Okay, I'm going to out myself. I sleep with the enemy. I'm married to a carnivore. He was a carnivore when I married him, I was a vegetarian who has since gone vegan. Call it crazy love.
Occasionally, we have differences of opinion. We work it out. Like last weekend. I mentioned England's climate chief Lord Stern's announcement advocating a plant-based diet as a means of combating global climate change. I meant us to have a discussion, I meant to listen, but a blink later, I was in full fury mode, ranting about the connection between food choices and carbon output. The beef industry isn't green, it's black.
This isn't news to my husband. He'd already heard it -- he's married to me. It wasn't the subject that made him roll his eyes, I was. I'd gotten my high-minded game on again. Nobody wants to hang with a wild-eyed Cassandra prophesying doom.
On the other hand, if we're going to stick around on earth, we need to see beyond the plate. The food choices we make have ramifications. Politics, the environment, big business, the future of the planet, they're all sitting down at the table with us. And they're hungry. You probably know that or you wouldn't be reading this. It's great to preach to the choir (love you, guys, thanks), but how you get the word out to everyone else?
I know some vegans who believe we as a plant-based people should not negotiate with terrorists, by which we mean everyone who is not us. But then you run the risk of being all alone on your morale high ground and losing the fight. As well as your audience.
Veganism is all about compassionate choices. It means a commitment to protecting the environment and being kind to our animal friends. That should include all sentient beings, even those that can sometimes be hard to like -- humans. You don't bash someone over the head because he's an idiot -- um, because he does not share your world view. Enlightened you may be, but when you take that approach, compassionate you are not.
That's why I prefer the carrot -- or even the carrot cake -- to the stick. Food itself can convince where rhetoric cannot. Cooking vegan means I can make and share food aligned with what I believe in -- more compassion, less carbon. It lets me be the change I want to see in the world, to quote Gandhi (a vegetarian). It lets others, by eating what I cook, be that way, too.
My husband snarfed last night's vegan spinach pie and declared dessert -- my vegan chocolate-walnut cookies-- to be "kickass." He not only loves meatless meals, he requests them. He's cute, he keeps me from getting too strident and shrill. It is nice to have someone who'll pull your ass out of the fire. Even if he does eat the occasional burger. I'm not going to divorce him because of that any more than he's going to dump me for going on yet another tirade.
Vegans, locavores, green advocates and activitists, we have an important message and like John Lennon once sang, "We all want to change the world," but we like to party, too -- I do, anyway. And I want to invite everybody.
We can all bring something to the table. I'm bringing spinach pie, actually two -- a classic cheesy version and a vegan one, because while I'm vegan, not everyone else in the world is and I want everyone to be able to play. And eat.
Neoclassic Spinach PieFresh spinach is rich in nutrients and imparts a deep, vibrant flavor. Frozen spinach saves time, but not much. Your call. Phyllo dough is the traditional and terrific crust for classic Greek spinach pie, but for the uninitiated, it can be tough to wrestle with. Why struggle? Prepared puff pastry is an easy substitute, and many brands are vegan. Greeks including Arianna Huffington, please forgive the liberty-taking.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion
1 pound fresh spinach (or 2 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach)
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
4 tablespoons fresh dill
6 ounces (1-1/2 cups) feta
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to tasteIf you're using fresh spinach, heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Those using frozen can heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and saute for about 3 minutes, until onion just softens.
Cover and reduce heat to low, leaving onion to take care of itself for about half an hour. When you come back, it will have thrown off a lot of liquid. Not to worry.
When spinach has cooked down, about 10 minutes, transfer spinach and onion mixture to a strainer or colander and let it drain well, pressing out all the liquid. Another green technique is to set the strainer over a bowl and save the accumulated juices for another time. Use as vegetable broth.
Preheat oven to 350.
Pour eggs and milk into a large bowl. Add spinach mixture and dill. Blend or process briefly. Then add feta. Blend again and season generously with salt and pepper.
Roll out puff pastry sheet to into a 10-inch round about 1/4 inch thick and and lay gently in a 9-inch pie pan. Again, no panic -- puff pastry is very forgiving. If it tears, patch gently with your fingers. Prick pie dough all over with a fork (thus preventing soggy crust) then pour in spinach-feta filling.
