Munnar

At Sadhana, on the taxi ride to dinner one night, I overheard Diva telling someone that a certain place was her favorite in all of India. Right away I wanted to know more about the place she was speaking of, because if Diva loved it then I knew I would too. And Munnar did not disappoint!Tea leaves. I expected they'd smell like a cuppa, but there's no scent until they're processed.I did have a bit of a rough time getting there, but I'll skip most of the details and just tell you a cool little story. My calf was hurting so it was difficult to walk, and I was contemplating taking a taxi the rest of the way there (instead of standing for who knows how long at a crowded bus station, which I knew I couldn't really handle at the moment), but I balked at the price. I was having lunch at a hotel restaurant and trying to decide what to do (it was the hotel manager who was arranging the ride for me) when suddenly I heard my grandpa Ted's voice in my head. His voice would strain in a certain way when he got exasperated (which was anytime we were talking politics, of course), and I heard him in that tone of voice I remember so well: "For Chrissakes, honey, order the taxi!"It doesn't matter if it was really him or not. That taxi ride was worth every rupee, and I felt much better in the morning.These photos are from a glorious day trek through tea and spice plantations (established by the British in the 19th century), which we finished off with an utterly delicious vegan-apart-from-the-raita lunch prepared by one of the guys from Green View. Highly, highly recommended.No matter how beautiful or enjoyable you can find a place on its own, it's even better when you can experience it with new friends. I tagged along with Candice and Sophie, both from England, on the plantation trek, and we got to hang out for a couple days afterward. Sophie shared her knowledge of vegan baking, and Candice gave me loads of travel tips for Turkey (August 8th!!) and elsewhere. We sat on the roof patio at Green View drinking the local teas, eating takeaway samosas and talking for hours. They made me miss Sadhana less.(As my friend Rich reminded me last night, life is a series of calculated risks, and this one was so worth it. You can get a better sense of the drop in this photo.)Coming upon a bunch of guys building treehouses was another highlight. I want to live there SO BAD.More Munnar photos soon--too many good ones to fit in one post!

Sadhana Forest, part 3

(Part 1; part 2.)A passionflower growing outside the kitchen.April 9th.'Rode back to Sadhana Forest in a red truck on top of 350 coconuts, all the men in trucks and tractors staring down at my bare legs, and I just kept thinking 'I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts...'Another view from my pillow, late afternoon.Diva, Franzi, and Remy performing at open stage Wednesday night. (Diva is using her new aforementioned singing bowl.)Jaspreet henna'ed Annika's hands. Gorgeous.Chloe and Remy. Such an adorable couple, and so much fun to be around. April 28th.One of the dogs left a GIGANTIC rat right outside the kitchen last night. Steph told Sen (the appointed "rodent relocator" this week) to move it into the forest to let nature do its thing, and Sen reluctantly applied himself to the task with a rice sack.

Me (sympathetically): Thanks for doing that, Sen.

Sen: My pleasure!

Just the way he said it cracked me up.Elisa, Christian, Annika, and Judith making dinner.Part of why I love Sadhana Forest is that you can feel like you're doing something useful every single day. I've tried volunteering plenty of times before, and each time I wound up frustrated, oftentimes because it seemed like resources (particularly of the human kind) were going to waste through inefficient (or downright ineffective) planning. For instance, I signed up for an afterschool mentoring program and got linked up with a sixth-grader just because my birthday is in November and his is in December. This was meant to be something we had in common, I kid you not. He gave me monosyllabic answers to open-ended questions and stopped coming after the third week. I've also tried volunteering for the elderly and housebound a couple different times, which is hard because when people are lonely they can expect a little too much of you; and in another instance I asked a volunteer coordinator repeatedly to hook me up with someone who wasn't already getting a few visitors a week, someone who might really need a visitor, and he never got back to me. It kinda feels like I'm saying 'I can't deal with people, I prefer seeds', but when it's just you and the earth and a packet of cosmic purple, or you and a vat of daal and a crew of hungry gardeners, swale waterers, and woodchoppers, there's none of the nonsense involved when somebody's dropping a ball or giving you a guilt trip because you've been visiting them for only two hours. Does that make sense?Anyway, suffice it to say I left Sadhana feeling changed in the best possible way, and I can definitely see myself going back there someday.Next post: a trek through the tea and spice plantations of Munnar!

