When I saw Jumper recently, I felt like a doting aunt cooing, "Oh, I knew you when you were this big!"

It’s hard to believe that a whole year has passed since Cadry’s Kitchen opened its virtual doors.  What started as a month-long project to cook from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s The Vegan Table for the thirty days of June in 2009 has become one of my dearest hobbies.  I have always loved cooking and food, writing, travel and animals, and having a vehicle to write about all of these topics continues to be a wonderful outlet.  Thank you to my readers, friends and strangers from all over the globe.  I hope you’ll keep reading, and I’ll keep writing!

What would a birthday be without presents? (Not much of one, if you ask me!)  In honor of my blog’s beginnings, leave a comment below and you’ll be entered to win another one of Colleen’s creations, her Compassion in Action CD.  (A ten dollar value!)  It’s great for those who are merely vegan-curious and for new and long-time vegans.  One winner will be chosen at random Friday, June 4th at noon.

You can visit Jumper for yourself at Animal Acres every Sunday.  It is just 40 minutes from Los Angeles in Acton, CA.  Their Sunday tours are at 11 am and 1 pm, last an hour, and are only $5/per person.

Their Raw Supreme Pizza, for example, doesn’t fit the mold of your everyday pizza.  However, they gather the brightest flavors of pizza and bring them to life.  The crust is made with sunflower seeds, giving a wonderful chewiness to each bite.  It is layered with a raw marinara, dotted with marinated onions and red bell peppers, and then covered in creamy cashew cheese.  The best part is the savory sausage that adorns it, made from nuts and seeds.  Fresh oregano is sprinkled over the pie, and each flavorful bite bursts in the mouth.  The pizza comes with a choice of sides:  coleslaw, cookies, veggies with dipping sauce, green salad, kale salad, hummus with pita, or chopped seitan salad.  Being somewhat of a kale maniac, I always choose the kale salad.  The soft curly kale is covered in basil ranch dressing and peppered with pine nuts.

Another favorite at Sunpower is the Kale Colossus.  This is the everything-but-the-kitchen sink of raw salads.  It includes kale, marinated onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, bananas, dried cranberries, and their raw sausage.  It’s covered in creamy cashew cheese and nacho cheese.  I think the nacho cheese competes with the other flavors, and so I prefer to leave that out and add fresh avocado instead.  This filling salad is always too much for me to eat in one go, which means I can make a second meal out of it.

For a more traditional lunch that isn’t raw, their lemony hummus sandwich stuffed with tomatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots, and romaine lettuce in a whole wheat pita is a basic choice.  It comes with a choice of sides (see above).

Other favorites of mine are their raw nachos with jicama slices instead of corn chips, raw tacos with romaine leaves as the taco shells, and their pesto salad.  They have pictures of most of their lunch and dinner items on their clickable online menu.

In addition to lunch and dinner options, they also have shakes and smoothies.  The shakes are cashew based, and my favorite is their creamy Sweet Kale Shake.  This delicious shake could win over even the most ardent greens-hater.  It is huge and definitely big enough for sharing.  The adjacent picture shows just my half.  (They will put their full-sized portion into two glasses for sharing.)

Sunpower raised their prices recently, and it is a wee-bit high for lunch.  However, raw food is time intensive, and they’re food is organic.  They’ve also recently remodeled their dining area, giving a larger space and more appealing ambience.

On their storefront they don’t advertise that they’re a vegan raw restaurant, and they do have a few cooked entrees.  A few times I’ve seen people come in, who are new to the restaurant, peruse the menu as if they’re reading a foreign language, and then say to one another, “Do you want to go?”  It’s too bad, because I think they’re letting their preconceptions about “raw food” dissuade them.  Maybe they think they won’t get full.  Maybe they think raw food will be bland.  Maybe the version of “raw food” in their heads is one of iceberg lettuce and shreds of carrot.  I wish they’d come to the restaurant with a sense of play, like children to a scratch ‘n’ sniff sticker.  The food at Sunpower has a feeling of lightness and creativity.  Best of all, whenever I visit, I leave feeling revitalized and energized.

Carousel Restaurant in Glendale offers a new vegan menu, reasonable prices, and flavorful fare.

This weekend my husband and I hit up Carousel, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Glendale, to sample their new vegan menu.  The dining area is open and well manicured, and they also have a patio in front of the restaurant, which was just right for an early dinner.

Before you’re seated, you’ll want to ask for their vegan menu, because it’s not part of their standard menu.  Also good to note, while the menu says that it’s their Lent menu, they will be continuing with it even after Lent.  I was really excited as I perused it.  There are a variety of unique options in addition to typical mainstays.  It was difficult to choose.

