Preparing for the Big One

It is no secret that living on the Northern Oregon coast has potential hazards. Japan's earthquake and tsunami highlighted one possibility rather starkly. Recently, new information has been released to the public on the potential catastrophes that can hit our little corner of the world one of which is a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami. Unfortunately for any area along the Pacific Rim, it is really a matter of when, not if. In addition to the possible 9.0 earthquake and following tsunami, our area has the possibility of being cut off for weeks, months, and even a year!
I have mentioned the wonderful community we are fortunate to live in several times. Another of the strong points in this community is the active, and dare I say activist, participation of many of its members in emergency preparedness. Our little town is not only being used as a model for emergency preparedness but our community leaders in the field are actively reaching out and training others how to get their own towns ready. It is most impressive!
I recently attended the annual Nehalem Bay Emergency Volunteer Corps meeting. Now, I am not a huge fan of meetings but my mate is involved in C.E.R.T. (community emergency response team) and I appreciate what all these hard working people do and want to do my part in being prepared. When we arrived at the local community center where the meeting was held, every seat had a MRE (unfortunately too many of us know what these are but for those who don't: Meal:Ready-to-Eat) and a bottle of water. Mine was beef enchilada. Hmmm, are there vegan MRE's? Not at the meeting but I decided that I needed to look that up. Here is what they look like:

The Penne with Vegetable Sausage is vegetarian but not vegan. Quite honestly these would make me physically ill to eat them. There was a person or two who told me that if I was hungry enough I would eat them. I had to respond that I would only eat them if I was on the point of death. Why would I take a healthy body and deliberately eat something that would make me ill in a critical emergency survival situation? That could actually kill me faster than starving to death!
Well, the point of this post is not to criticize the lack of vegan MRE's in the world. I did do a little research, they make 12 vegetarian MRE's four of those are vegan and not all the components, such as the desserts, are vegan. As you can see from the ingredients list, they contain a lot of chemicals too.
This did make me think. Having ready to eat meals vs. meals one has to cook is a good thing to have in the emergency kit. It would be difficult to have enough instant meals for a year but we should have enough to see us through a week or two while we slowly get the basics of life together as we recover.
I have pretty much pared down any packaged foods in our daily diet to just a few cans of beans for quick meals and canned or jarred tomatoes. I buy tofu in bulk for the most part in addition to nuts, seeds, legumes, etc.. I need to figure out what we could store for emergencies that can actually be rotated into our daily diet. Not an easy task. So far, I have decided on aceptic packs of organic tofu (even though I wince at the waste), and instant dried soups, beans, and other meals that one can add water to. Not quite ready to eat I know but close. I will have some canned beans, tomatoes, and a few bottled condiments too.
I have a food dehydrator. I need to get it going on instant meals. I should also note that at this time, we do have enough emergency food to cook and eat for about a week but it isn't instant.
This will take a while but if I work steadily away, I should have a nice supply in over the next couple of months. Our house is barely outside of the tsunami inundation zone. If we are fortunate in an emergency, we will be able to shelter in place. There are ways to get water and our emergency preparedness people have put together some rather wonderful solutions utilizing "third world" technology. Both my mate and I have experience in living in conditions with no electricity, running water or sewage.
We do need to be prepared and, as a gluten-free vegan, it is up to me to make sure my vegan needs  are taken care of. I could go on about the wonderful solutions the folks of the EVC have put together to help our community get through the worst. I will place their link in "community resources". You can also look at the website here. They are in the process of updating it soon.

So what did I do about the MREs? Well, I took them home and put them with our emergency things. There will be people in need and they can either be given or traded if needed during a disaster.

I will post updates as I work my way through this necessity.
Do you have emergency supplies? Plans? I know it can be a pain and no one really likes to think about the possibility of actually having to rely on them. I am fortunate to live in a community that has a dedicated and enthusiastic emergency preparedness group.
Take a look at their website and definitely click on the blog link scroll down and read the post on Living Through Sandy too.
-Renee

The Quest for Cherry Pie

Photo from http://veggiebelly.com

Tomorrow is my birthday. I will officially be over 50. I decided I didn't want cake. I decided I want cherry pie to celebrate with instead. In fact, from the moment I thought about cherry pie for my birthday, I suddenly had an intense craving for cherry pie. Thinking back, I don't remember the last time I had a lovely piece of cherry pie! It has been a few years.
Today we set out up the coast to shop and do errands. We went all the way to Astoria and to the Astoria Food Co-op.
Alas, the cherry pie is not to be! I could not find organic frozen cherries, let alone canned anywhere between here and Astoria. We stopped at every grocery store. No cherries. As to finding a ready-made, gluten free, vegan, organic cherry pie...Well, that would be expecting a lot!
I knew that it isn't cherry season and therefore was not expecting fresh organic cherries but I had hoped to find frozen ones.

