Broccoli Rising and a Breath of Fresh Air
You say you want a revolution. Well you know, we all want to change the world.
John Lennon, “Revolution,” 1968
I’ve been wondering what happened to the early baby boomers. Weren’t you guys supposed to be the progressive, peace-loving hippies who saw a better way? So how did you morph into the two presidential hopefuls who debated a few weeks back and the dour Supreme Court members behind the recent dispiriting rulings? It’s not your age that worries me, it’s your attitude. I was beginning to worry about my attitude as well. I get anxious. I forget to breathe.
I needed a fresh perspective, a breath of fresh air. The Laurentians gave me that. My husband and I spent a few days hiking around Ste. Agathe des Monts, away from American politics and posturing. No rockets’ red glare, no bombs bursting in air, no rockets, no bombs, none of it, just pristine lakes, winding mountain trails through spruce, fir, and white birch, and crystalline air.
The forests themselves help create that fresh air. Not only do the trees do that nifty photosynthesis thing, they help mitigate climate change, too. The boreal forests of the north, also known as taiga, act as powerful carbon sinks. They’ve been quietly, efficiently stowing our nasty output for millennia without pay or a slew of Instagram followers.
The thing is, the climate’s changing faster and more drastically than any of us —animal or arboreal — can handle. Maybe you’d like to pretend climate change and our role in creating it doesn’t exist. But come on, you’re seeing it every day. Weirdly warm seas fed Hurricane Beryl last week so it morphed from a storm into a monster Category 5 hurricane within hours. That’s the effect of climate change. So are the epic wildfires that ravaged Canada last year. Driven by unprecedented heat and drought, the fires made for crappy air quality, but worse, destroyed 16.5 million hectares of land and risked releasing all the carbon the forests have safely stored. Not nice.
And yet, nature’s still up for healing us physically and emotionally. Fancy word is ecotherapy, and it’s not just tree-hugging woo-woo. Science supports the value of ecotherapy, but you don’t need statistics to appreciate how it works. I didn’t. Among the trees and lakes, even after a muddy climb, I could feel my shoulders and jaw unclench. My manic monkey mind settled and opened to the beauty of the world. That beauty is meant to last. With our help, it can.
You’ve been all about preserving and restoring nature. Your energy helped create the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. Does that feel a little woo-woo to you now? It’s not. Just look to the north. Montréal is the world’s most sustainable city, boasting the first and largest commercial greenhouse and the largest urban agriculture coop, Montréal also supports a handful of funky initiatives like Les Ruelles Vertes — green alleys — converting urban alleyways into shared green space.
I got to meet some of the passionate people involved in keeping Montréal green and sustainable, from fermentation experts to foragers, thanks to Mélissa Simard, founder of the award-winning company ‘Round Table Food Tours.
You could say these folks are dreamers. Weren’t people saying the same about you? You could wonder about them in terms of their own sustainability — like do they have a solid business plan? Impractical, idealist me believes trying to protect the planet is our business plan. It’s our honor and obligation as well. Having a fat bank account but nowhere habitable left to live, nowhere to breathe doesn’t look like a win to me.
Urban gardens, green alleys, fermentation, foraging — there are so many ways to help heal the planet. The concept of vegan as a means to sustainability hasn’t fully penetrated all of Canada yet, but I think it’s the easiest, best sustainability multitasker out there. You can eat well, eat extravagantly — behold what Montréal’s Bloom Sushi can do — support your body with naturally nutrient-dense plants, support the planet by using only a quarter of the natural resources spent on animal agriculture, and save some animals too. And best of all, being vegan doesn’t take Congressional approval, you can just do it.
I’m back home in my country, my state, my city. The issues that worried me before haven’t changed. But I like to think I have.
You don’t have to age out of idealism. Honey, it’s been a long time since I saw 20, but I still stubbornly believe we all have role to play in creating a better world. None of us can do it alone. But we can’t give up either. We can all commit to improving our small bit of it. I’m up for it. You with me? Great! Start by breathing.
You may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one.
Also John Lennon, “Imagine,” 1971
Good Things from Canada
You can’t talk about Canada without talking about poutine, Quebec’s iconic mess of French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. Interesting idea. I passed on the opportunity to try a vegan version at Jean Talon Market, but I could come around, thanks to this recipe from VegNews.
Canada is also home to maple — that’s érable in French.
Gena Hamshaw adds just a touch of it for balance with her vegan turmeric chickpea yogurt
It’s also in the dressing in the use-up-everything-perishable salad I made before we left for Canada
there’s maple in Fran Costigan’s extraordinary chocolate cake to live for
in Chloe Coscarelli’s vegan parmesan for her beet fettuccini alfredo
and in
Maple Scones
You can make these tender, sweet vegan scones using a food processor or by hand and have fresh a home-baked breakfast or treat in about half an hour. They're the real maple deal. Add a handful of fresh berries to the batter if you like. And ahem, to my blueberry bagel-loving friend — this is a better option.
Enjoy. Next week, Broccoli Rising returns to its regularly scheduled green vegetable content.
You can get access to full recipes on a regular basis with a paid subscription. Not a paid subscriber yet? No problem! Join now to enjoy exclusive content like the recipe below and much more.
Not quite ready to upgrade to be a paid subscriber but want to support Broccoli Rising? Adding to my tip jar helps keep me in broccoli and beans. I’m madly grateful. Thanks.
Thanks to you all for reading and subscribing. This issue of Broccoli Rising is free. Please spread the broccoli love and share.
You can also visit SoulfulVegan.com to find more recipes and connect with me online at YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Substack Notes.