Saying goodbye to a family friend

The latest birthday card sent to me by HJ- animal themed of course (December, 2013).

Today I found out Hazel Jeanne Rodgers died. Most people knew her as "Jeannie" and I knew her as "HJ". You do not know her, but the world lost a special person. Growing up, my sisters and I would receive a card from her for all the holidays throughout the year. And I mean every holiday; Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving, etc. For Christmas and birthdays we’d receive a present along with our card.

I was the only one that ever wrote her back with thank you letters. As I grew up, letters continued but instead of thank you’s, it was hello letters. I’d write more about what I had been up to and keep her up to date with all the family news. Once in awhile I would call her and we could easily talk for over an hour. 

HJ was like a close aunt and meant a lot to me. It is hard to put in words why she was such a strong influence in my life, but I guess she was like a lifeline away from my sometimes-chaotic childhood and supported my adventures through life.

When in high school, I started to get interested in animal issues. HJ was kind enough to get me subscriptions to animal rights magazines and organizations, which helped educate and shape me into a beginning activist. More recently, she sponsored an animal at a farm sanctuary in my name and got me a membership to People’s Committee for Responsible Medicine.

HJ was also generous on her own, giving funds to multiple human and animal welfare groups, including sponsoring a child in another country. She opened up her home to feral cats in her neighborhood, offering food and shelter to those who couldn’t be tamed and affection to the cats who wanted more. 

HJ is not survived by any family. She never married or had any children, but there is many people who will miss her dearly. Anyone who knew her would remember her as an extremely friendly and giving person. Since HJ is not having a memorial service, I wanted to honor her memory in some way. This blog post does not even begin to explain her amazing spirit, but I wanted to share with others a life that was truly extraordinary.

My Traditional Thanksgiving Recipes- Veganized

This holiday season I am finding myself unable to find creativity in the kitchen.  Mostly this is due to my cat being very sick and towards the end of his life.  It has been a very tough month.  So instead of sharing new recipes, I want to once again share my classic recipes that are sure to please.  I plan to make most of these recipes myself for my family this year.  Be thankful of your friends and family (especially the furry and fluffy ones) and enjoy the recipes!



Traditional Stuffing

3 1/2 cups Bread Crumbs

1 cup Vegetable Broth

1/4 cup Earth Balance

6 Celery Stalks, chopped

1 small Onion, chopped

2 tsp Sage, rubbed

1 tsp Marjoram

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Melt the margarine over medium high heat in a skillet and add the onion and celery. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. In a medium sized pan, heat the vegetable broth until boiling. In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, herbs, salt and cooked celery and onion. Stir all of this to combine thoroughly. Slowly add the vegetable broth, stirring occasionally to cover all the bread crumbs. Place stuffing in a greased 9-inch square pan bake at 375°F for about 30 minutes.

*To make your own bread crumbs, cut a loaf of bread in cubes. Place on a large cookie sheet and bake at 300°F for about 20-30 minutes, using a spatula about every 5 minutes to move around the bread so it will dry out evenly.



Miso-Maple Tofu

1 1/2 blocks Tofu*
1 cup Walnuts
2 Tb Miso
1 Tb Maple Syrup
1 Tb Sesame Oil
2 Tb Tamari

Cut the tofu into 1/4 inch slabs. Combine the sesame oil and tamari. Coat the tofu in the oil/tamari combination and place on baking sheet. If any oil/tamari is left, pour over top of tofu. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, flip tofu and bake an addition 10 minutes.

In a food processor, combine the walnuts, miso and maple syrup until it is a paste-like consistency. Spread the paste evenly over the baked tofu. Bake an addition 15 minutes.

"Buttermilk" Biscuits

4 cups Unbleached White Flour
1 Tb. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1 Tb. Sugar
1 cup Soy Margarine
2 cups Soymilk + 1 Tb. Lemon Juice

Combine the soymilk and lemon juice and let stand a few minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Using a pastry cutter, cut the soy margarine into the flour mixture until pea sizes or smaller. Pour the soymilk mixture and blend until combined. Place dough on a floured work surface and knead a couple times. Spread the dough out to about 3/4 inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 15-18 minutes. Makes about 20 biscuits.

Pumpkin Pie

1 - 15 oz can of Pumpkin Puree

1 - 12.3 oz package of Mori-Nu Silken Tofu (Firm)

3/4 cup Organic Cane Sugar

1/4 cup Cornstarch

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground Ginger

1/4 tsp ground Cloves

1 prepared Pie Shell or Flaky Pie Crust (below)

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until creamy.  Spread into a pie shell.  Bake at 350°F for 1 hour.  Allow to sit a couple hours before serving.

Flaky Pie Crust

1 ½ cups Unbleached White Flour
½ cup Soy Margarine (Cold)
½ tsp Sea Salt
4-6 Tb Ice Water

Place flour and salt in medium-size bowl. Break up margarine and cut into flour with a pastry cutter until there are pea-sized pieces of dough. Slowly add ice water and blend with fork. Do not overwork; blend until just mixed and dough holds together. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to be slightly larger than your pie pan. Place in pie pan and form dough as desired. Add pie filling to the crust and bake according to pie instructions. Makes one 9-inch pie crust. 

Other Thanksgiving Recipes

Gluten Free Buckwheat Stuffing
Thanksgiving Gluten Roast
Gluten Free Pumpkin Silk Pie

A Thanksgiving story and some favorite recipes

Looks like Obama's daughter may get there is something wrong with eating turkey.
- Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images North America

My very first all vegan Thanksgiving was about 15 years ago. I was in college and talked my family into allowing me to make the entire meal, so it would all be vegan. My sister picked me up in Eugene to head to Portland and she broke the news that my parents had a "thanksgiving" meal the week before since they would be missing out that year.

I was devastated! I loved my family and was glad to be visiting, but the whole point of me working so hard to create a delicious vegan meal was to save a turkey! This is the biggest fight I can remember having with my parents as an adult. I was over the top agry, and they were apologetic. The next 10 years, I don't think they ever ate turkey, so it may have made up for the life taken so many years back.

My parents are not vegan, or even vegetarian, but I will say they have been tremendously supportive of my activism over the years. This even includes when I get arrested or clubbed by a police officer (during the Seattle WTO protests)! Ok, that last part actually made my dad super proud!

Anyway, in case you are still desperate to find the perfect Thanksgiving recipes, here are some of my personal recipes I use every year.

Stuffing (my personal must-have Thanksgiving dish)

Thanksgiving Gluten Roast (bottom of post) or Miso-Maple Tofu

"Buttermilk" Biscuits

Pumpkin Pie