During a recent sea expedition the team successfully used the bacteria, which contains a protein that glows blue when viewed though a simple light-detecting device, to detect oil.

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Quinoa is actually not a grain, but is related to beets, chard, and spinach. Quinoa is the seed from chenopodium quinoa, and I love it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It is good in porridge, served in soup, or by itself as a side dish.  We buy it in bulk and eat it weekly.

Cooking Instructions for Organic Quinoa

To make three cups of cooked quinoa:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 1/2 cups water

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I learned that Ashkenazi Jews also avoid a group of foods categorized as kitiniyot which includes rice, peas, lentils, beans, and corn. (Now I know what Meredith was referring to in her recent Passover foods post, when she mentioned becoming aware of so many corn additives!) So no legumes, eh? No soy products… no grains… Ok, that does in fact rule out a major chunk of my vegan diet.

But I wasn’t ready to back down from this challenge just yet…

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Dear Vital Juice Daily,

- Marcia R.

Dear Marcia,

We did a little digging and here’s what we found about hemp:

One nutritious seed! Shelled hempseed is packed with 33% pure digestible protein (one of the highest levels from a plant source) and is rich in iron and vitamin E, as well as omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids. Hemp also contains 3x the Vitamin E than flax. And unlike soy, hemp is not genetically modified so it’s free of the anti-nutritional qualities commonly found in soy.

Read the rest of VJD’s answer at Vital Juice Daily

In Parts I and II, we talked about the making of tofu, the freezing of tofu, and everything in between, Now, let’s talk about a few things you can do with extra firm tofu – a few quick dishes you can make for lunch or dinner. I’ve already mentioned the fact that the silken is pretty much just for pudding or pie filling, so I’m talking about using extra firm or Wildwood’s super firm tofu for this purpose.

Tofu in Stir Fries

Using tofu in a stir-fry is the most obvious use for this delicious food. And there are a couple things you can do. First of all, tofu has a fair amount of its own fat, so when you cook it, you really don’t need to use any oil. It will get golden brown and crispy on its own without oil. So you cut the tofu up into cubes or slices or patties or whatever size/shape you want, and you place them in a nonstick sauté pan.* Now you just let them get golden brown and crispy on one sided before turning it over. Don’t fuss with it and push it around; just let it get crispy, then flip it. No oil – about 10 minutes each side. While the tofu is cooking like this in its own pan, you can start cooking up your veggies – peppers, onions, squash, mushrooms, whatever you want to add to your stir-fry — in a separate sauté pan. When the veggies are nearly cooked, add your crispy tofu, and your stir-fry marinade, and just stir-fry until the tofu is hot and mixed with the sauce. Serve over quinoa or brown rice. If you don’t know what quinoa is, then check out my blog post called Five Favorite Foods.

However, if you don’t own any nonstick pans, feel free to add a little olive oil to your pan and fry up the tofu that way. You want it nice and crispy.

Tofu in Curries

Another way to use extra firm tofu in a meal is to make Thai curry. Again, there are recipe packets on my website, but essentially you’d add curry paste and coconut milk and whatever veggies you want to add, and throw in extra firm or super firm tofu into your curry. Frankly, I think curry – particularly the tofu in the curry – is even better the day after you make it. Yum!

Tofu as "Eggless Egg" Salad

I’ve mentioned eggless egg salad, which you can prepare by mashing up extra firm tofu, and mixing it with an eggless mayonnaise, such as Nayonnaise, Vegenaise, or Wildwood’s Garlic Aioli – along with some chopped raw veggies, such as carrots, celery, and peppers – and adding some salt, cumin and turmeric.

Grilled and BBQ Tofu

You can make BBQ tofu by just sautéing some tofu like I mentioned before – perhaps just cut the tofu into strips – putting the browned tofu strips in an 8 or 9-inch casserole dish, pouring BBQ sauce over it, and heating it in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Serve as a main dish or make a sandwich. Grill tofu and add to a grilled veggie sandwich on Focaccia bread with avocado and balsamic vinegar.

Tofu Bacon, Ricotta Cheese, Scramble, and On and On

Make tofu bacon by marinating tofu in a combination of water, tamari soy sauce, maple syrup, and liquid smoke. Make a tofu ricotta cheese (blend firm tofu with lemon juice, fresh basil, fresh garlic, and soy milk) to use in lasagna or stuffed shells. Scramble tofu together with your favorite vegetables and the spice turmeric to give it a beautiful yellow color. This delicious dish can be served as is, or can be used as the basis for "tofu rancheros" by wrapping it in a tortilla, and serving with black beans and salsa. Add cubes of firm tofu to miso soup.

Thoughts About Bulk Tofu

Just a few other thoughts about tofu. You sometimes see it in your grocery store, particularly in Asian shops, in bulk – sitting in tubs of water. I’m a little wary of this, only because it’s often not organic, I don’t know how long it’s been sitting there uncovered, exposed to possible bacteria, and I just prefer to get tofu that I know is organic. Some farmer’s markets are now selling fresh tofu in bulk in this way, but that’s a little different, because often the batch was just made that morning, and it’s usually organic, and you can speak directly with the people making the tofu. You can’t beat organic, locally made tofu. Incidentally, one of the great things about Wildwood’s tofu is that the soy beans are American-grown, mostly in Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota, and Wildwood has a direct relationship with their farmers.

