Yoga On Main instructors Denise Lyon, Kelly Dougherty and James Swaim.

Submitted photo

Yoga on Main, located in the lower level of The Liberty in downtown Elkin, will now be offering courses in meditation as well as welcoming back a former yoga instructor.

I feel so grateful that Yoga on Main is offering more classes, styles and teachers for the community in Elkin, said owner Kelly Dougherty. My true passion is teaching and sharing the practice of yoga with my students but I am only one person, each teacher weaves their own experience, insight and wisdom into their classes. I feel honored to be a part of this growing community of well being and cant wait to see where it takes us in the future!

Dougherty began her own yoga practice about 10 years ago when she took a free class offered at York College in Pennsylvania, where she was a student. She said she fell in love with yoga and it all evolved from there. After moving to North Carolina a few years ago, Dougherty completed a year-long training with Sunrise Yoga Studio in Clemmons. She has been teaching at Yoga On Main, located in the lower level of The Liberty, for three years now. She also teaches yoga at the Yadkin Family YMCA.

James Swaim (RYT 200) has recently returned to teaching after a two-year break in which he underwent a successful bone marrow stem cell transplant. He looks forward to regaining full strength as he helps others with the practice of yoga. His first yoga experience came in 2002 when his wife Jennifer dragged him to a yoga class at Yoga on Main, operated at the time by Elizabeth Barr. It was love at first downward facing dog and he was hooked, he said. He subsequently practiced in Winston-Salem and surrounding areas and earned his 200 hour certification at Sunrise Yoga in Clemmons.

In 2012, Swaim retired from Triad Medical Services, Inc. after 25 years in the healthcare industry. He began teaching shortly thereafter with the goal of sharing the mental, physical and spiritual benefits he has found in the practice of yoga. As a senior citizen, Swaim is especially aware of the needs for flexibility, balance and retaining muscle mass and bone density as the body ages. He added Silver Age Yoga Certification, A Healthy Aging with Yoga Project in 2014. He offers encouragement to all who want to maintain or improve their health. In addition to his yoga practice and teaching, Swaim enjoys reading, working in his yard, biking, hiking, and traveling.

Denise Lyon has recently joined the Yoga on Main staff and is a certified meditation and mindfulness instructor. Lyon has been in the healing arts for over twenty years and is also a licensed massage and bodywork therapist.

I meditated pretty lazily for several years, but about five years ago I began to be more disciplined and saw pretty wonderful results, said Lyon. I knew that it wasnt easy to make it a priority, so I wanted to learn how to do it right.

This started an exploration of meditation that began with a course in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and the beginning of an ongoing learning relationship with Bhante Gunaratana, the renown Buddhist monk and author of Mindfulness in Plain English at Bhavana Society Buddhist Monastery.

Lyon spent the last year on a 200-hour course of study with Sarah McLean, founder of McLean Meditation Institute and former educational director for the Deepak Chopra Center.

Now it is my hearts desire to teach peace and to share what I have learned and experienced with others. I believe that a meditation practice and living a mindful life can change the way you see things in a very basic way. Learning to live in awareness is one of the most awesome things that meditation teaches us, and that naturally leads to a life of peace and compassion and a richer experience all the way around, she said.

Lyon grew up in Elkin, but lived elsewhere for 25 years until deciding to come back home.

I thought for awhile that I would have to move to a larger city to be able to transition into teaching meditation, but I am starting to see that teachers who live in smaller areas might have an advantage. There are so many people yearning for a deeper experience of life and they are coming out of the woodwork in Elkin. Im so happy about that. We can form our own tribe of people who want to create peace.

Lyon will be teaching day-long classes and weekend retreats in the near future, as well as classes at Yoga on Main. For more information, contact her at [emailprotected] Lyons other interest is being a trail advocate. She believes that being outdoors and on a trail is a great way to find your peace and wellness. She is a founding board member of the Elkin Valley Trails.

For more information on classes and programs at Yoga On Main, visit http://www.yoga-on-main.com.

Kitsey Burns Harrison may be reached at 336-679-2341 or on Twitter and Instagram @RippleReporterK.

Yoga On Main instructors Denise Lyon, Kelly Dougherty and James Swaim.

http://elkintribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_PHOTO_20170201_164131.jpgYoga On Main instructors Denise Lyon, Kelly Dougherty and James Swaim. Submitted photo

.

