25: Family by Chickpea Vegan Quarterly

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alyssakropp.com @lysskropp Alyssa is a writer, traveler, and chef's daughter currently based in Brooklyn, NY. When she isn't eating you can find her DJing or taking snapshots around the city.

theveggievillager.com @theveggievillager

mywifeisvegan.com my wife is vegan Mati Michael is a non-vegan home-cook that writes about the joys and challenges of living with - and cooking for - a vegan. From his home kitchen, Mati writes about the daily life of an inter-dietary household, and shares his experience to help others who find themselves in the same situation.

@veggievillager Jillian is a health enthusiast, passionate about holistic living through being conscious of the mind, body, and spirit connection. Jill takes on the formal roles of kinesiology student, waitress, personal trainer, researcher, harp player, and blogger. She is a free-spirited veggie-loving yogi that loves climbing rocks and mountains and finds balance through meditating and journaling by the sea.

kristyjqcheung.com @kristy.cheung Kristy is a visual designer and lifestyle photographer based in Toronto. Whatever the medium, whatever the moment, her aim is to engage audiences with imaginative execution. She feeds off all things visual, but writing is something sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just starting to get comfortable with.

caseyjoylister.com @pinch_dash_glug Casey lives on the west coast of Australia, in a little beach house with a sprawling veggie garden, her boyfriend, some friends and her dog, Maple. She loves cooking healthy vegetarian meals, writing, photography, and an assortment of other creative pursuits.

@sevrenne Sevrenne lives in Montreal and studies environment and ecological determinants of health in society. She loves sunshine, riding her bike, sharing snacks, reading poetry, and growing plants.

@kristenkperry Kristen is a climate and environmental justice organizer who seeks to create caring communities and promote the growth of effective social movements. She loves cooking vegan meals to share, growing food and flowers, chilling with plants, instagramming vegan baked treats, and zipping around Montreal on her bike.

chocolateandchickpeas.co.uk @hn_stephenson Hannah is a vegan parent and baking addict who lives and writes in the seaside town of Southport, UK. You can usually find her lurking in her favorite bookshops or experimenting with dubious leftovers in the kitchen.

@cadeyrobyn Cadey lives with her partner Kieran, baby Wade and a menagerie of pets. She enjoys cycling, gardening, searching for new recipes and her favorite thing - a good cup of English breakfast tea.

myveganapron.blogspot.com @my_vegan_apron Anna has been living the vegan lifestyle for over seven years in the Chicagoland area along with her husband Jeff, daughter Hannah, and furry friend Kipper. She writes for her blog My Vegan Apron and has written two cookbooks.

alittlebaker.com @jessicabose @littlebakerjess Jessica is a baker, blogger, and highly caffeinated barista with an affinity for exploring the grand outdoors, growing her own food, and making friends with the dogs of LA.

@sunitirao Suniti lives and works in India as a Brand Manager for a creative agency called Border&Fall. On the side, she's currently working on a book about botanical species of the Western Ghats forests of India.

@selinjessa Selin lives in Montreal and studies computer science and biology. You can catch her daydreaming about health, justice, pita bread, and everything in between. She loves morning sunbeams and radical kindness.

Words by Alyssa Kropp alyssakropp.com

Being a chef's daughter, you eat more meals from the sushi place and pizza shop than an outsider would expect. My knife skills are lackluster. For some reason, it took me 25 years to be adequate at cooking. This is not atypical. What is atypical is being the vegetarian daughter of a chef, and when you grow up in said household, you always get the same questions, including: is your family vegetarian? How long have you been one? Did you ever eat meat? However, the most prolific was from those who knew my family, and centered around my relationship with my dad: What did your father say about it? Consequently, my years of being a vegetarian are intrinsically linked to him. I became a vegetarian at a time when it was a pain in the ass, well before tofu was abundant in grocery stores in rural Vermont. I revolted at 12, boycotting meat to the despair of my mother and all of my friends’ parents. Yet when I told my dad, he just nodded and went along with his tween daughter’s plan. He began to introduce me, slowly, to new vegetables and new ways of eating. He kept the PB&J but added new sides. Vegetarian tacos became a weekly tradition, with their ingredients spread across the counter waiting to be combined. I flourished under his guidance, even if I never directly thanked him.

It was in late August 2008 when my dad drove me the 2 1/2 hours north to the campus that would be my home for the next four years. His truck was packed with the standard freshman essentials like a laundry basket, notepads, and my first laptop. Yet hidden amongst the Target essentials were a few culinary necessities that stood out from normal, like the dark gray wok that had yet to be seasoned. When we arrived, we tucked things away in my dorm room, trudging up the newly swept stairs and into the eggshell white room overlooking a courtyard. I was in awe of having our own bathroom. My father marveled at the size of the mini fridge. We said hello to my roommate and wandered around campus. Strolling along the green walkways, the buildings were teeming with students jubilant in their return. Burlington is flush with amazing food, and we reveled in the options of finding something to eat. We shared a meal, and he walked me back to my new home.

My dad stands at 6’ 2” with dirty blonde hair that’s started to streak with silver. When I picture my father I imagine him hovering over a stove, steam rising from boiling water as he stirs a wooden spoon around the pot’s circumference. Standing tall he hunches over the range slightly, his bearish frame making the pots look doll like. He’s hard to miss walking down the street, let alone in a kitchen. We share the same features: the dirty blonde hair, the height, the humor. He is sarcastic and teasing to no end. I whip back remarks just as fast to see him laugh, a twinkle in his blue-green eyes. When I was younger, I would often be mistaken for someone other than my mother’s daughter, but with my dad people were astonished at our similarities. My step mom often says we’re the same person, that the only thing that separates us is his love for coconut and my disdain for it. Unfortunately for me, these similarities do not directly translate to cooking abilities.

Over the first few months, between classes and after late nights drinking, I found myself surrounded by students scrambling to quench their never-ending hunger. Jocks in sweatpants loaded up plates with hash browns and burgers, while girls in hippie skirts grabbed lackluster salads. The cafeterias scattered around campus were stock full of generic food. One was vegan. None were very good. This got old quickly, so I started to use the shared kitchen on the ground floor of my dorm building. I knew the basics and could always whip something together if I was hungry, but I never felt that connected to it. But I wandered into the co-op in downtown Burlington and bought ingredients that still had dirt on them, that smelled like the earth, and slowly began building my skills. I called my dad asking questions. How do you cook an eggplant? What is the best way to make a peanut sauce? I began to recall how he’d crack an egg on a flat surface and not the edge of bowl, and started imitating it. Each week brought more chances to try new things. What could I make with the seasonal squash from the farmer’s market? How can I incorporate maple syrup into every dish? As I began to cook, it became less of a chore and more a means of stress relief. A way to get away from studying, it cleared my mind and allowed me to focus. And while I was learning to revel in cooking for myself, I had two major fall-backs that helped me when I got stuck: my father, and my meal plan.

