This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of ProformaGreen, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy. John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

All you North American eco hotels, yoga studios, cafes, craft shops and spas, rejoice. There is finally a US company making soy candles in the US from US materials that can do large scale runs.

Decarte Products pronounced “Da Kart” specializes in creating a premium fragrance 100% soy candle, and they were at the Promotional Products Association International event in Fort Worth showing off their new line.

The best thing about this company - aside from the US manufacturing - is that they specialize in candles only, unlike most other manufactures that carry candles, if at all, as an after thought.

Why soy?

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I confess that I get my kicks out of discovering “green” innovative design talent that I’m convinced has a bright future. Some friends tell me about their similar intuitions, such as predicting the fame of upcoming actors and actresses. Then others about musicians and singers. You get the idea.

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I started looking it over and knew that it was the right weight for my next project. I wanted to start knitting with it right away, so I pulled out a skein and pulled the tag off of it to start winding it into a ball. That’s when I noticed the label had a Forest Stewardship Council certification stamp. Wow, a yarn that’s been FSC certified?! My lucky day!

The yarn in question was Bernat brand yarn made from soy of their Natural Blends collection. Bernat offers soy yarn in 8 soft soothing colors. A great compliment to the soft yarn. I happen to have Celery, but it comes in Seasalt, Raspberry, Oatmeal and Flax.

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That’s what Adrian Desbarats, up in Prince Edward Island, on the far east edge of Canada, decided to do. Far from being yet another boutique green fashion site in an obscure location, Desbarats is about to launch a site with high ambitions: To make the buying of sustainable fashions an affordable, quick, painless experience, at great prices.

It’s easy to find expensive green fashion like Natalie Portman’s vegan shoe line and other such boutique items, or on the other side, hippy skewed hempwear. But what if you want fashion for the more everyday, that looks good, wears well, and is reasonably priced? This is where Fashion & Earth aims to fit.

Now the question that came to my mind is, isn’t there other sites out there that do just that? Desbarats was on the case, with a well thought out response:

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Her passion for the culture comes through in some of the gorgeous pieces that she carries, such as the beautifully designed tea towels.  Inspired by her memories and travels, Hammocks and High Tea line definitely evokes sunny imagery of open air markets and lush tropical, lazy days of summer.

The pieces in the home goods collection are made with organic fabrics, including hemp, soy and organic cotton. Each product is made by hand, and printed using water based, solvent free inks.

I love the Indian Summer tea towel in Nigella (shown left) decorated with bold Hibiscus for $13 online. It’s the perfect hostess gift.

The Organic Consumers Association announced Friday it was “expanding its boycott of Horizon and Aurora organic dairy products to include five national ‘private label’ organic milk brands supplied by Aurora, as well as two leading organic soy products, Silk and White Wave.” Aurora, who supplies “organic” milk for Costco, Safeway’s ‘O” brand, Publix, Nature’s Promise, and Wild Oat’s “organic” dairy line was found to be violating animal welfare law. In truth, Aurora operates like a factory farm, milking 2,000 to 10,000 cows, confining cattle to feedlots, ordering replacement cows, and potentially using antibiotics.

A farmer the OCA spoke with said “real organic dairy farms don’t need to buy replacement heifers.” The new cattle are brought in only on industrial scale farms where cows are pushed to high levels of milk production, sometimes slaughtered after only a year or two after they stop milking often due to stress. Check out the report to read more on how Bush kept Aurora rolling under the mask of the “organic” label.

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Ford Motor Company will be replacing up to 40% of their petroleum-based seat cushions with a new material made from soybean oil. “Soy foam” costs roughly the same to manufacture as traditional petroleum derivatives, but requires less energy to produce and may reduce environmental impacts by 75%.

The new material was developed by Ford’s own researchers, and made its debut in the 2008 Ford Mustang. Soy foam has also already been incorporated into the seat cushions of Ford F-150 pickups, Expeditions, and Lincoln Navigator SUV’s. By the end the year, Ford says it will have 45,500 soy-foam vehicles on the road.

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It was first reported in January that Virgin Atlantic would test flight a Boeing 747 jetliner using a biofuel, without naming the fuel. An algae-derived biofuel was, however, mentioned as a strong possibility for the flight between London Heathrow airport and Amsterdam. The plane will carry a limited flight crew and no passengers.

Next, an official of the UK Department of Transport claimed in a document leaked to Flight International that a 20% mixture of algae biofuel and regular jet fuel will be used in one engine for the test.