Flavored, Ready-to-Eat Tofu

Whereas Wildwood does have some flavored baked tofu, my favorite brand for ready-to-eat tofu is Sunergia. They specialize in flavored tofu, and each one of the flavors is fantastic: Italian Herb, Savory Portabella, Peanut & Ginger, Indian Masala, Spicy Thai, Garlic Shitake, Porcini Herb, Spinach Jalapeno, Spicy Indian, and Pesto. Some are great for adding to pasta, some to stir-fries, some to salads. Just scrumptious - also organic, kosher, GMO-free, and wheat-free.

Tofu is such a versatile food; you can do soooo much with it, so definitely give it a chance. It’s really satisfying, really filling, a great source of protein (if that’s something you’re looking for), it’s high in Omega 3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fats, and is a great source of iron and other minerals such as calcium (if you get the tofu that uses a calcium base as its coagulant – it will say "calcium enriched" on the package, and is so versatile.) Just don’t be afraid of it. Experiment with it, trust it, trust me, and perhaps someday you’ll get to the same place as me – where it becomes difficult to cook with it, because you want to gobble up the entire block before you even get to use it in whatever dish you’re preparing. (I do have some amount of self control, though!)

*Just a quick note about nonstick pans, because this question (which usually comes up in my classes) may be on some of your minds. Some people are concerned about the link between cancer and a chemical used in the manufacturing of Teflon. First of all, Dupont is phasing out this chemical by the year 2010, so this whole point will be moot. But the reason I feel okay using nonstick pans is a) I use nonstick in a rotation with other pans, so it’s not only nonstick I use. I also use anodized steel, and of course, you can also use stainless steel or copper. b) I really take care of my nonstick pans: I don’t use metal on them, and I make sure not to scratch them. The risk researchers are seeing between cancer and this chemical – unfortunately – has more to do with people who live around the manufacturing plant, not the use in people’s kitchens.

Also, you’d have to heat your pan to over 600 degrees with no food in it to see any kind of risk, and we don’t heat our pots and pans to that high a temperature. Finally, for me, there are so many real risks associated with cancer and meat, cancer and dairy products, and cancer and high-fat diets that I would rather see people make much more substantial changes if they want to reduce their risk of getting cancer than worrying about Teflon. If you’re still eating meat and dairy but are concerned about Teflon pans, I don’t think you’re doing much to reduce your risk. I’d rather see people get these cancer culprits out of your diet, and not worry about using nonstick pans.

Ingredients
1-1/2 pounds tofu, extra firm or super firm*
1/2 cup eggless mayonnaise (Nayonnaise and Vegenaise are great, but Wildwood’s Garlic Aioli is my fave)
2 red bell peppers, finely chopped
4 scallions (white and green parts), finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
4 teaspoons pickle relish
1-1/2 tablespoons prepared mustard
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
Black pepper, to taste
10 slices good-quality sliced bread

Directions
1. In a large bowl, mash tofu with a fork, potato masher, or your hands.

2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

3. Spread a few tablespoons of the tofu mixture on the bottom bread slices. Top with remaining slices of bread. (Toasted slices make this even more scrumptious!)

4. Carefully cut the crusts off the sandwiches with a sharp knife. Cut in half diagonally, then cut in half again so you’re left with small triangle-shaped finger sandwiches. (Throw the crust out to the grateful birds.)

*A word about tofu: There are many different types of tofu available, ranging from silken and soft to firm and extra firm - and even super firm, in the case of my favorite brand, Wildwood Organics, but there are also differences within those variations depending on the brand you buy or the way it’s packaged. The perfect textured tofu for this dish is one that is very firm. I recommend an extra-firm tofu (in the refrigerated section of the grocery store). Wildwood brand is my favorite, but if you can’t find it or can only find one that is in a tub of water, you might want to press out the water first. To press tofu: just dump the water and give the tofu a quick rinse. Wrap the tofu in a towel and place on a plate. Place something heavy on the tofu and leave it there for about 20-30 minutes; the towel will be soaked through.

Serving suggestions:

*Wonderful as a sandwich filling on a hard roll or stuffed in a pita
*Serve on crackers as an appetizer or party dish
*Serve as a side salad – great for picnics and BBQs!

Variation suggestion:

*Use cubed, steamed tempeh for a “better than chicken” salad.
*Use potatoes for a tasty potato salad.
*Use garbanzo beans/chickpeas for a “better than tuna” salad. (Grind the beans in a food processor for a tuna-like size and texture.

Other tofu recipes can be found at www.compassionatecooks.com

Also on GO:

All About Tofu - Part 1

History

Tofu originated in China about 2000 years ago, and while the details of its discovery are uncertain, legend has it that it was discovered by accident when a Chinese cook added the seaweed nigari to a pot of soybean milk, causing it to curdle, and the result was tofu.

Tofu was introduced into Japan in the 8th century, where it was originally known as "okabe," but was not called "tofu" until the 15th century, though tofu did not gain its great widespread popularity in Japan until the 17th century.

Tofu’s popularity in the West has mirrored the increasing interest in healthier foods. First gaining more widespread attention during the 1960s, tofu has been skyrocketing in popularity ever since research has begun to reveal the many significant benefits of this food.

So, what is tofu? What is this white block of what is also called "bean curd?"

Little Miss Muffet

Tofu or Dofu (based on the Chinese spelling) is a food that is made in much the same way that people make dairy-based cheese. First, you coagulate soy milk.

Well, let’s back up. As with cheese, when you make tofu, the first thing you need is milk.