Bake for 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool.
Serves 6.
Vegan Spinach PieVegan spinach pie is vibrant with flavor. It lacks the great ooze of traditional spanakopita. On the other hand, it has a fraction of the fat and no eggs or dairy and is kind to all living things.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion
1 pound fresh spinach (or 2 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach)
8 ounces tempeh
2 tablespoons tahini (Middle Eastern sesame seed paste)*
4 tablespoons fresh dill
juice of 1 lemon
sea salt and pepper
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directionsHeat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Chop onion coarsely and add to the pot. Saute for about 3 minutes, until onion just softens. Cover and reduce heat to low, leaving onion to take care of itself for about half an hour. When you come back, it will have produced a lot of liquid. This is good.
If you're using fresh spinach, raise heat to medium-high and add spinach to onion, stirring constantly, about 5 to 7 minutes, until it is still tender and bright green.
If you're using frozen spinach, set in a strainer and drain well, pressing out all extra liquid.
Chop tempeh coarsely.
Preheat oven to 350.
In a food processor or blender, add spinach, tempeh and onion, plus any onion broth created during cooking. Blend or process briefly. Then add fresh dill, lemon juice and tahini. Blend again and season generously with salt and pepper.
Roll out puff pastry sheet to into a 10-inch round about 1/4 inch thick and and lay gently in a 9-inch pie pan. Prick pie dough all over with a fork (thus preventing soggy crust) then pour in spinach-tempeh filling.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool.
Serves 6.
*Available in natural food stores, Middle Eastern markets and many supermarkets.
Ellen Kanner: Meatless Monday: Leftovers, Encores, It's All Good
Caribbean pigeon peas and rice, green beans with jalapeno and garlic, these are nothing the Pilgrims had on their table or even had in their...
If you have a Trader Joe's near you, try this:
Soy chiorizo
Corn & whole wheat tortillas
egg whites
cheddar cheese
spicy black bean dip
black beans
Cook chiorizo without the casing and add 1/2 cup of egg whites per person. Heat black beans. Put cheese on chiorizo and eggs until it melts. Spread black bean dip on tortilla and heat for 20 seconds in microwave. Add eggs, chiorizo and beans to tortilla. Add salsa and hot sauce to flavor. Roll up and enjoy!
I'm just beginning to reach for full vegetarianism, but I'm facing some trouble; my fiancee, who usually handles the cooking, is most decidedly not. When I asked, early in our relationship, what her favourite food was, she said without hesitation "meat."
But this is fantastic! I can help out with more of the cooking and introduce her to great vegetarian food too. Thanks for this!!!
I'm also a vegan married to a carnivore :)
http://www.daiyafoods.com/company.html
I eat meat (I won't eat fish though due to devastation of fish stocks) but I have nothing against vegans/vegetarians and I actually appreciate the sacrifice they make for the greater good. That being said I don't think it's in anyone's interest to call meat eating people 'carnivores' and class them as the 'enemy'.
Humans have evolved over many years as omnivores and during that evolution meat was prized as a very rich source of food. This is kind of hardwired into humans and it's something that's very difficult to change in the majority of people. Sadly humans have increased in population so much that we are having a massive destructive influence on the planet and it's ability to sustain the global population now (let alone the increasing population). This is typified in the effects eating meat is having on our enviroment but that is just the tip of the iceberg - we are doing many other things that are negatively affecting the ability of the planet to sustain life on it. Thankfully nature has a way of reseting the scales.
Hubby will order a meat dish when we're out at a restaurant, or sometimes when ordering in. But not all the time. And we don't cook it at home. I assume he eats meat twice a week. That's enough for anyone.
While my fiancee, like your husband, eats meat a couple times a week no one could classify that as "the enemy" or a "carnivore." If everyone in the US only ate meat 2 meals per week I really don't think it would pose much of a climate problem. And the decreased demand for the meat industry would negate the necessity of factory farming.
So- classifying people who eat meat a couple of times a week as the "enemy" is extremely counter-productive! Spread the word :)