Food and footwear

Hello Mindful Cooks,

We have a new member of our circle: Daniel D is joining us from Sterling, VA. Welcome, Daniel!

There are two new recipes on our website since I last wrote, both from our Winter Potluck. Here is Cathy's Festive Kale Salad:
Festive Kale Salad with Sweet Apple Cinnamon Vinaigrette & Pecan Parmesan

And for dessert, here are Susan's Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups--- yum!
Dark Chocolate & Almond Butter Cups

I have heard from several of you recently. Susan here in Portland sent me her smoothie recipe. I feel energized just imagining it ---

Another idea for winter cheer: This morning I made a smoothie that was outstanding. Great for citrus-mango season while we wait for the berries that come later. I used mango chunks that I froze last winter and a frozen banana. Everything else was fresh. It’s mango season again, so if you don’t have frozen, get a ripe one from the store. Sometimes they are not sweet enough this early, so if the mango is too tart, you could sweeten the mix with a pitted date.

SUNSHINE SMOOTHIE

4 grams orange peel (about 1 tablespoon)
1 navel orange, peeled and cut up
1 cup frozen mango, roughly chopped
1 frozen banana, small to medium, sliced
1 cup orange juice—fresh recommended
4-5 grams ginger root (about a ½-inch piece), peeled
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Fresh mint--3-4 large leaves or 5-6 small leaves

Before you cut up the orange, use a vegetable peeler to remove just the orange layer (avoiding the white pith) from the fruit and measure 4 grams or about 1 tablespoon.
Add the peel and the other ingredients to your blender container and process till smooth.

You could garnish with a mint leaf. ?

I also heard from Betsy in California, who found a website called "nae" which stands for "no animal exploitation". It's worth a look:

I found a website that does not use any animal parts for clothes, shoes, etc.
The title is: No animal exploitation. https://www.nae-vegan.com/en/about-us/?id=425

Would anyone like to take a turn writing the next group letter a couple of weeks from now? I send you some material, you write it up your own way and add whatever you like about you and food, send it back to me and I mail it out. We get the stimulation of hearing new voices and I get a breather. I'm sitting here hopefully, ready to hear from you!

I'll end on a humorous note this time -- a short, pun-loaded video that came to me from Laura in California --- featuring Regan the Vegan:

buddhaweekly.com/friday-fun-regan-vegans-hilarious-video-puns-per-minute-drive-anyone-nuts-except-regan-vegans-delivery-pear-fect/

Thanks Cathy, Susan, Betsy, Laura and everyone!