Danielle Bussone

Applause For Kale, The Off The Charts Veggie!

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Apr 1, 2014 in Living Plant-Strong! Profiles & Articles | 0 comments

by Sue Spirit

Here’s a drum roll for kale, the world’s go-to vegetable! Credit kale’s meteoric rise to the big time, from the nobody she was, to—ta dah—California! When kale appeared in the raw, risqué as it might have seemed, a star was born. The “kale kraze” is here. It’s the buzz word of the far West, and is fast creeping Eastward, for who knows how long. Credit the granola gang, aging hippies, health nuts, organic eaters, and vegan enthusiasts for this amazing development.

Picture a wine glass filled with a bright green liquid, the perfect shade of chartreuse, a kale-fruit health drink, only one of the myriad kale recipes for well-being. Raise a glass: a toast to kale!

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Redi-et Ethiopian Cuisine: Serving Healthy and Authentic Ethiopian Food in Myrtle Beach, SC

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Mar 30, 2014 in Ethiopian, Myrtle Beach, Vegetarian/Vegan Friendly | Comments Off on Redi-et Ethiopian Cuisine: Serving Healthy and Authentic Ethiopian Food in Myrtle Beach, SC

by Joanne Beccarelli

Traveling away from home can be daunting for a plant-based eater. Therefore, the excitement I felt when I discovered the first Ethiopian restaurant in South Carolina was urgent enough for me to declare to my children that our first dinner out would be to Redi-et Ethiopian Cuisine in Myrtle Beach. My sales pitch to them was that we would have fun eating our meal without utensils, utilizing the traditional Ethiopian bread, Injera, instead, and everyone from the family vegans to my omnivore son would be able to dine deliciously.

Redi-et Interior

Located on the south side of downtown Myrtle Beach just where Route 501 meets Route 17, Redi-et Ethiopian Cuisine may catch your eye with colorful curtains displaying the red, green and yellow stripes of the Ethiopian flag. Inside was a somewhat simple but quaint atmosphere, empty except for one other table of diners. This had us a little leery at first but being a Tuesday night in mid-March, we were confident it would work out. We soon found that this is a gem amongst the plethora of mostly large chain and tourist styled restaurants in Myrtle Beach. Our assessment was confirmed after learning that the other diners were very happy regulars.

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Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Mar 21, 2014 in Charleston, Ethiopian, I-26 | 0 comments

Nitsuh Woldemariam from Ethiopian Taste Food & Coffee in North Charleston, SC teaches us how to make traditional Ethiopian Coffee. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and is an integral part of Ethiopian culture. It has evolved into a ceremony of roasting beans on a fire, with incense burning in the background. The smell of incense alerts visitors that coffee is being prepared. Once the beans are roasted, the hostess takes the pot of beans around and each visitor inhales of the savory bean aroma before the coffee is made and the rich, sweet beverage is served. (I’m sad to report that this lovely restaurant is not longer in business.)

Surviving Stroke – A Family Journey

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Mar 16, 2014 in Living Plant-Strong! Profiles & Articles | 1 comment

Much has been learned in the past decade about the plasticity of the brain, its ability to adapt in the event of the trauma or actual death of brain cells. Permanent loss of function is no longer the fate of people who have suffered a stroke. Sometimes, as in this case, stroke happens when you are doing everything right. Our staff writer, Pegge Bochynski, shares with us her family’s touching personal journey following her sister’s stroke when she was in the prime of her life. Pegge interviews her sister about her life after stroke in this inspiring Youtube video. If you have a friend or family member who has had a stroke, Martha’s Story may be something you’ll want to share.

http://youtu.be/7F8W6z2cJrw

by Pegge Bochynski

Martha: Stroke Survivor

On July 17, 2006, my sister, Martha, had a severe stroke. She was 51 at the time. When my husband and I arrived at the ER, she lay on a gurney, unable to speak or move. We were to learn firsthand that when a stroke happens to an individual, it happens to the entire family as well. Martha’s traumatic brain injury was a turning point in all our lives—including Martha’s college-age daughter; my elderly parents; my other sister and her husband; and my husband, Kevin, and me.

Pegge Bochynski and her sister, Martha, (in blue) after stroke

Pegge Bochynski and her sister, Martha, (in blue) six years after her massive stroke.

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Vegan Food Quest: Veggin’ Out and About In Southeast Asia!

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Mar 14, 2014 in Vegan Food Quest: Veggin' Out and About Southeast Asia! | 0 comments

VEGGIN’ OUT AND ABOUT IN TRANG, THAILAND!

by VeganMush Caryl

In terms of finding delicious and inspiring food, Bangkok was a total success but TravelMush (my husband) and I (aka VeganMush) set off on the train to explore the south of Thailand with a niggling feeling that once out of a big international city, it might be harder to get good vegan food. Starvation might be in the cards. Dramatic, perhaps, but still…

Trang Vegetarian Restaurant Exterior

Our first stop was a town called Trang. Trang is not a usual destination for most tourists, other than to stop over for one night on their way to one of the nearby islands. However, TravelMush and I had fond memories of a visit over a decade ago and decided that we’d stay longer than is usual. Trang is an ordinary Southern Thai town and I wanted to see how hard it might be to be a vegan in this sort of place.