Curried Carrot-Coconut Salad

Every Sunday and Wednesday nights mark the biweekly grocery shopping excursions embarked upon to replenish the Ferry House refrigerator with its usual bounty of fresh produce. However, because a house full of 21 hungry veg*n college students shares this bounty, it disappears into happy tummies. Fast. So fast that by the time the upcoming grocery shopping trip rolls around, one will most likely find a quite empty Ferry refrigerator. Case in point:

This temporary dearth of veggies proves most disheartening to the Ferry House members responsible for cooking dinner on Sunday and Wednesday night, seeing as grocery shopping happens after or during dinnertime. This Sunday, my spunky fellow Ferry-er Tamsin and I faced the refrigerator displayed above while charged with creating a satisfying meal for our 20 other house members. Containing nothing other than tomatoes, carrots, green bell peppers, garlic, lemons, and the previous night’s leftovers, the refrigerator essentially defined our dinner menu: a salsa of roasted tomatoes, peppers, and garlic; leftover adzuki-amaranth patties refurbished into a “pilaf” with lemon juice; and a shredded carrot salad.

Amazingly, Tamsin and I managed to create three rather phenomenally flavored dishes, but the carrot salad in particular stood out as the highlight of dinner. Tangy, succulent, and refreshing with the coconut’s tropical hint, the curry’s mellow spiciness, and the maple syrup’s deep sweetness, this salad earned multiple compliments from my dear Ferries. Though not available to Tamsin and I in the house’s brief food shortage, raisins and scallions would make lovely additions to this salad.

Curried Carrot-Coconut Salad—Raw, Soy Free, Nut Free, Low Sodium, Low Fat

Serves 8-10.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs carrots (about 8 large carrots), shredded
2/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1-1 1/2 tsp curry powder
Black pepper and salt to taste

Combine the shredded carrots and coconut in a large bowl. Mix well until combined.

Whisk together the maple syrup, oil, vinegar, and curry powder. Pour over the carrot mixture and toss until well-coated. Serve and enjoy!

Comment Provoking Questions: What are some of your favorite improvised dishes?

Until next time, Ali.

Cultivating Social Consciousness by Removing Animals from the Dinner Plate

During my second semester at Vassar College (which ends in a mere week, oh my goodness!), I took a fascinating intro to sociology course entitled, “Cooked! Food and Society.” In studying the theories of such renowned sociologists as Immanuel Kant, Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Herbert Marcuse among others, we examined how our corrupt modern-day industrial food system constitutes the antithesis of the equal, just societies our social theorist friends aimed to foster. Topics covered included how to cultivate food sovereignty in developing nations, corn’s deep entrenchment in American agriculture, Vandana Shiva vs. Monstanto in regards to seed freedom, environmental racism, the lack of access to healthy foods in impoverished communities, and ecofeminism (I was thrilled to see some animal rights literature, in the form of an essay by Joni Seager, tied into that last topic). The class further educated me in exactly why and how today’s food system perpetuates inequality, and only strengthened my convictions as a vegan/animal rights activist.

As part of our final exam, our professor asked us to write a one-page argument for what each of us thinks constitutes the issue related to food inequality that will most shape our future, and which theorist would agree with our argument. As an animal rights activist in a class full of Slow Foodies and proponents of “humane meat,” I felt inspired (and rather obliged) to write about how systematically oppressing a massive group of sentient beings (aka non-human animals) desensitizes our society to violence and renders it easier to oppress other social groups. Much shorter in length than many of my other academic papers, my final sociology paper, I feel, proves well-suited for the blogging medium. Thus, I’ve decided to share it with all of you, dear readers. I hope you enjoy and look forward to hearing your feedback.

Until next time, Ali.

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Cultivating Social Consciousness by Removing Animals from the Dinner Plate

            Fostering a just food system hinges upon our ceasing to exploit and commodify non-human animals for human consumption. Not only would an end to animal agriculture fiercely combat world hunger by feeding the grain currently devoted to raising farmed animals directly to people, it would also eliminate “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems at every scale from global to local” (Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department). Additionally, considering that in 2005 the FBI deemed “the eco-terrorism, animal rights movement” as the nation’s number one domestic threat, and that in 2008 animal agribusiness contributed over $8 million to congressional candidates, removing animals from our food system would contest a number of the corrupt corporate-governmental alliances that cause such sociologists as Marcuse, Weber, and Marx to rip their hair out in frustration (Schuster, Joy 89).

