August 2023
news, events, & more
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In this issue:
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ENVIRONMENT: Environmental Impact of a Vegan Diet
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HEALTH: Ukraine Vegan Kitchen
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RESTAURANT CORNER: Carina's Bakery
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RECIPE: Corn, Jicama, and Avocado Salad
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MAKING CHANGE: Consider Joining the Board
- EVENT SECTION
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Potluck & Play, Aug 19
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Westside Potluck: Food demo, Aug 20
- Dineout at Jade Rabbit, Aug 29, 12:30 PM
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VegFest Planning Meeting, Aug 29, 7:00 PM
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Vancouver Potluck, Aug 31
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Orenco Potluck, Sept 10
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Study Confirms Positive Environmental Impacts of Vegan Diets
By Daniel Redwood, DC
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Researchers from Oxford University recently published the results of the most comprehensive study to date on the environmental impacts of vegan diets when compared to those of vegetarians, fish-eaters, and meat-eaters. Their analysis found that vegan diets lead to 75% less climate-heating emissions, land use, and water pollution than meat-rich diets.
Analyzing dietary data from a sample of over 55,000 vegans, vegetarians, fish-eaters, and meat-eaters in the United Kingdom, a team led by Oxford University professor Peter Scarborough found that none of the other dietary patterns even comes close to impacting the environment as minimally as a vegan diet.
For more information, see an excellent explanatory article in The Guardian and the full text of the study in Nature Food.
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Ukraine Vegan Kitchen
By Keith Iding
NW VEG President
Standing with Marta and Oksana, who traveled here to speak about the Lviv Vegan Kitchen, LVK, located in Lviv, Ukraine, I thought of the meaning of cognitive dissonance to explain what I was feeling. For several months NW VEG staff had been discussing the possibility of a visit by these two women, who would be on their way to an international conference in Los Angeles, through Portland. Could we make arrangements to host them here? I reviewed everything I could find about them online and found the story to be a fascinating juxtaposition of the words “war” and “vegan.” How could those categories possibly relate? From our safe distance, we can read of the experience they went through, the millions of people uprooted from their lives, fleeing violent aggression, disconnected from any sense of routine. Could we, here in Portland, fully understand the motives and emotions being shared with us that linked the extremes of aggressive violence and a nonviolent lifestyle?
Marta and Oksana found themselves in such a situation, living along an escape route out of their country, suddenly finding themselves in the midst of those displaced people all looking for any sense of continuity. The sisters were part of their local vegan community, experiencing many food resources suddenly shutting down and closing. Rather than choosing to flee, though, they...
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Carina's Bakery
By Susan Hanson
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Carina Comer had a dream of opening a bakery ever since she was five years old. That dream became a reality six years ago when she opened Carina’s Bakery on a relatively quiet street in Beaverton, and her dream has continued to thrive through the COVID years.
When she was young, she had several bouts of brain cancer that caused her to lose most of her sight except for tunnel vision in her right eye. Though Carina is legally blind, she has maintained a positive attitude through many years of health challenges and never let go of her dream. She can tell her own inspiring and remarkable story much better than I can.
Carina grew up in Connecticut, and after attending college in the east, she visited a friend in Oregon and fell in love with the state, especially the food scene. When she felt ready to have her own vegan bakery…
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Corn, Jicama, and Avocado Salad
By Linda Tyler
This is a perfect salad for a picnic. It keeps well and doesn’t wilt. It’s easy to eat with picnic utensils. The corn makes it feel summery. And it’s light but filling. It showcases one of my favorite vegetables, jicama. This root vegetable tastes great spiralized, julienned, shredded, and cubed. Here I use it cubed to get a chopped salad texture.
Makes 6 cups of salad
Toss all the ingredients together and taste for seasoning. For optimal taste, let chill for at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight) before serving
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3 cups corn (if using canned, two 15-ounce cans rinsed and drained; if using frozen, thaw it; for fresh, use 3 medium ears—briefly steam or boil if needed)
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2 medium avocados, peeled and diced
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1 red pepper, finely diced
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Half of a medium jicama, finely diced (1.5 – 2 cups of dice)
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Don't be bored—join our NW VEG Board—to make a real difference!
Help us support, inform, and expand the vegan community with your ideas. Send a note to info@nwveg.org to find out more.
