds (by Isa Chandra Moskowitz)

1 cup almonds
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Have ready a large plate, preferably covered in parchment paper. Preheat a heavy bottomed frying pan over medium heat. Add the pecans and stir them very frequently for 3 minutes, until they start to brown. Stir constantly for 2 more minutes, until they are a few shades darker and relatively uniformly toasted. (If a few don’t look toasted don’t worry about it. That’s better than having them burn.) Add the oil and salt and stir for another minute. Add the maple syrup and stir constantly for about a minute. The maple syrup should get bubbly and dry.  Use a spatula to transfer the pecans to the plate and spread them out as much as you can, it’s best if they aren’t touching. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

heaven dripping from a spoon

Step 2: Caramel Peanut Butter (by Isa Chandra Moskowitz)

1/3 cup natural peanut butter, smooth or chunky, at room temperature
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown rice syrup

Stir all the ingredients together in a small sauce pan. Gently heat everything over low heat, stirring constantly with a fork, just until smooth and heated through. It should fall from your fork in ribbons. If it seems stiff, turn the heat off immediately and add a little extra brown rice syrup, until it’s fluid again. This happens because different peanut butters have different amounts of moisture.

chocolate drizzling

Step 3: Chocolate Drizzle (by Isa Chandra Moskowitz)
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (or 1/4 cup chocolate chips)
1/4 cup soy or rice milk

In a small sauce pan, heat the soy milk to boil. Once boiling, add the chocolate and lower heat. Use a fork to stir it until compeletely combined. Turn the heat off and let cool for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. You will probably have to reheat this a little when you get to topping the waffles.

Chocolate waffle batter dry mix...

Step 4: Chocolate Waffles (based on a recipe in Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz)
Makes 6 six-inch round waffles or 8 four-inch square waffles.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1-3/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
cooking spray

Preheat your waffle iron. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of and add almond milk, oil and vanilla extract. Mix together until combined. Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray and cook waffles according to manufacturer’s directions, usually until steam is done coming out.

waffle assembly

Step 5: Waffle Assembly

Place waffles on a plate. Pour the peanut butter over the center of them, leaving an inch or two at the edges because it spreads. Get your almonds and place them on top of the caramel, pressing them in firmly. You can either drizzle the chocolate over the waffles with a spoon, or put it in a pastry bag fitted with a wide writing tip and drizzle it that way, in stripes. Top with some good vegan whipped cream!

don't forget the rice whip!

Andee enjoys a belly full of smlovey bliss

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