Eggless Benedict

Ta-da! Last Saturday I made my first attempt at vegan brunch, and I must say - it was an OBSCENE success (and I do say so myself).

The less interesting elements:

- mandarin orange slices on a bed of arugula w/ fresh lemon & olive oil vinaigrette

- sweet and russet potato home fries, seasoned w/ green bell pepper and red onion

Now for the good stuff: Eggless Benedict!!!

This required overnight preparation (3-4 hours might do, but overnight just seemed easier) of the tofu. I took one package of extra firm tofu, wrapped it in paper towels and then in a cloth towel, then placed the tofu in a bowl w/ a plate on top and a 7 lb. weight on that to press the water out. By morning the tofu had a much firmer and drier texture - when cooked, it approximates egg white. I then cut out 4 tofu rounds about half an inch thick. These were fried on both sides over medium low heat, no oil - just until lightly browned.

For the base of the Eggless Benedict, I used toasted crumpets - much chewier and better-textured than English muffins. These were topped with slices of ripe avocado and slices of skillet-browned Lightlife vegan "ham." Place cooked tofu rounds on top and cover with vegan hollandaise sauce: a blend of 1 cup vegan mayo (I like Nasoya brand), juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, 4 tablespoons vegan butter (melted), 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard, 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon white (or black) pepper (finely grated), 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, 1 teaspoon regular yellow mustard (preferably not that French's crap, though), 2 tablespoons olive oil. After blending ingredients, warm over low heat before serving (do not boil).

This meal sounds a lot more complicated than it actually was. If you're nice to me, I might make it for you. Especially if you bring a gift of bubbly & peach juice - bellinis paired quite nicely with the meal!

Those annoying lottery ads...

...you know the ones - with the cute little furry and fuzzy baby animals? proclaiming how "sweet" those millions are? They're in our subways, on our city streets...at construction sites. Well, when they first went up, I knew something about them bothered me. But I wasn't sure what. And then a friend articulated my discomfort in jpeg form.

Which made me realize why the lottery ads disturb me: because they show only a snapshot in the life of an animal, one that the general public can feel warm and fuzzy about.

It is a shallow response, to be sure - and for lottery tickets???

Just as people go to the grocery store to buy a package of bacon or the local fast food chain for a bucket of buffalo wings and don't make the connection between the pigs and the chickens that lived (in profound suffering, mind you) and the food on their plate, so people don't ask what becomes of the piglets portrayed in the lottery ads (or anywhere else), the bunnies, the puppies, the kittens - and not just what becomes, but where from (see puppy mills).

And who cares for the animals when they are no longer fuzzy and cute? no longer puppies and kittens and baby bunnies and little chicks (when Easter's over and the little fuzzies grow up)? Countless everyday heroes like the folks at Zani's Furry Friends, or Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, or Animal Haven.

So the next time you see one of those lottery ads, take a moment to think beyond the shallow. And if the text in these ads make you uncomfortable, GOOD. THEY SHOULD.

I'm famous!

I got a shout out on NPR this morning for my Vegan Cashew Chili recipe submission and got the recipe posted on The Takeaway's website! Click here for the link. Go, vegans, go!

The Turning Point

This past Sunday, I attended the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary's ThanksLiving 4.0 event - a vegan Thanksgiving celebration and fundraiser for the Sanctuary's farmed animal rescues. It was my first time attending the event, and I hope to make it an annual tradition going forward. The food was OUTstanding (vegan pumpkin cheesecake with whipped nutcream!), and I can't tell you how fantastic it was NOT to have to ask "what's in that" every time an hors d'oeuvre got passed - I could eat EVERYthing!

The presentations - by Nathan Runkle of Mercy for Animals and John Phillips of the New York League of Humane Voters, among others - were moving. So moving that I am committed to doing the vegan thing for real, not the half-assed veganism I've been practicing for the past year (which largely amounted to no eggs or dairy in the house - in fact, a big step for someone who kept more than 5 types of gourmet cheeses on hand at any given time and regularly made meals of cheese, crackers, olives and wine).

This is not going to be easy - not because I can't live without frittatas or La Tur, but because of the amount of vigilance needed: yesterday I ate several Hershey's Kisses and only realized today that they are made of milk chocolate (doh!). Still, I believe this is an important step I must take. I don't want to contribute to the suffering of dairy cows or the suffering of battery hens. Because I don't have to. And because I have a moral obligation not to.

I will be in Rome on my way to Paris for Thanksgiving Day this year. I'll be remembering the little critters at WFAS and keeping it vegan. No cappuccinos or croissants for me, thanks.