Diminishing world hunger, lightening our impact on the earth, and removing a major contributor to systematic corruption all comprise quite persuasive arguments for switching to a plant-based food system. However, the realization of the moral dubiousness of oppressing and enslaving non-human sentient beings will most foster an equitable society by rendering more obvious the mistreatment of other socially marginalized groups. Indeed, as Joni Seager points out, common justifications for animal exploitation involve arguments of human/animal difference in intellectual and emotional capacities, which “are achingly close reprises of the conceptual bases for racial, sexual, and gender hierarchies” (Seager 169). By engaging in a deeply entrenched system that oppresses a massive amount of individual beings on a daily basis, our meat-eating society becomes desensitized to instances of violence and inequality perpetrated against non-human animals, women, racial minorities, and homosexuals alike.

Social theorist Herbert Marcuse would refer to the desensitization toward oppression of all varieties caused by the systematic mistreatment of non-human animals as the “happy consciousness” (Marcuse 483). An oppressive society creates in its members this happy consciousness by imposing upon them “false needs”—in the case at hand, the notion that humans need to eat meat—that perpetuate inequality under the guise of offering immediate gratification (Marcuse 479). In obeying these false needs, individuals “facilitate[…] acceptance of the misdeeds of […] society” by essentially eliminating the feeling of guilt from the realm of civilization (Marcuse 483). When one considers that animal agribusiness deems as “standard procedures” such egregiously cruel practices as castrating young male animals without anesthesia, removing newborn calves from their mothers immediately after birth, and cramming five to seven chickens into wire-mesh cages the size of a newspaper page, the “acceptance of the misdeeds” of industrial animal agriculture becomes quite apparent (A Well-Fed World). The fact that most people who eat meat today do not know about these practices showcases how, in actively working to conceal the animal abuse inherent in the industry, animal agribusiness erases the guilt of eating animals from societal consciousness. Indeed, how can we question oppressive systems in order to combat a falsely happy consciousness if we remain unaware of the system’s oppressive nature in the first place? An ignorant complicity toward the enslavement and commodification of non-human animals can extend to a lack of awareness about the other various systems of oppression that still exist in modern society, such as sexism, racism, and homophobia;  once we accept one corrupt aspect of society, it becomes easy to accept others. Questioning the objectification of non-human animals aids in cultivating an awareness of a multiplicity of other social issues prevalent in today’s society.

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Works Cited

Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department. “Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options.” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States (2006): n. pag. Web. 7 May 2013. < ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0701e/a0701e.pdf>.

Cornell Chronicle. “U.S. could feed 800 million people with grain that livestock eat, Cornell ecologist advises animal scientists.” Cornell Chronicle (7 August 2997): n. pag. Web. 7 May 2013. < http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/1997/08/us-could-feed-800-million-people-grain-livestock-eat&gt;.

Joy, Melanie. Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism. San Francisco: Conari Press, 2010. Print.

Marcuse, Herbert. “One-Dimensional Man.” Classical Sociological Theory. Ed. Craig Calhoun, Joseph Gerteis, James Moody, Steven Pfaff, and Indermohan Virk. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2012. 478-487. Print.

Schuster, Henry. “Domestic Terror: Who’s Most Dangerous?” CNN.com. CNN, 24 August 2005. Web. 27 April 2013. <http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/24/schuster.column/index.html&gt;.

Seager, Joni. “Pepperoni or Broccoli? On the Cutting Wedge of Feminist Environmentalism.” Gender, Place and Culture 10.2 (June 2003): 167-174. Web. 7 May 2013. < http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0966369032000079550&gt;.

Well-Fed World, A. “Factory Farms.” A Well-Fed World. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 May 2013. < http://awellfedworld.org/issues/animalprotection&gt;.

Virtual Vegan Potluck 2013: Pomegranate-Infused Brown Rice Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash, Cauliflower, Hazelnuts, and Arugula

 

Today I could not harbor more excitement toward participating in the third biannual Virtual Vegan Potluck! Hosted by three dedicated vegan bloggers, Virtual Vegan Potluck connects vegan bloggers worldwide in an online extravaganza of vegan recipe-sharing and food-gawking. Each participating blogger signs up to post a recipe for an appetizer, a beverage, a bread, a salad, a side dish, a soup, a main dish, or a dessert at exactly the same time on exactly the same day to simulate a real-life potluck for our beloved online vegan community. This year’s potluck garnered 169 participants—the largest turnout yet—and I cannot wait to see what plant-based compassionate yummies everyone cooked up.

For my contribution to the virtual party, I signed up to create a refreshing yet complexly flavored salad in celebration of the hot-weather foods I’ve craved since the onset of springtime. Way back in January during my college winter break, I visited my good friend and current housemate at his permanent residence in Brooklyn, NY. After meeting my friend at his capoeira class, I excitedly received a full tour of the vibrant Park Slope neighborhood in which he grew up, stopping at independent bookstores, health food co-ops, and Prospect Park along the way. Late in the afternoon, my friend and I met up with his mother and brother at the Brooklyn Museum to see the mind-boggling “Gravity and Grace” exhibition by Nigerian artist El Anatsui.

