Welcoming the Winter Solstice at Alice's Tea Cup

December 21st marked the winter solstice, and I welcomed it with a happy heart. "A forest greets a snowy evening. Year after year, the holly king passes the torch as it was intended," Tori Amos signs in Winter's Carol on Midwinter Graces, a sonic love letter to the season. The summer queen surrenders, as fate and the stars has written she must, but will make her return.

Cold, snowy days await, begging you to stay indoors, linger over a pot of tea or cup of cocoa, make a pot of soup, put on your flannel pajamas and your comfiest socks, read, watch a film, play a board game, go back to bed, dream. Snow play awaits: sled down a hill, make a snow angel or a snowman, or just marvel at the beauty of it all. The heat of summer demands the body rest and soul slow down, as does the brisk cold of winter. Keith Donohue, in his poetic Angels of Destruction (a great winter read), talked about the "endless nirvana of doing nothing at all" that summer offers. The same can be said of winter days and nights. For this, I celebrate.

I gave a proper welcome to winter at New York City's Alice's Tea Cup. Whimsical costumes for the youngest of tea drinkers to get in touch with her inner princess or fairy.

A miniature version of their Alice in Wonderland set for playful tea times at home. A potential guest list: any mix of children, adults, teddy bears and dolls.

For the adult party: a pot of herbal chai (roobis, or red, tea with cinnamon, ginger and anise), with soy milk, $6.

Half a soup and half a salad is $13. Warm pear and belgian endive salad, with watercress, caramelized onions, and port vinaigrette, hold the stilton cheese.

I was told there's always one vegan soup of the day. Today's: carrot, served with a roll with basil.

Blackberry Cabernet sorbet, $6, to end the enchanting meal. No vegan scones or cookies were available that day - they were sold out.

Flashback to the winter solstice tea party at Alice's Tea cup last year, and my Valentine's party there.

Gifts Not For Sale

Not fancy jewelry, nor expensive gadget, nor new winter coat. It is time and a rekindled magic with her loved one that Tori Amos hopes for in "A Silent Night with You." Anyone in a long-term relationship, married or not, can't help at some point but look at new couples and be a bit envious of a phase that is seemingly impossible to recapture. "Young lovers pass me by with their glow, that used to be us not so long ago."

My sweetheart and I will not be exchanging Christmas gifts again this year. We've long agreed we have everything we need, and if we want something, we'll buy it ourselves. I don't feel deprived because I have no pricey bauble or item to unwrap - quite the opposite, my life feels very rich. Much like Tori does, I will be hoping for precious time, which so slips through our hands quicker and quicker. You can't unwrap it, but it's more valuable than anything you'll find in a department store.



Also on her Midwinter Graces, in "Pink and Glitter," Tori declares "our joy isn't about a present or a grown up motor toy" - it's the celebration of a daughter, present enough for so many.


Here's to appreciating all the love in our lives this holiday season - of family, of romantic partners, of friends, of a pet.

Switzerland, Remembering

Picturesque villages. When walking crowded New York City sidewalks, I sometimes consider pulling a Swiss "Under the Tuscan Sun" move.


Farm animals basking in open pastures. No crates, no cages, no lifetime jail sentences. Wondering why all farm animals aren't entitled to such freedom. Factory farming is a crime against the animal kingdom, and a black mark on humanity.


Marveling that even on the highest mountaintops, you will find places of worship.

Being blessed with a clear view of the Matterhorn.

Cozy alpine restaurants.

Swiss chocolate. Need I say more?


Forrest Gump, recalling the humbling beauty of our world, declared it was hard to tell where the Earth ended, and heaven began.

After a tram ride up, taking in the view from top of Lugano.

Walking by the lakeside at Lugano.

Taking the street car in Zurich, as I did often during summer vacations in my youth.

After a cloudy day...

the sun always returns.

The force of nature in Tori Amos' Mountain, "So the city spits you out, rejected. She'll be down when the mountain lets her go." Not wanting to let go of the mountain.

