November 2012

Japanese Sweet Potato to the Rescue

November 28, 2012

Like most fortuitous partnerships, my connection to Japanese sweet potatoes began as a happy accident early last Winter. Well, at first I didn’t consider it so happy, since it was the result of me shopping in the produce section of our food co-op without my glasses on. I thought I had grabbed a garnet yam […]

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Interdependence Days

November 25, 2012

When I was 10, the orthopedist I saw determined that my heel cord had been stretched sufficiently that it was now only necessary for me to wear my brace at night. Of course I had looked forward to this day, hoped and wanted it to come. Because it would be an outward sign that I […]

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Pumpkin Pie in the Free World

November 18, 2012

(The fat free, gluten free, soy free world, that is.) The first Thanksgiving after my diagnosis of MS, back in 1996, I was well into a gluten free mostly dairy free and low fat way of eating, based on ELISA tests I had taken through a naturopath nine months earlier. As of yet, I had […]

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The Spirit of Thanksgiving Past

November 15, 2012

This Wednesday evening my loved ones will pull into my driveway for the Thanksgiving holiday at the end of the long day trip from Portland. The dog will run to the back door with his ears at attention, and I will wipe my hands on my apron or jump up from the computer screen and […]

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Life Beyond Chocolate

November 13, 2012

Most people following or learning to follow a healthy vegan or plant-based diet are relieved to discover that a little cocoa powder here and there is allowed, and can add depth and richness to healthy foods.  The recent surge of enthusiastic and joyful comments on Susan’s post, Pumpkin Spiced Hot Chocolate is compelling evidence for this […]

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The Power of the Plateau

November 11, 2012

When I was in the fourth grade, the orthopedist I saw for the cerebral palsy put me on a diet.  It was 1965, and I was 9 years old. The goal was for me to lose 25 pounds. His reasoning was that with the balance and coordination problems I experience with the mild CP, it […]

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The Reincarnation of My Jack-o-Lantern

November 10, 2012

“In this room with two navels, Somebody wants to be born again.” –from “Saint Pumpkin” by Nancy Willard           Thank you, Saint Pumpkin, for lighting the way, and being so delicious.   Maria    

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The Toaster Oven

November 8, 2012

How  a  Beautiful Exception Can Prove the Rule Two years ago, in the summer of 2010, I wrote this: “Note: Don’t internalize the theories of others about how well you’re doing. They will always miss the mark in some essential way, especially if they are not in any way informed or involved in a plant […]

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Interlude: Pears

November 7, 2012

By request, I take a brief pause in drafting other posts I’m planning to share a simple dessert I mentioned and pictured in my last  post: pear sorbet. During the summer I enjoyed introducing a few of my friends on the McDougall board to the joys of banana “ice cream.” Now I love banana ice […]

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In Praise of Buckwheat Groats

November 5, 2012

This was my lunch or dinner a couple of months ago on a regular basis. It was divine. Luckily, I remembered to take at least this picture before I ate the whole thing on that particular day. It’s already about half gone. I love to eat things in bowls. The wonderful woman who has been […]

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