See more here:

Meditation courses coming to Yoga On Main - Elkin Jonesville Tribune

Monday, February 13, 2017 at 6 a.m.

Lo Moon took a different route than other bands coming up in the age of the Internet. Rather than share musical ideas and songs immediately through social media or a digital platform like Bandcamp, the Los Angeles group worked on its music for four and a half years before releasing debut single Loveless in 2016.

Band founder Matt Lowell started playing music in New York City. Around 2010, he was lured to Los Angeles by friends who had moved to the West Coast and the promise of more space. Through other friends, he met bassist Crisanta Banker, who is originally from Denver, and Sam Stewart, the son ofthe Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, from England. The trio became friends and then formed Lo Moon.

The three allowed their music to develop naturally, at first recording in studios in their homes, around Los Angeles, but mostly at the Hall of Justice, in Seattle, with Chris Walla, who played in Death Cab for Cutie and Tetaz. The Hall of Justice had been home to Recriprocal Audio, the studio where many of Seattle's best grunge-scene albums were recorded.

We recently spoke with Lowell about his band's evolution, the impact of more ambitious pop bands like Talk Talk on Lo Moon, and the importance of meditation.

Westword: Loveless might be misconstrued as a kind of dream-pop song, in the vein of what's been going on in Los Angeles in recent years. But on repeated listens, it has a depth of detail and richness of composition that is reminiscent of Talk Talk.

Matt Lowell: They were a weird band, because [the albums] Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock were the end of that band but also the beginning of every other band that wanted to explore that realm. I was interested how they made something so vast and experimental, but also how they made something so pop and refined and refreshing and mainstream. That's the thing I love about Talk Talk. Obviously Mark Hollis's writing is amazing, but that band had such a scope. My favorite bands have a scope. They didn't pigeonhole themselves. Probably nobody but people in bands cared about Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock, but tons of people heard stuff like Happiness Is Easy.

When I heard Spirit of Eden in particular, it stopped me like, what the fuck is this? That's any band's goal.... There are beacons for Lo Moon, and I think Talk Talk is, definitely.

On your website, there's a picture of a book, Turn Your Mind Into an Ally, by Sakyong Mipham. It struck me as being like the Buddhist version of Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill. It's the book that inspired Bad Brains and that whole Positive Mental Attitude" thing and the concept of reorienting your mind to accomplish what you want.

Yes, 100 percent. I posted that shortly after the New Year. It's weird, because it's the book that I just go for when it's like January 3. I have to sit down again and meditate, because I dropped off the four months of the last year. I had a lot on my plate coming up, and I needed to get my mind ready. I've read that book so many times, and I think it's basically a handbook for me. I need to remember why meditating was working.

Why is meditating so important?

It centers me. It helps me deal with my anxiety and the perils of fucking everything. I'm a really easygoing person, but I get ahead of myself. The one thing about that is that even if you're sitting and thinking and you can't focus on your breath the whole time, you can after twenty minutes, you realize you didn't let anything from the outside world distract you. [When] you're focusing on your breathing, even if you're not succeeding at it, you're stopping your day for twenty minutes. I try to make that as part of my [daily] routine.

Lo Moon plays with Muna, Tuesday, February 14, at the Larimer Lounge. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8; tickets are $15. For more information, call 303-291-1007.

Read more:

Lo Moon's Arresting Pop Songs Come From Patience and Meditation - Westword

Silhouettes of Saint statues are seen during the Pope Francis' Sunday Angelus prayer on February 12, 2017 at the Vatican - AFP

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis prayed the Angelus with pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peters Square on Sunday. In remarks ahead of the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, the Holy Father offered a meditation on the Gospel reading for this Sunday, taken from the 5th chapter of Gospel according to St. Matthew, in which Our Lord says:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Reflecting on the passage, Pope Francis said:

Today's liturgy presents us with another page of the Sermon on the Mount, which we find in the Gospel of Matthew (cf. 5:17-37). In this passage, Jesus wants to help his listeners to achieve a reinterpretation of the Mosaic law. What was said in the Old Covenant was true, but it was not all: Jesus came to fulfill and to enact definitively the law of God, down to the last iota (cf. Mt. 5:18). He manifests the Laws original purposes and He fulfills its authentic aspects and He does all this by His preaching and even more by offering Himself on the Cross. So, Jesus teaches how to do the will of God fully and He uses this expression: with a justice superior to that of the scribes and Pharisees (cf. Mt. 5: 20) a justice animated by love, charity, mercy, and therefore capable of realizing the substance of the commandments, avoiding the risk of formalism.