Sadhana Forest, part 2

Tobias pulling a Rohit (i.e., making a jungle gym out of the rafters in the main hut!)There were certain things I wanted to take photos of--the handwashing and dishwashing stations, the herbal tooth powder (which doesn't taste as yucky as it looks), the bathroom stalls and so on, to give you a sense of how responsibly the community uses its resources. (I didn't take too many photos at Sadhana Forest because I was too busy doing; and by the time I was getting ready to leave, I was too busy packing and saying my goodbyes to remember to take those pics.)In 'showering' (i.e., filling a bucket at the pump and using a cup to dip in and pour over yourself in a shower stall) or washing your hands, you realize just how little water you actually need to get clean. I was able to wash my hair and shave my legs with less than half a bucket of water (just a couple gallons). A 'proper shower' is actually really wasteful, and I want to remember that whenever I shower at home.Also, there is zero shame attached to bodily functions at Sadhana Forest, which is really (for want of a better word) refreshing (I mean, c'mon, everybody does it, so what's the sense pretending you don't?) There's even a demonstration of how to use the toilets at the Sunday meeting. The thing that sometimes squicks out new volunteers is the lack of toilet paper. Yup. You use your fingers, and then you wash 'em two or three times. No problem. (If you're really curious about the toilets, check out Danielle's blog. She took photos.)Baby cacti!Life at Sadhana Forest is always fun, even when you're out working in the heat. One of the many things I love about the community is how we're encouraged to share what we know; so one afternoon I did a knitting workshop. I don't often get to hang out with other knitters, let alone teach new ones, so this was a huge treat for me!New knitters Beth, Sharri, Annika, and T.And a couple more fun moments:Impromptu back and headrubs (with Capucine, Rohit, and Beth), every day of the week.The Sunday evening meeting is always themed; this week it was 'famous couples,' so Sam and Charles came as 'Adam and Steve.' Brilliant and hilarious.Next post: an afternoon in Pondicherry.

Sadhana Forest

You'll never find a warmer welcome (and I'm not just talking about the signage).Why India? Why not? I learned and grew so much through my time in Vermont last summer that I wanted to volunteer farther afield. I was perusing the WWOOF* India boards, read glowing reports about a reforestation project-slash-eco-community in southern India called Sadhana Forest, filled out the volunteer form, got a wonderfully friendly reply from Sadhana founders Aviram and Yorit, and suddenly I was all set.(*WWOOF stands for Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It's a program through which you trade your labor for room and board. I've heard some people have had less positive experiences, but my time at Harmony Homestead Farm was truly life-changing. Also, I should note that Sadhana Forest isn't actually affiliated with WWOOF--accommodation is always free, but since they have no income they aren't able to pay for volunteers' food, so you contribute about $4 a day for your upkeep.)Baby forest.Short-term volunteers are coming and going on a daily basis, but Sadhana Forest is a happy and loving place at any given time, the kind of place that will change you if you want it to--and I did. Through several conversations with my new friend Jamey (who is also from Jersey--funny how you travel so far to meet people who only live an hour away) and reading The China Study, I decided to cut all animal products from my diet. Sadhana Forest is 100% vegan, so the transition couldn't have been easier (even when I left the Forest, I didn't have any trouble finding ghee-free meals. Yay for Hindu cooking!) So yeah, that's the biggest change, and I'm hoping to blog regularly about veganism from now on (yummy recipes, clearing up misconceptions, all that sor of thing). I've also given up my morning coffee--having to get up at 5:30 every weekday morning and be productive without any caffeine whatsoever, well, that'll do it!(As for the work schedule, they do two two-hour shifts in the morning, with breakfast in between, and then you typically pick up a couple more shifts during the afternoons and weekends. Somebody's got to work during down time--otherwise nobody eats! I arrived during the dry season, which means there was no tree-planting going on, but I did get to do plenty of watering.)Tobias, my swale-watering and kitchen buddy, zonked after first work.Jamey giving an introductory talk about the history and mission of Sadhana Forest to visitors before Eco Film Club and free vegan dinner for all.On our excursions through nearby villages I saw plenty of scenes of everyday life. It isn't really possible to snap photos when you're riding your bike down a concrete lane all a-buzz with children playing (and jubilantly shouting hello, and wanting to shake your hand), women pumping water or hanging up laundry, chickens and dogs and cattle and lambs wandering about, so I can't show you all that I would typically see on a bike ride. I can tell you, though, that much of what I saw you would have categorized as abject poverty--and yet everyone I passed seemed perfectly content. So strange, at first, to see women looking like queens in exquisite saris passing in and out of mud-floor huts. Goes to show you how little a person actually needs to be well and happy, right? Turns out all I needed was a good cup of tea and a new dear friend; some of my very favorite Sadhana memories are going with Diva to the nearest chai shop, where the hard-working owner bears an uncanny resemblance to Clark Gable (it's just the moustache, but it still makes me giggle). We sat on wooden boxes behind a blue tarp, with a view of the local temple if we pulled back the plastic, savoring our chai (mine sans milk) and talking about wanting to be better people and how we proposed to go about it.We always leave our shoes at the door.The view from my pillow.More photos and stories in my next post. (Please feel free to ask me questions too--sometimes I'm not sure which aspects of life at Sadhana Forest are most interesting to people who haven't been there yet.)