In the case of dairy-based cheese, in our crazy world, we use the milk of animals. To make tofu, we use soy milk. Now, most commercial tofu makers make their own soy milk, which anyone can do by soaking, grinding, boiling, and straining dried (or, less commonly, fresh) soybeans.

When you have your soy milk, you then need to add a coagulant. When you coagulate something, you cause it to curdle. In other words, you transform it from a liquid into a soft semisolid or solid mass. Most of us have seen curdling when cow’s milk starts to go bad and you see little semi-solid white lumps floating around. Those are curds. That’s a process of curdling to indicate that it’s spoiling, that it’s going sour.

But there are other ways to sour milk intentionally. You do this by adding an agent that will produce that souring effect. Acidic liquid substances are the most obvious, such as vinegar or lemon juice. For instance (and I talk about this in my new baking cookbook), to make "buttermilk," all you need to do is add some lemon juice or vinegar to your non-dairy milk, and you’ve got sour milk, i.e. buttermilk.

So that you better understand the process of creating tofu, let me first talk a little about curdling cow’s milk before I continue with soy milk. For animal-based cheese, what is most often used as a curdling agent is rennet. Rennet is essentially a bunch of enzymes produced in the stomach of mammals to help the offspring digest the mother’s milk. One of the enzymes causes the milk to coagulate, to curdle or separate into solids (curds) and liquid (whey). Now you understand what Little Miss Muffet was eating. Couldn’t tell ya why she’d wanna eat it, but now at least you know what it is: curds and whey are the solid and liquid results of curdled milk.

For cow’s milk cheese, the rennet is extracted from the fourth stomach of young calves. And where would you find an abundance of young calf stomachs? The veal industry, of course. The stomachs used to get rennet are a by-product of veal production. Each ruminant animal produces the special kind of rennet needed to digest that species’ mother’s milk, so there is kid-goat rennet especially for goat’s milk cheese and lamb-rennet for sheep’s-milk cheese.

Carcinogenic Casein

Let’s pause for a moment to examine a few health considerations. I mentioned that increased acidity in cow’s milk causes curdling. Let’s go a little deeper. What’s actually happening is that the milk proteins (the casein) is tangling up into solid masses or "curds." The rest, which contains only whey proteins, is the whey. In cow’s milk, 80%-87% of the proteins are caseins.

If you haven’t yet read T. Colin Campbell’s The China Study, I can’t recommend it highly enough. I urge you to read it. Campbell is a highly respected researcher and policy advisor in the field of diet and cancer. He is Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, and has had a long career in research, teaching and development of national/international studies on diet, nutrition and health.

Casein, he says, is the "#1 carcinogen (i.e. cancer-causing substance) that people come in contact with on a daily basis." We’re consuming, drinking, swallowing, digesting this stuff every time we drink animal milk or eat animal-based cheese. And in cheese its even worse, because the casein is super concentrated.

Vegetarian Rennet

So back to rennet: there is vegetarian rennet, and sometimes it’s used in the production of kosher cheeses. Just keep in mind that though rennet can be produced by plants that have coagulating properties, such as nettles, thistles, or mallow – as in marshmallow. You probably know that marshmallows that are made with gelatin (the boiled hooves, bones, and other leftover body parts of the slaughter industry), but they used to be made with the marshmallow plant!

Though plant-based rennet is technically possible to create, nearly all "vegetarian" kosher cheeses are produced with either microbial rennet or genetically modified rennet. Microbial rennet is produced by using certain molds that are fermented. Apparently, using microbial rennet produces a slightly bitter tasting cheese, so with the development of genetic engineering, scientists starting using calf genes to modify some bacteria, fungus or yeast to make them produce Chymosin, one of the enzymes found in rennet. Chymosin produced by genetically modified organisms was the first artificially produced enzyme to be registered and allowed by the FDA in the USA. In 1999, about 60% of U.S. hard cheese was made with genetically engineered Chymosin.

So that’s rennet – used to curdle animal milk to make animal-based cheese. Now we can return to tofu.

As I said, you have to add a coagulant to your soy milk to curdle it, and for commercial tofu, the two coagulant types most commonly added are acid-based and salt-based.

Salt Coagulants

• An example of a salt-based coagulant is calcium sulfate, which is essentially tasteless. Tofu that’s made with calcium sulfate is obviously rich in calcium, and such tofu is pretty common. Tofu made with calcium sulfate tends to be Chinese-style tofu, which is tender but slightly brittle in texture.
• Other salt coagulants used are Chloride-type Nigari salts - Magnesium chloride and calcium chloride. These are the coagulants used to make Japanese-style tofu with a smooth and tender texture. Calcium chloride is a common coagulant for tofu in North America. You’ll recognize this coagulant on the list of ingredients, because it will most likely say Nigari, which consists primarily of magnesium chloride. It’s produced from seawater after the sodium chloride is removed and the water evaporated.

Acid Coagulants

Another coagulant that’s used – mostly for silken tofu or soft – is Glucono delta-lactone (GDL), a naturally occurring organic acid, which produces a very fine textured tofu that is almost jelly-like. Think silken tofu.

Tofu producers may choose to use one or more of these coagulants, as they each play a role in producing a desired texture in the finished tofu. So when you notice a different taste or texture in tofu depending on the brand, this is why. A lot of it depends on the coagulant used. The coagulant mixture is dissolved into water, and the solution is then stirred into boiled soy milk until the mixture curdles.

