"Social Danger" and other potluck talk

Last Monday we celebrated our 19th potluck in Portland. Inspired by Jana's picnic in the Netherlands, Susan planned our first-ever picnic in a park, and it was a great success! Nancy prepared her potluck dish on the spot: tomatoes from her garden, sprinkled with Blackened Spice. She kindly gave each of us a small container of her spice combination to take home. I'm delighted with my tiny tea tin and know I'll be trying Nancy's spices on many things: Blackened Spice.

Donna brought enchiladas made from her versatile recipe that uses layers of any numbers of things, along with a sauce featuring cilantro and avocado:
Donna's Vegan Enchiladas

Naturally, we talked about food, and once again talk of food quickly led us to thoughts about our whole world. Linda recently prepared a meal for a group of tai chi practitioners and was surprised to be warned not to mention that the meal was plant-based----because pointing it out might be "socially dangerous." This got us talking about the divisions appearing among people as different cultures come together and our planetary crisis deepens. How do people with different outlooks share a meal without running into "social danger?" Denis suggested that "graciousness" might be the key; Donna said it's important "to be kind and loving" -----the world is changing fast and it is hard on everyone. Nancy reflected on the preciousness of everything---the plants, the animals---- and the sense that all is at risk. Sigrid finds hope in the younger generation, who are engaged and ready to change things.

The news is not all bad: we heard that 64 countries have banned GMOs and our state has a chance to take a step in that direction in the next election---the Oregon Right to Know ballot measure #92. Donna told us of a new movie, "Cowspiracy", that is raising awareness of the livestock industry's huge impact on the environment. She has a copy of the film and offered to show it to us in September -------Portland people, let me know if you would like to come to that and I'll keep you posted on the details.

We talked about cheese, recipes for vegan cheeses, and the arrival of vegan cheese shops. I related my recent discovery that the dairy industry is connected in every way with the beef industry. I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but all the cattle in those vast cattleyards have mothers----they are the dairy cows that must produce a calf every year to keep the milk flowing. The calves grow up to become beef and their mothers are also slaughtered when their milk production eventually declines.

As sobering as our world situation is, some of us agreed after the picnic that being able to talk about it is better than holding our worries inside. It is still a beautiful world, especially under those tall trees in Washington Park with the sun streaming through the branches and a warm breeze blowing ---and it was wonderful to be together with so much good food and such good company. We thought of all of you around the world who are sharing this project with us.

Linda sent an idea afterwards:
What would you think about the possibility of trying to round up as many people as possible from the Mindful Cooking group to eat together at the NW Veg Compassionate Thanksgiving dinner? Just a thought that popped into my head...

One more news item----- Mary Hathaway in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is now on the map, along with a note about her interests. If you are on the map and would like to add a phrase about you, or if you aren't on the map yet but would like to be, just let me know.

Happy cooking,
Eve