Open-Faced Tacos (Meat-Free!)

Here's a recipe for the ultimate comfort food. (What is it about refried beans that makes me want to eat them straight from the can?) This was inspired by an open taco salad I had at Tonic while we were visiting Kate in Washington, D.C.

four medium potatoesone large oniontwo bell peppersone or two red/green chilisone can refried beans3 cloves garlic1 tsp. cuminsalt and peppera few tablespoons olive oilsoft burrito shells (wheat or corn)one jar spicy enchilada saucevegan sour creamshredded vegan cheddar cheeseone package of soy mince or braised tofu (optional--or those of you who are omnivores could, of course, use the real thing)

Dice potatoes, onion, peppers, and chilis. Saute potatoes on medium-high heat for ten minutes or so, then add remaining vegetables and cook until soft. Stir in diced garlic and spices, then add mince/tofu if using. Preheat oven to 400º. Add refried beans and mix thoroughly, lowering heat.Glaze burrito shells with olive oil on both sides, and bake in oven until golden and crispy (10 minutes or so). Spoon filling onto shell, top with sauce, sour cream, and grated cheddar, and mash it all in so the cheese melts. (I've tried putting the finished taco back in the oven before serving, but if you do that the shell won't be crispy anymore.)Makes four tacos (serves two). NYOM NYOM NYOM!(Note: this recipe was veganized on August 19, 2013. Updated photo forthcoming.)

Cardamom gingersnaps

Merry Day After Christmas! I meant to post this beforehand, but you know how it is. This is my absolute favorite cookie recipe, spicy and festive but delicious at any time of year. (I baked a couple of batches for my launch party in July '07 and they went over very well.)

Slightly modified from a recipe in Sara Perry's Great Gingerbread:

1½ cups flour1 teaspoon baking soda4 teaspoons ground cardamom½ teaspoon ground ginger¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg¼ teaspoon salt½ cup Earth Balance butter, melted½ cup Earth Balance shortening¾ cup organic sugar½ cup turbinado sugar½ teaspoon vanilla¼ cup molasses

Sift the flour, baking soda, 3 teaspoons cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat butter, shortening, and organic sugar (using an electric mixer if available), until mixture is creamy. Beat in vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients alternately with the molasses until fully blended.Lay out two pieces of plastic wrap, spoon half the dough onto each piece, roll into logs, and refrigerate for two hours. Pour raw sugar and last teaspoon of cardamom onto a plate and mix evenly. With oven preheated to 350ºF, pull off spoonfuls of chilled dough, form into slightly flattened balls, and roll edge along sugar/cardamom mixture on the plate. Place balls 1½" apart on greased cookie trays and bake for 12 minutes.Yields approximately four dozen cookies.(Note: this recipe was veganized on August 19, 2013. An updated photo is forthcoming.)

a recipe for Chai tea

Rural Cavan seems like the last place you'd expect to find a Tibetan Buddhist retreat, doesn't it? Jampa Ling is located in a Georgian mansion outside the village of Bawnboy, not too far from the Northern border, and my two days there were a highlight of my spring '06 research trip for Moon Ireland. Some folks pay for room and board and others volunteer their time (and some work and make a donation), and there are regular prayer-times and some of the most delicious homecooked vegetarian food I've ever had. I met a lovely guy named David who made chai for us all, and was kind enough to provide me with the recipe. Once you've made chai from scratch you'll never want to go back to teabags.Ideally you'd have a mortar and pestle to crush the ginger and cardamom seeds, as well as a strainer. Quantities of most ingredients are to taste.

Cleansing Chai Tea3 sticks of cinnamon3 whole clovesginger, crushedcardamom seeds, broken openfennelnatural sweetener (raw sugar or agave)non-dairy milk (optional)Add spices to water in a saucepan and slow-boil for twenty minutes or more. If you're going to add milk afterwards, let the tea come to a boil two or three times before straining so that the flavor holds up against the milk. Pour mixture through strainer into teacups and add sugar to sweeten.

(Note: this recipe was veganized on August 19, 2013.)