Living Without Meat

It’s been a long, busy week for me!May is easily my busiest month of the year. When I’m stressed and tired, nothing relaxes me better than someone else preparing a meal for me. Earlier this week I was treated to having a delicious vegan dinner cooked at home for me by my roommate. She made beautiful stuffed peppers that she came up with while trying to figure out what to make with couscous. Here, she’s put together the recipe for us:

Meg’s Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 whole peppers (red/green)
1 cup black beans (canned)
1 cup corn (canned)
1 cup couscous
1 1/4 cup water
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Spicy, Mexican seasonings; I used Tastefully Simple fiesta dip mix that contains onion, salt, crushed red pepper, paprika, garlic, parsley, sugar, and other spices

1. Preheat oven 350

2. Bring water to boil, add couscous and remove from heat. Stir in tastefully simple fiesta dip mix, other TexMex seasoning, or your own blend of spices.

3. Chop onion. Cut about one-third of the way down on each pepper, opening it up and cleaning it out for stuffing. Chop up the pepper tops; sprinkle the pepper bottoms with olive oil and salt and set aside.

4. Saute the chopped onion and pepper in a pan with olive oil. When the onions turn translucent, add corn, beans, and pre-cooked couscous. Mix well, adding salt and pepper to taste.

5. Spoon some of the mixture into each open pepper and cover in tin foil on a baking pan. Bake for about 30 minutes.

6. Refrigerate the leftover stuffing for a tasty, cold salad for lunch the next day.

This story of a human showing genuine compassion for animals will bring tears to your eyes … or at least it did for me!

Thanks for passing this along, Mom!

Anyone watch The View this morning, May 7? Lois, a member of the Humane League, emailed us this note today about today’s episode:

“Barbara Walters held up a copy of the newspaper, the New York Daily News. On the front cover is a photo of a baby cow that escaped a slaughterhouse. She announced that she is upset by the photo and is on her way to being a vegetarian.

“Any way that light can be shed on the plight of farm animals is much needed. I thought Ms. Walters was phenomenal at bringing attention to this. She spoke briefly, but added she is bringing a veggie burger to her Washington, D.C. trip this weekend. Kudos to Barbara!”

Thanks for letting us all know, Lois - and thanks for the veg promotion, Barbara!

The picture shown here, where a young calf is being treated like an escaped criminal, is the one that Barbara shared with View watchers this morning; read the accompanying article, “No bull, cow escapes slaughterhouse and hoofs it through Queens.”

Thanks to everyone who left tips and suggestions in the comments of my recent post “Expanding My Horizons: Attempts at Making Spring Rolls”!

Some of the great ideas shared for making spring rolls include:

* Use a damp tea towel to dry off the wrappers after you rehydrate them.

* When making a big batch, drape a second damp towel over them as you finish rolling them to keep them from drying out while you make more.

* There are two different types of wrappers - the ones that need soaking work best for raw summer rolls while the frozen ones are usually better if you plan to fry them.

* Ingredient suggestions: bean thread noodles and Asian mushrooms, or avocado, snow peas, carrots, cilantro, mint, chopped cashews, and cucumber,

* You can make a goopy paste for holding the rolls shut by cooking a little cornstarch and water until it gels up

Last week I tried cooking plantains for the first time (read it: Serve It Up: Fried Plantains for Dinner). My post about this stirred up a great response from a regular reader who has her own blog, Marion Silver’s Lux Aeterna.

Marion is Filipino and thus a regular consumer of burro bananas (a short, stocky kind of banana, shown here, often prepared similar to plantains) - and she shared to great recipe ideas in the comment that she left! I didn’t want her show-and-tell to go unnoticed, so here are her suggestions for whipping up a tasty treat with ripe plantains, in her words:

Banana Cue: peel the banana and roll them in brown sugar (vegan brown sugar works best of course!). Fry them in boiling oil until the flesh is caramelized. We call it banana “cue” because it is a popular street food that is cooked in a skewer. You can do this too, I use wooden skewers for this.