Formalism, continued Pope Francis, departing from his prepared text. This I can do, that I cannot: up to here I can, up to here, I cannot.

No, said Pope Francis, more, more.

The second moment of Pope Francis reflection concerned the second part of the Gospel reading again from the 5th Chapter of St. Matthews Gospel, in which Jesus says to His disciples:

You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, You fool, will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.

You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.

It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife - unless the marriage is unlawful - causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your 'Yes' mean Yes, and your No mean No. Anything more is from the evil one.

Pope Francis continued his reflection, saying:

In particular, in [this Sundays] Gospel, Jesus examines three aspects, three commandments: murder, adultery and oath-swearing.

With regard to the commandment, Thou shalt not kill, He affirms that it is violated not only by actual homicide, but also by those behaviors, which offend the dignity of the human person, including insulting words (cf. Mt. 5:22). Certainly, these injurious words do not have the same gravity and sinfulness of killing, but they are placed on the same line, because they are the premises of the more serious acts and they reveal the same malevolence. Jesus invites us not to establish a schedule [It. graduatoria] of offenses, but to consider them all harmful, insofar as they are all moved by the intention to do harm to ones neighbor.

Jesus gives the example, Pope Francis went on to say, once again departing from his prepared text. Insulting: we are used to insulting, it is like saying, Good morning. And that is on the same line as killing. Anyone who insults his brother kills his brother in his heart. Please, do not insult! We earn nothing by doing so. Pope Francis then returned to his prepared text, and continued with his reflection:

Another fulfillment is made to marriage law. Adultery was considered a violation of a mans property right over [his] woman. Jesus, however, goes to the root of the evil. Just as one comes to murder through injuries, offenses, and insults, so one comes to adultery through intentions of possession with respect to a woman other than ones wife.

Adultery, like theft, corruption and all other sins, are first conceived in our hearts and, once the wrong choice is made in the heart, they are actuated in concrete behavior. And Jesus says:

Again departing from his prepared text, Pope Francis continued, He who looks with a possessing spirit at a woman who is not his own is an adulterer in his heart, he has begun to go down the road to adultery. Let us think a little on this: on the bad thoughts that are in this line.

The Holy Father then turned his attention to the swearing of oaths:

Jesus then tells his disciples not to swear oaths, because the oath is a sign of insecurity and duplicity with which human relations are conducted. Oath-swearing exploits the authority of God to give assurance to our human affairs. Rather we are called to establish among ourselves, in our families and in our communities, a climate of clarity and mutual trust, so that we can be considered honest without resorting to higher interventions in order to be believed. Mistrust and mutual suspicion always threaten serenity!

Before leading the faithful in the Angelus, Pope Francis prayed that Our Lady a woman of docile listening and obedience might help us all to pause and spend more time with the Gospel, that we might be Christians not merely in appearance but in substance. This, said Francis, is possible with the grace of the Holy Spirit, who permits us to do everything with love, and so to fulfil the will of God.

Read more:

Pope Francis at Angelus: meditation on fulfilment of the Law - Vatican Radio

Mondays get a bad rap. Its the beginning of the work week, which means emails to respond to, reports to write, clients to meet, etc. The compounding of menial tasks with only so many hoursin the day spawns stress.

Butsometimes it helps to put that existence in perspective. The video above hints at the geological processes that unfolded over millions of years to form the Hawaiian islands we know today.

And thats not to say that theyre a finished product. Lava continues to flow from the Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island, eventually spilling into the sea.

Taking the time to appreciate Hawaiis beauty, and how slowly the Earth continues to change, is instructive. It shows how the tasks on which we place so much importance are simply not so pressing after all.

So give yourself four minutes this Monday, full screen the video above, and let your mind wander.

You can also check out a 360 version here.

Originally posted here:

This Video About the Formation of the Hawaiian Islands Is Like a Monday Meditation - TheInertia.com

LAKE OF BAYS Almost nothing can stop you from exercising at the Dorset Community Centre.

