A Night of Academic Discussion and Vegan Deliciousness

A number of readers have expressed interest in hearing more about the general happenings as well as the fantastic food of Ferry House, the egalitarian vegetarian/vegan co-op in which I reside at Vassar along with 20 of the kindest, most insightful individuals I’ve ever met. To fulfill such readers’ wishes, I thought it fitting to recount on the ol’ blog a recent Ferry event: Professor Dinner. Every semester, the members of Ferry invite one or more of their favorite professors to enjoy a convivial vegan potluck dinner in the Ferry living and dining rooms, as well as to engage in stimulating conversations with the academics they most admire. Rife with a cornucopia of plant-based yummies and enough throught-provoking interactions to blow the roof off of Ferry, this semester’s Professor Dinner proved wildly successful and highly enjoyable. Pictured below is the vast array of dishes on the Professor Dinner buffet table, contributed by Ferry members and professors alike.

Mixed berry smoothies served in an assortment of mix-and-match glassware.

Gluten-free spicy tempeh empanadas with sweet potatoes, swiss chard, raisins, and pepitas. Made by yours’ truly and inspired by the recipe to which this picture links.

Shepherd’s Pie with mixed veggies, veggie meat crumbles, and mashed potato topping.

Fruit salad–a rare and coveted occurrence in Ferry since fruit proves too expensive to fit into our weekly shopping budget. For Professor Dinner, though, we go all out!

Salad with dark-leaf lettuce, carrots, snap peas, and cherry tomatoes served with a take on my famous Liquid Gold Dressing.

Whole wheat linguine tossed with peanut sauce and roasted tofu, carrots, and broccoli, with a smaller portion of gluten-free peanut noodles next to it.

Millet pilaf with almonds and raisins.

Peanut butter bread.

GUACAMOLE! Also a highly prized dish in Ferry since avocados cost a pretty penny.

My plate of Professor Dinner scrumptiousness.

To my immense disappointment, the professor I invited to the potluck—fellow vegan, animal rights advocate, Joyce-lover, and blogger—had to cancel at the last minute, but luckily, my dear friend and fellow VARC member Alan had invited another like-minded professor to dinner—Jill Schneiderman from the Earth Science department. Professor Schneiderman shared a troubling story with Alan and I that detailed a social experiment she performed informally on a group of students she planned to take on a week-long venture to the deserts of the American Southwest. In preparation for the trip, Professor Schneiderman had to collect the eating preferences of the participating students so that the desert facility where they would stay could adequately cater to their needs. As a pondrous vegetarian and scientific researcher, Professor Schneiderman decided to tell her students that the facility provided vegetarian meals by default, and that individuals who wanted to eat meat had to request it specially. She then passed around a sheet on which students could denote whether or not they felt it necessary to eat meat on the trip, and to make the facility provide dining options that included meat. To Professor Schneiderman’s surprise, nearly all of the students checked the “Wants to Eat Meat on Trip” box, and displayed their indignance that the facility would dare not serve meat unless specifically asked. The situation reminded me of Melanie Joy’s book—Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows—which discusses how society regards the eating of animals as “normal” and the abstention from eating sentient beings as “deviant.”

While rather disheartening that such a phenomenon would occur on a college campus as progressive and liberal-minded as that of Vassar, the fact that at least a handful of incredibly passionate students and faculty members understand the ethical implications of eating animals and work to spread this awareness throughout campus make me proud to attend Vassar. Additionally, since many of these individuals live in Ferry or often interact with Ferry members, I feel so lucky and honored to reside in a house surrounded by like-minded individuals, which provides me with the strength to interact with those who may not share my viewpoints on veganism and animal rights in a compassionate manner. All hail, Ferry House!

Until next time, Ali.

Austin Extravaganza, Day 3: Casa de Luz & Beets Cafe

Don’t miss the vegan eats and adventures of my first two days in Austin here and here.

The penultimate day of my visit to the liberal-hippie-progressive-veg-friendly city of Austin, TX commenced with a scenic stroll along Lady Bird Lake, which eventually led Ashley and I to our lunch destination of Casa de Luz. The “favorite place in the world to eat” of one of my ultimate vegan inspirations James McWilliams, who attests to patronizing the restaurant for breakfast every morning, Casa de Luz serves macrobiotic vegan fare out of an open kitchen in a community-centered atmosphere, with a group of different chefs providing each meal. The restaurant offers a set meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day (no menus here!), which always includes tea, soup, salad, and an entree complete with a whole grain, a bean, a leafy green, and a pickled vegetable—all for $12, not including dessert. On the day that Ashley and I patronized Casa de Luz, the menu boasted a creamy soup of cauliflower and yellow squash; a salad of crisp greens and red cabbage in a tangy sunflower seed, basil, and parsley dressing; meltingly tender pinto beans swimming in their own silky broth; short-grain brown rice in an earthy mushroom sauce; a saute of crisp-tender burdock root, carrots, and green beans; steamed greens topped with a dollop of sesame-almond-pecan sauce; and pickled red sauerkraut. I sprinkled my serving generously with a Japanese sesame seed condiment known as gomasio, a jar of which graced every table.

The picturesque walkway into Casa de Luz.

Casa de Luz’s open-style kitchen.

Creamy cauliflower and yellow squash soup.

Crisp Salad with Sunflower Seed, Basil and Parsley Dressing.

Entree plate.

Gluten-Free Pecan Pie.

Nourishing to both the body and the soul, macrobiotic cuisine never fails to impart a feeling of having given a generous gift to myself; indeed, I would argue that nothing more holistically fulfilling exists than the act of enjoying and truly appreciating a wholesome vegan meal prepared by caring hands. Surrounded by diners and restaurant employees who clearly shared in my sentiments, I could certainly understand why James McWilliams speaks so highly of Casa de Luz. Before departing from the oasis-esque nature of Casa de Luz, Ashley and I shared a slice of sticky and scrumptious gluten-free pecan pie, and browsed through the shelves of the restaurant’s mini macrobiotic market, which offers books on macrobiotic principles, animal rights, and veganism, as well as traditional Japanese food products and cooking supplies like miso, umeboshi plums, mochi, bamboo rolling mats, and suribachi.