Turron: this is basically bananas wrapped in spring roll wrappers. But I love adding sweet and very ripe sliced jackfruit to the stuffing - it adds nice texture and flavor. Once you’ve wrapped the fruits with the spring roll, dip them, once again, in brown sugar. Fry until caramelized and golden brown. It’s very crispy and goes awesome with vanilla ice cream.

Thanks again, Marion! Anyone else have any plantain recipes - or any vegan recipes for that matter - that you want to share? I will always thank you with a link!

Don’t forget to stop my Marion’s site!

Answering questions is my favorite! So thanks to reader Becca for leaving this comment for me:

“So, I have a potluck on Monday with my co-workers who are bringing mac and cheese … what is a good veg non-salad accompaniment? (I don’t like being the vegetarian bringing salad, esp. since I rarely eat traditional salad). Thanks!”

I tend to bring a filling appetizer that could stand alone as enough for me to eat if no one else brings a meat-free dish. White bean dip with crudite and toasted pita bread went over very well at my family’s meat-filled Christmas gathering. Dips, in general, work well, too. Hummus, salsa, guacamole, spinach and artichoke … all are usually well received by everyone.

One of my standard, quick, take-along dips is a layered bean one. In a pie pan, spread layers of refried beans, corn, guacamole, salsa or tomatoes, lettuce, and whatever else sounds good to you. Serve with corn chips.

If you want something that is more side dish like, consider a non-traditional salad: curried lentils, corn and bean salad, rice with carrots and raisins, couscous and veggies … basically, pick your favorite grain and prepare it. Then finely chop and cook whatever sounds good - bell peppers, onion, garlic, broccoli, spinach, and don’t forget dried fruit, nuts, or beans. Toss them together with a liquid such as oil, salad dressing, vinegar, etc. Sprinkle in some herbs and spices, taste testing as you go. Serve it cold or hot. No one will accuse your hearty concoction of being “just a salad.”

Then, for the more ambitious, there’s homemade dinner rolls, roasted veggies, an eggplant dish, dessert, chili, or veg meatballs.

Click on the picture for a similar post on Vegan Soapbox. Any other dishes you would recommend? And, Becca, do come back and tell us what you make!

I am really starting to feel like “Sally the Vegan.” I love having this label, and I love that everyone knows it and is comfortable approaching me. People e-mail me for recipe ideas, tell me when they make a fully vegetarian meal, and ask me for animal- and health-related advice. The other day, a trainer at my gym, who I was not even sure knew who I was, came running up to me to tell me she had been thinking about me while watching Wayne Pacelle on Oprah.

I love hearing that something I said or did stuck with someone and impacted their life in some way. This week, however, two people have asked me questions that I was unable to answer - and so I turn to you for input.

1. My friend Kelly was in search of a recipe for vegetarian moussaka. After I was of no help, she was able to find one using mushrooms online. Have you ever made vegetarian moussaka? Please share your recipe!

2. My co-worker has a nine month old at home. She’s vegetarian; her husband is a meat lover. Today she asked for a recommendation for a book about raising kids vegetarian. Not being to the family stage of my life yet, I’ve not read any veg rearing books. Have you raised a veg child? What advice would you give to a new mom whose husband is not interested in vegetarianism? Can you recommend a good book?

Thanks for your help!

Gathering knowledge about vegetarianism and all things related is good, but sometimes you need a little inspiration in the form of testimony to get or stay motivated. I’m proud to share with you just that.

Living Without Meat reader Ginger e-mailed me this week to share some exciting news: after 25 years as a pescetarian, she’s gone veg!

Not only has Ginger given her diet a makeover, but she’s had a lot of exciting changes in her lifestyle recently. Her newly vegetarian habits are joined by her quitting smoking and attempting be more eco-friendly.

Read more about Ginger’s changing ways over at her new blog - Ginger Snaps - where she plans on talking about “changes [she's] making and what [she's] learning along the way.”

Congratulations, Ginger!

Anyone else have a testimony, story, blog, or anything motivational and inspirational to share?

My bff, co-worker, co-conspirator, soon-to-be roomie, future business partner … okay, we’ll just call her Meg. Anyways, this Meg lady has become a vegetarian! Congrats to Miss Margaret on her budding relationship with a healthy, cruelty-free diet!

