Book review: Eating Animals

I was sent a review copy of this book about 6 months ago, but I only got around to reading it now. By 'now' I mean that I read it yesterday, in one day (I have time off work). It was a great read. I had read in reviews that he is a little wish-y wash-y about vegetarianism in the book, but I found it kind of refreshing, as opposed to annoying. The book is conversational, as opposed to preachy. He repeats over and over that he is a vegetarian, and that it was the right choice for him, while also giving space in the book for some animal farmers to have a say. I think it will reach a much bigger audience with its "I looked into it, and now I am vegetarian because I found.. " attitude than books that say "you should be vegetarian because..". I think it would be a good read for long-term vegetarians and vegans because it's always good to be reminded of why we are veg, and a good book for people curious about vegetarianism because it's written in an approachable way. The topic is extremely timely, too, because it's very Pollan-esque - it's about environment, real food, local eating, and popular stuff like that. Safran Foer even mentions Pollan a couple of times, to agree with him and to disagree with him.

Asparagus two ways

It's asparagus season in Ontario! So exciting! I pretty much eat it every single day for a month, or until the growing season ends. I mostly eat it roasted, but I do like it steamed as well, on pizza (forgot to take a picture) or in a soup. Here's a pic of roasted asparagus with 'Spicy Thai Mung Bean Burgers' from this recipe: http://www.nourishingmeals.com/2010/02/spicy-thai-mung-bean-burgers.html. It's a pretty good recipe. Sort of mushy burgers, but tasty. I think I overcooked my mung beans, anyway- I'd never cooked them before.

And now for a less oily way to make asparagus - soup! I used this recipe: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Cream-of-Asparagus-Soup-vegan-18803, but I added about a cup of white kidney beans for protein, iron and creaminess. And a potato. It was made even more fabulous by grated smoked cheddar flavoured vegan cheese.

Pesto and Grilled Tofu Sandwhich

I received a cast iron grill pan for my birthday, and it is a bitch to clean but I really like it! I marinated the tofu in a mixture of half tamari and half balsamic vinegar and grilled it. I added some store-bought vegan pesto, sliced avocado, and broccoli sprouts. Yum!!

Oyster Mushroom and Yves Pepperoni pizza

I made another batch of no-knead bread to use as a crust of this pizza. It's the Peasant bread recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I topped this pizza with tomato sauce, FYH vegan cheese, ton of oyster mushrooms and some Yves pepperoni. I hate that it isn't organic soy but damn are those little pepperonis good!
 

Ruben Sandwhich

I made this fab tempeh ruben with my homemade rye bread. I've never had a real ruben so I have nothing to compare this to, but it was delish. I got the recipe from somewhere in vegan-blogland. The tempeh is pan-fried with some tamari, and the sauce is Veganaise, chopped pickle and a touch of ketchup. I really am going to make my own sauerkraut soon - it seems so easy!

Rye Bread!

I made bread! And it was a success! And it was easy! I was intimidated - but I should have done this long ago. I just needed the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François to ease me in to bread-making. It doesn't actually take 5 minutes, but it's no-knead, which is good because I have barely any counter space in my kitchen and it's so much less messy to just stir everything in a bowl. You should check out this book from your local library, or just google around for no-knead bread recipes, if you're interested.

Carrot-Cranberry-Walnut Salad with Creamy Walnut Vinaigrette

 

This is the Carrot-Cranberry-Walnut Salad with Creamy Walnut Vinaigrette from Vegan Soul Kitchen. It includes toasted walnut oil, which is a new favourite flavouring of mine. This is for my lunch tomorrow, but I tried a few bites of it and it tastes awesome - sort of sweet and sour with a nice mix of textures.

Beanball Sub and product review

This delicious meal was the beanball sub recipe from Veganomicon on fresh ciabatta bread. If you look in the corner of the photo you can see that this meal also included a romaine lettuce salad. I do eat salad sometimes!

Also, here is my product review of Kenzoil, a yummy basil-based flavoured oil that was sent to me to try: it's fab. I ate it on pasta.. it was like instant pesto.. but more lemon-y. I think one of the secret ingredients is lemon.

Ps- I got The Conscious Cook, Vegan Soul Kitchen, and Vegan Yum Yum for xmas prezzies! What should I make?? I want to make everything from VYY, but the other two are more out of my comfort zone so I need suggestions.

Tempeh with White-Wine Mustard Sauce and Lundberg Rice Blend

This was our new year's eve dinner. I cooked the rice in vegetable broth, the tempeh was pan-fried in white wine and olive oil, and the sauce is a simple but amazing mix of olive oil, an onion, local lemon-dill mustard, white wine and veggie broth. Happy new year!