Patrick Morgan

Last walk during the challenge - along the river during my lunch break.

Last day of EcoChallenge! I'm hoping to keep my activities going beyond today, though.

Not long after I moved to Portland, I had a roommate with whom I'd share meals. We weren't making much money, so cooking was on a shoestring. One of the dishes he made was a faux African peanut soup, which I revived yesterday. There is no recipe, you just add the ingredients to taste, and I love it!

Canned or boxed crushed tomatoes
Coconut milk
Peanut Butter
Chopped kale
Cooked rice
Salt & pepper
Some kind of chili spice (Sriracha or similar)

Put all ingredients in a crock pot or in pot and cook them together on low heat until well blended. So easy, cheap and tasty! And animal-free!


For my walking yesterday I went to the Lan Su Chinese Garden on my lunch break. I have a membership. The garden is wonderful this time of year (or any time of year, really). 15 min to walk there, 30 minutes in the garden, 15 minutes return.

I did have an animal-product free breakfast this morning, but it wasn't the most healthy - kind of grab-and-go stuff. I'll have to have a vegetable-filled lunch and dinner.
Last night I walked up to a Vietnamese restaurant in my area (walk!) and had a great vegetable stir free, filling both of my challenges.

Just finished off my chili for lunch today. Time to move on to something else.
Yesterday I was going through my moving boxes that are still packed and found a bunch of cook books. Probably 70% of them are vegetarian, including a soup cookbook that is organized by season. Maybe I'll find a good pumpkin or squash soup recipe.


Did I mention that autumn walks are one of my favorite things ever? So far today I've had two 20 minute walks. I will get another one in by the end of the day. Maybe I'll visit Rocky Butte.

I love the morning fog in fall, so got up this morning and took a stroll. I hope we get more of these atmospheric autumn days.
That vegan chili that I made a few days ago is helping me stick with my food goal to enjoy meals free of animal products. Breakfast this morning was home made granola with cashew yogurt (something new for me). I wish I had made it to Veg Fest this weekend, but no time. :( 

Ironic that on my day off I didn't have time to fill the nature goal. Instead, I worked around the house and went to see The Color Purple (musical). The day went too quickly! 

Fall is chili season! I broke out the crock pot and made a batch of vegetarian chili yesterday. 

I also explored my new-ish neighborhood on foot yesterday, checking out some of the local businesses, the residential streets, etc.

Related to my challenge to eat less animal product:
Yesterday at work we had a breakfast potluck and it was very carb-heavy. By the end of the day I was feeling crummy, so I went to the store and got a bunch of organic vegetables and made this - kale, broccoli, carrots, sesame seeds with a vegan dressing. It was delicious and I felt much better.

Getting out for a walk is easy when you have someplace to go!
This was taken during my vacation in Colorado.