Is your wine vegetarian?

It would be a natural assumption that all wines are vegetarian, right? They are made from grapes and other additives that are not animal based.

WRONG!

Unfortunately some wineries will use an animal-based product called finings to remove the small impurities in the wine. Since most finings do not remain in the wine, the wineries do not need to list the finings as an ingredient. Because of this you will not know if the wine you are drinking is vegetarian unless you direct questions to the manufacturer.

Luckily there are web sites that already have that info:

• Veggie Wines
• Vegitarian Network Victoria
• Frommers Vegan Wine Guide
• Barnivore

Unfortunately, many wine makers change their recipes from year to year so a wine that is deemed vegetarian one year, may not be in the next.

Goat Cheese, Tomato and Arugula Pasta




Arugula growing in my garden

 This year was the first time I've planted arugula. The stuff is growing like wildfire and is crazy-ass hot (spicy)!! It's so strong tasting that I can't imagine using it in a salad so this recipe is perfect.


Ingredients
5 1/2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
2 cups coarsely chopped arugula, stems included
1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 cloves of minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces penne pasta

Directions
Cook pasta until al dente.

Combine goat cheese, arugula, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper in a large serving bowl.

Drain pasta and toss with goat cheese mixture.

New Marketing that Reveals Animal Welfare

I recently tweeted about a new rating system that is being introduced by Whole Foods Market.
The system shows a 5-step animal welfare chart. The plan is to color code labels on all animal products so that consumers can make informed chocies when purchasing these products.

Although this doesn't prevent cruel conditions, it could send an important message to the farmers if this catches on.

Garlic Bok Choy Stir-fry

I know this sounds wierd, but I frequently have extra bok choy in ny fridge that needs to get used up. This is a quick and tasty side dish. It calls for brown sugar however you can substitute any sweetener that you prefer.

Garlic Bok Choy Stir-fry

1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon ginger, freshly grated
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, chopped, stems removed
6 cups bok choy, chopped into 2 inch strips
2 red pepper, sliced into thin strips
2 tablespoons tamari sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice  or white wine
1 tbsp brown sugar (or maple syrup for vegan)
1/4 cup cashews or raw peanuts for garnish

Preparation:
In a pot, heat up the sesame and olive oil.Add the onion  and cook until soft.
Add the mushrooms, garlic, ginger and red peppers. Cook until peppers are just beginning to soften.
Add the remaining ingredients, and cover for two to three minutes to steam bok choy.

Serves 6

Nutritional Breakdown Per Serving

  331 Calories
  7g Fat (15.5% calories from fat)
  11g Protein
  69g Carbohydrate
  11g Dietary Fiber
  0mg Cholesterol
  394mg Sodium

Curried Carrot and Ginger Soup

I'm not too fond of cooked carrots however I needed to use up ~2 1/2 lbs of carrots. I didn't have enough carrots to juice for this recipe so I decided to modify a soup recipe from the Oprah web site:

Curried Carrot and Ginger Soup 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 1/2 pounds carrots, scrubbed but unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch thick rounds
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon grated ginger root
5 cups vegetable broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste


Preparation:
Heat up the oil and add onion, celery and galic. Cook until softened. Add carrots, curry powder and ginger.
Mix well and cook for another minute or two.
Pour in broth and cook uncovered until the carrots are soft (approximately 30 minutes).
Puree the soup in a food processor or use an immersible hand blender.

You can serve the soup like this or add 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt or light coconut milk into the entire batch. I choose to stir in 2 tablespoons of non-fat sour cream into each serving.

Serves 6

Nutritional Breakdown Per Serving
 228 Calories
 6g Fat (22.4% calories from fat)
 7g Protein
 39g Carbohydrate
 8g Dietary Fiber
 2mg Cholesterol
 1410mg Sodium

On the menu today—Veggie Rolls

The first time I tasted a veggie roll made with rice paper, I was quite turned off. I was used to eating spring rolls and egg rolls that are deep fried. The filmy, see-through, sticky white rice paper seemed almost gross to me and it was quite a few years before I tried it again.  

Luckily I am a firm beliver in trying something at least three times before swearing it off totally. With that rule I find there are only a few things in the food realm that I absolutely do not like after multiple attempts—parsnips, herbal teas and cilantro (being top contenders) That being said, my second attempt at trying veggie rolls (with rice paper) met with better success.

 To buy one, pre-made Veggie roll at the sushi section in my local supermarket it costs about $5 (includes dip) for one roll. If you make them from scratch you could probably make 6-8 roll for the same price. Needless to say I have since started making them at home.

Here's how I make mine:

Veggie Rolls
6 large, round rice papers
6 leaves of romaine lettuce
3 avacados
1 large English cucumber
1 super large carrot (shredded)
1-2 tablespoosn of rice vinegar

Preparation:
You can purchase already shredded carrots, but it is cheaper to do it by hand. If you have a mandoline the slicing is made a bit easier.

Once shredded, pour a tablespoon or two of rice vinegar over the carrots and mix well. I will sometimes prepare this a day ahead, leaving the carrots in the fridge until I'm ready to put the rolls together.

When you are ready to assemble, then cut the ends off of the English cucumber then split in in half down the entire length. Split each half into three separate pieces, lengthwise.

Wash and pat dry enough romaine letuce leaves - one piece per roll.

To assemble:
Dip a single sheet of rice paper in water for about 20 seconds. Place the wet sheet on a large plate.
Place a single lettuce leaf  in the middle of the sheet. Line the middle of the leaf with the shredded carrot. Try to make sure that the carrots are not too wet from the rice vinegar (strain or pat dry if neccessary ). Place one piece of cucumber lengthwise down the centre and then place slices of avacdo along the strip of cucumber.

You are now ready to roll! Working with rice paper can be difficult but gets easier with practise. If the paper was soaked enough, it should be filmy and slightly elastic. Pull the paper as taught as possible while rolling, tucking the ends in as you go.

Goma—Sesame seed dressing

Enjoy with a Goma dipping sauce—a Japanese salad dressing that is made with sesame seeds.