I'm pleased to report that, with some significant help from my dad, I was able to make a delicious dish last night with perfectly cooked risotto. As you may remember, my last try at risotto ended tragically, so I was sure to observe my dad carefully as he prepared the risotto and take good notes.

I began the night following a recipe by Claire, of Claire's Corner Copia restaurant in New Haven. Unfortunately, the recipe left several questions unanswered and called for an absurd amount of arborio rice (6 cups) to stuff only 4 acorn squash. We decided to make only 1-1/2 cups of the rice, which proved to be more than enough, and changed many other aspects of the recipe (including leaving out several ingredients... by accident). I think it's fair to say that the end product was really our design, not Claire's.

So here goes:







Acorn Squash with Rice and Vegetable Stuffing (derived from Claire's recipe)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped broccoli florets
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 cup arborio rice
vegetable Herbox cubes to make broth
4 acorn squash, cut in half, seeded

Preheat oven to 450.
Heat olive oil and butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, broccoli, carrot, and tomato. Sautee for five minutes.
Add rice, sautee 2 minutes.
Boil water, prepare 3 cups of vegetable broth using Herbox cubes.
Add one cup of broth. Stir rice mixture, allow to simmer, let rice absorb broth.
Keep adding broth, always leaving some liquid in rice mixture (don't let it dry out).
Taste to make sure rice is soft. If not, add more broth.
Add in pine nuts.
Divide stuffing among squash halves. Fill a large baking pan with two cups water and arrange the squash halves in it.
Cover pan tightly with foil, tenting foil as needed.
Bake for about 1-1/4 hours, until the squash is fork tender.
Rejoice in your success at making risotto!

Serves four with some leftovers.

This has become one of my new favorites, a vegetarian chili recipe from Cooking Light magazine. It's healthy and full of fiber, and has a nice consistency and good flavor, though you may want to add some hot sauce because it's not spicy when you follow the directions.
I like to make the full recipe and eat it throughout the week for lunches. It goes well when mixed with brown rice, too.

Just a note: I leave out the brown sugar and some of the beans, since it seems too heavy on the beans as is. Feel free to mess with the ingredients or proportions, this recipe is not exact chemistry.

Chunky Vegetarian Chili

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 (16 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell peppers and garlic; saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add all other ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes or until it's a consistency desirable to you.

Nutritional facts (for 1 cup serving): 257 calories; 2.7 g fat (0.3 g sat, 0.5 g mono, 1.2 g poly); 12.8 g protein; 0 mg cholesterol; 150 mg calcium; 876 mg sodium; 14.2 g fiber; 4.5 mg iron; 48.8 g carbohydrates.

With Christmas just around the corner (and Chanukah a fading memory), I thought I'd share with you some of my tried and true recipes. I've been making both of these for probably seven years or so and they always come out tasty. I think both would be nice things to bring to a holiday party (a hint to those in my office).

The first recipe is for chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, my favorite kind of cookie. The copy I have is hand-written so unfortunately, I'm not sure where I got it from.

(Here's a picture of the cookies I made this weekend. Yum!)

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (that means oatmeal)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I tend to use less)

Preheat oven to 350.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and oats.
In another bowl, with an electric mixer cream butter and sugar.
Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla.
Beat in flour mixture and stir in chocolate chips.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoons two inches apart onto buttered baking sheets.
Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden.



The second recipe is from Cooking Light magazine.

Mom's Banana Bread (Not my mom's, though)

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup light butter (I use regular butter)
1-2/3 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
2 large egg whites
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350. Combine sugar and butter in a bowl; beat at medium speed with a mixer until well-blended. Add banana, milk, sour cream and egg whites; beat well and set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; stir well. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beating until blended.

Spoon batter into a pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool.

Well I've officially decided it's okay to talk about pets (or animals most Americans wouldn't typically think of eating) on this blog.

Here's a New York Times story on the evolving role of the family pet as, well, one of the family. The reporter interviews people who become hyper-attached to their pets and insist on bringing them everywhere, including to the homes of friends and family where they are not welcome.

I was trying to think of some interesting insight or provocative question to share with you, but really, it's just a funny article. Read it.

