Like many food lovers, the strangest things make me hungry. For instance, the Olympics. Ok, perhaps that’s not too much of a stretch– watching feats of endurance always works up a bit of an appetite– but that’s not what I’m talking about.  The Olympics remind me of a wonderful vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver, The Naam; their miso gravy is to-die for, and completely changed what I thought was possible with miso.

Miso is made from fermented grain or soybeans, salt and kojikin, a fungus also used to brew soy sauce and sake. Miso falls into three basic categories: komemiso, made with rice and soybeans; mugimiso, made from barley or rye and soybeans; and mamemiso, made from soybeans alone. Varying the fermentation time, the amount of salt and the strain of kojikin creates further variety: shiromiso (white miso), akamiso (red miso), awasemiso (mixed miso) and hatchomiso, the richest, thickest variety.

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Jamie Oliver won the 2010 TED prize this past week for his efforts to stop obesity. The facts and statistics he revealed in his accompanying TED talk were eye-opening and downright alarming. Two-thirds of Americans are overweight. Diet-related disease is the nation’s biggest killer. Smoking costs the country less than obesity. And for the first time in four generations, current American children have a shorter expected lifespan than their parents by 10 whole years, largely because of what they eat at home and at school.

One of the reason for this rise in obesity, diabetes and heart disease is that few people cook, instead relying on fast food and store-bought junk. The most shocking part is that some children don’t even recognize real food when they see it. Jamie mentions that every child should learn how to make 10 recipes by the time they finish school, recipes that will get them through life without complications.

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Every year, we worry about what to make for Valentine’s Day. Magazines and food blogs advise us to create unpronounceable French dishes, elaborate concoctions of aphrodisiacs, or foods you and your sweetie feed to each other… with your hands.

Like many food-centered holidays, Valentine’s day often leaves vegetarians and vegans out in the cold. Classic French dishes rely heavily on meat, cheese and butter. Oysters are the most popular aphrodisiac. And those little red boxes of candy? Dairy, eggs and sometimes gelatin.

My Valentine’s Day recommendation is simple: prepare the delicious things you already know how to make, only make them heart-shaped. Fancy foods are wonderful if you have the time to plan out and cook an exotic dinner, but really nothing conveys the Valentine spirit like hearts.

Perhaps this is an overly simple and juvenile approach– some might even say corny– but its the little things that make life grand. Imagine how you would feel if your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/lover surprised you with raspberry-studded pancakes on Sunday morning. Now imagine if those pancakes were heart-shaped.

That little bit of extra thought goes a long way, right?

All it takes are a few heart-shaped cookie cutters or some fancy cutting and shaping skills. Pat veggie burgers into hearts. Use a large cookie cutter to make tea sandwiches or brownies a la mode. Use a small cookie cutter to cut out toppings for pizza, form heart-shaped ravioli, or make deep-fried tofu.

Here’s what a vegetarian Valentine’s meal might look like: fried polenta and marinara sauce on a bed of sauteed kale with raisins and pine nuts. It’s quick, budget-friendly, and elegant in its simplicity.

If you really want to go all out, Williams Sonoma sells cute heart pocket pie molds; these are great for sweet or savory hand pies, though I have on good authority that they also make excellent stuffed French toast. Sur la Table has a plethora of cute heart-shaped doodads.

Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter what you cook. The best part of Valentine’s day is just turning the TV off, lighting a few candles, and eating together.

But it’s better if the food is heart-shaped.

Other heart-shaped ideas:

• Jumbo Empanadas: Heart-shaped Pierogies
• Ezra Poundcake: Conversation Heart Mini Cakes
• Courtney’s Vegan Journal: Individual Heart-Shaped Apple Galettes

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The United Way Hunger Challenge kicks off today in King County, and I’m excited to participate. As a budget-conscious student, I usually start the morning with a bowl of organic oatmeal ($0.19) from the bulk bin at the grocery store; it’s cheap and filling, and I actually love the taste. Sometimes I mix in a tablespoon of peanut butter ($0.04), but today I went with blackstrap molasses ($0.18) for calcium and iron. Because no morning is complete without caffeine, I drank a cup of Tetley’s black tea ($0.06) with a teaspoon of organic sugar ($0.04). My midmorning snack: a handful of bulk bin almonds ($0.34).