Warm pita bread and a tart cabbage salad come with every meal in addition to a tray of carrots, cucumbers, turnip pickles, and olives.  This tray also comes with Lebanese cheese, and so you’ll want to request no cheese on your tray.  (Despite making the request, ours still arrived with cheese on it, but the runner quickly returned it and brought back another tray, subbing tomato slices instead of cheese, which was a nice touch.)  I noticed that there was another menu item that included cheese as well, and so even though it’s listed as a vegan menu, it’s good to let the server know that you want a fully vegan meal.

We landed on sharing the Spinach Fatayer and Vegetarian Delight.  The Spinach Fatayer, which consists of lemony spinach, onions, and pine nuts wrapped in a warm pocket of dough, was perfectly warm, pilowy, and tart.  The bite of the bright, lemon-soaked spinach was the perfect complement to the bread dough.   I could have eaten many more than just my half of the order if I didn’t think my husband would have protested.

The Vegetarian Delight is big enough for two to share and a good way to sample a variety of their more common dishes: hammos (a.k.a. hummus), mutabbal (a.k.a. baba ghanoush), tabbule’ (a.k.a. tabouli), muhammara, and  sarma (a.k.a. dolmas).  It also comes with a choice of sides: bulgur wheat pilaf, potato fries, or a vegetable medley.  We opted for the bulgur wheat pilaf, which was light, dotted with chickpeas, and a delicious companion for their exceptionally creamy hummus.  Their garlicky red pepper and walnut muhammara, a combination of spicy and savory, rivaled my favorite muhammara in Vegan Table.  The mutabbal, a smoky eggplant dip, had just the amount of smokiness and was creamy, dense, and not watery.  The lemony parsley extravaganza that is tabouli was fresh and flavorful.  I prefer my sarma (stuffed grape leaves) a little more densely packed than the ones at Carousel and I wish they offered whole wheat pita bread, but those things are both really minor.  What can I say?  Everything was delicious.

Everyone that helped us, from the host to the runner, was extremely professional and attentive without being obtrusive.  The ambience is warm and inviting, and the portion sizes were generous.  I look forward to going back and trying out more on the menu.  I’m glad they plan on keeping it around after Lent.

On Friday and Saturday nights in the late evenings they have a belly dancing show and music, which has a dress code, a limited menu, and a cost of around $40 per person.  I’m not sure if the vegan menu is available at that time, and so if you plan on going after 9:30 pm on a Friday or Saturday, that’s something you may want to check on.

Carousel is located at 304 N. Brand Boulevard in Glendale on the main strip.  There is metered parking in front of the restaurant, in addition to a nearby lot that offers 90 minutes free on the corner of Orange and California.

Living vegan, there are times when people will make remarks about animals and the ways they live and die, harsh words, that can come off as rather calloused.  And you know what?  That’s exactly what it is; it is a callus.  It’s a barrier formed from repetitive action.  Just like the calluses that once adorned David’s fingers, when we hurt animals ourselves or pay others to hurt them, we build calluses that shield us from that initial discomfort.   The first time, it may hurt, but after doing something again and again over months and then years, it becomes easier.

We begin our lives as children with openness and unending compassion.  We want to care for the birds that have fallen from the trees or the bunnies who have been separated from their mothers.  That desire to protect animals and care about their feelings is natural, but over time our behavior and actions help us to build thick calluses until we no longer question our part in causing pain to some animals while we revere others.

While volunteering at a local animal sanctuary, I’ve heard of parents who didn’t want to send their kids to the sanctuary for fear that the kids wouldn’t eat meat afterwards.  They’ve said, “I’ve only just gotten them to eat meat.  I don’t want them to stop now.”  Instead of asking children to express their feelings about animals, we ask them to repress those feelings.  (Except for the treatment of dogs and cats, of course.  If a child mistreats those animals, people worry about their stability.)

It’s an extraordinary disconnect we build.  Children are taken to petting zoos, fairs, and aquatic parks.  They feel an innate understanding and love of animals.  They want to touch them, to know them.  Then they’re driven to McDonald’s to feed on some of the same types of animals that they were just petting.  Without malicious intentions, we disregard that we’re asking them to separate from their own compassion.

Growing up, there were some animals that I felt too uncomfortable eating, like deer.  Their long, elegant bodies were reminiscent of our Doberman Pinscher.  They had such beautiful faces and expressive eyes.  When I’d see them standing with their families in fields, I couldn’t help but gasp.  Then as I got older, I remember thinking, “Well, I eat other animals.  They’re really no different than deer.”  I wish I had used that logic to extend my compassion to chickens, pigs, cows, and fish, but instead I started eating deer as well.

