About Me
As a teacher, I always made my students write one of these “About Me” blurbs at the beginning of the year…it’s harder than it looks! Where to start? I suppose my joy of cooking might have all started when my parents gave me my first cook book (Thanks, Mom and Dad!) when I was just six years old! (Betty Crocker’s Cookbook for Boys and Girls) Now, so many years later, my cupboards are filled with wonderful books, recipes torn from magazines, hand-copied recipes shared amongst friends, precious family recipes, and, more recently, piles of recipes printed off and tucked away until I have time to try them! I have spent uncounted hours, researching and browsing for ideas and food information and have always had the good fortune to have family (especially three brothers with hearty appetites!) and friends willing to try my many experiments!
My love and respect for animals has always been deep-seated. Becoming a lifetime member of the B.C.S.P.C.A. at 14, I promised to “always speak for those who cannot speak for themselves”. Thanks to all those around the world who are speaking out and sharing hard truths about profit-based and pervasive animal abuses, now, more than ever, I realize how vital it is is to speak out for compassion!
I have, more recently, been inspired by so many caring and creative cooks whose plant-based recipes are being shared world-wide and by individuals and groups who are sharing well-researched information regarding nutrition and food production. Now, I want to share what I’ve learned, some of which has changed the way I look at food and the world! Hopefully, together, we can make our world a little healthier, happier, and more compassionate.
Who?
After years of actively parenting and teaching, Bill and I now have time to gather together some of what we have learned over the years, with a goal to share it with others. There is so much to learn and we continue to do so every day! Our gift to you is some inspiration to live well and enjoy the simple magic of being part of the solution. From creating easy, delicious, 100% plant-based recipes, to stocking your kitchen, to growing a backyard garden, or just going shopping, everyone can participate!
We dedicate this creation to our two amazing daughters, Laura and Erin, who have always motivated us to be our best! Together, we CAN change things for the better!!
What?
Here, you will find:
- Every day inspiration for the heart and palate! Flexible, plant-based recipes that have been well-tested and enjoyed!
- Simple, useful ideas and new recipes that are both delicious and doable.
- Old favourites made new and better, without animal products! You can do the same!!
- “Eating with the eyes first…” Simple and beautiful ideas for everyday presentation.
- Suggestions about how to easily “Eat a Rainbow” everyday, keeping yourself and your family healthy and happy!
- Recipes for eating seasonally and on budget!
- How and why to shop and eat as locally as possible!
- Inspiring words from around the world! (These offer wisdom to help guide us and remind us of some enduring and important truths!)
- Lots of gorgeous photography that captures the beauty of food lovingly prepared, our backyard garden, in all its wild glory, and, of course, our two rescue pups, Katie and Frankie, and four rescue kitties who like to take part in whatever is happening!
Where?
UPDATE!! We were fortunate enough to live in the Fraser Valley of beautiful British Columbia, Canada for many years. We were grateful to have a sunny backyard that faced south and had an amazing view! It was an inspiration and a perfect backdrop for so many posts you will see on this site. As of November 6th, 2024, our home is a beautiful log cabin nestled into the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains, just west of Calgary in Alberta, Canada! We couldn’t be happier! Stay tuned for new recipes inspired by life in this new and wonderful place!
Why “A Vital Yopp”?
So many reasons!!
- In sharing this, I have found a reason for hopefulness, a reminder that each person can and must make a difference, that each voice matters, that our seemingly insignificant daily actions can have powerful consequences.
- We hope that this will be an important reminder that we, as earthlings, are all connected, sharing this one amazing planet, recognizing that this connectedness is vital, essential, to our future.
- We can find strength and hope in knowing that each day we can feed our hearts and our bodies with healthy, plant-based goodness; that we can avoid the illnesses and environmental destruction that animal based diets have clearly been responsible for.
- We want to share information about food and its production, some of which is only now surfacing, though so much is purposely kept hidden from consumers. Once we know, we need to make some important changes and some necessary noise!
- It is great to be inspired by the many strong and caring individuals and organizations who are speaking up and changing things! It is also powerful motivation to share wisdom passed down through the ages that still resonates so strongly! We are not alone!
- Because, if we can be gentler on the planet, kinder to our fellow earthlings, and help the people in our lives be healthier and happier….why not?
** A special thanks to Dr. Seuss, Theodore Geisel, for his wise words and wisdom. His stories inspired so many to be more caring and compassionate. In Horton Hears A Who, it is a single, small voice, a single “YOPP” , that changes everything! One small voice, when shared, makes anything possible! This is our YOPP!
