It’s the harvest season and my garden seems to be slowing down. This has been my first season gardening and I’ve been thinking a lot about Demeter, the cycles of the Earth, and our place in all of that. In fact a good part of this post was inspired by a gardening comment I left on one of Michelle’s posts and conversations I’ve had about it.

Today I wanted to write about something I’ve seen a lot of lately. When you become a vegan – or a feminist, an environmentalist, an activist of any flavor – you start to notice things. You have interactions with people that you didn’t have before.

The other night I ordered a pizza from a popular chain. If you’ve read my other articles, you can probably guess that it was a vegan pizza. The website where I ordered it even had no cheese as a standard option. But the box they sent it in told a different story.

The top of the box named and pictured five cows. The company hailed them as their unsung heroes, calling them an important part of their team.

I guess they picked the wrong box for my cheeseless pizza.

One day at work I looked out the window to see a customer walking in. The blinds obscure a lot so I couldn’t see them very well, and I cocked my head left and right trying to figure out if it was a man or woman. After a moment a few things went through my mind: What if they don’t identify as male or female? What if they decide to go back to the car and I never find out? Why do I even care?

Makes about 6 patties

• 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15 oz can any kind of bean, rinsed and drained
• Enough veggies to match the volume of the beans
• Ground oatmeal, 1/2 to 1 cup
• 4 tablespoons cumin
• 4 (or more!) tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
• 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds
• Salt/pepper to taste

This is my aunt's recipe. Like all of her recipes, it's very customizable to suit your taste.

Vegan food doesn't have to be complicated.

Tonight I threw something together based on a delicious meal I had at Native Foods Cafe. Marinated some vegan chicken strips for about 30 seconds in homemade barbecue sauce, then put it in the oven swimming in the sauce at 350. I would have used store bought barbecue if I had any on hand. It probably cooked for about 45 minutes but really, the chicken strips were pre-cooked so it was just heating it anyway.

No matter how good your ideas are, people may just not be listening. And it’s not really their fault.

Recently I took a road trip to the Smokey Mountains with a group of friends. On our way back to the cabin after sightseeing the driver said, “Oh is this the street?” and made a wrong turn. Another friend in the back seat started to berate him for about five minutes. Which is actually quite a lot if you’re on the receiving end, or stuck in the car listening to it. He probably felt justified in the rant because the driver should have known better.

I grew up hating the use of pathos in argument. I always thought that we should accept an argument on its merits, not because we liked it, certainly not because we liked the speaker.

Today I woke up in the late afternoon. As a web designer, this is pretty normal. I happened to glance out the window to see a possum in the street. He* was moving around a little bit but didn't leave the street. I waited a little while and then looked out again and found him lying on his side.