Raspberry-flavored brown rice syrup; yes, please.

Love me some mochi, especially with medicinal herbs thrown in!

Harboring an avid sweet tooth and a passion for crafting baked goods, Ashley requested to learn the ways of animal secretion-free baking from the experienced vegan gastronomer that she held at her fingertips for the next couple of days. Thanks to the multiple dairy-and-egg-less desserts we’d enjoyed prior to our baking excursion, Ashley already felt quite confident about the high quality of sweet vegan treats, and ardently awaited the opportunity to craft her own. Unfortunely, our first bout of recipe experimentation with a veganized version of this Pomegranate-Soaked Almond Hazelnut Cake fell rather flat due to my mistaking of the 1/2 cup measure for the full cup measure to yield a lack of flour…oops. Determined to fully impart to Ashley the joy and success that usually ensues from vegan baking, I searched for recipes that would use up the rest of the baking ingredients we had purchased from Whole Foods, and discovered two cookies: Almond Flour Cookies with Almond Butter and Pistachios (we subbed peanut butter for almond butter and walnuts for pistachios), and Banana-Flax Crackers. Both of these recipes yielded infinitely more delicious results than our failed cake, and even impressed Ashley’s skeptical meat-eating boyfriend.

Our baking extravaganza filled up most of the afternoon, but Ashley and I decided to while away the remaining few hours before dinner by perusing the area around Guadalupe Street, which includes such desirable locations as the nostalgic wonderland of Toy Joy; the vintage, thrift, and clothing swap store of Buffalo Exchange, which recently participated in the noble endeavors of discontinuing the use of plastic bags and accepting used fur apparel donations to benefit Coats for Cubs; and my new happiest place on earth, the Wheatsville Co-op, of which I’ll provide a full review in the blog post regaling my final day in Austin.

For dinner, Ashley and I excitedly visited Beets Café—a raw restaurant serving up gourmet uncooked cuisine in a chic yet unpretentious and quite welcoming dining room to everyone from moms with strollers to bulky machismos to bespectacled hipsters to college students. After a bit of a bus-induced planning hiccup (thank you, Austin bus system, for picking us up an hour later than scheduled), Ashley and I yearned to fill our growling tummies immediately and began our meal with raw treats from Beets Cafe’s dessert case. While all of the sweets looked absolutely beautiful and surely ambrosial (can you say Blueberry-Lavender Cheesecake and Chocolate Macaroons?), Ashley and I decided to partake in the Almond-Raspberry Cookies and the cacao-coated Superfood Clusters (chock full of goji berries, coconut, brazil nuts, spirulina, raisins, inca berries, maca powder, and mesquite powder), respectively. Bittersweet, chewy, crunchy, and creamy all at once, the Superfood Clusters served as the perfect beginning to a stunning meal. However, even though Ashley regaled the wonders of her Almond-Raspberry Cookies, the bite I snuck of them left me unimpressed by their miserly amount of raspberry filling and rather unflavorful cookie exterior. Glad I made the right choice on pre-dinner dessert.

While I beat Ashley on dessert choices, she prevailed in entree selection by ordering the Raw Reuben—two pliable slices of sunflower seed flatbread layered with Thousand Island dressing, sauerkraut, marinated portabella mushrooms, dehydrated “caramelized” onions, and cashew Swiss cheese, served alongside a shredded beet salad and a pile of dill-and-nooch-dusted sweet potato chips. Ashley generously offered me a bite of her sandwich, which transported me to veritable raw food heaven due to the genius mingling of creamy-tender-tangy-umami-ness bursting from in between the flatbread, the hearty and chewy texture of which impressed me more than most of the raw flatbreads I’ve sampled in the past. With Ashley’s blessing, I also finished off the last of her sweet potato chips, which exactly resembled an oil-free, dehydrated variation on sour-cream-and-onion potato chips.

Though Ashley’s entree proved a tad more extraordinary than mine, I still thoroughly enjoyed my Cha-Lu-Pas—two crunchy corn tostadas spread with sunflower seed “refried beans,” topped with shredded lettuce, salsa, guacamole, and olives, drizzled with a cashew sour cream, and served alongside a kale salad in a tangy marinara-style dressing. All of the components proved quite fresh-tasting, though the creamy sunflower seed beans served as my favorite aspect of the dish, which satisfied my intense day-long craving for avocado. While quite tasty, the Cha-Lu-Pas simply could not match the sheer perfection of Ashley’s Reuben. I suppose I’ll just have to return to Beets Café during my next visit to Austin—darn.

On the bus ride back to her apartment, Ashley expressed her happy surprise at how much she enjoyed her first experience at a raw food restaurant. In fact, for the remainder of my trip, she continually waxed poetic about her sandwich at Beets Café, and even asked me if she could make a version of the sunflower seed flatbread at home (I passed these two recipes from Gena at Choosing Raw along to her). If not for the slightly out-of-reach price tag, Ashley would have suggested that we dine at Beets Café again the next day. Instead, we planned our meals for my final day in Austin to include ice cream at Sweet Ritual and dinner from the Wheatsville Co-op (more details on our eventful lunch excursion in the next post).

Until next time, Ali.

A Weekend in NYC, Part 1: The NYC Vegetarian Food Festival

This weekend, U.S. VegCorp hosted the third annual New York City Vegetarian Food Festival at the Metropolitan Pavilion in the Chelsea neighborhood. After enviously listening to Erin Red recount her delightful experiences at last year’s festival on a past episode of her podcast, I rushed online to discover the dates of the 2013 event and vowed to attend. Luckily, my parents decided to rent an apartment in NYC from mid-February until the end of April, providing me with a convenient home base in the city and practically begging me to take advantage of all the vegan goodies and happenings NYC has to offer; frankly, the universe would have admonished me had I not patronized the veg fest this year.

