Monday, March 31, 2008

Faux meat saves the world!

Vegetarian themes turn up in the darndest places. Today I’ve been researching the “Angels of Mons,” which supposedly saved an outnumbered English force from destruction during a World War I battle. That research led me to Arthur Machen’s short story ”The Bowmen,” which sparked the legend, and which prominently features a vegetarian restaurant.

In this story, first published in September 1914, about a month after the Battle of Mons, an outnumbered English force faces advancing German forces. Suddenly, one of the English soldiers remembers “a queer vegetarian restaurant in London where he had once or twice eaten eccentric dishes of cutlets made of lentils and nuts that pretended to be steak. On all the plates in this restaurant there was printed a figure of St. George in blue, with the motto, Adsit Anglis Sanctus Geogius - May St. George be a present help to the English. This soldier happened to know Latin and other useless things, and now, as he fired at his man in the grey advancing mass - 300 yards away - he uttered the pious vegetarian motto.”

This “vegetarian motto” summons St. George and a host of ghostly bowmen, who leave 10,000 German soldiers dead, with no wounds upon them. In the conclusion, the very last line of story re-emphasizes the vegetarian theme:

“In Germany, a country ruled by scientific principles, the Great General Staff decided that the contemptible English must have employed shells containing an unknown gas of a poisonous nature, as no wounds were discernible on the bodies of the dead German soldiers. But the man who knew what nuts tasted like when they called themselves steak knew also that St. George had brought his Agincourt Bowmen to help the English.”

This story became wildly popular, and many people began to believe it truth rather than fiction. The bowmen eventually morphed into angels - the Angels of Mons - and the vegetarian theme dropped out. It’s difficult to know what literary significance to attach to this. But we could put a good spin on it: Faux meat (nuts pretending to be steak) saves the British, the British win the war and save the world, therefore …

Friday, March 28, 2008

Vegetarians on TV

The Web site Fancast has put up a list of television’s best and worst shows in the treatment and portrayal of animals. The list was compiled by Beverly Kaskey, the senior director of the Hollywood branch of the Humane Society of the United States. There are some interesting choices on there.

The list got me thinking about vegetarian characters on TV shows, and I realized I could think of only a couple. Lisa from “The Simpsons” is the one that first sprung to mind. Angela on “The Office” is another (she’s also a huge cat lover). But beyond those, I couldn’t think of any currently on the air. Phoebe was a vegetarian on “Friends.” In the Australian Outback season of “Survivor,” Kimmie being a vegetarian caused drama in the camp and also during one of their unfortunate gross-food challenges. (She wouldn’t eat the first item she was supposed to because it was a mammal, so the other team chose her to represent her team during the tie-breaker—but she rejoiced when the item to eat turned out to be a worm, which she determined was OK to eat, so she won the challenge for her team. I know that a lot of vegetarians still wouldn’t have eaten a worm.)

I wish there were more prominent vegetarian characters on television. I think that would help a lot in showing vegetarianism as a more mainstream lifestyle choice. I believe that when people are exposed to something on TV on a weekly basis, it can help educate them and make them more comfortable with it in real life—as long as it’s portrayed positively or neutrally and not as an object of ridicule.

I don’t watch most shows that are out there, so I’m sure there are probably some vegetarian TV characters I’m unaware of. Do you know any that I haven’t mentioned? Do you think TV does a good job of portraying vegetarianism? Or is it still portrayed as a “radical” lifestyle choice?

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Counter Cultures

My kitchen is overrun this week with fermentation experiments. Now, just like Tom T. Hall, “I like beer” … but that’s not what I’m talking about here. No, this is the little crock filled with salted cabbage that looks to be well on its way to becoming sauerkraut. And the jar of soy milk that unfortunately doesn’t seem as inclined to turn into yogurt as it should be. And the glass of sprout-soaking water that may soon bubble into rejuvelac. (The sprouts themselves are doing well on top of the fridge, serenely growing above all the ferment on the counters below.)

The book that inspired all this is Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz. I had been eyeing it for years - it was published in 2003 - and finally picked it up last week. Katz has an inspiring zeal for his subject. As he says in the introduction: “For me, fermentation is a health regimen, a gourmet art, a multicultural adventure, a form of activism, and a spiritual path, all rolled into one.” You can get a taste of Katz’s style on his Web site, at www.wildfermentation.com

All the recipes in the book are vegetarian, and most are vegan or can easily be made vegan. Katz is no longer a vegetarian, and there are some brief discussions of fermented meat and fish. Overall, though, the book is quite suitable for vegetarians. And the information and outlook presented in the book are interesting enough that it would be worth reading even if you never intend to ferment anything. But, wouldn’t you at least want to nurture a little sourdough starter, over there in the corner? It wouldn’t take up much room….