Paula McIsaac will be offering a free 10-week Nia Technique, known as non-impact aerobics, at the Dorset Health Hub, beginning the week of March 27. Advanced registration is required as minimum numbers are necessary for classes to run.

Nia Technique is an approach to fitness that embraces dance movement, martial arts and the healing arts. Nia is kind on the joints and adaptable to every age, type of body or level of fitness.

Nia started in the mid-1980s when exercise business owner, Debbie Rosas, was forced to find an alternative method of exercise after a series of sports related injuries. Rosas, alongside her trainer, Carlos AyaRosas, researched and developed an alternative method of aerobic exercise and strength training aiming for safe, non-impact and body-mind based movement.

At the same time, Debbie Rosas called a friend who was a martial artist. It was at her first lesson that she realized she could incorporate new energy patterns and movements into class.

Nia with Paula McIssac will be offered at three locations this spring: the Dorset Recreation Centre, the MacTier Memorial Arena and the Ryde Community Co-op. Registration opens March 6. Call 705-645-2100 extension 199 to reserve your spot.

Go here to read the rest:

Non-impact aerobics to be offered at Dorset Community Centre - http://www.muskokaregion.com/

Calling animal-free food "plant-based" is simple and factual, but a bit bland, echoing the outmoded stereotype of vegan food as such. Instead, Rip Esselstyn, who was in Philly this week, works to spread the "plant-strong" message.

Unlike the neutral and somewhat ambiguous "based" (after all, cheese fries could be called plant-based, couldn't they?), "plant-strong" expresses a positive value judgment with oomph, and subtly implies its opposite, "animal[-based]-weak." Esselstyn calls animal foods "a dirty fuel." In speaking to fellow Austin firefighters at Engine 2, many of whom wound up cutting out meat and dairy, with measurable health gains.: "If you're eating animal foods, that's a dirty fuel, your engine is going to clog up."

This is more than a motor-based, er, motor-strong metaphor. Slowly, Americans (and Westerners more generally) are beginning to deal with the fact that a whole-foods plant-based diet is not just adequate, but a better diet to live on than the standard American meat-and-dairy meals. Esselstyn said cancer and many other common ailments are "all manifestations of eating weak, problematic, destructive food," while plants, on the other hand, "have 64 times the antioxidants of animal foods, there's over 25,000 phytonutrients, there's fiber to scrub out your system, to sweep away toxins," of which, by the way, animal fats are a rich source due to the phenomenon of bioaccumulation.

"Real men eat plants" was the slogan at Engine 2, though of course "real people of all kinds eat plants" is also true. But is vegan really, literally stronger? More, say, manly than otherwise? Well, vegan men have been found to have "significantly higher testosterone levels than both vegetarians and meateaters," so there's that. I'm not saying it will turn you into, say, Mr. Universe or, you know, the strongest man in the word... OR AM I?

Actually, those guys aren't alone; many weightlifters, bodybuilders and football players are adding to the ranks of ultramarathoners, ice skaters and tennis players (e.g. the Williams sisters) who have excelled at top levels on a plant-charged diet. That's part of the reason Esselstyn was in town, talking "Plant-Based Health & Athleticism" along with Joe Holder for the Penn Vegan Society. He cites the most recent high-profile example, 300-lb NFL Defensive End David Carter, who thought vegan eating was for 'weaklings' until he tried it out himself - and stuck with it.

It might look like Esselstyn is riding the recent "vegans can be macho" mainstream-media trend, but actually he's the original macho vegan, a former firefighter and triathlete who was using his brawn to back up his bran more than a decade ago, and who has continued to speak out about healthful food as a source of strength, becoming a #1 New York Times Bestselling Author in the process. So if (and it's a big if) men in general are finally moving away from macho myth and toward the facts of plant-strong advantage, he's one of the people to thank.

Esselstyn said he's working now on a documentary to be released at the beginning of next year, called 'Game-changers.' Could be an apt term for Rip himself, no? But he demurred: "If you want to be a true hero, for your health, for the planet, for animals, you'll start eating a plant-based diet - that's what I tell everyone I talk to."

The trigger for the NFL's Carter was seeing the film Forks Over Knives, which features the work of Rip's father, Caldwell Esselstyn, who did the science proving that heart disease can be reversed with a rigorously healthy diet. Another scientist featured in that documentary, T. Colin Campbell, also laid much of the groundwork in this area with his long-term, large-scale work that culminated in The China Study.