Numerous reliable vegan sources stressed the value of purchasing a VIP ticket for the festival in order to avoid the up-to-four-hour-long line for entry into the venue. Indeed, my decision to heed their advice and shell out the most well-spent $30 of my life on a Sunday VIP ticket proved quite prudent—I bounded through the building’s glass doors, displayed my ticket to a smiling woman who awarded me with a specially market wristband, and threw myself into the torrent of enthused veg*n/veg-curious attendees, eager vendors, tantalizing noms, and cruelty-free fashions, eliciting a couple resentful glares, I’m sure, from those still standing outside in line.

Arriving at the festival around my lunchtime, I first paid a visit to the renowned vegan food truck The Cinnamon Snail, whose selection of baked goods rivals any of a traditional brick-and-mortar bakery (can you say lavender-pear turnovers, passionfruit-glazed donuts, and strawberry cheese danishes?). Unfortunately, none of these mouthwatering creations bore a gluten-free (or sugar-free, for that matter) label, but I certainly contented myself by ordering a Raw Goji Berry Bar to accompany my Fiery Southeast Asian Salad of kale, homemade kimchi, sliced fresh jalapenos, curried peanuts, and chili oil. Both vittles satisfied my tastebuds immensely—the goji bar harbored a mysterious coconutty-cashew flavor while the salad excited the palate with its fresh spiciness (though it did feature a tad too much chili oil for my liking).

The Cinnamon’s Snail baked goods case.

Fiery Southeast Asian Salad.

After enjoying a lovely lunch, I began making my rounds about the festival. Immediately upon entering, I spotted the ice cream counter of DF Mavens—a coconut-based frozen treat free of gluten, soy, and (in the case of some flavors) sugar about which I had heard at the recent Ivy League Vegan Conference. The company has not yet launched their products into stores, but to give you a sneak peek, some of their tantalizing flavors include Sicilian Hazelnut Truffle, New Orleans Salted Praline, Alphonso Mango, and Peanut Butter Fudge Mash. Wowza.

Free samples of DF Mavens.

Oodles of jewelry-makers and clothing-crafters showcased their wares, including the well-known vegan t-shirt company Compassion Co., a woman who creates gorgeously unique bracelets out of dehydrated fruits and vegetables at Wired Up Creations, the rebellious Portland-based outfitter of Herbivore Clothing Company (positively thrilled to meet her, I basically fawned over owner Michelle Schwegmann, who has gained plenty of fame in my book thanks to Our Hen House), and an independent jeweler with no company name of which to speak but who provided lovely graphic pendants. An independent screen-printer stood next to the DF Mavens booth and enthusiastically demonstrated the screen-printing process at my confession that I’ve long yearned to learn how to screen-print.

One of Compassion Co.’s t-shirts emblazoned with, “Anything you can eat, I can eat vegan.” Love it.

“Animal Liberation” pendant from an independent jeweler.

Stickers from Herbivore Clothing Company.

Original screen-print t-shirt design from the friendly independent screen-printing guy.

The festivals’ bounty of cosmetics included allegedly intensely healing face creams and serums derived from broccoli sprouts, as well as deliciously fragrant soaps from Fanciful Fox and Metropolis Soap Company

Broccoli sprout skin cremes.

Soaps from Fancful Fox.

Of course, the festival couldn’t deem itself a food festival without an inordinate amount of yummies rampant throughout the convention hall. Though I didn’t snap a picture of every single food booth, I’ll provide you with a sampling:

“Raw Slaw” fermented veggies from Bao Fermented Food and Drink–they also sell home-brewed kombucha, sauces, and superfood shots.

I picked up a jar of Bao’s Greens Raw Slaw, packed with kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, radish greens, apples, pears, ginger, and garlic.

Vegan & gluten-free empanadas from Brooklyn’s acclaimed V-Spot.

The ever-popular Dandies marshmallows–gelatin-free!

Fryin’ up some Field Roast sausages.

Pastel-hued cookies from Pipernilli Bakery.

Cashew-and-coconut-based ice cream from the Raw Ice Cream Company (chocolate hazelnut, anyone?).

Monkey Boy peanut butter with banana extract and raisins from the Saratoga Peanut Butter Company.

Gorgeously frosted cupcakes from Pink Frosting Bakery.

Rehydrated dried fruit from Fruit Bliss–apparently, re-moistening dried fruit is all-the-rage in Europe!

Delectable and creamy Faux Gras, Basilcotta, and Superfood Pesto from the Regal Vegan.

Spicy Mang roll from Beyond Sushi (for dinner later that night) with avocado, mango, cucumber, and black rice topped with spicy pickled veggies and toasted cayenne sauce.

King-sized gluten-free cookies from Dauphin Bakery, included Ginger Spice Molasses. Mmm…

Three Fennel tea from Pukka Herbs. The woman behind the stand generously gave me three free tea bags of this blend, in which I have reveled for the past two days due to my ardent love of fennel.

Vegan scallops (yes, you read right) from Sophie’s Kitchen, made from Elephant Yam Root, aka Konjac. Fascinating!

Certainly my favorite aspect of the entire festival comprised of schmoozing with prominent vegan activists, bloggers, and authors whom I’ve long admired. Though I didn’t snap any photos with them, I also met the bloggers (Sharon and Dianne, respectively) behind Big City Vegan and VeggieGirl, two quite successful blogs in whose footsteps I hope to follow.

I’ve become quite a fan of Erin Red’s podcast, Red Radio, and her special brand of no-nonsense activism. Honored to extend our relationship from Twitter to the real world!

Farm Sanctuary founder Gene Baur delivered an inspiring speech that touched upon effective animal advocacy among many other topics. His assertion that “being right is not the same as being effective” struck me as particularly important.

Ximena and Derek from my all-time favorite yoga studio, Jivamukti, described the intrinsic connections between yogic philosophy and veganism.