It looks like the cherry pie will have to wait. At the moment, I don't even want a birthday treat.

At the moment, I don't feel over 50 , I feel like a rather disappointed 5 year old!

Now, I know I will have an enjoyable day tomorrow. I have no worries there. When asked what I wanted for my birthday gift I chose a rather extravagant one for me. I will take a painting trip down the coast to enjoy and capture the natural beauty of this incredible area later this summer in honor of tomorrow. I will save up for it and I know a few special places I can stop and enjoy a meal.

 I will eventually enjoy a piece of cherry pie and will savor it all the more when that splendid day arrives.

Finally, given the sad news in the world and in my country at this time, being deprived of cherry pie on my date of birth is a small trifle. My heart hurts for the families who have recently lost loved ones.

I have to say though, cherry pie definitely makes the world a better place!

-Renee

Our Natural Food Store

Natural Foods in Manzanita

Until I moved to the coast with my mate, I never realized how spoiled I was with easy access to a plentiful variety of vegan and organic food ingredients. Our little town is fortunate to have Mother Nature's Natural Foods.
I need to explain a bit. To get to another natural food store or a store that carries enough organic and natural food I have to drive anywhere from 22 to 40 miles north up a winding coast highway that occasionally closes due to floods and slides. I haven't found anything to the south closer than that. It is 22 miles to Seaside which has a tiny health food store with some bulk items and no produce. There is a Safeway that carries some organic produce and a very limited selection of so called natural convenience foods. To get to a place with a greater selection of the foods I need, I drive the 40 miles to Astoria and shop at the Astoria Food Coop. There I get my organic bulk supplies, including tofu in bulk, spices, etc.. I usually pick up some produce too but fresh produce needs to be replenished frequently. I don't make the trip to Astoria more than once a month. During the off seasons of the Farmer's Market, I rely on Mother Nature's for my produce and a few additional items. 
To be fair, there are two other little grocery stores in town. The one across the street from Mother Nature's is the only other one we have shopped at. My mate is the one who shops there for the odd item for himself as much of the merchandise is for the seasonal visitors, but they do have a few bits of organic produce too. I have only been in the other one (the third store) once and do not shop there for several reasons which I will not go into here.
There is a Costco up the coast but we choose not to have a membership there as they do not carry much of anything we need and we like to shop local as much as possible.
Finally, we also use online shopping for items that are harder to find such as cacao nibs and vegan vitamin supplements.
As I have mentioned in other, these limitations actually have been a blessing. They have forced us to simplify and streamline our eating habits which have resulted in even healthier eating. Vegan convenience and junk food is plentiful in more populated areas. I have found we could do just fine without all that.
To be honest, sometimes when time is tight and I am tired, I wouldn't mind being able to pop in someplace for something fast and convenient! Thankfully, with a little bit of organization, I can be prepared for those times.

So, if you ever find yourself in our little town looking for natural foods and a few vegan and gluten-free supplies, Mother Nature's Natural Food Store is the way to go. 

One of the wonderful things about living in a small town is that you get to know your people. Here are a few from Mother Nature's:

Left to right: Jan (owner), Thomas, and Syd.

Not the best picture as the batteries were going out in my camera. Here is a view down our main street with the store in the shingled building on the left:

Main street in Manzanita The ocean waves look like a white bar at the very end

Ultimately I would like to be able to grow the bulk of our food needs myself. Given that our area is at the mercy of Mother Nature (the entity, not the food store!) being self sufficient is really the best solution.

