Herbivore Inspiration

I listen to a lot of podcasts these days.  At work, at home, while cooking, while washing dishes—I love a good podcast.  Recently, thanks to a thread on Get Off My Internets, I discovered Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s podcast, Vegetarian Food for Thought, and in a word, it’s wonderful.  (See, Raquelita, GOMI isn’t all snarking and insults!  Good things can be hidden among all the catfighting.)

I listen to several foodie podcasts, but Vegetarian Food for Thought is the first and only vegetarian podcast I’ve enjoyed.  It’s refreshing to listen to a show where the host never talks about food that I can’t eat for ethical reasons.  As a vegetarian, you get used to living in a world where many things are off-limits to you, food-wise, and it’s a relief when those barriers are removed.  It’s like eating at a vegetarian restaurant and being overwhelmed with delight at seeing a menu where everything is an option.  I have become resigned to eating out and seeing a handful of choices, at most, that I can eat.  It’s really exciting when that’s not the case.  It’s also really exciting to take carnivores to a vegetarian restaurant and seeing them eat happily.

I’ve been a vegetarian for a long time now, and I feel pretty set in my ways.  Listening to Colleen’s podcast has inspired me to revisit the reasons behind my vegetarianism.  I originally stopped eating meat because I was horrified to learn how factory-farmed meat is really processed.  I felt I could not support an industry that was so damaging to the environment and so brutal to its animal and human participants.  But I never stopped eating all animal products; I never gave up cheese or eggs.  I suppose I struck a compromise between my ethics and my appetite: I won’t eat meat, but I’m not giving up my dairy or my eggs.

I consider myself an environmental vegetarian, which means I do it because it’s a more sustainable option.  Colleen is a vegan for compassionate reasons—compassion for animals and a belief that it is wrong for humans to exploit animals for their bodies.  On principle, I don’t think it’s wrong for humans to exploit animals, but I admit that it’s a relief to know that animals are not being killed so that I can eat them.  For me, the fact that vegetarianism is more compassionate than eating meat is a sweet bonus.  

Making Rachel’s lentil dish, an easy and very tasty favorite of mine.  And it’s vegan!

Despite my lacto-ovo ways, I’ve put Colleen’s book Vegan’s Daily Companion on my Amazon wishlist.  It’s a cool idea: “365 days of inspiration for cooking, eating, and living compassionately” says the extended title.  Can’t we all use a little more compassion in our days?  And this book seems like my favorite kind of cookbook, the kind with lots of stories and tidbits in addition to some recipes.

I know I’m rambling a bit today, but I wanted to mention a few things in particular that have stuck with me from the podcasts.  Consider them points of interest, whether or not you agree.

* I’m glad she took Michael Pollan to task about his meat-eating.  It’s been a long time since I read The Omnivore’s Dilemma, but I remember finding his discussion of vegetarianism profoundly unsatisfying.  Seriously, it’s not that hard to be vegetarian.  Really, it’s not.  If you want to eat meat because you like the taste and texture of meat, then just admit that your meat-eating is about pleasure and familiarity and not some lofty ideal about our evolutionary history or family traditions.  And about the latter: I think you can call yourself vegetarian even if at holidays, you eat brisket or turkey or whatever.  I don’t think fear of family holiday meals is a good reason to cling to meat-eating if vegetarianism appeals to you for ethical or health reasons.

* Also, Michael Pollan is the not the Messiah of food.  He’s a good journalist, but he’s no god.

* I loved her episode “The Lethal Gifts of Livestock,” in which Colleen discusses our long history of acquiring pathogens because of our animal husbandry.  She also talks about the recent food contamination scares and influenza outbreaks and expresses her rage that the media never seems to mention the fact that these pathogens exist because of animal husbandry.  And let’s not forget all the cases of food poisoning from tainted meat.  Afterward, officials tell us to cook our beef thoroughly, but do they ever offer another solution: don’t eat beef?