Matt Frazier of the acclaimed No Meat Athlete blog showcased his merchandise and gave a talk on Saturday of the festival.

I still cannot fathom how I managed to meet the legendary vegan author and lifestyle coach Victoria Moran.

Though I didn’t manage to snag a photo of Miyoko Schinner, author of Artisan Vegan Cheese, I did sample some of her very own gourmet nut cheeses after her talk.

Of course, standby animal rights organizations like PETA, Mercy for Animals, Compassion Over Killing, and Sea Shepherd also made appearances at the festival, along with eastern farm animal sanctuaries like Woodstock and Catskill. I had the pleasure of meeting two immensely friendly COK volunteers who welcomed me with open arms when I informed them of my summer internship with the organization—further proof that the animal rights movement attracts the most generous, all-around wonderful human beings.

To round out my festival experience, I indulged myself in adding yet another vegan cookbook to my collection: the Ayurvedic Vegan Kitchen by Talya Lutzker. I haven’t yet had a chance to thoroughly examine the book’s recipes, but cannot wait to learn of the doshas and how to eat in order to best balance inner energy—like yoga and eating all rolled into one! From my quick flip through the book (which has sat on my Amazon Wishlist for quite some time now), all of the recipes feature only wholesome, unprocessed ingredients and include a host of raw, sugar-free desserts. My Ferry housemates will surely taste at least a couple of goodies inspired by this book!

After spending over three hours chatting, sampling, and handing out homemade Farmers Market Vegan business cards, I had thoroughly exhausted myself and decided to trek back uptown to my parents’ apartment before catching my train home to Vassar. Witnessing such a successful outpouring of vegans and omnivores alike (2,000 people attended the festival on Saturday alone) fostered within me such hope for a shifting mainstream consciousness toward a more compassionate, deliberate, conscious, and healthful lifestyle. The innovative products featured at the festival also aided in proving that leading a vegan lifestyle by no means entails sacrificing the joy of delicious food, chic fashion, and effective skin care. I fully intend to attend many more events similar to this one, with the third annual Veggie Pride Parade on Sunday, March 24th as the most upcoming one.

Stay tuned for a post detailing my meals at Candle Cafe West and Blossom on the Saturday before the festival (yes, I’m posting out of chronological order, but I wanted to recap the festival before recounting my fabulous meals).

Until next time, Ali.

What I Ate Wednesday #61

Breakfast: A green smoothie of 1/2 of a winesap apple, 1/2 of a frozen banana, a small handful of frozen raspberries, 1 tbsp hemp seeds, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1 tbsp goji berries, 1/2 tsp spirulina, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1/2 cup WholeSoy Organic Unsweetened Plain Yogurt, and 4 medium leaves of curly green kale, topped with a generous 1/2-cupful of a variation on Amie Sue’s Maple Pumpkin Spice Crunch Cereal.

I’ve recently embarked on a mission to pack a bit of padding on my slender frame, and have thus started incorporating more calorie-dense, healthy fat sources into my meals—this accounts for both the peanut butter and coconut oil gracing the smoothie I’ve featured here.

A note on the soy yogurt: Ferry House just received a bulk order of 24 oz. containers of WholeSoy Organic Unsweetened Plain Yogurt, the ingredients of which include simply soy milk, cornstarch, and live active vegan cultures. While I usually opt to exclude soy yogurt from my diet, due to the inclusion of various sugars and questionable chemical-esque products in most brands, I’ve fallen head-over-heels in love with the WholeSoy yogurt thanks to its probiotic content, creamy texture, and short ingredient list. The yogurt lends a pleasing tang and velvety consistency to smoothies such as the one above.

As for the cereal, I slightly altered Amie Sue’s original recipe by substituting half of the rolled oats for raw buckwheat groats, replacing the pumpkin puree with that of apples, using two medjool dates in place of 2 tbsp of the maple syrup, and baking the cereal at 260° for about 90 minutes. The resulting cereal proved flaky, crunchy, and just the right balance of sweet and oaty (no, these two characteristics don’t seem like opposites, but think about how you would describe unsweetened, “hippie-crunchy” granola. Oaty, right?).

Breakfast Checklist: Protein—hemp seeds, chia seeds, peanut butter, soy yogurt, almond pulp in cereal. Whole Grain—rolled oats and buckwheat in cereal. Fruit—apple, banana, raspberries, goji berries, dates in cereal. Leafy Green—kale. Superfood—hemp seeds, chia seeds, spirulina, goji berries.

Morning Tea: Numi’s Chocolate Pu-Erh tea.

Lunch: A saute of mushrooms, shredded brussels sprouts, kale, almond butter, and balsamic vinegar, topped with tangy marinated mixed beans and a sprinkling of nutritional yeast, accompanied by two thick slices of Leek-Sundried Tomato Bread stuffed with the vegan mozzarella cheese from the Sept+Oct 2012 issue of VegNews (bread recipe inspired by Ricki Heller’s Cheese-Filled Onion and Olive Bread), drizzled with flax oil.

Moist, dense, hearty, and oh-so-savory, the cheese-stuffed bread provided both novelty and immense flavor. However, I do wish that I had opted to employ a flour other than the quinoa, for its pronounced bitterness tended to overwhelm the palate’s experience of the bread. I would certainly still call this bread a huge success, though! My enthusiastic Ferry housemates would definitely agree.

My changes to Ricki’s original recipe: replaced olives with sundried tomatoes; substituted leeks for green onions; and used quinoa flour in place of amaranth flour, oat flour in place of millet flour, and chickpea flour in place of soy flour.

Meal Checklist: Protein—mixed beans, tahini, almond milk, flaxseed meal, chickpea flour (last four in bread), soy yogurt in mozzarella. Whole Grain—quinoa and oat flours in bread. Vegetables—mushrooms, leeks, sundried tomatoes. Leafy Greens—kale, brussels sprouts.

Afternoon Beverage: Choice Organic White Peony tea.