This is Helen's puppy Tesla,
whom Helen does not take
everywhere!

I created the poll on leather mostly out of curiosity, not because I had anything interesting to say on the matter. I found the results disappointing... not because of the way people responded, but because only 9 people did so (and I know one of them was Helen).

Anyway, our sampling told us that 44% of vegetarians reading this site do wear leather, while 33% do not and 22% currently do but are considering changing their ways.

PETA (which I'm beginning to think many people view as an extremist group), has this article about the leather industry. Citing the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the article states, "Every year, the global leather industry slaughters more than a billion animals and tans their skins and hides."

My question is: would these animals have been killed anyway for their meat? And if so, should that affect one's decision whether to wear leather (say that ten times fast)?

According to this Web site, Cows Are Cool, "Leather from cows comes from animals raised for both beef and milk."

That gave me some relief of guilt, until I read further and learned that "Buying leather directly contributes to factory farms and slaughterhouses, since the skins of animals are the most economically important coproduct of the multibillion-dollar meat industry."

The site then goes on to describe the horrific conditions in which most of these cows live, which I'll spare you from.

I did not respond to my own poll (I've still got some dignity) but I think I'm leaning toward the third category, meaning I wear leather now but after learning more about it, am starting to rethink it.

What do you all think??

Among the New York Times Sunday Magazine's year in ideas was this, vegansexuality.

An excerpt:
"In a study released in May, Annie Potts, a researcher at the University of Canterbury and a director of the New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies, surveyed 157 vegans and vegetarians (120 of them women) on the topic of cruelty-free living. The questions ranged from attitudes about eating meat to keeping pets to wearing possum fur to, yes, “cruelty-free sex” — that is, “rejecting meat eaters as intimate partners.”

One survey respondent explained, “I couldn’t think of kissing lips that allow dead animal pieces to pass between them,” while others said that vegans simply smell better.

I have little personal understanding of this, since for a few years of my relationship, I ate meat and my boyfriend did not. But if I ever was to seek out another partner, I don't think I would really consider meat eating to be deal-breaker.

How do you feel about this? If you're a vegetarian or vegan, does it bother you (or would it, hypothetically) if your partner did not follow the same rules? And do vegans really smell better?

This is just a quick blogette to say thanks to Nicole for the vegan cake recipe....and to Colin for letting her know about this blog...and thanks to Lew at Trader Joe's for listening to my monologue (rant?) about cheese that has dead animals in it. I also must thank Lew for the yummy and spicy stick of gum he gave me today, while we packed groceries in my recycled paper bags. Turns out the store allows anyone who recycles their bags to enter a weekly grocery raffle. This is a step in the right direction in terms of friendly incentives to reuse and recycle.

Okay, I know this is a real stretch for this blog, but I couldn't resist the urge to share it. There's an article in today's New York Times Style Section about Dogster, a facebook-like social networking site for, you guessed it, dogs. Now I'm an animal lover (proud owner of 2 ferrets) and also a member of Generation Facebook, but I think this is utterly ridiculous.

According to the article, Dogster's popularity (there are approximately 350,000 (!) members) has already resulted in the creation of Catster, which has about 145,000 members. The article also quotes Ted Rheingold, the founder of Dogster, as promising a similar site soon for horses, dogs and fish. I don't know about you, but I can't wait for the day I can get a real-time newsfeed on my cell phone of my fish friends' musical tastes, relationship status and movie ratings.

Help! I need a good vegan cake recipe.
I have a family function to attend this weekend and the guest of honor is my beautiful niece, Daisy, 8, who is a vegetarian. Her dad, however, my brother Colin, is a vegan. By special request from Daisy, who told my mother that Auntie Helen makes "beautiful cakes," I have been happily tasked with making the cake for the happy event. As those who know me would know (and you know who you are) this cake must also have frosting. This is a plea to all you vegans out there for assistance with this important task. I would not mind a recipe or two for festive vegan fare I could bring to the party so Colin has options too. If no one answers my call, I will let everyone know how I muddled through somehow.

This is only peripherally related to the blog, but I found this entry on the New York Times' "Well" blog really interesting.