Having not eaten a proper meal for the entire day, my friend requested after we departed from the museum that we stop into a nearby modern café and deli called Lincoln Station. The sleekly decorated local-centric eatery serves soups, salads, and sandwiches to order, as well as an array of deli items made fresh daily. Though not a vegan business by any means, the café did offer a respectable array of animal-free options, including a delightful farro salad in which my friend chose to partake. Emphatically singing the praises of this salad as he munched, my friend eloquently narrated how each individual ingredient—roasted butternut squash and cauliflower, toasted hazelnuts, and arugula—sang with purity of flavor while peppered among the chewy, nutty farro and lightly coated in a simple, lemony dressing.

Upon returning to our home of Ferry House at Vassar, my friend requested that we recreate this salad together. We finally did so in celebration of the end of the academic year, and of the Virtual Vegan Potluck, of course. I did, however, imbue the salad with my own mischievous twists: First, I substituted short-grain brown rice for the glutinous farro. Second, I roasted the butternut squash and cauliflower with a hint of sweet, tart, and unctuous pomegranate vinegar, obtained at an artisan oil and vinegar shop called Scarborough Fare during my recent jaunt to New Paltz. The flavor of the resulting salad proved layered, complex, tangy, succulent, bright, and oh so delicious—perfect to share in the Virtual Vegan Potluck.

One important suggestion: immediately after toasting and chopping the hazelnuts, stick your nose right into them and get a big ol’ whiff. Your entire day—nay, week—will be fulfilled.

Pomegranate-Infused Brown Rice Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash, Cauliflower, Hazelnuts, and Arugula—Soy Free, Low Sodium

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

2 cups short-grain brown rice
1 medium head of cauliflower, trimmed into small florets
1 smallish butternut squash, peeled and small-diced
4 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tbsp pomegranate vinegar, divided
1 cup raw hazelnuts
Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 oz baby arugula

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a large skillet, toast the rice over high heat until fragrant but not browned. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large pot, bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Add the toasted rice and boil for 45-50 minutes or until tender. If needed, add more water to ensure that the rice can move around freely rather than stick together. This will ensure that the rice will remain in individual grains rather than clumped together in the finished salad. When cooked, drain the rice and spread over a baking sheet to cool and to again prevent clumping.

While the rice cooks, in a medium bowl toss the diced butternut squash with 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp pomegranate vinegar. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes. Repeat with the cauliflower florets. Transfer both roasted veggies to a large bowl.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 5-7 minutes, checking diligently to ensure that they don’t burn. Lay out a large dishtowel on the countertop and transfer the toasted hazelnuts into the middle of it. Pick up the corners of the towel to form a pouch and vigorously rub the hazelnuts around in it to remove their skins. Roughly chop the skinned hazelnuts and add them to the bowl with the roasted veggies. Stir to combine.

Spoon the brown rice into the veggie/hazelnut bowl in batches, stirring well to combine after each addition until all of the rice is fully incorporated. Add the lemon juice to the mixture and stir well to incorporate. Gently stir in the arugula in small handfuls until well-mixed. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe submitted to Healthy Vegan Friday and Wellness Weekend.

Check out Bite Me (I’m Vegan)’s bread recipe!

Check out Luminous Vegans’ salad recipe!

Until next time, Ali.

Review of Numi’s New Savory Teas

A couple weeks ago, I entered and very unexpectedly won the Numi Organics Savory Tea giveaway hosted by Sonnet at the top-notch blog For the Love of Food. Confident that I would immediately adore Numi’s savory tisanes based upon my ardent enthusiasm for tea, veggies, and Numi’s products, I eagerly awaited my sampler pack of Numi’s new line of savory teas. Upon arrival, I thoughtfully tasted each tea individually on separate days, steeping them for 10 minutes as instructed before taking the first sip and then allowing the tea to continue to infuse as I happily lapped the savory pick-me-up. Each flavor of Numi’s savory tea combines organic dehydrated vegetable bits, herbs, spices, and naturally decaffeinated green or black tea to create a broth-like, immensely comforting beverage perfectly accustomed for afternoon contemplation. I’ve recorded my thoughts on each of the savory tea flavors below.

Spinach Chive
Ingredients: Spinach leaves, chives, dried lime, dill, onion, decaf green tea, coriander, turmeric, garlic.

Undoubtedly my favorite of all the savory teas, the Spinach Chive tasted like the essence of a comforting herbed spinach soup. The savory dill and onion predominated in a prevalent yet not overpowering manner to imbue the tea with a light, springtime flavor. Rather unfortunately, I chose to enjoy this tea first out of the six flavors in my sampler pack, causing the remaining five teas to pale in comparison.

