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We have a new member in our email circle, and a new country too: Arin is joining us from Sheffield, New Zealand. Welcome, Arin! Our project is connecting 186 of us in 16 countries now, proving once again that food is common ground for everyone.

Here in Portland we just had our Winter Potluck --- and the spread on the table proved again that a plant-based meal is bountiful, colorful and irresistible! . We thought of all of you in those 16 countries and are happy to bring you up to the table with us by sharing our recipes. First is Sigrid's very popular Curried Potatoes and Peppers

Susan brought Soft Polenta with Squash Rings and Olive Pesto, a recipe that's been in our collection for awhile and now has a photo of her rendition:
Soft Polenta with Delicata Squash Rings and Moroccan Olive Pesto

Susan found a new way to make the polenta and posted that recipe on our website:
Never Stir Again Polenta

Did you know anyone can post recipes on our website? Just log in and follow the directions for "Add new recipe". The first time you do this your recipe won't appear right away because I need to confirm that you are one of us and not a spammer. After that there will be no delay. I hope you have fun with it. I'll be glad to walk you through it if you like.

Our potluck conversation took us in many directions. Sigrid set the tone by reading The World's Need, a poem written by Ella Wheeler Wilcox in 1895, who "heard the wail of my tortured kin" long before factory farming was invented. Here is the poem:
http://www.veganpoet.com/PoembyEllaWheelerWilcox.html

We imagined how gratified Ella would be to see everything that's going on now as the world moves toward a more compassionate diet. We heard about Linda's Nutritarian and Vegan Spirituality groups, Marnie's World Peace Diet study group, Sally's vegan cooking shows on public television, all the activities of NW Veg and the Portland Pod of Plant Pure Nation. Many of us had heard Dr. Greger's recent speech on Food as Medicine and wondered why people are so slow to respond to the facts. Looking at our own experiences, we realized that it takes group support to make a change of diet possible. That brought us back to our own Mindful Cooking project, where we support each other with recipes, ideas and encouragement.

Speaking of our project, I wondered what it is that attracts people to what we are doing, especially now when there are so many other groups to choose from. Our group around the table had some thoughts, but I would love to hear from everyone: what are we doing that you like? what could we do differently? As we begin our 9th year, what is essential? what is our direction in the months ahead?

Here is one new thing: we just changed to a new server. It's possible that you won't notice a difference, but if you do and if there are any problems, please let us know. Also --- we now have a separate mailing list for local people. I expect this will mostly be used for potluck details. I'm taking a guess at who to put on the list, based on who has shown an interest or come to recent potlucks. If you want to be sure you're on the local list, just let me know.

Happy cooking,
Eve