Meatless March

Last week was a terrifically literary one for me. I attended book launch events for two author friends.  Pat, Andy, me First up was Andy Martino at Words Bookstore. His new book, The Yankee Way , is a history of the Yankees baseball team during the era of general manager Brian Cashman.  My backup dancers are longtime Yankees fans Next was Marcia LeBeau at the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC). Marcia's A Curious Hunger is her first book of poems, which are moving and funny and thought-provoking.  Forgive the fuzzy focus of this shot of Marcia reading her poems Me and my friend Ellen. Photo courtesy of Marcia LeBeau and @rowandean_photography I'm very proud to count published authors among my friends, and I love hearing writers read and talk about their work. Every week should be so wordy! I had my own curious hunger for " Mushroom Smash Burgers " (NYT Cooking), which I cooked in the spirit of eating less meat to help save our planet from catastrophic globa...

 Happy new year! Have you made a "green" New Year's resolution for 2021? You could resolve to: Make a "Leftovers Day" once a week, to reduce food waste.  Learn to repair a broken item (toy, clock, clothes, iron, jewelry, etc) - Repair Cafe has some tips, just search by your item!  Walk, bike, or scoot* rather than take a car to a nearby place you visit frequently (park, library, store). Hang a clothesline, inside or out, or set up a clothes rack, and air-dry at least one load of laundry each week. Never drink another single-use bottle of water. Find new owners for 10 things you don't want or need anymore. And of course, you could resolve to eat less meat and dairy , because animal-based foods contribute more to climate change than plant-based foods. "Meatless Mondays" and "Vegan Vednesdays" make excellent starting points. We tried " Portobello Philly Cheesesteaks " (The Nut-Free Vegan) last week, and they were decent. The reci...