CENTRAL NEW JERSEY I owe a lot of my reawakened love for my home state to being vegan. Right before I left New Jersey for school I became vegetarian, and through years of thinking and talking to other vegans, and visiting Safe Haven Animal Sanctuary in New York, I decided to completely embrace veganism. I had come back from New York to live in New Jersey and commute to school, and my change in perception of animals was almost parallel. As I grew through school and work, so did I in my revelations in what it means to be vegan. This revelation slowly crept up over me when I began spending more time in different parts of the state. Central New Jersey is where I grew up. Like all beginnings, central New Jersey is a blank canvas. The area is known for its farmlands, which, although hard to come by as years go by, can still be found sitting quietly down long stretches of NJ roads. During the winter they are just open spaces, but in summer they become alive with both beautiful plants and pockets of people. Driving across central New Jersey, towns fade in and out, and that same blankness makes some towns indistinguishable. Looking closer, each town holds a secret charm, almost as if on purpose. Drive off of any major highway and you may find yourself on a small street, with new things to explore. These new places and new explorations are the life blood of the state. Small on a map, look deep and you will find something that speaks to you. For me, it is my veganism which opens up these experiences and conversations. I see reflections of my interests in places like Matawan, where there are wonderful little shops like the vegan bakery, Papa Ganache, and a Loving Hut (of all towns in NJ, they chose tiny Matawan). In New Brunswick, there is George Street Co-op with Namaste CafĂŠ just upstairs, and in the Princeton/Hillsborough area there are warm shops such as Spoon & Sprout CafĂŠ, and the sorbet at the Bent Spoon, which makes its creations with New Jersey based local produce, such as tomatoes, pumpkins, peaches and blueberries. These are places which stay open all year round in New Jersey, and spark small gatherings of like minded people.
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CHICKPEA MAGAZINE SPRING 2013