He left me with a long hug and then he was gone.

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My dad knows everything about food because he began his restaurant life in his early 20s. Before that he was a contractor, a newspaper boy, a jack of all trades. He was a bouncer at rock shows and spent days riding a motorcycle with people much tougher than I’ve ever hung out with. He is one of ten, a middle brother in a swarm of siblings brought up in Northern Jersey. His mother, a woman feared in her stature, used to boil her brussels sprouts until they became mush. He used to eat out of the house often. Now he lives in sleeveless t-shirts and baggy chef pants reminiscent of the ones TLC made popular in the 90s. He is made up of purely sweet things; empathetic, careful, sarcastic. I like to think he dreams in spices, saffron and cinnamon and basil that blend into dishes and his career. But what they don’t tell you is that as a chef, one misses holidays. The first and only family vacation we took was to Disney when I was too young to love roller coasters, when I still wanted to twirl a fork in my hair. My birthday falls around a holiday, so presents always came days later. The work came first, because he loved it, but because he also loved me.

A year after graduating I decided to move to NYC with no job, no prospects, and enough friends that they each fit on a finger on one hand. My dad helped me pack for the 6th time in 6 years; he placed everything I owned once again in the back of his small black Toyota and drove me the 6 hours south to the city. That apartment was on a tree lined promenade within walking distance to Prospect Park and in a neighborhood that was sparking new businesses every day. The room had no windows, and fit my bed and a clothing rack. But it had a kitchen, with a full range, and enough cupboards for my wok and cutting board. He helped me unpack again, walking up the three flights of stairs in the cold March winds. He muttered, noted he was getting too old for this. I agreed. He hugged me, told me to be safe, and drove off to his cousins. That first night I was nervous in the new city, and so I went grocery shopping immediately. I found the bodega around the corner and purchased a rainbow of peppers, cucumbers, a string of garlic. I brought them all back and instead of finding

them homes, began to chop on my cutting board. Each slice a resounding knock, grounding me. This is when it seems like it was thoroughly through osmosis that I learned my dad’s preferences and quirks in cooking, that I don’t need to think about what to do next.

My dad once said to me in passing, “Sometimes I regret it, staying here to learn to cook for the money rather than going to Italy or France to work for pennies but learn from the best.” We’re a pair of dreamers, the two of us.

This year marks my 4th in New York City. I’ve met many new people, most who have slipped back into the pond but a handful that I hold dear. But in these years of introducing myself to new people, I have learned that I love telling everyone my dad is a chef. It is one of the first things I unintentionally mention upon meeting. It slips over my tongue and is out on the table quicker than you can say Sriracha. Part of it is that I love and live in a world obsessed with food, and part of it is the working class nature of it. I identify fully with the hours spent working, the flavor of late night dinners, the grease on your clothes, and I want to make sure these new people know that too. That they know I grew up in a house of people who use their hands, a home built through hard work with a flair of creativity. That I am made of homemade bread and careful planning with a pinch of sarcasm. So when these new people ask the inevitable vegetarian questions, it ultimately leads to what it’s like to be a chef ’s daughter? And I respond with this: I notice it when I’m peeling carrots, the strings running wet into the trash like a Halloween massacre. Notice it when I’m dicing an onion, cutting into it’s thin bulb vertically before slicing the rings, watching the pieces fall into minuscule purple translucent rectangles just like he showed me. It’s when I’m sifting through a myriad of recipes online or in the heft of a good cookbook. It’s the first taste of something so good that the voices in your head silence and all you can do is feel, tasting. It’s in these moments that I am a chef ’s daughter, that I’m home. r

Chickpea magazine #25 family

Words by Jillian Lacasse • theveggievillager.com

Since I can remember, my mother has owned a home daycare and has always made fruits and veggies the star of each meal through a new adventure. She would make up stories about the steamed broccoli on the children’s plates, encouraging them to fight the monsters out of the forest and float boats of sliced apples on peanut butter waves to make sure everyone got in their daily serving of culinary creativity. Just as she encouraged the daycare children to eat in community and develop early healthy eating habits, she instilled the same values in my life, resulting in me becoming an avid green lover and berry enthusiast. She would pack my lunch, always making sure that not only was my main meal filling and nutritious, but that there was always at least one serving of fruits and veggies. By second grade, I decided to become a vegetarian out of love for animals and my two mothers – biological and (mother) nature. My mom also never gave the children sugary fruit juices or soda pop and raised them to welcome water as their best friend. She has never limited my own sweet intake, however, from my experience and research in the health field, I have learned that mother nature has provided all the sweetness we need from fruit hanging off her branches. Now that I have grown up and work at a local vegan restaurant and serve families who have also embraced the plant-based lifestyle, I have learned

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that children will eat whatever you put on their plates. If you make green juices and hummus with veggies regular visitors at lunchtime, they will likely munch and crunch on them and start to ask for them when their tummies are empty. It always starts with you being a role model for them, but not restricting them, especially when they see the treats that other children are having at birthday parties and in their lunch boxes. Children are curious and want to share and explore new foods, so letting them make the choice to eat healthy with some sweets is how they can find balance. With the majority of what you can control, they will likely embrace your home cooking and will want to help in the kitchen by licking sticky banana oatmeal cookie batter off their hands or learning to cut carrots and throw them into the stock pot of vegetable noodle soup. (You never know, they might be the next Masterchef Junior!) So it might be easy to get your children to eat the good stuff, but what about your go, go, go schedule? You are busy dressing them, playing with them, getting them to school, cleaning the dirt from their hands and your hair and tirelessly working every day. So how can you make convenient and quick plant-based meals for them while also trying to scarf down some veggie goodness yourself? Here are my Basic B’s to planning every plant-based meal so that they are delicious and nutritious.

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Smoothies are liquid gold! They can be a sneaky and smart trick for children to get in their greens. They are easy clean up and can be a great way to get them involved in the kitchen.

Pairing a smoothie with some organic sprouted toast can also be a quick option, topped with banana, cinnamon and almond butter. A pumpkin seed butter or sunflower butter could be a good nut-free option.

Chia pudding is also another easy thing to make overnight (add in oats for a more hearty option) and top with fruit for a grab and go brain-boosting breakfast.

1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk 1/3 cup chia seeds 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1-2 tbsp maple syrup 1/2 tsp vanilla extract Stir (or shake) everything together in a sealable container, making sure there are no clumps of chia. Let sit for 10-15 minutes and shake again until consistent. (This will reduce any clumps in the final product.) Let chill in the refrigerator for a few hours at least. For best results, make this at night before bed and eat the next day. Eat/serve chilled.