In her change of diet, she has also become a hunter of enviro-, animal-, and vegetarian-friendly tee shirts. She owns a few already, but is in constant pursuit of the next best tee (future reality show?).

This morning, Meg sends you a heads up to Alloy having a plethora of such great tee shirts. Here a few pictures to get your credit card twitching …

Click on each tee to head to its purchasing page.

Okay, so Meg wouldn’t wear this last one, but perhaps it can replace the belly-bearing “I only date punk boys with piercings and tattoos” that still lingers in my closet.

… and as with all teen stores, if you buy any 2 tee shirts, you save - $10, in this case. Regular prices are between $17 and $22 each.

These are just my faves! For even more and more tees like these, head to Alloy’s tee shirt page.

Sister Gina (not a nun, but a female relative with the same parents as I) sent a green living quiz my way to share.

Earthbound Farm Organic has a Conservation Quiz live on their Web site right now. The intention is to inform and educate quiz-takers, so links are provided to reading resources that contain the answers to the 10 multiple-choice questions. Plus, when you finish, if you supply Earthbound with your mailing address they will send you a FREE reusable grocery shopping bag in July, when the offer expires.

You may recognize the name Earthbound Farm from your produce section, particularly from organic, washed, packages of romaine lettuce hearts. The company, which originated in 1984 out of a family’s backyard, also has several other organic products such as fruits, snacks, drinks, and granola.

Check them out in your supermarket for pesticide-free noshing, and online for a free reusable bag!

As I mentioned yesterday, I love asking vegetarians and vegans what they like to eat and cook on a regular basis. I suppose it is my way of gathering ideas for my own menu.

On Friday, I asked my vegetarian coworker Megan if she had a favorite recipe. Here’s what she said:

“I don’t know any fancy recipes off the top of my head, and maybe this is just me, but I never get tired of cannellini beans, frozen mixed vegetables, garlic powder and Parmesan cheese (or not cheese) over pasta with a little bit of olive oil.

“If you need more stuff, and were feeling like making a side dish, I’ve been eating a lot of mixed green salads with walnuts and dried fruit (craisins, etc.).”

Thanks, Megan! The salad sounds like it came from my mom’s kitchen.

Try Galaxy Foods’ Vegan brand Parmesan-flavor Grated Topping (shown here; note: only purple-label Galaxy Foods are vegan) to make this recipe vegan.

At the beginning of this month I included a photograph of a girl and a cow at a county fair. I found this picture in someone’s personal, online photography collection where I also left a comment. Many other onlookers left comments questioning those of us that saw it as an inspiring moment, as the cow would still be used for milk or meat. One user left her personal feelings, and I was awed by her wording.

Flickr user jeff_godofbiscuits commented:

This is a beautiful, moving photo. To me, it’s a vivid example of humane animal care. I am guessing that because this is at an agricultural fair, that girl probably knows that the cow is less a pet and more a source for milk or meat or whatever her family has chosen to keep cows for. However, that doesn’t mean work animals can’t be loved and cared for. This cow probably eats real cow food (as opposed to corn and all of the gross stuff that commercial livestock eats), gets to go outside, and has plenty of shelter and excellent veterinary care. She’ll have a long, probably very happy life. This is how ALL of the animals we eat or get food from should live. I choose to be vegan because of the horrible system in place now, but I thank you so much for this picture that is an example of how it should be.

In October, consumers were shocked by the 21.7 million-pound meat recall that forced one hamburger company to close their doors forever.

Compared to this burger ban four months ago, yesterday’s announcement by the USDA to recall 143 million pounds really stands out as the largest beef recall in the U.S.

The meat in question came from the now-famous California downers - sick or injured cows that were mistreated, abused, and tortured while down. About a month ago, the Humane Society revealed that they had been performing undercover investigations, and released a highly graphic video exposing that horrible things that were going on.

Word spread quickly, and soon TV stations nationwide were showing clips from the HSUS video. As a result, the USDA has deemed the meat from the Chino-based slaughterhouse unsuitable for human consumption.

“Because the cattle did not receive complete and proper inspection, Food Safety and Inspection Service has determined them to be unfit for human food and the company is conducting a recall,” Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer said in a statement.

