Wednesday, June 20, 2007

“The Way We Eat”

I became a vegetarian in the stacks of the Forsyth County’s main public library. There, reading such books as Cleveland Amory’s Support Your Right to Arm Bears and Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation, I became aware of some of the horrors systematically inflicted on animals by humans and knew that I wanted no part of them.

That was more than 25 years ago. But last week I was back at the library, and came across a newer book, co-written by Singer and Jim Mason. This book - The Way We Eat, subtitled Why Our Food Choices Matter – was published last year and made something of a stir then. You can read a review of it from Vegan Outreach, which includes links to interviews with Singer in Mother Jones, Salon and on Vegan.com

I hadn’t come across the book until now, and I’m glad I finally did. It looks at the ethical issues surrounding food by looking at the eating patterns of three families – one that eats the “Standard American Diet,” “conscientious omnivores,” and vegans – and how they affect animals, the environment and other people.

The Way We Eat clearly lays out the continuing horrors of animal agriculture. But it also examines the ethical implications of such things as organic and locally produced food, and “Fair Trade” foods. There are many factors to consider, and the most ethical path is not always clear. But Singer and Mason do offer some simple guiding principles.

Their book provides a lot of food for thought, along with fascinating information. Best of all, it is ultimately hopeful to believe that people can make a difference in the world through their food choices.

Have you read any books lately that have made a difference in how you think about your food? If so, I’d love to hear about them.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Lunch at 6th and Vine

Working downtown, I sometimes head to 6th and Vine for lunch. It’s a nice, relaxed place, and I’ve always been a fan of their grilled-vegetable salad and portabella panini sandwich. Julie and I went there earlier this week and were surprised to see that they have changed their lunch menu, making it more like their dinner menu. There are more vegetarian options now, especially salads. The grilled-vegetable salad is gone, which is sad. But there are many other unusual—and yummy-sounding—vegetarian salads now: nuts and berries; watermelon-and-strawberry: poached pear; baked goat cheese; oven-roasted beet; caprese. If I’m in the mood for a light (but filling) lunch, this is where I’m going to want to head. I’ve got to try most of those salads! (Not the beet one, though. Eeew, beets.)

You can also sometimes find vegetarian options in their daily specials—soup, hummus, salad, risotta or flat pizza. Make sure you ask your server, though. The day we were there, the sage-and-shitake risotto sounded like it might be vegetarian, but it wasn’t. The cream of asparagus soup, however, was vegetarian.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Hair today ...

Although I usually write about food, the vegan lifestyle encompasses much more. Many vegans (and other compassionate people, too) make a point of choosing household and personal-care products that don’t involve animal suffering, such as cosmetics that don’t contain animal ingredients, and that aren’t tested on animals.

Fortunately, just as vegan food choices have increased dramatically in the past few years, so have cruelty-free choices. And guidance on what products are cruelty-free is available from several sources.

For example, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has lists of companies that do and don’t test on animals. It says, “Companies listed either have signed PETA’s statement of assurance or provided a statement verifying that they do not conduct or commission any nonrequired animal tests on ingredients, formulations, or finished products and that they pledge not to do so in the future.” The don’t-test list also indicates which companies make only vegan products.

Another Compassionate Shopping Guide lists companies that do not test finished products, formulations or ingredients on animals. Companies on this list must also “Not purchase from suppliers ingredients that have been tested on animals after a fixed cut-off date…” This list is from the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics, a group of several major animal protection groups.

With the help of information like this, my home is stocked with everything from Citra-Drain to keep my pipes clear to Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap to keep my face clean.

The only area where I’m still looking for the perfect cruelty-free alternative is hair color. I sometimes use henna, which gives good results but is time-consuming and messy to apply. (Good thing the Citra-Drain works so well, or my bathtub might still be stopped up with henna residue.)

I just found a Web site, My Makeup Mirror, with an article on how to “Color Your Hair Without Coloring the Bunny.” It gives a lot of suggestions that I’ll consider trying in the future. But I wonder, have any of you tried a cruelty-free hair color that you particularly like (or would recommend avoiding, for that matter)? And how important is it to you to find cruelty-free household and personal products?

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

A Bleu Review

It’s always exciting to try a new restaurant. Last weekend, two friends and I made our first trip to Bleu, a recent addition to Winston-Salem’s restaurant scene.

Athough the menu has just a couple of vegetarian entrees - a cheese ravioli dish; and a brie, tomato & arugula sandwich - there are more choices among the appetizers and soups and salads.