1/2 cup frozen strawberries 1/2 a banana 2 handfuls spinach 1 cup coconut milk 2 tbsp flax seed Blend and enjoy!

Chickpea magazine #25 family

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Chickpea magazine #25 family

by Cara Livermore • serifandscript.co

I grew up attached to the television. I’d wake up and zone out to

There was plenty of teasing, and there still is. But even though

PBS every morning while waiting for the bus. I’d stay up super

my dad is the kind of person to try to kill any animal that graces

late for SNL, and stay up even later to secretly watch Adult Swim.

his yard (I’m working on it), he also makes every breakfast with a

But there was no TV show I watched more as a teen than The

vegan option, every dinner vegan-friendly, calls my mom out for

Simpsons. It was on right after school and played through until

not knowing non-vegan ingredients, and he even keeps soy milk

well after dinner. My family mirrored their family so closely, and

in the fridge. He dispenses food advice and asks me sometimes

I naturally found my childhood TV twin here in Lisa Simpson.

for some in return. (What does someone do with greens from the

Even though I wasn’t vegetarian like Lisa in high school, I still felt like an outcast, too frustrated with the people around her, compassionate, and endlessly creative and inventive. I really related

garden besides salads, anyway?) He even came up with the idea for this feature, and nagged me multiple times about it, until I had the perfect place for it.

to her, especially when it came to her relationship with her family.

Here’s his idea: Every hard-nosed blue collar guy isn’t as stubborn

I know a lot of vegans and vegetarians feel the same way - there’s

as you’d think. If a man who’s been hunting for 40 years can go

no better connection than “you don’t make friends with salad.”

from knowing nothing about what “vegan” is, to knowing how

I grew up in a family of hunters. Every fall, the kitchen of our tiny house was covered in various animal parts, the sink was filled with blood, and deer heads were boiled in the backyard. My dad is the kind of guy who excitedly yells “shoot it!” to virtually any animal he sees.

to make a tofu scramble, there’s more hope in people than we all think. And, in his words, it’s also way easier than most people think it is. There are just a few substitutions to make, and voila - it’s vegan. So I’m going to share what exactly it is that he does to create a huge holiday meal that’s vegan, without sacrificing on flavor or that crucial comfort aspect. A meal that no-one at the

But when I decided to go vegan, my family was surprisingly

party would know is anything but traditional. Just think of it as a

supportive from the start. (Maybe because I’m overly serious about

secret high-five between a Homer and a Lisa, if you wanna get all

everything I decide to do, they took me seriously. Ahem, Lisa.)

sappy sitcom ending about it.

Chickpea magazine #25 family

For a traditional Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter meal (the big three meals in our house that take place indoors), he’ll make every dish vegan that he knows how to. Then, I’m responsible for the main dish - like a Tofurky loaf or whatever I want to make. I’ll usually bring a dessert, too; my mom is in charge of desserts and baking is a little

Buy prepped and/

Use

coconut

oil,

or oil. Many store brands are accidentally vegan. Use

single animal product in detail here, so we’ll mention the ones that a person new to veganism might not know about.)

vegetable

mushroom stock instead. We buy we can add exactly as much as we need, and we don’t need to buy bulky containers of pre-made liquid chicken, and vegan beef stock that

of these labels, this is a best-case scenario.

all taste great.

to the bottom of the ingredients list on the back of the container. Don't rely on claims floating around the label like “natural” or “dairyfree” - even “dairy-free” cheeses & ice creams may still contain dairy. (Yep, it boggles our minds too.) For a fast read, head to the bottom of the list - allergens will be listed in bold - like “contains tree nuts” or “contains dairy, egg, and soy.” When it says “may contain ____” in bold by the allergens, this warning is for potential allergens, and that warning doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not vegan. If there is nothing in bold, then read through the full list. Consult one of the apps on page 28 if you’re unsure.

offer to go to the store with them to show them how to quickly read through labels. Offer to split the cost. If you want to be a part of the big family dinner, talk to the person cooking, and do some of that cooking yourself, too. Negotiate room in your kitchen. If you don’t want to put your main dish in the same oven at the same time as a giant turkey, figure out another time slot it can slip in. If you want separate cutting boards, or if you want to add in extra dishes the home cook wouldn’t normally plan for, having a discussion before the big cooking day will make your life much easier.

agave, coconut nectar, molasses, date syrup or brown rice syrup. (We from apples and tastes great with butter & bread.) Sugar is a common potentially non-vegan ingredient that people don’t know about. Some white sugar in the US is processed using animal bones. All certified organic sugars are vegan in the US. Beet, turbinado, and sucanat sugars

can

are vegan. Commonly found brands

be found everywhere nowadays.

Sugar in the Raw and Florida Crystals

Always buy unsweetened milks

are vegan sugars you can use.

Non-dairy

milks

during a big cooking session for best results, even when baking. Soy has the best thick consistency with a neutral flavor, but almond milk is also a good option. Full fat canned coconut milk is a great replacement for whole milk. Adding in a splash of vinegar or lemon juice to any of the above will curdle the milk and

If someone else is buying ingredients,

maple syrup, but you can also go for

Better Than Bouillon paste, because

If the packaging says “vegan” or has one

but these are a safe bet.) If it doesn’t have this demarcation, go directly

England, so our first choice is always

love the Honee brand - it’s made

stock. They have a vegetable, vegan

(I still double check the ingredients list,

liquid sweeteners. We live in New

There are a few things to learn about before you even go grocery

dairy, eggs, meat stock, lard, gelatin, or honey. (We can’t get into every

lots

energy wherever you need them.

coconut butter, vegan margarine,

Vegan means no products deriving from animals - so no meat, fish,

are

replacements when it comes to

more complicated to make substitutions, but we’ll get there.

shopping if you want to veganize your whole meal.

There

or frozen veggies to save on time &

Dandies

makes

great

vegan

marshmallows, and we’re finding them in more and more stores as years go by. Trader Joe’s even offers vegan mini marshmallows seasonally, so keep on the lookout for them!

make buttermilk. We don’t often use egg in our holiday cooking, except to bind some things together. Flax ‘eggs’ are a good overall replacement for eggs in most baking and cooking if you need a binder. (Recipe on page 44.) Tofu has a great texture similar to egg if you need a bulkier replacement in a meal. Aquafaba is

T h e re are a few vegan specialty whipped creams - So Delicious makes the best Cool-Whip-style whipped cream, and Soyatoo makes a canned kind that we’ve seen works for some people. But we just like to make it ourselves - recipe on the dessert page.

If me or my dad want to veganize a

perfect for making meringue but a

More substitutions throughout our

recipe and have never made it before,

little outside the scope of this piece,

recipes! :)

but I really want it, I look up the recipe well before the cooking day

so if you’re interested in a meringue

and try to make it to see if it lives up the high standards my family

topping, check out the loads of people

puts on a big meal. Be sure to make note of all the suggestions and

experimenting with it online.

substitutions we set out here in this article.