Friday, March 21, 2008

Cutting out the carbs

I need to lose some weight, and I think I’m going to try the South Beach Diet. This is a lower-carb diet, though less restrictive on carbs than the meat-athon that is the Atkins Diet. I know my diet is far too heavy on carbs—pasta, bread, cookies, fruit. This seems to be a common problem with many vegetarians, as we often substitute starches for the meats in meals. This is especially an issue when dining out. I simply don’t eat enough tofu and tempeh and beans, although I do eat them a fair amount.

Phase One of the South Beach Diet, which lasts two weeks unless you decide to stay on it longer, calls for the elimination of all carbs and starches (even fruit). Some carbs are added back in for Phase Two, and yet more for Phase Three. That Phase One is going to be a challenge for me, because I do love my sweets and all carbs, really. I’ve been looking up recipes using beans and tofu.

I’m curious if any you vegetarian readers have tried the South Beach Diet. Did you have problems following it? Were you able to get enough vegetarian variety without carbs in Phase One? Did you get good results?

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Vegetarian literature

It’s great to read books about the why and how of vegetarian and vegan living - nonfiction books on animal rights, health and vegetarian cookery - but what if you have a yen for more literary vegetarian literature?

At least a few giants of world literature have been vegetarians - playwright George Bernard Shaw, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and novelists Leo Tolstoy and Isaac Bashevis Singer come to mind quickly. There are no doubt more - readers, please let me know if you have any favorites (authors or specific books with a vegetarian theme) that I didn’t think to mention.

Of the four on the top of my head, I am least familiar with Singer, a Nobel Prize winning author. An article from Satya magazine, still available online here, has enlightening discussion of the importance that vegetarianism had for Singer, and recommends: “If you are unfamiliar with Singer’s fiction, pick up Enemies: A Love Story, The Penitent, and Meshugah, all of which are vegetarian-themed novels.” This is advice I intend to follow.

Unfortunately, Satya itself ceased publication last year, but you can read all the back issues - back to 1994 - online at http://www.satyamag.com/backissues.html T hat’s another bit of reading I’ll be doing as time allows....

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Dining in the raw

Raw food seems to be a trend within the vegetarian community. Books and magazine articles are being published to explain the whys and hows of raw dining. And restaurants are springing up to feed the trend. So it was exciting on a recent vacation in St. Augustine, Fl., to visit The Present Moment Cafe, a raw-food, vegan restaurant.

The restaurant is a quiet little oasis, where a stained-glass mural in shades of green screens the view of the busy street outside. Tables come with carafes of water dressed up with slices of lemon and cucumber. And the menu comes with enough tempting choices to make ordering just one meal a challenge.

I finally settled on the Viva Burrito - a “dehydrated tortilla filled with pine nut-chili and walnut pate, guacamole, coconut sour cream and Jalapeno vinaigrette.” Tim tried the Tacos of Life, a similar dish featuring “Pine nut-chili and walnut puree, fresh salsa, guacamole in 2 romaine shells with Coconut Sour Cream and Jalapeno vinaigrette.”

Cassandra had perhaps the best meal, a daily special with zucchini pasta, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes and a yummy nut-loaf kabob. We finished by sharing a parfait of “Vanilla-coconut creme, layered with buckwheat crisp, blueberry compote and sweet hemp praline.” (The photos, taken by Cassandra, show her meal and the dessert.)

The meal left me feeling light but satisfied, and kept me going until supper. I’m not ready to become a complete raw-foodist, but I am ready to eat more of this kind of food!

Friday, March 07, 2008

Hutch & Harris

The newest restaurant on the downtown dining scene is Hutch & Harris, at 424 W. 4th Street across from Cat’s Corner, in a spot that has seen a bit of a revolving door of eateries over the years. I’m happy to report that this one has some very nice and different-from-the-usual vegetarian offerings.

On my first visit, I had the Moosewood Middle Eastern Salad—tabouli salad over a cannellini-bean cake with a yogurt-tahini dressing—which I found yummy, particularly the dressing. I would have liked a second bean cake to make it a bit heartier, though. Julie had the dish on a later visit, and felt that the tabouli salad on her plate was bland and perhaps missing the lemon juice that usually gives it a nice kick. It tasted fine when I had it, so maybe the second time was a kitchen oops.