To sum it up, a University of Washington study found that high-calorie foods (like candy, pastries, breads and snacks) cost an average of $1.76 per 1,000 kcal, while low-calorie but nutrient-rich foods (like fruits and vegetables) cost $18.16 per 1,000 kcal. That's a big difference!

No one wants dead animals in their cheese. At least no one I know. Not if they really think about it.

But virtually hidden in the very cheese that would be, in reasonable amounts, part of any vegetarian diet, is rennet, a "product" that comes from the stomachs of calves and other young animals such as goats and sheep. In simple terms, it is a substance that helps part of milk turn from its liquid state to a solid. Remember Little Miss Muffet? I don't think her curds and whey got that way without rennet. Cheese, and products that contain cheese, are grocery staples that often contain rennet, which is only obtained after the animal is killed.
But rennet does provide a prime example of the importance of reading the label on any food product that does not come to you in its natural - or nearly natural state. For the vegetarian, as for anyone concerned about the nutritional. caloric and chemical content of their food, labels provide a very important avenue toward learning exactly what we are eating. This can be an adventure,or simply a nuisance as we shop.
Take, for instance, my recent trip to Trader Joe's, a store that though imperfect, is one of my favorites because I believe it tries to provide a wide variety of choices to the consumer, including vegetarians and those seeking organic products. That said, however, I must point out that during that recent trip, I looked at multiple packages of cheese before finding one that was not made with animal rennet. Checking in with a store worker helped very little as she was able to point out only one cheese (a cheddar) that contained no animal rennet. I eventually settled on a Monterey Jack that contained vegetable rennet.
Vegetable rennet is available because, according to Wikipedia, "Many plants have coagulating properties. Some examples include fig tree bark, nettles, thistles, mallow, and Creeping Charlie. Enzymes from thistle or cynara is used in some traditional cheese production in the Mediterranean. These real vegetable rennets are also suitable for vegetarians. Vegetable rennet might be used in the production of kosher cheeses but nearly all kosher cheeses are produced with either microbial rennet or GM rennet. Worldwide, there is no industrial production for vegetable rennet. Commercial so-called vegetable rennets usually contain rennet from the mold Mucor miehei."
But rennet is not the only pitfall for those who have eliminated from their diets the products of dead animals.
Some are obvious, such as lard, the fat made from pigs. Among the others, the one I initially found surprising was gelatin. Derived from the bones, hooves and skin of animals, gelatin is used in marshmallows, some candy and frosting and even some yogurts. (Hooves in candy and yogurt?) Yuck, is all I can say to that. Some other ingredients of concern are pepsin - an enzyme made from pigs' stomachs and oleic acid (oleinic acid) - an animal fat.
While this is by no means a complete list of all the products out there that can be a problem for vegetarians - remember, rennet is in many products that contain cheese - think spaghetti sauce - it does serve as an example of the importance of staying informed, learning from where products are derived and making educated choices as consumers. And as for Trader Joe's, I hope the woman I spoke to there really did pass on my concern about the high number of non-vegetarian cheeses it carries and my wish for a mozzarella with no rennet.

For more information: http://www.ivu.org/faq/ingredients.html

Since my decision not to eat meat is partially based on a concern over the treatment of farm animals, I thought I should look into how the animals who produce the eggs and milk that I love so dearly are treated. At present, we buy the cheapest eggs and milk we can find with no special consideration to anything other than the expiration date and percent fat (in the case of milk).

Turns out there's a LOT of information on this subject. To make it slightly more manageable, I'll focus just on eggs in this post.

To begin, here is the Humane Society of the United States' report on The Welfare of Animals in the Meat, Egg, and Dairy Industries, if you can stomach it.

Also, here is a rather graphic description from United Poultry Concerns, Inc. on the life of a chicken who produces our eggs.

Words, words, words
There are many terms I've heard used--free range, organic, cruelty free, cage free, etc.--to describe eggs, but I don't know what they technically mean. I also have no idea if the use of any or all of these terms is regulated by some trustworthy body, or if producers can simply slap any label they wish on their eggs/ dairy products.

I found this very thorough and interesting editorial on eggs off a site called thevegetariansite.com. The article was very informative, but left me thoroughly depressed and without a solution to my humane egg inquiry.

