Tuesday, June 30, 2009

A toast to the Fourth

The annual July 4 cookout is right around the corner; and vegetarians need not fear. Cookouts can be suitable for vegetarians of all tastes, from those interested in creating fabulous feasts like the spread described by Vegetarians in Paradise to the lazy veggies like me, who go the veggie-dog and chips-n-dip route.

The most labor-intensive part of my contributions to the cookout will be the onion dip, which will involve making a double-batch of Jo Stepaniak’s vegan sour cream and stirring in an envelope of Lipton onion soup mix. Stepaniak’s recipes in such books as Vegan Vittles and The Uncheese Cookbook include many outstandingly satisfying replacements for dairy products, such as:

VEGAN SOUR CREAM (recipe from Vegan Vittles)
1. 10.5 oz box firm silken tofu
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp sweetener
1/2 tsp salt
Blend in a blender till very smooth.

This July 4 will bring a nifty new taste to test: vegan marshmallows to toast over the grill. They’re called Dandies, from the Chicago Soy Dairy. The French Broad Co-op in Asheville was my source for these, and so far is the only store I’ve found that carries them. They are tasty little morsels straight from the bag, so it’ll be nice to see how they do toasted. I’ll let you know—

What kind of veggie treats are you planning for the Fourth?

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Vegetarian kids

Delicious Living has a recent article on raising vegetarian kids and what nutrients you should pay special attention to. I don’t have kids, but I can imagine it can be a challenge to raise them vegetarian, what with school lunches, going out with friends, birthday parties, etc. If anybody has any tips on the subject that could help other readers, please share!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Suicide Food

You’ve seen it—the deliriously happy pigs promoting barbecue, Charlie the tuna who wants to become “Chicken of the Sea”—but maybe you didn’t know there was a term for it: suicide food. As the fascinating Suicide Food blog puts it, “Suicide Food is any depiction of animals that act as though they wish to be consumed.“

The blog has been around since 2006 but I didn’t know about it until an out-of-town friend mentioned it as we drove past Mr. Barbecue (and Miss Fried Chicken) on Peter’s Creek Parkway. The commentary and ratings system for the images—one to five nooses, from “mildly disturbing” to “Ye gods! I must go wash out my eyeballs!“—are lively and amusing. But they make a serious point. As the blog description says: “Suicide Food says, ‘Hey! Come on! Eating meat is without any ethical ramifications! See, Mr. Greenjeans? The animals aren’t complaining! So what’s your problem?‘ Suicide Food is not funny.“

No, suicide food is not funny. But the blog is—and thought-provoking as well.

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Whole Foods cofounder

There’s an interesting interview with a cofounder of Whole Foods, John Mackey, in Saveur magazine. He talks about his time living in a vegetarian co-op in the 1970s, how Whole Foods finds products from small businesses that they’d like to sell, and what he thinks the next step will be in food labeling, among other things. The actual issue of the magazine (the Texas issue), unfortunately has a giant grilled steak on the cover, so you might prefer to read the interview here.

Now, if he could just do something about that annoying parking lot at the Winston-Salem store….

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Veggin’ Out in Boone

A trip to Boone last week afforded great downtown shopping, lovely weather and a couple of fantastic vegetarian meals.

It’s a tradition for my first stop in Boone to be Stick Boy Bread Co., probably my all-time-favorite bakery. I’m a big fan of their scones, particularly the cheddar-spinach and cranberry-pecan, and they offer a wide selection of pastries and breads. Most of their breads change daily, but you’re always sure to find something intriguing. Of course, you will also rue that you’re not there the correct day for something equally fabulous-sounding! The day I was there, I came away with a loaf of Blueberry Oatmeal and a boule of Cran-Apple Pumpkin Seed. Some of the breads are vegan, and they’ll happily give you samples to try.

Lunch was on the shaded patio at the very vegetarian-friendly Melanie’s Food Fantasy, which serves breakfast, lunch and breakfast-for-lunch. Had I noticed that the pancake of the day was cranberry-apple, I might would have ordered that. Instead, I went for the Tofu Veggie Melt sandwich, which was DIVINE. The marinade on the tofu cubes was sweet and gingery-tangy, and it came on an almost-croissanty bun made by the aforementioned Stick Boy Bread Co. The side of the day was a fresh cucumber-dill pasta salad, and the unsweetened ice tea was a delicious raspberry-peach. Most of their dishes are vegetarian, including tofu or tempeh benedict, a Soysage omelet and a tempeh reuben. I’m itching to go back to try other dishes!

