Angela Marie Morton

Since the beginning of 2024, I have been  steadily pursuing a personal project. While I do not want to give too much of it away, since it is still very much a work-in-progress, I have been enjoying the process so much, and it has been such a focus of my creative energy for nearly 2 years, I decided it was time to write about it.  I am working on my first picture book! I came up with the initial concept in 2020, when I had a lot of time on my hands due to being laid off from my job as an assistant manager in a bookstore at the start of the ongoing pandemic of Covid-19, and needed a focus. I spent months on what I now consider to be the first draft of the current book, though both the story and illustrations are quite different now than they were 5 years ago. At the end of that spectacularly awful year, I put the drawings in a cupboard and they have been there ever since. Even though that version has been scrapped, the essence of the story remained with me, and ended up being th...

These tofu veggie burgers are easy and quick, and are ideal for using up leftovers on a busy weeknight. As with all my recipes, this one can be used more as a template than a strict instructional step-by-step, so feel free to use whatever veggies or spices you like to make it your own. Below is the recipe with the ingredients I happened to use the night I took the photos for this post. I will provide a few alternatives at the end, to get you thinking about what you might want to try when you make them in your own home. Easy Tofu Burgers Ingredients: (I typically use frozen veggies, but you can use fresh or canned as well) Extra firm tofu (I use about ⅓ of the block, which makes 2 generous burgers A handful of frozen kale A handful of frozen mushrooms A handful of frozen peas A tablespoon or 2 of all-purpose flour Spices Garlic salt Nutritional yeast Onion powder Pepper Instructions 1. Cook the frozen (or fresh, if using) veggies and let them cool off, either by leaving them in a bowl ...

  While pursuing art and illustration is what fills up most of my time nowadays, reading is a close second. Talking about books, and recommending them to people, were part of my daily life during the many years I spent working in the business of bookselling. In writing this post, which features three of my favorite books on spirituality and religion, I hope to inspire you to explore the topic as well, if it is of interest to you. If you would like to read the other book-related posts I’ve written so far (more are in the works), you can find them here and here . Fiction or nonfiction, I am always seeking out stories about someone’s spiritual journey or pilgrimage, descriptions about the daily life in a monastery, or a classic religious text to study. I am forever looking for the next Journey to the East  by Hermann Hesse, or The Three Pillars of Zen  by Philip Kapleau Roshi, or The Dark Night of the Soul  by St. John of the Cross, or The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan...

If you are looking to simplify and streamline your kitchen routine, you may find this inventory list helpful. It has served our household well for several years, and has helped to keep costs down, even as grocery prices fluctuate.   A Capsule Kitchen: Inventory List Starches and Grains Barley  Oatmeal Pasta (whole wheat) Rice (brown and white) Beans and Legumes: I use dried, rather than canned. Making the switch from canned to dried has been a game-changer. They are super cheap, and you can cook as many or as few as you need .  Black beans Garbanzo beans Pinto beans Red beans Split peas Split red lentils Whole brown lentils Seeds Chia seeds Sesame seeds Condiments and Spreads Mustard Peanut butter Preserves Soy sauce Oils Olive oil Toasted sesame oil Vegetable oil Baking   Baking powder Baking soda Cornmeal Flour (whole wheat and all-purpose) White Sugar Spices Cinnamon Chili powder Curry powder Garlic salt Nutmeg  Nutritional yeast  Onion powder Pepper Sa...

I make this A LOT, and vary what I put in it depending on what I have on hand, or feel like using. Feel free to make this recipe as is, or use it as a template, and swap or add ingredients of your choice. One of the great things about dal is that it can be made with so many different things, so get creative! At the end of this recipe, there is a list of options to try, all of which I use regularly. Delicious Dal Ingredients  (note: I use mostly dried and frozen ingredients, as they are cheapest, but canned or fresh are fine)   1 cup dried brown lentils ½ cup dried chickpeas (or 1 can). If using dried, here's how to prep them: put them in a bowl of water in the fridge for a few hours, then rinse, drain, and bring them to a boil on the stove. Turn heat to low and simmer for about 1 ½ - 2 hours, or until tender. Either use immediately, or store in the fridge until ready to use. A handful of baby carrots, washed and chopped, or frozen carrot slices A handful of frozen kale A handf...

This recipe is based off one I found online quite some time ago, though I was unable to find it again to reference it here. I’ve made a few changes to it over the years, both to keep costs down, and to simplify and streamline it a bit. The best part? No kneading, no yeast, and no bread machine required! Supplies: 9x5 loaf pan Cooling rack Spatula Large bowl Measuring cups  Measuring spoons Ingredients:  (Dry) 2 cups whole wheat flour 2 cups all-purpose flour   3 teaspoons sugar 1 ½ teaspoons salt 8 teaspoons baking powder (Wet) ¼ cup vegetable oil 2 ¼ cup water Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 425° and grease the pan (I use vegan margarine) 2. Combine all dry ingredients into a large bowl (I sift the flour, but this is not essential) and mix. 3. Make a well in the center and add the vegetable oil and water. Stir until combined. 4. Add mixture into the greased baking pan and bake at 425° for 30 minutes. 5. After 30 minutes, rotate the pan (this helps ensure it bakes e...

  Hello there! I’m Angela. I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and currently live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States with my husband and our many plants. My writing is primarily about art and creativity, and I also post simple, budget-friendly, vegan recipes every other month, just to mix things up a bit. If you would like to see examples of my work, I invite you to have a look at my portfolio , browse my shop , or view my art page , which features a small sample of my offerings.  If you are interested in working with me on a project, or licensing my art, please contact me via the contact form on the main page , or email me at ange.morton@gmail.com. Information regarding commissions can be found here .  Thank you so much for stopping by!

Lotus Flower in Pond photo by Angela Marie Morton Integrity: 1. the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles 2. the state of being whole and undivided Integrated: 1. desegregated 2. with various parts or aspects linked or coordinated For the past several years, I have been honing my craft as an artist and illustrator, and putting my work, and myself,  into the public sphere; tentatively at first, and now with more assuredness. Before I committed anything to virtual posterity, I took time to research best practices. As with many aspects of creativity, marketing, too, is subjective, and everyone has their own preference and level of comfort regarding how much they want to put on public display.  Until fairly recently, I had debated about whether or not to separate art-related content from everything else I choose to make public (interests, political views, spiritual practices, etc.). Ultimately, I opted to let the proverbial peas and mashed potatoes touch, and ...

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...