Here's another site that promises to expose the "truth about eggs." It begins with two interesting poll results: "According to a 2003 Gallup poll, the majority of Americans support passing strict laws to protect farmed animals. Additional polls further reveal that most consumers are willing to pay more for what they perceive to be more humane products."

It also includes excerpts from the Humane Society of the United States' guide for reading egg cartons, and clearly defines what a number of terms actually mean. Of all the many terms that are used to make eggs seem more attractive to concerned consumers, only one actually seemed to provide a semblence of humane treatment for the chickens. That is Certified Humane, which means, "The birds are uncaged inside barns or warehouses, but may be kept indoors at all times. They must be able to perform natural behaviors such as nesting, perching, and dust bathing. There are requirements for stocking density and number of perches and nesting boxes. Forced molting through starvation is prohibited. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing. Certified Humane is a program of Humane Farm Animal Care."

That site also contains a link to this, another site which is concerned over the use of false or misleading language or images in the advertising of eggs. Included on the site is a petition (scroll down to see it) to get the FDA to "establish a uniform, market-wide regulation mandating labeling of egg production methods on egg cartons (i.e. "eggs from caged hens") to protect consumers from false and misleading advertising. You can sign onto the petition there if you wish.

To be fair, I will provide you with writings from the other side of the argument.
I found this editorial from The Center for Consumer Freedom, which I did not agree with. The author claims that an initiative by the Humane Society of the United States to promote humane treatment of chickens is really just a "vegan smokescreen." Maybe the HSUS is promoting veganism because they feel there is no humane way to eat eggs at present. What's wrong with that? People aren't vegans just for the hell of it, they do it because they're concerned about animal welfare.

The author also expresses skepticism that cage free eggs really are more humane, writing, "The University of Notre Dame decided not to switch to cage-free eggs after visiting both cage and cage-free operations, and finding that 'both operations they toured appeared to take equally good care of their chickens.'" From what I've been reading, it seems more likely that both operations took equally bad care of their chickens.

The author also argues that cage free eggs cost consumers more. I say that's an option consumers should have. Right now, I'm pretty disappointed because I would be willing to pay more for an egg that is truly humane, but haven't yet been able to find one that is readily available. I discussed this with my boyfriend last night, and he suggested we buy ourselves a chicken and a cow. As nice as that sounds, I don't think they'd be very happy roaming our tiny, asphalt covered backyard.

Ay yay yay, that's enough for one day. I'll look into milk in the near future.

Since I had absolutely no evidence to back up my earlier statement that vegans are nutritionally challenged, I asked my friend Matt, who is in his first year of medical school at Yale and, therefore, an expert on everything. Here were his musings on the matter:

Good health is certainly achievable on a vegetarian and is just a bit more difficult on a vegan diet. The only thing that gives me reservations about the vegan diet, is the number of foods you're limiting yourself to.

As a staunch meat advocate (sustainability and ecological difficulties acknowledged!), I will be the first to say that a healthy diet should contain mostly plant-derived food. On the other hand, the best diet in the world is the most varied. Just as you should try to eat a rainbow of colored plant foods (orange, red, green, blue, etc.) to get the necessary array of nutrients and vitamins, there are several vitamins, such as B12, which are difficult to find outside of meat or animal-derived sources.

Luckily, today we have vitamin-fortified cereals and supplements - but still, the medium in which a vitamin occurs will alter how readily it is absorbed by the body, which has led many experts to question the nutritional benefits of a tablet multivitamin. As for complete protein (which you probably know, means it includes all essential amino acids which our bodies can't produce themselves), there are plenty of combinations of plant foods which will give sources of complete protein if eaten together (beans and rice, etc.).

(This email has already broken my favorite guideline of writing - never use 8 words to say something you can say with 4...so I'll briefly sum up my somewhat obscured point now...)

A vegan diet, when properly planned out, can be healthy for an adult (and only an adult). The problem is, this requires time and money that most people don't have when it comes to meal planning. As a result, many vegans end up eating a very limited set of foods, which is unhealthy.

The chocolate granola I mentioned in the last post has really grown on me. It's got just the right amount of chocolate flavor, is not overpoweringly sweet and has a subtle cinnamon flavor I really like. It also seems like the type of thing that might be good to bring into the office for the holiday season, and is not as high in fat or calories as many typical treats.