I enjoyed cooking, and I still remember the first time I fried chickens’ legs by myself.  I stood in my dorm room while the oil in the electric skillet started to bubble.  I wanted to reduce the fat, and so I pulled at the skin surrounding the legs.  The skin squished between my fingers and wouldn’t come off easily.  It hung around the ankle like a sock.  It really ruined my appetite, and so I bought a whole rotisserie chicken the next time.  I was used to chickens already cut up in parts, and it took some time to get comfortable tearing away at the body of a bird.  However, the prices on rotisserie chickens were pretty good, only $4 for an entire bird, and that seemed like a deal.  Over time, the more that I’d do these things, the less discomfort I felt.  I’d make little jokes.  I developed a callus.  I thought it was progress.

Then years later, I went vegan.  I met chickens.  I held them, so light, so funny and inquisitive.  And now when I see a chicken’s body in a plastic shell at the supermarket, I feel that sensitivity again that I once did. The calluses are gone, and $4 doesn’t seem like a deal anymore.  Her whole life and her whole death, her feed, her care, her killing, and her whole body is only $4.  I feel sadness that she was valued so little.

While people may look at a plant based diet and assume that it is limiting, when we remove ourselves from those feelings of guilt and  discomfort, and we open ourselves to peace, it is expansive.   What is limiting is shutting ourselves to our own emotions.  Like Franz Kafka said, “Now I can look at you in peace; I don’t eat you any more.”  When I was eating animals, I pushed away my discomfort when I saw the blood pooling around the steak on the plate.  When I saw pigs and cows traveling down the highway in metal semi-trucks, I turned away.  And later, when I learned how animals live and die within animal agriculture, I had to address my own pain for being part of it.  Seeing it for what it was broke my heart…  Maybe that’s what I needed for it to open.

Like many of us, several years ago I went through a fat phobic stage.  I’d put on an extra thirty pounds after leaving college and the built-in exercise that it offered.  To fight off the creep of my ever-growing pant sizes, I moved to fat free sauces and dressings, fat free cheeses, and fat free milk.  Instead of looking to the foods that are naturally fat free like most fruits and vegetables, I gravitated towards those highly processed foods that remove fat and often replace them with sugar instead.  I shunned natural peanut butter and embraced fast food menus, where I knew what could be found for 15 grams of fat or less at almost any chain.  Ordering at sit-down restaurants, ironically enough, took much longer than it does as a vegan.  “I’d like that with no cheese, egg whites only, white meat only, no mayonnaise, sauce on the side, easy on the oil…” and on and on.

At the grocery store, I bought the meats with the lowest amounts of fat, scouring over each nutrition label, until I’d figured out a way to make my then favorite sandwich, the bacon-burger-dog (made with hamburger, a hot dog, and a slice of bacon), with only 7 grams of fat.  It seemed like a feat.  Put it on a whole-wheat bun with some mustard, and in my mind it was practically health food.

I’ve heard many people talk about “defining moments” and one of mine occurred over that very sandwich.  One evening at dinner, I was holding it in my hands, eating cautiously, while it felt dry in my mouth and tears streamed down my face.  That day our family dog, Mocha, had passed away and that evening, I had a moment of clarity.  As I sat at the table mourning Mocha, in my mouth were parts of the bodies of (at least) three separate animals.  The differences between them and Mocha were really not so great.  Except Mocha had a name.  She had a family who loved her.  And she was lucky enough to be born in a country where dogs are coddled, not cutlets.  It’s all so arbitrary.  In one country it’s the norm to eat guinea pigs, in another cows, in another goats, in another horses, in another dogs and cats.  The only difference is the society determining which animals we love and which we eat.  It doesn’t mean that the animals deserve our compassion any less.  That night, I couldn’t finish my dinner.  I put it down.  I wish I could say that I went vegan immediately, but I didn’t.  That moment was a beginning.  It would still be six months until I’d watch Meet Your Meat and read John Robbins’ Food Revolution and stop eating animals.

There’s a freedom in listening to those murmurs.  At that time when I’d cook chickens’ breasts for fajitas, I’d pretend that they were interesting mushrooms.  I didn’t like to think that they were part of an animal who had felt, and lived, and died very young.  As a vegan, I don’t have to pretend anymore.  It is freedom to live without that nagging, though largely unspoken, guilt.

Last night at dinner, instead of my usual chickpea tacos for Taco Tuesday, we had Fajita Fun Night with actual mushrooms in the filling, of course.  I made the Grilled Vegetable Fajitas from Vegan Table.  These easy and delicious fajitas are amazing and can be made with a variety of vegetables.  I used red onions, red bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic cloves.

They are tossed with oregano, cumin, and chili powder (which I replaced with paprika), lime juice, and olive oil (which I reduced by half).  The recipe directions give a variety of options for cooking the vegetables, and I opted for roasting in the oven.  Although Vegan Table doesn’t give specific directions for that, I set the oven to 425 degrees and roasted the vegetables on a couple of baking sheets, making sure not to overcrowd them, tossing them about halfway through.  (If you put too many on a sheet they will steam instead of roast).

