Bright Beans in Germany, VegFest in Portland

This week's new recipe comes from our creative correspondent Christel in Germany, along with a photo in dazzling color. Her own original bean salad is not only beautiful to look at but makes a complete meal in itself. And, typical for Christel, it's very easy. Thanks, Christel!
Christel's Spectacular Bean Salad

I had a note from Alison in New Hampshire this week:
Thanks for the article about palm oil - I was just wondering about it yesterday, when I saw it was an ingredient in "Justin's" almond butter, hazelnut butter, etc./em>

I found her note the same day I was at the zoo, gazing at an orangutan, this one safe and sleepy----and thought of his brethren in Indonesia whose future is so precarious. Palm oil matters. On a positive note, I recently bought some CoGo bars---Columbia Gorge brand, organic and gluten-free----then discovered palm oil in the list of ingredients. I wrote to the company asking the source, and they told me they buy from an organic palm oil source in Brazil that is approved by the Rainforest Action Network. Nice! I'm glad I asked.

Portland people, next weekend is our 9th annual VegFest! It's always a lot of fun---stimulating speakers, cooking demonstrations, lots of free samples, and an upbeat atmosphere. It's at the Convention Center, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 21 and 22, 10-6. Admission is $8/day but you can get a dollar off by downloading a coupon here: http://nwveg.org/vegfest I'll be there on Sunday and will look for you! I always learn something new about plant-based nutrition from the speakers. Here is the speaker list: http://nwveg.org/vegfest_speakers_2013#speakers and here is the full schedule: http://nwveg.org/vegfest_schedule_2013 I always get some practical ideas for the kitchen from visiting the booths and demonstrations.

Happy cooking and VegFesting---

Eve