July 2023 news, events, & more  If any events are cut off at the end, or there are any other problems viewing this email, click here to view the full newsletter.

In this issue: SPECIAL EVENT: Feeding War Refugees in Ukraine, Sunday July 23 EVENT: Eastside Potluck, Amazon Adventure, July 16 HEALTH: Grains RESTAURANT CORNER: Chilango PDX RECIPE: Roasted Chickpea Falafel Bowls VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: Help at Ukrainian Speaker Event EVENT: Vancouver Happy Hour, July 19 EVENT: Dineout at KaTi, July 21 EVENT: Potluck & Play, July 22 EVENT: Vancouver Potluck, Life During Wartime, Monday July 24

Feeding War Refugees in Ukraine Life During Wartime Talk Sunday, July 23, 2023 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM First Unitarian Church 1226 SW Salmon (downtown) Portland, OR 97205 (map) Meet sisters Marta and Oksana, founders of the Lviv Vegan Kitchen in western Ukraine. When war broke out, they decided to stay in a dangerous situation and create a group that feeds hundreds of free vegan meals daily to war refugees and Ukrainians on the front lines. Come hear their heroic story and see photos of their inspiring life during wartime. Vegan food will be provided ahead of the talk and there will be a Q & A session afterward. Donations will be accepted to help keep the Lviv Vegan Kitchen going and to continue to help create a world where animals are taken out of the food system.  We can't forget that the famous War and Peace author Leo Tolstoy became a pacifist and stated that “As long as there are slaughterhouses there will be battlefields.” 

Eastside Potluck Sunday, July 16, 2023 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM  Multnomah Friends Meeting Hall  4312 SE Stark, Portland, OR (map) This month our Eastside Potluck will offer an armchair travel presentation by Elaine French and Jerry Smith of their recent vegan tour of Rio de Janeiro and their 12-day Amazon cruise. Some of the highlights of their trip include walking on Copacabana Beach, checking out the municipal market, which was designed after Les Halles in Paris, visiting a rubber museum, trekking in the jungle, sampling exotic fruits, visiting a cave, swimming with pink dolphins, and gliding silently through a flooded forest in a canoe. Jerry and Elaine took hundreds of pictures on their trip but they’ll only show you the very best ones. Don’t miss this unique presentation! Join us at 5:00 PM for the potluck and/or Jerry and Elaine's presentation at 6:15 PM. For the potluck, please bring a plant-based (no animal products, including honey) main dish, salad, or dessert; a card listing its ingredients; and plates and utensils for your use. If you come alone, figure the amount to serve 4-6; increase the amount 4 servings for each additional person in your party/family.

Grains Grains have gotten a bad reputation in some circles. There are two somewhat valid but limited reasons for this. The first reason is a result of the fact that 90% of the grains consumed in this country are refined. Many of the vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and much of the fiber have been removed in the refining process. High consumption of what is left contributes to obesity, chronic diseases, and more. “The majority of studies that examine the health consequences of grain consumption have reported favorable effects for whole grains and unfavorable effects for refined grains.”   The second reason for a bad reputation is that many people don’t know that they are sensitive to gluten, which is present in a number of grains, so grains as a whole are blamed for their symptoms. For more on this subject, see “Issues with Gluten” in our December 2022 issue.    A healthy vegan diet should include grains, as they are high in the essential amino acids that legumes are low in, thus providing complete protein within a day’s diet. Intact whole grains are best—the less processing, the better. For example, eating cooked whole grains is more nutritious than eating products made with whole grain flour, and both are better than eating products made with refined flour.   Grains commonly eaten in the U.S. include: amaranth, barley, buckwheat, corn, Kamut, millet, oats, quinoa, rice, rye, spelt, teff, triticale, wheat, and wild rice. Try a new whole grain today!   Source: Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, Becoming Vegan, Comprehensive Edition, (Book Publishing Company, 2014), p. 162 and p. 168-170.

Chilango PDX  By Susan Hanson

"Chilango" is slang for somebody or something from Mexico City. Vanessa Arochi, a Mexico City native, moved to Portland with her husband in 2017. In Mexico she had studied biochemical engineering with an emphasis on food, and then had a career in developing new food products for companies in Mexico. So when she decided to open a food cart in 2019 serving vegan Mexico City street food, she was well qualified. “Delicious,” “authentic,” “imaginative,” and “amazing” are all words that people use to describe her food. Vanessa operated a roving food cart for two years before moving it to a stable location on Alberta Street. Then, in April of this year, Chilango PDX moved a few doors down into a brick and mortar location, a space left vacant by Back to Eden. I tried many items, and they were all delicious. If you order tacos, tostados, quesadillas, taco bowls, sopecitos, or holadritas (slider-sized sandwiches), you can choose from seven different guisados (fillings). There are guisados made from…