That is a whole 'nother post.
Well, the rain has moved in and is pounding the windows. The ocean is roaring above the sound of the rain and dark has fallen. Time to wrap up this post and get a good night's sleep. 
-Renee

Herbal Skills Share

Our local Herbal Skills share group thinning Arnica

I am so happy to have found a local Herbal Skills Share group. Tuesday afternoon we all converged on one of Vivi's (our local herbalist of Tallwoman Tonics) herb plots to thin her Arnica plants. I have only lived on the Northern Oregon Coast for just over two years so I am still learning what grows here and what is available in our local growing region.
We were all a bit surprised at how interwoven the Arnica roots were. They made a thick mat in the soil and thinning was no easy task. We all tackled it as you can see in the above photo and it got done. We all took home Arnica plants for our gardens. My personal garden is all in pots as the house we rent has its own lovely landscaping. I will take some a picture of the plants and report on how well they are doing.
Vivi started us out with a talk on the properties and uses of Arnica. She always has several cross-references on hand in addition to her own knowledge so we get a good bit of information. Everyone chips in any additional knowledge as well. She did mention which variety she is growing which I neglected to write down but I found it on her blog! It is Arnica chamissonis.  At the moment she has a picture of the plant and flower on her current post.
I personally have used Arnica as a topical lotion or oil to heal bumps and bruises and blunt trauma injuries. Being an outdoorswoman I usually collect my fair share of these type of injuries, mostly minor. Arnica speeds healing and reduces inflammation and pain.
I have also taken it homeopathically for trauma injuries. My dearest friend is a Naturopathic doctor and I learned about using the simple homeopathic remedies from her. Please use professional guidance before treating yourself with anything you are not familiar with internally.

I am hoping I will be able to grow enough of the Arnica to make my own oil and tinctures for injury. This is a great one to have in your basic herbal first aid kit.

Vivi also let us take some Dyers Camomile plants that were straying out of bounds in her garden. I am thrilled with this one too as I plan to do some natural dyeing this summer over on the Artful Stitch blog. 
It is very important to me to learn these skills. I have an underlying sense of urgency to learn to be as self/community sufficient as possible. This may just be my own response to the turmoil in our country and world these days or perhaps something else. I really don't know. I have a decent set of skills at the moment but need to add a lot more.
On the food front, I still haven't started the rejuvelac but will do that now. I am sending the payment for our Spring CSA today so well have a steady supply of great spring veggies starting next month until the Farmers Market opens. The pantry and refrigerator got stocked up yesterday as we have a few spring storms on their way today. Off to paint in the studio now!

-Renee

Spring?

©2013 R.L. Delight, Neahkahnie Mist

As much as I would love to share a picture of the meal I am about to discuss, my food photography skills are not that great. Other's do a far better job so I won't attempt it but will post this one of where I live instead. I took this one while painting on the beach a few weeks ago.
It has been a bit of a stressful winter for me and my mate. These times come to all of us. While most of the time we eat very healthfully, occasionally a dose of comfort food is called for. Today was one of these occasions. I have been meaning to try out a new recipe I found for gluten free and vegan Tofu Popcorn Chick'n. The recipe is from a wonderful site I found called The Vedge. Shea's picture of her recipe is far nicer than one I could produce.
This was really easy to make. I pressed the tofu in my tofu press and broke it into chunks. I had to freeze it as I wasn't sure when I would be able to make the recipe. Since I already had the tofu prepared (after thawing)  it was a simple step to whisk up the rest of the ingredients and cook them up. I used Cajun spice seasoning to spice them up a bit and have to say, these were absolutely delicious. I made a batch of oven roasted garlic potato fries and a huge green salad served with a homemade lemon tahini dressing (recipe from the book Becoming Raw). Yum! A welcome break from beans.
The spring weather here on the coast has been cold and a bit stormy with sun breaks in between. We are starting to get spring break vacationers in our little town and there is Japan tsunami debris starting to wash ashore up and down the coast. I am waiting for the weather to settle just a tad before heading out to paint again. While I don't mind getting caught in occasional squalls and hail storms, deliberately heading out into the teeth of a series of hail storms is another thing altogether.
Walking the dog has become interesting too. We have had to run a few times to get undercover.
Go check out The Vedge. Shae has put together a wonderful site complete with great recipes and information for us gluten free vegans!
-Renee

Spring Greens!!!

