The other day, my good friend Chris came back from the States, and he graciously brought with him two books that I had ordered to his house. I have been anxious to get my hands on these books for so long now. VCTOTW by Moskowitz and Romero, for obvious reasons (VEGAN CUPCAKES!!), and 'The World Peace Diet' by Will Tuttle because I have simply heard sooo many good things about this book, that I have to read and understand it for myself. Chris was also such a cool friend that he bought me my very own Munny! I've always wanted to paint one cuz all the coolest artists have. So look forward to what I do with it. Thanks Chris, aka delivery man & Santa!
I can't wait to make every cupcake in VCTOTW. It definitely seems to be a requirement for the vegan bookshelf. Although some of the recipes include things that I'm not sure I'll be able to find in Korea, I think most of them are do-able. I'm only concerned about all the weight I'll gain from baking and devouring them all by myself. Because, yes, that is what I plan to do. All mine! :) Ok fine, if anyone wants to be my taste tester, contact me.
I started reading 'The World Peace Diet' yesterday, and I am in love. Will Tuttle so effortlessly says everything that I have been unable to articulate, and he voices some incredibly important connections between the practice of killing and eating animals, and humans' violence towards eachother. I have underlined and highlighted so much of this book so far, I should really just highlight the whole thing.
Here are some excerpts from his book:
"I believe that until we are willing and able to make the connections between what we are eating and what was required to get it on our plate, and how it affects us to buy, serve, and eat it, we will be unable to make the connections that will allow us to live wisely and harmoniously on this earth. When we cannot make connections, we cannot understand, and we are less free, less intelligent, less loving, and less happy."
"It is the socially driven act of eating animals that is primarily responsible for this loss of cultural and personal intelligence. Confining, mutilating, and killing animals for food is so fundamentally cruel and ugly that we must deaden large aspects of our private and public intelligence to do it, especially on the grand scale that animals are slaughtered and abused today."
"We know it is unacceptable to knowingly harm sentient creatures simply to satisfy our personal taste. If we see a man whose umbrella we find attractive, we know it's wrong to attack or kill the man and steal the umbrella just because our taste desires to have it. Or if we see a woman whose body we find attractive, we know it's wrong to hit her and rape her just because we may desire to do so. These actions are wrong because they cause suffering to others and violate their sacred integrity for purely selfish reasons."
While reading, I just wanted to put the book down and start clapping, I was so giddy! (In fact, I think I did at one point.) I am learning so much from this book, and I can feel myself becoming more aware of myself and my connection with this earth and other beings. It's really amazing to think how people can disconnect themselves from what is REALLY on their plates (death and suffering), and compartmentalize their compassion. It seems so illogical to me now , but I know that not long ago, I was also stunting myself and spouting off the same excuses as everyone else.
Anyway. Spring is definitely here! It almost seems as if we just skipped spring and went straight from Winter to Summer, because today is actually hot. And I have suddenly developed an obsession with making smoothies and (soy)milkshakes. Even with no added sugar/sweetener, the fruits themselves make it so sweet and delicious! And so healthy! I will post some pics of my smoothie concoctions soon.