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This Handcrafted Life

~ decorative painting, low-tech photography and paper craft

This Handcrafted Life

Tag Archives: food

Travel Sketchbook: A Field Guide to the Invisible

10 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by ThisHandcraftedLife in Sketchbook Journal, Travel

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

art, field guide, food, nature, new york city, sketchbook, travel, vancouver

A few months ago, we took a family vacation in Vancouver, Canada. My brother, Bernard, lives there, my parents flew in from New Jersey and my boyfriend (Tom) and I joined them. As the days passed, we spent a lot of time discussing the local flora and fauna and my brother entertained us with stories of his brushes with grizzly bears, his drive across Alaska and other adventures while camping, skiing and hiking.

Tom, on the other hand, is a second generation New Yorker who grew up entirely in New York City. Tom enjoyed my brother’s stories and realized that Bernard had a body of knowledge that didn’t overlap with his own. In fact, they seemed to live in vastly different worlds, each completely foreign to the other. While my brother could identify trees at a glance, Tom didn’t differentiate between trees, because if it was tall and green, it was a tree and that was all he needed to know. Understanding how to survive in the woods for three days without food won’t help when the trouble is in the park at 10th Street and Avenue B. And if you need to take the subway from 14th Street and First Avenue to Madison and 53rd, a compass and a set of binoculars won’t get you there.

What may be obvious to one person is invisible to another. At the end of the day, you need the guide who’s appropriate for the relevant jungle.

Following is a short field guide to the subtleties found in Vancouver versus those in New York City.

Birds:Bagels

Trees:Hotdogs

Mammals:Pizzas

Any questions? I didn’t think so. Happy travels!

Meeting Amelia at the Catskill Animal Sanctuary

03 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by ThisHandcraftedLife in black and white, landscape, Photography, portrait, Travel

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

animal photography, animal rescue, black and white photography, Catskill Animal Sanctuary, farm animals, food, horses, photography, vegan, vegetarian

For our fourth anniversary, Tom and I drove up to Saugerties, NY, about two hours north of NYC, to visit the Catskill Animal Sanctuary. The sanctuary, a beautiful farm of over 100 acres nestled into a valley, recently converted its old farm house into a comfy Bed and Breakfast, a perfect place to stay.

All of the animals at the sanctuary are rescued farm animals, plus horses as well. They come from abusive owners who starved and neglected them, some escaped from slaughter facilities, others are given up by people who can no longer care for them, some were seized by animal protection officers. The animals on the farm include horses, cows, sheep, pigs, goats, pot-bellied pigs, rabbits, ducks, turkeys, geese and chickens. Over 2,000 have been rescued since 2001, when the sanctuary opened.

This is Noelle with her son Christopher. Noelle is on the right.

Noelle was found on Christmas Eve in 2006, emaciated, running loose on a street in the Bronx, being chased by dogs. She was rescued and brought to the farm. The very next day, she gave birth to a tiny lamb. Not surprisingly, both sheep are terrified of people.

These beautiful little dairy calves, Calvin, Bernard, Emerson and Russell, were so friendly and sweet. They pressed toward us for head rubs and back scratches, one taking my hand in his mouth and licking my fingers.

They played like puppies, scampering around in their pen, head-butting one another. They looked as if they had been drawn by Walt Disney, with enormous wet eyes and soft, caramel-colored coats.

The four calves were rescued together at five days old, right before they were about to be sold to a veal producer. Dairy cows give milk because they’re pregnant, but when they give birth, the babies are taken away immediately so they won’t drink their mother’s milk, which is intended for sale, and mother and baby never see one another again. These babies were four months old when we met them, just at the age at which they would have been slaughtered for veal. Cows can live 20 to 25 years; these rare four will live out their lives in peace.

The sanctuary houses about 30 horses. These lovelies are part of a group of 14 horses who were rescued in the nick of time from an animal hoarder who had let them starve. With some horses hundreds of pounds underweight, they were carefully nursed back to health.

Part of the rehabilitation of these rescued animals is physical: treating malnutrition, infections, parasites, broken bones, overgrown hooves and wounds, providing the best food possible, giving them a soft, warm bed, and a safe place to stretch their legs when they’ve regained their strength.