The latest comes from a Boeing official who said, in an interveiw with Flight at the Singapore air show, the Virgin Flight will definitely not use algae-derived biofuel in the test. Instead, a first-generation feedstock, such as soy, canola, babassu or palm oil will be the source of the biofuel.

The use of a hydrogenated fuel would, as one expert put it, “be a good demonstration of proof of concept.” He did say, however, that algae will be considered as a fuel source in the future.

Well, whatever they use, it’ll be a first for the commercial aviation industry. An Airbus 380 flew with a gas-to-liquid biofuel a few weeks ago, proving that a biofuel was an option, but in their case it was a fuel derived from fossil deposits.

The test is slated for the end of February, so we’ll know soon what fuel was used in the flight.

Related Posts:
Airbus A380 First to Fly With Alternative Fuel
Chevron Backs Solazyme’s Algae Biodiesel Production Process (+Video)

Among the variety of green fashion brands, Portland-based MEWV (pronounced "move") is one of the few that offers their creations in the widest range of sizes - Extra Small to 4X. Unlike other brands that simply expand the measurements of their smaller sizes to fit larger women, MEWV’s plus-size line was designed independently from their smaller collection, styled especially to fit bigger women and their unique shapes. The assortment of sustainable fabrics used in MEWV’s line is also worth noting: organic cotton, bamboo, soy, tencel, and hemp; all infused with just a bit of lycra to add comfort and extend the life of the garments.

Other than their commendable size range, MEWV also boasts another feature in its line that I haven’t seen before - no buttons, zippers, or hooks. Why? The metals and plastics used to make these common fasteners are not sustainable (at least not yet). Personally, I think this also enhances the fit of the dresses, you know, because you don’t have a zipper poking you in the spine. MEWV’s latest collection will be on the runway at Portland Fashion Week tomorrow night, and I’ll be wrapping up every evening’s events on my blog, in cooperation with Portland’s #1 eco-fashion store Greenloop, so make sure to tune in.

Personally, I think fake meat is just that — fake. It’s not a substitute for the real thing, but I do enjoy them. And I don’t need it in every meal — I love a fat plate of well-prepared in-season veggies, and I rely on the versatility of pasta for many of my meals. In fact, I only use protein alternatives once or twice a week because they are more processed (and more expensive) than I would like (save the versatile tofu). Some aren’t even suitable for vegans. But, I’ve found several "fake" meats that I whole-heartedly endorse on their own as lower-fat, lower-cholesterol, lower-calorie protein options, and some are good enough that my meat-loving husband doesn’t mind their presence.

My burger-of-choice is Morningstar Farms Grillers Prime, because (don’t judge!) they remind me of fast-food burgers, but I also like the Spicy Black Bean and Tomato & Basil Pizza Burgers. I’m not a huge fan of Boca anything — mainly because I don’t like the taste, and they’re owned by Philip Morris/Altria. I also like their fake bacon, as does my carnivorous husband, because it gets crispy. I use Morningstar’s Recipe Crumbles in tacos, lasagne, and other pastas, and both my husband and I prefer it because it lightens up heavy dishes.

The other brand I’m a fan of is Quorn, which is a "fake" chicken made of mycoprotein. Harder to find and more expensive, I think it’s the best chicken replacement with the most realistic savory flavor. I use their cutlets in rice dishes, and their Chik’n Tenders in fettuccini alfredo. Finally, I like Gardenburger’s BBQ Riblets, which is odd, since I never liked real ribs, but my sister-in-law and I rely on these during summer family barbeques, and they’re a nice change from veggie/soy burgers.

Enough about what I like — what do you guys think about "fake" meat? Is it a part of your meat-free or less-meat diet? Why or why not? What are your favorites, and why? I didn’t even touch on soy dogs or "soy"sage, because I don’t like them, but I know many people swear by them. Your thoughts on the fake meat debate?

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.

Soft/Silken

Soft/silken tofu is undrained tofu, and it contains the highest moisture content of all fresh tofus. Its texture can be described as similar to that of very fine custard. In Korea and Japan, traditional soft tofu is made with seawater. Because it is nearly impossible to pick up this type of tofu with chopsticks, it is generally eaten with a spoon. Edamame tofu, which I had once at a Japanese restaurant, is a Japanese type of tofu made from edamame (fresh green soybeans); it is pale green in color and often studded with whole edamame.

