Bump the Bottle

Have you ever bought soy milk, rice milk, or almond milk? How about quinoa milk, lupine milk, or pea milk? Well, if you are buying non-dairy milks in the US, you are part of a growing group. Industry group Packaged Facts estimates that total U.S. retail sales of dairy alternative beverages reached $1.33 billion in 2011.The rise is due to many things, such as food allergies, lactose intolerance, avoiding BGH/BST, and vegan diets. But the one factor that seems to have fueled the bump was the move of the milks into the dairy case.

For many years, the non-dairy alternatives were in aseptic boxes, and in conventional stores, they are stashed in a tiny health food section, next to gluten free cookies and canned carrot juice. (Does anyone drink that canned juice? Ick.)Now that Silk and So Delicious broke the cold case barrier, suddenly more people are opting for non-dairy half gallons. Soymilk is still number one, but barely. Almond milk has suddenly taken a big 79%  jump in sales this year, and that is wonderful. 11% of adults consume soy milk, while 9% enjoy almond. Rice is number three.

Oh, and the lupine, quinoa and pea milks? They are all milks made and sold in other countries, but who knows, we may be seeing them soon enough. Pea protein powders have made an appearance, and I’ve read that lupine (a high protein bean related to the flowers in my front yard) is a great source of inexpensive nourishment in other parts of the world.

I know that in my experience, the last few years have seen great improvements in taste and variety. I’ve also been thrilled that fortification has become almost standard in the non-dairy milk category. It just makes so much sense to add some calcium, B12 and other nutrients that vegans need. It makes it really easy to go dairy and egg free and not have to think about how much B12 you are getting, as long as you put the fortified milks over cereal, into sauces, or in coffee or tea.

For flavor, I go back and forth between Almond and  So Delicious Coconut milk. Coconut is the best tasting, to my palate, because its made from a sweet nut. It’s fortified with B12, so a cup has half your daily requirement, and it has some D, and trace minerals. It is low in protein, so don’t look for it to replace the protein of milk.

Next tastiest is Almond milk. All brands are a little different. Basically, since its made from almonds it contains the same good fats, and its lower in fat and calories than lots of other milks. Look on the label to see if your brand is fortified with B12.

Of course, soy milk has been my go-to for decades, and it’s still the highest in protein. I buy vanilla enriched, which is high in protein and has added B12, calcium and other nutrients to make it comparable to cow’s milk. The vanilla is pretty sweet, which covers up the soy taste, and kids love it.

Hemp milk is very good for you, one cup has all the Omega 3 fats you need for the day. I have used it in baking, but the taste, so far, is a little strong for me to mix into my latte.

Rice milks are popular for people with food allergies, with their neutral taste and benign rice source. I find them a little thin, and they are not particularly nutritious, not a lot of protein.

Oat milk is higher in fiber than rice milk, and has a nice neutral taste. Again, since its made from grain, its not very high in protein.

The sales of non-dairy milks have not gone unnoticed by the Dairy Industry. If you want to see a silly, somewhat desperate attempt to make non-dairy milks look bad, click on the link below. The Got Milk folks think they can convince you that shaking a carton of almond milk a couple of times will traumatize your children.

video

Better For You, Better For the Planet

If you are a vegetarian or vegan, sometimes it feels like the whole world is in love with meat, and just can’t get enough of it. Hours of TV time are dedicated to slow-mo glamour shots of melty bacon-cheeseburgers, and the people around you fret about your need for animal proteins. Depending on where you live, your restaurant options may be limited.

But things are changing for the better, veg-heads, they really are.

In fact, US meat consumption is down.

Yes, according to The CME Groups (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) Livestock Report, the consumption of domestically raised meats hit 189 pounds per person in 2007, then began a rapid decline, and is expected to drop to 165 pounds in 2012. The group, of course, sees this as a bad thing, and they analyze a number of factors that play into it.

The costs of producing meat are up, so the price had to go up. When oil prices soar, the costs of growing and trucking food for the animals, as well as transporting them to and from the slaughter go up. Our new wrinkle is the diversion of corn to ethanol, which means corn is more expensive, too.