Beet Cabbage
Ingredients: Beet, cabbage, dried apple, decaf black tea, mustard seed, parsley, orange peel, coriander, clove, honeybush.

Boasting a much more succulent flavor than Numi’s other five savory teas, the Beet Cabbage derived its pleasant earthy-sweetness from the complementary combination of beets and apples. While the clove predominates in both flavor and aroma, I could still slightly discern the cabbage’s cruciferous undertones, which verily impressed me.

Carrot Curry
Ingredients: Carrot, curry, cilantro, onion, ginger, turmeric, decaf green tea.

Though I usually find overwhelmingly spicy the flavor of curry powder, the Carrot Curry tea nicely balances the curry’s intensity with the carrots’ slight sweetness and the cilantro’s mild citrus undertones. Though a quite nice tea, the Carrot Curry did not harbor as complex a flavor as some of the other five savory teas, and thus tasted a bit one-note.

Tomato Mint
Ingredients: Tomato, onion, mint, lemon peel, parsley, cinnamon, black pepper, decaf black tea, allspice.

Probably my second favorite of the five savory tea flavors, the Tomato Mint offered the unmistakable summery aroma of tomatoes and somehow managed to capture the fruit’s juicy succulence, as well. The individual flavors of every ingredient in the tea come through to create a symphony of brightness: the onion lends its savory bite, the hint of mint recedes nicely into the background for a refreshing aftertaste, the citrus offers a barely discernible yet much needed tang, and the cinnamon enhances the tomato’s natural sweetness.

Broccoli Cilantro
Ingredients: Broccoli, celery leaves, allspice, onion, cilantro, decaf green tea, garlic, black pepper, sage, turmeric.

While I held high hopes for this tea based on its tantalizing aroma, the Broccoli Cilantro unfortunately lacked a depth of flavor present in some of the other five teas. The allspice overwhelms the tea, forcing the earthy cruciferous and bright citrus notes of the cilantro to recede well into the background.

Fennel Spice
Ingredients: Fennel, celery root, orange peel, onion, dill, decaf green tea, honeybush, black pepper.

Similar to the Broccoli Cilantro, the Fennel Spice left me a bit disappointed. With my deep adoration of any and all things fennel, I wholeheartedly wish that the unmistakable anise flavor would have made its presence more obvious in the tea. Instead, the dill overpowered the fennel, causing the tea to taste more like a less oniony version of the Spinach Chive rather than a distinct tea in its own right.

All in all, Numi’s new line of savory teas verily impressed me, and I fully intend to order more of both the Spinach Chive and Tomato Mint flavors. I’d highly recommend these savory teas to any tea-lover for a delicious twist on their normal tea routine.

Note: Numi did not contact or pay me to write this review. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own, uninfluenced by Numi.

Until next time, Ali.

Ag-Gag Laws and the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA)

In honor of the “Flash Blog Against Ag-Gag Laws” Facebook event, which seeks to respond to the first arrest under the newly enacted legislation that criminalizes the filming of factory farms, I’d like to direct all of my dear readers toward my latest op-ed published in Vassar’s campus newspaper, the Miscellany News. The article explains the meaning and development of both the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) and the recent/pending Ag-Gag laws/bills, as well as the problems with and corruption behind both of the legislations. Understanding and combatting these laws proves integral to furthering the animal rights movement, so I’d highly recommend educating your activist selves on the issues—why not start with my latest Misc article? If you feel inspired to speak out against Ag-Gag laws on a state level, please consider signing the current federal petition against Ag-Gag legislation.

Mercy for Animals protests Iowa’s Ag-Gag law.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the article and on Ag Gag/AETA in general!

Until next time, Ali.

Quickie Post: Lavender-Cardamom Nut Butter

This past Friday, to finish off the last of my stock of sprouted almonds and sunflower seeds, I opted to puree up another batch of homemade nut butter. However, I didn’t have enough sprouted nuts to facilitate blending in my regularly-sized foot processor, so I made up the difference with a bit of flaxseed meal. I had also, on a whim, picked up a bit of dried lavender buds during my most recent jaunt to the top-notch natural food store and vegan deli of Mother Earth’s Storehouse, and they caught my eye just as I prepared to create my nut butter concoction. Deciding to go all-out in my flavored nut butter-ing, I added the sweet spice of cardamom and a bit of vanilla extract to compliment the lavender. The thick nut butter that ensued imparted one of the most addictive aromas my nose has ever had the pleasure of smelling, and added an unbelievable dimension to my creamy banana-hemp oatmeal the next morning.