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If you are looking to cook more often and lower your food expenditure, invest in a rice cooker. This revelation will be old news for readers who come from cultures that traditionally eat a lot of rice, but it’s been an amazing discovery for someone who doesn’t.

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Every family has a different holiday tradition. Some of these traditions are based on religion, ethnicity, or heritage. For instance, many Italian-American families eat cioppino on Christmas eve as part of the Feast of Seven Fishes.

Other traditions just crystallize over the years; my family’s Christmas morning always began with the intoxicating aroma of bacon. The other components of Christmas breakfast varied: sometimes eggs, sometimes pancakes, but always bacon.

It’s just me and my boyfriend on Christmas this year, and breakfast is my responsibility. I’m vegan, he’s not, and finding a compromise can be tough. He would very much like to continue my family’s bacon legacy, but I’m not too keen on that idea. A scrambled tofu burrito is right up my alley, but that would put him in a soy-coma.  Cinnamon rolls are a tradition for many families, and their ooey, gooey, cinnamon-sugar, carb-overload goodness appeals to both of us.

Of course, vegans can’t just pick up a box of Cinnabon or plop a can of Pillsbury onto a baking sheet. I could veganize a typical cinnamon roll recipe, but Christmas morning is not the time to take risks. So, I’ve scoured the blogs to find a suitable alternative. Below are a number that all look delicious, yet differ by preparation time and ingredients. Hopefully one will suit your tastes.

Vegan Yum Yum: Perfect Cinnamon Buns

Happy Herbivore: Whole Wheat, Fat Free Vegan Cinnamon Buns

Tasty Vegan: Cinnamon Rolls

Earth Vegan: Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese

Vegan Bicyclinguist: Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

Spice Island Vegan: Vegan Pecan Sticky Buns- Move Over Cinnabon

Cooking with Dia: Dia’s Gluten-free/Vegan Cinnamon Buns

Do you have a good vegan cinnamon roll recipe to share?

image by stevendepolo

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I remember baking at my grandmother’s house with my Aunt Mimi when I was little. Or, I should say, I remember her baking and me watching the loaves as they took their sweet time rising on the fireplace hearth. Mimi always made me my very own mini loaf, and I could hardly stand the wait until it was baked. Then, she’d cut little slices off for me and slather them in butter.

Heaven. Pure heaven.

To this day I love the smell of yeast, and there’s nothing better than a home filled with the aroma of baking bread.

Alas, I never seem to have the time to bake those wonderful breads that Mimi always made. Then I discovered Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Dr. Jeff Hertzberg and Zöe François and I thought, “Well, I can certainly spare a few minutes for fresh baked bread!” The trick to this five minute method is not kneading the dough. Fascinating, huh!? You simply mix the ingredients in a container and let them sit for a couple of hours to do its business, then you just shape the bread and bake it. Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (their second book which followed Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day) contains delicious whole grain breads; breads full of yummy nuts and seeds, fruits and vegetables; as well as vegan and gluten-free recipes. It’s also chock full of tips and techniques, a must for baking!

My favorite is the German Vollkornbrot, a 100% whole grain bread. And seriously, not having to knead the bread truly does save a lot of time! Not to mention my back! Though having those bakers arms wouldn’t be such a bad thing…

Vollkornbrot
Printed courtesy of the authors (pg. 83)

“Vollkornbrot is German for “whole kernel bread,” so to make an authentic one, you need to find some wheat or rye berries. The result is a 100% whole grain loaf that is rustic, hearty, and moist – perfect when sliced thinly, slathered with butter, and topped with smoked fish, cold cuts, or cheese.