Meat producers are actually exporting more of their products, and charging more for them as a result. Pork exports jumped 40% in 2008. Unfortunately we have exported out Western ways to countries like China, where meat consumption is rising.

So, cutting back on meat is not putting farmers out of work, yet. They are just shipping it out of the country. Don’t forget, there has been a terrible drought in Texas, which has wreaked havoc on their beef industry.

The CME group is unhappy about the US government’s role in advising people to eat less meat, and concludes that groups who advocate against eating meat for animal rights, environmental, and health reasons are finally having an impact.It sure took some time, as the experts have been advising less meat consumption to all the people with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity and all the other diet-related ailments that plague us for years.

Of course, the fact that major meat recalls and mass food borne illness outbreaks have become far too common may also play a role. There are just so many good reasons to give up meat.

Campaigns like Meatless Monday are putting the idea of cutting back in the public consciousness at just the right moment, when meat prices are up and people may not have as much to spend, anyway. Fingers crossed, maybe this year will see an even bigger drop!

As somebody who has been playing my small role in educating people about the healthy alternatives to the Standard American Diet, I am glad to see this shift.

Bravo Americans who are getting the message. Keep up the good work.

MEATLESS MONDAY ANIMATED VIDEO

Come On, Get a Pressure Cooker!

I have to come clean. Like so many people, I am a source of frustration to my friends. One friend in particular, I know. You see, some years ago, I decided to get all into pressure cooking, bought a lovely, safe, easy to use one, and set about cooking up beans and grains. I even created a class about beans and grains, and toted the cooker along, hoping to spread the word about how well it worked. Yep, the pressure cooker was a real solution to the two basic ingredients of a healthy kitchen that people always complain about taking too long to cook.

The classes were fun, but hardly anyone wanted to take them. I taught them a couple of times to small groups of people, and went back to doing it the way my students were familiar with. And I, old dog that I am, fell back into my old ways of cooking grains and beans in a pot. When it came time to write my book, The New Whole Grains Cookbook, I tested all the grains repeatedly in the pressure cooker, so that I could put those numbers in there. And then I hung up my shiny Kuhn Rikon Duromatic, just about forgetting about it.

Fast forward to hanging out with my friend, passionate pressure cooker advocate and vegan dietitian, Jill Nussinow. Jill loves her pressure cooker, and just can’t understand why, after all these years, Americans have not come around to embracing the speedy pot. You see, Jill, also known as the Veggie Queen, isn’t one of those people who compromises on good, healthy food. No, when she found herself raising a son and living a busy life, she didn’t go over to the dark side, and use the time crunch as an excuse to stock up on frozen pizzas and mac and cheese.

Instead, The Veggie Queen made the time-saving pressure cooker a daily-use utensil at her house. In her quest to put meals that she believed in on the table, she created a repertoire of veggie filled, colorful, all whole foods meals. And thanks to her hard work, we can all learn how to make real food fast, with The New Fast Food, The Veggie Queen Pressure Cooks Whole Food Meals in Less Than 30 Minutes.

Buy The Book Here

Thanks to Jill, I dusted off my pressure cooker, and got cooking. I tried some of the basics, simple veggies cooked alone, grains and beans, all came out great.  Indian food is always a hit at my house, so I did a test run with her recipe for Quick Chickpea and Summer Vegetable Curry (pg185) I followed her instructions, and everything cooked perfectly. Where Jill’s ease with the cooker really comes into play is in the multi-step cooking instructions. It’s not complicated, she just has it worked out so that you cook the longest-cooking thing for a while, release the pressure, add another group of ingredients, cook some more, release, and add another group, for a few minutes longer. It’s a neat trick, allowing you to move beyond just cooking beans, to cooking a full one-pot meal based on beans. It all goes quickly, really, and with the new generation of cookers, quick release on a pot is just as easy as pushing a button.

So if you are as serious about eating whole, fresh foods as you are about saving time, it’s time to listen to the Veggie Queen. This book is a valuable addition to your cookbook shelf, with all the info and motivation that you need to explore this neglected technique. Her website, http://www.theveggiequeen.com/, is also a treasure trove of free information about the wonders of pressure cooking, as well as eating more plants.