Obviously, you can create this nut butter with any blend of nuts you prefer, sprouted or not. If you use non-sprouted nuts, though, I’d recommend toasting them first to tenderize them and lighten the labor of your food processor.

Lavender-Cardamom Nut Butter—Raw, Oil Free, Soy Free, Low Sodium.

Makes about 1 cup.

1/2 cup almonds, sprouted or toasted
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, sprouted or toasted
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1 tsp dried lavender buds
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the almonds, sunflower seeds, and flaxseed meal in the bowl of a food processor. Blend for up to 20 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed, until the nuts adopt a creamy, liquidinous texture (don’t fret, it will happen sooner or later!). Add the lavender, cardamom, and vanilla, and process until fully incorporated. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Recipe submitted to Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Raw Food Thursdays, Foodtastic Fridays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, and Wellness Weekend.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have another essay to write refuting Michael Pollan’s assertion that supporting “humane meat” will combat industrial agriculture more effectively than adopting a vegan diet.

Until next time, Ali.

How to Cook for a 20-Person Veg Co-op and a Recipe for Slow-Cooked White Beans with Snap Peas & Caramelized Onions

As occurs every two weeks, this Monday I once again donned the Ferry House chef hat to provide a fabulous vegan meal for my 20 fellow co-op members. Planning the menu for my biweekly scheduled night of cooking proves consistently provocative of critical thought, as it requires serious contemplation of a recipe that normally serves 4-6 people to decipher whether or not it would suit itself well to a five-fold multiplication of ingredient amounts. Casseroles, bean & mixed veggie salads, grain pilafs, stews, curries, and veggie burger patties all lend themselves quite nicely to large-scale preparation, whereas recipes that require individual portion preparation—such as stuffed veggies, cabbage rolls, and sandwiches—as well as those which call for a large amount of ingredients that cook down to a small size—such as roasted veggies and sauteed greens—necessitate more preparation and/or resources than we Ferry cooks would prefer.

A Ferry chef must also consider ingredient availability when planning a House dinner. For example, the House grocery shoppers do not purchase fruit (other than our weekly bushel of farmers market apples), including avocados; certain bulk items such as canned coconut milk, specific dried bean varieties, tahini, or gluten-free flour may have run out before the delivery of the upcoming bulk order; and less familiar vegetables such as fennel, certain types of squash and root veggies, and herbs do not make it into the regular grocery rotation. Clearly, not every entry in my cookbooks or 43-page-long Word document of recipes to try—especially those featuring more specialized ingredients—proves well-suited to serving 20 rather budget-minded college students, so I find myself every other Sunday analytically sifting through my arsenal of recipes to unearth a perfect one for Ferry dinner.

This week, I decided that a version of the Kale and Slivered Brussels Sprout Soba Noodles from Sprouted Kitchen, as well as a cannelinni bean stew inspired by both Peter Berley’s White Beans with Sugar Snap Peas & Mint and his Savory Adzuki Beans, served as this Monday’s “perfect recipes.” Case in point: a 5-lb. bag of dried cannellini beans sat largely unused alongside a heap of brown rice noodles in the pantry while the refrigerator positively exploded with leafy greens and brussels. These recipes practically begged themselves to be made.

Plates laid out for dinner.

My changes to the original soba noodle recipe:

• Used olive oil instead of sesame oil. Ferry did stock toasted sesame oil in the pantry for a brief period of time, but house members ultimately decided that we preferred olive oil instead.
• Substituted apple cider vinegar for the rice vinegar. No rice vinegar in Ferry! Just your run-of-the-mill apple cider variety.
• Replaced the soy sauce with Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, the soy-based seasoning of choice in Ferry.
• Used cayenne pepper instead of red pepper flakes since the Ferry spice cabinet had just run out of the latter.
• Substituted brown rice noodles for the soba noodles. The latter noodle variety cost significantly more than the former, plus many soba noodle brands contain gluten, which we try to avoid including in House dinners for those who must avoid it (i.e. me).

Man, did that industrial-sized pot of cooking water for the noodles take just about an eternity to boil, but the fresh-tasting and pleasingly toothsome dish that it helped to yield surely merited the wait.

A whole mess of brown rice noodles, kale, and brussels sprouts.

As for the white bean dish, I somewhat combined two of the bean recipes in The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen to produce a delightful hybrid dish. Deriving the Asian-style ingredient list from the Savory Adzuki Beans and the snap pea-white bean mix from the White Beans with Sugar Snap Peas and Mint, I created a light, springtime bean stew rife with crisp-tender snap peas and caramelized onions that provided a lovely sweet contrast to the savory cannelinnis. The recipe requires little hands-on preparation, involving no more than throwing beans, minimally prepped veggies, and seasonings into a slow-cooker, and quickly sauteeing the onions and snap peas, yet yields quite yummy results.

