Please note that Serendipity Books & Gifts on Wellington St carries the book. Sign up at the centre to let us know you intend to come. I’m looking forward to chatting with you!

“A beautiful gift of writing. You spread joy, love and compassion through what you write. The fruit of these tree is peace as you know..” – Mother Theresa

Here is my suggestion for celebrating Mother Earth: 

1. Get outside; walk, run, bike, hike, reflect. Then come home with a big smile on your face. 
2. Whip up an easy vegan meal, check out our many recipes for suggstions, hint – the Curried Quinoa Salad with Mango is everyone’s favourite 
3. Make sure to add dessert – my latest favorite is a raw food treat from Bo Rinaldi of Blosoming Lotus Restaurant - Vanilla Cupcakes with Key Lime Icing! The recipe is below. And here is a link to another yummy recipe for chocolate cupcakes
4. And finally curl up with a good book and a cup of tea. On a whim I purchased Where the Blind Horse Sings by Kathy Stevens and was so thrilled to find the review below by John Robbins on the Earth Save International Website

Vanilla Cupcakes with Lime Frosting – Makes 12 cupcakes (or 24 small ones)
From the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Raw

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup macadamia nuts
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• 6 pitted dates, soaked at least 30 minutes
• ½ cup sunflower seeds
• ½ cup almond butter
• Pinch cinnamon
• Pinch cardamom
• 1½ tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
• 6 Tbsp agave nectar*
• ½ ripe avocado mashed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Place almonds, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almond butter, agave nectar, vanilla extract, cinnamon and cardamom in a food processor fitted with an S blade. Process for 15-30 seconds or until sticky mixture of small chunks forms. (Note – if you don’t have a large food processor, do this in 2 batches.)
2. With a spoon or small ice cream scoop, measure out 12 cupcakes onto a parchment paper-lined plate. Flatten tops with spoon to hold frosting.
3. Place avocado, dates and lime juice in a blender or the food processor, and process until smooth and creamy.
4. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow icing to solidify as much as possible before spreading on top of cupcakes.
5. Frost cupcakes and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving

Where the Blind Horse Sings – Love and Healing at an Animal Sanctuary
By Kathy Stevens

Review by John Robbins

 Every now and then, a book comes along that grabs you and doesn’t let go. Written by the founder and director of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, a haven for abused and discarded farmed animals, Where the Blind Horse Sings is such a book.

Author Kathy Stevens is an exceptional writer. Her story of the birth of Catskill Animal Sanctuary and of the two and four-legged characters who live there is lyrical and alive, alternately funny and moving. Much of the narrative focuses on a blind horse, a former cockfighting rooster, and a ram who arrived so explosive and violent that Stevens briefly contemplated euthanasia as the only way to keep other animals (including the humans) safe. But patience and love persevered, eventually paying off in spades. Suffice it to say that Buddy, Paulie, and Rambo each evolved into larger than life teachers, and through Stevens’ skilled storytelling, their lessons linger long after the book is finished.

Beyond the writing, though, it is Stevens’ intimacy with the animals about whom she writes that distinguishes Where the Blind Horse Sings from other books about farmed animals and horses. Unlike most authors of such books, she is not a researcher interviewing others about their experiences with animals. Stevens lives and works with the animals: she knows of whom she speaks. When she writes, “Rambo arrived full of testosterone and rage,” it is because she was the one to welcome him. When later she describes the night the transformed sheep summoned her to come to the assistance of a blind turkey inadvertently left outside on a cold November night, I wept at the collective victory shared by the human and the sheep she describes as “her greatest teacher.”

While commentary about the devastating impact of agribusiness is interspersed throughout the book, it is certainly not the book’s focus. Joy is its focus: a clear-headed, unambiguous sharing of the joy its author derives from sharing her life with animals the vast majority of the world sees as mere commodities. The animals arrive angry or terrified, but in their safe haven, become so much more than Stevens, a former educator, imagined possible of a horse or a cow, a pig or a chicken. Who they become has changed her life; it might just change yours. It is certainly a book to share with those in your life who’ve not yet made the connection between diet and kindness.