Now, you’d pretty much use silken or soft tofu when you want to make something creamy, such as puddings, mousses, and pie fillings. You can also use it for salad dressings and sauces, and silken tofu also works great in baked goods instead of using chicken’s eggs. I’ll get back to that in a sec.

So, when you go to look for silken tofu in the grocery store, you may find soft and silken in the refrigerated section. But you may also notice that silken tofu is packaged in aseptic boxes that do not require refrigeration. Mori-nu is the most popular/common brand of this type, and it will usually be found in the Asian section, by the soy sauce, etc. If you don’t use the whole amount, as with all tofu, submerge it in water in a container, and store it in the fridge once you open it. Changing the water daily will help keep the tofu fresh for up to one week. But you can keep this vacuum-packed/aseptic box of tofu in your cupboard for up to a year without opening it.

It can start to get confusing when you look at the aseptic box of tofu and notice that – even though it says "silken" — it will also say soft, firm, or extra firm. These are just degrees within the texture of silken tofu itself, and you can notice slight variations. So, even if it says "extra firm," this is not the type of tofu you’re going to take home to grill or stir fry. It’s much too soft for such a purpose. Anyway, in terms of these variations within silken tofu, my advice would be to follow recipes as they’re noted (if a recipe calls for Silken Soft, use it; if a recipe calls for Silken Firm use it). But in general, silken firm is a good standard to use for making silky, creamy dishes.

I mentioned before that silken tofu is also great to use in baked goods instead of chicken’s eggs. You can find information about this in a podcast episode called Better Than Eggs, but you can also pre-order my new baking book, The Joy of Vegan Baking for more details on baking without chicken’s eggs. Here are some tips for using silken tofu. Whip ¼ cup of silken tofu in a blender or food processor until it’s smooth and creamy, leaving no chunks. You may need to turn off the food processor and scrape down the sides.

I find the silken tofu “egg” works best when you want rich, dense, moist cakes and brownies, but you can use a little less to create lighter cakes, such as our Blueberry Orange Cake, which is one recipe in our Tofu and Tempeh recipe packets. There are other recipes in that section, which call for silken tofu, such as the No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie and the Chocolate Pudding Tart with Raspberry Sauce. They’re also in the new cookbook, but if you can’t wait, you can order them online in our online cookbook recipe packages.

Many grocery stores carry the Mori-Nu silken tofu these days, but you should definitely find it in a natural foods store. If your local grocery doesn’t carry it, request it. Look for vacuum-packed silken tofu on the shelves rather than in the refrigerated section. If you still can’t find it, I sell it in my online store, and it’s the organic one that I sell. Because soy beans are a highly sprayed crop, and many soy beans are genetically modified, I do recommend buying organic anytime you’re buying a soy bean-based food, whether it’s tofu, tempeh, soy milk, miso, or just edamame soy beans. As the standards are now, if something is certified organic, it is not genetically modified. But stay tuned.

Firm/Extra Firm Tofu

You’d use firm or extra firm tofu when you want to grill it, bake it, stir-fry it, stick it on a skewer – basically when you want it to keep its shape. So even if you’re using it for something like an eggless egg salad, the recipe for which is also in my online cookbook as well as demonstrated on our cooking DVD, you still want extra firm tofu, because you still want it to have body, you still want it to have texture.

Now, the more you cook with tofu, the more you understand what textures and brands work best for your purposes. I’ve raved about Wildwood’s tofu for years, and I continue to rave. Their super firm is really a fantastic tofu, and its distribution is spreading far and wide, so ask your local grocer to carry it. It’s really firm and full of texture, and it’s just delicious. But, because it’s so firm – the SUPER firm, that is – if I’m making something like a tofu scramble, I like to use a combination of extra firm and super firm – or even firm and extra firm. If I use all super firm, the result might be scramble that’s too rubbery, so I just know I like to do a variation of textures to get the result I want. And you’ll get there, too.

Same goes for something like medium tofu. If a recipe asks for medium, just use it, but I don’t really use it that often. Again, as you get more comfortable with the different textures of tofu, you’ll know what brand and texture you need based on the dish you’re making.

Freezing Tofu

Another thing you can do with firm, extra firm, and super firm tofu is freeze it, and this is my favorite thing to do. So you come home from the store, tofu in hand, and it should be in a tub of water or at least in a vacuum-sealed package with water. Just throw the whole thing in the freezer. Don’t open it, don’t do anything: just throw it in the freezer.

