Food For Thought

SO I'm on my way to Watkins Glen, NY to begin my internship at Farm Sanctuary! To get myself psyched up I decided to start The Face On Your Plate by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. Despite running on only three or so hours of sleep, I found myself riveted and antsy on the plane as I read. I am getting so excited to delve into a month of work towards something I care deeply about.

Some interesting facts I came across, which you may or may not find interesting/disturbing/enraging:

- In the US, the amount of animal waste is 130 times greater than that of human waste
- The EPA takes the view that factory farm runoff is a greater source of pollution of our rivers and lakes than all other industrial sources combined
- Nearly 40% of world grain is being fed to livestock rather than being consumed directly by humans
- Going vegan saves on average 2,000 animals over a person's lifetime
- Geese are more monogamous than humans and as faithful as dogs

"The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?" - Jeremy Bentham

Just some things to think about...

Daniel, who is alive because of Farm Sanctuary

P.S. I GET TO PLAY WITH BABY ANIMALS FOR A MONTH!

Absurdly Healthy But Delicious.

Quick post.

Just made dinner.

Nearly cried it was so delicious and flavorful. Yes, I am that good in the kitchen, y'all.

(Might be a bit of an exaggeration).

We had:
Grilled veggie kabobs
AND
Spinach-Bulgur Patties with Skordalia on Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Burger Buns

Ok, I know it sounds really crunchy granola. You're probably thinking that it's rabbit food. But let me tell you - the burgers were rich and flavorful, made crispy by frying the patties in a bit in olive oil. They were dense and chewy. Filling.

The skordalia was a delicious concontion I could have eaten by the spoonful. Nutty with a kick of cayenne! And the buns were warm and made a nice little cocoon for the burgers.

The best about all this though was how obscenely healthy the dinner was, even though I probably ate way too much. I substituted kale for spinach, loading the burgers with all sorts of nutrients. Kale can greatly reduce the risk of cancer, detoxify the body, and reduce inflammation. It is rich in antioxidants. Bulgur is high in fiber and is a low glycemic index food. Low glycemic index foods are better for you because they produce only small fluctuations in blood glucose and insulin levels compared with high glycemic index foods like rice and potatoes. The almonds in the skordalia provided protein and prevent heart problems and diabetes. Finally, Ezekiel bread is the best sort of bread you could possibly eat. It's sprouted, meaning that the important enzymes are released from the germ of the grain. The enzymatic action enables the body to assimilate the vitamins and minerals more efficiently. Plus, the sprouting process naturally increases the protein content and decreases the calories and carbohydrates found in the original grain.

Basically, my body is wildly infatuated with my dinner. And my taste buds were even pleased in the process.

Honduran Eats

Last week I helped save the world. I went with nine of the most wonderful people I have ever met to help build a school in Honduras with Global Brigades. We kicked some ass by hauling 900 40-pound cement blocks from one place to another, mixing and pouring concrete, and laying brick to make walls. It was an intense four days of building and a few days of play, accompanied appropriately with intense meals.

For one thing, there was always strong hot coffee at the dining hall of our compound. Always. Three cups in the morning did the trick to get us ready for a long day of work, and a sweaty cup or two was perfect in the late afternoon.

Meals were hearty and filling, perhaps a little too dense, but nevertheless delicious. Unfortunately I forgot to take a lot of pictures, so you'll have to bear with my descriptions.

It's easy to eat vegan in Honduras, for the most part. I could always get starch and protein. We had rice, rolls, or handmade corn tortillas with every meal. Sometimes there were refried beans at breakfast, sometimes we had beans and plantains in tortilla sandwiches for lunch. Often meals included eggs or cheese, which I simply chose not to eat.

Luckily, there were always steamed vegetables at dinner. Granted they were steeped in a little too much oil, perhaps butter, but what can you do? They hit the spot and provided some much-needed nutrients. And there was always fresh fruit with lunch and dinner. Pineapple, melon, bananas, mango, papaya, watermelon...Juicy and delicious, we savored fruit as our dessert.

And if all else failed, PB&J never got old. Hondurans are convinced that Americans constantly eat peanut butter and jelly, so there was always a station set up with every meal. I discovered that peanut butter tortilla rollups are especially delightful.

On our last day we were able to tour a bit. We went to a national park where some bought ice cream and I bought water in a plastic bag. It was sort of fun to drink.