For my part, I will try to keep my pot in rotation, and sing the praises of the pressure cooker once again!

The Curry, Over Quinoa

Quick Chickpea Curry with Summer Vegetables

Be aware that you need to soak the beans for this. Also- yes, it is really just one cup of water. One of the points Jill makes in the book is how the pot cooks with less water, and concentrated nutrients into the food. She also suggests that you can use whatever veggies you want in this.

10 Minutes High Pressure; Quick Release

3 Minutes High Pressure; Quick Release

1 Minute High Pressure; Quick Release

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 large onion, thickly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon minced ginger root

1-2 tablespoons curry powder, or to taste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cups chickpeas, pre-soaked

1 cup water

2 medium potatoes, diced

2 large tomatoes, diced

2 cups green beans, in 2 inch lengths

1 cup yellow squash (I used zucchini)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pinch cayenne or chipotle powder

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

METHOD

Heat the canola oil over medium heat in the pressure cooker, and saute the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Then add the garlic, ginger, curry adcumin and saute for another minute, until the mixture is very fragrant. Add the chickpeas and water.

About to add the chickpeas

Cover and bring to high pressure. Cook for 10, then quick release and add the potatoes, stir, and bring back to high pressure for 3 minutes.

Quick Release, just press and the steam escapes

Quick release again, and add the tomatoes, green beans, and squash.

Potatoes. then Zucchini, Beans and Tomatoes

Cover and bring to high pressure for 1 minute. Quick release, add the salt and taste to adjust the seasonings. If the mixture is too liquid, simmer to thicken. Garnish with cilantro, and serve over rice or other grain.

Open Up the Pot Carefully...

Start with Lettuce

So, here we are in the January shape-up season, the time of year when a few million people resolve to eat better and possibly lose some weight. Should you go high-protein, low carb, whole grain, fat free, vegan, paleo?

Well, a new study published in the Journal of American Medicine says that what really matters is the calories that you consume. The researchers overfed a group of 45 volunteers in a controlled environment, making sure they all got the same excess of calories.  But, to test a theory, Dr Bray and his researchers tried three diets, low, medium and high protein, with the same excess of calories, and the people all gained weight. The unexpected thing was that  low-protein eaters actually gained less. For some reason, people eating only 5% protein gained less weight. The researchers speculated that there was a metabolic difference for the low protein over-eaters.

Go figure. Of course, the high-protein diets will always be popular, and there will always be a new weight loss book coming down the pike. It’s interesting that we just have to keep learning about calories in, calories out, over and over. All that flesh food that people build their meals around is, at least according to this study, turning to fat just as fast as french fries and white bread-possibly faster.

So, if you want to lose weight, cut calories, and don’t go crazy for protein. One great way is to keep loading on those high-volume, low calorie vegetables. Last week I talked vegetable soup, this week, let’s look at salads. Are you bored with yours? I refuse to eat boring salads, just because they are good for me.

In fact, if you make boring salads, you are just making sure that you will not love, crave, or continue eating them, and that runs counter to everything we should be doing in a healthy kitchen. So I have a little trick to share.

Try adding the nutrition of nuts to your dressing, then sprinkling some on your salad. It adds calories, yes, but they are very nutrient-dense calories, and will make you feel satisfied as you eat your piles of low-cal veggies. Since you are a vegetarian, you can handle a little high fat food in the form of nuts, which you need to get healthy EFA’s, the fats that your brain and heart need to function. This dressing is cut with a little veggie stock, and uses less oil than the conventional vinaigrette, but gets body from the nuts.

I know it runs counter to all the anti-fat diets out there, but nuts are actually associated with weight loss, because they are so satisfying. So pile up the plants, and douse them with this tasty, nutritious dressing, and dig in.

You’ll feel full and enjoy it. I promise.