But perhaps even worse than the physical damage is the psychological damage. It’s astounding that so many of the animals, even those who suffered horrific abuse and cruelty at the hands of humans, are able to trust people again. To accomplish this, the staff and volunteers at the sanctuary work from a central idea: the farm is a place of overwhelming love and kindness. The animals are able to heal in a manner and at a pace that suit themselves. They’re closely watched to determine what they need to be truly happy, and are showered with kisses, pats, hugs, praise and encouragement all along the way. For some, this recovery process can take a matter of weeks or months; for others, years. A few, like Noelle the sheep, recover physically but never psychologically, despite the loving care.

Once the animals are healthy, relaxed, socialized and trust people again, they’re ready to be placed in loving, responsible homes. The sanctuary has placed hundreds of animals with new caretakers. Most animals must be adopted in pairs, so they will have a friend to be with; farm animals are usually part of a herd or flock and don’t like to be alone. For people who don’t have the means to adopt, sponsorship is an option, where you choose an animal, then help cover the cost of his food and care.

This is Amos, a Texas Longhorn, with his best pal, Jesse, a grownup dairy calf.

Jesse has the same gorgeous eyes as his little cousins, the calves we met earlier.

Amos and Jesse were saved as calves as part of a dramatic rescue from the former Catskill Game Farm. A whole group of animal advocates came together to save 207 animals that were being auctioned off when the Game Farm, which also included a petting zoo, closed in 2006.  Unfortunately many of the animals were exotic species and were purchased by “canned hunt” operators, who invite so-called hunters to shoot animals who are enclosed by fences.

Now it’s on to my favorites, the pigs. We were so impressed by the pigs. They have personality in spades. I’d never met one before and I had heard a lot about how smart they are, so I was eager to spend time with them.

Meet Nadine and Peggy Sue, taking a snooze in their snug little barn. Talk about mellow! A small group of us came into their stalls to scratch their bellies, and what bellies they were! They sighed happily, shimmied a little to get our hands to the right spots, and snoozed on.

Nadine and Peggy Sue were rescued from a supposed sanctuary in Vermont that was actually run by an animal hoarder who was starving and shooting some animals while sending others to slaughter. The hoarder’s whole goat herd came to the farm as well.

Here’s Nadine napping away. Since the only pig I’d ever encountered was Wilbur in “Charlotte’s Web,” I thought all pigs were small, pink and hairless. Wrong! They have thick, bristly coats, come in all sorts of colors and patterns, and are clean, curious and opinionated.

Pigs are highly social and extremely intelligent. They are among the quickest animals to learn, at times surpassing chimpanzees. They can figure out how to open and close gates and cages, can herd sheep and can learn how to play video games with joysticks. They’re also easily bored. No, I’m not making this up!

This is Roscoe. He had a bit of a drooling issue going on that day. What a big boy.

Look at the size of this girl!

Pigs who are bred for factory farms are gigantic. They’re genetically manipulated to grow as big as possible as quickly as possible, but since they’re slaughtered as adolescents at six months, they don’t usually live to adulthood. Rescued pigs can live over ten years, weigh over a thousand pounds and have all kinds of joint problems because their bodies aren’t meant to carry this unnatural weight.

Amelia was the smallest, and my favorite pig. Here she is in the foreground, rooting in her field with a friend. She’s clearly clever, her enthusiasm infectious, and if pigs can smile, she’s a smiler. When we first met her in her barn, she came straight over to say hello, quietly grunting, and I scratched her head and back. The next day as we walked past her field, she and her friend saw us and both trotted over oink-oink-oinking their hellos, enjoyed a head scratch, then headed back into the field.

Pigs who live in factory farms are never allowed outside. They live their lives squished into cages on bare concrete or metal slat floors in huge warehouses, so they can’t root or perform any natural functions. A rooting pig is a happy pig.

I don’t know the name of Amelia’s friend, but she sure is one big mama.

Here’s a link to a sweet little video of Amelia greeting one of her caretakers at the sanctuary. Amelia was rescued from an animal hoarder who was breeding pit bulls. It was thought that she was intended as bait in the training of the dogs.

It was a wonderful visit, a thrill to connect with all of these beautiful creatures. At the same time, it was so disturbing. I’ve been vegan for only one year, vegetarian for two years before that. I used to eat these animals, these engaging, expressive animals? It’s a shock to discover their individuality and personality, although I don’t know why. If the dogs and cats I know each have a distinct personality, why wouldn’t all animals? And if I wouldn’t eat a dog or a cat, why would I eat these beauties? As we made our way around the farm, I became more and more appalled that I’d never thought to ask myself these basic questions for most of my life.

Here’s Amelia’s friend again, checking us out.