Because of the high quantity of grains, this dough is not worked like most. The dough has little resiliency, and you can’t tightly shape it; just press the dough into the shape you want. Don’t expect a lot of rising during the long (2-hour) resting time after shaping.”

Makes enough dough for at least two 2-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.

5 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat berries
1 cup rye flakes
1.5 tablespoons granulated yeast, or 2 packets
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
3 3/4 cups lukewarm water
2 tablespoons molasses

1. Mixing and storing the dough: Whisk together the flour, wheat berries, rye flakes, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

2. Combine the water and molasses and mix them with the dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine.

3. Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

4. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 7 days, but do not use the dough until it has aged at least 24 hours (to give the whole kernels a chance to absorb water).

5. On baking day, lightly grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch nonstick loaf pan. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 2-pound (cantaloupe-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.

6. Elongate the ball into an oval and place it into a loaf pan; your goal is to fill the pan about three-quarters full. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest for 2 hours.

7. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty metal broiler tray on any other rack that won’t interfere with the rising bread.

8. Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top with water.

9. Place the loaf on a rack near the center of the oven. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door. Bake for about 45 minutes, until richly browned and firm.

10. Remove the loaf from the pan and allow the bread to cool on a rack before slicing thinly and eating.

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Do you have a vegetarian or vegan foodie on your holiday list? Here are 10 gift ideas that are guaranteed make any veggie happy.

1. Vegetarian Beginner’s Guide. Going vegetarian isn’t as simple as merely giving up meat; making the switch requires new eating habits, nutritional requirements and mindset. New vegetarians (and even some who have been at it for a while) may need a bit of education and coaching to ensure their diet is a success, and this book from Vegetarian Times can help.

2. A subscription to Veg News or Vegetarian Times. These magazines are chock-full of information on lifestyle, health, new products and more. (Yes, recipes too.)

3. Membership to a food co-op. Food co-ops are employee- and member-owned businesses that provide their customers with fresh, locally-grown organic foods; essentially, food co-ops are farmers markets in the form of a grocery store. (Need to find a food co-op?)

4. Eating Animals. Jonathan Safran Foer’s most recent book is a thought-provoking ethical analysis of Big Meat, and one of the most gripping non-fiction books of 2009.

5. Mini donut pan. How else are you going to make Vegan Yum Yum’s adorable mini donuts?

6. Vegetable cookie cutters. Take ‘eat your veggies’ to a whole new level!

7. A cute pro-veg t-shirt. Herbivore Clothing in Portland, OR has an excellent selection.

8. For the die-hard DIY-er: a soy milk maker. Why should someone who sews their own clothing, knits their own hats, and bakes their own bread settle for anything less than homemade soy milk?

9. Vegetarian gift basket. Online stores like Vegan Divine or the Vegan Store have delightful pre-made baskets, but why not create your own? Combine a variety of foods and products in a nice basket and wrap with a pretty ribbon. Suggestions: Mexican hot chocolate, vegan truffles, or bath products.

10. Something homemade! Cookies, cupcakes, candies, truffles, a cake, a pie- doesn’t matter what. Homemade gifts come from the heart, and are relatively inexpensive for those on a budget.

Vegetarians: what’s on your wish list?

Other blogs’ ideas:

• The Vegetarian Blog: Gifts for Vegetarians
• Melbedggood.com: Christmas Gifts for Vegetarians
• The Newbie Vegetarian: Giving Pitfalls for the Animal-Friendly
• No Meat Athlete: Dried Fruit Christmas Ornaments

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It’s almost surprising how many vegan-friendly dessert recipes are found in vintage cookbooks; eggs and dairy were expensive and scarce during the Great Depression and World War II, so bakers made do without them. One example of 1930’s thrift and ingenuity is wacky cake, a spongy chocolate confection often topped with powdered sugar or a simple icing.