So, now you’ve got your curds, which, like in the process of making cheese, you press these curds. The curds are processed differently depending on the form of tofu that is being made. For soft silken tofu, the soy milk is curdled directly in the tofu’s selling package. For standard firm Asian tofu, the soy curd is cut and strained of excess liquid using cheese cloth or muslin and then lightly pressed to produce a soft cake. Firmer tofus are further pressed to remove even more liquid.

In Part II, we talk about the various texture varieties of tofu. That’s it. Science lesson over.

(Visit CompassionateCooks.com for tofu recipes or for our DVD, in which we demonstrate various uses with tofu, such as our Veggie Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce and Eggless Egg Salad.)

Image credit: Andrew Lih and Wikimedia Commons

QUINOA
Quinoa is a Peruvian grain; it grows in the mountains of South America, including Bolivia and a little in Ecuador and may go by other names in South America. In the United States, you can find it in any natural foods store, and it’s fabulous. (It’s also available at Compassionate Cooks store if you can’t find it). The most common variety is white quinoa, but it’s also available in red and black, and it’s gorgeous in any of those colors. The Incas considered it sacred and referred to it as "chisaya mama" or "mother of all grains.”

And I have to agree with the Incas. It’s a really beautiful grain. It’s very small – though not as small as amaranth - and is a tight little ball when it’s uncooked. Once it’s cooked, it changes in appearance and transforms into this beautiful, translucent little grain. The ratio of grain to water is 1 cup (of grain) to 2 or 3 cups of water. And I always throw a little vegetable bouillon cube in the water whenever I cook any grain to add flavor. You can just put the quinoa right in the pot along with the water and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the quinoa has absorbed all the water and is fluffy and translucent in appearance.

One thing to keep in mind before you cook it is that it contains a substance called saponin, which is the plant’s own defense against birds, and it can have a bit of a bitter edge to it. So, always rinse it in a fine strainer under running water for a minute or two before cooking it. Once it’s cooked, you can enjoy it in many ways. Personally, I love eating it plain or with any vegetable. If I need a quick lunch, I just stir in some corn kernels (canned or frozen – but thaw the corn first), or I top it with some steamed kale (see below). You can use it as a base for a stir-fry, but it’s a delicate grain, so consider that when using it for this purpose. It doesn’t have the heartiness of rice and won’t go with every sauce or dish. You can make Tabouli with it instead of using bulgur wheat. Quinoa is gluten-free, so it’s a boon for those who can’t digest gluten. Quinoa flour is also available. You can also prepare quinoa as a breakfast food, just as you would oatmeal or cornmeal. Just cook it – without the bouillon cube, and when it’s cooked, stir in walnuts, almonds, berries, dates, cinnamon, and/or brown sugar.

It’s just delicious anyway you prepare it. And it happens to be one of the richest plant proteins as well. Though many people obsess think it’s hard to obtain the proper amount of protein on a plant-based diet, it’s simply not true. In fact, people get way more protein in an animal-based diet than what’s healthful. Protein is made up of amino acids, and all foods have amino acids. Some foods have higher amounts of certain amino acids than others; hence, the myth that we have to combine our foods in one meal – which we don’t. In the case of quinoa, it happens to be a "complete protein" in that it contains ALL of the amino acids. Now onto my second favorite food: kale.

KALE
You’ve probably heard it a million times – but have ignored it: dark green leafy vegetables are truly the most nutrient dense foods on the planet, and they should be part of everyone’s daily diet. Daily. That means every day we should be eating kale or collard greens or chard or chicory or spinach or mustard greens or beet greens or escarole. That’s a lot to choose from – surely you can find time for one serving a day.

So, what’s so great about these veggies? Well, they’re typically low in calories, low in fat, high in protein per calorie, high in dietary fiber, high in iron and calcium, and very high in phytochemicals such as vitamin C, vitamin A, lutein and folic acid. Some people are utterly baffled by how to incorporate leafy greens into their diet, so here are some ideas:

*Make a salad: Leafy greens like spinach and arugula – even raw kale - taste great when mixed in a salad with different kinds of veggies, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and lettuce. And though green leafy veggies have a lot of iron, our bodies absorb it better when eaten with Vitamin C, so that gives you a good reason to have a green salad with tomatoes – or with a citrus vinaigrette or steamed greens with lemon juice.

*Wrap it up: Make a wrap with tempeh, tofu, or grains, and add spinach, arugula, and other veggies for some extra flavor.

*Add to soup: Try mixing some leafy greens with your favorite soup. I have the most amazing Garlic and Greens Soup in the soups section of my online cookbook. I can’t say enough about it – it’s my favorite thing in the whole world, and I make it with kale, but you could use other greens if you want.

*Stir-fry. Add chopped leafy greens to your stir-fry. Tempeh or tofu stir-fried with olive or canola oil and your favorite leafy greens is delicious!

*Steam it: Besides my Garlic and Greens soup, this is one of my favorite ways to eat kale. It’s sooooo easy to do, and it’s delicious. Simply use your handy-dandy steamer basket, and pile in your kale. Don’t forget to put water in your pot up to the bottom of the steamer basket. Steam the greens for about 10 minutes, depending on the texture you like. One of my favorite dishes is reeeeally easy, and it can be eaten warm or room temperature. In a bowl, toss together the kale you just steamed with some apple cider vinegar, some lemon juice, and some agave nectar. (Agave nectar is a wonderful liquid sweetener that you can find at any natural food stores. It has the consistency and flavor of honey – and no bees were harmed in its production!) Toss all of this together and find the right ratio between the sweetness of the agave and the vinegar and lemon juice. Sooooo fantastic. I eat this several times a week and haven’t gotten sick of it yet!