As for fat phobia, that is also a thing of the past.  Nuts and avocados are welcome in my home.  Plant foods are nutrient-dense but generally low in fat and calories.  So when it comes to nuts, avocados, and soybeans, they are fair game.  I maintain my weight effortlessly, eating as many whole plant foods as I want, and enjoying every bite.  While plant foods that are high in fat are also higher in calories, it has been shown that when eaten as part of a balanced diet, they can help fight obesity because they increase satiety.

I served the fajitas with Cashew Sour Cream also from Vegan Table.  To my mind, raw cashews are something of a magical food.  Just as a magician, with a flick of a wand, can make an item change forms, with a few simple additions raw cashews can be used in a myriad of ways.  Blended with water and agave syrup they can be a thick, sweet cream poured over berries or a topping for pies or cakes.  Blended with vegetable stock, nutritional yeast, and caramelized onions they take on a cream cheese-like texture, and in this case, with lemon juice and cilantro they are transformed into sour cream.  I added some cilantro, a few shakes of a smoky hot sauce, and a half-teaspoon of smoked paprika for an added burst of flavor.

Study after study has shown that nut consumption correlates with reduced coronary artery disease.  Eating a handful of nuts five times a week reduces one’s risk of a heart attack by at least 15% and possibly as much as 51%.  People who eat nuts reduce their risk of diabetes and cancer, in addition to many other common ailments.  A Harvard study of more than 83,000 women found that people who ate a handful of nuts at least five times a week were more than 20% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.  In addition to all of this, nuts are a rich source of fiber, vitamin E, folate, copper, and magnesium.  As a former migraine sufferer, it’s interesting to note that low magnesium intake is a risk for migraine headaches.

Because nuts have a high concentration of fat, they have a tendency to go rancid.  They can be kept in a cool place in a sealed container for up to four months.  I prefer to keep my raw nuts in the refrigerator, where they can keep for up to six months.  (Although, they never are around that long…)

I also served the fajitas with mashed avocados, which are a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acids, potassium, fiber, folate, lutein, and magnesium, which promotes healthy bones, the cardiovascular system, and the prevention of type II diabetes.  Potassium helps regulate blood pressure and can help prevent circulatory diseases, including high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.  Some interesting research has shown that avocados are a nutrient booster and actually improve the body’s ability to absorb nutrients from food.

To find out if your avocado is ripe, select a fruit that is unblemished and without dark sunken spots, and give it a light press.  A fruit that yields slightly to the touch indicates that it’s ready to eat.  If it’s not ready yet, let it ripen on the kitchen counter or in a paper bag.  After ripening, avocados can be moved to the refrigerator.

Plate up your perfect fajita with jalapeño peppers, slices of lime, a variety of hot sauces, and warmed organic corn tortillas.  (My favorites are made with a mere three ingredients:  organic whole corn, water, and a trace of lime.)  Complete this meal with brown rice and black beans.  It would be great for a large gathering, like a Super Bowl party, or for an easy weeknight dinner for two.

As you work on your list and then check it twice, here are a few gift ideas for those naughty and nice vegans, vegetarians, and animal advocates on your list.  Remember, no matter how much you pout, and regardless of how tempted you are to cry, Santa Claus is coming to town.

Have a holly, jolly Christmas.  It’s the best time of the year.  Of course, in the City of Angels, snow is unlikely, but why not have a cup of cheer anyway?  VeganDish makes mugs, bowls, serving pieces, and more stamped with “Vegan.”  Pair the mug with a yummy fair trade and organic coffee for a java lover.  For someone with a sweet tooth, how about Sweet & Sara Marshmallows and cocoa.  Methinks the person under the misteltoe will have more than one reason to offer up a kiss.

If the person on your list spends their weekends going over the river and through the woods, tickle their adventurous spirit with a To-Go ware tiffin and a copy of The Vegan Table.  The tiffin is great for lunches, picnics, roadtrips, and more.  The stainless steel is easy to clean, and you can even use the dishes for cooking over the campfire.  For an extra special touch, fill the tiffin with Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies from the Vegan Table and listen to the mmm’s resonate throughout the room.

Chestnuts roasting on open fire?  Check.  Jack Frost nipping at nose?  Check.  Yuletide carols being sung by a choir?  Absolutely.  Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe help to make the season bright.  Turkeys are so fun that way.  That’s why this holiday season, why not brighten your holiday by adopting a turkey (or a pig, sheep, donkey, or goat…) in the name of your favorite vegan at an animal sanctuary?  Farm Sanctuary has an adoption program, in which you can sponsor a sanctuary animal for the year, providing food, medicine, bedding, and care to the animals.  In exchange you’ll receive an adoption certificate and color photo.  Not ready to commit to a whole year?  One time sponsorships are also available.