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Potluck & Play
- Saturday, August 19
- 4:30 PM - 7:30 PM
- St. Johns Swapnplay
- 7535 N. Chicago Ave.
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Portland, OR 97203 (map)
Join local vegan families with children ages 0-7 (older siblings welcome) for a potluck & play session at St. Johns Swapnplay. Bring your favorite cold dish (no animal products, including honey) to share or just for your crew. This is an opportunity to make connections with other families raising vegan children.
Registration required to attend.
Suggested donation to play for non St. Johns Swapnplay members: $5-$10 per family.
Not available on this date? No worries! There'll be more opportunities to connect in the future!
Click the button below to register:
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- Sunday, August 20
- 5:00 PM - 7:15 PM
- West Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
- 8470 Southwest Oleson Road
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Portland, OR (map)
Fumiko (Humi) Hozumi is one half of the husband and wife team who own and operate Obon (pronounced oh bone). They specialize in vegan Japanese cuisine from the south of Japan such as onigiri (rice ball), okonomiyake (Japanese pancake/pizza, pictured), and misozuke (fermented tofu cake). They've grown their business from pop-ups and farmers markets to a full service restaurant in SE Portland. They've also been a staple at VegFest where you might have tried their giant tater tots, so you may have already had a chance to sample their offerings.
In Sunday’s food demonstration, Humi will be showcasing a salad she's creating especially for this potluck, so you don't want to miss out! See you August 20th!
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Dineout at Jade Rabbit
- Tuesday, August 29th
- 12:30 PM
- 2117 NE Oregon St.
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Portland, OR (map)
The Jade Rabbit is a mythical creature originating from East Asian cultures signifying “selflessness, piety, and sacrifice.” It is also the name of the new venue recently opened by renowned Chef Cyrus Ichiza. Featuring his popular and delicious dim sum and Pan Asian fare, the restaurant is located in the Emerald Room, a beautiful shared space at Aimsir Distillery. Our dineout will be served at lunchtime on the mezzanine floor. Accessible seating is also available on the main floor, as are restrooms.
Chef Ichiza is known for his unique, all-vegan, Asian-themed dishes originally served at his restaurant, Ichiza’s Kitchen. The menu features dim sum selections such as Lo Mai Gai (lotus leaves filled with vegan chicken, lobster mushrooms, and rice), Turnip Cakes, Sui Mai Dumplings, Wontons, Beancurd Skin Dumplings (one of their most popular dishes), and much more, including soup and bowl options. Many dishes are gluten-free.
After struggling through the pandemic and serving mostly take-outs, we are happy to see him in this new location, now open seven days a week, including Tuesdays. Please join us for a unique and tasty dining experience and come get some dim sum!
Pre-registration is required. If you need to cancel, please contact the host listed in your registration confirmation.
Click the button below to register.
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Portland VegFest is coming back in 2024!
We are holding our initial planning meeting on Tuesday, August 29th at 7:00 pm via Zoom, and could use your ideas to help make this a great event. Send an email to info@nwveg.org and we will email you information on the meeting and how to get involved.
Northwest VEG is also looking for people to help plan other large events including our 20th Anniversary Celebration, the Tofurky Trot, and Compassionate Thanksgiving. Email info@nwveg.org if you are interested in helping with any of these.
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Vancouver Potluck
- Thursday, August 31
- 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
- The Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
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16001 NE 34th St. Vancouver, WA (map)
This month's presentation is:
a Vegan Cookbook Discussion by The Weavers and everyone present!
Would you like to see what others use as their main recipes and where they get those recipes? Would you like to see what cookbooks they use and which ones they don’t like? Please bring a list of your favorite vegan cookbooks to share.
The potluck begins at 5:30 with the presentation beginning at 6:30. We have gone back to in-person potlucks where we share food and dine with friends. Bring food to share with others and your own eating utensils and drinking cup. There is no kitchen, so please plan on taking your own dishes home to be cleaned.
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- Sunday, September 10
- 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
- Orenco Unitarian Universalist Church
- 6815 Northeast Birch Street
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Hillsboro, OR (map)
Join us in Hillsboro for a September potluck where our guest speaker will be Michelle from Wildwood Sanctuary.
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Northwest VEG
Enjoy our supportive and friendly community of people interested in vegan, plant-based food and lifestyles.
We appreciate your support!
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NORTHWEST VEG | nwveg.org
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