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Is It Vegan? isn't entirely perfect, but it's the best app we've found to easily check if a product or ingredient is vegan or not. (isitvegan.net)

Use Barnivore to check if an alcoholic drink is vegan or not. Vegaholic is an app you can use on the go, that uses info from Barnivore. (barnivore.com) Veganuary has a ton of great starter information & help for new vegans. (veganuary.com) Vegan Essentials is a good online store to find vegan ingredients you might not be able to get locally. (veganessentials.com)

We always have a little tray of hors de’oeuvres out in the living room to snack on while we’re cooking, and for non-cooks to snack on while they have to smell all the amazing food cooking in the kitchen. It’s a variety of pickles, olives, cheese, crackers, and slices of meat, usually - but we want to make that vegan. The vast majority of pickles and olives are vegan, unless they come coated or stuffed with cheese. Crackers, also, are often vegan - watch out for dairy ingredients, though. Instead of the charcuterie, keep fresh veggies, fruit, nuts, and hummus out. Holidays are the rare time of year where we buy a lot of pre-made vegan cheeses - the really nice kinds like Miyoko’s, Dr. Cow, Kite Hill, Treeline*, or Vtopian. They are all much better than what we could recreate at home, they’re crowd-pleasers (even non-vegans eat their way through them), and you’re supporting vegan businesses in the process. So good!

For the biggest meals of the year, we like to keep drinks simple. (A family fave: caramel vodka with apple cider.) Often, if we do want more complex drinks, we’ll give someone not cooking the job to mix drinks in another room. But these are simple drinks, like whiskey and ginger ale, or a big cranberry sangria. Non-alcoholic drinks: apple cider, sparkling water, vanilla almond milk. (for dessert!) Alcoholic drinks: wine, beer, hard cider, various liquor. Not all alcohol is vegan - consult Barnivore (above) to be sure before you buy. *Full disclosure: I photographed their products for their website as a freelancer, not affiliated in any way to Chickpea, but trust me when I say I love & devour all good vegan cheeses equally and I have no bias toward one or the other.

Chickpea magazine #25 family

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Words & Photos by Mati Michael mywifeisvegan.com When choosing a vegan lifestyle, a person is acting for the benefit of the planet, their health and their ethics. But having to maintain a vegan daily routine can also blindside you. This is what happened to me when I fell in love with a vegan. It can also happen to you, if for example, your child came back from school vegan. Congratulations, you're now cooking for an inter-dietary household! The first thing that usually crosses your mind when you're the home-cook and you suddenly need to satisfy an inter-dietary family is: Will I need to cook twice now for each breakfast, lunch, and dinner? The simple answer is: No. And if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re cooking for a large household while simultaneously holding a job and having to do most of it under time restraints, then the answer is: Hell, no! But I had to travel quite a long way to reach this realization.

Chickpea magazine #25 family

I met Kinneret almost 20 years ago as we served in the same army unit. It took many years and a failed marriage each until we found each other again, got reacquainted, and realized we were in love. From then it was just a few months until she moved in and our happily ever after begun. As time went by and we both realized our relationship was a real thing, each of us decided to live with the others' dietary choice. As a longtime enthusiastic home cook and foodie, I also believe that the old cliché is totally true: The way to a person's heart is through their stomach. Cooking for my love was an effective way of winning her heart, and once I did and we moved in together, it was a way of demonstrating my love for her.

After over two years of living and cooking together, I overcame the anxieties most home cooks feel when taking their first steps in cooking vegan food and maintaining a vegan routine in their kitchen. '

not knowing what to cook

getting to know new vegan ingredients whose names I could barely pronounce

learning new techniques of cooking

having to cook twice for each meal

And many other concerns and apprehensions that rose from having to acquaint myself with this new way of life. As time went by and the initial bewilderment subsided, I came to realize that many of the things I thought of as obstacles were in fact just misconceptions born of my own ignorance. I fell for a preconceived notion that cooking vegan food is more of a hassle than the cooking I used to do up until then. I found out that I have been cooking 'vegan food' for years, without labeling it as such, and that I continue using almost all of the ingredients and preparation methods as before. As for the new stuff, I enjoy the challenge of being creative and continue to strive to make delicious food we can share. Preparing vegan food, I now know, doesn't necessarily require extra effort or extra cooking.

This new way of living opened a small window for me to look into how vegans coexist with non-vegans. Being the person that has to get their own 'special' food made for them isn’t a pleasant role to fill. Eating and sharing food are important pillars of human interaction. Sitting at the family dinner table and not being able to share the food with others, eating from each other's plates, and not being able to join the fun as everyone gets a taste of an excellent dish, can make a vegan's communal eating experience lonely and isolating.

Eating together is the most effective and crucial opportunity for families to strengthen bonds and reaffirm mutual commitments. As dinner starts on the family table, cellphones are removed, the TV is turned off, and the time is for focusing attention on one another while sharing food and conversing. All these noble intentions receive a severe blow when one (or more) of the family members sitting around the table is singled out and excluded, even if it's 'just' with the food they eat. Though this exclusion might be subtle and not extend (as unfortunately it does in some cases) to heckling and\or derision on account of one person's choice to adopt a vegan lifestyle, the mere fact it is there undermines the goals of a family having a meal together.

All three entities mentioned above: the home cook, the vegan, and the family, must work to overcome these pitfalls. One way of doing so is by giving everyone around the family table – vegans and nonvegans – the same eating experience. During the preparation of the following 3 recipes, there is a point where by simply dividing what you make into two separate portions, you can easily continue making them into two versions of the same dish: one vegan, the other not. This represents little or no extra effort on the part of the home cook, and results in disarming the ill effects mentioned above. By providing a shared eating experience, no one around the family table is excluded anymore, and it can also serve to get non-vegans to try out vegan food, and who knows, maybe even find out they actually like it.