Super Nutty Dressing for Salads

1/2 cup pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts, pine nuts or pistachios, toasted-save half for the salad
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup fresh basil, parsley, cilantro or other mild leafy herb

1/2 cup vinegar, lemon juice or combination of the two

1/4 cup vegetable stock

pinch of sugar or agave
salt and pepper
1/2 cup nut oil, olive oil or a combination with flax oil added

1. In a processor, grind the nuts, saving half for topping. Add the garlic and parsley or herb and grind to a smooth paste. Scrape the sides of the processor bowl and add vinegar or lemon, stock, sweetener and salt and pepper. Process until well mixed, then with the machine running, whip in the oil.

2. Then, build a big, interesting salad with lettuces, shredded kale and cabbage, tomatoes, slivered onions and zucchini, sprouts, and all the raw veggies you enjoy. Add some cooked veggies too, for wintertime, like blanched green beans, halved and steamed brussels sprouts, steamed broccoli, whatever sounds good. Top with nuts, drizzle with your nutty dressing, and enjoy.

Adding salad to all your meals will help you fill up and feel satisfied. Having a meal that is all salad, well, that is just more of a good thing!

Chop 'em and boil 'em!

2012 is just beginning, and the new year is a good time to start a new habit. Call it a New Years resolution if you want, as long as that doesn’t mean you will forget about it by February. I propose that just about everyone out there could live better and feel better if they eat more vegetables. Simple, and genuinely easy, just more veggies, every day.

Of course, eating more veg is going to take a plan. Take a look at your routine, and ask yourself-where can I add veggies? Even the vegetarians and vegans can spend a day eating cereal for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch, and if you don’t really pile them up at dinner, your all day total is a few slivers on the sandwich and the cup or so tossed in with the pasta you threw together. I know, I’ve done it myself.

9 servings a day is ideal, which is about 8 ½ cups. You may ask, how will I eat all that? Well, one great benefit of eating more veggies is that you are probably going to lose weight. All that fiber and goodness just fills you up, so you eat so much less of other foods that you can’t help it.

So, here are some ideas for adding significant amounts of veggies to your daily life.

Veggies at breakfast. Instead of the sweet foods we tend to eat, try a savory scramble, loaded up with veggies and tofu. Miso soup is a great Japanese tradition at breakfast-just add more veggies. Or, a smoothie that combines fruit with spinach or other greens will camouflage the veggies in a sweet shake.

Click to go to a Green Smoothie Recipe

Veggies as snacks. Buy bags of things like baby carrots, or whatever snack veg you like. If you need a little dip or dressing to make them appealing, go ahead. If cooked veggies appeal to you more, blanch a bunch by dropping them in boiling water, then drain and chill to take with all week. I like to eat raw mushrooms, sliced zucchini and other veggies while I cook, with a little salt. Keep some handy. If you are hungry between meals, stay full this way.

Veggies at meals. Plan to have salads and or veggie soups at your meals. Buy the bagged salad, some tomatoes and cukes, or whatever you like on salad, and make a simple dressing for the week. Make the veggie soup recipe below, or your favorite vegetable soup. If you start the meal with salad and soup, you will never make it to dessert.

Juice. If you have a juicer, now is the time to drag it out of wherever you have hidden it, and use that January New Leaf energy to get juicing. I admit, my Champion was in the basement, and I have installed it in the kitchen, cluttered as it feels. I worked up to this by buying wonderful green drinks at my Coop when I shop, and grabbing a fresh juice whenever I could find one. I’m finding that this is also a great way to use up kale stems, celery leaves, and other leafy greens.

Slip Them in. Whenever you are cooking, even putting a sandwich together, always add a vegetable, more than you usually would. Maybe you can keep roasted red peppers in the fridge for sandwiches, or bagged spinach to add to just about anything, from pasta to tofu.

Just do it.

For a super simple veggie soup for the week, bring one of those boxes of veggie stock to a boil in a big pot. Add a couple of chopped carrots, an onion, a couple of ribs of celery. Once the veggies are tender, add a 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes. Bring back to a simmer and add a bunch of chopped kale or other greens, or a couple cups of chopped cabbage. Season to taste with salt and pepper. This soup can be reaheated as is, or you can take some out each day and season it differently. Try it curried, with a can of beans, or try it Italian style with lots of fresh herbs and garlic. Puree it for a sauce, or whisk some miso with water and stir it in.