Later we headed to Valle de Angeles, a colonial tourist town. We enjoyed freshly-cooked pupusas, which is a Salvadorian dish made of tortillas stuffed with cheese or sausage. It reminded me of a slightly fried pancake - a little crispy, very gooey, and floury. It was delightfully messy and was even better with pickled onions, cole slaw, and hot sauce as condiments. I strayed and ate a bit of cheese, but was I supposed to pass up the meal that the town is famous for? I don't think so. I washed it down with a Fanta made with real sugar and left the restaurant rubbing my stomach but content.

My Honduran meals were far from gourmet, but they were deeply satisfying and made with the loving attention of some motherly-looking Honduran ladies. One day we got to thinking about industrial food. Our compound cranked out some good, fresh food every single day for a couple hundred ravenous college students. True, real food takes a little extra time and effort, but if such good meals can be prepared for so many people in a kitchen the size of a dorm room, why does Tulane food have to be so repulsive and barely defrosted? Why does all industrial food have to be so, well, industrial? We need to make a shift to simple, well-prepared food, not a daily cafeteria smorgasbord of fake food.

And with that, I'll leave you with what I made for last night's dinner:

- Easiest Bean or Grain Salad on the Planet
I made this with red kidney beans and chickpeas, but there are about a million different variations. I'm thinking this will be a summer staple. It is so fresh and light but loaded with protein! Next I want to try it with black beans, cilantro, and tomato...

- Avocado Pesto Pasta
This is heaven. Making it with lime juice works just as well, if not better.

- Peach Clafoutis Without Dough
I substituted 8 peaches for 12 plums, and used about a tablespoon of Earth Balance. I cooked the peaches until they were gooey and deceivingly rich. SO GOOD.


Love and noms from Boca Raton...

Mooching Off Tha Rents

There are few things better in life than when parents come to town. They give you love, affection, compliments, and free meals. Free meals that would otherwise be wildly expensive on your own. But because they are your parents and one of them is Jewish, they must show how much they love you by feeding you with nothing but gourmet fare.

And so, when Don and Carol came to town, we mostly did nothing but eat. True, we walked around a bit and moved me out of my dorm and into my house for the fall, but we organized our days around meals.

Caribbean Sandwich with chips!

Tofu Breakfast Platter

My mom and I started at Surrey's Café & Juice Bar for some brunch on Thursday. She ordered the Tofu Breakfast Platter, which we agreed was a bit too salty but tasty nonetheless. It consisted of soy and ginger marinated tofu, sauteed with bell peppers, mushrooms and onions served over brown rice. I had an exotic Caribbean sandwich served on delicious focaccia with sprouts, lettuce, tomato, plantain chips, and tofu. And because we're Voracious, we also ordered a vegetable juice and a sundried tomato bagel with guacamole. Surrey's is a good deal because it's very vegan friendly, and it marks vegan and vegetarian items on the menu with asterisks! Also great because it has that casual feeling of Sunday brunch regardless of when you're dining.

Carol and Don eating well and looking cute

After attending Commencement at the New Orleans Convention Center we were ravenous. My dad landed from Florida and we met up at The Green Goddess. The self-proclaimed 'quarter rat' hostess was a little snippy and could've used a razor, but we put our name down anyway because the food is rumored to be divine. We had to wait an hour, but it was a beautiful steamy night so we wandered around the quarter until our table was finally ready. I ordered a Covington Stawberry Ale. Pure heaven. It's wheaty and thick, not as fluffy as Abita Strawberry. It was cold and perfect. The swarthy, sweaty, but jovial chef even brought me another one for free because "I'm so pretty."

The menu is seasonal and whimsical, loaded with exotic ingredients and lengthy descriptions. We started with the Nigata Bruschetta, consisting of a spicy mint and edamame tapenade on toasty bread. I had the Muhammara for dinner, which is a dip with roasted red peppers, walnuts, and pomegranate molasses. It was served with raw and roasted veggies. I could've eaten the dip by the spoonful. My mom had the South Indian Savory Ivory Lentil Pancake. It was topped with tamarind and reminded me of my favorite Tamarind Eggplant from my hometown's Indian restaurant.

Muhammara

Dessert was weird, and later orgasmic. The waitress suggested their vegan dessert, Saturn Calling. It sounded delicious in theory - "sticky coconut black rice pudding with 'rings and stardust.' " It was actually just a pool of unsweetened coconut milk and bland sticky rice. Eh.