Here's the recipe, courtesy of Cooking Light magazine.

Chocolate Crunch
This granola is satisfying on its own or sprinkled over yogurt, fresh fruit or ice cream. Store in an airtight container for up to one week or freeze for up to one month.

Cooking spray
3 cups regular oats
1 cup oven-toasted rice cereal (like Rice Crispies)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (60 to 70 percent cocoa), finely chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Cover a jelly-roll pan with parchment paper. Coat parchment paper with cooking spray. (Or, if you don't have any parchment paper and have no idea what a jelly roll pan is, simply coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray).

Combine oats, rice cereal, brown sugar, chopped pecans, salt and ground cinnamon in a large bowl.
Combine honey and canola oil in a small saucepan over low heat; cook two minutes or until warm. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and chocolate; stir with a whisk until smooth.
Pour chocolate mixture over oat mixture.
Lightly coat hands with cooking spray. Gently mix chocolate mixture and oat mixture until combined.
Spread the mixture onto the prepared pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.
Cool completely on pan; stir in cranberries.
Yields about 8 cups.

For a 1/2 cup serving, there are 168 calories, 5.9 g fat, 2.6 g protein, 28.1 g carb, 2 g fiber, 0 mg cholesterol, 1.1 mg iron, 77 mg sodium, 14 mg calcium

I had planned on sharing several new recipes with you this evening, but unfortunately, all the cooking I did this weekend was a (sigh) failure. On Saturday, I baked oatmeal, chocolate chip, pecan cookies which came out rock hard. They have a good after taste that makes me believe they would have been good if I had cooked them less, but they had seemed undercooked whenever I checked previously so I just kept them in the oven. This was disappointing since cookies come out well for me 9 times out of 10.

Later that day, I tried to make a chocolate granola recipe. This time, I did it right but the recipe just wasn't what I had been expecting. I had pictured a trail mix type deal with granola chunks mixed in with bits of chocolate, but instead got granola totally covered in chocolate. It's not bad, though, and I think it will be tasty mixed in with some vanilla yogurt. But still not what I was expecting.

Tonight was the worst defeat. I sit here eating a bowl of asparagus, carrots sauteed in herbs, smoked mozzarella cheese and horribly undercooked risotto. I've never made risotto before and had heard it was difficult but was feeling confident with a few good cooking experiences under my belt. I can't say what I did wrong. I just kept cooking it and cooking it and adding water far beyond what the recipe called for--but it was still mushy on the outside and hard on the inside (of each grain of rice that is). I admitted to my boyfriend that it was bad and told him to make himself something else to eat, but I'm eating it out of principle (what principle you ask? Beats me).

So thank you for letting me share my defeats with you as well as my victories. And if you have any recipes that are impossible to screw up, please share them.

No one ever preached at me about giving up meat. From the time he was quite young - the date escapes me - one of my four brothers, Colin, shared with me information about factory farming, about the horrible way the majority of animals in this country live and die before they hit the dinner table. He has since become a vegan and eats nothing that comes from any animal. Later, my two daughters, Brenna and Kiley, made what they believed was the moral choice to become vegetarians. As it was a choice they made based on youthful, yet sincere, moral reasoning, I have supported it and learned to shop and cook accordingly. (I don't even mix a veggie dinner dish with the same spoon with which I mixed a meat). Yet, for me, it was a process that took years, a conversion that grew out of learning and growing increasingly concerned about the resources used by a largely carnivorous culture that helped me make my choice to become a vegetarian. (More about this later) It was not any easy choice - face it, meat tastes yummy. And I still cook (OK, not every day) and shop for a husband and son who love meat, and for that matter my puppy and cats eat meat too and I know none of the above are about to trade cordon blue for couscous. But what I want to point out is that Vegging Out will never preach - as an anonymous poster worried about - we simply want to educate, to share, to poke fun at ourselves - a lot of our co-workers already do this for us ... and provide a forum for an issue that tends to divide people and not always in a humorous way. So as we tell you what we think, let us know what you think - challenge us - question us - and keep in mind that we don't judge and we hope you won't either.