I work in education and am passionate about issues related to education, educational reform, and charter schools. I am also passionate about food. I blog about one of those here, but will – and do – talk at length about either.
When not in my kitchen scheming up some vegan delights or working to create relevant & engaging innovative 21st century educational experiences for children, I can usually be found in the great outdoors: paddle boarding, hiking, free diving, camping, snorkeling, or reading a book with my toes stuck in the sand on the beach. Other things I enjoy are DIY projects (sewing, crocheting, house renovations – you name it, I could be up for it), gardening (I am especially proud of my eggplants and tomatoes), traveling, photography, movies, and frustrating my cats by dressing them in demeaning outfits and taking pictures of them. And posting them on the Internet. Currently I am attempting to teach myself to play the ukulele, and I have hopes to summit Mt. Rainier in 2012.
I believe, clichéd as it may sound, that food is love – love for ourselves and love for those around us. I enjoy making large amounts of delicious, wholesome food and inviting friends and family to gather ‘round our table and talk story. Though there certainly are occasions that call for a refined dining atmosphere, I believe that meal time should be a raucous experience of food, laughter, voices, stories, and plates being passed ‘round.
I am, in every sense, an amateur when it comes to cooking and photography. I have had no training in either. I have been vegetarian since I was 15 (1993) and vegan since summer 2005. I believe in sustainable, whole, delicious cooking. I wage a consistent (though often futile) war against a rampant and defiant sweet tooth. For my photos I use a Nikon D40x.
If you have any questions or would like to contact me, please email me at:
pacoutpost@gmail.com
I used your recipe for veggie beer brats (from the old site) yesterday, and it was glorious. It was a very red sausage, as I used red pepper and red onions (caramelizing for an hour was such a good idea, but forgetting shrinkage I didn’t use enough onion – still good tho). I took pictures but I am too lazy to post them now (that is if you are the kind of person who cares about seeing pictures of others using your recipe).
Next time, I think I will finish them on the grill to see how the added charcoal flavour adds to the goodness. The day before I used the grill only method, and it didn’t work out too well – too dry. Anyhow, it went great with roasted corn and baked beans w/ mock bacon and potato salad.
Thanks for the great recipe,
Ben
Ben – I am so happy to hear the story of your beer brat success! I love pics, so if you ever get them posted I’d love to see them 🙂
Hi Gail,
I am writing to you from Northern Ireland. In the midst of Christmas shopping I came upon some tapioca in our local Chinese supermarket. Myself and my auntie Margaret love the larger tapioca pearls, which you can’t really buy here in regular supermarkets any more. I was therefore over the moon to find them again. I decided to look up a recipe for tapioca pudding on the internet and was delighted to find your suggestion. (Thai food is a favourite in this house and we also support vegetarian and organic foods). I also work in education and want to congratulate you on such an inspiring website!
It’s too late this evening to make the pudding but I’m sure I’ll get around to it before the week is out.
Thanks again from the emerald isle!
best wishes
Ingrid
Aloha from Oahu,
Nice blog and pictures!I love Maui!
Mom’s Best Bets
wow, great story! lovely pics too 🙂 congrats on winning the contest over at bittersweet!