Chickpea magazine #25 family

This one is a great main course, which everyone here in Israel remembers from their childhood dinner table, with versions from all around the Mediterranean. It's also scalable from 4 to 10 or more portions with just an extra few minutes of preparation time, which makes it perfect for dinner with guests. To Stuff 2 bell peppers with a wide bottom 2 firm tomatoes 2 zucchinis * You can also stuff onions, potatoes or small eggplants. Stuffing 3 small heads of garlic, whole 2 onions, diced 1 cup rice 2 cups boiling water 2 tbsp paprika (or chili powder) 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp baharat (optional) parsley, loosely chopped cilantro, loosely chopped 6-7 mint leaves, loosely chopped juice of 1/2 a lemon salt & ground black pepper olive oil Sauce 1 onion, chopped small 1/2 tsp thyme 2-3 garlic cloves, minced hot pepper (optional) 2 tbsp tomato paste 1 can (14oz./400g) pureed tomato 1 tsp brown sugar salt & ground black pepper olive oil 2 cups boiling water

Instructions 1. Cut the tops off the veg you're going to stuff, and gently scoop out their flesh and seeds. 2. Roast your garlic. Put the heads of garlic in the oven and bake them for 10-15 minutes at 350°F (180°C). When the tops of the garlic heads gets slightly brown take them out of the oven and put aside to cool. When they can be handled, cut the bottom of each head with a sharp knife. Now hold the top of each head in both hands and squeeze. The cloves will come out soft, sweet and with a wonderful aroma. 3. Start your stuffing. In a medium pot on medium high heat, heat some oil. Chop one of the onions and cook until golden brown and soft. Add the rice, salt and pepper, and stir until all the rice is covered with oil. Add the 2 cups of boiling water. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat to lowest, and cook for 20 minutes. Turn the heat off and keep the cover on for 10 more minutes. Take the cover off and stir. Move the rice to a mixing bowl and let it cool for a while. Chop the second onion and add it to the cooked rice. Add the grilled garlic, pepper, salt, paprika, cumin and Baharat. Chop the parsley, cilantro and mint and add them to the bowl. Add the lemon juice and olive oil and stir. If you're cooking for non-vegans as well, this is where you separate the stuffing into two bowls. 4. Make the red sauce. Cook the onion in oil on medium heat in a sauce pot. When it starts to get brown at the edges add salt, pepper, thyme, garlic, hot pepper and tomato paste. Stir and fry for 1 more minute. Add the pureed tomato and the brown sugar and stir. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for 25 minutes. Add 2 cups of boiling water and stir. 5. Stuff the vegetables and arrange them in the sauce with the open end facing up. Let simmer then cover and turn heat down to low. Let cook for 45 minutes. Open once or twice to pour sauce on top of stuffing. 6. Serve with a generous portion of red sauce on top.

Chickpea magazine #25 family

Every hiccup my wife has from spicy vegan food comes with a small smile of content, from us both. This lentilfortified vegan chili can take in many kinds of peppers, to become as hot and spicy as you like. You can enjoy this tasty vegan dish at any level of spiciness; it's all under your control. With one more tablespoon of sweet paprika instead of the chili powder, and more bell peppers instead of the hot one(s), you get a non-spicy vegan chili. Beware though: scaling-up the hot kind can become risky :) Ingredients 3/4 cup red lentils 3 cans (45oz./1300g) pinto and kidney beans (or any other kind you like) olive oil 1 onion 2 bell peppers (or 5-6 small ones) 6 garlic cloves 2 hot peppers 5-6 mushrooms 1 tbsp chili powder 2 tbsp paprika 2 tsp cumin salt & ground black pepper 2 cans (28oz./800g) pureed tomato 1 tsp brown sugar cilantro To Serve sweet corn avocado

Chickpea magazine #25 family

Instructions 1. Prep your ingredients. Rinse and drain the red lentils. Put all the canned beans in a strainer and rinse under the tap. Coarsely chop all the vegetables and mushrooms. 2. Heat olive oil and brown the onion and the bell peppers for 4-5 min. Add the garlic, hot pepper and mushrooms. Add all the spices and stir for 1-2 min, until all is covered and the spices give their aroma. Add the pureed tomato, sugar and 1 cup of boiling water, and stir to combine all. If you're cooking for non-vegans as well, this is where you separate the chili into two cooking pots. 3. As soon as it boils add the red lentils, stir, and bring back to a boil. Turn down the heat to low, cover and cook for 15 min. Add the cilantro and 1 cup of boiling water and stir. (You can keep some cilantro aside for garnishing later.) Add the beans, stir, turn the heat up and bring back to a boil. 4. Turn down the heat to low, cover and cook for 15 min. Take the cover off and cook for 10 minutes more. 5. Serve hot with some corn and avocado on top.

The perfect main course when inviting people over for dinner, or just when the occasion calls for 'fancy food we don’t eat everyday'. This Italian centerpiece is surprisingly easy to make and the result can make the staunchest non-vegan go "wow". Ingredients 14-18 cannelloni tubes Stuffing 3 zucchinis 2 small heads of garlic, whole 1 onion cashew crème (below) parsley basil 1 tsp dried thyme 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp spicy paprika salt & ground black pepper Cashew Créme 10oz. (300g) fresh cashews juice of 1/2 a lemon 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk 4-5 garlic cloves salt & ground black pepper Red Sauce 1 onion 2-3 garlic cloves hot pepper (optional) 2 tbsp tomato paste 1/2 tsp thyme 1 can (14oz./400g) pureed tomato 1 tsp brown sugar salt & ground black pepper olive oil

Chickpea magazine #25 family

Instructions 1. Make the cashew créme. Put the cashews and all the other ingredients for the crème in a powerful blender and let it rip until you get a nice creamy consistency. 2. Make the stuffing. Prepare the garlic heads as described earlier in the stuffed vegetables recipe. (Page 55.)Grate the zucchinis and put them in a cloth bag. Wring the bag tightly until most of the liquid drains. Chop the onion, parsley and basil. If you're cooking for non-vegans as well, do the following in two separate bowls, one with cashew crème, and the other with a non-vegan ingredient. Put the grated zucchinis, cashew crème, grilled garlic and all the other ingredients of the stuffing in a bowl and mix. 3. Prepare the red sauce as described earlier in the stuffed vegetables recipe (page 55) but this time you don’t need to add the boiling water at the end. 4. Stuff the cannelloni tubes: Hold the tube with one hand, covering the opening on one side, and stuff through the open end, making sure to fill the tube as tightly as possible. 5. Put all the stuffed tubes in an oven dish and pour the red sauce over them. I usually try to put the tubes on one level. If your oven dish is too small, you can stack them on a second level. In this case, add a cup of boiling water to the sauce, to make sure all the tubes are covered. 6. Put in an oven pre-heated to 350°F (180°C) for about 20-25 minutes. Make sure not to overcook, as it will result in dried crunchy tubes rather than soft, well prepared pasta. r

Chickpea magazine #25 family

Recipes & Photos by Jessica Bose â&#x20AC;˘ alittlebaker.com

Chickpea magazine #25 family

Queue the doorbell chime, ding-dong, and a pause. Moments later, the door creaks open to reveal a woman in her bathrobe looking down at me, knowing exactly what’s to come. “Hello Miss, would you like to buy a box of Girl Scout cookies?” I asked graciously. Before I knew it, Miss Bathrobe was off to recover her checkbook, returning with excitement at the chance to stock up on Samoas and Lemonades. “Thank you! Have a good day!” I said after the sale was made, when all I’m really thinking is, “score!” Once a year, I walked the neighborhood with my mother’s supervision to ask every resident on my street bold enough to open the door to a small girl in her brownie vest, if they would like to buy a box of Girl Scout Cookies. The truth is, most of them couldn’t resist either the cuteness that is a sweet Girl Scout or the cookies that she bore. I worked hard to become the top-seller of my troop, but do you know who worked twice as hard? My mom, who