Eat More Veggies, it’s just that simple.

Happy 2012-it’s already starting off a little greener!

Fruit and Bubbly, Meant for Each Other

I think it’s no secret, I love a Nice Glass of Wine. In fact, at one point I noticed that almost all of the photos of me on Facebook depicted me holding a glass, and I promise that it is because the snaps are taken at festive moments, not because I always have a glass of wine in my hand. Honestly.  But this time of year, we all have parties and dinners to attend, and to be honest, alcohol has its downsides. In moderation, it can be a healthy thing, and the current science shows that a little drinking prolongs life. Maybe it’s because we relax and loosen up a little, and bond with the people around us.

It’s that moderation thing that seems to get people in trouble.

So, you have a few options, when it comes to drinking in a healthy way. Because it’s so easy to quaff a tasty drink quickly, I like to make mine weak. A personal favorite is to mix my wines, which are relatively low alcohol to begin with, with fruit. It’s a healthy way to have each glass contain less alcohol, as well as keep you busy eating the wine-soaked fruit. Have a few bites of cracker or some nuts in between, and you will keep the consumption down.

A great side benefit of this kind of mixing is that you can start with a relatively inexpensive wine, too. No need to go to that $50 bottle of champagne when you are making a sparkling cocktail. A $10 bottle of Prosecco will be fine.

A classic combo like the bellini is a common theme at my house. You can make a fruit puree, like the peach puree of the original bellini recipe. It’s easy, and I have made bellinis with everything from rhubarb to mango, whatever is in season. Just peel it and chunk it and put it in a pan with some sweetener, organic sugar is easiest, agave, works, too. Frozen fruit will do in a pinch. Boil and stir until the fruit is soft, then puree. Adjust with a squeeze of lemon or more sweet, if needed, and there you go. I’ve also made purees of raw fruit, when its really good.

Not up for that? Put a handful of fresh pomegranate seeds, raspberries, halved grapes, or sweet pitted fresh cherries in each glass and top with prosecco or cava. Add some juice to make it sweeter and more fruity-Apple cider and minced apples make a great spritzer, topped with sparkling wine. The bonus with small berries and pomegranate seeds is that the bubbles from the sparkling wine make them float up and then drop, making your drink lively and pretty.

For a great red wine version of the same idea, go for sangria, or mulled cider and wine. Sangria is basically red or white wine, with lots of chopped oranges, lemons and whatever else suits your fancy, cut with some ginger ale or club soda. Most recipes call for some liquor, but just leave that out. I know it’s kind of a summer drink, but why not? Add pears and apples for a wintry feel. Mulled cider and wine is perfect for the season, with spices, hot cider and just enough red wine to give it a little character. Leave it on the stove long enough, and the alcohol may well evaporate, anyway!

All of these drinks have official recipes somewhere, just google. Just ignore that part where you are supposed to add some liqueur to the mix. It not only adds alcohol and sugar, but usually tastes unnatural. These fresh drinks taste like wine and real fruit, no fake flavors. Stay away from adding shots of strong spirits, when you make something tasty and fruity, or people may not realize that they are guzzling hard liquor until it is too late.

Of course, you can use sparkling cider or de-alcoholized wines, too. Sober people deserve interesting cocktails, and you may just want to alternate non-alcohlic drnks with your occasional alcoholic one. I like to set this up with some flexibility, It’s easy to have sparkling cider right next too the prosecco, and just have your pitcher of fruit puree to add to the glass.

Bellinis all Around!

Bellini for Lightweights

Puree ripe mango, kiwi, or raspberries with sweetener, or cook some frozen fruit with sweetener and puree.

Mix 1/3 of a glass of fruit and 2/3 prosecco or cava. If you are a real lightweight, go for half and half.

Stir carefully, it will foam up and out of the glass. I often find it is best to use a large-bowl glass, like a cabernet glass, so you have room to stir and bubble. You will get more aroma that way, too.

For a crowd, you can also mix it in a pitcher.

Basic Sangria with Variations

If citrus isn’t your thing, try it with Pears and apples floating in the wine, or those expensive imported bing cherries at the market, with cherry juice instead of orange.

