Next step on my way of becoming the incarnation of Anti-Americanism

OK, since I'm already well know for being:
- a socialist
- an atheist
- a pacifist

I am now also vegan for three weeks.

Strangely enough I really like the USA. And Israel, too.

Anybody got any good recipes?

I've come to realize that if I'm not able to commit suicide, I should at least try to keep evidence of my life as vanishingly diminutive as possible.

I'm not sure if they'll let you in to the cult if you tell them you're an atheist. Something about worshiping the Earth Mother and all that.

Seriously though, my girlfriend is an ex vegetarian (not vegan) of 18 years as of a month or two ago. I'm sure she knows some good vegan/vegetarian websites. I'll ask her when I see her tonight.

Good luck dude and I hope you know what you're doing.

Well, there isn't much anti-Americanism left for you to explore. I suggest you embrace cricket, disco dancing and homosexuality to complete your journey. Godspeed!

ufe wrote: Good luck dude and I hope you know what you're doing.

Of course!

SaMoKo wrote: Well, there isn't much anti-Americanism left for you to explore. I suggest you embrace cricket, disco dancing and homosexuality to complete your journey. Godspeed!

Is it easier to get laid when you're gay?

Schweig! wrote:

ufe wrote: Good luck dude and I hope you know what you're doing.

Of course!

SaMoKo wrote: Well, there isn't much anti-Americanism left for you to explore. I suggest you embrace cricket, disco dancing and homosexuality to complete your journey. Godspeed!

Is it easier to get laid when you're gay?

Only if you're fond of balding closeted businessmen or large, hairy construction workers in absurdly tight silk t-shirts. In those cases, yes, very easy. (Somewhere along the way, I had apparently been identified as "cub" material; this situation--completely unrealized by me for at least a year--filled my weekends throughout grad school with a lot of free drinks and the need to come up with a catalog of polite rebuffs to trot out at a moment's notice. "You're sweet, and, though I appreciate the drink, you're just not my style" got a lot of mileage.)

SaMoKo wrote: Well, there isn't much anti-Americanism left for you to explore. I suggest you embrace cricket, disco dancing and homosexuality to complete your journey. Godspeed!

I don't see how cricket can be seen as anti-american since cricinfo was acquired by ESPN.

MattDP wrote:

SaMoKo wrote: Well, there isn't much anti-Americanism left for you to explore. I suggest you embrace cricket, disco dancing and homosexuality to complete your journey. Godspeed!

I don't see how cricket can be seen as anti-american since cricinfo was acquired by ESPN.

Well that does facilitate hating on ESPN, the Microsoft of the sports world...

For online resources, VegWeb.com is probably the place to go. It's the BGG of veg*anism -- content is user-generated, user-moderated, and the interface is awful and eye-stabbing until you get used to it. There's probably a lot of cheap jokes up for grabs; I'll limit myself to saying that Gardenburgers are an extremely weak 7. But 15000 online recipes are pretty good.

I would also recommend some kind of veg forum for random questions and moral support. Be forewarned; many of them can be crazy in that special way that happens when a minority group isolates itself. You can also PM me of course, and I'm sure Loter would be happy to field questions if he's not too busy raging about his topic of the week.

For actual cookbooks, I dunno if you're partial to cooking in your native tongue, but if you don't mind English, I highly recommend books by Isa Moskowitz and Robin Robertson. Donna Klein has The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, which I've gotten more use out of than any other cookbook -- everything in there is fast, simple, cheap, and doesn't require substitutes like soy milk or fake meat. For wowing guests, Myra Kornfeld's The Voluptuous Vegan is amazing, but every meal in there is an event, so it's definitely not for everyday use.

Anything else, ask!
-Kevin
(vegan for 11 years now)

dysjunct wrote: Donna Klein has The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, which I've gotten more use out of than any other cookbook -- everything in there is fast, simple, cheap, and doesn't require substitutes like soy milk or fake meat.

In all seriousness, this is a GREAT cookbook. My wife was a borderline vegan when we met (the healing power of pork--in the form of BBQ--did bring her over to the dark side), but we do fall back on veggie and vegan meals regularly. For something that sort of wobbles between vegetarian and vegan, the Moosewood series of cookbooks are good too, but they do rely on eggs and honey more often than not, which are big no-nos for the truly pure.

I'm not vegan, but I've got a few great vegan recipes. You can turn any bowl of brown rice and veggies into something super yummy with a good sauce. Here are a few that I use regularly. They are all from a cookbook that a local vegan resto puts out www.freshrestaurants.ca/cookbooks.asp

SIMPLE SAUCE

1/2 cup Tamari
3 tbsp sesame oil
1.5 inch ginger root peeled and minced
4 tbsp lemon juice

Put everything in a saucepan, bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 mins. Remove from heat and let cool.

To make a very yummy rice bowl, put some tahini sauce (see below) on brown rice, top with steamed or grilled vegetables, then sprinkle some of the Simple sauce over everything. Yum!


TAHINI SAUCE

2 cloves garlic
1/2 chopped parsley
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup sesame butter (tahini)

whiz everything except water and tahini in a food processor. then add water and tahini and whiz some more.

To make a very yummy rice bowl, put some tahini sauce on brown rice, top with steamed or grilled vegetables, then sprinkle some of the Simple sauce (see above) over everything. Yum!


MISO GRAVY

4 1/2 durum flour (semolina)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup inactive yeast (engevita)
1 1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
1/3 cup sunflower oil
1 1/2 dijon mustard
3 tbsp miso paste (light or dark)
3/4 sea salt

Put dry ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Whisk in vegetable stock to make a paste. Let this come to a boil and simmer for 30 seconds. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until everything is incorporated and smooth.

This gravy is awesome on brown rice topped with steamed or grilled vegetables. Yum!
**edit: serve this warm. But make sure that you heat it up gently and remove it from the heat the moment it is heated through. Also, if you don't have sunflower oil, use Canola. Olive oil is too heavy.

THAI NOODLE SAUCE

3 inches ginger root, minced
12 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup sesame oil
2/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 1/3 cup grated coconut
2 tbsp chili powder (the mixed spice powder that contains cumin, cayenne, paprika, etc)
2/3 cup lemon juice
5 cups carrot juice
2 tsp sea salt
4 tsp paprika
1 stalk lemongrass (end cut off, smashed to release fragrance)

In a food processor grind the sunflower seeds into a coarse meal.
Heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic and cook for 5 mins. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutus. Remove lemongrass.

*Toss rice noodles and steamed vegetables and tofu in this sauce. Top with bean sprouts and cilantro. Yum!

SaMoKo and Schweigy wrote: Well, there isn't much anti-Americanism left for you to explore. I suggest you embrace cricket, disco dancing and homosexuality to complete your journey. Godspeed!

Is it easier to get laid when you're gay?

Gay, no. Bi, yes. You double your chances of getting a date on a saturday night

Thanks for the advice, Kevin. Since you've survived 11 years, I have to ask how you get your B12.

Thanks for the sauce recipes, Hatchling. Can these be stored for some time? If so I'd probably prepare a big pot of sauce.

ubarose wrote: You have an interesting take on what is considered anti-American. Here in the Northeast we'd just call you a liberal.

I thought liberal was an insult. I also don't smoke weed.

ubarose wrote: You have an interesting take on what is considered anti-American. Here in the Northeast we'd just call you a liberal.

I was under the impression that most of the rest of America thought the Northeast was anti-American?

nah, HALF of America thinks that the other half is anti-American