* As an aside, the scientist in me wants to point out that even though we acquired smallpox from cattle (first came cowpox, then smallpox), cowpox also inspired the first vaccine.  Benjamin Jesty, an English farmer, noted that milkmaids who contracted cowpox seemed to be immune to smallpox.  This observation prompted him to use cowpox as a crude vaccine against smallpox; his work was later repeated by Dr. Edward Jenner, who is much more famous than Jesty for his work on smallpox vaccinations.  (Thanks, Wikipedia!)  So from the source comes the solution, at least for smallpox.

* I like how Colleen tells her story about feeding her pet cats in “What do Vegetarians Feed Their Cats and Dogs?”  It’s a serious issue, as cats are obligate carnivores who do not thrive on a vegetarian diet.  That, at least, seems to be the consensus opinion.  Colleen admits to feeding her beloved cats meat, citing some of the health problems they experienced while on a vegetarian diet.  I admire her honesty here, as this is a tough subject, especially for compassionate vegans.

* Colleen claims we like butter, cheese, and meat because fat and salt taste good.  Period!  No other reasons!  I completely disagree.  Cheese and meat in particular are incredibly complex, flavor-wise.  There is a lot more going on in them than just fat and salt.  Umami, anyone?  But I think it’s even more than just the umami factor.  I can tell you, as a vegetarian who occasionally tastes meat from someone else’s plate: there are things about meat that are not replicated in plant-based foods, with the exception of some of the crazy fake meats that Alice & Friends Vegetarian Cafe, a Chicago restaurant, serves up.  Fake duck?  Fake rabbit?  It’s kind of mind-blowing.  The popularity of fake meats and cheeses and the sheer variety of vegan milks available indicates that our cravings and our pleasure are much more than just fat, salt, and sugar.

Food for thought indeed.

Two last things before I go:

1)  The Michael Pollan-inspired episodes include “The Rise of the Excuse-itarians,” “The Fall of the Excuse-itarians,” and “The Moral Crusade Against Foodies.”  I found all three of these episodes fascinating and recommend them highly.  Even if you don’t agree with Colleen’s position, she argues so eloquently that it’s worth listening.

2)  All the Vegetarian Food for Thought episodes can be downloaded for free through iTunes. It’s a listener-supported program.  I’m thinking about making a donation. 

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night…

No, really, it was!

I left work on Friday night, and outside a ferocious storm was throwing lightning strikes across the sky and buckets of rain down to the ground.  It was fearsome and awe-inspiring.  It was also a challenge to my plans to ride my bike home at 6 PM.

My first thought was that this is Texas, and the storm may stop in five minutes.  I decided to wait it out, first by just staring into the sky, which was a welcome break from staring at my computer screen.  Then my shoulder got tired from holding my heavy bag, so I retreated inside to read my book while I continued to wait out the storm.

The storm, however, had enough ammunition to keep going…and going.  I decided that if I was going to get home that night, I’d have to give up my bike-riding plans and take the bus.  The rain let up a tiny bit, so I headed out to catch the bus, giving up my hair and dry clothes to the rain.  I made it home, wet but unharmed, and was flooded with gratitude for my little apartment, with its peace and quiet, a shelter from the rain which pounded the roof.  While waiting out the storm, I had started to fantasize about dinner.  Fried chickpea patties, seasoned with green onions and cumin, sounded tantalizing; I might even have the ingredients to make a yogurt-tahini sauce.  All of this was on my mind when a crash of thunder startled me so badly that I think my soul jumped out of my body.  Then the lights went dark.

And with the darkness came an end to my chickpea patty fantasy.  I have an electric stove, so no electricity means no cooking.  At that point, I was too hungry not to eat something, and with the storm raging outside, there was no way I was leaving my apartment.  It didn’t occur to me to order take-out (and I’m really too frugal for that sort of behavior anyway), so a kitchen raid for a picnic dinner would have to suffice.