When you’re ready to use it, take it out of the freezer, thaw it out on the counter for a few hours – basically, before you go to work. It thaws faster on the counter than in the fridge, so just thaw it on the counter and perhaps not in direct sunlight. Now, open up the package, and dump out the water, etc. At this point, you’ll want to hold the block of tofu over a large bowl or over the sink, and squeeeeeze out all the water. It will literally be like a sponge. Tons of water comes out after you’ve thawed it.

So what’s the advantage of doing this? Well, you’ve squeezed out all this water, and you can literally see how porous the tofu is. So what does that mean? Well, you’ve gotten rid of all that water and created all this room/all these pores for a marinade to soak into the tofu. So, marinate the tofu in your favorite marinade for an hour or even over night. Then, add it to your sauté pan with just a little oil – or just on a nonstick pan with no oil at all – or put it on the grill. It’s delicious.
The other thing you’ve done is change the texture completely. Tofu already has great texture when it’s really firm, but it’s even chewier after having been frozen and thawed. I, personally, like the texture even better than if it wasn’t frozen at all, and I LOVE just regular tofu. I usually use this chewier tofu on my salads – just cut up into little cubes. I just love the texture. Also, at this point, it’s also great to crumble up and add to pasta sauce or to chili. It’s very chewy, and some people really like it that way because it adds that satisfaction that people seemingly get from chewing fat/flesh.

I’ve heard naysayers of vegetarianism say "well, vegetarians clearly have some kind of latent desire to eat meat if they want to eat vegetarian meats or if they ’seek out’ that meaty, chewy texture.’ And I couldn’t disagree more. People don’t necessarily stop eating animal flesh because they stopped liking it – they stop eating animal flesh because they don’t want to contribute to animal cruelty. Also, we don’t crave the flesh of animals. We’re not true carnivores who salivate at the thought of eating bloody muscles and raw flesh and sinews and tendons. In fact, that makes us really sick. What we do crave is flavor, we crave familiarity, we crave texture. So there’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting that chewiness, that texture. So, there you have it. Freeze it, thaw it, squeeze out the water, and enjoy the chewy texture.

Now I just talked about how to press tofu to get the water out by freezing it and thawing it. You can press the tofu without freezing and thawing it first, but you don’t really press out as much water as when you use this other method. But if you wanted to try it, you can just wrap the tofu block in a dish towel, put it on a plate, and put something heavy like a bunch of heavy books or a heavy pot. 20 minutes later or so the towel will be soaked through with water, and you’ve pressed out some water, but again, it’s not as much as if you freeze it first. Try it yourself, and you’ll see what I mean.

We still have more to say! In Part III, I’ll offer some very specific ideas for preparing tofu!

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.

However, I don’t like the use of these terms when referring to non-animal-based foods for a number of reasons. By all calculations, meat, dairy, and eggs are superior in no way – not in terms of health, not in terms of taste, and certainly not in terms of ethics. And if we step back for a moment, we’d see that animal foods are actually the alternatives to plant foods, and we’d remember that cow’s milk is actually a substitute for human milk.

ANIMAL PRODUCTS REPLACE PLANT FOODS

When animals were first herded and domesticated for human consumption, about 9,000-10,000 years ago, they essentially became the alternatives to plant foods. Plant foods were the foundation of the human diet for a long, long time - long before people started domesticating non-human animals. (READ: Plant foods were the foundation. I’m not saying humans didn’t eat "meat" at all.) Fast forward thousands of years to our own "modern" culture. With millions of dollars, the animal exploitation industries convinced people they need to consume the flesh and secretions of animals, and fruits, vegetables, beans, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices were pushed off to the sidelines and sold as garnish, and meat, dairy, and eggs, with their powerful lobbies on Capitol Hill, enjoyed government support, subsidies, and protection.

Thanks to the dairy industry, whose government-sponsored advertisements pose as public service announcements, humans are continually sold the idea that we need cows’ milk to be healthy. This stuff is sold as if it contains some magical formula designed just for human bodies. The truth is it is a perfect formula, designed just for growing babies — bovine babies, that is.