For the Love of the Library

A sign of the times outside a local library in New Jersey.


Over the weekend, I was enjoying dinner at Brooklyn's Brick Oven Pizzeria in Ridgewood with my parents when I had the most delightful sighting: a little boy reading a book as he was walking out of the restaurant. His father had a book in hand too. Like father, like son, in the best sense. Not long after, a family sat down and a little girl was attached to her gadget the entire time. That sight, not so delightful, but much more frequent to see a child glued to electronics over a book. I recalled a cartoon I saw in which a young child asks, "Mommy, can you text me a bedtime story?"

In a tamer Carrie Bradshaw moment, "It got me to thinking" about the wonders of a good book, so good in fact, that you have to walk and read at the same time, like the little boy did. Remember Blind Melon's words in No Rain, "All I can do is read a book to stay awake, and it rips my life away but it's a great escape." And with books on my mind, I couldn't help think of my beloved library.

Libraries in New Jersey (as in other states) are under attack, with Governor Chris Christie proposing to slash 74% of their state funding. Local newspapers having been covering this important news story almost daily. Why is it so important?

An op/ed piece in The Record, Libraries Matter, opined this:

"Public libraries, public schools, small businesses, police, fire departments and hospitals, these are the cornerstones of our democracy." They go on, "Doctors pledge to care for the sick. Librarians' work is to care for the mind, which means enlarging a person's field of learning." As I've lamented before, our society seems to so often pursue vanity and a ridiculous obsession with a youthful appearance with such vigor, while only tamely (at best) seeking wisdom and expanding our minds. The libraries help us in our goals of achieving the latter.

As someone who doesn't relate at all to some people's obsession with constantly upgrading their cell phone, TV, and other gadgets to the next best thing, I cheered on The Record's columnist Bruce Lowry's words in "In praise of libraries."

"In our world a library card doesn't carry the same cachet as an iPhone, but for some of us it is just as valuable. Like the Social Security card, it is a constant in our lives, that piece of personal luggage we would not think of leaving behind.

My driver's license may help me navigate the realities of daily life, but the library card provides escape.

In these days of economic hardship for so many, the library is a place the unemployed find answers and the overstressed find calm."

I could not have said it better. In the Libraries Matter piece, one commenter, JGrace, said this: "Its time to close these patronage mills. If you want to get or read a book go to AMAZON.COM AND LEAVE OUR WALLETS ALONE."

Which got me to thinking even more: what if everyone had to purchase the books, magazines, and newspapers they rely on the library for, especially for avid readers? In addition to the impact on our wallets, what would be the environmental toll of that? How many trees and precious resources are spared through this communal sharing?

Singer Tori Amos praised librarians, the gate-keepers into a never-ending universe of knowledge, saying "I've always thought that librarians know where the information is hidden." Librarians should be revered for their service to the community. Like too many people, they are undervalued.

Please visit Save My NJ Library to learn more.

Another Year Granted

That means more books to read, great food to be eaten, causes to fight for, places to explore, laughs to be had, naps to be taken, dreams to be dreamt. I can't wait to find out what 2010 brings.

Phew, I made it until midnight. And without a nap! I did take two the next day.

The centerpiece on my parents' table at their New Year's get-together beckoned spring.

Old Hook Farm sells Field Roast Grain Meat Company's Celebration Roast. While everyone else had ham, I feasted on this yummy vegan roast with pineapple rings and dried cranberries.

A restorative walk in the park on New Year's Day. My soundtracks for the season: Tori Amos' Midwinter Graces and Sting's If On A Winter's Night.

Some four-legged friends were out and about.

Other souls must have been tucked inside with some cocoa.

At home, candles provided warmth and glow, and books sparked the imagination. Many unwanted gift candles end up at thrift shops after the holidays. The large one, a Martha Stewart for $2, still had the gift tag on it. Smaller candle, $1; hardcover book, $1, little cardinal bird, 25 cents. All from C.A.T.S Resale Shop.