Big ol’ pot o’ beans.

Slow-Cooked White Beans with Snap Peas & Caramelized Onions—Nut Free, Low Sodium, Low Fat.

Makes about 6 cups.

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked white beans (cannellini, Great Northern, etc.), soaked overnight and drained
1 medium onion, peeled and halved
4 cloves
6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 4-inch piece of ginger, cut into big chunks
2 tbsp maple syrup or agave
1-inch piece kombu seaweed or 1 bay leaf
2 tbsp tamari, soy sauce, or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1-2 tbsp coconut or olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
8 oz sugar snap peas, cut in half on the bias

Stick two cloves into the rounded side of each onion half. Place the cloved onions, soaked white beans, garlic cloves, ginger, maple syrup or agave, kombu or bay leaf, and enough water to cover the whole mixture in a slow-cooker. Set the slow-cooker to its highest setting and cook the beans until meltingly tender, about 2-5 hours. When tender, drain the beans and remove the onion halves, garlic cloves, and ginger chunks. Stir in the tamari, soy sauce, or Bragg’s.

In a medium saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar snap peas and cook until bright green and crisp-tender, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the saute from the heat and stir into the beans. Serve.

Until next time, Ali.

Raw Granola Adventures and a Recipe for Sprouted Hemp & Green Superfood Granola

After unintentionally undergoing a three-month-long hiatus from my weekly granola-crafting ventures, I’m thrilled to say that—aided by my new best friend Mr. Ferry House Dehydrator—I’ve returned with a vengeance to the ever-rewarding realm of granola-making. Desperate to whip up some crunchy raw breakfast goodies in my ancient Excalibur, I turned to one of the best sources I know of for guidance in the ways of raw granola: Fragrant Vanilla Cake. Though deciding between Amy’s array of tantalizing cereal recipes proved quite difficult (how could I not have had trouble when presented with titles like Raw Carrot Cake Granola, Raw Strawberries and Cream Granola, and Raw Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Granola?), my enthusiasm for the always pleasing combination of bittersweet chocolate and tart berries drew me toward the Raw Chocolate Berry Love Granola.

Unfortunately, my impatient hankering to slip a batch of granola into the dehydrator prevented me from taking the time to sprout some buckwheat, and I thereby had to change up Amy’s original recipe a bit. My tweaks to the recipe include:

• Substituted gluten-free rolled oats for the sprouted buckwheat.
• Used sprouted almonds and sunflower seeds in placed of the soaked nuts for which the recipe calls.
• Used maple syrup as the sweetener and reduced the amount from 1/3 to 1/4 cup.
• Omitted the cacao nibs (I didn’t have any on hand).

Incomparably flaky, unbelievably clustery, and beautifully aromatic, the results of my first endeavor with dehydrated granola rendered me wholly unwilling to return to oven-baked granola anytime soon.

Indeed, my immediate conversion to dehydrated granola inspired me to sprout a batch of buckwheat and experiment with my own recipe. Perhaps you recall the mention of my current favorite packaged granola—the Hemp and Greens Superfood Cereal from Living Intentions—during my recent journey to Austin. Since the Vassar area boasts no Whole Foods locations (the closest market is in Connecticut, for goodness’ sake), out of my yearning to once again enjoy this particular granola I decided to create my own homemade version of it. A gander at the Living Intentions ingredient list aided me in formulating my interpretation of the cereal: the buckwheat sprouts, coconut, banana, and vanilla extract remained, while I substituted date sugar for the coconut sugar; chopped dried figs for the sultanas; hemp, chia, and flax seeds for the sunflower sprouts, rice bran, and sesame seeds; and Amazing Grass Green Superfoods powder for the green protein superfoods blend. While 2 1/2 cups of the packaged version of the Hemp and Greens Superfood Cereal costs a pretty $8.59 ($1.70 per 1/2 cup), 4 cups of my homemade iteration costs approximately a mere $5.59 ($0.70 per 1/2 cup—a whole dollar less!). Saving money, invoking a sense of accomplishment, and enjoying delicious granola? What a win-win-win situation.

Sprouted Hemp & Greens Granola—Raw, Soy Free, Oil Free, Nut Free, Low Sodium, Low Fat.

Makes about 4 cups.

Ingredients:

1 cup buckwheat, soaked and sprouted
1 large ripe banana
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup dried fruit of choice, chopped (I used figs)
1/4 cup date or coconut sugar
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds
2 tbsp flaxseed meal
1 heaping tbsp green superfoods powder (I used Amazing Grass)
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, mash the banana. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Spread the mixture evenly over two dehydrator sheets and dehydrate at 115° for 8-12 hours, or until nice and crunchy.