Campbell's son Nelson established PlantPure (after the film PlantPure Nation), a national group working to put the health benefits of whole-foods plant-based eating into practice, and its first affiliated restaurant, the PlantPure Caf, has its grand opening today, Saturday, Feb. 11.

The ambitious new healthy vegan fast-food joint run by Fernando Peralta of VGE Caf is at 1115 Walnut Street, in the space where Maoz used to be, but with a fresh, updated look. Having soft-opened in December, PlantPure is now ready for its crunchy, yummy closeup. As the Caf's page put it, "It's a moment to celebrate the plant-based lifestyle and taste some delicious food!"

Stop by from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and enjoy a Seitan Reuben or a Groothie alongside Nelson Campbell himself, along with his wife Kim Campbell, who will sign her PlantPure Nation Cookbook. (UPDATE: She is also signing copies of her newest cookbook, PlantPure Kitchen.) Get a copy or two to help you go plant-pure, or plant-strong, or plant-charged yourself!

Along with many others, we'll be watching the progress of the PlantPure pioneers, but the indications are sunny. The food is good and the science is strong. And though it's not an Esselstyn project (family friends with the Campbells, but they're not affiliated) it's safe to say that this little green plant-forward eatery could turn out to be a game-changer.

Published: February 11, 2017 6:37 AM EST | Updated: February 11, 2017 1:36 PM EST Philadelphia Daily News

Originally posted here:

Vegan science getting stronger, and so are vegan eaters - Philly.com (blog)

LOS ANGELES There are many places where you might expect to find Danny Trejo. On-screen, in one of the 300 or so movies the 72-year-old actor has appeared in over his long career, including three From Dusk Till Dawn films. In commercials heres hoping he reprises his 2015 Marcia Brady imitation during the next Super Bowl. You might not expect to see Trejo working the line in a kitchen, even if it is his own restaurant.

On a recent morning, Trejo moved around the 400-square-foot kitchen of Trejos Cantina in Hollywood, the actors second taquera the original year-old location is on La Brea Avenue deftly working the stoves with his executive chef, John-Carlos Kuramoto. Finding Kuramoto, a veteran of Campanile, Michaels in Santa Monica and Osteria Mozza even though hes only 29, working the line is less unlikely.

Trejo is hardly wearing chefs whites. Hes dressed all in black, a large crucifix around his neck like a relic, his long hair under a Trejos Tacos baseball cap. His face, deeply etched around the handlebar mustache, is an off-road map. But the trademark scowl is noticeably absent, replaced by laughter, a running commentary with Kuramoto and the fact that he keeps pausing to eat tacos. And not just any tacos: the roasted cauliflower tacos that have become one of the most popular items on the restaurants menu.

This is how you take a bite of a vegan taco, says Trejo. You bite it harder.

My mom always wanted to open a restaurant, says the actor, who grew up in Echo Park and lives in Mission Hills. But my dad was like a Mexican Archie Bunker. We have a kitchen right there, hed say. Kuramoto tosses a corn tortilla onto the flattop like a frisbee as Trejo sautees cauliflower. Did he ever think hed open a restaurant? I never thought Id get out of prison, says Trejo, smiling broadly.

Before Trejo began appearing in movies, youd likely have found him in jail or in a boxing ring or both he won lightweight and welterweight titles while serving time in San Quentin for drug offenses or in the rooms of 12-step programs; he got his first acting job, as an extra, while working as a drug counselor. His appreciation of food evolved over time (when you get sober, youre not eating pickled pigs feet in a bar), and to reflect it. When youre in the industry, the entertainment industry, inevitably someones going to say: Im vegetarian, Im vegan.

So when Trejo actually opened a restaurant, not only did he and his chef put the tacos of Trejos childhood on the menu, they made sure to put vegetable-centered and specifically vegan tacos there as well.

Cauliflower is one of those things you fall in love with, says Kuramoto, as he arranges the heady mixture of orange, green, lavender and pale florets with roasted corn on the tortilla, adding a cream made from cashews, pickled onions, the traditional accompaniments of cilantro, radishes and lime wedges.