The staple shortbread cookie. They’re the cookies that I never think I need until I brew a cup of tea and realize that I actually can’t live without the simplicity of this simple “buttery” shortbread. Ingredients 2 cups flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup non-dairy butter or solid coconut oil 1/2 cup cane sugar 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk 2 tsp vanilla extract

lived a double life of both a bookkeeper and the top-seller’s mother, aka: the actual seller of said cookies. Props go out to her for being the best at convincing everyone she knew that they indeed could not live without 3 boxes of Thin Mints and 2 boxes of Tagalongs. Just saying, there should really be a badge for the proud parents of Girl Scouts. The hustle of Girl Scout season usually occurs during the winter months for about a 6-8 week period. That’s just enough time to stock up on Thin Mints, which happen to be the go-to cookie for vegans across America. While I know from plenty of experience that frozen Thin Mints are the absolute best, I’ve also noticed that a box of 8-month-old frozen thin mints don’t really hit the same mark. When you bite into a cookie, you want a crunch, a crumbly texture, and fresh flavor…preferably sans freezer burn. For the months that you find yourself missing the selection of vegan cookies delivered to you by adorably persuasive girls in uniform, I bring to you the top 5 Girl Scout cookies, all made from scratch and veganized. Bring on the nostalgia.

Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 2. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together. Add almond milk and vanilla. Then, add the flour and mix until fully incorporated. 3. Roll out the dough and cut into circles using a small round cookie cutter. Press each cookie with the back of a fork. 4. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes. 5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until bottoms are slightly browned. Once baked, let cool on a wire rack. Keep cookies stored in a sealed container at room temperature.

Chickpea magazine #25 family

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Chickpea magazine #25 family

Words & Photos by Casey Lister caseyjoylister.com

Eileen Jane Lister was my Nanna. She was born on the 30th of March, 1917. A hundred years ago. The 73 years that separated her birth and mine were long and eventful. In her twenties, she watched as her husband was sent off to war. Her morning papers brought news of bombs falling in the London blitz, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the decimation of Hiroshima. Later, she saw the Berlin wall rise, and fall, and watched as the first man walked on the moon. Martin Luther King delivered his ‘I have a dream’ speech and JFK was assassinated. The Vietnam war began, and her youngest child, my father, was nearly conscripted. The Cold War festered behind closed political doors as TVs and microwaves populated the paisley wallpapered interiors of brown brick houses. The internet was invented. Feminism and the civil rights movement brought us incrementally closer to an egalitarian society, and cassette tapes replaced vinyl (although not for long). My Nanna lived a whole life before I took my first breath, and I wish I had thought to ask her more about it when I still had the chance. I guess I was guilty of the same mistake most children make: I assumed that my grandparents had only ever existed in the world as grandparents. That they had always

Chickpea magazine #25 family

been wrinkled and grey, born with false teeth, with a proclivity for slippers and dressing gowns. It took me a full twenty years to realize what rich and adventurous lives they had lived before my arrival cast them into their roles of Nanna and Grandpop. But by the time I knew just how much wisdom they had accumulated, and how many things I wanted to ask them, my chance had gone. Now, instead, an aura of mystery surrounds my grandparents, and the lives they lived before we met. And if there is one ultimate mystery that has frustratingly eluded me all these years, it is the mystery that surrounds my Nanna’s cooking. You know those old worn-down books some people have, full of hand-written recipes in beautiful, curly scripts? Nanna didn’t make one. And, fool that I am, it never occurred to me to ask her how she made her tea taste so good, or to take notes on the specific way she buttered my bread, the various spices she threw into her soups. How on earth did you do it, Nanna? In the absence of concrete historical documents, I shall be relying on my rose-tinted memories (and repeatedly pestering my Dad for details), to recreate a few of my most favorite Nanna-dishes. I hope you like them too!

Chickpea magazine #25 family

When I’d go to her house for sleepovers, Nanna would make me a bed in front of the TV out of pillows off the sofa, then she’d bring me a bowl of ice cream covered in multicolored sprinkles and we’d watch cheesy game shows all night. I had a very specific method for eating the ice cream, one which I have since happily abandoned: I’d let it partially melt, then stir it vigorously until all the color came off the sprinkles and it turned into a kind of grey soup. I guess there’s no accounting for taste.

1 can of coconut milk and 1 can of coconut cream (this will make 3 1/2 cups in total. You can use all coconut cream, or all coconut milk, depending on how decadent you’re feeling. I think a 50:50 ratio is best) 3 -4 tbsp tamarind paste 1 tbsp glucose syrup or corn syrup 1/2 cup castor sugar

1/2 cup castor sugar 1/4 cup coconut flakes

Chickpea magazine #25 family

Fortunately, my adult self now prefers decidedly frozen ice cream. I’ve also been won over by more adventurous flavors, and although I’m still very fond of sprinkles, this particular ice cream goes especially well with a burnt coconut sugar shard. The tamarind and coconut combination gives it a creamy, light and refreshing flavor, and the shard adds a nice hint of bitterness. It also bizarrely makes me think of cornflakes… but that might just be me.

1.Mix the coconut milk, coconut cream, tamarind paste, glucose syrup and sugar with a whisk, until combined. Pour into a pre-cooled ice cream mixer, and let it churn until it goes cold and thick. Keep in a container in the freezer. 2.While the ice cream is churning, spread the castor sugar in an even layer on a tray lined with baking paper. Scatter the coconut flakes on top and put in the oven at 400°F (200°C) until the sugar has completely melted and gone a nice golden color (this will take about 40 minutes, and the coconut will go kind of burnt and black, but don’t worry, it’s supposed to!) 3.When the sugar has melted and gone a golden caramel color, remove the tray from the oven and let it cool. Once it’s cooled it will snap into pretty shards. Serve on top of a generous scoop of the coconut ice cream.

It wasn't hard to remember the recipe for this one because my whole family still makes it all the time. This is a crunchy, zesty salad bonanza! I used to eat it with a big plate of homemade fries, dipping them in the vinaigrette at the bottom of the bowl. Perfection! It would also go nicely as a side to some barbecued tempeh or a big bowl of roast potatoes, or even some sticky soy-sauce fried tofu.

