Going to a party tonight, so prepared a “traditional” vegan cheeseball for the party. I got the recipe over at my friend Josh’s new site, myvegancookbook.com. His site will be featuring recipes that don’t have any hydrogenated oils or isolated soy proteins, which is music to my ears.

Of course, almonds, pine nuts and tofu don’t make it fat-free either, but it’s the holidays so I’m still ahead of the game with this entry.

Couldn’t find any vegan crackers (though I didn’t have much time to look at the store), since I’m not much of a cracker person I don’t really have any go-to brand. I got some Kashi whole grain crackers, but they do contain whey, so that is the slight damper on the otherwise vegan offering. I’ll still probably have the healthiest cracker, but it’s not hard to win such a competition over the holidays.

Recipe worked out good, though. Things I was skittish about before making it, like, would I know when “clumps start to form” with what is essentially nuts, salt and sugar in a food processor, but sure enough, they were clumps. I doubled the recipe since it was going to a rather large party, and it doubled well. I don’t think the food processor could have handled a triple batch, though.

So, I’ll report back how it goes over at the party. It is nice to bring what would otherwise be an artery-clogging monstrosity of a cheeseball to a holiday party and know you’re bringing a healthier, cruelty-free version of holiday decadence… well, at least until everyone starts their diets in four days anyway.

Made up four different vegan cookies for the holidays, all from Vegan with a Vengeance. I made single batches of Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies, Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies, Sparkled Ginger Cookies, and Chocolate Chip Cookies.

The Pumpkin Oatmeal cookies were the clear favorite of everyone who has sampled. On both the ginger and thumbprint cookies, the dough came out more runny than it was supposed to, though I’m not sure why, so rolling them in a ball was not much of an option.

Just had to ladle what seemed to be the right amount onto the cookie sheet. On the first sheet, the thumbprint cookies were too big (as pictured), but the second batch was fine.

Sorry for the abrupt silence. Got caught up in the holiday frenzy, which is especially strange since I do a majority of shopping online so that when I arrive back home in Pennsylvania, all my gifts are there and I can wrap them on day one.

The other issue is that I feel I need to write some foundational essays for this site, like an examined description of The McDougall Program, so getting into a regular groove without that foundation seems improper. Soon, though. I will be blogging from PA during the holiday.

I recently made Cholent (Jewish beef stew) from the Veganomicon book, and today went to get some of the more questionable ingredients to ensure I could easily make it back home. Will document that dish and the back home reaction soon…

In his November newsletter, Dr. McDougall discusses the meat-eater’s last stand: that a vegan diet is unhealthy because of its deficiency of Vitamin B12.

“How many vegans have you met with B12 deficiency anemia or nervous system damage? I bet not one! Furthermore, you have never even heard of such a problem unless you have read the attention-seeking headlines of newspapers or medical journals,” McDougall writes.

Good reading for people whose meat-eating friends are smart enough to know about this deficiency (but seem to prefer unapplied knowledge, if they read this much and still eat meat), or if you think you’re the one vegan in a million who might suffer from this unlikely malady, which is easily prevented.

Erik Marcus, of vegan.com, recently featured an hour-long phone interview with T. Colin Campbell, author of The China Study, on his weekly podcast. You can get more information on the podcast here, or click here to start listening.

It’s a great listen, and definitely worth the time.

Thankfully, no one ever told them not to play with their food…

I’m a strong adherent of The McDougall Program, and each month the arrival of their newsletter brings new recipes. I always make at least one of the dishes soon after receiving it. The McDougall Program does focus on health and weight loss, and therefore no oils are generally used, which is why the saute here is with water, not oil.

While I like pushing myself and trying new and exotic recipes, this is what you’ll find in my refrigerator more often than anything else. It’s only met with favorable reviews across the board.

Without further adieu, I bring you:

CARIBBEAN VEGETABLE STEW

This spicy bean stew reheats well so it can be made ahead and refrigerated until needed for mealtime.

Preparation Time: 35 minutes
Cooking Time: 60 minutes
Servings: 8-10

• 1/3 cup water
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cups peeled & chunked sweet potatoes
• 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes with jalapenos
• 1 20 ounce can pineapple chunks with juice
• 2 cups chunked green apples (unpeeled)
• 1 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
• 1⁄2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon

Place the water in a large pot. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add sweet potatoes, tomato sauce, tomatoes, pineapple, apples, chilies and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook over low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans and seasonings, mix well and continue to cook over low heat for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over brown rice or other whole grains.