The three of us shared the trio of dips (hold the jokes; we already made them). The dips were tasty - lemon-fennel mascarpone; red pepper & spinach ricotta; and preserved tomato & leeks - and the portions generous enough that even splitting it three ways, we ended up with leftovers.

For my meal, I ordered two more appetizers - the panko-crusted tofu and the warm beet salad.

The tofu dish could easily have been a meal in itself. And at $7, it won general acclaim as the best deal of the evening. Two large slices of tofu were encased in a crisp crumb crust, with a touch of a mild miso sauce. They were accompanied by rice wrapped in sheets of nori, and a salad that tasted lightly pickled, which added a welcome bit of punch to the tofu and rice.

The beet salad, so pretty and tasty, was my favorite. The brilliantly colored cubes of beets - in both the familiar magenta version and a lighter red version - nestled atop a peppery bed of arugula. Golden raisins accented the beets’ natural sweetness. A light sprinkling of cheese could be left off without impairing the bold flavors of the beets and arugula.

All in all, I was pleased. Bleu isn’t a must-go destination for vegetarians, but I would be happy to go back.

Friday, June 01, 2007

The sexiest vegetarian celeb, etc.

*PETA is having a poll in which you can vote for the sexiest male and female vegetarian celebrities. It was interesting to see which stars were on the list. (I felt a little out of touch because I didn’t know who some of them were.) I wish they had termed it “favorite” instead of “sexiest,” because some of the choices really don’t fit the latter. I mean, I like Bob Barker and Weird Al Yankovic, but are they sexy? Not so much. I also found it interesting that there were more males to choose from than females, since females tend to more likely be vegetarian.

*My new favorite discovery is Breyers All Natural Creamery-Style chocolate ice cream. It’s indeed creamy and chocolately, and what’s even better, it’s light ice cream, with “half the fat and 20% less calories than regular ice cream.” It has 120 calories and 4g of fat per 1/2-cup serving, compared to 150 calories and 8g of fat in regular ice cream. What’s interesting is that they seem to be trying to hide the fact that it’s light, identifying it as such only in tiny, easily missable type. While I don’t think I would confuse it with a high-fat premium ice cream like Ben & Jerry’s, I wouldn’t have known it was light ice cream by the taste. I’ve always been a fan of Breyers ice cream because it doesn’t have a bunch of chemical additives. Its ingredients list is always pretty short, which is a good thing to look for. Generally, the shorter the ingredient list, the more natural a food is.

* There’s a short article in the June issue of Natural Health magazine about plantable packaging. Some companies, such as Pangea Organics and Cargo Cosmetics, sell products whose boxes contain seeds. Soak the box in water for a bit, then plant them in your garden, and basil or amaranth will sprout in a few weeks. What a fabulous idea! It takes recycling to a whole ‘nother level.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

The Thrill of the Grill

With the Memorial Day holiday widely considered to be the start of summer, many vegetarians will have cookouts in their near future. Cookouts can be as simple (veggie burgers and all the trimmings) or as elaborate (marinated portabella mushrooms, veggie kabobs, even pizza) as you want them to be.

There are any number of sources for ideas and recipes for vegetarian grilling. Vegetarian Times magazine seems to do one or more articles every summer; entire books have been written about it; and of course the internet has a wealth of recipes available at the click of a mouse. I have just a few personal suggestions to add—

You really should grill some corn on the cob. It’s so delicious, and so easy. There are all kinds of suggestions on how to do this. Some say to peel back the shucks, remove the silks, and re-wrap the shucks around the ear. Sometimes it is recommended that you soak the corn in its shucks before grilling. But simply shucking and then grilling works fine, too.

All manner of elaborate spreads can be used on corn ... my favorite is umeboshi plum paste, spread very thinly across the ear. It’s much less messy and fattening than margerine, and tangy-salty-delicious. But remember, spread it sparingly—otherwise it can be overpowering.

With veggie burgers or dogs, the goal is merely to heat them through, and to imbue them with the smoky grill flavor. So don’t leave them on the grill as long as you would conventional burgers and dogs. Also, because they do not have nearly as much fat as meat, they can dry out. I avoid this by rubbing each one with a generous coating of vegetable (usually canola) oil.

It’s fun to wrap food in foil and cook it on the grill that way. Tofurky beer brats—wrapped up with onions, peppers, beer and seasonings – turn out great when cooked like this. Tofurkey has the recipe online here.