If the person on your list enjoys settling in for a silent night, light their home with A Scent of Scandal candles made by brother and sister team Ari Solomon and Heather Brancaccio.  These sassy hand-poured soy wax candles come in a variety of scents (including three scents whose sales benefit Farm Sanctuary, Sea Shepherd, and Kind Green Planet).  The candles sport scandalous names and come in 8 ounce tins.  Their burn time is 30-35 hours, which means this gift would be great joined with soothing music, a lavender pillow, bath salts, or a cozy robe for your favorite animal lover for many calm and bright evenings.

Santa, baby, I forgot to mention one little thing.  A ring.  And I don’t mean on the phone.  For the jewelry-lover in your life, check out Christy Robinson designs.  Christy has been a jeweler since 1993 and an animal advocate since 1996.  She works in 14 karat gold, sterling silver, recycled aluminum, or copper and donates a portion of her proceeds to various animal charities, including United Poultry Concerns, Compassion Over Killing, Vegan Outreach, and Sea Shepherd.  In addition to purchasing a couple of her traditional designs, I contacted her earlier this year on this custom sheep design.  Christy was so easy to work with, very creative, and helpful all along the way.  Her pieces are a spunky way of advocating for the animals while also being subtle and sweet.  Christy is running a holiday special (on her website only) through December 25th in which if you order $75 or more you will receive a free “Go Veg” peapod pendant in recycled aluminum with a 16″ sterling chain.

If you don’t want to brave the malls or are looking to pare down this holiday, handmade is always lovely.  How about printing out a favorite quote and framing it, like Saint Francis’ prayer or Gandhi’s “Be the Change”?  Or go really simple (but meaningful) and offer up an all-vegan holiday celebration.  Honor the season of charity, mercy, and compassion by having a fully compassionate dinner, in which no one has to suffer for loved ones to gather near and celebrate the spirit and meaning of the holiday.

Ah, cookies.  The great divider.  At an event last spring a fellow attendee and I were discussing cookbooks.  I was of the mind that dessert is an occasional indulgence, giving it free reign for decadence.  She chided that vegan desserts should use all whole ingredients—no white flours, no refined sugars.  They should be health food, so that vegans can be a face of superior health, she claimed.

While I think there’s room for the opinion that desserts should emulate health food (i.e. there’s not much better than a raw cashew shake from Sunpower Natural Café in Studio City), I also think that sometimes a dessert can just be a dessert.  It’s not supposed to be our everyday diet; it’s a once-in-a while treat.  When the bulk of our diets are nutrient-dense whole foods and bunches of leafy greens, I’d say there’s no problem in having a chocolaty cookie littered with gooey chocolate chips every now and again.

While these Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies from The Vegan Table do use whole wheat pastry flour, they are a far cry from any nutrition bar you’d find in a hiker’s backpack.  For the sake of science, of course, I taste-tested these cookies all along the way– their sweet endings to their cookie dough beginnings.  (That’s another great benefit of using ground flaxseed and water instead of chicken’s eggs—no worries of Salmonella.)  These rich and mouthwatering cookies would be a fabulous addition to a holiday cookie party tray or sandwiched around vanilla Coconut Bliss for a dinner party dessert.

Growing up, Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday…  except for Christmas.  The leaves were a crisp orange, and the fireplace was getting its trial run.  I woke up to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, flipped through the biggest newspaper of the year and imagined the toys in my near future.  In the house, there was an almost palpable buzz of energy as the final touches were made in preparation of the arrival of family.  A wish-enthusiast and a meat eater at the time, after the turkey had been carved, I was eager to make a wish with the “wishbone.”

It’s interesting how perceptions change.  Now Thanksgiving is a holiday whose looming presence fills me more with dread than gleeful anticipation.  As the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving whir by, up go the pictures of happy turkeys all a-smile on grocery store signs while 46 million are getting killed in the U.S. for the winter holidays alone.  (250 to 300 million turkeys are killed yearly in the United States, where they are not protected under most states’ anti-cruelty laws and are exempt from the federal Humane Slaughter Act.)  In the same stores where there are plentiful varieties of fruits and vegetables, nuts and grains, there are lines and lines of bodies of turkeys, most of whom spent their entire lives on factory farms.

With the upcoming holiday on my mind, I got together with my friend, Julia, last week to talk turkey.  Julia has been a regular volunteer at Animal Acres Sanctuary for many years, and she’s the most enthusiastic turkey fan that I know.  Making her way in from an unusually cold Southern California evening, Julia was wearing a button featuring one of her favorite turkeys who ever walked the lawn of Animal Acres.  On the button it said, “Friend, Not Food.”

Julia relaxes with Sophie in the barn at Animal Acres.

A vegetarian (now vegan) of 17 years, Julia was won over by turkeys on her first visit to an Animal Acres event.