BLUEBERRIES
Though I do love blueberries to snack on, my FAVORITE way of eating blueberries is in my breakfast smoothie, which is how I start EVERY DAY, and the few times I’ve missed out for some crazy silly reason, I’m messed up all day. So, it’s just my favorite way to start my day, and blueberries are part of the reason!

I just purchase frozen blueberries, but you can certainly use fresh blueberries, too. You can buy a ton of blueberries when they ARE in season and freeze them yourself. My freezer contains pretty much only frozen fruit and some ice cubes. And some blocks of tofu and ground flax seeds, but that’s it. My freezer pretty much exists so that I can have smoothies every morning.

You can use any type of fruit you like, but my preference is blueberries with a few strawberries thrown in for good measure. A few frozen pineapple chunks also add a little citrus, which is a great complement to the blueberries. Don’t ask me how much – ½ cup to a cup of blueberries, a few strawberries, a banana, some non-dairy milk (almond’s my favorite), a little orange juice if you want, a tablespoon of ground flax seeds, and if you want – about a tablespoon of almond butter. It’s too yummy for words. Blend it up, and grab a straw.

A quick tip about bananas: Buy several bunches (fair trade, if possible!) when they’re reeeeeally ripe, which you’ll often pay less for since most groceries (well, the small, good ones at least) mark down the price once the bananas start getting really ripe. When you get home, spend 5 minutes peeling all the bananas, breaking them into chunks, and putting them into a freezer bag, and stick them in the freezer. Use a few chunks – the equivalent of one banana or so – for your smoothie. It makes it nice and thick. It might take a little longer to puree in the blender, but it’s worth it.

Most people know about the health benefits of blueberries, but most people aren’t eating one cup a day, which is what is recommended. Blueberries, especially the wild species, contain antioxidants which have been found to reduce the risks of some cancers. At the 2004 International Conference on Longevity, a group of researchers released details of a study that suggests certain compounds found in blueberries (and some similar fruits, including cranberries) have a significant impact in reducing the degradation of brain function, as in Alzheimer’s Disease and other conditions.

Though I encourage people to buy organic as much as possible, sometimes it’s not always possible, so it’s helpful to know that blueberries are a crop that are not very highly sprayed, certainly not like strawberries are, which is why I recommend getting organic strawberries 100% of the time. But you can get away with non-organic blueberries when you’re not able to get organic.

Finally, in terms of helpful appliances to have in the kitchen to encourage healthful eating, I do recommend investing in a food processor, particularly a Kitchen Aid, because it enables you to have a large bowl/blade and small bowl/blade all in one machine. It speeds everything up in the kitchen, and I use mine every day. But my blender is also indispensable because I couldn’t make my smoothies without it.

TEMPEH
In an interview once, someone asked me to choose between tofu and tempeh, and though in some respects that’s really impossible because I love both so much, if I reeeally had to choose, I just might pick tempeh. It’s a fabulous food. Whenever I demonstrate recipes with tempeh (and I make a point to), about 50% of the group have never heard of tempeh, eaten it, or cooked with it. And I love it – because it’s such a pleasure to introduce this food to people.

Tempeh is a staple in Indonesian cuisine, and it’s simply whole soy beans that have been fermented with some kind of grain. That grain is usually rice. This mixture is then formed into thin, usually square blocks/cakes. Being a fermented food, it tends to contain B vitamins, including B12; it’s also higher in protein and fiber and lower in fat than tofu.

There are many things you can do with tempeh: sauté it, grill it, bake it, but I also have a trick that I think makes it foolproof every time: I steam it. Before I do anything with it, I steam it first. It just takes a bit of the "edge" off and makes it really tender. Steam it for 10 minutes tops, at which point you’ll smell the really nice nutty aroma. Once it’s steamed, you can eat it just like that (mix it with some eggless mayonnaise and finely chopped raw veggies for what I call a Better Than Chicken Salad), or you can continue working with it.

Crumble it in chili, or add it to stir frys, soups, salads, sandwiches, and stews. Tempeh has a wonderful flavor and a great texture and mouth-feel - really satisfying. It freezes well and performs well in a cheese grater, after which it may be used in the place of ground beef (as in tacos).

One of my favorite things to do to tempeh is to slice it, and steam it, then add it to a saute pan where I heat a small amount of canola, sesame, or olive oil. I fry it on both sides until it gets golden brown, then I sprinkle on a little tamari soy sauce and maple syrup. The result is wonderful, as the maple syrup kind of caramelizes the tempeh. It’s a wonderful "main dish," served with vegetables. More recipes for tempeh (and tofu) are in my online cookbook under Demystifying Tofu & Tempeh.

GREEN TEA
Last but not least is my favorite thing in the world is green tea. I’ve never had a cup of coffee in my life. I drink green tea every day, and admittedly, I’ve turned into a bit of a tea snob. I can’t help it. It’s too darn good. There is a lot of evidence that green tea is healthful for a number of reasons, but mainly I drink it because I just love it. It doesn’t give you the extreme highs and lows that coffee does – well, I don’t know what that’s like since I’ve never had it, but from what I’ve seen coffee do to people, I know tea does not do the same thing.

