Credit: Brant Ward / The Chronicle Here's a great San Francisco Chronicle article by Michelle Locke discussing Wine and Vegetarian/Vegan Food Pairings. You may remember my Peju wine and vegetarian pairing article I wrote discussing the delectable offerings in California wine country. This San Francisco Chronicle article mentions the following pairing ideas...Enjoy! -- ...Try a platter of oven-roasted root vegetables... a meaty grilled portobello mushroom is another option. -- Winemaker Thomas Houseman likes Pinot Noir with french fries. To go all out, toss the fries with truffle oil, salt and maybe a dusting of fennel pollen. -- Pizza and rustic Tempranillo can be good partners. The same is true of a vegan pizza made with lots of vegetable toppings and soy cheese, says winemaker Jon Grant, a vegan. -- For a challenging pairing like asparagus or artichoke, Grant adds lemon and salt to offset the umami, or savoriness, of the vegetables and bring the flavors into balance. -- When in doubt, try sparkling wine. Cornucopia Institute, a food and agriculture nonprofit found that most non-organic veggie burgers currently on the market are made with the chemical hexane, an EPA-registered air pollutant and neurotoxin. Cornucopia Institute senior researcher Charlotte Vallaeys, "If a non-organic product contains a soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, or texturized vegetable protein, you can be pretty sure it was made using soy beans that were made with hexane." The air pollutant is a byproduct of gas refining. In 2007, grain processors were responsible for two-thirds of our national hexane emissions. Workers who have been exposed to it have developed both skin and nervous system disorders. The FDA does not monitor or regulate hexane residue in foods. According to the report, "Nearly every major ingredient in conventional soy-based infant formula is hexane extracted."
The veggie burger list with hexane according to the report (pdf - page 37) is below along with hexane-free products: Hexane: Amy's Kitchen, Boca Burger, conventional, Franklin Farms, Garden Burger, It’s All Good Lightlife, Morningstar Farms, President’s Choice, Taste Above, Trader Joe's, Yves Veggie Cuisine Hexane-free products: Boca Burgers "Made with organic soy", Helen's Kitchen, Morningstar "Made with organic", Superburgers by Turtle Island, Tofurky, Wildwood After I finished speaking on Green IT Innovation at two Aberdeen, Scotland events this evening (one to Robert Gordon University Students and the other to an IT Leaders Forum), I went to dinner at the Japanese Restaurant, Yatai. Here are the delicious items I tried along with the pictures below:
1. Edamame with Sea Salt 2. Deep Fried Tofu and Aubergine, Ginger, and Bonito Broth 3. Asparagus with Yuzu and Green Chili Gidon Eshel is a professor with the Physics department of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. He is currently researching diet's effects on the environment, and has found that grazing, grass-fed animals emit two to four times as much methane, a greenhouse gas roughly 30 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Here is his research on Reuters.
Check out PCRM's colorful, user-friendly Power Plate is based on current nutrition research showing that plant-based foods are the most nutrient-dense and help prevent chronic diseases, such as cancer and diabetes. The graphic depicts a plate divided into four new food groups: fruits, grains, legumes, and vegetables. The Power Plate simply asks people to eat a variety of all four food groups each day. ThePowerPlate.org offers more information on plant-based diets, as well an interactive Power Plate diagram and quiz. This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
Have you been looking for Vegan Pumps, Hiking Boots, Sneakers, Sandals, and Bags... and receive free overnight shipping on new styles and free return shipping? Check out these cool styles: Do you have a Slow Cooker? Do you use it? The Vegetarian Slow Cooker has 200 colorful recipes and more than 130 vegan-friendly recipes are clearly idenitfied. Some of the recipes include: Coconut-Spiked Pumpkin Soup with Cumin and Ginger Cider Baked Beans Caper-Studded Caponata Hominy-Spiked Light Chili Leek Risotto Wine Poached Apples Blueberry Oatmeal Pudding Cake What is your favorite recipe from The Vegetarian Slow Cooker? Credit: CBS The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday on a resolution urging restaurants, grocery stores and schools to observe no meat on Mondays. See the article here. Here's the Resolution: Resolution declaring Mondays as "Vegetarian Day" to urge all restaurants, grocery stores, and schools to offer a variety of plant based options to improve the health of San Francisco residents. WHEREAS, The Plant based diet is truly a Green Diet that reduces the serious ecological problems involved in