In the freezer, I found some good pumpernickel bread, thinly sliced, which meant thawing time would be short.  In the fridge I found a handful of chickpeas, which I mashed with some yogurt, salt, and pepper into a sort of hummus.  I also found cheese and mustard, so I put together a sandwich of strong-tasting flavors: hummus, cheese, and mustard.  (I like potent flavors.)  I also had an open bottle of muscat wine, which seemed like a good antidote to my deflated dinner dreams.

I assembled and ate my dinner by candlelight, only to realize that I really, seriously needed more calories than a sandwich and a glass of wine (and some pretzels and peanut butter that I’d snarfed before dinner).  I ate the last of Sunday night’s kale salad.  Then I reached for the yogurt container again and made a bowl of chocolate yogurt, studded with dried cherries.  It hit the spot.

Eventually, the power came back on, went out again, and came on.  It was an exciting, exhausting evening, not at all what I had in mind for my Friday night.  But it got me thinking: what would you eat for dinner if the power went off suddenly and you had no access to a stove, oven, or microwave?  Would you find enough provisions to feed your hunger?  Or would you just eat pretzels and cheese, wash it down with wine, and call it dinner?  I have to say, I was rather pleased that even on a Friday night, when my supply of good leftovers is rather meager after a long week of work, I was able to make something for dinner.  Resourcefulness never fails to please me.

Lessons from Sunday Night Dinner

1)  Yes, you can make a raw kale salad with curly kale!  It may not be as lovely and delicate as the kale salads made with lacinato kale, but when living in a small town, one must make do with what the market has to offer.  I have yet to find lacinato kale around these parts, so until then, it’s curly kale.  A little chewy and very green, it satisfied a long-standing curiosity I had about raw curly kale in salad.

2)  Russet potatoes are the potatoes to use for oven fries.  I have been foolishly misled all these years.  No more Yukon Golds as oven fries.  It’s starchy Russets from here on out, with their delightfully crispy exteriors and soft, creamy interiors.

Hope your weekend was lovely, friends.

The Art of Cooking for One

Sarah had a terrific blog post this week about her adventures in cooking for one.  I think that cooking for one, as an everyday and unfancy task, is not discussed nearly enough.  I know that there have been books written on the subject, but I think I’m more interested in how non-chefs and non-food writers manage to make cooking for one a reality.  Those of us who are not food professionals are likely to have a lower threshold for throwing in the towel (literally), picking up our wallets, and walking over to Blue Baker for dinner.  For us, cooking is harder—it feels more like work than pleasure.  I say that as someone who enjoys cooking.  But honestly, I have days when all I want to do is plop on the couch with a glass of wine and some cheese and pretzels and call it dinner.

(Wait.  Wine, cheese, pretzels.  Sounds good to me!  I don’t see the problem.)

I cook at home for two main reasons.  The first is that I am a food snob.  I use higher quality ingredients than most places around here in College Station, Texas.  I like fresh produce, organic food, and nutrient-dense meals.  I also like variety in my meals, which can be hard to find as a vegetarian in Texas.  The second reason is that in order to afford my food snobbery, I can’t afford to eat out too often.  The places where I like to eat around town are too pricy for everyday lunches or dinners.  As a side note, I’ll also mention that when I go out for dinner, it’s hard to resist ordering something boozy to drink, and alcohol is expensive.  Eating at home means I can either mix my own drinks or I can abstain.  For some reason, at home I’m not quite as tempted to drink, though I am becoming quite fond of the after-work glass of wine.

I have two strategies to manage my cooking life.  One is to cook in batches so I have good food for my deskbound lunches.  The other is a selection of single-serving recipes that I rotate when I want dinner at home with no leftovers.

When I cook in batches, I usually make soup.  Soup is, hands down, the best lunch.  Assuming you have access to a microwave or even a stove, soup is a warm, comforting, nutritious, and tasty lunch.  I usually eat soup with cheese and crackers or bread.  To round out my lunches, I add a piece of fruit, and a little sweet, like a cookie.  I love soup, and the number of soup and stew recipes in my recipe index is a reflection of my passion for soup. 