Serves about 4

1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja reds, Zinfandel, Shiraz)

2 Oranges, juiced

1 Lemon cut into wedges

1 Orange cut into wedges

2 Tbsp sugar or agave, to taste

2 Cups ginger ale or club soda

Choose your Fruit, Add Red Wine

Super Nachos

When you get down to it, most people find that the biggest barrier to eating well is time. Planning, shopping, cooking, all take time, and it’s way easier to just grab some fast food. Well, if you are using that as your excuse to not eat balanced, whole foods vegan meals, your excuse is now officially crumbling before your eyes. Robin Robertson, one of the most prolific cookbook authors I know of, has now conquered the time-crunch-and done it deliciously.

You can’t stand in the cookbook aisle and not know Robin Robertson’s name. She is the author of 19 cookbooks so far, and seems to have an amazing ability to just keep cranking out useful, creative books.

In her latest, Quick-Fix Vegan Healthy Homestyle Meals in 30 Minutes or Less (Andrews McMeel $16.99), Robertson cuts to the chase and puts together good food simply. If you were thinking of slapping together a sandwich, you may as well make on of hers, full of vibrant veggies and flavors, instead of the same old pb and j. It doesn’t really take much more time.

The book is filled with global flavors, making the most of the exciting tastes of far-flung places, like Morocco, Vietnam,Mexico and more. Vegan food is an adventure when you search the world for the dishes with great tastes that can do plant-based.

The very first chapter is an introduction to the mind-set of a fast cook, called quick-fix vegan basics. Right away, she says to be flexible- if you don’t have an ingredient, substitute. Arrange your space and tools for easy access, and set up your pantry are just a few of the things she urges you to do to get fast meals on the table. She also gives you a run-down on which whole grains cook fastest, and which ingredient short-cuts are worth trying. It’s a great intro to the fast and furious way of getting real food on the table.

With chapters on Starters and Snacks, Stovetop Suppers, Pasta, Soup, Sandwiches, Salads and Make Ahead Bakes, Robertson displays a skill for cutting out unnecessary steps and ingredients. A quick chop, a fast cook, and you are eating dinner, and it’s vegan. She also has chapters on condiments and desserts, essential add-ons for the hurried cook.

It was a real pleasure making dishes from the book. Like everyone else, I don’t have a ton of time, so quick is always good. Reading and cooking from Robertson’s recipes, I admire the way her mind works. As a fellow recipe developer, I can appreciate a well-crafted recipe. These recipes are simplified, but still interesting, and follow the shortest path from point A to point B. Simple looks easy, but it takes skill to make it that way.

I also appreciate the use of whole foods, like beans, nuts and seeds, and the near absence of mock meats. Just because you are in a hurry, doesn’t mean you have to go in for vegan bologna or burgers every night, in Robertson’s kitchen.

Another useful and practical book, from Robin Robertson. I’m sure there will be more to come.

That Nacho Sauce Was Fast

Super Nachos

Serves 4-6

1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans or one 15 oz can, drained and rinsed)

1 cup tomato salsa (divided)

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder, divided

salt and pepper

1 ripe avocado

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon mellow white miso

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 cup non-dairy milk

6 cups tortilla chips

GARNISHES: 1/2 cup vegan sour cream, 1/3 cup sliced black olives, 1/4 cup sliced pickled jalapenos, 2 tablespoons scallions

Pereheat the oven to 400F. Grease a -inch baking dish. In a small saucepan, heat the beans with half of the salsa, 1 tsp chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, mashing and stirring, until hot, about 4 minutes. Spread in the dish.

Halve, pit and chop the avocado and reserve.

In a small skillet, mix the nutritional yeast, flour, miso, lemon, mustard, onion powder, cumin, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and the non-dairy milk. Whisk until smooth and season to taste with salt and pepper. Whisk over medium heat until it boils and thickens.

Spread the chips over the beans, then drizzle the sauce over the chips. Bake until hot, about 5 minutes. Serve topped with remaining salsa and all the garnishes.