Recipe submitted to Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Raw Food Thursdays, Foodtastic Fridays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, Wellness Weekend.

Rest assured that you, dear reader, will see plenty more dehydrated granola adventures in the blog’s future.

Until next time, Ali.

Brunch with the Vassar Animal Rights Coalition and a Recipe for Apple-Raisin Waffles

Within a week of arriving at Vassar last fall, I had discovered a thriving community of likeminded vegans and animal rights activists joining together to promote the message of compassionate living throughout campus. Individuals in this community soon became some of my nearest and dearest companions, upon whom I can now consistently depend to validate, question, contemplate, discuss, and commiserate about the myriad vegan/animal rights/social justice-related musings constantly running through my psyche. Formally, I and my fellow members of this community call ourselves the Vassar Animal Rights Coalition (VARC), and this year we have proven an inexhaustible force, both on and off campus. Below, I’ve compiled a list of our endeavors throughout the past few months.

• Continued our ongoing Meatless Monday campaign, in which nearly a quarter of the Vassar campus currently participates.
• Handed out a large amount of animal advocacy leaflets and literature at the Arlington Street Fair—an annual event that takes place just outside the Vassar campus.
• Hosted multiple special event vegan dinners in our campus dining hall, mostly surrounding the holidays (go Tofurkey and pumpkin pie!).
• Toured the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary (led by none other than sanctuary owner and author Jenny Brown) before enjoying lunch at Woodstock’s incredible vegan eatery known as Garden Cafe on the Green (check out my summary post of our visit to the sanctuary here).
• Attended the “Finding a Niche for All Animals” ecofeminist conference at Wesleyan University, where we had the immense honor of meeting such animal rights tour de forces such as Carol Adams, Sarah E. Brown, Lori Gruen, Lauren Ornelas, and Mark Hawthorne.
• Worked with Poughkeepsie community members to combat the deer cull enacted on the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve, including organizing a public protest and communicating with Vassar administration to discuss alternative deer management measures.
• Hosted the first annual Students for Critical Animal Studies Conference.
• Attended the 2nd annual Ivy League Vegan Conference at Yale University and interacted with an impressive array of passionate young collegiate activists.
• Attended the New York City Vegetarian Food Festival.
• In conjunction with Vassar’s Health Office of Education, hosted a campus screening of the top-notch documentary Forks Over Knives, the impetus for my own mother’s veganism.
• Planned how to approach Vassar’s science departments to discuss the implementation of a warning on course descriptions for classes that engage in animal testing (this endeavor is still in the works!).
• Most recently, we launched the Veg Pledge as part of Vassar’s Earth Week events, hosted in part by Vassar Greens and Slow Food. Within the first four days of tabling for the event, we received over 120 signatures from students promising to adopt a meat-free diet for Earth Week.

Whew, I didn’t realize the extent of the above list before I actually scribed it! Next year, I and my dear friend Katie have the honor of leading VARC as the club’s co-presidents, and you can rest assured that we plan to greatly add to this already commendable list of vegan outreach, activism, and education.

Tofu scramblin’ for the VARC brunch.

Brunch–the prime venue for animal rights discussions.

Of course, we’ll also continue to host various informal VARC get-together, such as the vegan brunch we enjoyed last Sunday. That morning, I whipped out my handy dandy waffle iron to create a batch of fluffy Apple-Raisin Waffles (recipe below), and sauteed up a gorgeously unctuous tofu scramble with spiced peanut butter sauce based upon this recipe from Ashlae at Oh, Ladycakes. While savoring delicious morningtime goodies, I and my fellow VARC members discussed in depth our thoughts on the profound and hugely important article by author and psychologist Melanie Joy entitled “Speaking Truth to Power: Understanding the Dominant, Animal-Eating Narrative for Vegan Empowerment and Social Transformation.” I urge you all to take a good long gander at the article, published on One Green Planet, and to also read Dr. Joy’s truly consciousness-shifting book—Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows. Why not do so while dipping the following Apple-Raisin waffles in a good hearty dose of maple syrup?

Stack of tantalizing Apple-Raisin Waffles.

Apple-Raisin Waffles—Can be Soy & Nut Free, Low Sodium, Low Fat

Makes 5 Belgian-style waffles.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour blend (I used Bob’s Red Mill, but you could certainly craft your own; if gluten doesn’t upset you, you can substitute whole wheat flour and omit the flaxseed meal)
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup applesauce
1 1/2 cups plant-based milk of choice
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp maple syrup or agave
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup raisins

Preheat your waffle iron.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, flaxseed meal, baking powder, and cinnamon until well combined. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the applesauce, milk, oil, maple syrup or agave, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir together until well combined. Stir in the raisins.

When the waffle iron has heated, spray it with oil. Cook waffles according to the instructions specific to your waffle iron.

