…but, what do you eat???

By Justina Walls

What a treat we have! This issue of Vegetarian Living features a guest columnist, Kate Lawrence. Many of you know Kate, and many of you remember her as editor of Vegetarian Living in years past. Kate reviewed a delightful Gentle World publication, and includes recipes that she tested, and that were a great success. Enjoy, enjoy, and THANK YOU, KATE!

By Kate Lawrence

Readers who have been vegetarians for awhile will probably remember The Cookbook for People Who Love Animals, first published back in 1981 by Gentle World, a vegan community based first in Florida, now in Hawaii. That cookbook was a treasured source of culinary support for me when I first went veggie, so I was especially curious to see their current volume. It, too, supplements recipes with inspiring veg-friendly quotations from a variety of sources--now indexed and printed in a contrasting color. Again we find helpful supplementary pages on vegan nutrition, how to get started cooking, and what to feed companion animals, among other topics. I checked to see if the recipe for Bran Muffins, a personal favorite, is in the new volume, and it’s there, unchanged. Other recipes have been reworked or omitted, with many new ones added.

The new volume makes use of a large format and easy-to-read large print, with color photographs of some of the dishes, and even more supplementary information pages. Raw foods now get their own expanded section, and the number of dessert recipes has also increased. I tried four recipes: Italian Zucchini Boats, Soup’erb Creamy Lima Bean, Saucy Italian Eggplant, and Maple Pecan Biscotti. All were, well, incredibly delicious. The zucchini boats, from the Rawsome Recipes section, featured grated and seasoned carrots and beets presented attractively in hollowed-out zucchini halves. Broths were a strong point with the next two: miso-based for the lima bean soup; and rich mushroom, tomato, and nutritional yeast for the eggplant dish. And my first attempt at making biscotti was a winner!

Incredibly Delicious is not so much a revision of an earlier classic as it is a beautifully produced step forward into the new culinary landscape. It is what the earlier cookbook would have hoped to be in its wildest dreams.

Italian Zucchini Boats 

- Yields 4 boats

1. Wash the zucchini and remove stems. Slice in half lengthwise. Gently cut out the insides (avoiding breaking the outer shell).

2. Place the zucchini shells in a shallow plate or dish with lemon juice, sea salt and oil to marinate (1/8 cup water can replace oil).

3. Grate or dice the insides of the zucchini, carrots and beets. Mix together and season with the remaining ingredients.

4. Fill the shells with the grated vegetable mixture. Chill and serve.

- Serves 6

1. Cook the lima beans before starting the soup (see page 13).

2. In a soup pot, sauté the onion in a little water or oil. Add the carrots, cauliflower and a little water. Cover and steam.

3. In a blender, blend two cups of water with one cup of cooked lima beans, one cup of cooked carrots and cauliflower, tamari and nutritional yeast. Pour back into the soup pot. Add an additional two cups of water to the pot.

4. In the blender, again, blend two cups of water with one cup of lima beans and pour into the soup pot.

5. Add remaining flavorings (except miso) and the remaining cup of whole lima beans to the pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook for 15 minutes.

6. Remove from heat. Take out 1-2 cups of soup and mix with the miso in a bowl. Pour this mixture back into the soup pot. Stir, then serve.

Saucy Italian Eggplant - Serves 3-4

1-2 T. oil 1/2 C. nutritional yeast*

1 onion, sliced thinly 1/2 C. water

2 C. mushrooms, sliced black pepper, to taste (optional)

1. In a large skillet, sauté the garlic in oil. Add the onion and pepper and sauté for a minute or two, then add eggplant. Season with tamari and stir. Cover and simmer for a few minutes. Add the mushrooms and cover again for a minute or two. Finally, add the tomato chunks and fresh herbs.

2. When the tomatoes are soft, pull out 1/3 cup of the cooked tomatoes and place in a blender. Blend them with the nutritional yeast, water, spices and arrowroot.

3. Pour this back into the frying pan and simmer while stirring for a few minutes until it thickens. Do not boil. Serve over grain or noodles.

 - Yields 2 loaves, sliced

1. In a food processor, using the "S" shaped blade, chop nuts finely. Set aside.

2. In food processor, blend tofu, the remaining wet ingredients and dry sweetener.

3. Add pecans/almonds and one cup of whole wheat pastry flour to processor; whiz.

4. Take dough out of food processor, place in a bowl. Sift in remaining flour, baking soda and powder and salt. Mix. The dough should be firm but not dry. Add more flour if needed.

5. Place dough on an oiled baking tray and mold into two long loaves about three inches wide.

6. Bake in pre-heated oven at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until golden-brown.

7. Remove from oven. Let cool and cut, while warm, into 3/4 inch thick pieces and place back on to the baking tray. In oven, toast each side for 4-5 minutes.

* Nutritional Yeast is available in flakes or powder form in the loose bins in natural food stores. It gives a "cheesy" flavor to soups, stews, sauces, and pastas. It is not to be confused with Brewer’s yeast, or Baker’s yeast, which are different products.

** Herb Seasonings--mixed spice blends such as Spike, an all-purpose seasoning with 35 herbs and spices. The first ingredient is salt, but there is also salt-free Spike. Modern Products makes a seasoning called Vegit, which contains kelp. Trocomare or Herbamare are herb seasoned sea salt. Both are made with fresh organically grown herbs and found in health food stores. Mrs. Dash Seasoning Original Blend (salt-free) and McCormick Salt-Free All-Purpose Seasoning are found in supermarkets.

*** 1 cup of dry beans to 3 cups water. No soaking required. 90 minutes cooking time. 1 cup of dry beans yields approximately 2 1/2 cups

cooked beans.

**** Miso is available in natural foods, Asian, and some major grocery stores. It is a fermented paste made from soybeans or grains. It ranges from very light (white) to dark, and its flavor is stronger with deepening color.

***** Tamari is a natural soy sauce and is available in natural food and major grocery stores.

****** Arrowroot powder is available in natural foods stores, and is a natural product used to thicken sauces, in a similar manner of cornstarch.