“Being an animal lover,” she said, “I knew that I would love the cows, pigs, sheep, and goats.  I always thought pigs were cute, and the sheep and goats are so easy to bond with.  So I was prepared for that.  The birds were not on my mind.  When I took my first visit to the bird area, I was surprised when the volunteer told me I could come inside and pet the turkeys.  They were especially mellow and people-friendly that day, and I had this moment with one of them where I was petting her and she was obviously enjoying it.  She started to close her eyes and doze off a little bit.  I had no idea you could interact with a bird like that.  It was really sweet.  I liked all of the animals at the sanctuary, but the turkeys surprised me because they were so friendly and comfortable with me.  I never expected to be able to interact with them and get to know their personalities.”

Julia was recently featured as the activist of the month for the sanctuary because of her help rescuing some baby turkeys.

The baby turkeys snuggle together in their new home for a nap. Because conventional turkeys are bred to grow bigger and more quickly than they would naturally, they are slaughtered when they are only 14 to 18 weeks old. If these turkeys hadn't been rescued, their lives would have been nearly half over.

“I was asked to meet someone in Santa Barbara to receive the turkeys who had been rescued and then drive them to Animal Acres.  It was a group of 12 babies, about 6 weeks old.  They were chirping in my car the whole time, making baby bird noises.  Once I arrived at the sanctuary and set them up in their barn, they were pretty vocal for the first hour or so but then settled down.  I spent the next two or three hours with them in the barn as they explored their new place.  They were extremely curious but slightly scared and would always stick together.  They were pretty afraid of me the first day, but I went up every weekend after that for the next few weeks.”

“How did you win them over?” I wondered.

“I brought them treats,” Julia said with a smile.  “Lettuce is what they love more than anything else.  The number one rule when interacting with turkeys is to make yourself as small as possible.  I decided to lie down completely and they got really comfortable with me.  That’s the cutest thing about them is that I can tell they’re afraid of people to some extent but they’re extremely curious.  They have an inner fight with their curiosity and fear, but their curiosity always wins in the end.  They want to know what you’re about.  They go after shoelaces, play with hair.  They love anything shiny if you have a nice camera lens.”

“The cutest moment,” she said, “was when I was lying on the ground and getting a little sleepy.  I closed my eyes for a bit and when I opened my eyes again, I had three of them sitting on me, roosting on various parts of my body. They’re very warm.  They’re so little, just handfuls.  One was snuggled up and let me pet her, essentially the way you would sit at home on the couch with your cat.  They were hanging out with me for quite a while.”

“How did they react while you petted them?” I asked.

“When you sit with them and they’re comfortable, they’ll make cooing noises.  It’s incredibly soothing.  Sometimes they fall asleep when I pet them, and sometimes they make me want to take a nap.”

Turkeys in factory farms spend their lives in sheds with thousands of other turkeys, unable to perform any of their natural behaviors.

The lives they’ll live at the sanctuary couldn’t be more different from the lives they would have lived at a factory farm, where the birds live their short lives (about five months) in sheds with thousands of others.  Because they are crowded in and unable to display any of their natural behaviors, it is standard procedure to cut off parts of the birds’ beaks, toes, and snoods on the males without any pain relievers.  (The snood is the flap of skin under the chin.)   Turkeys are bred, drugged, and genetically manipulated to grow as big as possible in as short of time as possible.

Baby turkeys on farms have the upper 1/3 to 1/2 portion of their beaks seared off.

I said to Julia, “Some people justify the way we treat turkeys, because they claim turkeys aren’t very intelligent.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that,” Julia said.  “I was told by an acquaintance once that turkeys are kind of dumb.  I told her that the reason turkeys have the reputation of being dumb is because they’re very friendly and curious, and they were sort of known as the prey who would walk up to the hunter’s gun.  They would come up and say ‘hi.’  They want to know what the hunters are about, and so they get shot.  So people decided turkeys were stupid.”

Why do we protect one and disregard the other?

Julia continued, “We have this hierarchy of animals.  Humans are the most intelligent, and then dogs and dolphins are at the top.  Well, first of all, how do you define intelligence?  Humans usually judge in terms of trainability.  Why do we say intelligence matters so much?  We say it matters the most, because that way we always win.  There are animals who can do things we can’t.  Birds can fly.  Dolphins and bats use echo-sonar.  Dogs and cats have an amazing sense of smell.  We can’t compete with that.  So we use intelligence as we define it and use that as an excuse for what we do to animals.”

“Is that why it’s important to you to be an advocate for them?” I asked.

“I care about all animals and want them to live happy lives.  I think the animals people eat need our help the most, and out of those animals, the birds more than any others.  People easily relate to mammals.  Cows with their big brown eyes…  Pigs are trainable and touted as intelligent.  How many times do you hear people say they don’t eat red meat, only white meat?  I think we need to provide help to those who need it the most, and chickens and turkeys are seen as dumb birds nobody cares about at all.”