My favorites are the Japanese teas, such as Kukicha, Genmaicha, Gyokuro, and Hojicha, but I do love Chinese teas as well, such as Dragonwell and Jasmine Pearls. A recent 2006 study published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that adults who consumed three or more cups of green tea per day had a lower risk of death due to cardiovascular disease. I’m not a big proponent of making health claims for every type of food, but green tea is indeed high in antioxidants and other healthful properties. For me, a lot of my love of tea comes from the ritual itself – smelling the tea leaves, steeping them, sipping it, and finding a nice quiet place in which to drink it.

So there you have it. Can’t wait to see what my Top 5 Favorite Foods are next year.

Summer Vegetable Risotto
Use this recipe as a model for many of your favorite seasonal vegetables, so long as those on the sturdy side (bell peppers, artichoke hearts, broccoli, beets) are precooked until not quite tender, either by blanching, steaming, or roasting. As a general rule, for every cup of rice, you will need about 3 cups of simmering broth.

Cooking time: The total cooking time from the first addition of liquid to the rice to the completion of the risotto containing vegetables is typically about twenty-five minutes. But let your taste buds be the guide. Risotto is not as complicated as many think. It just requires some time at the stove. Use that time as an opportunity to engage in "cooking meditation." It really is very therapeutic!
Makes 4 main course servings

INGREDIENTS
6 cups vegetable broth, plus additional (if necessary)
½ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped, about 1 cup
3 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped
1 yellow summer squash, diced
1 or 2 zucchini squash, diced
4-5 ears corn enough for 3-1/2 cups kernels (you may used canned or frozen)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mixed herbs (basil, dill, sage, etc.)
1-1/2 cups arborio rice
Salt and pepper to taste
Toasted pine nuts (optional)
Yellow pear tomatoes, for garnish (optional)
Fresh herbs, finely chopped (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Remove husks and silk from corn. Working over a large bowl to catch the corn kernels and juices, cut kernels from corncobs with a sharp knife. (If using canned or frozen, just drain the water.)
2. Heat the broth in a large pot.
3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat and saute the zucchini and yellow squash until lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
4. Sauté the onion and garlic in the remaining oil until tender but not brown, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
6. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add ½ cup of the simmering broth mixture to the skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding the broth mixture ½ cup at a time, cooking and stirring until it is almost completely absorbed and the rice begins to soften, about 15 minutes.
7. When down to last two cups of liquid, add corn kernels. Continue cooking, adding liquid 1/2 cup at a time.
8. Stir in the squash and another ½ cup of the broth mixture. Continue to stir constantly until the liquid has almost been absorbed, until the mixture is creamy, not runny, the rice is tender yet firm to the bite, and the vegetables are heated through, about 5 minutes.
9. Remove from the heat and stir in the herbs. Serve at once, garnished with the pine nuts, pear tomatoes, and finely chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, parsley, and tarragon, if using.

Optional: Add non-dairy butter in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Earth Balance is the best non-dairy butter out there! No GMOs, no hydrogenated oil, no saturated fat, no animal protein, no cholesterol. Some variations (like the whipped) are organic.

More recipes and resources at Compassionate Cooks.

In my first exploration of the issue of by-catch in commercial fishing, I looked at the devastating effects of fishing not simply for the "target" species, but on those animals who are unlucky enough to be caught in the lines, traps, hooks, and nets not meant for them. In this second part, I further explore this issue and take a look at how the dolphins, sea turtles, and seals - animals for whom we have affection - fare in our pursuit of gastronomic pleasure.

DOLPHINS
The public became aware of the problems of by-catch in the 1980s when campaigns were led against tuna companies for harming and killing dolphins when tuna were the targets. The relationship between dolphins and tuna is that yellowfin tuna follow and school beneath dolphins, so fishing fleets would look for dolphins on the surface, herd them and encircle them and set out the nets to catch the tuna – ensnaring the dolphins at the same time. An estimated 5 to 7 million dolphins have been killed by this fishing method over the past four decades, the largest marine mammal kill in history.

In 1986, the International Marine Mammal Project organized a campaign, including a consumer boycott of tuna, in order to urge U.S. tuna companies to end the practice of intentionally chasing and netting dolphins, and to adopt "Dolphin Safe" fishing practices to prevent the drowning of dolphins in tuna nets. Dolphins are mammals and don’t have gills, so they drown while stuck in the nets underwater. There are other standards that a company must adhere to in order to label their tuna “dolphin-safe,” but it’s worth noting that just because it says “dolphin-safe” or “dolphin-friendly,” it doesn’t mean that dolphins were not killed in the production of a particular tin of tuna. It means that the fleet which caught the tuna did not specifically target a pod of dolphins.

Though the numbers are down since new techniques are used to catch tuna (400,000 dolphins killed annually in the 1960s and 100,000 in the 1980s), several thousand dolphins are still killed each year to satisfy our appetites for tuna. Dolphins — social, playful, intelligent animals — are also killed as by-catch in nets targeting trout. According to a 2003 BBC story by Alex Kirby called “Nets Kill 800 Cetaceans a Day,” more than 800 dolphins, porpoises, and whales die every day as they get tangled in fishing nets – that’s 300,000 every year.