Plan ahead to make the most of the coals. If you’re firing up the grill anyway, why not take along an eggplant to roast so you can make baba ganoush (eggplant dip) later? A good recipe is available at the FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog. Or roast some red peppers to have on hand for sandwiches later. Or roast heads of garlic (drizzle them with olive oil and wrap in foil, just as you would for roasting them in the oven) for a tasty spread.

Finally, a very personal tip. If you’re starting to wilt in the sun, just volunteer to stay inside to make sure nothing goes wrong with the central air-conditioning. I’ll probably be in there, too, but you can never have too many people looking out for the central air….

What are your best tips for a successful summer cookout?

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Salt of the Earth

A while back, a friend sent me a link to the Salt of the Month Club … but alas, it turned out to be a fake from The Onion. Still, I check the link every so often, just in case it’s now for real.

There easily could be a salt of the month club. Gourmet shops such as Chapel Hill’s A Southern Season and specialty Web sites such as Saltworks feature an unbelievable array of salts. There’s grey salt, black salt, pink salt ... salt from Hawaii; salt from the Himalayas. Smoked salt, salt with truffles, salt with green tea.

The publishing world is aware of the trend. Yesterday, Cassandra passed along an article from the June 2007 issue of Natural Health magazine, with ideas for creating seasoned salts by blending, infusing, smoking or roasting salt with other flavoring agents.

And in its March 2007 issue, Cooking Light magazine did an article focused on cooking with salt. The recipe for Sweet and Salty Peanut Chocolate Chunk Cookies still haunts me. Luckily, it’s available online here.

It’s especially interesting that these health-conscious magazines are featuring articles on salt, since the seasoning has a less savory side – its effect on blood pressure.

A USDA report on salt intake points out that “Over 30 years of scientific evidence shows that a diet containing more than 6 grams of salt per day (2,400 milligrams of sodium – the amount in a little more than a teaspoon of salt) is associated with elevated blood pressure. Increased blood pressure can lead to hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.” Cooking Light has more information about salt and health here.

This is serious - enough to give even a dedicated salt vampire like me pause.

On the other hand, these recent magazine articles focus on using salt very consciously – adding a bit of very flavorful salt at the point where it will have the most impact. That way less can be used to achieve a satisfying flavor.

But this may not make a large difference. One of the USDA’s most eye-opening statistics is that only about 20 percent of the average person’s sodium intake comes from salt added at the table. About 75 percent comes from processed foods.

So keeping an eye on sodium content when you’re buying such things as frozen entrees and bottled salad dressings is important. You may also wish to check nutritional information for restaurant items, if it is available. And, of course, preparing as much of your own food as possible at home from fresh, healthy ingredients can also help.

How about you, readers? How concerned are you about sodium intake, and what, if anything do you do to try to minimize it?

And, if you’re like me and just can’t get enough salty goodness, check out the Salt Institute’s page of recipe links. They’re not all vegetarian, but some are. Especially noteworthy are the several recipes for preserved lemons—Those things are saltier than salt! Mmmm.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Opa!

One of my favorite annual events in Winston-Salem is this weekend: the Greek Festival. It’s always a fun time of good food and festive Greek spirit.

They offer several a la carte vegetarian options alongside the souvlakis and gyros: Greek pizza, a Greek salad, spanakopita and potato wedges. But in my opinion, the best bet is always the plate meal. They’ve been offering a vegetable plate for several years now if you asked for it, and this year, they even have it printed up on the menu on the wall behind where you pay. For $7, you get two spanakopita squares, rice, Greek-style green beans in tomato sauce (my favorite thing!), a Greek salad, a roll and a drink. I’ve never come away feeling anything but full and satisfied.

Then, of course, there are the delicious Greek pastries and soft-serve ice cream with baklava topping, which I can never pass up no matter how full I am.

The festival is at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 435 Keating Drive, off Country Club Drive near Silas Creek Parkway.

Greek food is one of my favorite ethnic cuisines. I love the flavors that permeate its dishes: oregano, lemon, cinnamon, nutmeg, olive oil. Good, traditional Greek restaurants often have some wonderful vegetarian options, as these dishes are part of their culture. Vegetarian moussaka, grilled zucchini, skordalia (a potato and garlic spread), stuffed grape leaves and, of course, spanakopita are favorites found on many restaurant menus, including that of Athena Greek Taverna at 680 S. Stratford Rd. In fact, I think a visit is in order soon for their vegetarian moussaka, now that I’ve gotten myself thinking about it!