livestock production; and WHEREAS, The 2009 report from World Bank environmental advisers, Goodland and Anhang, called "Livestock and Climate Change", reveals that farmed animals and their byproducts are responsible for at least 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. Goodland and Anhang concluded that replacing animal products with soy-based and other alternatives would be the best strategy for reversing climate change; and WHEREAS, The findings from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report prompted Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to recommend that individuals reduce their personal carbon impact by decreasing their meat consumption; and WHEREAS, Plant-based diets are good preventive medicine and could help reduce medical costs to individuals and the health care system; and WHEREAS, In July 2009, Ghent, Belgium recognized the relationship between diet and climate change by establishing a VegDay each week of the year; and WHEREAS, In April 2009, the City of Takoma Park, Maryland, adopted a Mayoral Proclamation designating April 24-30 "Takoma Park Veg Week," to encourage citizens to choose vegetarian foods as a way to protect the planet, their health, and animals; and WHEREAS, In February 2009, as part of the Green Cincinnati Plan, the City's Food Task Force recommended that residents replace some of the meat in their diet with fresh fruits and vegetables; and WHEREAS, The American Dietetic Association recognizes that reduced meat consumption decreases the risk of various health problems, stating, "Scientific data suggests positive relationships between a vegetarian diet and reduced risk for several chronic degenerative diseases and conditions, including obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and some types of cancer"; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors designates Mondays as "Veg Day" to encourage restaurants, grocery stores, and schools to offer a greater variety of plant based options to improve the health of San Francisco residents and visitors, and to increase the awareness of the impact a GREEN DIET would be on our planet. The Stanford Law and Policy Review is presenting Carrots and Sticks: A Symposium on Food Policy and the Law Friday, April 23 9am-2pm Stanford Law School Room 290, and it's open to the public. Panels and Presentations will include: Environmental Impact on Food Production and Policy, Student Presentation on Caloric Disclosure, Market Regulation and Food Policy, and Keynote speaker California State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez.
In partnership with Cedarlane, I invite you to participate in the Cedarlane Gratitude Gourmet Product Giveaway! Five lucky Gratitude Gourmet readers will each receive 2 Cedarlane free product coupons. Just post your FAVORITE earth-friendly food on the Gratitude Gourmet Facebook Page. Many of my readers know I've been a great fan of Colleen Patrick Goudreau's Compassionate Cooks' work. She has recently partnered with PBS to provide Potluck Recipes on her website for the upcoming April 21st screening of Oscar nominated documentary Food Inc. POV will be giving away one gift basket (with products, coupons, books, DVDs and more!) to a Compassionate Cooks fan who hosts a potluck. See details here.
These free recipes from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's cookbooks, The Joy of Vegan Baking and The Vegan Table are accessible on her website: Better Than Tuna Salad/Sandwiches, Blueberry Cobbler, Decadent Chocolate Cake, Creamy Caesar Salad, Crowd Pleasing Pasta with Tomatoes and Artichokes, Mexican Wedding Cookies, Raspberry Oatmeal Bars, Roasted Red Pepper Wraps, Ryan's Mushroom Poppers, Fresh Strawberry Pie with Chocolate Chunks, Tempeh Plate. Are you doing work in the sustainable food space you'd like to share? Feel free to tell your story on the Gratitude Gourmet Facebook Page. There is a Film screening and Q&A with Co-Director: Laura Graham Wednesday April 7th, 6:30 - 8 pm at Stanford University, Y2E2, lobby/ rm. 111 (see map Enter from Via Ortega) co-sponsored by E-IPER and Dept. of Anthropology; it's the first event in the 'Resource Extraction and Indigenous Amazonians Film Series'. In 'Owners of the Water', a central Brazilian Xavante, a Wayuu from Venezuela, and a US anthropologist explore a Xavante Indian campaign to protect a river from the impacts of Amazonian soy cultivation. The film highlights a civic protest showing the strategic use of culture to bring attention to deforestation and excessive use of agritoxins in agricultural industry. Featuring a diversity of opinions from both Xavante and non-indigenous peoples, 'Owners' showcases the potential of indigenous efforts to raise awareness about local issues while building networks among different native peoples and across nations. The Movie Trailer is below. |