This is not the case today. However, you don’t necessarily need a vegan cookbook to bake vegan; most recipes calling for eggs, milk or butter are easily veganized with a few simple substitutions. Here are a few from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s popular Vegan with a Vengeance.

One egg is equal to:

• 1 tablespoon flaxseeds, ground, mixed with 3 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup silken tofu, blended
• 1 tablespoons egg replacer (such as Ener-G or Bob’s Red Mill) mixed with 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 banana
• 1/4 cup soy yogurt

One cup of milk is equal to:

• 1 cup soy milk, almond milk or rice milk

One cup of buttermilk is equal to:

• 1 cup soy milk plus 1 teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice; mix and wait for a few minutes.

One stick (1/2 cup) of butter is equal to:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) non-hydrogenated margarine (such as Earth Balance)
• 1/3 cup oil

You won’t be able to make recipes that rely on eggs for structure, like souffles or macarons (feel free to prove this statement wrong), but you can make truly tasty “I can’t believe it’s vegan” cookies, cakes, and bars.

Some tasty vegan treats:

• Sweet Cuppin Cakes Bakery: Natalie Slater on Vegan Baking
• Karina’s Kitchen: Vegan Baking Cheat Sheet
• Get Scones:  Ode to Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar Testing
• Hell Yeah it’s Vegan: 10-Layer Chocolate Mint Cake
• Your Vegan Mom: Sweet Potato Pecan Muffins

image by norwichnuts

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The author Jonathan Safran Foer often tackles subjects that make other authors uncomfortable, stories about the victims of horrific events. In Everything is Illuminated, he chronicled a young man’s journey to Ukraine to find the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis. He was one of the first to write about the events of September 11 in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. His third work, Eating Animals, deals with another type of victim: the animals we eat on a daily basis.

The book is both animal rights advocacy and an examination of how what we eat fits into our culture. As Foer writes, “food is culture, habit, and identity.” Up until a point, we eat what our parents eat. When we become able to make our own decisions, food becomes a choice, though we risk ostracizing ourselves from friends and family if we chose a different path.

Though the vegetarian Foer wouldn’t be opposed if giving up meat was a result of reading Eating Animals, the book is not about not eating meat; it’s about not eating factory farmed, genetically-altered meat. In fact, Foer is very sympathetic to the men and women who humanely raise- and slaughter- animals on family farms.

Factory farms are evil in every sense of the word. These large corporations unabashedly release toxins into the environment. They treat their workers like animals and their animals like objects. They do not care if their fish, poultry, cattle or pigs suffer; these creatures do not live good lives or die good deaths. Factory farms put small, earnest family farms out of business. And their products are everywhere.

While the majority of Eating Animals is true of everyday eating, the last chapter is especially relevant this week. Thanksgiving (”turkey day”) is synonymous with meat.  However, “…more than any other animal, the Thanksgiving turkey embodies the paradoxes of eating animals: what we do to living turkeys is just about as bad as anything humans have ever done to any animal in the history of the world. Yet what we do to their dead bodies can feel so powerfully good and right.”

Why is turkey necessary? American’s don’t really like turkey that much; 18% of all turkey consumed annually in the US is eaten on Thanksgiving day. Plus, “the turkeys we eat have about as much in common with the turkeys the Pilgrims might have eaten as does the ever-punch-lined tofurky.” Yet turkey is tradition; many families cannot-and would not- fathom a Thanksgiving table without this large foul. Foer describes several Thanksgivings of his childhood: the traditions, the foods, the memories, and the close intersection of the three. Turkey plays a central role.

Foer poses a question (a challenge, possibly): what if there were no turkey on the Thanksgiving table? Would you miss it, or would knowing that there is a reason for its absence make the lack of turkey more special? “Try to imagine the conversation that would take place. This is why our family celebrates this way.”

