Roasted red lentil and barley cabbage rolls with red and white sauces

I like to roast my cabbage rolls a bit before saucing them in order to sweeten their flavour.  In this case, these were savoy cabbage leaves, stuffed with red lentil and pearl barley (garlic, ginger, nutritional yeast, white vinegar, sea salt, black pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika, tamari). 

I cooked the red lentils and barley together, and the lentil ultimately dissolve making a nice binder for the barley. I stuffed the rolls, roasted, sauced and then baked covered until done. I added the white sauce at the end after baking (although it could be added toward the end and baked into the dish).  The rest sauce is a simple tomato base with some paprika, and the white sauce, unlike a traditional roux, is built around rice milk and extra virgin oil oil (with sea salt, garlic, a little white vinegar, etc.) and then thickened with nutritional yeast and arrowroot powder. 

This is a terrific dish if you want a nice pasta-style approach, but want something a little lighter than pasta!

Seitan with mango, bourbon gravy over chili and tamari pilaf on a bed of lightly curried spinach

The seitan was my standard recipe in New American Vegan, with a mango and bourbon gravy (soy milk, bourbon whiskey, white vinegar, tamari, mango juice, whole wheat flour and extra virgin oil oil).  The rice was brown basmati with chili power and tamari (and a little oil).  The spinach was quickly flash fried with a little oil and sea salt, cumin, coriander, mustard, ginger, turmeric and garlic. 

If you're not vegan already, please go vegan!

Tomorrow marks the start of the new year for me and many of my readers. If you are not vegan already, why not give it a try? It almost certainly suits you. The time of year tends to encourage reflection and change, some things to think about:

• Roughly 56 billion land animals are killed yearly for food and animal use is rising (according to data from the United Nations). (1) That's just land animals raised for food. It doesn't include animals raised in aquaculture or animals hunted for food, or animals used for other purposes. Regardless of how we use them, it's wrong to do so.
  
  
• The ASPCA estimates that, in the United States alone, roughly 5 to 7 million nonhuman animals enter shelters every year, and that about 60 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats are murdered. (2) It doesn't matter what species they are; if we bring other animals into existence, we owe them their personhood and proper care, not starvation, abandonment or a premature and unnecessary death.
  
  
• The number of animal species becoming extinct is rapidly increasing. (3) When we destroy the ecosystem of nonhuman animals, or drive species to extinction, we are doing harm to each of the individual animals affected.

Nicer cages for the animals we use won't solve these moral problems. (4) Stronger protectionist laws won't solve these problems. (5) Environmental activism, vegetarianism, and violence won't solve these problem. (6) None of these approaches addresses the underlying cause: the legal status of nonhuman animals as property, and the widespread social perception that nonhuman animals are instruments for our use.

Only veganism, the abolition of nonhuman animal's status as our property, and a relationship that takes other animals seriously as moral persons can solve these problems. (7)

So, why don't YOU go vegan?
Veganism shows courage, good judgment and discipline. It is easier than it ever has been, and it is the right thing to do. That's true whether you believe that Adam and Eve were vegan in Eden, that God commanded Noah to build the Ark to save nonhuman animals, that Muhammad cut the sleeve from his robe rather than wake his cat, Muezza, or that St. Anthony preached to fishes.

It's true whether you believe the Buddha abstained from meat, whether you believe nonhumans are reincarnated human beings or whether you believe that animal use involves himsa. It's also true whether you read Plutarch or Pythagoras, believe in vibrational energies, decided that nonviolence is right all by yourself, or if you're not sure why you feel harming other animals is wrong, you just think it is.

All properly moral traditions condemn unnecessary violence. Virtually all moral traditions condemn unnecessary violence toward nonhuman animals, many in light of a (highly subjective) notion that animals are persons to whom we owe moral duties. There are no good reasons to use animals for either your health or for the environment. There are no good reasons to use animals because they taste good or for fashion or entertainment reasons; there are easily available plant-only alternatives.

It is better to act well and face a little teasing than to live in a relationship of domination with nonhuman animals that oppresses both them and you. Don't let nostalgia, complacency, tradition, a fear of rejection, or a fear of failure stand in your way. Like other animals, you have value, you have the right to do the right thing, and doing the right thing by nonhuman animals means going vegan.

