Thursday, February 24, 2011

Veggie reading on campus

The headline from The Daily Tarheel, UNC’s student newspaper, tells the story: “UNC, Duke select book on vegetarianism for summer reading.” The book is “Eating Animals,” a nonfiction work by novelist Johathan Safran Foer, and it was chosen from a field of 393 suggestions for the program that has incoming freshmen read and discuss a single book. This will be the first time that the two universities have collaborated on the summer-reading program, and those involved with the program say “the mutual selection will allow the author to visit both campuses easily and ultimately serve students better than before.” I haven’t read “Eating Animals,” but this may prompt me to do so. It is exciting that a vegetarian-themed book has been chosen for this program. The Daily Tarheel’s story is here; information from Duke about it is here.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Veg Edge

Several weeks ago, I stumbled across a special on the Cooking Channel called “The Veg Edge.” It profiles vegetarian culture and chefs around the country, and really made me wish I lived in Austin, Texas, or Portland, Ore. (Or at least that we here had as much vegetarian eat-out options as those cities do.) The special will be re-aired on Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. (I’m assuming that’s in the wee hours of Feb. 17). You can read more about it and find some recipes featured in the show here. It would be great if it became a regular program.

The Cooking Channel is Channel 353 on the digital tier of Time Warner Cable in Forsyth County.

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Super Munchies

According to Mercy for Animals’ blog, “Super Bowl Sunday is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day.” And as is the case for Thanksgiving, there’s no reason it can’t be a wonderfully vegan feast day.

The MFA Blog offers simple tips to let you “Score Big by Hosting a Vegan Super Bowl Party.” But it’s not the only source for inspiration. The Ecorazzi website offers its pick of “Top Ten Vegan Super Bowl Recipes” including Potato Angels, a vegan version of Deviled Eggs and Buffalo tofu.
And the Vegetarians in Paradise website has a plan for a “Vegan Super Bowl Sunday” that includes all the favorites from Artichoke Party Dip to Swedish Meatballs to Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse.

If you’d rather find inspiration in a book than online, Robin Robertson’s new “Party Vegan” has ideas for most any occasion, including the Super Bowl. A sample recipe for Finger Lickin’ Tempeh Fingers is online.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Appetite for Reduction

If you’re like me, your New Year’s resolution invariably involves a desire to lose a few pounds. I recently discovered what I hope will be a great resource to help me: Isa Chandra Moskowitz’ new vegan cookbook, Appetite for Reduction. So far, I’ve had time to make only one recipe out of it, the Vegetable Korma (very tasty), but I look forward to making more. The Cranberry Cashew Biryani is calling my name.

You can get a few sample recipes at the author’s Web site here. (That link also led me, after clicking a recipe, to her Ginger Chocolate Chunk Scone recipe, which I can’t wait to try out! Probably won’t help me reduce, but they sound so yummy.)

I really appreciate the nutritional info that’s included with each recipe. The only drawback to the cookbook is that I wished it contained some low-fat breakfast or dessert recipes.

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Veggie gift ideas

Looking for some holiday gift ideas for the vegan, vegetarian or environmentalist in your life? Here are a few:

*A kit to grow their own shiitake mushrooms.

*A T-shirt proclaiming their vegetarian lifestyle. You can find a wide variety here.

*Make a vegetarian or vegan gift basket with a selection of animal-friendly goodies, such as vegan cookies, protein bars, dairy-free cheeses, crackers, and fair-trade coffee or chocolate.

*A leather-free, animal-product-free purse, such as one by Matt & Nat.

*A sustainable bamboo cutting board, bowl, plate or utensils. Find a bunch of possibilities at Core Bamboo.

*A stainless steel water bottle. They’re great to take to the gym or in the car on trips, and they help cut down on all those plastic bottles that pile up in the trash or recycling bin. You can find them all over the place these days.

*An organic cotton scarf to keep your friend/sweetie warm for the winter ahead.

*A vegetarian safari hunter mug.

*A windowsill-garden kit so they can grow their own herbs.

*Make a donation in their name to their favorite animal-friendly charity.

*Are you a carnivore without a lot of money to spend? Make your veggie friend happy by agreeing to go vegetarian for a day or a week ... or more!

Any of you have a nifty gift idea or two?

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Thanksgiving recipes

If you’re still searching for some meat-free Thanksgiving recipes or tips, here are some you might find helpful:

Grant Butler, a writer for The Oregonian, talks about his plans for his first Thanksgiving as a vegan. Acorn squash with cherry-pecan stuffing sounds heavenly!

And here’s an article about about ways to make the holiday vegan-friendly. Complete with recipe video!