“Check out United Poultry Concerns’ More Than A Meal,” Julia said.  “Karen Davis, the founder of UPC, is one of my animal rights heroes.  She has been into animal rights issues for a long time.  Someone cautioned her when she started that if you want to engage people in animal issues, you have to promote the cute and fuzzy animals.  She said if that’s how people think, the birds need our help most of all.”

After the Civil War, Abe Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday in the aims of healing the wounds of the nation and as a means to restore “peace, harmony, tranquility, and Union.”  As we learn more about the curious and beautiful turkeys, we can choose to create peace and harmony in our own lives by choosing foods for which no one had to suffer.  We can do this while we still enjoy what makes Thanksgiving truly special and that is gratitude, togetherness, and thankfulness.  We can still page through the newspaper, flip on the Macy’s Day Parade and watch the floats make their way down Times Square.  We can still hold our families close, if not in person then in our hearts.

And when it comes time to make a wish, we can forsake the turkey’s bones in lieu of a wish for the turkeys.  May others become aware of the gentle spirit of these birds, to the horrors that they live and die in slaughterhouses, and the reminder that when it comes to killing, nothing is neat, tidy, or nice.  There is no such thing as “humane” slaughter.  All animals want to live.  Let’s be thankful for our abundance, and enjoy the abundance of plant foods that we have available to us.  Let’s be thankful for the turkeys and honor their lives, and not their deaths, this holiday.

*Factory farming photos provided by Farm Sanctuary, where you can adopt a turkey this season.  Find a sanctuary in your area to get to know these animals for yourself.

As my husband and I were passing through Ventura on our way both to and from Ojai, we decided to catch Mary’s for both lunch and dinner to gather a more complete idea of the menu and its offerings.  The varied menu includes Thai appetizers and entrees, Mediterranean and Italian-inspired dishes, salads, burgers, wraps, and an extensive offering of smoothies.

We started our meal with the hummus plate, served with pita bread, cucumbers, and carrot slices.  The hummus, made with fresh herbs, has an unusual tang and texture, not like most cumin-heavy dips you’d find elsewhere.  When we ran out of crudite, the server was quick to bring more for our continued dipping.

Cheeze Rawviolis

For lunch, I had the Cheeze Rawviolis, a fresh and vibrant raw dish, that was truly spectacular.  Sheets of jicama are stuffed with herbed cashew and almond cheese and then topped with a sweet red bell pepper and carrot marinara.  The rawviolis are then drizzled with basil pesto and garnished with kalamata olives, baby mixed greens, and pistachios.  The deep round flavors of the nut-based cheese, so savory, gave the meal a feeling of decadence.

Syrian Falafel Wrap

My husband, who was only vaguely masking his food envy, had the Syrian falafel wrap.  The generous whole wheat tortilla wrap is stuffed with falafel, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, avocado, and cilantro and arrives with a cup of creamy tahini mint sauce.  This filling wrap was simple but good.

After our outing to Ojai, we made our way back for dinner.  We were greeted by a new server who asked, “Is this your first time here?”  To which my husband responded sheepishly, “No, we were here for lunch.”

A cup of Split Pea Barley Soup

We each started with a glass of organic red wine and a cup of the soup of the day.  On this particular evening it was split pea barley.  This homey soup is topped with loads of cilantro and served with a lemon wedge.  The soup was a bit brighter in tone than one would typically expect in a split pea soup.

Thai Yellow Curry Stew over brown rice

In the hopes of saving room for dessert, we split the spicy Thai Yellow Curry Stew.  This warm curried coconut stew included large chunks of Kabocha squash, carrots, potatoes, red onions, ginger, tofu, and basil leaves.  It’s served over brown rice and topped with cilantro.  It nicely married the sweat-inducing and tongue-igniting spice of the dish with the soft and creamy notes of coconut milk.  Despite our best intentions, this satisfying dish left us unable to squeeze in dessert.  Luckily, it will be our pleasure to come back another day.

Some of the dishes on Mary’s menu are on the pricey side, but for an organic menu with time-intensive raw entrees, I’d say the prices are worth it.  If you find yourself longing for an ocean-side escape, a day of thrifting, or hitting the nearby outlet mall in Camarillo, be sure to stop in and visit Mary for a filling and flavorful meal.

Enjoy the view from Echo Mountain.

Over a decade in Los Angeles, and I still can’t avoid singing when I cross Colorado Boulevard.  “And everybody’s saying that there’s nobody meaner than the Little Old Lady from Pasadena.  She drives real fast, and she drives real hard.  She’s the terror of Colorado Boulevard.”  A few hours in Rose Bowl town, and the song is firmly planted in my head.  Regardless, I’ll take my chances when it comes to spending an afternoon on those oft sung streets.  Whether it’s meandering the bustling main street of Old Town, getting a massage at Burke Williams, grabbing a drink on a bar patio, or hiking in the nearby hills, there’s plenty to do to make for a pleasant day.