On a cold winter day, I adore soup. With just a few ingredients, potatoes, leeks, an onion, vegetable stock, soy creamer, some seasonings, I have potato leek soup. Perfect with...

cucumber dill sandwiches with Tofutti cream cheese. Add a pot of Earl Grey tea, and I have my own Tea & Sympathy experience at home.

These blood oranges start showing up at Old Hook Farm come winter. I love their seasonal offerings. Can you imagine eating watermelon in January? I can't.


I used to dislike winter, but my perspective has changed in recent years. The body and the soul needs rest, and what better excuse to do just that when the temperatures dip.

Sting has talked about how "Landscape are magically transformed by snow." While "It's a dark time, a cold time. It's also a time of warmth and family and love and tenderness."

Savor the moments of the season with your loved ones.

So Long, Summer!

Wasn't it just recently I was enjoying a cherry Italian ice, $2, from a pizza place on a hot August day?


New York Pizza Suprema is just steps away from Madison Square Garden.

Not the only circus in town I avoided this summer.

Now, I'm pondering stopping for a soy hot chocolate at Macaron Cafe on increasingly chilly mornings, dreaming about the aromas of freshly-baked pumpkin bread, and counting down the seconds until new releases from The Swell Season and R.E.M.

To say a proper farewell to summer, a good friend of mine and I decided to have one last feast at Salsa y Salsa. Soon, I'll be dreaming about the lentil casserole and blackberry tea at Tea & Sympathy. Their scones and clotted cream aren't vegan, but these are.

A virgin strawberry margarita, $5.95. I've grown to prefer margaritas without the alcohol.

Sweet fried plantains, which I asked for with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar, $2.75.

Tosta de la Casa: lettuce with sliced red radish, refried black beans on tostada tortilla with a vinagrette dressing, $7.50. As we say to our family dog when he finishes a treat, "yummy, yummy, yummy!"

Our last meal here was the night of the Tori Amos show at Radio City Music Hall. Flashback to Tori Night!

Even if it's one of my favorites, I always go for the cheapest seats available to save some money. Not a bad view! Unfortunately, I had two people in front of me who thought it would be just splendid to take pictures for the first five songs, then have a nice chat, as if this was their living room.

In the technological age, so many people do not know how to live in the moment. How many times have I been in a museum (like the Target-sponsored free Fridays at the MOMA) to see people walk up to artwork, take a picture and just walk away without absorbing what's before their eyes?

From the night's show, Give, one of my favorites off of her new album. I interpret this song to be about how some people in this world are givers and some are just takers. I aspire to be in the former category.

"There are some, some who give blood
I give love, I give

Soon before the sun, before the sun, begins to rise
I know that I, I must give, so that I, I can live

There are some, some whose give, twists itself to take
they mistake, who, what made up the line, some say it was pain, or was it shame."


And as she says in Concertina, "Particle by particle she slowly changes." So true of how most change occurs.

Happy Independence Day

It's the Fourth of July, can you believe it? Many of us may not always agree with the course the nation and its people are following. "Jefferson, I think we're lost," Michael Stipe declared in R.E.M.'s Little America. I'm not sure if he referred to that Jefferson, but I like to think he did. But our country's independence, and our freedom to protest for a better America for all its inhabitants (including animals), is worth celebrating.

That said, I am hours away from devouring a veggie burger smothered in vegan cheese hot off my parents' grill. Mango lemonade, carrot salad, corn on the cob and Trader Joe's soy cherry chip ice cream are all on the menu. I cannot wait!

Enjoy the simple pleasures of summer. Gazing at fireflies. Taking in the sweet smell of honeysuckle. Sipping lemonade in the sun. Eating watermelon.

As Tori Amos reflects in her haunting song "Gold Dust,"

"How did it go so fast, you'll say as we are looking back, and then we'll understand, we held gold dust in our hands."

"Greed is a Blinding Ray"

There is a genre of musical artists (in my book, including Tori Amos and R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe) who do double duty as musicians and social historians of the times. Many of their works read like poems to me, and serve as cautionary tales or provide calls to activism.