HERDING ANIMALS - DUPING HUMANS

Cattle are herd animals, which means they are easy to control because they move together and stay together. In other words, "cattle" meet certain requirements that make it easy for humans to contain them. Let’s not kid ourselves into believing that humans struck nutritional gold when they started drinking cows’ milk. Cows’ milk — just like soda — is a commercial product that is sold to the public by the dairy industry that has billions of dollars behind it in advertising and enjoys government protection from false advertising laws.* Whether it’s cow’s milk, goat’s milk, sheep’s milk, buffalo’s milk, rat’s milk, or dog’s milk, it is totally unnecessary for human survival and health.

Not only are we the only animal that drinks another animal’s milk, we are the only animal that drinks it into adulthood. All female mammals produce milk for the same reason: to feed and nourish their offspring. At a certain age, depending on the mammal, the infant is able to move onto solid food and is weaned off of the mother’s milk — every mammal, that is, except humans.

Despite the fact that humans don’t continue drinking human milk after being weaned, we’re told we have to drink cows’ milk. And despite the fact that calves naturally stop drinking cows’ milk after they’re weaned, humans have been duped into believing that they must drink it as adults. Our own physiology supports the cessation of milk-drinking in that - at about time time when we should be weaned off of breast milk - our bodies stop producing lactase, the enzyme that enables us to digest lactose, the sugar that’s in mammalian milk. One of the reasons the majority of the world population suffers from lactose intolerance is because we’re not able to digest it. Drinking milk - human or otherwise - into adulthood makes absolutely no sense, but it makes really good business and very good money.

TAKING BACK THE WORD

The dairy industry has made attempts to own the word "milk" and stop non-dairy milk companies from using the word; they loathe the use of the word "milk" in any other context outside of that which refers to the stuff they take from cows and sell to humans. (Perhaps they would prefer human women to say "breast beverage" instead of "breast milk.") Besides referring to the fluid that a female produces when she is lactating, the word "milk" also refers to the liquid extracted from various plants, whether they are nuts, grains, seeds, or fruits. Many of these milks have been around for thousands of years in different parts of the world. The milk from these plants are hardly "alternatives." Rather, they stand on their own as delicious and much healthier choices for human consumption.

SOY
Soy milk originated in China, a region where the soybean was native and used as food long before the existence of written records. Later on, the soybean and soybean foods were transplanted to Japan. Soy milk is reputed to have been discovered and developed in the Han Dynasty in China about 164 B.C. Cow’s milk is definitely the "alternative" to soy milk, particularly in the East. Sadly and ironically, however, the consuption of cow’s milk now exceeds that of soy milk in Japan. The advertising arms of the North American dairy industry reach far and wide.

RICE
If you’ve ever been to a traditional Mexican restaurant, you’ve had the pleasure of imbibing Horchata, a delicious sweet beverage made primarily of rice, sugar, and cinnamon – and often almonds. The Mexican Horchata is based on the Spanish Horchata de Chufa, which was traditionally made from a grassy plant called the Chufa or tiger nut and has its origin in ancient Egypt and Sudan.

NUT
Almond milk – by far my favorite! – was used widely in the Middle Ages in regions stretching from the Iberian Peninsula to East Asia. It was prized for its high protein content and its ability to keep better than milk from animals, which soured if it wasn’t used right away. Milk derived from other nuts also has a long history, including that of walnut, cashews, peanuts, macadamia, and hazelnuts.

COCONUT
The milk of the young coconut is referred to as coconut water or coconut juice and is absolutely delicious and drunk as a beverage. It’s been a popular drink in the tropics since the discovery of the coconut palm tree! (Early Sanskrit writings reveal that the people of India were using coconuts as a staple for food.) It’s naturally fat-free and low in calories with high nutrition content. (Coconut milk is the thick sweet, milky white substance derived from the meat of a mature coconut and is often used for cooking and not for drinking.)

FOLLOWING THE COWS’ LEAD

The bottom line is we have no nutritional requirement for the milk of another animal. Though we have nutritional requirements for nutrients such as calcium, we can do what the cows do and get our minerals from the green leafy stuff that grows in the ground. That news, however, hasn’t quite made its way to our living rooms and classrooms. The kale growers don’t seem to have the money for multi-million-dollar ad campaigns (got kale?); the chard lobby has yet to be formed; and the broccoli farmers just haven’t gotten around to producing glossy marketing materials (I mean - "educational" materials) for young children in school to compete with those that the dairy industry have been supplying to teachers for decades. Get them while they’re young, and you’ve got them for life.

Though humans have been drinking the milk of animals for thousands of years, there is enough evidence now to support the detrimental effects it has on our bodies. Just because we’re in the habit of doing something doesn’t mean we should continue. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should.

