Making a difference

We have two New Yorkers joining our group this time, Laurie Stedman from Albany and Sophia Bae in New York City. Sophia was inspired to look us up when she tasted the excellent plant-based meals at a Blue Cliff retreat. She told me "The food during the retreat was so delicious, even my 10 year old was enthusiastic about it." I hope our recipes can keep that enthusiasm going! So glad to have you both with us, Laurie and Sophia.

We have 4 new recipes on our website now -- a chickpea salad, a broccoli salad, a new version of chocolate chip cookies, and a refreshing dessert gazpacho made with melon and berries -- oh my! You can find them all listed on our Home page.

I heard from Bev in California recently, who says,
Thanks! Great letter and I loved the vegan calculator. ?

If you missed the calculator, here it is again, on our PlantPurePod page. Did you know that anyone can leave messages here for the group? I hope you will join. The more the merrier!
https://www.plantpurepods.com/podsdirect/mindful-cooking/

I also heard from Mindi in Oregon who sent a link telling of Thich Nhat Hanh's arrival in Vietnam at the end of August, fulfilling his wish to see his homeland again:
https://plumvillage.org/news/thich-nhat-hanh-arrives-in-vietnam/

Christel in Germany says:
Just want to say that our hearts are with Americans, who suffer from the Harvey catastrophe.

Thanks, Christel --- I'm sure we all feel the same -- we're thinking of everyone in the path of Hurricane Harvey, and now Hurricane Irma --- and of all of us in the Portland area who are feeling the loss of our beloved Columbia Gorge, now in flames ---- and we're aware of all the other forest fires here and everywhere. We are feeling the pain of Mother Earth in so many ways.

We need time for grief, but then for renewed resolve to care better for our planet. Maybe we can lift our spirits by going back to that vegan calculator and seeing that our food choices do make a difference. With each plant-based meal, our footsteps on the Earth are just a little lighter.

Happy cooking,
Eve