(Information on the work of Catskill Animal Sanctuary available at www.casanctuary.org)

“Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. This New York Times bestseller follows the stories of extraordinary women around the world as they struggle to overcome oppression. Kristof and WuDunn focus on three major problems facing women – sex trafficking, maternal mortality and violence against women. They argue that empowering women is the key to alleviating poverty and uplifting communities in developing countries.”
 
Here is a link to the movie on the Care Canada website .
 
It starts at 7:15 with a presentation from Sonja Smits. I imagine you should be at the theater early as I think it will be busy.

It is being presented at the Empire 7 theater which is very easy to find;  it’s on the corner of Albert and Metcalfe (from Westboro go down Slater turn on Metcalfe and you will drive right into the underground parking), click here for a map
 
Click here to order the tickets online 

It looks like a number of women from the Powerful Woman Boot Camp class are already attending and so are some of the women from our Thursday Run class.  I think it would be fantastic to get a group of us together to experience this movie! 

Who wants to go?

From the website, Half the Sky Movement, the description of the book and the movement associated with it is as follows,  

“Half the Sky lays out an agenda for the world’s women and three major abuses: sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence including honor killings and mass rape; maternal mortality, which needlessly claims one woman a minute. We know there are many worthy causes competing for attention in the world. We focus on this one because this kind of oppression feels transcendent – and so does the opportunity. Outsiders can truly make a difference.

So let us be clear up front: We hope to recruit you to join an incipient movement to emancipate women and fight global poverty by unlocking women’s power as economic catalysts. It is a process that transforms bubbly teenage girls from brothel slaves into successful businesswomen. You can help accelerate change if you’ll just open your heart and join in.”

At Book Club we we discussed a wonderful way to help women help themselves - through KIVA , their motto is Loans That Change Lives. KIVA works through Micro Finance Loans as explained on the website:

1) It all starts with our Field Partners, which are micro-finance institutions operating around the world. Our Field Partners approve and disburse a micro-loan to an entrepreneur in their community. They take a picture of the entrepreneur and write down the entrepreneur’s story.

2) The Field Partner uploads the entrepreneur’s profile to Kiva’s website. The profile, if it’s not in English, is translated by one of our hundreds of volunteer translators. After translation, the profile appears live on Kiva.org

3) Lenders like you browse the entrepreneurs’ profiles and choose someone to lend to, using PayPal or their credit cards.

When the authors of Half the Sky were on the Oprah Show in December 2009 they let us all know that when we empower a woman and she starts to support herself, she then supports the health, well-being and education of her family, therefor starting to break the cycle of violence and abuse against women, education is the key. Check out the Oprah website and the For All Women Registry to see many way you can help.

At Movement to Health our goal is to empower all women to live their Dharma, to let their light shine, we encourage you to find your individual path to your passion and to inspire, empower and uplift the global community of women with your strength – together we make a difference.

The brownie recipe below is from local cookbook author Shirley Plant, she inspires us all to enjoy delicious and healthy food. These were a huge hit on Friday night; totally guilt-free

Pseudo-Brownies (vegan, soy and gluten-free)
1 cup brown rice flour (if not gluten sensitive you can use whole wheat or spelt flour)
1/4 cup carob or cocoa powder
1 tsp heaping baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar – (I didn’t have this so I substituted 2 tsp lemon juice)
1 large organic apple, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 Tbsp honey (optional)
2 heaping tbsp ground flax mixed with 3/4 cup hot water, stir and let sit for a few minutes  

In a food processor combine rasins, nuts and cut up apple, chop up really well
Add in honey and flax mixture and mix again
Add carob or cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and mix until well combined
If it seem dry add a drop or two of water
Place into an 8-inch square, greased, brownie pan, bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes