Angela Marie Morton: art & illustration

My husband and I have this dish for dinner at least once a week, though I think it would work as a breakfast or brunch option as well. I suggest using this recipe as a template, adding or omitting vegetables of your choice. The following recipe is how I typically make it, though I change up the veggies depending on what sounds good, or what we have on hand. Vegan Potato and Tofu Scramble   Ingredients   (note: I use frozen veggies, aside from the baby carrots and potatoes, but fresh would work fine) 2-4 russet potatoes, depending on their size A handful of baby carrots, 2 regular carrots, or frozen carrot slices A handful of broccoli florets A handful of cauliflower A handful of green beans A handful of kale or spinach ¼ cup corn ¼ cup peas ⅓ block of extra firm tofu (feel free to use more if you prefer. I use ⅓ of a block so I have some left to use over the next couple of nights) Spices (all optional) Garlic salt (a pinch) Nutritional yeast (about a tablespoon) Onion powder ...

A Tiny Artist  Graphite pencil Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hot topic at the moment, as its use and capabilities are creeping into more and more areas of all of our lives. While many industries and individuals are in favor of its growing presence, there are plenty of skeptics and warnings of caution, and artists,  in particular, are scrambling to protect their work and style from being used as fodder to train AI to be able to replicate their creations. As a result, it is becoming increasingly important and necessary to convey a sense of the person behind the art, which, ironically, is done primarily through the digital realm, in one way or another, and to varying degrees. With the introduction and, ultimately, the pervasiveness of digital art, as well as AI-generated content, hand-rendered art and illustration is getting pushed more and more into a niche. Over my long career as a bookseller, with many years spent working with children’s books, I witnessed the rise in popu...

I came up with this cozy, simple soup when my husband needed to switch up his diet due to health issues. It is now on regular rotation in our kitchen, and has been helping to get us through the cold Pacific Northwest winter. Feel free to use it as a template, and switch out ingredients to suit your needs, or to use up what you have on hand, or follow it to the letter and make it just like I do. It will be yummy either way! Cozy Vegetable Barley Soup Ingredients 2-4 russet potatoes, depending on the size 1-2 handfuls of baby carrots or frozen carrots, or 2 regular carrots ¼ cup dried red beans, or ½ a can of cooked (I always use dried beans, as they are more cost effective than canned) ¼ cup barley ¼ - ½ cup frozen corn ¼ - ½ cup frozen kale ¼ - ½ cup frozen peas 2-4 cups water, depending on how thick you want your soup  Spices (all optional) I typically season to taste. I recommend starting with a ¼ teaspoon of each, adding more if needed. Garlic salt Nutritional yeast Onion powde...

Mount Angel Abbey, Oregon Photo by Angela Marie Morton My husband and I were talking recently about coping with difficult life changes, and how challenging it can be to navigate, process, and come through them. The biggest, most stressful, and most impactful event in both our lives, by far, has been the pandemic. Although we are extremely compatible as life partners, my husband and I have very different personalities and ways of handling stress and of expressing ourselves. He mentioned that he has been impressed (and a bit envious) by my seeming ability to have been able to adapt, and to rebuild and create a meaningful existence, after losing so much of my previous life, and our life as a couple. He attributes it, at least in part, to my ongoing practice of cultivating an active interior life.  “Interior life” is a term that I have frequently seen referenced in my readings of different religions and philosophies, but it is only in the past few years that I have finally begun to app...

Wow, the last post of the year. I can hardly believe it. The past 12 months have flown by way too fast.  I thought a simple, cozy recipe would be an appropriate way to close out 2024, and this split pea soup fits the bill. I have been making it regularly for the past few months for my husband and myself, and it is one of our favorites, especially at this time of year. My husband is on a restrictive diet for health reasons, and he was so pleased to discover that this recently-introduced dinner option worked for him. As with many of the dinners I make, this recipe, can serve as a template for you to add or substitute ingredients as you like, or can be prepared as is. I’ll provide a few suggestions for additions at the end of the recipe. The quantities of the ingredients I use makes enough soup for us to have at least 2 nights. If there is any left over, I often add a bit of curry powder to it, and pair it with white rice as a simple dal for myself. With that, let’s get into this warm...

A few weeks ago, I was feeling disappointed and unsatisfied with everything I drew or painted. The harder I tried to create something “good”, the more unhappy I was with the result. Even sketching was frustrating. I knew I needed to do something to shake myself out of the funk I was in, besides my go-to standards of long walks and extended yoga sessions.     The first step was to acknowledge that whenever I work on an art project when I am lacking inspiration and enthusiasm, I am always disappointed in the end result, and do not enjoy the process of creating. Once I had accepted that, I knew the time had come for the second step: a break. While I live a quiet and simple life, I find taking deliberate breaks and rests difficult. I am better at it than I used to be, but it is still a challenge. For this particular break, I left the time-frame open-ended, because creativity is spontaneous and I wanted to allow for the flexibility to sketch ideas if they came to me. As it tur...

When I first proposed the idea of making vegan pancakes a couple of years ago, my husband was a bit skeptical (which is fair, as not everything I attempt ends up being a win), but these tasty cakes ended up starting a new weekly ritual for us that we deemed “Pancake Sunday”. I make pancakes, and he selects accompanying brunch music, which is usually either jazz or classical. We slow down, catch up with each other and the news, and ease into the day.  These pancakes use the minimum amount of ingredients and are super easy to prepare. The whole wheat flour, olive oil, and absence of salt or sugar make this a healthy breakfast option (as to what you use for toppings…that may be a different story). Simple Vegan Pancakes Supplies Measuring cup Measuring spoons Mixing bowl Sifter (optional) Frying pan Spatula Ingredients (Dry) 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 tablespoon baking powder (Wet) 1 cup water 2 tablespoons olive oil 1-2 teaspoons vanilla Instructions Sift flour (optional, but I do it) ...