Start your morning early, pack some snacks, gather a few friends, and hike to the ruins of Professor Thaddeus S.C. Lowe’s mountain railway and resort, Echo Mountain.  From 1896 to 1936, it housed a chalet, hotel, and observatory.  Now it is a five mile hike roundtrip with a 1400 feet gain.   This moderate but steady hike will get your heart pumping, and if you leave too late in the afternoon, it will get you sweating pretty heavily as well since there’s not much in the way of shade along the path.  At the top you can check out what is left behind of the resort and railway and try out your best echo-voice on one of the megaphones.  The views overlooking the city are quite lovely on a clear day, and along the way you’ll have the opportunity for viewing intricate flowers, buzzing bees, lizards, and more.  Unpack snacks at the top, twirl the top off of your water bottle, and bask in the view of the world below.

This less than helpful local can't help you if you get lost, but he's still happy to pose for a picture or two.

To get to the trail head, use the 210 Foothill freeway in Pasadena and exit at Lake Avenue.  (This hike is technically in Altadena.)  Drive north for 3.4 miles to the end of Lake Avenue at the point where it intersects with Loma Alta Drive.  Park along the street and look for the stone gateway on the east side of the street.  That’s where the hike begins.  From there, the trail is pretty clearly marked and well traveled but well kept.  You’re guaranteed to meet some other knowledgeable hikers along the way if you happen to get turned around.

After you’ve taken in the views from a distance, go in up close and personal into the heart of Pasadena.  If it’s a week day, use the opportunity to visit Alternative Outfitters.  This vegan boutique and online store has a small showroom.  Try on their fashionable shoes and peruse their collection of wallets, purses, and makeup.  The staff is casual, helpful, and unobtrusive.  If you live in the area, you can also call them with your order ahead of time and pick it up at the store.  The showroom is open from 11:00-4:30, Monday through Friday at 408 S. Pasadena Ave., Suite 1.

No trip to Pasadena is complete without a toddle around Old Town.  Visitors to LA on holiday and locals alike saunter down the sidewalks, bags swinging, as they cross the scramble-style crosswalks.  There are a number of chain stores like Crate and Barrel, Barnes and Noble, and the Paper Source, but off the main strip you can also visit California-exclusive stores like Bird Pick Tea and Herb at 10 S. De Lacey Avenue.  The tea shop is filled with large apothecary jars on several tables.  Open the jars and breathe in the deep smells of loose tea.  Having troubles with insomnia?  Their loose chamomile will cure what ails you.  The staff is happy to brew samples of any you’d like to try.  They also have a small bar for sitting and sharing a pot or cup with a friend.  They have soy milk on hand for your tea drinking needs.

In other news, the last time I wandered into Bird Pick I was asked at the door, “Would you like to try a sample of our new organic, fair trade, dark vegan chocolate, sweetened with agave syrup?”  Um, yes!  The chocolate is Nicobella Organics.  They have a variety of flavors, including Walnut Flaxseed Crunch, Pumpkin Chai, and Blueberry Almond.  My personal favorite was the rich and decadent Sunflower Banana Butter.  At $15.00 for a box of six this isn’t everyday chocolate, but I’ll definitely be dropping hints for stocking stuffer ideas.  This chocolate reminded me of the days when I was more than happy to drink “two buck Chuck” but was then introduced to some truly delicious Spanish, Italian, French, and Argentinean wines.  Sometimes trying the good stuff can spoil you for anything less!

Father Nature's generous wraps are large enough to share, especially if you're also getting a side salad.

If after shopping and sightseeing you’ve worked up an appetite, you can find tasty vegan offerings at Father Nature Lavash Wraps at 17 N. De Lacey Avenue.  Father Nature is of the very casual, order at the cash register variety.  However, their food is fresh and delicious.  It’s not always advertised, but they have whole wheat lavash available.  Just ask for it.  Father Nature is not exclusively vegetarian, but they have a vegetarian section as part of their menu board.  Many of those wraps are vegan by design or can easily be made vegan.  My favorite is the double hummus wrap, which comes with chickpea and black bean hummus, stuffed with pickled turnips, romaine lettuce, and bulgur.  You’re given a choice of spicy or regular tahini sauce to go with it, and those are both vegan.  I always go with the spicy, which is not hot-spicy per say.  It just has more spices in the sauce.

With that said, if you should decide to “go, Granny, go” to Pasadena, give up and sing along.  Be warned, you will walk away with the Beach Boys rooted into your brain.  Resistance is futile, but at least it’s catchy.