Also on this list for me is Natalie Merchant, who is recording new material after a long hiatus. If you haven't checked out The House Carpenter's Daughter, her haunting collection of folk music - do.

A long-time activist for many causes, Ms. Merchant penned "A Campfire Song," which appeared on the 1987 album "In My Tribe" with the band she fronted at the time, 10,000 Maniacs. Backing vocals are provided by Stipe on the studio version. This sonic tale bears witness to greed, entitlement and environmental carelessness, all themes that sadly transcend time. While the original inhabitants of our land lived in harmony with nature, and were caretakers of the Earth, too many of us have carried on our forefathers' tradition of simply becoming takers.

10,000 Maniacs - A Campfire Song Live


A lie to say, "O my mountain has coal veins and beds to dig.
500 men with axes and they all dig for me."
A lie to say, "O my river where many fish do swim,
half of the catch is mine when you haul your nets in."
Never will he believe that his greed is a blinding ray.
No devil or redeemer will cheat him.
He'll take his gold to where he's lying cold.

A lie to say, "O my mine gave a diamond as big as a fist."
But with every gem in his pocket, the jewels he has missed.
A lie to say, "O my garden is growing taller by the day."
He only eats the best and tosses the rest away.
Never will he be believe that his greed is a blinding ray.
No devil or redeemer can cheat him.
He'll take his gold to where he's lying cold.
Six deep in the grave.

Something is out of reach
something he wanted
something is out of reach
he's being taunted
something is out of reach
that he can beg or steal nor can he buy

his oldest pain
and fear in life
there'll not be time
his oldest pain
and fear in life
there'll not be time

A lie to say "O my forest has trees that block the sun
and when I cut them down I don't answer to anyone."
No, no, never will he believe that his greed is a blinding ray
no devil or redeemer can cheat him.
He'll take his gold where he's lying cold.

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope you are indulging is some delicious vegan chocolates or a nice glass of organic wine. We are all Valentine's to all the animals, giving our love and passion to them each and every day.

One of my favorite love songs, The Cure's Lovesong, covered by my favorite singer, Tori Amos.

An Action for Change at the U.S. Department of Agriculture

"What do you plan to do with all your freedom?"
the new sheriff said, quite proud of his badge
"You must admit the land is now in good hands"
yes, time will tell
Scarlet's Walk, by Tori Amos


One month ago, the future was still uncertain, and people were abuzz with personal and political activism. Now that major change has come to Washington, we cannot sit on the sidelines idly and miss this opportunity to lobby for a drastic shift of how farm animals are treated, or more appropriately, mistreated. Farm Sanctuary has a simple form letter you can fill out, urging the Obama administration, in the letter's wording "to appoint a Secretary of Agriculture who supports humane agricultural policies and will guide the Agency in a new direction, one that includes sustainable, organic farming and healthy, plant-based diets available to all Americans."

Armchair activism has benefited widely from the World Wide Web. Simply fill out your name, address, and e-mail, and your voice will be heard. What are you waiting for? Visit today.

A few words of welcome

"Give me a bloodless road," Tori Amos sings at the end of her song "Sweet Sangria." While certainly not meant in an animal rights context, it has become my personal motto in living my new vegan lifestyle. Let no animal have to shed blood for my food, my clothes, my entertainment and or anything else when there is a world of compassionate alternatives. I was a "lacto-ovo" vegetarian since my early teen years, but took the vegan plunge this year after educating myself on the horrors of the egg and dairy industries. Veganism is not about what you can't have, but what you can have. I live in northern New Jersey and work in New York City, and look forward to sharing with you my adventures in eating, travel, and more.

Special thanks to Ingrid Newkirk and Dan Mathews from PETA, Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation," and Gene Baur, author of "Farm Sanctuary." Your words and writings have inspired me down this road, and there's no looking back.

Yours for the animals, the environment, and in good health.
The Vegan Good Life(r)

Take it away, Tori!