Serve immediately, keep warm in a 200° oven, or freeze the waffles for up to one month. Reheat frozen waffles in a toaster.

Until next time, Ali.

Raw Garden Vegetable Sandwiches with Scallion Cashew Cream Cheese & Marinated Mushrooms

After nearly three years of wishing, yearning, longing, pining, and desperately hoping to gain immediate access to a dehydrator, I’ve finally had one of my utmost culinary wishes fulfilled after moving into the Vassar campus’ vegan/vegetarian egalitarian housing cooperative known as Ferry House. One of Ferry’s past members left her old Excalibur dehydrator in the house after moving out, and I ecstatically unearthed the dust-gathering appliance from the Ferry pantry the other day (aka, the happiest day of my life). Now armed with the necessary equipment as well as a freezer full of almond and vegetable pulp leftover from homemaking almond milk and juice, I set out to create my very own raw bread as my first authentic dehydration endeavor.

A while back, I crafted a savory green juice, loosely inspired by the bloody mary drink, of kale, tomatoes, red bell peppers, and carrots. Combining the frozen pulp of this juice with fluffy almond pulp, a couple of my favorite umami seasonings, and flaxmeal for binding yielded a deeply flavored, veggie-packed, verdant raw bread that spoke to me as the essence of hot-weather food. Inspired to create a raw variation of the finger sandwiches that one might enjoy at a white-gloved garden party, I naturally had to whip up a brightly flavored cashew cream cheese to spread on the bread. Finally, playing off of the unctuous umami flavors in the bread, I decided to marinate a couple of sliced mushrooms in the ever-famous Liquid Gold Dressing and slightly dehydrate them to achieve a chewy, meaty texture.

Marinated mushrooms fresh out of the dehydrator.

From the combination of these three recipes ensued one of the most flavorful, fresh, and satisfying raw sandwiches I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying; I plan on crafting oodles more raw sandwiches in the coming dehydrator-filled weeks. If you don’t, however, own a dehydrator, you can still enjoy this and other fabulous raw sandwiches by following my instructions for How to Dehydrate Without a Dehydrator. Also, if you don’t have a surplus of almond and veggie pulp, you can use ground almonds and a blend of shredded vegetables (such as zucchini and carrots) squeezed of excess moisture instead.

Raw Garden Vegetable Sandwiches with Scallion Cashew Cream Cheese & Marinated Mushrooms—Raw, Soy Free, Low Sodium.

Makes 3 sandwiches.

Raw Bread Ingredients:

1 cup almond pulp (thawed if frozen)
1 1/2 cups vegetable juice pulp (I used a blend of kale, red bell peppers, tomatoes, and carrots; thawed if frozen)
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp miso
2 tbsp chia seeds
2-4 tbsp water to blend

Scallion Cashew Cream Cheese Ingredients:

1/2 cup cashews, soaked overnight (or for at least 2 hours)
1/4-1/3 cup water
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp miso
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
3 scallions, white parts only, sliced

Marinated Mushrooms Ingredients:

6 large button mushrooms, thinly sliced
6-8 tbsp Liquid Gold Dressing

Ingredients for Assembly:

2 medium tomatoes, sliced
3 large leaves of lettuce

Raw Bread Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth, adding just enough water to facilitate blending. Spread the mixture evenly onto a Teflex-lined dehydrator sheet and score into 6 rectangles. Dehydrate at 115°F for 6 hours or until dry and crunchy, flipping once about halfway through the dehydration time. Once dry, carefully remove the bread from the dehydrator sheets and snap along the score lines to separate into six pieces.

Alternatively, if you don’t own a dehydrator, you can use your oven to dehydrate the crackers by following my instructions for How to Dehydrate Without a Dehydrator.

Scallion Cashew Cream Cheese Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients except scallions in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the sliced scallions and blend until just incorporated. Refrigerate until thickened.

Marinated Mushrooms Directions:

Place the sliced mushrooms in a medium bowl and toss to coat with the Liquid Gold Dressing. You can now do one of two things: allow the mushrooms to sit in the marinade for 2-4 hours until softened, or place the coated mushrooms on a Teflex-lined dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 120°F for about 1-2 hours or until the mushrooms’ texture becomes meaty and chewy.

Directions for Assembly:

Spread about a tablepoon of the cashew cream cheese evenly onto one slice of bread. Layer on two slices of tomato, a leaf of lettuce, and 1/3 of the marinated mushrooms, then top with another slice of bread spread with another tablespoon of cashew cream cheese. Repeat to make two more sandwiches.

Recipe submitted to Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Raw Food Thursdays, Foodtastic Friday, Healthy Vegan Friday, and Wellness Weekend.

Until next time, Ali.