I used fresh red fresnos instead of pickled jalapenos, and I didn’t have the vegan sour cream.

Vietnamese Tofu Wraps, mmmmm

Vietnamese Tofu Wraps

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound extra firm tofu, cut in 1/4 inch wide strips

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sriracha sauce, plus more for serving

4 10 -inch flour tortillas

vegan mayo

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced

1 carrot, shredded

1 cup cilantro leaves

2 tablespoons bottled jalapenos

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu and cook until golden brown, turning frequently, 7-10 minutes. Add the hoisin, soy sauce, and 1 tsp sriracha, stirring to coat the tofu. Take off the heat to cool. To assemble the wraps, spread the tortillas with vegan mayo and drizzle with srirach to taste. Arrange 1/ of te tofu in the center, then top with cucumber, carrot, cilantro and jalapenos. Wrap and serve.

Goodies, Ready to Roll

Chopped Salad with Thousand Island, Big Vegan Style

For much of my life, I liked believing that there were lots of vegetarians out there. I wanted to believe that our numbers were swelling exponentially, every day. Even when I was the only vegetarian I knew, I held out hope that if I got in a car and drove far enough, I would get to some veggie nirvana. Back then, we didn’t really have any numbers, and anyone you talked to was stuck with their own experiences. If you worked in a Coop or a vegetarian restaurant, you might think half the world were vegetarians. If you lived in a small town in the Midwest, you might not know a single one.

Well, thanks to the Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) we have numbers. If you have been feeling like vegans are getting some attention lately, well, their numbers have doubled since 2009. Extrapolating from the results, 7.5 million people call themselves vegans. There are 15 million people who call themselves vegetarians, and still eat dairy and eggs .

In the latest poll, done by Harris Interactive for VRG over the phone, between March 30 and April 3 2011, it becomes clear that even as the numbers for dedicated vegetarians and vegans grow slowly, the numbers for people who eat vegetarian often are growing much more quickly.

These numbers show a real mainstreaming of the idea that you can enjoy meatless meals, even if you love meat. Basically, 17% of Americans don’t eat meat, fish poultry at many meals but less than half, 16% more than half. That adds up to about a third of the American population opting for meatless some of the time.

The number that said that they eat meat at every meal was 48%, which is still a little scary, since that is a lot of animal foods for anyone to consume. I didn’t think anybody was still eating it at every single meal, which shows how much I know.

Other interesting results confirm a few things that you may have suspected. There are more vegetarians out West (think California) than down South (think Texas,) and more women than men are vegetarians, but not by much. A hopeful number is that equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats are veg-heads, possibly the only thing the two parties can share, these days.

So, after all these years in the vegetarian movement, it’s nice to hear that our numbers are growing. Every little bit helps, and we have to give credit to everyone who has done her part to build awareness and make veg look appealing and do-able. From the animal rights activists, to the chefs and authors, to the hot celebrities who endorse a plant-based diet as they look great on the red carpet, everybody has a role to play. Powerful books and films have been getting the word out, and people like Bill Clinton have put a face on the miraculous cure of a good diet. Campaigns like Meatless Mondays have helped put the veggie option in front of millions of people, and many of them are choosing to go that way, at least some of the time.

So, be of good cheer, in this season of giving, since we give the world a present every time we don’t eat meat. Our message is getting out, my friends, and that is something to celebrate.

jar of magic

Today I wanted to touch on a secret weapon in the vegan and veg cooking arsenal. And that is smoke. In my book and classes, I often talk about using umami to give meatless foods a sensation of meatiness. Umami is abundant in animal proteins, but it can also be found in mushrooms, fermented soy, eggplant, ripe tomatoes, wine, and a host of plant based foods. Well, one of the most intriguing ways to get umami is through the flavor of smoke. It’s not really a food, but the taste and smell of woodsmoke send signals to your brain that it is enjoying something meaty and satisfying.

So, now that it’s wintertime, and your grill is probably either stored away or covered in snow, how do we get smoke into our plant’ based delights?