–

This recipe is found in the January 2004 newsletter. All of the McDougall newsletters/recipes are archived on their website, and you can sign up to receive their free monthly newsletter here.

I look at the pictures first, I’ll admit it.After buying a new book today, I didn’t bother with the index or anything else. Certainly not the text. I’ll get there eventually, sure, but first, it’s about the visual elements.

It’s a weakness, but I never take in one photo for too long before I’m onto the next. And, far too soon, it’s over.

Let me describe the first picture. Just looking at it again and parts of my brain are already firing anew. I’m salivating.

Seven spicy tempeh nori rolls are arranged on a plate. All seven have the rice on the outside of the roll (and I know it’s wrong I forget the name for that. But, I’m being honest here. I could’ve Googled, come back and appeared smart, but I didn’t). Three of the rolls were rolled in black sesame seeds, the other four have some sort of orange-red powder on the outside (cayenne, perhaps?).

The second page is a Portobello Salad with Spicy Mustard Dressing. And, after that, it just gets worse, with subsequent pages adding an inset photo on every page, so that the dominant Baked BBQ Tofu with Apricot Sauce gets less time before you shift to the top right to take in the Hot Sauce-Glazed Tempeh. And we haven’t even hit the seitan yet!

I’ll admit it. I’m into food porn. So far, I stick to the pro stuff: professionally-bound books purchased in stores, with plentiful pictures of mouth-watering dishes. I had some Borders gift cards today, and this is what happened to them. I almost got two books, since I did have another card left, but I stuck to my guns and only bought the one book.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m aware there is a lot of amateur food porn online, but flickr doesn’t really do it for me. If I want to see a bunch of limp porcinis on ugly stoneware in bad lighting, I know it’s available. But, honestly, keep it in your kitchen. I’m not that desperate.

Besides, professional food porn is aspirational. With a recipe, a digital camera, and a Flickr account, I could make my own amateur stuff now. The bar is way too low. And, let’s face it, a lot of stuff on the amateur circuit could never go pro if it tried. I’d rather strive.

Better to make my Potato and Kale Enchiladas with Roasted Chile Sauce three or four times until they look like the photo than just bang out my first attempt at Chickpea Cutlets and think it’s ready for a money shot. Yeah, and next you’ll probably think I’d use non-organic beans from a can, as if…

Now, I do realize that my prowess is more kitchen than camera. And the pros have separate people doing both the cooking and the photography. So, when I do make my Eggplant-Potato Moussaka with Pine Nut Cream, I do take that into account. I won’t be using Photoshop to punch up the translucence of my quinoa.

But, that’s the point. This is about fantasy. I mean, sure, if I go to the French Laundry, it could be like that in real life every night. But Yountville is a total red-light district at this point, and I can’t afford to hire professionals every night.

No, I have to live in the real world most of the time. Some days, the food will taste perfect, but it might not photograph well. Other days, it might be photogenic but the spice balance is off. But, vegan comfort food is like a waiter’s tips at a gourmet restaurant, even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty darned good.

Soon enough, I’ll work my way into this book and try some of the moves myself. It’ll be a bit awkward at first, until I get to know them better. But, before long, it’ll find its own rhythm.

Of course, before I master it, there will be a new book, with new promises, perhaps a unifying theme, and the cycle will begin all over again.

—
(Recipe names taken from my new vegan cookbook, just purchased today, Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, authors of the amazing Vegan with a Vengeance and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World.)

The article originally appeared on my own personal website, jeffwalsh.com, on November 8, 2007. Admittedly, moving it to this site sort of loses the reveal that it’s actually food porn, but oh well…

If you’re vegan, you have to have an opinion on PETA. It will come up, guaranteed.

My take has always been that they provide a valuable role, because their outlandishness at least gets the issues of animal cruelty and compassion, as well as vegetarianism, on the nightly news and talked about. No press release put out by the Humane Society or any vegetarian group will get the same attention. The question is, though, does attention lead to results?

I just watched the recent HBO documentary “I Am An Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA” and found it a pretty compelling piece. You can call Newkirk crazy, but I don’t think you could watch this and doubt her sincerity. She truly believes in everything she is doing.

Watching a board room full of PETA members as they watch footage taken undercover at a Butterball turkey processing plant, and no one in this room is phoning it in. They are horrified and affected on a deep emotional level. At one point, Newkirk is driving her car while being interviewed. Suddenly, she sees a dove on the opposite sidewalk and immediately makes a U-turn. She says they are usually dead but, you never know. The bird is dead, so she gets back in the car and continues her drive, as though this was the most commonplace thing anyone would do in this situation.