The root contribution in our CSA box. Fire Cider Vinegar and Sea Sprinkles from Tallwoman Tonics.

Hello again! I am excited because today I was able to pick up a special CSA box of spring greens. There will be a feast tonight!

There are a lot of hidden and not-so-hidden gems on this part of the coast. My mate and I have enjoyed the community and the variety of skills that people bring to this area. I believe this is the key to surviving and thriving on the coast.
I had the pleasure recently of attending a local Herbal Skills Share group. I have long had an interest in herbs, wildcrafting, and natural dyeing. I had a strong feeling that I needed to get back to that practice and immediately found the Herbal Skills Share group. We spent the meeting talking about coltsfoot and enjoyed a cup of nettle tea and a sampling of coltsfoot tea. I have a new plant to add to my knowledge-base now, and a couple of new people.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting with Vivi of Tallwoman Tonics. Our local herbalist. We discussed the wonderful internet potential of sharing herbal lore and I was treated to a cup of homegrown Tulsi tea while sitting in front of a large window overlooking one of the beautifully stunning views our area has to offer.
I am putting a link to Vivi's blog on the local resources list on my side-bar. She is excited about the blogging potential. I am looking forward to seeing what she adds to it.
Tonight we will be having left over homemade pizza, vegan and gluten free, a huge salad of fresh spring greens, and a quick saute of kale and beet greens with red onion and seasoned with Tallwoman Tonics Fire Cider Vinegar. Yum!!!
Yours in veggies, -Renee

Starving for Veggies

Let's try this again. As anyone reading this blog can tell, I have had a challenging time finding a good focus for this blog. There are so very many excellent vegan blogs out there to read and I have neither the time nor interest to compete with them so I will stay focused on my little niche of being vegan on the Northern Oregon Coast.
To add to the challenge of being vegan, I have also gone gluten free for over a year now. Going vegan was easy for me, going gluten free has been...painful and unfortunately necessary. I love my bread and I have had to kiss good bye any of the quick and easy vegan meat substitutes. I didn't eat many of them but it was nice having a quick and tasty meal available for those days when cooking time was short.
I have given up on the restaurants around here. They are not plentiful to begin with and the only two that had vegan and gluten free options made me ill. Food poisoning. My guess is the lack of demand for vegan and gluten free menu items may have led to less than fresh ingredients and cross contamination with animal products.
So, having accepted that, I have embarked on making my own in spite of a very, very busy life. Thankfully this book came out and I purchased it as soon as it did:

I made my own rejuvelac from quinoa and made my first cheese, a chevre from cashews. It was a success! I made another batch of rejuvelac to make another cheese but I let it ferment too long so I will have to start over. I would like to try one from millet.
The only drawback to making my own is the time. You have to sprout the grains, ferment them, and then ferment the cheese. It doesn't take a lot of effort, just time. I will start another batch and report.
I also have this book:

Sourdough bread has always been my favorite, a nice rich whole grain organic sourdough bread. I miss it the most. I made one loaf that was heavenly a while ago. I used kefir (water kefir) as specified in the book. However, I don't like kefir, it is too sweet for me and my grains languished because I didn't use it up fast enough. I thought I would try the rejuvelac instead of kefir. I don't need to purchase special grains for rejuvelac. This will be another report.
So, here we are in winter, soon to be spring. Those of you who live in more populated areas have no idea how hard it can be to find good winter veggies in small isolated communities. I am hoping one day to have enough space and land to grow all my own veggies. In the mean time, my greens and veggie eating gets cut back further than I would like. I will have to try sprouts but a salad made solely of sprouts is not appealing to me.
Here is what we eat at the moment: A lot of beans and grains, some tofu, root vegetables (mostly potatoes), basic fruit, and whatever greens I can get ahold of. I would like to triple the amount we get at the moment. I also make flat bread from chickpea flour and spices. It is OK for now.
I will sign up for the spring CSA session. Last year we signed up for all four seasons. I found there was too much waste on my part. There seemed to be an over abundance of veggies I really don't like (very few, but still) and not enough of those I do like. I still have squash sitting around. I like squash in moderation but not out the wazoo.
That is my progress report from now. I will be posting about the cheese and bread making as well as other vegan, gluten free, plastic free, environmental things as they come up. Promise!
-Renee