I thought about Nancys whole roasted cauliflower, the chef says. Hes talking, of course, about Nancy Silvertons whole vegetable dish, which the James Beard Award-winning chef has installed on the menu of Pizzeria Mozza, her restaurant about a mile and a half away from Trejos. (Silverton is one of the patron saints of L.A.s new vegetable cooking, as well as Kuramotos former boss at the Osteria.)

Were trying to stay as authentic as we can, Trejo says, putting down the breakfast burrito someone had handed him. My mom cooked with lard, he says, by way of explanation. But they also want to cater to a community of families, of both kids and adults with health concerns and, yes, the entertainment industry that has given Trejo a remarkably prolific career thats showing little signs of slowing down.

Kuramoto goes back to work: Jidori chicken with achiote, or maybe the taco hes making with young jackfruit and tomatillos. And Trejo heads out into the restaurants casual dining room to greet some regulars, the kitchen doors swinging behind him like those in an imaginary saloon.

ROASTED RAINBOW CAULIFLOWER TACOS

About 1 hour, plus overnight soaking time. Makes 6 tacos

CASHEW CREAM

1 cup cashews

3 cups water

2 tablespoons salt, or to taste

2 teaspoons lime juice, or to taste

In a bowl, soak the cashews in water, cover and set aside overnight at room temperature for the cashews to soften. The next day, strain the cashews, reserving the water. In a blender, puree the cashews with enough water to form a smooth sauce with the texture of heavy cream. Season with salt and lime juice to taste. This makes a generous cup of cream, which will keep, covered and refrigerated, up to 5 days.

PICKLED ONIONS

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced

cup lime juice

1 tablespoon salt

In a nonreactive bowl, stir together the onion, lime juice and salt until the salt is dissolved and all of the onion is covered. Set the mixture aside to marinate for at least 20 minutes before assembling the tacos. The pickled onions will keep, 3 to 5 days, covered and refrigerated.

GRILLED WHITE CORN

2 ears white corn, husks removed

Olive oil, for brushing

teaspoon salt, or to taste

teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste

Brush the corn with a light coat of olive oil and sprinkle over salt and pepper to taste. Cook the corn over a grill or grill pan heated over medium-high heat until the corn is charred and tender on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and cut the kernels from the cobs. You should have about 1 cup corn kernels. Set aside.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

4 cups colored cauliflower florets, from a mixture of purple, orange, green and white cauliflower heads

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, toss the cauliflower florets with the olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, until evenly combined. Spread the cauliflower onto a rimmed baking sheet and roast until slightly charred and tender, about 15 minutes, depending on the size of the florets.

ROASTED RAINBOW CAULIFLOWER TACOS

1 teaspoon olive oil

Prepared roasted cauliflower

Prepared grilled white corn

Salt

Lime juice, for seasoning

6 corn tortillas, warmed

cup prepared cashew cream, or to taste

Prepared pickled onions

Cilantro leaves, for garnish

Crushed roasted cashews, for garnish

2 radishes, thinly sliced, for garnish

Lime wedges, for serving

1. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat until hot, and add the olive oil. Add the cauliflower and corn, stirring until warmed through. Remove from heat. Taste and season the mixture as desired with salt and lime juice.

2. To assemble the tacos, drizzle about 2 tablespoons cashew cream over each warmed tortilla. Spoon over about 1/2 cup of the cauliflower corn mixture. Top the mixture with a pinch of pickled onions, and garnish with cilantro leaves, roasted cashews and radish slices. Serve the tacos with lime wedges.

Note: Adapted from a recipe by Trejos Tacos.

Link:

How to make Danny Trejo's favorite vegan cauliflower tacos - The Keene Sentinel

A small, idyllic German town has a cute tradition of having its town hall building play an array of different but familiar German folk songs on its chimes. One song was removed recently, though, because a local vegan resident complained that it was about cruelty to animals.

According to The Local, the song, Fox, You Stole the Goose, is a familiar German folk song thats popular with kids, and it was one of the 15 or so songs programmed into the glockenspiel of the town hall building in the little town of Limburg an der Lahn.

The song is about a fox stealing a goose, which is just part of the circle of life. But the song also includes a line about how the hunter will probably shoot the fox for stealing the goose, and that upset a local vegan resident who worked within earshot of the glockenspiel and who said it was very disturbing to hear about animal-killing while she was trying to work.