Additionally, two (ex-)employees lost their jobs and have been charged with multiple counts of felony and misdemeanor animal abuse and neglect charges. These workers - including a manager - were seen in the video kicking, punching, electrically shocking, and forcing water down the throats of cows unable to move.

Thanks to reader Irene for sending this news alert in so quickly! Check out Irene’s Web site for information on March of Dimes, and to support her in her efforts to raise money and awareness in memory of her infant son Samuel.

I get excited when I see an animal-rights or vegetarian article in a public newspaper or magazine, such as the Wall Street Journal did last week with its headline: The 247 lb. Vegan.

The press is catching on, and the animals are being given a voice!

So imagine my excitement over the past week when all of these articles fell into my e-mail inbox:

* From a delicacy, a delicate situation: Foie gras on Baltimore menus spurs protests made the front page of the Baltimore Sun, Monday, January 28.

* Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler was in the week in review, in the world section, of the January 27 Sunday New York Times.

* Last Sunday, January 20, one of my hometown papers - the Philadelphia Inquirer - featured Learning to eat, and like, his veggies by a regular columnist. A recipe is included for Walnut-Mushroom Pate.

* CNN reported that Chips could put lab rats out of work with an Associate Press-written science article this Monday, January 28.

* Lansing State Journal answered a reader’s concern with Weigh benefits of vegan diet for kids, also on this Monday.

vegetarian news, vegan news, vegetarian newspaper coverage, animals in the news

I like feedback; who doesn’t? After writing yesterday about my “vegan percentage,” I received a great letter from a new friend. With his permission, I would like to share with you Marc’s response:

“Hmm just read your blog, while you make a fair point, I think there may be more to it than that. Part of the questioning, at least as far as I am concerned is curiosity. I know speaking for myself I have met a scant few vegetarians and vegans in my travels and really never had the opportunity to ask what many would consider dumb questions. I think I can safely speak for us meat eaters out there in saying that you’re pretty approachable and we just feel comfortable asking you things that to us sound dumb. I think while you might take it as a criticism, at least in some cases it may be just something like, ‘hey I noticed you’re eating that, is that safe, fitting with a vegan diet?’ People just may not know and will instantly consider you the expert on the subject.

“I think another part of it where you do make a good point is some people may feel threatened or like you are judging them for their choices due to the fact that you have a firmly held belief system that differs from theirs. Even though you haven’t said or done anything of the sort. I know for me, being probably the only outspoken Republican that I know, all of my friends and people that I know instantly put everything into a political context. Like ‘wow did you hear what the President said, how can you support that?’ as if subscribing to a political view/philosophy instantly makes you agree with everything they say and stand for. I disagree with the President and other Republicans quite a bit, but once you declare something that’s it, you’re labeled, and to that end I do agree that it can be kind of annoying. I look at it though as an opportunity to sell my philosophy, win converts. I think you do too. For example, I had no idea about how milking cows were raised, or how chicks were abused in commercial egg farms until I talked to you.

“Oh, another thing. You said you didn’t want to say you were 100% vegan? Well why on earth not? Just because you can’t actually completely be perfect at it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t declare it. You’re Christian right? Me too, and I would call myself one; however, am I 100% perfect at it? Heck no! I screw that up at least several times a day. That’s a fallacy argument, they are attacking the messenger, not the message. Are you not allowed to be against drugs if you have done them in the past? Can you not speak out against swearing if you yourself swear? Either something is right or it isn’t and there is nothing wrong with saying you 100% subscribe to your veganisim even though you might not meet by the strictest definition of every facet of it.

“Sounds like you’re a little annoyed about it, don’t let it bug you too much. I hope I’m not one of those people, I know I have been peppering you with questions pretty much since I met you, honestly its just to learn more about you. You’re rare in that you have deeply held beliefs, based on something, and you’re well spoken, articulate and a genuinely nice person. Not many of them around you know. I also love to argue so feel free.”

Thanks for letting me share this, Marc! Let me let it all sink in, and I’ll respond shortly. Any one else have any thoughts to share on the subject? E-mail them to me - LivingWithoutMeat at Gmail dot com.