1 Lebanese cucumber (any cucumber will do, but I find Lebanese cucumbers are especially tasty, and no overly seedy) 2 tomatoes 1/2 a brown onion 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper juice of 1 lemon 1/2 cup white vinegar

1. Peel the cucumber, and score it by running a fork lengthwise down the cucumber. Do this all the way around, from top to bottom each time. This will make pretty little indents in the cucumber (see photo). 2. Halve and thinly slice your tomatoes. Place them in a salad bowl along with the cucumber. 3. Thinly slice the onion into rings. Put it in a strainer, and briefly pour boiling water over it to blanch it (by blanching the onion you stop it from being eye-watering but keep a lot of the yummy bite and flavor, so make sure to pour the water over for only a few seconds). Add this to your salad bowl. 4. Put the salt, pepper, lemon and vinegar in a sealed jar and shake to combine. Pour this dressing over the salad, and toss it to make sure everything is covered in the vinegar. It will look like it’s soaking in the vinegar - don’t worry, that’s the point. This salad definitely has kick, but I promise it’s delicious. It will keep for a day in the fridge, and is best eaten alongside something that can soak up all the vinegary goodness - like chips or baked potatoes, or a few hunks of really good french bread.

Chickpea magazine #25 family

There’s an episode of Friends where Monica tries to work out the recipe of Phoebe’s late Grandmother’s famous cookies. The recipe is a secret, of course, which apparently died with Phoebe’s Grandmother. After hours of cooking and the creation of a hundred different versions of cookie, Monica realizes that Phoebe was misled about the origins of the recipe. It’s not a family secret; it’s printed on the back of every bag of Nestlé Toll House chocolate chips. That was the secret. Well, the same thing happened to me. I was going on and on to my Mum about Nanna’s glorious bright yellow mustard relish, lamenting the fact that I’d never asked her for the recipe when I had the opportunity. To which my Mum said,

1/2 head of cauliflower, broken into individual florets and chopped very finely (should fill about 3 cups once chopped) 3 onions, diced very finely 1 large cucumber, chopped into little cubes (should fill about 3 cups once chopped) 3 corn cobs 1/2 cup salt 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp (200mL) apple cider vinegar 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp (200mL) malt vinegar 1 1/2 (350mL) white vinegar 1/2 cup castor sugar 1/2 cup coconut sugar 1 tbsp mustard powder 1 tbsp curry powder 1 tbsp turmeric 1/2 cup cornflower

You’ll also need about 6-7 jamsized jars to store the relish in.

‘you know she used to buy it in jars from the store, right?’. Well Nanna you sly old fox, you had me fooled! But now I’ve made it myself, and you know what - it tastes exactly the same! So I’ll just tell anyone who asks that it is your famous family recipe, handed down through the generations, and no one will be any the wiser (aside, I suppose, for all the subscribers to this magazine… guys, this is our secret now). Nanna used to spread this relish thickly between slices of soft bread, filled up with tomatoes and lettuce. It was crunchy and delicious. If you’re into your fake meat deli slices, I can also confirm that it goes very well with them too! Bear in mind this recipe needs to sit overnight, so make it one day in advance of when you’ll need it.

1. Put your finely chopped cauliflower, onion and cucumber in a big bowl. Dissolve the salt in 2L of warm water, and pour over the vegetables so that they’re covered by the liquid. Leave them to sit in the fridge overnight. 2. In the morning, drain the vegetables, and put them in a big saucepan. Slice the corn off the cobs and add to the saucepan. Then pour in your vinegars, sugars and spices (everything but the cornflour), and give it a good stir. 3. Set to simmer over a low heat, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender. 4. While you’re waiting for the vegetables to cook, sterilize your jars and their lids by putting them in a big saucepan, fully submerged in boiling water. Leave this to boil while you finish cooking your relish. 5. Once your vegetables are tender, add the cornflour and continue cooking until the relish thickens. This won’t take very long, and it’s a good idea to stir the relish often while this happens, so that it doesn’t burn on the bottom. 6. Take your jars out of the boiling water, and put the hot relish straight into them. Fill them to the top, put the lids on tight, turn the jars upside down for a few minutes, and then put them upright again. As your relish cools, it should shrink a little inside each jar, making a vacuum and keeping the jar sealed. This will prevent your relish from going off, so it can be kept out of the fridge until you open it. Once opened it will last in the fridge for at least a week (but I find mine usually doesn’t last that long!) 7. Serve on fresh bread with salad like my Nanna did, or in a toasted sandwich with roast vegetables, or just crawl out of bed at 1AM and eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon while you listen to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong and reminisce about the good old days. r

Chickpea magazine #25 family

Words by Selin Jessa, Kristen Perry, and Sevrenne Sheppard One autumn day, our roommate

collectively

Kristen was gifted the largest,

importance

most

and

the

spectacular

assortment

trees

and

generosity

shrubbery, carrying a steady

tangible

stream of plants from across

rolled

interconnectedness in our day-

the

city

steps

to-day lives. A collective or

the

sunnier

into our foyer, we wondered

intentional living environment

apartment. We’ve welcomed box

how feasible it would be to

usually

after box of sweet potatoes

scoop it out and live right

people

inside, but, fortunately, we

space,

one

roommate who works at a nearby

have a real house. Our home,

another, often forming around

farm and rescues many of the

“Greenhouse,” is nestled in a

less-than-perfect

classic

values.

that would have otherwise been

not

all

Montreal

level

apartment:

most

places,

the

lead

mysteriously

into

and

common

theme

with or

set

experience

demonstrates

specifics look

resources,

time

Our

group

can

different

that

and

for

each

and

red

thrown

come

live

corners

our

peppers

away,

from

vegetables

and

bins

full

of worms for our burgeoning vermi-compost.

United

mint

unique group. Greenhouse came

shared

together after our experience

lovingly,

attached to our kitchen and

things, and cooking together,

insulated and newspapers. Over

experimental

sustainability

we have also gathered friends

the past year, ourselves and a

collective.

few friends have transformed

with

this

joy,

veranda

eclectic

who

precariously

green

sunroom,

the

means

Montreal

with dark twisty stairs that neighbors’

place

into

students

living Sharing

table

meals

ten

was

and

neighbors

our

many

green

contribute

food-related

a sort of informal DIY skill-

are intentionally growing the

of being accountable to the

share - from vegan bread, to

space for gratitude, supporting

university

funding

water kefir, to kimchi. We’ve

each

other

and

political

the

enormous

that

was

personal

the project, and the lack of

attempted to limit food waste

uncertainty,

balance between work and home

and gradually eating our way

in our space. We wanted to not

amounts

through a lifetime supply of

only live lightly, but feel

certain

vegan pumpkin soup.

lighter as well. The seeds of

pie, and we’ve become known

the Greenhouse philosophy were

for the plethora of homemade

thus planted: every aspect of

vegan snacks that go hand-in-

collective living should make

hand

life easier and more fulfilling

and parties. Despite a lack

for everyone involved.

of outdoor space, we’ve been

Collective

through

struggled

living

experiments, which function as

where

growing

with

home,

but

commitment

responsibility

collective

living

not

novel concept – it’s roots are far-reaching and can be found in many places at many moments in time. Since long before the

fosters

the

fifty-two

universe.

pumpkin

emphasizes

concept of a nuclear family,

Our collective was formed in

and before the advent of the

the

studio apartment, people have

from

lived

squash, we have also acquired

community.