Going vegan is easier than you think and it's morally awesome!
A vegan is someone who doesn't use nonhuman animals for food, clothing, entertainment or other purposes. People go vegan for many reasons. You can be religious or an atheist.  You can be a liberal, a radical, or a conservative. You don't have to like sandals or do yoga. The best reason to go vegan, though, is because you suspect, as many people do, that it's wrong to harm nonhuman animals (it is!).

Animals are sentient (that is, they are someones rather than somethings). They can experience and respond to different circumstances uniquely. They have interests in a continued life, avoiding pain and suffering, as well as experiencing pleasure. Like human beings, they have a moral right not to be used as our property. It is wrong to harm them. We owe them nonviolence as a minimum (whether they live in a preserve, in a park, or on a farm), as well as acts of kindness when it is possible and practicable for us to help them with rescue, sanctuary and adoption work.

You can get started today! 

1. Start by conducting any additional research you feel many be necessary. If you have questions about abolition or veganism, see this detailed FAQ. If you want to learn more about nutrition for vegans, see this informative piece on nutrition.
   
   
2. Create a meal plan for yourself that ensures you'll get the calcium, iron, vitamin B12, zinc and other nutrients and calories you'll need. The American Dietetic Association (among others) says that a rich and varied vegan diet is healthy if you plan (8). Almost all soy, almond, rice and other plant-only milks are fortified with the vitamins and nutrients you'll need.
   
   
3. Create a list of all of the things you'll want to replace. You'll no longer be using silk, leather, products tested on animals and other such items, and you'll want to purchase plant-only alternatives when you can afford to do so.
   
   
4. Stop using other animals for entertainment (e.g., circuses). Easy!
   
   
5. Go vegan all at once, or if you really cannot go all at once for substantive reasons, create a clear plan and work your way as quickly and carefully through the transition as you can.
   
   

It's that straightforward. You can start today. There is always more you can do (e.g., adoption, shelter and rescue work), but veganism is the baseline. Billions and billions of lives hang in the balance and your choice to go vegan is the most important thing you can do for them. You can do it!

1: See http://faostat.fao.org/default.aspx and http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/AC911E/ac911e05.htm
2: See http://www.aspca.org/about-us/faq/pet-statistics.aspx
3: See http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/07/
4: See http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/the-four-problems-of-animal-welfare-in-a-nutshell/
5: See http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/got-faith-in-animal-welfare/
6: See http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/animal-welfare-militant-direct-action-mantras-and-faith/
7: See http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/effective-animal-rights-advocacy-in-three-steps/ 
8: See http://www.eatright.org/about/content.aspx?id=8357

Enchiladas suizas with pinto beans, spinach and mushrooms

Enchiladas suizas were very popular in Chicago when I was growing up.  This is a plant-only (and not a particularly authentic) version with a simple red sauce (tomato paste, nutritional yeast, sea salt, paprika, chili, cumin, coriander, organic sugar) and stuffed with sautéed pinto beans, spinach, mushrooms and onions (so, more like a burrito, actually).  The "cheese" here is actually a soy milk béchamel poured over top toward the end of the baking process; it's made from an olive oil and wheat flour roux with some nutritional yeast, sea salt and turmeric for the colour.

Bourbon and tarmari fried rice with kale and tofu

Fried rice (brown basmati) with green kale, and tofu.  This was fried with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, sea salt, a little bit of chili, and sauced with a reduction of bourbon, white vinegar, organic sugar and tamari.

Butternut squash with kale and tofurky

Delicious squash with a variety of spices (cumin, chili, coriander, sea salt, organic sugar, garlic and ginger) roasted and then lightly stir-fried with kale and tofurky.

Roasted vegetable and hummus sandwich with fries

Simple and delicious! Roasted eggplant, zucchini, and red pepper with some thinly sliced kosher dill pickles on whole wheat pita. Roasted vegetables are easy to prepare and they don't require a lot of ingredients and they taste great with a minimal amount of seasoning. These vegetables are roasted with olive oil and a little sea salt and and a pinch of onion powder.

Sometimes I roast them with lemon, tamari and garlic as well, but for these I just kept it simple. The hummus was made from scratch (chickpeas, kombu, sea salt, lemon juice, garlic, tahini, nutritonal yeast). I usually just make the chick peas in my slow cooker. Served open faced and the folded over. The fries came from straight from the package.