For dinner, I went to Tupelos World Cafe, in the building which once housed Angelica’s vegetarian restaurant. The menu features dishes from Cuba, India, Mexico, Italy, Thailand, Japan, Scandanavia and the U.S. Though I was very tempted by the Sweet Potato Nori Roll (vegan), I went for the main ingredient in a different dish: Sweet Potato Enchilada. I am not generally a big Mexican-food fan, but the ingredients were some of my favorite things, thus too enticing to pass up: sweet potatoes, spinach, mushrooms, red peppers and cheddar cheese. The two large enchiladas came topped with enchilada sauce, sour cream, pepitas and diced apples. I was a bit skeptical of the apples, but everything worked together perfectly. Unfortunately, the mango salsa was too spicy for me, but luckily it came on the side, and I didn’t feel I missed it, anyway. It must be noted that the restaurant can be extremely loud when it’s filled.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Camping lessons

I went camping for the first time this millennium over Memorial Day weekend. It was great fun, and a great way to spend time with a friend who I don’t get to see enough of. I’d do it again, armed with two vital lessons learned on this trip:

No. 1: Do not go camping any place where porta-jons will be an unavoidable part of the experience. And that’s enough said about that.

No. 2: Vegetarians—and especially vegans—do not leave home without enough food to see you through until your return. There’s a great deal more to be said about that, and I’ve already started the research.
The book Apocalypse Chow by Jon and Robin Robertson focuses on strategies and recipes for eating well when fuel, refrigeration and water are scarce because a natural disaster such as a storm has knocked the infrastructure for a loop. But many of the strategies and recipes should also work for camping.

The Vegetarian Resource Group’s Vegetarian Journal has a Guide to Backpacking and Camping Foods available online.

I’ll be looking for more; but meanwhile, readers, do you have any favorite recipes for camping?

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Vegetarian sausage update

Success! I have finally found a vegetarian sausage to replace my beloved, discontinued Boca links! I flirted with the LightLife kind that comes in a tube, which you have to form into patties yourself, but I ultimately decided that I didn’t really like it that much, certainly not enough to go to the extra trouble.

I always hated the Morningstar Farms “sausage” links, but they have now come out with sausage patties that I like very much. There are eight in a package, and they come conveniently packed in twos. It’s very easy to just pop one or two in the microwave when I’m in a hurry.

Even my cat approves. After placing a patty on a plate on the kitchen counter the other day, I foolishly walked out of the room for about 15 seconds. She proceeded to jump up and start licking the (still-frozen, I might add) patty.

Morningstar Farms also makes a maple-flavored version, which I have not yet tried.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Vegan Diet for Diabetes

The Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine has done studies that found that a low-fat vegan diet had many benefits for people with diabetes. So the Winston-Salem 1st Seventh Day Adventist Church plans to hold a three-day seminar on reversing diabetes that focuses on diet and lifestyle. Registration and an introduction will be held on the evening of June 23, and the seminar days will be June 24 through 26.

The seminar will include cooking classes, meals, exercise and educational presentations. The cost is $50. Registration is needed by June 12. For more information, call Lorena Stephenson at 399-4274, or email .

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Vegan Pizza in Our Town

Brixx has come to Winston-Salem. I haven’t had a chance to eat at the one here yet, but have greatly enjoyed meals at the restaurants in Greensboro and Charlotte. Brixx offers salads, sandwiches and pastas—but the crispy, wood-fired pizzas are my favorite foods on the menu. (I almost wrote that the pizzas are my favorite part of the menu, but Brixx also has a great selection of beers on tap ... so that may be my favorite part of the menu. It’s definitely the part I linger longest over!) But without a doubt, the very best line of the menu is the one that says “Vegan cheese is available” on the pizzas. It’s a nice melty and tasty vegan cheese, too.

The new restaurant is at the Shoppes on Little Creek off Hanes Mall Boulevard. For more information, call 837-0664.

Friday, May 01, 2009

Fennel

*image from theherbspiral.com

While I was at the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market on Saturday, I came across one of the indoor grocers selling organic fennel for $1.75. It’s something of a wonder that I like fennel. Its taste is most often compared to licorice or anise, both of which I hate. But I’ve really enjoyed the times I’ve eaten fennel—though it’s only been raw in salads.

I’d never used fennel at home before, but I think it’s fun to try new ingredients in my cooking from time to time. (Though it can lead to a disaster or a waste of food, such as the first time I tried cooking a whole artichoke.) Plus, I still have visions of that wondrous pear-and-fennel salad from Eclipse de Luna in Atlanta. So I bought a bulb of fennel plus an organic red pear and decided to try re-creating the salad.

Pear-and-fennel salads work best, I think, with a mild, creamy dressing. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any at home that I thought would complement the ingredients (creamy Italian and peppercorn-parmesan just didn’t seem right), and I was too lazy to make my own. So I went with a pomegranate viniagrette, which turned out to work surprisingly well. Here’s what I put in the salad, which turned out delicious, if I do say so myself. Proportions of ingredients are up to your taste:

Pear-and-fennel salad
Organic salad greens
Half a bulb of fennel, thinly sliced
One pear, thinly sliced (should be firm and slightly underripe to get the crispness)
Red onion, thinly sliced
Avocado
Parmesan cheese, shredded or shaved
Sliced almonds

Really, it tasted better than it looks in this picture: