Is bacon a gateway drug meat?

I recently tweeted about an article that speculated that bacon is the meat that temps vegetarians back to a carnivorous behaviour. I read this article aloud to my husband and we both had a good laugh.  I have told him on several occasions that bacon would be my downfall!

I am the only one in my family who is vegetarian, so there is meat cooking in our house pretty much every day. I'm not preachy, or critical or anal about being vegetarian. It is not uncommon for me to cook a meat meal and a vegetarian meal side-by-side. Yes I touch meat—I'll form hamburger patties with my hands. I don't freak out if the fork that poked the ham is used to serve me a stalk broccoli.

On two occasions when I was cooking bacon for family and/or friends I found myself unconsciously picking up a slice for snacking! I caught myself both times before I chomped down on it. I have never done this for any other meat. In my opinion, this proves to me the powerful draw that bacon has. Like a drug...bacon is potentially my "gateway meat".

Read the full article about vegetarians "defeated" by bacon here.

Hungry? Just take a whaff!

Every Christmas I do a bit of online shopping at ThinkGeek.com. They always have some unusual gadgets and this past Christmas was no exception. New this year was a product called "Le Whif Breathable Chocolate". From ThinkGeek web site:

"Pop it open, stick it between your lips, and inhale through your mouth. Suddenly it will feel as though you are bathed in tiny molecules of delicious chocolate. Because that's exactly what happens. You get all the taste of chocolate, but with none of the calories or guilt. Perfect for chocoholics on a diet!"

I was game to try it out however they were sold out.

Fast forward a month or two and I had totally forgotten about this crazy product until a saw tweet roll by that reminded me. The tweet mentioned a "new trend" called "whaffing". Apparently a machine exists (called  Le Whaf) that will vaporize food so that you can inhale it. What the heck? Gives another meaning to "inhaling your meal".

You can read the full article about whaffing your food here.

Le whaff



Drinking Vinegars—Refreshing!

Bet you never heard the word "refreshing" used to describe vinegar!

I first heard of "drinking vinegars" a few years ago when I was browsing through The Kitchn web site. My first thought was probably the same as yours...ew...drinking vinegar?? Then I started Googling and found that it is quite a popular drink in Japan and is a common beverage offered in Thai restaurants. Many people think that it has health benefits or can help you lose weight.  I don't know about any of that, but I was still ready to try them. 

Drinking Vinegars

 My first obstacle—finding them! A Facebook suggestion pointed me in the direction of La Bottega in the Ottawa Byward market. They had flavoured vinegars—yes, but for none for drinking!

In the end I realised that I should be looking in Asian markets (since they are popular in Asia!!! duh) and found them at Tan Phat Market in Kanata.

So far my two favorite flavours are Plum and Apple. They are slightly sweet and refreshing. Not at all the puckery, sour taste that we know as non-drinking vinegar.

Nutritional Breakdown Per 140 ml Pouch:
42 Calories
0g Fat (0% calories from fat)
0.4g Protein
9.8g Carbohydrate
0g Dietary Fiber
0mg Cholesterol
48.3mg Sodium

On the menu today—Black-Bean and Tomato Quinoa

This morning I saw a tweet go by from Wil Wheaton (aka Wesley Crusher). He was commenting on a recipe that he had tried the night before. First thing I thought was hmmmm, maybe I can try that for dinner tonight, then my second thought was "hey...is he vegetarian?"



Sprouted Quinoa

 The main ingredient is quinoa. I've cooked with quinoa before but I had just purchased a bag of "sprouted quinoa" so this was the perfect opportunity to try it out.

I'm reproducing the recipe here (with a few modifications) from the Epicurious web site:







Black-Bean and Tomato Quinoa

• 1 teaspoon grated lime zest 
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled 
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon agave syrup (can use 1 tsp of sugar)
• 2 cups of vegetable broth OR water
• 1 cup quinoa 
• 1 (14- to 15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 4 green onions, chopped 
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro ( for those like me who hate cilantro, use fresh parsley or a small amount of basil)

Whisk together lime zest and juice, butter, oil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.

If you're not using sprouted quinoa, then you need to wash the quinoa in 3 changes of cold water in a bowl, draining in a sieve each time.

I cooked the quinoa directly in the vegetable broth, similar to cooking rice.The actual instructions require a bit more pampering: Cook quinoa in a medium pot of boiling salted water (1 tablespoon salt for 2 quarts water), uncovered, until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain in sieve, then set sieve in same pot with 1 inch of simmering water (water should not touch bottom of sieve). Cover quinoa with a folded kitchen towel, then cover sieve with a lid (don't worry if lid doesn't fit tightly) and steam over medium heat until tender, fluffy, and dry, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from heat and remove lid. Let stand, still covered with towel, 5 minutes.

Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 servings

Nutritional Information for 1 Serving (when made with water)

  379 Calories
  12g Fat
  15g Protein

  53g Carbohydrate

  11 g Dietary Fiber

  15mg Cholesterol

  439mg Sodium

I concur with WW it was amazing !! although mine turned out a bit mushy (probably because I didn't take the time to "pamper" the quinoa, like the recipe said to)!

Awkward soup moments

So...you are sitting down for dinner at a friend's house and they place a bowl of homemade soup in front of you. As a vegetarian, this can be an awkward moment! You know your friend is aware you are veg but did they make the soup with a vegetable stock?  Chances are, the soup base is probably made from meat. In my short time as a vegetarian this has happened to me several times.

What should you do?  Do you ask if the soup was made with a meat stock? If the answer comes back yes, then what?

I posed this question to a few people who I know are veg and got back differnet answers.  One said absolutlely no, they would not eat it. In order to avoid any awkwardness, they would politely decline without even asking if there was meat in it. The majority however, said that they would eat it, no questions asked. Most felt that you would be placing the host/hostess in an awkward position if you ask and it turns out that there is meat stock in it.

What would you do?

Breakfast cereal made from chia seeds

One of the first raw food recipes that I tried, was for a breakfast cereal. I generally don't eat cereal in the morning, but I was intrigued by one of the main ingredients....chia seeds!

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear chia seeds, is the infamous Chia Pet! It seems a bit weird that the same seeds used to grow funky hair on chia pets, are actually an ancient food source with a high source of Omega 3, protein, and essential minerals.  Here's the recipe if you are interested in trying something different  in your morning routine.

Chia seeds


Chia Cereal
1/8 cup chia seeds
1/8 cup pumpkin seeds
1/8 cup raisins
1/8 cup dried cranberries
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup of almond milk

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Let the cereal sit for about 10 minutes. Chia seeds can absorb more than 12 times their weight in liquid, so waiting the 10 minutes will cause the chia seeds to swell up and reduce the liquids. The chia seeds become almost gelatinous after absorbing the milk. Eating the chia cereal is almost like eating tapioca. Very tasty! Makes 1 serving.

Nutritional Information for 1 Serving
  233 Calories
  9g Fat
  7g Protein
  34g Carbohydrate
   2 g Dietary Fiber
   0mg Cholesterol
  16mg Sodium

Mangosteens!!!!!!!!!!!

Mangosteens

I LOVE Mangosteens!!

They are my most favourite fruit!  Whenever the local Asian market gets them in I usually buy a bag on the spot. They are pricey—a bag of about 8 mangosteens will be about $7.

I tried them for the first time two years ago and I was hooked on the first taste. To me they taste citrusy, with maybe a bit of strawberry and banana?? It's really difficult to describe.

The fruit looks wonderful from the outside; smooth purple and shiny; but when you cut it open, the fruit itself looks like white slugs. If you've ever travelled down south and seen chocolate in its raw form—fresh cocoa beans—it reminds me of the same look (only smaller). Totally unappetizing I know, but if you can get past the look, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Eating the fruit is similar to eating fresh passion fruit. It's slippery, slimy and juicy.

To open a mangosteen, you need to cut all around the circumference of the fruit. Twist. Pulll apart.
As the fruit ages, the outskin gets tougher, almost like wood, so it becomes harder to cut open.

If you are interested in the history, cultivation etc., here's more interesting facts about mangosteens.

A video discussion on anti-angiogenesis

I found a facinating talk (from ted.com) about the anti-angiogenesis effect of certain foods. Most certainly a thought provoking video.

My Intro to Raw Foods

While I was Christmas shopping in December I came across a raw food recipe book at Winners. I had heard about Raw Food restaurants in Cali and New York and wondered how restaurants could survive by only serving raw foods? How many different, interesting meals can you actually serve without cooking, and more importantly...how can you actually eat only uncooked food without getting bored REAL fast!!

I was intrigued, and since the book was only $7, I bought it!

Cracking it open the next day, I realised that I had to go shopping. There were a lot of ingredients and tools that I had never heard of or simply didn’t have on hand.

I ended up buying tons of different nuts and seeds—raw cashews, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and filberts. More purchases—buckwheat and oatmeal groats (what the heck is a groat?), sprouted mung beans, dried chick peas, red and green lentils and of course lots of fruits and veggies.

A couple of tools I didn't (and still don't) have on hand—a food dehydrator and a spiralizer. The food dehydrator would be practical if you intend on making the "raw food" versions of breads, crackers and cereals. I think the spiralizer is used for cutting vegetables (like zucchinis) into noodle-like strands. I've decided to not rush in and buy new tools until I've tried some of the recipes.