On my second visit, I had a Bayaldi sandwich—roasted eggplant, portobello mushroom and zucchini with red bell pepper coulis, chevre and olive-pinenut tapenade, served in a toasted pita (minus the tapenade because I simply can’t stand olives). This was fabulous, albeit a bit messy to eat. The vegetable filling reminded me a bit of the Eggplant Salad I like to make.

Sandwiches are served with french-fry wedges with “secret ‘Fru Fru’ spices.” They’re tasty, but I wish there was a choice of sides—say, pasta salad or fresh fruit—for when I want something a bit healthier than french fries.

There are other vegetarian options on the menu—plum tomato-gorbonzola soup, bayaldi ravioli, a gnocchi parmesan appetizer (which sounded like it might work for an entree if you’re not a big eater) and a dinner white-bean cakes appetizer.

Alas, Hutch & Harris seems to have fallen victim to that bugaboo of so many downtown lunch spots: slow service. Service was fairly quick on our first visit, but unfortunately quite slow on our second. I hope it can usually be closer to the former than the latter. Hey, restaurateurs, a lot of us working stiffs get only an hour for lunch!

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

No groceries in the house

It has been a joke in my family for years. One day my dad declared, “There’s no groceries in the house!” despite the fridge, cabinets and shelves overflowing with food.

Turns out, he really meant, “There’s no peanut butter in the house!” Peanut-butter sandwiches are such a staple in his diet that to him, a house with no peanut butter might as well contain no groceries at all.

Most of us have something like that, though—The things we’re always using up, and that go right back on the shopping list once they’re gone. If those magic ingredients are on our shelves, we feel we can survive. If they are missing, we fear we’ll be going hungry, no matter how much else is on the shelves. You can see that anytime there is a chance of snow. Store shelves are stripped bare of bread and milk as people lay in their stock.

For me, the magic ingredients include brown rice, miso and frozen mixed berries. Oh, yes, and beer! And the cats said I also better mention catfood. They don’t add up to a balanced meal quite the neat way peanut butter, bread and (soy)milk do; but it works for me. What do you always keep on hand?

Friday, February 29, 2008

Seeing Through the Fence

In case you missed yesterday’s relish, there will be a showing of the documentary Seeing Through the Fence at the Werehouse tonight at 8:30. The film, by vegan activist Eleni Vlachos, explores factory farms and slaughterhouses, as well as examining the contradiction between how much we love our pets and other animals and yet continue to eat meat. The film also shows Vlachos’ path to becoming a vegan and her family’s issues with her decision.

You can read more about Vlachos and the film here.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Good Gravy

If I could tell people just one thing about going veg, it would be this: Vegetarianism and veganism don’t mean deprivation or “giving up” anything - I’ve become a more adventurous eater and enjoy my food more than ever since moving toward a vegan diet. And even traditional “comfort foods” can be re-created in yummy vegan form.

Take gravy, for example. It doesn’t have to start off with meat “drippings.” When I came across some “tatties and neeps” (mashed potatoes and rutebaga) left over from the recent haggis meal, I thought it would be nice to have some gravy to go with them…. And 15 minutes later, with just a few basic pantry staples, I had it!

Here’s how I made my gravy, following the recipe given in Rose Elliot’s Vegetarian Christmas - a wonderful cookbook - but adding mushrooms to her basic recipe. All you need is:

3 TBSP vegan margarine (Earth Balance is the best!)
3 TBSP whole-wheat flour (Other flours work fine too. Whole-grain spelt flour gave good results.)
2 cups water or vegetable stock
3 TBSP soy sauce
Dried mushrooms, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Put the margarine and flour in a non-stick skillet, and stir over medium heat until the margarine melts and the flour is smoothly incorporated. Let it bubble and cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until the mix browns slightly. (Adjust the heat as needed as you cook to keep it from burning.)

Meanwhile, crumble your dried mushrooms into the 2 cups of water. (This works if you have very thinly sliced dried mushrooms that are easily crumbled by hand and reconstitute quickly - but if you have sturdier dried mushrooms, you may want to soak them ahead of time and chop them before adding to the gravy.)

Once your margarine-flour mix has browned a bit, pour in the water (stand back and be careful, since there’s a chance the hot oil will splatter when you pour in the water). Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, and cook for about 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken to gravy consistency as it cooks. After 10 minutes, stir in the soy sauce, grind in the pepper, and stir it up. Turn off the heat; your gravy is done….