Living

autumn

almost

2016.

Aside

house-sized

producing of

astronomical

pierogies

kind

with

our

and

autumnal

get-togethers

growing herbs and vegetables on

our

windowsills

and

veranda. We dream of someday building a hydroponic system, but

far

our

collective

Chickpea magazine #25 family

gardening is – much like many

nutritious,

of these experiments – a work

many

in progress.

our

society

where

are

constantly asked to celebrate competition and individualism, we

can

quickly

lose

sight

the

complex

network

interdependence that sustains us.

Living

collectively

this way cultivates a deeper appreciation

just

how

much we need each other. At Greenhouse, fairly

all

organically

emerges –

tea

and hugs for someone who is having a gloomy day, an extra load of laundry for someone who has been working late all

and

entire

joyful

way

talking and dreaming about.

have

eaten

Suppose your side had won, and

lives.

There

you had the kind of society

also something special about

that

choosing, as young adults, to

you live, you personally, in

sit around the table and eat

that

together - which is something

that way now!”

many of us did not do regularly as

children.

not

uncommon for our collective dinners to grow into kitchen dance-parties

and

fits

giggles. The concept of self care has received a lot of well-deserved

attention

recent years; we have found that connecting over food is a

powerful

way

practice

collective care.

you

wanted.

society?

are

How

Start

living

would living

that

way

now, surrounded by an everexpanding collection of mason jars and people we love, reimagining what it means to make a home as an emerging adult in an

increasingly

and

complicated

disconnected

world.

Living in a way that prefigures the kind of world that you want doesn’t necessarily mean packing up your belongings,

week. One very tangible way we

Building home and community

gathering your friends, and

use our collective capacity

through growing and cooking

forming a collective of your

another

food is just a part of our

own. Creating a better world

(quite literally) is through

journey in learning to live

starts, as most good things do,

the

with honoring the connections

Earth and each other. We and

we have with each other, the

our roommates all have roots

natural world, and ourselves.

nourish communal

using the

one cooking

system

Beehive

Vancouver.

system,

inspired

Collective Each

harmoniously

with

collective

in social and environmental

Food

member cooks dinner for the

activism, and through living

remarkable

whole

house

especially

week

collectively we are attempting

because

to put the work we are doing

these. Cultivating the happy,

how many people live in the

outside

into

loving, and supportive spaces

house), and so forth, keeping

meaningful

practice.

we all need to thrive can be

For

certain

restrictions at

per

community-builder

(or per cycle, depending on

mind

once

dietary

(shared

Greenhouse

us,

house

daily

collective

living

simple

honors

all

sharing

meals

helps to actively re-imagine

healthy and nourishing food

always

a world that is more joyful,

with your friends, neighbors,

vegan) and schedules (packing

compassionate, generous, and

and family. Make a big pot

tupperware for anyone who is

sustainable. Together, we hope

away during dinner). Preparing

to create something beautiful

housemates,

food for the collective helps

and loving to fill the space

party with produce harvested

us to remember how important

of the harmful systems that

from your garden, convince your

it is to look out for the

we are fighting to disrupt and

social circle that spending

people around us, encourages

dismantle.

four

are

the

hand-lettered

for

hours

you

and

throw

rolling

your dinner

pierogi

creativity

poster in our foyer reminds us

dough will be an uplifting,

and cultures, and allows us

that we are creating a living

enjoyable

to cooperate in improving the

alternative

food. Be creative. Be kind,

well-being of our community.

and capitalism, in the words

and

of Paul Goodman: “Suppose you

pretty good places to start.

have

all

our

tea

observed

that

this may be the most stable,

Chickpea magazine #25 family

had

the

competition

revolution

you

experience.

generous.

Those

are

A perfect recipe to use up the mushy bananas at the bottom of your fruit bowl and impress all of your friends. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour 1/2 cup maple syrup 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 tsp baking soda 3-4 very ripe bananas (3 large or medium-sized, or 4 small) 2 “eggs” (we use Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer, but flax eggs or applesauce works well here too!) 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp ground cardamom 1/4 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup coconut oil pinch salt

Instructions 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a loaf pan with a bit of coconut oil 2. In a blender, combine the bananas, coconut oil (no need to melt it, unless you are in a very cold climate), egg replacer or flax eggs, vanilla, maple syrup, and brown sugar. Blend just until smooth. 3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, a tiny pinch of salt, and all of the spices. 4. Pour the banana mixture from the blender into the flour mixture, and stir to thoroughly combine. 5. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a fork or toothpick comes out clean.

Chickpea magazine #25 family

The soup equivalent to a hand-knit sweater on a crisp autumn day. Ingredients 1 medium butternut squash 1 tsp olive oil pinch of salt 1 large sweet potato 2 large carrots 1 large potato 1 tbsp coconut oil 1 onion 4 cloves of garlic 4 cups vegetable stock 1/4 cup curry powder 1 tbsp cumin 1 tsp sage 1 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp-1 tsp cayenne 1 15 oz. can coconut milk

Instructions 1. Use a fork to poke a few holes in the skin of the sweet potato. Chop the butternut squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds with a spoon. Wash and dry the seeds, removing stringy flesh from them, then coat them lightly with olive oil and salt. 2. Place your squash and sweet potato on a pan, and bake at 425°F until the squash and sweet potatoes are soft (about 60-80 minutes). On the same pan, or another, lay out your squash seeds in a single layer to roast, being sure to stir them to avoid burning and remove them once they are evenly browned and crispy (around 30-40 minutes).

3. When your squash and sweet potatoes are almost done roasting, chop and sauté the onions in a large pot, with some minced garlic, curry powder, cumin, sage, pepper, and cayenne. Then add diced carrots and potatoes, sauté for a few more minutes, and add 4 cups of soup stock and bring to a simmer. 4. Take the squash and sweet potato out of the oven, remove their peels, and scoop the soft flesh into the pot. 5. Once the vegetables are all tender, pour in the coconut milk, bring back to a gentle simmer, and then use a hand blender to blend until smooth. Keep on low heat and stir regularly to avoid burning once it is blended! Adjust to taste with additional salt and spices as needed, and then serve hot to new or old friends in your favorite eclectic collection of bowls. 6. Garnish with roasted squash seeds, and anything else that you might want to add; maybe some green onion, sprouts and a slice of lemon, and then enjoy with toasted pita, croutons, or bread! r

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