As much as I admire the efforts of PETA (and let’s face it, at the end of the day we all have the same vision no matter how we arrive there), I just do not believe people will stop eating meat or being cruel to the animals that aren’t their pets anytime soon. Over the summer, I watched a BBC 3 show called Kill It, Cook It, Eat It,” which was a sort of reality show. Each week focused on a different animal, and invited guests would see the live animal enter a working abattoir. It would then be killed, processed, and butchered while the audience/diners watched every step of the proceedings. The meat was immediately brought into the restaurant side of the building, and a chef would prepare the minutes-old meat for the crowd to enjoy. Without fail, audience members said the same things each week, “I was impressed by how humane the process is.” Now, this was a high-end abattoir and not a factory farm without cameras running, so this meat was probably not what you’d be getting at your local supermarket, but even so, I found the comments telling in that they all spoke to a common understanding: I eat meat, I’m going to continue to eat meat, so I’m glad it is at least killed humanely.

That’s sort of the root of the issue to me. I don’t know that you can go up against “My dog is my friend and that cow is my dinner.”

The documentary also featured footage of Alex Pacheco, who founded PETA with Newkirk. When he first appeared, he immediately seemed to have a more level approach about him. By the documentary’s end, we find out that he had since left PETA and questions the group’s focus on media attention.

I don’t think this documentary will change too many people’s minds, and certainly not the people who already have a clear opinion of the group. But, personally, it did put them in a positive light for me. I respect them more because it let me see behind the publicity stunts and what I saw there was compassionate group expressing itself against almost an entire world opposing them.

As per usual, PETA Board member and comic Bill Maher cuts through the fog and does his usual no-bullshit spin. On the topic of whether PETA crosses the line, he said, “It’s not the worst sin in the world to cross the line. To me, a much worse sin is to never approach the line.”

–

For more information on the documentary, visit
http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/iamananimal/. And PETA, of course, is at http://www.peta.org/.

Over on Oasis Journals (my gay youth support site), I recently interviewed Pratibha Parmar, the director of Nina’s Heavenly Delights, a fun lesbian romantic comedy that opens in San Francisco this weekend. The movie features a lot of Indian cooking, but I was surprised to find out the director, having grown up Hindu, is vegan. She told me that “there are meat dishes in the film just to appeal to a broad audience.” While there is far more to read over on Oasis, here is a snippet from my interview with this UK-based filmmaker that is exclusive to Vegocentric. The first two questions also appear in Oasis, after I found out that her partner of 20-plus years is not vegan:

So, it does work. I always wonder if you can have the mixed marriage thing.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.. but she’s not allowed to cook any meat in the house, and she won’t either. She doesn’t want to, it’s not that she’s not allowed to. It smells and I can’t stand it. My parents were strict Hindus, so I grew up in a house where even eggs weren’t allowed. I did lapse when I went to university. I got into eating meat, that was my rebellious thing. But I got sick, so I gave it all up.

So, it was more of a spiritual thing and less an animal right thing?

Well, it was just more how I’d grown up and everything, but now I’d say definitely, I couldn’t eat meat after knowing how they treat animals. I don’t know how anyone can, really.

I was surprised because in the UK, on Channel Four, I think, of “Kill It, Cook It, Eat It.” Did you see that?

No.

They actually had a working abbatoir with a glass wall. They’d invite people to dine and then they’d bring the animal in and the whole crowd would watch the animal from when it was alive to when it was butchered, and then they brought it into the restaurant half of the set, and a chef would cook the meat that was alive minutes earlier. So, I figured, these people are going to be horrified to eat this, but it seemed so much a given that they were going to eat meat, they were all just like, ‘I was surprised how humane it was,’ and ‘It seemed like they really care for the animals.’

What?!

I’m like, it was alive and now it’s dead.

Now it’s dead…

It just seemed like the notion that this animal is going to die was so ingrained in their lives, they were just happy it didn’t seem as cruel as a PETA video, I guess. I was just like, we can’t win this battle if this is their reaction.

It’s so much about people being completely disassociated by the sense of life force that’s in animals. The life force that we have as human beings is the same life force that animals inhabit.

But then in San Francisco, we have spas for dogs. So, which is it?

I know I’ve seen in San Francisco these hotels, and I was like ‘what the hell?’ You know, I have worked with Mother Teresa in the slums and the streets of India, and somehow we’re all living in the same world?

There’s something about a homeless person in front of a dog hotel next to a McDonalds that says something’s wrong here.

Absolutely. There’s something wrong with this picture.