Dinner of Marathon-esque Runners!

After a long run (I mean nearing about 1.75 hours total), I wanted a hearty, but healthful meal. So, I had spaghetti with italian sausage and asparagus.

But, of course, there were minor changes. The pasta, first off, is gluten-free. It is made from quinoa, which is a superfood and complete protein! The veggies in the pasta are red, green, and yellow bell peppers, onions and spinach. There are Tofurky sun-dried tomato italian sausages cut up inside too. The sauce was a garden vegetable, organic sauce. All with a side of asparagus. This meal is full of protein and tons (TONS!) of vegetables. All with low-sodium, cholestrol-free and nearly fat-free.

Great post-run dinner. Too bad is was a dinner for one!

Anyway, this was a quick post that satisfied la lengua de un vegan!

Quick Post

I don't have time to cook or to update but here was my IHOP inspired breakfast.

Gluten-Free Pancakes topped with Blueberry Coconut with a side of Sweet Potato-Apple Hash

Veganism Means War (Or Does it?)

Since I don't think the veganism is just about food, I thought I would post this conversation/debate/contemplation I had with someone. Here it is:

Someone made a simple and good argument today that I thought it'd be interesting to contemplate: "To be a pacifist, you must be a vegan. How can a pacifist justify exploitation and violence against innocent beings, regardless of their species?"

• Person #2 

I think a large majority of people make a serious distinction between humans and other species... But we are kind of totally different than any other being, non?

• Me 

To say that humans are totally different is true insofar as we are capable of things that no other species can. However, if pacifists believe humans should not inflict or perpetuate violence against one another, they should do the same for all other sentient beings, because regardless of species we both have that in common. 


Some religions (such as Jainism) that practice pacifism believe that human life is valued as unique--- the only species able to reach enlightenment; however they still practice compassion to all humans and non-humans requiring their followers to be vegetarian**. 

I researched this topic because I’m the biggest nerd ever!! Here is what a great scholarly journal article said: “Ethical vegetarianism may express for some, then, the conviction that to be fully human is to have reverence for all life, especially sentient life. Part of this involves a rejection of violence. As Twigg (1979, 1983) points out, ethical vegetarianism has traditionally been associated with pacifism as well as a host of unorthodox, radical and oppositional stances. In this it is as much motivated by the need to define what it is to be human as it is from concern with the welfare of animals. As Tester (1991) argues, animal rights, although assimilating animals to the category of the human and vice versa, is also, and perhaps more importantly, about differentiating humans from animals as moral creatures who are alone capable of compassion” (Hamilton, M. Eating Death: Vegetarians, Meat and Violence. Food, Culture & Society v. 9 no. 2 (Summer 2006) p. 155-77)

In a study that they preformed, they wanted to see the stance of vegetarianism on non-health related issues such as war and nuclear weapons programs: “…Ethical vegetarians were rather more opposed to these things than health-oriented vegetarians or those motivated by other reasons, as one might expect. When asked whether they were in favor of or opposed to Britain possessing nuclear weapons 52 percent of ethically motivated vegetarians said they were opposed, while only 28 percent of health-motivated vegetarians and 44 percent of vegetarians motivated by other concerns were opposed, and only 18 percent of non-vegetarians” (Hamilton). They subsequently concluded that vegetarians tend to be “radically” liberal and abstain and oppose from all forms of violence compared to those of non-vegetarians. 

I would say that since humans, Westerners really, have made such a clear and devastating distinction between humans and non-humans, it is hard to say that we can equate pacifism for both. I'm not saying this is a completely sound argument; I would, however, agree it is a really good one. We must keep in mind, like many other moral-ethical viewpoints, that pacifism has many different stances and variations. It is, therefore, impossible to blindly conflate veganism and pacifism for their seemingly foundational stances on violence, because it could come down to something as simple as: "Pacifism has nothing to do with food, only war" (if that is one's standpoint). 

Sorry that this was a really long response. But I ended up researching this topic a little further as it really sparked an interest. I never linked the two in such a way. After reading many different scholarly journal articles and vegetarian/vegan blogs as well as pacifist readings, I can see a connection. However, I do want to concede a little and say that Hitler was a vegetarian who was obviously not a pacifist. There are always examples of the exceptions but that does not nullify over-arching conclusions. Also, I am aware of much of the bias that can be surreptitiously written in vegetarian rhetoric. Nevertheless, I believe that there is a clear connections and fundamentally I believe that vegetarianism/veganism** goes hand in hand with pacifism and visa versa. I would not necessarily require a pacifist to be a vegetarian; however, depending on their stance, it could be hypocritical not to. 

**I am going to treat vegetarianism and veganism as the same words in the response. It is simply because semantically vegetarianism is technically a form of dietary veganism. Veganism is ethical vegetarianism that goes beyond food in every aspect. Therefore, I will use these terms interchangeablely. 

• Person #2

Really interesting Josh! I totally understand all your contentions, except the one about pacifism going hand in hand with ethical vegetarianism. Like you mentioned, there are many reasons someone can choose to be a pacifist which could include being strongly against human war (like me!) that doesn't in any way relate to animal rights.