Or try this list of recipes from the Veggie Table, this one of international recipes at Eat Drink Better or this link-apalooza one from This Dish is Veg. So many yummy-sounding recipes!

Friday, November 05, 2010

Thanksgiving treats

Well, a New York Times blog focused on health, is doing a series on vegetarian dishes for Thanksgiving. “From now until Thanksgiving, the Well blog will feature daily vegetarian recipes to help you plan your holiday menu. This year’s lineup includes some mouthwatering recipes from top chefs, sneak peeks at new recipes from some of your favorite cookbook authors and even some vegan and gluten-free dishes.”

We’re talking recipes like Chloe Coscarelli’s portobello mushrooms stuffed with cashews and lentils, and chocolate-pumpkin bread pudding…. This looks like something to keep an eye on through the month.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

New at NOMA

NOMA restaurant in downtown Winston-Salem has recently redone its menu, and Julie and I checked it out yesterday. The menu is smaller, and there’s not a huge vegetarian selection at lunch (one sandwich and one salad), but the sandwich is fabulous: sauteed wild mushrooms with scallions, lettuce, tomato and swiss cheese on a brioche bun. It’s a tasty twist on the typical portobello-mushroom sandwich. And they’ve added a risotto cake with cheese and artichoke hearts to the sides options (our waiter checked to make sure it didn’t contain any meat stock, and it didn’t—though as we learned from the Mozelle’s succotash experience, always ask each time). And, thankfully, the spinach-stuffed portobello is still on the dinner menu, at least, though unfortunately the mushroom sandwich isn’t.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Closure of the Grilled Asparagus

In case you haven’t heard, The Grilled Asparagus closed abruptly only three weeks after opening, amid a hefty helping of drama. (You can read the initial story here and a followup story here.)

It’s really a shame that this happened to the city’s first vegetarian restaurant. Although, truth be told, every vegetarian I know who ate there in its brief time (myself included) came away disappointed. I had hopes that they would iron out the kinks and improve, but it doesn’t seem as if that now has a chance of happening. At least people can’t say that it failed because it was a vegetarian restaurant—the excitement I saw and heard in the community was testament that a good, well-planned vegetarian restaurant could succeed here.

But perhaps the situation can serve as a source of valuable lessons for anyone who might open a vegetarian restaurant in the future (or, really, any restaurant). A few things for prospective restaurateus to keep in mind:

*Have a solid, well-thought-out business plan going in. Restaurants are notoriously difficult to get started and require a tremendous amount of time, energy and dedication, both before and after opening. Know what you’re getting into. Make sure you’re prepared to eat, sleep and breathe the restaurant for the first year, at the very least.

*Train the staff well. If the staff doesn’t know what’s going on, or are left standing around unsure what they should be doing, that creates delays and an unsatisfactory experience for the customer. Also, make sure you’re properly staffed—neither too few nor too many. All it takes is one bad experience for a diner to write off a restaurant forever.

*Be innovative with the menu. Most vegetarians I know are pretty creative and savvy when it comes to cooking and eating. We expect to be shown the same care and creativity that goes into carnivorous dishes at successful restaurants. Vegetarians are not going to be impressed by a few different toppings thrown on a frozen veggie burger that they can get themselves at the grocery store. Plain rice, stale bread and run-of-the-mill wraps are not the sort of dishes that inspire return visits. Get creative with different vegetarian proteins—tofu, tempeh, seiten. Don’t just throw a few vegetables together on a plate or in a wrap.

*Know the difference between vegan and gluten-free. This is a big deal to a lot of people, and a matter of health to celiacs. Mixing them up on the menu is pretty appalling for a vegetarian restaurant.

*Make sure you’re stocked with the necessary ingredients for what’s on the menu from the get-go.

Any comments on the closure of the Grilled Asparagus, or what you’d like to see in a vegetarian restaurant?

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Changes for the better

Vegan.com has long been the blog I check most frequently to keep up with news of the vegan world (and of the shenanigans in the non-vegan world). Now, the site has become even more useful. Instead of the blog on the front page of the site, it features “text geared specifically to newcomers, which makes a quick, non-pushy, well-informed, and upbeat pitch for veganism.”

The site’s author, Erik Marcus says: My intention is for Vegan.com to be the best place to send someone who is interested in going vegan, or who just wants to learn more about cutting back on animal products. Vegan.com’s front page now contains links to some of the most useful online resources for aspiring vegans.”

Even better, Marcus has made the entire text of his book The Ultimate Vegan Guide available online for free. The guide is full of information to make the transition to veganism easy and fun.

Best of all, Marcus’ blog is still available a little deeper in the site.