As Foer writes, “The point of eating special foods with those special people at those special times was that we were being deliberate, separating those meals out from the others. Adding another layer of deliberateness has become enriching. I’m all for compromising tradition for a good cause, but perhaps in these situations tradition wasn’t compromised so much as fulfilled.”

image by donjd2

Other posts on this topic:

• The Green Fork: Eating Animals: Foer Gets The Facts On Factory Farms
• The Lantern Books Blog: Eating Animals: A Review
• The Vegan Dietitian: Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer: Some of My Favorite Reviews
• Supervegan: Does it matter that Jonathan Safran Foer isn’t vegan?
• Basil and Spice: Book Review: Eating Animals By Jonathan Safran Foer

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image from riptheskull

Thanksgiving is technically about giving thanks and spending time with loved ones, but it’s really just an excuse to eat copious amounts of delicious food- depending on what you consider delicious.

A holiday nicknamed “turkey day” certainly does not bode well for vegans and vegetarians, especially those spending the day in a crowd of meat-eaters. Annoying vegetarian jokes aside (snappy comebacks here), the day’s emphasis on poultry heightens the omnivore/herbivore rift. The veggies worry about what on the Thanksgiving table will be edible, while their omnivorous hosts worry about what to cook that meets the criteria. After a few Thanksgivings of going through this myself, I’ve found there are a few things to do to circumvent unnecessary conflict.

If you are vegetarian:

Let your host know what you eat and don’t eat. It sounds like a no-brainer but can be surprisingly difficult, especially if you are dining with a group you do not know well. Perhaps you’re worried about judgment (what, no turkey? What’s wrong with you?) and feel you can slip beneath the radar. Or you may not want to trouble your already stressed-out host with an additional concern. However, it is a host’s duty to make sure their guests, including you, are comfortable. Plus, he or she will be offended if you do not eat anything, and possibly upset that you didn’t say anything sooner.

Offer to bring something. Your host may not know what to make, so ask if there is anything you can bring. Thanksgiving dinner may not be the best occasion to showcase your famous carob-tofu-agar pie. Instead, bring something delicious that you know everyone will want to try and enjoy.

Eat before and pocket an energy bar. If you are nervous about what on the table will meet your dietary requirements, eat a small meal prior to leaving the house. At Thanksgiving, it’s better to be too full than hungry. If worse comes to worse, have a safe snack on hand that you can slip away privately to eat.

Understand that there will be dishes you cannot eat. Your host won’t please everyone, but hopefully they will offer enough to satisfy you.

If you are hosting a vegetarian guest:

Ask what they would like to eat or if they can bring something. You may feel ungracious asking a guest to help with the meal planning or to bring a dish, but most vegetarians will be happy to lighten your load and relived to know that they have at least one thing on their plate.

Make accommodations. You do not need to ensure that every dish meets your guests’ needs, but have enough dishes that do so your vegetarian guests leave as full and happy as the rest of the crowd. Simple tricks can make this easier. Cook some stuffing outside the turkey. Bake a plain yam in the oven with the candied yams. Swap out butter for olive oil. Make universally acceptable vegetarian dishes, like roasted root vegetables, stuffed pumpkin or an elegant salad. Even an act as simple as microwaving a Field Roast loaf goes a long way. Discretely point out to your guest what foods on the table fit their diet.

Any additions?

A few meatless recipes for the Thanksgiving table:

Holiday Loaf

More thoughts on the matter:

• Tips and recipes from NPR by Nicole of Cucina Nicolina
• Cheap Healthy Good: Veggie Might: Vegetarian Thanksgiving Tips, Part I- The Main Dish
• Healthy.Happy.Life: Vegan Thanksgiving 101: Tips, Advice and the Basics.
• U of C Vegan Society: Vegan Thanksgiving Tips

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Raise your hand if you’ve ever entered a bookstore intending to buy a literary work and left with a cookbook or two. It’s ok. It happens to all of us.

Vegan Soul Kitchen came out in March of this year, and I had been lusting for it since hearing an interview with Bryant Terry, the author, on The Splendid Table in April. Therefore, when Amazon gently recommended it to me- on sale- as I bought my fall textbooks, I happily added it to my virtual shopping cart.