The real treat was my mom's french toast, which was not vegan, but oh so worth it. She likes to call us "virtual vegans," meaning that sometimes we stray from our animal-free path. I would never eat fish or meat, but when a heavenly restaurant item presents itself I don't reject it, especially if I know the ingredients are local. In certain cases, it's just cruel to deny yourself the pleasure of a good meal because there's a trace of egg or dairy. Therefore, we gorged ourselves on Chocolate Norweigan-French Toast. It was gooey and warm, stuffed with chocolate and goat cheese that was admittedly damn good. We scarfed it down without words, just moans.

Lunch the next day was at Surrey's Uptown and hit the spot after a day of packing and moving in the rain. Dinner was at my favorite restaurant in all of New Orleans, Dante's Kitchen. It's perfect for any occasion - birthday brunches, dinner with parents, meals with certain manfriends...you cannot go wrong.

After you order drinks they bring you spoonbread and you eat dessert first. It comes in a mini skillet and is topped with melting butter. My dad was introduced to Pimm's Cup, my mom ordered rosé, and I had some sort of champagne and citrus vodka cocktail. Then my rich shiitake mushroom and carmelized onion soup came. Life was swell. Next was dinner - my mom had the Local Farm Vegetable Plate, which is served with the most delectable goat cheese and carmelized onion croquette. I had three sides. My favorite was the crispy sauteed broccoli served in a peanut satay sauce. I also had some smokey curried cauliflower and carmelized onion mashed potatoes.

The spread at Dante's Kitchen

We had the chocolate mint cake for dessert, which was a bit like a giant Junior Mint. It was thick and dense, served with a deceiving chocolate lemon gelato, which was really lemon but looked like chocolate. My taste buds were baffled.

Our last meal was lunch at Gott Gourmet Café at my dad's request. He loves their fries, and I adore the sweet and spicy cucumber jicama salad. As a side note, I think jicama is my new favorite summer vegetable. I love how crunchy it is!

How pretty is that salad?!

I had the Gott Salad without brie. It had organic baby greens, candied pecans, seasonal berries, cherry tomatoes, and raspberry vinaigrette. Perfect after a morning of pilates and moving a bed and box spring down a spiral staircase.

All in all, it was a great few days. Gotta give a shout out to D&C for giving me the resources to be able to eat so well and pursue my growing interest in food. They've taught me how to appreciate food and culture.

And my mom's a MILF (Mom, it's a compliment, trust me), so I have to thank her for the good genes.

Whew! Sorry for such a long post. But hey! I ate a lot, so I had to write a lot.

I'm off to Honduras tomorrow for a service trip. It'll be a lot of rice and beans, but I can't wait.

Sup.

Hello hello! Welcome to my very first blog post.

My name is Suzannah and I'm generally hungry. I am also vegan. Some people believe me to be sexy, but really The Vegan Seductress is simply a persona formed by my dear friend Natalie. Although I have been known to make especially strange noises and faces while luxuriating in a good meal....

I'm a student at Tulane University down in New Orleans, majoring in Environmental Studies and International Development with a minor in Business. In my spare time I enjoy hugging trees and doing rain dances. I often have twigs in my hair and smell of patchouli.


Just kidding.


I crave style and delicious food, good music and good friends. I'm constantly looking for ways to live well without sacrificing my conscience. I'd much prefer a shopping spree at Whole Foods to Forever 21, and few things make me happier than putting together a good meal for people I love. I've been vegan for two and a half years after reading Skinny Bitch while bored over winter break my senior year of high school. Until that point I had never really considered what went into the production of my food. Veganism was something for hippies and crazy PETA people. Besides, how harmless could a BLT be? But when I got to the chapters on factory farming and slaughter methods, my eyes unexpectedly welled with tears. I remember how my dog was nestled up by my side as I read, how I could feel the rise and fall with his breaths. I could never eat or torture Ziggy, and just like that I could no longer justify my consumption of animals.


It's been a gastronomic adventure ever since. My mom went vegan with me, and together we've savored gourmet meals and spent hours in the kitchen. My friends still think I'm a little crazy, but if anything I think my rockin' bod says a little something about the health benefits of a vegan diet. Even my dad has started to prefer a veggie burger to a steak.

With this blog I want to show just how simple and delicious a vegan diet can be. I want to show off what I cook and applaud fantastic restaurant meals. This summer I'll also take you with me to Watkins Glen, NY, where I'll be interning at Farm Sanctuary.

Want to see how easy and cheap a filling vegan meal can be? Last night I went over to my friend's dorm to cook up some red beans and rice. We sautéed some onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes in a little olive oil. Added some seasoning, et voilà - improv gumbo. All in one of the crappiest, rinky-dink college kitchens around.


Until next time...