TURTLES
Turtles are also common victims. Sea turtles are killed by the thousands. It’s estimated that more than 20,000 sea turtles die each year after getting hooked on longlines. Six of the seven species of marine turtles are listed as "Endangered" or "Critically Endangered," and the outlook is increasingly grim. In the Pacific, leatherbacks are heading for extinction, fast, and in the Mediterranean, green turtle numbers have plummeted. Though pollution and disease contribute to this, the nets and long-lines of fishing fleets play a major role in their demise.

According to Duke University, which recently conducted a global assessment of the problem, more than 250,000 loggerhead and 60,000 leatherback turtles are snared each year by commercial longline fishing, and tens of thousands die. The authors estimated that longline fleets from 40 different countries set about 1.4 billion hooks in the studied year of 2000, the equivalent of about 3.8 million hooks each day. Again, longlines are fishing lines that can stretch for 40 miles and dangle thousands of individually baited hooks. They are set at optimal depths and times to catch tuna and swordfish, shark, and other fish, and according to the data studied, the turtles most often die – not by drowning, by some kind of injury related to hooking or entangling.

SEALS
Another byproduct of the fishing industry is the brutal death of baby seals. Because of the overfishing of cod by the Canadian fishing industry in eastern Canada –- in the Atlantic Ocean for Newfoundland’s northeast coast — the cod population declined to such a degree that the government stepped in the late 1980s and imposed severe restrictions on commercial fishing. But it was too late. Because of overfishing, the fishery collapsed, never recovered, and the ecosystem changed such that it was no longer able to support cod fish.

What does all this have to do with the seals? Scapegoating the seals for the collapse of the cod fisheries, fishermen demanded a kill. In 2003, the Canadian government bowed to pressure from the fishing industry, and ordered the massacre of hundreds of thousands of seals, declaring war on the seals in hopes that massive seal kills will bring back the cod and keep their disgruntled fishermen working.

In fact, cod is not a major food source of the harp and hood seal diet. Further, recent evidence suggests that killing seals contributes to bacterial infestation on the ocean floor which leads to hypoxia, a condition in which patches of ocean lose all the dissolved oxygen and are unable to sustain cod or fish or marine life of any kind. However, these facts seem to have been brushed aside by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans in their efforts to justify and continue the slaughter.

During the 3-year period of 2003-2005, the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) allowed a kill quota of 975,000 baby and adult harp seals and 30,000 adult hood seals. When the "struck and lost" seals are included (these are the animals who’ve been hit but lost in the icy waters), the total killed exceeds one million, making this the largest marine mammal slaughter in the world.

To find as many avenues as possible to profit from the annual, government-subsidized slaughter, Canada exports sealskins (furskins/pelts and leather), seal oil, and seal meat. Unfortunately, the demand for seal pelts has sky-rocketed, especially in Europe. Though seal meat isn’t doing so well, the Canadian government is trying to find markets for the bodies of the skinned seals. The kill continues to this day. The quota for the 2007 massacre was 270,000. Visit www.protectseals.org for more information.

TSUNAMI
Finally, while we’re talking about by-products/effects (not just "by-catch"), there is another by-product of consuming aquatic animals that went under the radar screen when an earthquake and subsequent tsunami in southeast Asia destroyed lives and communities at the end of 2004. Over 200,000 human lives were lost and an uncounted number of non-human lives. Experts agree that the destruction of coral reefs and mangrove trees played a significant role in the destruction caused by the tsunami. In many countries across Asia, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, mangroves stood all along the coasts in shallow waters. They offered protection against things like tsunamis. Over the last 20-30 years, they were cleared for shrimp or prawn farms. The shrimps and prawns are sold to Europeans and other foreigners at a price that does not take into account the environmental cost. The destruction of the coasts was also due to the building of large resorts where they should never have been built.

Of course, there are efforts to rebuild the shrimp farms, and we’ll see if we learn anything from the disaster. I’m a little skeptical, considering the fact that worldwide, shrimp farming has grown at an annual average of over 18% since 1970, and is the single most valuable internationally traded seafood product worldwide, valued at an estimated $50-60 billion at the point of retail.

BEYOND BY-CATCH
The cost of our consumption of aquatic animals is extremely high - not just to the target species who were living perfectly peaceful lives before we come along and snatch them out of their homes, but also to the non-target species and entire ecosystems. And this is just one aspect of this issue. We have yet to talk about all the others, including factory-farm raising fish; the pollution in the ocean; the fishing of smaller fish to feed to the larger fish we raise to eat; the toxins, such as mercury, in the fish that we consume when we eat their bodies; the research that supports the fact that fish feel pain; the human health concerns of eating fish; or the ethical considerations of “catch and release sport fishing."

We have yet to explore the many problems with consuming salmon – for instance, the problems with farm-raised Atlantic salmon, which is probably one of the worst choices we could make: the fish are raise in cramped pens in the ocean, and their waste pollutes the surrounding water and spreads disease to wild fish. In the Pacific, escaped farm-raised salmon also compete with wild fish for food, and interfere with spawning. Furthermore, salmon are fed a diet of fish meal (tinted to give their flesh that characteristic "salmon pink" color) which further depletes the ocean food chain. Wild Washington or Oregon salmon is a poor choice, since overfishing and habitat destruction have endangered many species. And remember: the fish have to consume Omega-3 fatty acids from phytoplankton, from algae. If they don’t consume it, they don’t have it in their flesh. If they don’t get it, we don’t get it. So again, go right to the source for your nutrients.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
A recent issue of Fish and Fisheries magazine cited more than 500 research papers on fish intelligence, proving that fish are smart, that they can use tools, and that they have impressive long-term memories and sophisticated social structures. The introductory chapter said that fish are "steeped in social intelligence, pursuing Machiavellian strategies of manipulation, punishment and reconciliation … exhibiting stable cultural traditions and cooperating to inspect predators and catch food." A wonderful U.K. Guardian story explores these notions, quoting Dr. Culum Brown, a specialist in fish behaviour at Macquarie University in Sydney, and co-author of Fish Cognition and Behaviour. He says, "I spend half my life telling people fish aren’t stupid. Fish are more intelligent than they appear. The trouble is that most aquaculture treats fish as if they are little robots. They are not."