The recipes are modernized, veganized versions of the traditional African American and Southern recipes Terry enjoyed growing up in Memphis. When one thinks of Southern cooking, “vegan” is not the first word that comes to mind. Even the vegetables tend to be battered, deep fried and flavored with bacon or lard. Terry proves that one can enjoy Southern and African American cooking without sacrificing lifestyle or nutrition. “To be clear, though, I am not presenting this as a ‘healthy cookbook,’” Terry writes in the introduction, “Vegan Soul Kitchen is a real food cookbook for anyone with a soul that likes tasty eats.”

The recipes range from drinks to sides to entrees to desserts, with an entire section devoted to watermelon. One theme throughout is a focus on sustainability. As an example, Terry encourages readers to compost the matter remaining after making the stock for the Tempeh, Shitake Mushroom and Cornmeal Dumpling Stew I prepared last night. I picked up all of the vegetables for the stew (except the mushrooms for the stock) at the farmer’s market yesterday: every ingredient called for in the recipe is in season at the same time. In fact, the concept of the book grew out of the director of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) asking Terry to create recipes for CSA members.

The book is peppered with pop culture references; for example, Terry titles his vegetable section “So Fresh and So Green Green.” (Outkast, anyone?) He also includes a soundtrack for each dish, drawn from an eclectic variety of musical genres. The songs accompanying my stew were “Chicken an’ Dumplins” by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers and “Shroom Music (Champion Bound)” by Quasimoto (neither of which I had in my iTunes library).

However, the only music I needed was the sound of a hearty, delicious meal simmering on my stove.

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There’s no meat in the fridge, no canned salmon in the cabinet, not even a packet of spam. What’s a woman to feed a carnivorous husband? So I found a recipe for raw tacos! Walnuts? Check. Spices? Check. Soy Sauce? Check. Food processor? Not so much, but I’m resourceful and make do with a coffee grinder.

After grinding, mixing, and using over sized lettuce leaves as shells, I served these tacos to my husband. He protested a little, but he tried a bite. And he liked it! He and I both agree that thanks to using the same spices that you would normally use in taco meat, it tasted just like a normal taco. He even enjoyed the lettuce leaves as a shell. Children might like this recipe too, ok maybe not the lettuce leaf.

Try it for yourself! Just drop a glob of guacamole, mango rawlsa, and some rawesome sour cream and you’ll have a meatless, vegan, gluten-free meal! Feeling adventurous? Try making your own raw taco shells, maybe even explore some other raw, meatless international food like Raw Pad Thai or Rawssian borscht!

Today is National Nachos Day, so how about you mix up a little meatless, raw nachos by making Spicy Corn Raw Tortilla Chips, Raw Nacho Cheese,  and Raw Refried Beans. Of course you could also just use meatless refried beans if you don’t want to go all out raw, but hey, guacamole can always be raw right?

Photo by Geoff604.

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We’re wrapping up a week of Meatless Monday (thru Friday) posts with a vegan/vegetarian finale! One of my favorite discoveries in my week of no meat? Breadfruit! Which we made into a delicious Breadfruit Coconut Curry.

The politics:

• Meatless days a good idea for a healthy life. Even Presidents Wilson, Truman and Roosevelt thought so.
• But, the meat industry says it threatens their way of life (well, frankly, eating meat every day threatens our lives)
• High “red” meat consumption increases risk of Type 2 diabetes
• Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs both blast Meatless Monday

The fun stuff:

• Jones Soda’s newest wacky vegan holiday flavor: Tofurkey and Gravy
• Brown Bagging it? Find inspiration in Vegan Lunchbox Around the World
• Going meatless too daunting? Take baby steps with Almost Meatless
• A new twist on an old fave: Mac and Cheese (with hidden veggies!)
• YumSugar’s favorite vegetarian recipes
• Al Dente cooks up tasty Brussels sprouts
  

Photo by: thebittenword.com

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