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The industrious vegetarian

Condo living suits me. When house-dwelling friends are busy mowing their grass, I’m lolling on a chaise longue in air-conditioned luxury, with gin and tonic, a tray of peeled grapes and the TV remote all within easy arm’s reach.

Sometimes the remote clicks to a program like The Victory Garden, and I’ll dream about what it would be like to have a garden.

But wait, I don’t have to just dream…. I do all the gardening I want in containers on my back deck. My favorites are herbs. They are so delicious fresh, and so expensive at the store, that it’s cost-effective as well as fun to grow your own.

Plus, herbs are so easy. I haven’t even gotten off the chaise longue to do any planting yet this year, and already the perennials from last year are going great:

The sage is in beautiful blue bloom; the lavender is covered in fragrant purple flowers; and the little pink pom-pom chive bossoms are just now fading away. The oregano is crowding the chives and threatening to take over its container. The rosemary is stretching toward the sky.

This weekend I’ll put in this year’s crop of basil - perhaps the most satisfying herb of all to grow. Two or three sweet-basil plants will keep me in pesto all year. Just plant the basil in an all-purpose potting soil, place it in a sunny spot, and water diligently to keep it growing. In the heat of the summer I usually water every day. It will droop sadly if it gets too dry. But be sure the container drains well, too, to keep the roots from rotting. You can give basil some fertilizer from time to time to maintain the plants’ vigor.

And the only other secret to keep basil going through the summer is to keep it from blooming. Once the plant blooms it seems to feel that its work is done, and it will stop producing as many tasty leaves. So when you see the flower buds forming, clip them off before they open.

Harvest basil through the summer by clipping stems just above a pair of leaves, and the plant will grow even bushier and more productive.

The National Garden Bureau has more about growing basil here.

Another excellent source for information about container gardening is The Bountiful Container by Rose Marie Nichols McGee and Maggie Stuckey (Workman Publishers, 2002). Anyone interested in growing food in containers will benefit from this book.

It thoroughly covers herbs, and also vegetables, fruits and edible flowers. The authors provide many ideas for combining plants into attractive as well as practical arrangements. And they include recipes for making use of your bounty. Not all of the recipes are vegetarian, unfortunately. But vegetarian or vegan cooks will usually be able to see ways to modify the recipes to make them usable.

Readers, are you planning to grow anything - in a conventional garden or in containers - this year?

Friday, May 11, 2007

Veggin’ Out on the high seas

I recently went on my first cruise, the Carnival Elation. A friend who’s a veteran of many cruises told me beforehand that cruises are basically “nonstop eat-a-thons.” I was a little concerned about whether there would be a sufficient variety of vegetarian options to keep me satisfied. I needn’t have worried, because they definitely put forth an effort for their vegetarian passengers. I did eat fish often, I must admit, but I could have eaten quite well if I had stuck solely to their vegetarian offerings.

The first lunch buffet on the ship included wonderful eggplant tarts and polenta with tomato sauce. Another day, there was vegetarian lasagna. You could always get a freshly prepared vegetarian pizza. I regret that I never got around to ordering the grilled-vegetable foccacia sandwich from the room-service menu—it looked wonderful. I wish they had offered it at their deli counter.

A vegetarian entree was offered every night in the dining room, as well as at least one vegetarian appetizer. The eggplant and zucchini parmigiana I had the last night was fabulous—fresh-tasting, elaborately put-together and not breaded, so it wasn’t greasy at all. Vegetarian options other nights included a selection of Indian foods and black-bean echiladas.

They provided us with a BBQ lunch the day we were stopped at Half Moon Cay, the cruise line’s private island. They didn’t offer any vegetarian entrees then, unfortunately, but there were enough vegetarian salads and side dishes that I was more than satisfied.

According to the cruise line, the average weight gain on a cruise is 7 to 10 pounds, and I was firmly in that average. This was no doubt in large measure to the warm chocolate melting cake I got every night at dinner—it’s to-die-for. The first bite every night always made me bounce in happiness. For those trying to watch their weight, they specified lower-calorie options on the menu.

I do have to give a thumbs-down to the Orlando Airport, though. Their restaurant offerings are pretty paltry after you pass through security, which means their vegetarian options are even more paltry. There wasn’t even a vegetarian sub on the menu at Miami Subs! My dining options were basically a boring green salad, a slice of pizza or a spinach calzone. I wasn’t really in the mood for Italian, but that’s what I had to have.

What about your experiences while traveling? Do you find it more difficult to find vegetarian options when you’re on vacation?