Tapas and mezze for my birthday dinner

I love tapas (and mezze); so, we had a small plates dinner for my birthday (Saturday). The picture also provides a serious insight to my varied and eccentric tupperware collection. We also had a great soup, salad, roasted potatoes and dessert, none of which I made, and, of course, the wine! The tapas were my sole contribution to the meal. From top left to bottom right:

• artichoke 'butter' with lemon and thyme;
• cherry tomatoes;
• kalamata olive tapenade;
• avjar (red peppers and eggplant with sunflower seed butter);
• lentils and caramelized onions;
• hummus (straight from the package because I ran out of time);
• sundried tomato, mushroom and walnut pate;
• shiitake mushrooms poached in tamari and agave;
• kosher dill pickles;
• creamy artichoke and spinach dip (heavy on the spinach).

Everything was great (served with whole wheat pita). Although most people think of hummus and a lot of these other dishes as appetizers, tapas are becoming increasingly trendy (again, because they were trendy for a while in the 80s as well). They're also a lot of fun to make, and they provide a wide range of tastes, colors and textures to the meal. They're also relaxing, since there isn't a lot of fussing around with courses, and cutting your food, but it's a little more intimate than serving buffet.

Tapas/mezze are really a great way to entertain. With so many dishes it's hard for someone not to find a few things that they like, and the colors are usually very inviting, the food can be enjoyed a little warm, a little cool or just at room temperature. Most of these dishes were made with various nut and seed butters as well (so you get the nutritional value of the seed or nut along with the fat) and tend to keep well.

Vegan taco salad with diced pineapple, spicy lentils and green lettuce

This is a nice and simple salad. The pineapple, lettuce and salsa are all fresh. The salsa is just finely diced tomato, peppers, onions, sea salt and lime juice. I slow cook the lentils with toasted paprika, cumin, coriander, garlic, tamari, minced onion, sea salt and chili to the point that the lentils are overcooked but not disintegrating.

I usually use green or brown lentils, but they tend to pick up the color of the spice mix. I add tahini, lemon juice, agave nectar and nutritional yeast to the lentils when they are done, and then I toss everything with gold or blue corn chips. Ratios are usually about a cup of pineapple, 1 cup of dried lentils, about a half cup of salsa, one head of green lettuce and then a couple of handfuls of chips.

Spicy tofu and vegetable stirfry with wheat noodles

Just a simple stirfry with green beans, carrots, red peppers, broccoli and mushrooms. I like to roast the tofu a bit with tamari and olive oil, toss them in a little arrowroot (similar to corn starch treatments), and then stir fry them with the other vegetables. The sauce in this case was simple and spicy: chili, garlic, ginger, tamari, white vinegar, agave, sea salt and arrowroot to thicken. In this case, I served it over wheat noodles.

Canadian Thanksgiving

My partner and I had a larger meal yesterday with family, but I whipped up something today.  In this case, it was a lemon ginger cutlet with black mushroom and onion gravy, whole wheat stuffing with raisins, apples and mushrooms, and some simple grilled asparagus.

The cutlet was baked (a wheat gluten and herb mix, including tamari, lemon, ginger, paprika, evoo, tahini and corn flour) with the stuffing (whole wheat bagel, onion, herbs, black mushrooms, raisins, chopped apple, carrots and a few other odds and ends).  The gravy was a simple combination of powerded black mushrooms, onion, nutritional yeast a little olive oil thickened with arrowroot.  And of course, the asparagus was just oven roasted with a dash of sea salt and olive oil.

Romano and romaine vegan caesar salad wraps

The finished wrap isn't all that interesting looking (just whole wheat tortillas). :-) But this was a great and simple wrap.

Ingredients
About 2 1/3 cups of romano beans,
A small head of romaine lettuce (torn),
2 diced/seeded plum tomatoes
1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
2 whole wheat tortillas

About 2 tablespoons of tahini
About 2 tablespoons of tamari
About 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
About 1/3 cup of beans
About 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

Instructions.
Blend the dressing. Toss with the salad ingredients. Wrap in the tortillas. Easy and delicious!

I usually add liquid smoke and usually a sea vegetable (often kombu, but sometimes alaria) to mine, and I always do my dressing to taste and consistency (which is why it's an approximation). I like a little thinly sliced raw onion sometimes as well, but I felt like keeping it simple this time around. When I make a wrap like this, I'll typically blend some of the beans with the dressing to give it a little more cling.