A bottle of GT’s Organic Raw Kombucha in Gingerade flavor.

Dinner: Three Polenta Sweet Corn Cakes topped with schmears of vegan mozzarella and accompanied by crisp greens tossed in a dressing of olive oil, Dijon mustard, cumin, nutritional yeast, and apple cider vinegar, and topped with both a salsa of tomatoes, cucumbers, mango, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice, as well as a dollop of tangy marinated mixed beans.

Thanks to my dear housemates Tori and Alex for such a splendid dinner!

Meal Checklist: Protein—marinated mixed beans, soy yogurt in mozzarella. Whole Grain—cornmeal. Vegetables—corn, cucumber, cilantro, tomato, mango, jalapeno. Leafy Greens—lettuce.

After-Dinner Beverage: Traditional Medicinals’ Organic Eater’s Digest tea.

Comment Provoking Questions: How do you feel about soy yogurt? Do you find the flavor of quinoa flour overwhelming? How do you temper its intensity?

Happy WIAW!

Until next time, Ali.

The Great Quinoa Debate

In light of the influx of recent Guardian articles concerning the ethical implications involved in modern-day quinoa consumption, I and my fellow housemates have engaged in a continuous discussion regarding whether or not Ferry should continue to purchase the Andean pseudo-grain in our bulk food orders. Yearning for a more in-depth understanding of the potential issues surrounding quinoa, I dove into a fit of research on the topic and penned an op-ed for Vassar’s campus newspaper, the Miscellany News (at which I now serve as the Online Editor). In it, I present the compelling arguments both for and against world quinoa consumption, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions about their personal views of purchasing quinoa—indeed, I have not yet completely ironed out my own.

However, while I completely acknowledge the legitimate and rather urgent concern of the effect of increasing quinoa prices on Andean farmers and locals, part of me wonders if those with minds focused on social justice (aren’t we all?) will become so entrenched in “The Great Quinoa Debate”—our decisions toward which may or may not actually impact the Andean people—that it will begin to distract them from making other food choices almost guaranteed to ameliorate the world’s hunger crisis. The concluding paragraphs of my op-ed follows:

So should we, the socially conscious students of Vassar, continue to consume the (rather unsatisfactorily prepared) quinoa offered at the Deece? At whatever conclusion you personally arrive from the information I’ve offered, I hope that the intricacies of and issues surrounding the current global quinoa market prompt you to begin analyzing your food choices at a deeper, more ethically minded level than that simply of taste, pleasure, and convenience. Why not use the quinoa debate as a jumping-off point from which to discover more about precisely how the food on your plate ended up there? Indeed, while opting to abstain from eating quinoa may or may not improve the livelihoods of Andean farmers, there exist a handful of dietary choices that will concretely and profoundly decrease levels of world hunger and environmental degradation.

Consider that 760 million tons of the world’s grain provides feed for livestock, while 20 times less than that amount has been projected to eliminate the most extreme cases of world hunger today. Additionally, the world’s cattle alone consume enough food to sustain 9 billion people—the human population expected by 2050.

Regarding the environmental impacts of animal agriculture, a study published last October by the European Commission found that switching to a vegetarian diet results in twice the carbon emissions savings of switching to an electric car. By opting not to support animal agribusiness, you can rest assured that the decisions you make thrice daily as to what to eat will contribute to a growing movement toward a more equitable, just, and environmentally friendly society. Or you could gaze upon the supermarket shelves in perplexed contemplation of which brand claims to ethically source their quinoa.

I hope you’ll all hop on over to the Misc’s website to read the rest of my article in full. In the meantime, I’d like to tantalize you with a couple of the most recent culinary creations I’ve enjoyed.

A loose rendition of Marly’s Vegan Pibil Torta Sandwich piled upon two slices of hearty Scottish straun bread studded with wild rice and walnuts (recipe from my favorite cookbook, “Gluten-Free and Vegan Bread”).

A salad of kale massaged with avocado and dijon mustard, mixed with carrots and dulse flakes, and topped with kimchi.

A Ferry dinner crafted by my housemate, passionate vegan activist, and fellow dear VARC member Alan of a roasted veggie and tofu shepherd’s pie accompanied by a dollop of the creamiest hummus I’ve ever had the pleasure of spooning into my mouth and a salad of mixed greens dressed with olive oil and nutritional yeast.

Comment Provoking Questions: Where do you stand on the current quinoa debate?

Until next time, Ali.

What I Ate Wednesday #60

Breakfast: A rather unorthodox green smoothie of a large carrot, about 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, 1 tbsp flaxseed meal, about 1/2 tsp each of spirulina and maca, 1 tbsp goji berries, 1 tsp peanut butter, five medium collard leaves, and 3/4 cup water, topped with the last of a batch of Matcha Green Tea Pistachio Biscotti—that I’ve kept from Christmas in my mini-fridge’s freezer—from Dreena Burton’s latest cookbook, Let Them Eat Vegan!.

This unusual, carrot-based breakfast concoction topped with the dregs of my holiday cookies stems from a lack of my staple smoothie ingredients: no frozen bananas or apples to form the smoothie’s base, no almond milk to facilitate blending, no chia or hemp seeds for added omega-3′s or protein, and no granola to sprinkle on top. Oy vey! Though it certainly satisfied my hunger, the “smoothie” left my tastebuds feeling rather underappreciated—so much so that I immediately ran out to Vassar’s nearest health food store to purchase bananas and my two favorite seeds, baked up a loaf of walnut-and-wild-rice-laden Straun Bread from “Gluten-Free and Vegan Bread” to slather with almond butter and serve alongside a tall glass of juice the next morning, and set out a bowl of almonds to soak. Ahh, everything has become right with Ali’s breakfast world once more.

Breakfast Checklist: Protein—flaxseed meal, peanut butter, chickpea flour, pistachios (last two in biscotti). Whole Grain—brown rice flour in biscotti. Fruit—strawberries, goji berries. Leafy Green—collard greens. Superfood—flaxseed meal, spirulina, maca, goji berries. Added Veggie Bonus!—carrots.

