Welcome to For Goodness Sake (https://www.forgoodnesssakeblog.com), a blog and cookbook about plant-based food, compassionate living, and our interaction with the planet we call home. We are a group of artists, professionals, and friends who work together and grow much of what we eat. We share lunch each day at the Spiral House, a unique stone structure based on sacred geometry that was designed and built by the late artist Tom Gottsleben in New York’s Hudson Valley. Tom and his wife, Patty Livingston, the publisher of Rafferty Rocks Press (our imprint), moved to the property in the early 1980s, assembling a small community of stoneworkers and others, who comprise Tom’s sculpture crew, produce his exhibition publications, work on the many organic vegetable and flower gardens, and tend to the daily needs of such a large operation. At lunch, all are welcome to share the delicious plant-based meals created by Chef Diane Hagedorn.

Like an increasing number of people everywhere, many of us have turned to a vegan lifestyle for health and humane reasons as well as to minimize our footprints on the earth through the daily choices we make. Given the scope of our talents and backgrounds, it’s not surprising that we turned Diane’s creations into a cookbook, For Goodness Sake: Plant-based Recipes from the Spiral House Kitchen, the first book released by our publishing arm, Rafferty Rocks Press. 

Please sign up for our newsletter and receive recipes and articles about plant-based food, organic gardening, our animal friends, the environment, and other topics we hold dear. Our recipes cover the spectrum from 30-minute meals to exquisite culinary creations for parties and holidays. We’ll get down and dirty about what’s growing in our organic garden that might be perfect for yours, and keep you posted on the state of honey bees, pending humane legislation, and other important social, environmental, and food-related issues. You’ll also find lots of health ideas, new products, and, of course, the lowdown on happenings here in the Spiral House community.