Out of consideration for the womans feelings, the town hall director took the song out of rotation. He said they often rotate the songs, and there are plenty more songs in the rotation, so it was no big trouble to remove one just to be considerate.

More:

Vegan Protest Shuts Down Town's Folk Song Performance - The Daily Meal

The first time I made truffles from chocolate ganache, it was a revelation: How could just two ingredients, chocolate and cream, set up to form such a perfect texture? It almost felt like a cheat; this shouldn't be so easy. Scoop, roll, coat, done.

It wasn't until I cooked with two of my favorite vegan chefs, Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby, a few years ago that my truffles evolved further. Jacoby showed me how to make a pot de creme using little more than dark chocolate, beet juice, coconut milk and cornstarch. I loved it warm - and then noticed that when I refrigerated it, guess what happened? Yep, just like ganache.

I figured a simple coconut milk-chocolate combo would do the same thing, so I tried it, and sure enough, magic. Since then, I've seen plenty of other recipes that play with the same ingredients - and often add several others - but I've never found a good enough reason to branch out beyond that effective one-two punch.

I have experimented with lots of coatings, though: Plain cocoa, unsweetened coconut, pecans or other nuts, chipotle or other ground chiles for the brave-hearted. I love them all, but the best coating of all came to me when I was rooting around the pantry for inspiration. I found a bag of freeze-dried strawberries and blitzed them to a powder in a mini food processor, and the truffles I rolled in them turned out to be my favorite. (Freeze-dried raspberries would be a natural, too.)

The best thing about these is that if you use dairy-free chocolate, they're vegan, and just as tasty as traditional ones, which broadens their appeal to include just about anybody who loves chocolate.

The second-best thing? The fact that, unlike ones made with heavy cream, they're built on shelf-stable ingredients I happen to always have around. That means I can melt, scoop, roll and coat them on little more than a whim.

---

Vegan Chocolate Truffles

24-30 pieces

With just high-quality dark chocolate and coconut milk, you've got deeply flavored truffles that you can roll in your choice of coatings. Below are suggestions for making a box or plate that includes five varieties, but feel free to mix and match, or choose other favorite possibilities.

You'll need paper candy cups. A #100 size disher is helpful for making consistently same-size truffles.

Make Ahead: The ganache needs to be refrigerated for 1 to 2 hours before you form and coat the truffles. The finished truffles can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. From Food and Dining Editor Joe Yonan.

Ingredients

1 cup full-fat coconut milk, stirred well

10 1/2 ounces dairy-free dark chocolate (preferably 75 percent or higher cacao), finely chopped

1/2 cup freeze-dried strawberries (about 1/2 ounce)

1/4 cup unsweetened, dessicated (dried) coconut

2 tablespoons chopped pecans or nut of your choice

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon chipotle powder

Steps

Heat the coconut milk in a small pan over low heat until it's just starting to bubble.

Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Immediately pour the warm coconut milk over it, whisking to form a smooth ganache. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, 1 to 2 hours.

Grind the dried strawberries to a fine powder in a mini food processor or clean spice grinder, then transfer the powder to a small bowl. Place the coconut, pecans, cocoa powder and chipotle powder in separate small bowls.

Once the truffle mixture has set, uncover it. Grease your hands with cooking oil spray and use a tablespoon-size scoop or #100 disher to scoop out a ball, then roll it lightly between your palms. Place on a tray, and repeat to create balls using the remaining truffle mixture. (Your palms will become covered in chocolate as you work, and the balls will soften on the outside, but that's okay.)

Use a fork to help lift and toss the truffles. Roll some of them in strawberry powder, some in coconut, some in pecans, some in cocoa powder, some in chipotle powder (for those who don't mind something fiery) or in a mix of chipotle and cocoa (for a kick that's a little milder) until well coated. You may need to use your fingers to press in the coconut and the pecans. Set each one into a paper candy cup as you finish.

When all the truffles are made, pack them into an airtight container (being careful not to stack them) and refrigerate until ready to serve -- or give.

Nutrition Per serving, calories per piece (based on 30): 80, total fat: 6g saturated fat: 4g, cholesterol: 0mg, sodium: 0mg, total carbohydrates: 6g, dietary fiber: 2g, sugar: 3g, protein: 0g

---

Video: All you need are two ingredients plus your coatings of choice to create a delicious set of truffles for a special someone this year. Bonus: They're vegan! (Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

Author Information:

Joe Yonan is the Food and Dining editor of The Washington Post and the author of "Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes for the Single Cook

." He writes the Food section's Weeknight Vegetarian column.