After our visit, I thought that if we could all meet a pig like Amelia who went out of her way to say hello, or a rooster like Jailbird who nestled happily into my arms, or a goat like Arthur who leaned up against my leg because he’d like a little more attention, please, or a dairy calf like Russell who gently licked my fingers, most of us would change the way we view these animals and we’d change the way we eat. And maybe we’d think twice about drinking their milk if we all knew what happens to those little baby calves who never have a chance to know their own mothers.

We don’t need to eat animal products to thrive. If we can lead happy and healthy lives while sparing farm animals from lives full of pain and suffering, well… why wouldn’t we?

This is Alex, a staff member and our guide. Jesse likes to lick his head.

Here’s a link to the Catskill Animal Sanctuary. The owner and founder, Kathy Stevens, has written two books about the animals she has rescued, “Where The Blind Horse Sings” and “Animal Camp,” both full of incredible stories of rescued animals who were deeply damaged yet, with much love and patience, were able to flourish again. I recommend reading them with a big box of tissues at your side.

A couple of closing thoughts:

“May our daily choices be a reflection of our deepest values, and may we use our voices to speak for those who need us most, those who have no voice, those who have no choice. It’s up to each one of us to create the world we want to live in; if not you, who? If not now, when?” Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, author, speaker and educator

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead, anthropologist

Travel Sketchbook: Bon Appetit!

24 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by ThisHandcraftedLife in Sketchbook Journal, Travel

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

art, florence, food, italy, sketchbook, sketching, travel

It seems that when we travel, some of the strongest memories we return with are connected to the meals we enjoyed. Although many photograph their plates, I’ve always drawn pictures of them, and when I go back and read those pages again, even years later, the memory of the food, the company, the decor of the restaurant, the mood, the charm (or not) of the waiter and even the weather come flooding back into my mind.

I’ve compiled a few sketches from my travel journals depicting some especially savory or sweet moments. They were often one of the highlights of the trip.

Here’s a crazy dinner I had in Sydney, Australia, a 10-course extravaganza. Obviously, this was before I became vegetarian!

When I went to New Zealand, I had an especially memorable breakfast.

On a trip to Scotland, my whole family fell in love with Sticky Toffee Pudding. Incredible stuff.

I even drew my breakfast on a plane once, on a flight to Zurich. Warm croissants? Hello! Yes, I’ll have another.

In Abu Dhabi, I was so impressed with my fruit plate that I drew it right onto the bill.

But nothing quite compares to the wonders of Florence. The food was so simple and so spectacular, I drew every meal. I won’t bore you with all of the drawings, but boy, did we have fun!

We were puzzled by the bread, which was tasteless. Finally it dawned on us to dip it into everything. Mystery solved!

It’s safe to say that every day was a food fest.

Our favorite restaurant was Trattoria Antico Fattore. We were in Florence during mushroom season, and the porcini salad was beyond delicious. Not to mention the squash blossoms. And the… well, you get the idea.

Our evenings usually ended with a quiet stroll and a stop at a Gelateria as we tried to solve the age-old puzzle: which flavors taste best together? I got a little fixated on the Creme Caramel.

So whenever we take a trip, I always wonder… what will we eat and what will I draw? Such a fun question to answer!

Handmade Book: The Family Cookbook

29 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by ThisHandcraftedLife in Family History, Paper Craft

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

cookbook, cooking, craft, family history, food, German cooking, handmade book, illustration, lifestyle, traditional german cooking

My mom is a great cook. A few years ago, I thought it was high time to compile a cookbook of family recipes, which would of course include hers, as well as those handed down from her own family, and my father’s mother, not to mention family friends.

Below is the cover, with a photo of my mom skiing at age 28, and my drawing of her recipe box.

Bringing everything together became a labor of love, with my mother gathering and reviewing every recipe and double checking the instructions. The cookbook is divided into sections with family photographs and scans of some of the original handwritten recipes.

Here are some of the divider pages, with photos of us when we were young (I have an older brother and a younger sister) and my parents were in their thirties.

On the back of each divider page is a list of the recipes in that section. The photo below is of my grandparents in the 1930s. Looks like my grandmother was flapper!

Since my parents are German and most of their friends are European, we ended up with recipes from Germany (specifically Bavaria), Bosnia, Croatia and the Czech Republic. This meant heavy use of meat and enough desserts to fill a small truck. Also making an appearance are random additions, like stir fries, pasta and the spirit of Julia Child.