Other decent options for cooking in batches are casseroles like lasagna, grain-based salads (like this rice salad), and tofu scrambles.  I love a good tofu scramble.

My collection of single-serving recipes is something of which I am very proud.  It’s also something upon which I am very reliant.  While I enjoy the feeling of cooking in batches—it makes me feel secure and centered, well-stocked for future good eating—I’m not always looking for leftovers.  Sometimes I just want dinner.  Here are a few of my best tricks for cooking for one and only one:

* Eggs.  Eggs!  What other natural food comes in its own single-serving package?  I like to make baked eggs, little savory bread puddings, scrambled eggs, and heavenly eggs.  (Okay, on that last one I usually make two servings, but it’s so delicious that I would be depriving you if I didn’t mention it.)

* A good supply of vegetables.  I like to have on hand carrots, celery, kale, and onions.  I can do so much with just those four vegetables: crunchy raw vegetables as a side dish, a simple soup, braised kale, steamed kale…and as a bonus, all of those vegetables are reasonably good keepers, which is a relief for the solitary cook.

* Fancy sandwiches.  Don’t roll your eyes!  There are so many delicious things you can do with the sandwich genre: gourmet grilled cheese (don’t forget the mustard!), open-faced sandwiches, quesadillas with a myriad of fillings and salsas, burritos (great for using up leftovers like tofu scrambles or vegetable halvies).  I would even put pizza for one in this category.  I’m such a big fan of bread+cheese+vegetables that this category alone could feed me happily for months.

Finally, I want to say a word about kitchen gear.  I adore beautiful cookware.  Yes, it can be expensive, but my feeling is that once you own nice kitchen equipment, it is likely to last the rest of your life.  I’ve been blessed with generous family members and friends who have given me kitchenware for birthday and Christmas presents.  But I’ve also splurged because to me, an investment in my kitchen is an investment in my health and happiness.

Many single people put off buying nice kitchen gear because they figure they’ll put it  on their bridal registry when they get married.  My opinion is that unless your wedding is imminent, this is a bad idea.  You deserve to have nice cooking tools.  Yes, even if you only cook for yourself, you are worth it.  Invest in your cooking.  Buy a nice set of knives, a nice cutting board, and a few good pots and pans.  It makes a difference.  I know that it can be expensive to equip your kitchen with high-quality gear, so take your time.  You don’t have to replace everything all at once.  It’s taken me several years to accumulate the stuff I currently use.  Be thoughtful and deliberate.

PS  In this post, I’ve focused on the idea of cooking for one, but certainly the ideas here are not limited to solo cooking.  The techniques and strategies I use when I cook alone are applicable to larger crowds too, but my main point is that I don’t want anyone to feel that cooking is inaccessible to them because they aren’t cooking for other people.  We all deserve to eat well.  Knowing your way around a kitchen is a reliable way to make that happen on a regular basis.  So happy cooking and happy eating to all of you!

PPS  Have any kitchen tips to add?  Leave a comment!  I love comments.

The Anticipation

I just ordered my copy of Cook This Now by Melissa Clark, and I can’t wait until it arrives.

I wasn’t going to buy this cookbook for two reasons: I have plenty of cookbooks already and I’m trying to stick to my budget (sorry, January—you were an expensive month).  But then my friend a asked me if I’d gotten my hands on a copy of it, and she reminded me of how wonderful Melissa Clark’s other book is.  Last night, I stopped by Barnes & Noble just to take a peek at Melissa’s new book, and I was reminded of the most wonderful feeling in the world: that moment when you settle into the couch with a new cookbook and plenty of time to sink into your treasure.  I love that feeling of starting at the introduction of a brand-new book; I am practically giddy with excitement over the delights that await me in unexplored pages.  And with a favorite author like Melissa Clark the feeling is even better because you just know it’s going to be terrific fun.

