May 2009

Incredible Summer Sorbets
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Submitted by lisala on 5/30/09 6:10am
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berries

dessert

summer
Sorbet is a cold dessert that does not contain cream, milk, or eggs. Typically, sorbet is made with sugar and a flavoring ingredient that is either liquid, or that can be mixed with sugar and water, then frozen. Sorbet uses fruit, juice, or other liquid but no cream. Read more
Avocado Gratin
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Submitted by Anonymous on 5/18/09 2:07pm

Yea of Nea?: Photo by yomi955 via Flickr.com

Does anyone have a recipe for this or a similar dish? Ideas?
Vegetarians + bbqs = fun in the sun
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Submitted by legerdemain on 5/18/09 1:13pm
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aioli

bbq

grill

halloumi

mushrooms

onion

recepies

Vegetarian
With the Memorial Day weekend approaching, thousands of Americans will be heading out to the beach, the countryside or local parks. Amongst their number will be a good amount of vegetarians, and seeing as we don’t just hang out with each other, we’re going to have to find something that we can eat alongside our carnivorous companions. Here’s the thing, too; I don’t know about you, but I don’t find eating faux meat products, like soy burgers or the like, either terribly interesting or satisfying. So, I’ve come up with a few ideas that you might want to try out. Watch out, though - everyone’s going to want to try these, vegetarian or not!

Green Onions and Aioli Read more
Eat A Carrot, Save The Planet
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Submitted by erika on 5/18/09 8:11am
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carbon footprint

grain

Vegetarian
It's the news no one wants to hear: giving up meat is probably the single best way to save the planet. Forget buying a Prius; forget recycling. For several reasons, vegetarianism is emerging as the number one way to help repair the damage we have done to our planet as a species.

I first encountered this startling fact in a New York Times article in August, 2007. In November of 2006, "the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization issued a report stating that the livestock business generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation combined." Many scientific studies have been published since then, confirming the dismaying fact that, as a Humane Society spokesperson said, ""switching to a plant-based diet does more to curb global warming than switching from an S.U.V. to a Camry." Read more
Once again, the Belgians show us the way. Or, Veggiedags all round!
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Submitted by legerdemain on 5/13/09 9:10am
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ghent

global warming

meat free days

President Obama

Vegetarian

veggiedag
How’s your Flemish? Mine, it’s fair to say, is not very good. I’ve been through Brussels once, but that’s about my limit. I do know now, however, what the word ‘Veggiedag’ means. The reason for this? The Belgian city of Ghent is introducing a regular meat free day for its civil servants and elected employees. It seems to be a voluntary affair (as I say, my translation is perhaps not the most accurate), but once a week, meat is off the menu. In September, the school children of the city will be doing the same thing.

When it comes to European countries, there’s a lot made of the nature of government intervention, and it’s impingement on personal freedoms and the like, and there’s certainly a case here to be made that questions what right an elected body has to tell individuals what they can and cannot eat. However, it seems as if the city counselors in Ghent have decided to take a lead on this and try to set an example. Read more
Lentil Casserole
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Submitted by legerdemain on 5/6/09 12:08pm
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casserole

lentils

recipes

Vegan

Vegetarian
So, the lentil seems to have become something of a bête noir for those who wish to make out that all vegetarian food is tasteless and hard to eat. To be fair, they probably have something of a point, but I suspect that’s at least partly because they’ve never eaten them properly prepared. I’m a big fan of the puy lentil, these tiny nutty ovals that you can pair with almost anything.

I’ve used them to make a simple lentil casserole, which I hope that you’ll like.

Ingredients (makes enough for 2-4, depending on portion size, and what you serve with it. A salad would be nice)

1 cup puy lentils, well washed
2 Carrots, diced
Handful of mushrooms, your choice of what type, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
Half an onion, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
1 potato, diced
1 large potato, finely sliced
Stock cube (or fresh stock, if you have it)
Tomato puree
Fresh Thyme

Method
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Five vegetarian restaurants in San Francisco
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Submitted by legerdemain on 5/5/09 11:27am
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Restaurants

san francisco

Vegan

Vegetarian
San Francisco, as you might expect, is a very vegetarian friendly city. Most every place you go to eat will have more than one decent vegetarian option. There are, of course, some exceptions (I’m looking at you, Blue Plate), but even somewhere like the marvelously meaty Back Porch has a different vegan special each day, which changes according to what looked good at the market that morning. Oh, and their in house hot sauce is insanely good. Of course, on top of this, it’s hard to beat a super vegetarian burrito!

Anyway, I digress. There are some excellent specialist vegetarian restaurants in the city here, and I wanted to share five of my favorites.

1. Cha-ya, Valencia and 19th St

One of the most popular stops on Valencia, its Japanese menu is long and varied. There are soups, hot pots, goiza and a full selection of vegan sushi. It’s cash only, and gets pretty busy, so go early. They also have a great range of sake, as well, so this is a great place to go on a Friday or Saturday evening, before stopping across the road for a beer in the Elbo Rooms. Read more