I thought it would be fun to illustrate and create a hand-written title for each recipe. The illustrations are drawn with black ink and colored pencils, then scanned and pulled into the page layout. The cookbook starts with special holiday menus.

Then it breaks into sections and individual recipes. Soups and salads…

Main courses…

Veggies…

And everyone’s favorite course, dessert! Look at that list of recipes! Everyone had a contribution for this section. Yes, that’s me reaching for my chocolate bunny on Easter morning in my fashionable robe.

After I scanned all of the art, I composed the book and printed out four copies, then had them bound at my copy shop. This became a Christmas gift for my mom, brother and sister.

A few questions for my mom:

Which recipes are your favorites? Holiday meals with either roast duck or roast goose.

Do you enjoy cooking? What do you like about it? Yes, but not every day. I like experimenting and being creative.

What do you like to eat the most? And the least? I like pasta, salad, fish, venison, crepes, spatzle, stir fries, paprika and curry chicken, and zwetschgen kuchen [an open tart made with pate brisee dough and Italian plums]. I don’t like raw shellfish, rich sauces or fatty red meat.

How did you learn to cook? Did you help your mother? No, I never helped my mother, since she made very simple dinners of pork roast or chicken, nothing fancy. I learned by buying cookbooks, and watching the Galloping Gourmet and Julia Child on tv. But mostly it was by traveling and eating new foods, being curious and recreating those meals with the help of cookbooks. Also, I found Julia Child’s cookbook at a rummage sale for $1, and starting trying her recipes.

Are there any foods that you ate as a child in Germany that are not available today in the U.S. but wish you could eat again? Yes! Real Weisswurst [a traditional Bavarian sausage made with finely minced veal and fresh pork bacon, flavored with parsley, lemon, mace, onions, ginger and cardamom], big Bretzen [giant soft pretzels from Munich], boleto mushroom soup and Leberkase [Leberkase means “liver cheese” although it contains neither. It’s a finely ground mix of corned beef, pork, bacon and onions that’s baked in a loaf until it has a crunchy brown crust].

What advice would you give someone who wants to learn how to cook well? Be curious! Take classes, buy cookbooks, and watch DVDs or cooking shows.

Thanks, Mom! Here’s a photo of us together on Mother’s Day this year. Whenever I’m cooking and not sure about something, I ask myself, WWMD? What Would Mom Do? It always helps.

Just Another Wimpy Vegetarian

19 Sunday Aug 2012

Posted by ThisHandcraftedLife in Craft Tutorial

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

craft, craft tutorial, food, graphic design, lifestyle, t-shirt design, t-shirt how-to, vegan, vegetarian

I’ve been a vegetarian for almost three years and it’s great, I love it. But some people seem to think, despite an appetite that can decimate a farmer’s market, that I’m going to waste away. Instead of constantly pointing out that all plants have protein, some more than meat (lentils, anyone?), I thought I’d make a few t-shirts and carry the message out into the world.

What better ambassadors than the biggest, strongest, fiercest vegetarians around?

Ms. Rhino was first. I figured the easiest way to do it, since I don’t have silkscreen equipment, was by iron-on transfer from my ink-jet printer. Easy peasy! Here’s the process.

I designed the image and output it onto the transfer paper. The rhino drawing is from a book of 19th Century engravings, which are copyright free. The design was inspired by Barbara Kruger.

I let the paper dry for 30 minutes, then trimmed out the image. The default background color of the transfer is white. I defined the outline of the drawing with an indelible black sharpie marker.

As a New Yorker, of course I’m transferring onto a black t-shirt. A pack of 5 iron-on transfer sheets for dark-colored textiles is $13.50 from Dick Blick.

Next, I peeled off the adhesive backing, placed the cut out image on the shirt, covered it  with the supplied parchment paper, ironed for three or four minutes without steam, and waa-la! A new shirt to wear.

I wasn’t happy with the legibility of my message, so when it was Ms. Elephant’s turn, I switched the typeface to black and the shirt to gray.

I wore the Elephant shirt for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and it was a hit! At a vegetable stand at the side of the road where we were choosing our wildly overpriced heirloom tomatoes, the young girl at the cash register told me she was a vegetarian, too. Her younger brother looked at my shirt, considered it carefully, looked at me and told me soberly, “You don’t look wimpy to me.”

Up next: bison, hippos or maybe a giraffe. I’m still undecided about the color, though. What do you think, black t-shirt or grey?

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