(*The California Milk Advisory Board was sued by animal advocates and organizations for falsely representing the condition and treatment of dairy cows in the state. Because the California Milk Advistory Board is the marketing arm of the California Department of Agriculture and thus a government agency, it is exempt from false-advertising laws. The case was thrown out, but not before the judge acknowledged that California cows "probably aren’t happy and that if the ads implying that they were happy had been made by a private individual, false-advertising laws might apply.")

*Listen to my podcast episode on my favorite non-dairy milks

The main problem with paraffin and synthetic fragrances is the fact that they're made from oil (you know, that stuff we're addicted to.) It pollutes when burned, just like other fossil fuels. This candle soot can result in black marks on walls and ceilings, and can even be harmful to your health. A study by the Environmental Protection Agency found a random selection of petrol based candles contained twenty different chemicals, compounds and particulate matter.

The good news is there are a lot of alternatives to choose from. Beeswax and soy based candles abound in a variety of scented and unscented options.

Seattle-based Big Dipper Wax Works has a wide selection of hand-dipped beeswax candles in all shapes and sizes. Bluewick has decorativley (and responsibly) packaged, fragrant, soybased candles. Other candle makers include companies include Bluecorn Naturals and Vermont based Way Out Wax.

Of course this tip should include the obvious candle disclaimer: don't leave a burning flame unattended, and use caution if you're taking the flame outdoors, especially if it gets a little windy. (I line my backyard area with votives for summer gatherings.)

Amy says: Candles make great housewarming or thank you gifts, and they travel well. When presenting a soy or beeswax candle to my host I always make sure to explain the benefits of the paraffin alternative.

Editor's note: In today's Red, Green and Blue, our political commentators Jimmy Hogan and Shirley Siluk Gregory weigh in on the U.S. Farm Bill and its related subsidies, due for reauthorization this year.

Shirley: If Congress is serious about solving the host of problems it claims it wants to fix — rising obesity and diet-related illnesses, polluted stormwater runoff and environmental degradation, food insecurity and overdependence on fossil fuels — it should look no further than the Farm Bill, which is due for reauthorization this year.

As it's crafted right now, the Farm Bill (which, as Michael Pollan writes, should more properly be termed the Food Bill) does little to promote small-scale or sustainable farming. But it's very good at driving chemical-dependent industrial agriculture that floods the market with cheap corn and other commodity crops. The results are an overwhelming supply of corn syrup and corn syrup-derived junk foods that are cheaper than healthy foods, and a system that undercuts family farmers both at home and abroad while helping Big Ag companies like Archer Daniels Midland, Monsanto and Tyson reap ever-growing profits and market share.

For the sake of food security, there's certainly a good case to be made for farm subsidies of the right kind, but that's not what we have right now.

HTnaturals is committed to the development, manufacturing and sales of comfortable, durable and affordable daily wear garments that are less harmful to the environment and provide benefits for the people involved in the entire product supply chain, from the farmer, to the processors, distributors, retailers and ultimately the consumer. Fair Trade and Organic certified, the company even has a corporate office in China to monitor factory conditions. The brand gladly displays pictures of their overseas factory on their website. If that wasn't enough, only sustainable fibers (organic cotton, bamboo, soy, hemp, and recycled polyester) are used to create their entire collection.

Items for men, women, and babies are available via the company's online store, as well as through various retailers in Canada and the U.S. A catalog of HT's soon-to-be-released Spring 2007 line (as show in the picture) is available on their website as well. Personally, I know I will be order a few styles for myself (Capilano Scoop, Jericho Tank, and Burnaby Bamboo Sweater), as well as my boyfriend (Belcarra Bamboo Tee, Seymour Stitched L/S Tee, Stanley Park Soy Boxer) once they are for sale. For those who work in a slightly casual work environment, the short-sleeve polos are a perfect addition to your business wardrobe. If you happen to be in the market for some nice soap, candles, or home accessories, make sure to check out HT's Mind, Body, and Home section in their online store. The handcrafted soaps have cheeky names, along with vintage (i.e. 1920s) style packaging. Dried flower compliment the unique scent blends of the red flower long-burning candles; great for any bath or guestroom.

The next time you are in the market for some fashion basics, log on to HTnaturals' site before you hit the mall; I'm quite sure you will find just what you are looking for (and at a good price).

Image courtesy of HTnaturals