I agree that vegetarianism is uniquely related to pacifism, but pacifism as a whole is only in some parts related to vegetarianism. They can be mutually exclusive. I grew up in a religious community that had a strong sense of pacifism, but I don't remember ever meeting a vegetarian. It was also possibly this belief that led me to become a vegetarian for a year, though, too!

• Me 

It's interesting how a small comment made by some rando on a blog sparked such an interesting debate and analysis. I think that though both of our analyses we can conclude that pacifism and vegetarianism can be related, but don't have to be! To be honest, I think it's more that vegetarians should be pacifists and not vice versa. We (veggies) can't claim pacifism towards animals and not towards humans (and their actions). Overall, I think we agree! :)

Hope you enjoyed this conversation and it really gets your brain a-turnin'. Today it wasn't the la lengua de un vegan that was satisfied, but rather el celebro. 

A Real Day of Labor

Today is Labor Day and really the only significance that bares for me is that I do not have any responsibilities. Even though that I did do some work emailing out to businesses, I did spend the way that I love when I have a free day, which is with exercising, cooking, and eating. This Saturday I received two fruit baskets from my job and so I had literally pounds of apples and oranges. So, I started off the day baking an apple-orange spiced cake with a caramel glaze. Again, it was hard to get a good picture because the lighting in my apartment is so horrible during the night. It just turns everything so brown. This is how it turned out. I didn't want to use any oil and I had some bananas left-over, so I decided to use that as a base for the cake. So, this cake was very low in fat and packed full of fruit too. There is a thin layer of apples sliced in the middle as well as on the top. When a cake is so full of fruit and low in fat, I feel like I want to eat the entire cake at one time. Then I realized that this is pretty high in sugar. Although it was made with brown rice syrup to cut down on the refined sugar, it is till pretty sweet. The weird-looking top is a caramel sauce. This sweet, yet fruity, cake was a perfect ending to my dinner.

My dinner was an original recipe. I thought of it just randomly one day and started writing down my idea. I wanted to make an empanada, but I didn't know what kind of filling I wanted. I wanted something that seemed meaty, but wasn't the fake ground tofu beef. So, of course I thought of my almond meat recipe, but I wanted something more substantial. So, I decided to add crumbled 5 grain tempeh. Then to add some more heartiness, I added some black beans. Then to make it creamy and to bind all of those loose ingredients, I added a can of cream corn. The filling was perfect! Turned out better than I ever imagined. I stuffed the empanada and topped it with a black bean spinach cream sauce and served it with a side of brown rice and quinoa ensalada con pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds). Here's the recipe:

Empanada Dough

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup soy butter
• 1 egg replacer
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup water, cold

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt together. Then cut in the butter until dough is crumbly.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients.
3. Slowly add the liquid into the flour mixture until the dough starts to form. 
4. Once it is together as a dough, break into 6 balls. Roll out into patties. Fill with filling (recipes follows), crimp ends with a fork and cook at 350 for 15 minutes.

Empanada Filling

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. 5 grain tempeh
• 1/4 cup almonds, ground
• 1/3 cup black beans
• 1 can of creamed corn
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp ancho chile powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• a dash of cayenne pepper
• salt to taste

Instructions:

1. In a food processor, grind up almonds with the tbsp olive oil.
2. In a pan, saute the tempeh and black beans until browned.
3. Add the spices.
4. Add the can of creamed corn.
5. Transfer to a bowl and mix with the almonds.

Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice, cooked
• 1 cup red quinoa, cooked
• 1/2 cup each of onion, red, yellow and green bell pepper
• 1/3 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Instructions:

1. Saute the veggies until browned and cooked through.
2. Throw all the ingredients in the pan and serve.

Black Bean-Spinach Crema

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 1 can black beans
• 8 oz tofutti sour cream
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Throw it all in a food processor until smooth. Serve.

Okay, that was a lot of recipe-age. I hope that you guys enjoyed. This recipe really satisfied la lengua de un vegan. 

Hasta la otra vez!

The Biggest Meal Ever!

Okay, it really isn't the biggest meal I've ever eaten, but it was fairly substantial. Regardless of its size, it was healthful and I am, therefore, void of any gluttonous guilt. What was this dish you ask? It was a Mediterranean feast fit for Zeus himself. A bed of spinach topped with falafel accompanied with baba ganoush. The side dishes were a fresh fruit salad and a fenugreek-curried couscous with pistachios and cranberries. It was extremely filling and filled me with beans, nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables. It was low in fat as well! Here is a quick recipe for the couscous:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup couscous
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fenugreek
• 1/2 tsp curry
• 1 tsp cumin, ground
• 2-3 tbsp dried cranberries
• 2 tbsp chopped pistachios
• salt (if needed)

Directions:

1. Bring to a boil in a medium saucepan the water, oil, spices and cranberries. 
2. Once to a boil, add the couscous.
3. Stir until well incorporated.
4. Take off heat, cover, and let sit for five minutes.
5. Stir in pistachios (they are salty and therefore should be used as the salt component, if not salty enough add some extra to taste).

Voila! Look how easy that was. A couple of simple ingredients and literally a 6-minute dish. And there are plenty of leftovers in order to have a quick lunch tomorrow.