Cookbooks really are one of my great pleasures in life, and it hardly seems fair to deny myself such a thing.  After all, I’ve taken up wine-drinking, and that’s hardly an inexpensive hobby.  A new cookbook will last far longer than any bottle of wine, and it won’t make me tipsy either, not unless it instructs me to open the liquor cabinet and start mixing.  I also feel it’s important to support the careers of food writers.  It’s tough to write recipes for a living—tough and delicious, but still, it is work and I want cookbook authors to keep doing what they do.  While I would like to keep my cookbook habit under a modicum of control, I don’t want to abstain altogether.

Also, just from looking at the January chapter of Cook This Now: Double Coconut Granola?  Something about tofu croutons?  Yes, please!  I’ll have one of each.  At Barnes & Noble, I stopped myself from skimming more than a few pages because I don’t want to spoil any surprises or ruin any of the fun of diving into new cookbook pages.  So I’m just going to wait, ever so impatiently, for my new book, and I’ll tide myself over by flipping through my old cookbooks for some new recipes to try this weekend.

A Friday List (Only the Best Stuff)

Friday ahoy!  A few things on my mind today:

* A new friend in the kitchen, the lovely Nigella Lawson.  Oh, okay, we’re not friends in real life, but her new(?) show, Nigella Kitchen, has episodes on youtube.  I like to load a few shows on my laptop then drag it into the kitchen and listen to them while I cook.  It’s like Nigella and I are cooking together!  Awww, how cute.

* I really cannot get enough of these two albums: The Shepherd’s Dog (Iron and Wine) and The Harrow & the Harvest (Gillian Welch).  Such good listening on those two discs.  I’m pretty sure I’m repeating myself, but good music deserves to be repeated.

* New things to ponder, navigating a new bend in an old relationship.  Ruminating on the nature of love.

* Reading a book that is so, so good I’m afraid to read it too fast because then it will be over!  The book is All Things Shining: Rereading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age by Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly.  Chrissy wrote this week, quoting Annie Dillard, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”  This book is trying to answer the obvious and squirmy questions: how shall we spend our days?  And for those of us who have (sort of, kind of) settled on a path, how do we find meaning in the routine and ritual of everyday life?  How do we find the sacred amongst the mundane?

This book feels magical to me.

* Solving problems with patience rather than anger.  It’s faster and healthier for everyone.  Remember that list of money chores I mentioned last week?  After a rather focused effort, I’m down to just one item on that list, and it feels so good.  Money, I will do right by you and by me.

Weekend ahoy!  Make it a good one, okay?

Two for Tuesday

I have stolen today’s post title from a feature on the local classic rock radio station around here: two for Tuesday is two songs from the same band or artist.  I don’t have any songs for you, just a photo and a few tidbits.

Hi!  Yesterday was warm and windy; I took an afternoon walk to get away from my computer screen.  I’m way too much of a spaz to do a lot of deep thinking when the internet’s temptations are just a click away.  So when I need to think, I go for a walk.

Onto the tidbits!

Tidbit the first: I am delighted to be taking part in Amber’s Featured Careers series!  We did a fun e-mail interview together, which you can read here if you like.  Amber is the voice behind the blog Girl with the Red Hair, and she blogs about lots of fun things in addition to careers, such as marathon training, her journey to a healthier lifestyle, her upcoming wedding, and girly stuff like beauty routines.  I had a great time putting together my responses to Amber’s questions for me.  Also, if you’re interested in being a Featured Career woman or man, Amber’s looking for more volunteers, so click on over and send her an e-mail. 

Tidbit the second: I couldn’t resist a little beauty lift for the old blog here.  I think I’m going to try to make a new header, too, but do let me know what you think of the new template.  Is it easy to navigate and comfortable to read the text?  I worry about these things because I have bad eyes and it drives me nuts when a blog is too much effort to read because the font is too small, the colors work against each other, or the formatting is wonky (why does anyone use center alignment? why?!?).

Sure Happy It’s Tuesday!  Make it a good one.