Morning Tea: Numi’s Chocolate Pu-Erh tea.

I’ve reveled in the decadence of Numi’s Coconut Pu-Erh in the past, but opted to sample their Chocolate version at the recommendation of Gabby from the lovely blog, VeggieNook. Certainly living up to my expectations, this tea—deeply flavored and nicely balanced between sweet and bitter—has become my new staple morning beverage.

Lunch: A massaged kale salad consisting of 3 large leaves of curly green kale, four shredded brussels sprouts, and three large button mushrooms massaged with the Curried Almond Dressing from Dreena Burton’s Kale Slaw recipe and stirred together with alfalfa sprouts, mixed bean sprouts, dulse seaweed flakes, and wild rice, dusted with nutritional yeast and topped with a dollop of kimchi from Hawthorne Valley.

Yet another astronomic benefit of living in Vassar’s veg*n co-op known as Ferry House, a generous pile of kale constantly waits in the communal refrigerator, practically begging we Fairies to massage it with homemade dressing and a mess of mixed veggies. Since moving in to Ferry, I’ve happily obliged the demands of this crucifer during most of my lunches, and thus enjoy massaged kale salads even more often than I used to (which could never be a bad thing).

Meal Checklist: Protein—almonds in dressing. Whole Grain—wild rice. Vegetables—mushrooms, alfalfa sprouts, mixed bean sprouts, kimchi veggies. Leafy Greens—kale, brussels sprouts, cabbage in sauerkraut, dulse seaweed.

Afternoon Beverage: Eden Organic Genmaicha green tea.

Dinner: A black bean-brown rice burger, loosely based off of Candle 79′s Chipotle Burgers, topped with caramelized onions and bell peppers as well as a slice of fresh tomato, accompanied by a pile of mixed salad greens tossed with the Curried Almond Dressing from Dreena Burton’s Kale Slaw recipe.

My darling housemate Noah prepared the burgers and caramelized onions, while I supplemented the otherwise green-less dinner with some salad and dressing. Incidentaly, the burgers tasted especially divine when dipped in the dressing—though I suppose that anything would when slathered in one of Dreena Burton’s culinary creations.

Meal Checklist: Protein—black beans, almonds. Whole Grain—brown rice. Vegetables—onions, bell peppers, garlic, tomato. Leafy Greens—mixed salad greens.

After-Dinner Beverage: Traditional Medicinals’ Organic Eater’s Digest tea.

Comment Provoking Questions: What do you have for breakfast when supplies are running low? What is your go-to morning tea? How often do you enjoy a kale salad? What is your favorite recipe of Dreena Burton’s?

Happy WIAW!

Until next time, Ali.

What I Ate Wednesday #59

Breakfast: A juice of apple, kale, carrots, and beets, accompanied by a bowl of Cocoa-Pomegranate Granola garnished with goji berries, spirulina, and hemp seeds and moistened with a dash of homemade almond milk.

Breakfast Checklist: Protein—flaxseed meal, walnuts, pistachios, hemp seeds, almond milk. Whole Grain—GF rolled oats, millet, raw buckwheat groats. Fruit—apple, goji berries, pomegranate, prunes, coconut. Leafy Green—kale. Superfood—pomegranate, flaxseed meal, cacao nibs, goji berries, spirulina, hemp seeds. Added Veggie Bonus!—carrots, beets.

Local Ingredients: Apples from Wicklow Orchards.

Morning Tea: Numi’s Chocolate Pu-Erh tea.

Lunch: A massaged kale salad of curly green kale massaged with roasted sweet potato, Liquid Gold Dressing, and button mushrooms, mixed with julienned carrots, navy beans, dulse seaweed flakes, and a mix of amaranth and quinoa, all topped with sauerkraut and accompanied by a spoonful of peanut butter (unpictured).

Meal Checklist: Protein—navy beans, peanut butter. Whole Grain—amaranth, quinoa. Vegetables—sweet potato, mushrooms, carrots. Leafy Greens—kale, cabbage in sauerkraut, dulse seaweed.

Local Ingredients: Sauerkraut from Perry’s Pickles (no website).

Afternoon Beverage: Rishi’s Cinnamon-Plum tea.

Dinner: A large bowl of vegan three-bean (pinto, black, and kidney) chili chock full of veggies—including onions, carrots, tomatoes, and bell peppers—dusted with nutritional yeast and accompanied by a simple, gluten-and-sugar-free apple crisp topped with walnuts and almonds sitting atop a pile of mixed salad greens.

Meal Checklist: Protein—pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, walnuts, almonds. Whole Grain—none. Vegetables—onions, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers, apples (fruit, but whatever). Leafy Greens—mixed salad greens.

Local Ingredients: None.

After-Dinner Beverage: Traditional Medicinals’ Organic Eater’s Digest tea.

Happy WIAW!

Until next time, Ali.

Juice Pulp-Almond Butter Sandwich with Superfoods

Well folks, I’ve added yet another category to my ever-growing repertoire of imaginative sandwich creations: the breakfast sandwich. Fret not, for I certainly do not speak of those grease-and-chemical-laden fast food Mc-Whatever sandwiches constructed solely from the exploitation of factory farmed non-human animals (those ain’t vegan, folks). Instead, I’d like to introduce to you a vastly superior morning meal teeming with antioxidants, phytochemicals, and mouthwatering tendencies for which both the animals and all that old juice pulp taking up valuable freezer real estate will thank you.

With my juice pulp, I’ve crafted pancakes and crackers, and look to experiment with fritters and muffins in the near future. However, on this particular occasion I drew upon the notion of mashing juice pulp with avocado to create a spread (introduced to me by Gena of Choosing Raw, though I can’t seem to dig up the specific post), tweaking the idea slightly to create a thick spread of juice pulp and almond butter. Since I enjoyed this sandwich for breakfast and prefer to pack as many superfoods into my morning meals as possible, I also tossed in a dash of both maca and spirulina for an incredibly nourishing sandwich filling. After topping it with goji berries, this mash may very well have transformed me into Superwoman.