As a dessert, I made a blueberry-peach crumble topped with an a praline almond ice cream. It is a perfect match for the cooling weather. Lately, there have been some beautiful peaches on sale at the grocery store. As an impulse-buy, I picked up a couple of peaches. I, however, had no idea what I was going to do with them. So, I picked up a pint of blueberries to go along with them. And then it struck me, it's getting cooler, why not make a crumble? I mean, it's easier than a pie, that's for sure. So, I made a quick crumb topping with some brown rice flour, brown sugar, oats, coconut, cinnamon and a small amount of oil. I baked it off for 40 minutes and then served it with Almond Dream Praline "Ice Cream". 

Tonight, for the first time in years, I am going to be eating popcorn!! I have not eaten popcorn since I've became a vegan. I could never find any that didn't have butter. Well, to be honest, I never looked hard enough, it was only when other people had popcorn that I could not have any. I recently came across whole-grain, low-sodium, butter-free popcorn. So, I decided to grab it up. Of course, I can't be as simple as just popping a bag (I'll leave that for later). I decided to make scratch-made vegan caramel corn. Again, I couldn't be simple and just make normal caramel corn. I had to make cardamom-spiced caramel corn with toasted coconut. It turned out great. Now, I have to really test it out with a bowl of my middle-east inspired caramel corn and a good movie. So, let me get a-watchin'!

I hope you enjoyed the dishes that satisfied la lengua de un vegan. Watch out for another post tomorrow. I have an original dinner planned. Hopefully it turns out well!

Gettin' My Cultural Diversity On!!

I've been so busy lately that I've had NO time to cook. These two following dishes are actually really quick and easy. It was the first time I've made either of these dishes and I'd say it took less than 20 minutes to make both. Let's explore:

This first dish is Persian halva. Now halva has many different names and regional variations. Arabic halva is different from Indian, which is different from Mediterranean halva. I would say that these variations are quite unique and really can taste completely unrecognizable. Also, some people cook the same regional variations differently to change the flavor profiles as well. I've tried an Iranian halva that contained no flour, whereas mine did; however, I did not darken mine as much as other do. My point is here that there are so many variations that mine might not look like one you've had before, but nevertheless, mine is vegan and beyond delicious. I had to censor myself from eating the entire plate at once.

I actually got a really bad picture and only had this plate clean, which the color drains the color from the halva. But here is the basic recipe:

Ingredients:


1 cup organic raw sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup rosewater
3-4 threads of saffron
1 cup of melted coconut oil
1 1/2 cup of unbleached purpose flour
pinch of cardamom
crushed pistatios
unsweetened shredded coconut


Directions

• Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan.. Stir until all sugar is dissolved, and then add the rosewater and saffron. Cover, remove from heat and set aside.
• Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over low flame. Add the flour and stir to form a smooth paste. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the paste is golden brown, between 5-10 minutes.
• Using a whisk, slowly beat the sugar syrup into the flour paste.
• Cook in the cardamom.
• Remove from heat and spread the halva paste evenly onto a plate or platter. Top with pistachios and coconut.

It was great! I ate it with cinnamon pita chips. That was the best idea ever! It just set it off and married all of the flavors!! It was better than I was expecting because I've never cooked it before and also I've never had this kind of halva. It's not the healthiest dish ever, but I realize that and I ate it sparingly over a week and doled some out to my bestie. 

This next dish is a raw vegan dish. I've been wanting to make a raw pasta dish forever. But I have been putting off ordering a vegetable spiralizer. But, I got this great deal and so I ordered it. Basically, this turned vegetables into spiraly shreds. Zucchini is the main vegetable used for raw vegan pasta. There's a picture of it to the right.

So the pasta part was simple and took two minutes to create. Much, MUCH shorter than waiting for a pot of water to boil and then pasta cooking for 11-13 minutes. So, there was a plus to it already! More importantly, however, it is not processed and made from unrefined flours. It's probably ninety thousand times less carbohydrates. Zucchini pasta is much better than regular pasta noodles. It will not stop me eating "real" pasta dishes made from quinoa flour, but it's a great alternative.

But, of course, I did not just eat plain zucchini. In a food processor, I threw in a red bell pepper, a tomato, sun dried tomatoes, garlic and herbs with some salt and pepper. Blended it up and there was the marinara sauce. I tossed the sauce with the zucchini pasta. I needed to use of some cashews that were on the verge of spoiling as well as some spinach that I had yet to open. So, I decided to make a Spinach cheez sauce. Again, in the food processor, I just added the cashews, garlic, spinach, oil, water, salt, nutritional yeast flake (yes, I know that some consider it raw, others don't). Pulse, pulse, blend blend---Cheez sauce that is rich in protein, food fats, beta carotene, vits A, B, C, E and K. Very nutricious. That combined with the pasta sauce and noodles, it was a low-fat, high-vitamin rich meal. It was, more importantly, quick and effortless. Really, that is my biggest draw towards raw veganism. It is so simple and quick. Cooking is the tedious part sometime. 

I hope you all enjoyed. This is the little I've cooked, but it still has satisfied la lengua de un vegan.