Easy, with a few smoky ingredients, you can add instant smoky complexity. In fact, you may want to make a few of these simple tastings just to see what smoke does to food. I started with my smoky ingredients. For smoke with no chile heat, I have some fabulous smoked salt from Spain. There are smoky salts from all over the world, and all are unique, so taste what you buy. Most are artisanal salts, which start with a distinctive, regional salt, then smoke it over a flavorful wood, so you may find applewood, mesquite, cherry, or whatever the creatives had to work with. For pure and intense smoke, I have liquid smoke, which is super concentrated, so just use a drop if you give that a try.

Another tasty source of smoke is the chipotle pepper, available in cans in adobe sauce, dried whole chiles, or ground powder. Of course, they add chile heat as well as smoke. You can also get smoked paprika from Spain. If you are not so into hot stuff, the paprika may be for you, as it is milder and sweeter.

For my tasting, I slowly caramelized some onions in coconut spread and served them on a whole wheat roll with a sprinkle of smoked salt. The simple sweet earthiness of the onions, one of my favorite flavors anyway, was instantly enlivened by the smoke and salt. As soon as I took the picture, I ate it all.

simple goes spectacular

I also boiled some potatoes and beets, and cut up cauliflower and baby carrots, and served them with a simple vegan may with chipotle powder stirred in. Addictive. This is an old trick of mine, adding chipotle to creamy dressings is always a hit, whether its a mayo, a sour cream style dip, or a creamy white sauce.

Chipotle Dip to the Rescue

I boiled some lacinato kale until just tender, then stirred some canned chipotle and adobo with olive oil and tossed it with the kale. It was amazing.I knew there was a reason they always cooked kale with a hunk of smoky pork-the smokiness brings out the sweetness of the greens, and adds depth.

Smoky Spicy Kale

For more sweet and smoke, I cubed a sweet potato and roasted it with whole garlic cloves and olive oil, covered, for about half an hour, then served it sprinkled with smoked salt. This could be a great bruschetta topping, tossed with pasta, or just served like this. I loved it.

Sweet Potatoes and Smoked Salt

Any simple salad will come alive with smoked salt, just sprinkle the crunchy grains on just before serving. Any pot of beans will seem heartier with a few chipotles-or you can keep going until it’s chili.

So give smoke a try, and see if it gives you a more satisfying dish. I think you will love it, and its so EASY.

Spike That Relish with Chipotle!

So the big feast is over. Did you knock yourself out, baking for weeks, up before dawn to start cooking? I’ve done that. Or did you sail effortlessly into a family gathering, where all you had to do was bring your wonderful self?  I hope you had a blast, either way. Whether you shared your meals with omnivores or ate with fellow veg-heads, you probably have the universal end result. Leftovers.

So, like millions of other people, you are facing that declining curve of interest in foods that in many cases, you only eat once a year. Stuffing? Mmmm, can’t wait, love it like crazy, but eating it for four days in a row, well, it gets old. I have the added experience of making Thanksgiving dishes for a couple of weeks beforehand for my blog, and preparing them for private clients who love having all the sides ready to re-heat when the big day comes. By the time I get to Thanksgiving, I’m ready to add some spice and interest to the usual flavors.

So, what am I doing about my left-overs? Well, I was lucky and didn’t have many. The one that I really need to repurpose is my cranberry orange relish. You know the one, a pound of cranberries, an orange, zested and pulp removed, and a cup of sugar. You grind that in a blender or food processor and it is a fresh, tart, traditional side.

It’s also something you only need a spoonful or two of on the side of the plate. So what will I do with the remainder?

I decided to go Mexican.

Putting it together

I took my cranberry relish and stirred in some salt and chipotle powder until it was spicy and smoky. I sautéed a couple of onions and a couple of cloves of garlic in some olive oil, then into the sauté pan I tossed a package of chicken style seitan and seasoned that with ground cumin and salt. I shredded some romaine that I bought for Holiday salad, and got out some leftover cashew cheese. Of course, you could use another dairy or non-dairy cheese, whatever is handy.

Voila, a whole wheat tortilla brings the whole thing together into a hearty burrito.

Thankful for another meal, I will dive in and relish the heck out of my relish.

Chewy, Creamy, Tangy, Hot.