As for the bread, I once again employed a recipe from my very favorite new cookbook—Jennifer Katzinger’s “Gluten-Free and Vegan Bread“—for Cinnamon-Raisin-Walnut Loaf. Hearty, dense, moist, crusty, studded generously with crunchy walnuts and juicy raisins, and teeming with the aroma of cinnamon, this bread provides an almost transcendental gastronomic experience that feels utterly decadent but in reality provides boatloads of plant-based nutrition. For those of you curious readers, I present to you the ingredient list of this particular bread: chia seeds, arrowroot, GF oat flour, teff flour, flaxseed meal, tapioca flour, cinnamon, sea salt, walnuts, raisins, yeast, olive oil, maple syrup. You, of course, can still enjoy this sandwich even without Jennifer’s genius baking tome, but I’d highly recommend procuring some sort of cinnamon-raisin bread, for its flavor nicely complements the juice pulp filling.

Cinnamon-Raisin-Walnut Bread Close-Up.

Juice Pulp-Almond Butter Sandwich with Superfoods—Soy Free, Oil Free, Low Sodium.

Serves 1-2.

Ingredients:

2 slices of cinnamon-raisin bread (homemade or storebought, gluten-free or not, etc.)
1/2 cup juice pulp, thawed completely if frozen (I used the pulp from a juice of apple, carrot, and kale)
1-2 tbsp almond butter
1/2 tsp maca powder
1/2 tsp spirulina powder
1-2 tbsp goji berries

Toast the cinnamon-raisin bread.

In a small bowl, combine the juice pulp and almond butter and mash together with a spoon or the back of a fork until well combined. Add the maca and spirulina and mix again.

Spread the juice pulp mixture onto one of the bread slices (you will probably end up with extra juice pulp mixture). Sprinkle with goji berries and top with the second slice of bread. Serve warm.

Recipe submitted to Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Wellness Weekend, Gluten Free Fridays, Foodtastic Fridays, and Healthy Vegan Fridays.

Breakfast Checklist: Protein—almond butter, spirulina, chia seeds, flaxseed meal, walnuts (last three in bread). Whole Grain—GF oat flour and teff flour in bread. Fruit—raisins, apples, goji berries. Superfoods—flaxseed meal, chia seeds, maca, spirulina, goji berries. Leafy Greens—kale. Added Veggie Bonus!—carrots.

Comment Provoking Questions: How do you use up leftover juice pulp? What is your favorite type of breakfast sandwich?

Until next time, Ali.

Goji-Pumpkin Baked French Toast/Bread Pudding

If you perused through my latest What I Ate Wednesday post, you may recall this particular sentiment I expressed regarding my adaptation of the Raisin Cinnamon Rolls in “Gluten-Free and Vegan Bread”:

Though these rolls prove superbly moist and light when enjoyed straight out of the oven, I’ve found that they do not keep well and turn rather dry and crumbly after a mere two days of sitting on the countertop.

Faced with half a batch of stale cinnamon rolls but loathe to throw away five baked goodies still harboring delicious breakfast potential and chock-full of high-quality (read: expensive) ingredients, I brainstormed common applications for less-than-fresh bread and recalled the ever-mouthwatering dish of french toast. However, since the rolls’ rather lumpy shape does not lend itself well to the slicing needed for traditionally battered and cooked french toast, I began pursuing the idea of baked french toast, which I had made once before in my pre-vegan days. Inspired by the Pumpkin Baked French Toast featured by Chocolate Covered Katie, I crafted a superfood-infused recipe for moist, creamy, chewy, decadent, and superbly healthy baked french toast, which I’d also consider a less saccharine version of the more dessert-y bread pudding.

I chose not to add any sweeteners to this recipe since the cinnamon rolls already contained a bit of maple syrup, and I prefer not to start off my day with overly-sweet baked goods. You, however, may feel differently and choose to include a couple tablespoons of syrup in this recipe, or to simply drizzle some on top of the finished dish.

Goji-Pumpkin Baked French Toast/Bread Pudding–Can be Soy Free, Oil Free, can be Nut Free, Low Sodium, Low Fat

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups cubed stale GF bread (I used up the Raisin-Almond Butter Cinnamon Rolls, adapted from Jennifer Katzinger’s “Gluten-Free and Vegan Bread,” that I made earlier in the week, but you can use any bread you like–preferably whole grain, gluten-free if needed. Ezekiel is a commonly used brand)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp maca powder
1/2 tsp cloves or nutmeg (whichever you prefer)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 1/4 cups plant-based milk
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree, or 2 cups freshly pureed pumpkin/squash/sweet potato
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp maple extract (can sub more vanilla if unavailable–do try to include it though, for it smells up the house quite nicely)
1/4 cup goji berries
Optional: 1-3 tbsp maple syrup

The night before you’d like to enjoy this healthy breakfast delicacy, oil an 8×8″ baking pan or line it with aluminum foil. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix very well, then transfer the mixture to the baking pan. Cover the baking pan and let sit in the refrigerator overnight.

The next morning, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Recipe submitted to Foodtastic Fridays, Wellness Weekend, Gluten-Free Fridays, and Healthy Vegan Fridays.

Alongside a tall glass of green juice, this decadent-tasting yet incredibly nutritious baked french toast provided a wonderfully nourishing morning meal.

Comment Provoking Questions: How do you like to use up stale bread?

Until next time, Ali.

What I Ate Wednesday #58

Breakfast: A smoothie of 1/2 a honeycrisp apple, 1/2 a frozen banana, about 1/2 cup frozen blackberries, 1 tbsp goji berries, 1 tbsp hemp seeds, 1 tbsp carob powder, 1/2 scoop Amazing Grass Green Superfoods powder, 4 large leaves of lacinato kale, and 1/2 cup homemade almond milk, accompanied by a Raisin-Almond Butter Cinnamon Roll adapted from “Gluten-Free and Vegan Bread.”

