I have an alter ego!

How strange is this? I got an email from my alter ego Kathy Olsen who is also into vegetarian cooking. Her web site is www.vegangourmet.com.

Holiday Thoughts

Thanks for checking out my very first blog entry. Since it’s December, I thought I’d talk about gift giving. I encourage you to bypass the “box stores” and think about other places to get your gifts.

My family likes to make gifts. Some things you can do with your kids are:

- Make a photo collage on legal size paper, color copy and laminate to give as placemats
- Sew Christmas ornaments or dolls from felt
- Wrap yarn around clothespins to make little dolls
- Decorate shoelaces with markers
- String beads or noodles to make necklaces
- Use stamp pads or art to make original stationery
- Turn socks or paper lunch bags into puppets
- Add essential oils to sparkling mineral water in a spray bottle and give as perfume

Homemade food is always a welcome gift. There are recipes for Multigrain Pancake and Waffle Mix, Millet Crunch Granola, and Coconut-Almond Shortbread in “The Vegetarian Mother’s Cookbook” that I often give as gifts. We also make homemade jam, applesauce, spiced pecans, and quick breads.

If you don’t have the time to make your own gifts, support local small business, artists, authors, and other arts. Theater tickets, offers of babysitting, massage gift certificates are things most parents would appreciate. I’m sure you can think of many others.

Best wishes to you and your family for the holidays.