My hope is that we begin to question the criteria we use to determine the value of an animal’s life, who deserves to be spared pain, and who has a right to live free from harm, free from suffering, free from premature and unnecessary death.

My hope is that our hearts are large enough to include not only those with whom we can identify, with whom we can communicate but also those who don’t look us, those who don’t sound like us. May we be as fascinated by our differences as we are consoled by our similarities. We don’t need to travel to other planets to find interesting, exotic, different life forms. They exist right here, right now, on the earth and in the sea.

A new study American Journal of Preventive Medicine confirms this: Americans are eating fewer vegetables than ever. Researchers evaluated data from two large national health surveys and reviewed how many people ate three or more servings of vegetables a day. (French fries counted!).

In the first survey, 35% met the goal; in the second survey, 10 years later: 32%. So, why are we ignoring the most consistent message of our childhood? I have a few ideas.

In the many years I have been teaching vegan cooking classes, I have discovered that so few of my students know what to do with a head of broccoli or a bunch of kale. Many don’t know why white rice is white or that vegetables contain protein (38% of the total calories in asparagus, for instance, is protein). Most of us were raised on a meat-centered diet, where vegetables played a minor role and either came from a can, were boiled to death, or were drowned in cream sauces and butter. It’s no wonder we didn’t get hooked on veggies.

We’re also ridiculous creatures of habit, and as the researchers discovered, most people demonstrate very little diversity when choosing vegetables. Here’s a secret: when I switched to a plant-based diet, I actually found more options. With meat, dairy, and eggs out of the way, a world of plant foods opened up. There is an inaccurate assumption that a plant-based diet is limiting, and vegans are often asked – in exacerbated tones – “What do you eat?” The implication is that non-vegetarians eat a huge variety of foods, but in truth, most of us rotate the same dishes over and over - and over again.

We tend to look in one direction when it comes to how, what, and who we eat. We order the same things in the same restaurants, we prepare the same meals at home, and we rarely use those spices that are collecting dust on those cute little spice racks hanging on our kitchen walls. We're often completely unaware of what's even in the other direction. That's one of the reasons the transition to a plant-based diet can be daunting and exciting at the same time: an entire world of new foods, cuisines, ingredients, menu items, and recipes open up that weren't in view before. People often feel overwhelmed by the process, but that's what's so exciting about it: the options are endless.

I've seen so many people discover how much more expansive a plant-based diet is than an animal-based one, as they realilze that animal-based products continually displaced plant foods in their daily meals. They discover that every time they chose meat, dairy, or eggs, they were not choosing healthful plant foods.

In the many years I've been doing the work of empowering people to make informed food choices and debunking myths about veganism, I have had the pleasure and privilege of witnessing thousands of people change their diets, change their minds, and change their lives. And as I guide them through this process of transformation, I remind them that as we begin to make new food choices, not only do our options expand but our palates (as do our perceptions and minds) change as well. When we get heavy, fat-laden, processed products out of our diets and replace them with healthful, whole vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, grains, herbs, and spices, our palates become resensitized to taste and we begin to crave the things we never thought we would.

Here are a few other tips and tricks I give to my students and podcast listeners about incorporating more plant foods into their diets:

1. Shop by color. (Ketchup doesn’t count!) The health-promoting antioxidants are in the colors of plant foods.

2. Add diversity. Try a new vegetable from the farmer’s market each week.

3. Buy a steamer basket. Steaming veggies is a healthful age-old method of cooking vegetables.

4. Make vegetable-rich stews. Add a can of beans (rinsed and drained) and a veggie bouillon cube.

5. Prep in advance. If we chop up vegetables before storing them in the fridge, we’re more inclined to eat them. Take 10 minutes to chop when you arrive home from the market.

6. Prioritize. We all complain about how we’re too busy to cook, but I wonder: if we don’t have just 15-30 minutes a day to nourish our bodies and create healthful meals for our families, then perhaps we need to re-structure our priorities.

7. Re-sensitize your palate. Our palates may need some time to become re-sensitized to less fat and salt. Remember: it takes 3 weeks to change a habit. Just stay committed and trust that a process is taking place.

8. Keep essentials on hand, including various vinegars, tamari soy sauce, dried herbs, dried spices, fresh herbs, garlic bulbs, fresh ginger root, lemons. Simple ingredients are all you need for delicious vegetable preparation.

9. Increase pounds. Aim for a pound of raw and a pound of fresh vegetables every day; even if you fall short, you’ll be way ahead of the curve.

10. Be reasonable. Though fresh is always best, frozen vegetables (and sometimes canned) are better than no vegetables at all.

Finally, call your mother and give her the opportunity to say “I told you so.”

(Visit Compassionate Cooks' website for resources and recipes on healthful eating.)