Cinnamon roll close-up.

Forever enamored by the plethora of yeasty, hearty, whole-grain, scrumptiousness of the recipes featured in Jennifer Katzinger’s “Gluten-Free and Vegan Bread,” I once again opened my already copiously stained copy of the cookbook I received just this Christmas to try my hand at another one of Jennifer’s sweeter offerings—Raisin Cinnamon Rolls. One of two cinnamon roll recipes featured in the cookbook (the other is for Pecan Cinnamon Rolls), these subtlely sweet, intensely-cinnamony rolls boast an extra helping of decadence due to their filling of maple butter and plumped raisins. However, because maple butter costs quite the pretty penny, I opted to employ roasted almond butter in its place, imparting an extra level of unctuousness to the rolls. Though these rolls prove superbly moist and light when enjoyed straight out of the oven, I’ve found that they do not keep well and turn rather dry and crumbly after a mere two days of sitting on the countertop. Thank goodness I only made half a batch! I’ve also slathered these cinnamon rolls in an Orange-Scented Fig Jam spiced with fresh rosemary to yield astoundingly tasty results.

Breakfast Checklist: Protein—hemp seeds, almond milk, almond butter, garbanzo bean flour, chia seeds, almond meal (last three in cinnamon roll). Whole Grain—brown rice flour, teff flour. Fruit—apple, banana, blackberries, goji berries, raisins. Leafy Green—lacinato kale. Superfood—hemp seeds, goji berries, Amazing Grass powder, chia seeds, carob powder.

Local Ingredients: Kale from Don’s Produce (no website).

Morning Tea: Organic & Pure Peppermint White Tea.

Though I usually harbor an aversion to peppermint tea, the delicately sweet note of the digestion-friendly herb featured in this surprisingly complex tea blend nicely complements the almost perfume-like taste of white tea—perfect for quiet afternoon contemplation and aiding your gut after lunch.

Lunch: A Mushroom-Spinach Melt Sandwich of cashew cheese melted over the filling of Green Kitchen Stories’ Spiced Spinach and Mushrooms in Almond Tartlets in between two slices of the Focaccia recipe in “Gluten-Free and Vegan Bread,” accompanied by a salad of mixed greens, alfalfa sprouts, mixed bean sprouts, “farmhouse mix” sprouts, purple carrots, two spoonfuls of adzuki beans, and dulse seaweed flakes all tossed in Liquid Gold Dressing and topped with Fizzeology’s “Ferment of the Month” sauerkraut.

I recently experienced a bit of an epiphany in realizing that I could craft hot, melty, ooey gooey sandwiches in addition to their (still delicious) cold counterparts with all of the gluten-free bread-baking in which I’ve engaged lately. This Spinach-Mushroom Melt comprises the second hot sandwich I’ve created, right after my quite well-received Roasted Brussels Sprout Grilled Cheese. After warming two slices of herbed focaccia on my built-in stove-top griddle, I piled on the spinach-mushroom saute offered by Green Kitchen Stories, topped it with three thin slices of cashew cheese, placed the now open-faced sandwich back on the griddle, and covered it with a large pot lid until the cheese melted, then slapped the second slice of focaccia on top. Yum.

Meal Checklist: Protein—cashews, adzuki beans, chia seeds, garbanzo bean flour, flaxseed meal (last three in bread). Whole Grain—teff, brown rice, and buckwheat flours in bread. Vegetables—onion, shiitake and crimini mushrooms, alfalfa sprouts, mixed bean sprouts, “farmhouse mix” sprouts, purple carrots, sauerkraut veggies. Leafy Greens—spinach, mixed greens, dulse seaweed, greens in sauerkraut.

Local Ingredients: Purple carrots from JenEhr Family Farm, alfalfa sprouts and mixed bean sprouts from Troy Community Farm, “Ferment of the Month” sauerkraut from Fizzeology, mixed greens from Don’s Produce (no website), “farmhouse mix” sprouts from Garden to Be, spinach from Snug Haven.

Afternoon Beverage: Half a bottle of Reed’s Culture Club Goji Ginger Kombucha.

Though the locally produced NessAlla still wins the place in my heart dedicated to my favorite kombucha brand, the Goji Ginger flavor of Reed’s Culture Club kombucha could give NessAlla a run for its money. Tangy, sweet, and deeply flavored, this superfood-boosted kombucha tastes like a true work of fermented art. Funnily enough, Reed’s also produces my father’s favorite variety of ginger beer—perhaps I can fool him into trying this more nourishing beverage instead…

Dinner: A scrumptious vegan bowl of sprouted quinoa, roasted brussels sprouts leftover from my grilled cheese adventures, Black Pepper & Thyme Tofu adapted from Olives for Dinner, and Parsnip Bacon adapted from Food & Wine, all slathered in a dilly version of Christy Morgan’s Cashew Basil Aioli.

I feel that this meal needs no explanation. How can one ever go wrong with a vegan bowl? I would like to offer one suggestion, however: run to the kitchen and make the Black Pepper & Thyme Tofu immediately. You won’t be sorry.

Also, on a quick recipe-related note, I subbed liquid smoke for the smoked sea salt in the Parsnip Bacon—my mother’s obsession with the concentrated smokiness of this genius product has now transferred over to me.

Meal Checklist: Protein—tofu, cashews. Whole Grain—sprouted quinoa. Vegetables—brussels sprouts, thyme, parsnips, dill. Leafy Greens—brussels sprouts.

Local Ingredients: Parsnips from Driftless Organics.

After-Dinner Beverage: Traditional Medicinals’ Organic Eater’s Digest tea.

Comment Provoking Questions: What is your favorite cinnamon roll filling? How about your favorite vegan hot sandwich? Have you tried/seen Reed’s kombucha before?

Happy WIAW!

Until next time, Ali.