The pressure cooker caper

A warm welcome to two new cooks who are joining our circle----Desiree in Chandler, Arizona, and Carole Aldstadt, who recently moved from Houston, Texas, to Modesto, California. Carole says "I have joined a Vegan group here as one way to connect with like minded people. I have not found a Thich Nhat Hanh Sanga which meets near me, so am becoming more encouraged to see if I may start one myself; you are an inspiration!"

I have two new recipes for you this week. The first actually arrived in February but unless my record-keeping is off, I think I forgot to tell you about it---- -it's an Amazing Cheese Sauce from Shana in Texas---thanks, Shana, and my apologies for lateness!
Amazing Cheese Sauce for Queso, Macaroni & Cheese, etc.

The second new recipe comes from Ellen in Texas, who is an enthusiastic new veggie gardener and grower of sprouts:
I harvested my first batch of mung sprouts (moyashi in Japanese) today and decided to make namasu with it. Namasu is a japanese side dish made with veggies of your choice and pickled in a simple vinaigrette... It's really made to taste and I eyeball the ingredients and taste as I go along. .. Although this is a side dish, it can be a meal with hot rice!! A nice cup of tea completes the meal.
Ellen's Namasu

To keep her veggies watered, Ellen is now collecting rainwater in barrels---we get to see them, and her(!) in the attached photo.

A couple of weeks ago Justina in Colorado told me her friend JL Fields would be in Portland doing a pressure cooking demonstration and raffling off a pressure cooker. I have always been afraid of pressure cookers, having been warned at an early age to stay clear of my mother's 1950's model, but I thought I would go anyway, just to meet JL and feel the connection with Justina. Susan , Linda, and Cindy met me there, making it a social occasion. And my husband Denis decided to come too.

It was a lovely spring day, the room was filled with eager learners, JL was bubbly and enthusiastic, and we all got samples of the rice pudding she created on the spot. And then...my husband won the drawing! We were flabbergasted. Home we went on the bus, carrying a jumbo box with our new pressure cooker in it. Apparently the universe has decided that it's time for me to learn this kind of cooking. I'm not afraid any more --or at least not as much (these new models have several safety features so they can't explode) but I'm a complete newbie. The cooker is still in the box while I wait for the universe to tell me what to do next. I hope all you pressure cooker enthusiasts out there will send some easy-beginner recipes!

Meanwhile, I'll pass on three messages from our group:

Christel in Germany tells us about a useful website:
Jack Norris, a registered dietitian, has an informative website called vegan health.org, ... his recommendations for certain dietary intakes like B12, iodine, iron, protein etc. I find very helpful: http://veganhealth.org/articles/dailyrecs

Justina in Colorado sent thoughts about "Cowspiracy", the film recently shown here in Portland:
Eve, this is such an important film. I do hope that lots of people see it! Another recent very important documentary is “Fed Up”, narrated by Katie Couric. It is about our government’s collusion with big agri-business to make the American people fatter and sicker – all in the name of making a ton of money for a very few. Everyone should see it. And be forewarned, it is likely to make anyone who sees it angry – and hopefully spurred to action. Even though it’s quite recent, we were able to find it at our local library.

Linda here in Portland sent a notice of a new group forming here:
There's a new Meetup called Oregon Vegan Spirituality http://www.meetup.com/Oregon-Vegan-Spirituality/
I went to their first meeting, which was held at Loving Hut restaurant downtown last month. Then took the organizer to the Community Room at Kailash Ecovillage, and we'll start meeting there regularly next month. It will be interesting to see how this new group evolves.

So here we are, planting gardens, collecting rainwater, watching films, joining meet-ups, being creative in the kitchen. And here I am with this big box, hoping for a boost of confidence and some practical advice from all of you!

Happy cooking,
Eve