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Roasted Chickpea Falafel Bowls By Linda Tyler the Gracious Vegan Get the flavors of a falafel sandwich in a healthy bowl. We roast a can of chickpeas with falafel spices, make a tahini sauce, then combine it with your choice of cooked grains, cooked vegetables, and the classic falafel toppings of tomatoes, cucumbers, and onion. Makes 4 bowls See oven instructions at the bottom. Make the roasted chickpeas. Open the can of chickpeas, drain, and save the liquid from the can (the aquafaba). You don’t need to rinse your chickpeas but drain off as much moisture as possible. Put the chickpeas in a medium bowl.  1 (15.5-oz.) can chickpeas and the aquafaba, separated  Add the following ingredients to the bowl and stir to coat all the chickpeas.  1 tablespoon of the aquafaba (save the rest for other recipes – you can freeze it) ½ teaspoon garlic powder

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Help at Ukrainian Speaker Event Sunday, July 23, 2023 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM First Unitarian Church 1226 SW Salmon (downtown) Portland, OR 97205 (map) We are honored and excited to help these incredible sisters, Marta and Oksana, spread the word about the important work they are doing feeding vegan meals to war refugees in Ukraine. At our event, you could help us to further their cause by assisting with:   Set-up and clean-up: We’re having food donated, so setting up and cleaning up the food and drinks section is clearly an important task. Collecting donations: Since this event aims not only to educate people here about the Lviv Vegan Kitchen, but also raise some much-needed funds for them, help collecting donations would be most appreciated by all. Greeting and seating: We’re hoping for a big turnout, which includes people unfamiliar with the venue. If you love saying hello and/or directing pedestrian traffic, we’d love it if you would help people find seats (and bathrooms!). Ice cream scooping: Come help serve up some delicious vegan ice cream and watch the smiles appear—and it’s all for a great cause!  Please email Roz at roz@nwveg.org to let her know you'd like to help out. Whether as a volunteer participant or interested attendee, we look forward to seeing you at this worthy event!

Northwest VEG Vancouver Vegan Happy Hour Wednesday, July 19 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM Laughing Planet 16209 SE McGillivray Blvd., Vancouver, WA (map) Join our active and fun group at the Laughing Planet. We will order off their vegan menu. All are welcome including families with children.

Dineout at KaTi Friday, July 21 12:00 PM 2932 SE Division St. Portland, OR (map)

“This is the best Thai food I’ve ever had in Portland!” declared the host of the upcoming dineout at KaTi after an initial visit to the restaurant. Another person in their group even went back just a week later. Reactions to the visit included “Wow!” and “Amazing!” Some of the dishes they tried included the signature starter, Nam Khao Tod (crispy rice, herbs, onions, carrots, peanuts, lime), as well as Gang Dang (pictured) (coconut milk, red curry, green beans, pumpkin, bamboo strips, carrots, Thai eggplant, bell peppers, sweet basil, protein) and Drunken Noodles (rice noodles, baby corn, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, Thai basil, house garlic soy sauce). They described the food as “delicious,” “fun,” “beautiful,” and having “great flavor.” For those watching their gluten intake, there is a separate gluten-free menu. And to bring some tastes of KaTi home with you, their satay peanut sauce and a variety of their curry pastes are available for purchase.   The staff is friendly, fun, and efficient. The restaurant is spacious and totally handicapped accessible. Although the sign outside is small, there are picnic tables in front, which can serve as a signpost. The only drawback is street parking, but it is definitely worth it!   Pre-registration is required for this dineout. If you need to cancel, please contact the host listed in your registration confirmation. Click the button below to register.

REGISTER FOR KATI DINEOUT

Pizza Potluck & Play  Saturday, July 22, 2023  4:00 PM - 7:00 PM St. Johns Swapnplay 7535 N. Chicago Ave. Portland, OR 97203 Join local vegan families with children ages 0-7 (older siblings welcome) for a potluck & play session at St. Johns Swapnplay. Bring your favorite PIZZA (no animal products, including honey and dairy cheese) to share or just for your crew. There are ovens available to bake or heat and serve! 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:

REGISTER FOR POTLUCK & PLAY

Vancouver Potluck Monday, July 24 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM Good Shepherd Lutheran Church 16001 NE 34th St., Vancouver, WA (map) Come for our potluck at 5:30 and/or come to the program at 6:00 and hear an encore performance with Oksana and Marta talking about life now in Ukraine and feeding wartime refugees. Note the changed date to accommodate Oksana and Marta's schedule.

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