@JoeYonan

Link:

Spectacular (and vegan) chocolate truffles from a few ingredients - MyDaytonDailyNews

Allison Ward The Columbus Dispatch @AllisonAWard

Ohio State sophomore Hannah Murphy typically reserves the midweek time she has between classes for studying.

On a recent Wednesday, however, the 19-year-old spent an hour decorating a mandala design, her hands covered in glitter and marker colors.

Roommate Cassie Wisbang, an OSU sophomore majoring in biology, sat next to Murphy in a room at the Younkin Success Center, at Neil and 10th avenues, clipping eye-catching sayings and photographs from magazines and gluing them to the anatomical heart she had drawn on pink paper.

They listened to relaxing music Ed Sheeran, the Lumineers as they tapped their creative sides, forgetting about upcoming tests or assignments, if only for a little while.

Wisbang would probably have been doing homework that afternoon had she not been working with scissors.

But I think this is needed, she said. Sometimes we get stressed out.

The time free from academics came courtesy of the Art Space Workshop, a weekly drop-in art program open to all Ohio State students a place to communicate their feelings and thoughts through artistic expression.

Art Space was introduced in the fall by the Office of Student Lifes Counseling and Consultation Department.

The crafty activities are meant to help students de-stress something many of them need but often overlook, said Shayla Krecklow, a clinical fellow at OSU and licensed professional counselor.

A lot of students forget to take breaks and this is a subtle reminder that it can be beneficial, said Krecklow, who helped introduce the program. If youre studying however many hours straight, you dont retain as much as if you take a break and come back to it.

This is people saying, Its OK to take a break.

Art Space facilitator Sadi Fox said that coloring, drawing and other artsy exercises can be an ideal way to forget the challenges of schoolwork.

Art takes your attention, said Fox, a clinical therapist. It brings you into the present. If mindfulness is there, youre engaged in the here and now. When youre engaged, you can see a decrease in depression, a decrease in anxiety and an increase in concentration and ability to study which are goals all students have to be able to be successful academically.

Research has shown that art therapy can enhance peoples well-being, Fox said, and the university wanted to explore that possibility further, especially given how popular art can be with students.

When the counseling department hosts recess relaxation events with activities such as sports, storytelling, games and art the art stations generally are the most attended, she said.

At the start of each workshop, she or another staff member welcomes students, invites them to write songs they want to hear on a whiteboard in the room and introduces them to an entire assembly line of materials, Fox said.

We have pastels, crayons, markers, scissors, magazines to cut from, blank mandalas.

The mandalas are intended for students to color if they dont want to follow that weeks prompt for self-reflection.

The prompt last week was to create a representation of hobbies or a relationship close to ones heart or to explore why students might be grateful. The novice artists were encouraged to look at the symbol of a heart.

Faith Lynd filled a heart outline she made with construction paper with words that reminded her of her childhood for which she is most thankful.

The time gave her the opportunity to reflect on other aspects of her life besides her studies to become a social worker.

It gets lost a lot in schoolwork, trying to keep up and extracurriculars, said Lynd, a sophomore.

Plus, the hour spent at Art Space was far more constructive, she said, than bingeing on previous seasons of the Showtime series Shameless.

She was coaxed into attending the workshop by friend Kaycee Bethel, using it to fulfill requirements of the Second-Year Transformational Experience Program, in which both participate. STEP is intended to enhance students experiences on campus and the Art Space is among a number of activities students can join in.

The workshop draws as many as 30 students generally a mix of STEP participants and drop-in students seeking a unique way to relax, Fox said.

Although Julia Barone attended last week in part because of STEP, the sophomore public-health major said she plans to return again.

I loved it. It was a time I could focus on something other than school. It was great to take an hour for myself, which can be hard to do as a busy college student.

Not only does Art Space help students unwind, Krecklow said, but it also fosters a dialogue between them and the counseling department in case students need additional assistance.

Its a really easy way for them to meet a therapist, she said. They see us and think, Hey, you guys are real people, and it makes therapy more accessible.

award@dispatch.com

@AllisonAWard

Original post:

Drop-in art program offers OSU students a creative break - Columbus Dispatch