The Vegetarian Gazette

Cabbages seen on the Vegetarian Gazette

Plant-Based Food For Carbon-Based Units

Have You Heard?

And yet another list of pantry staples. This one, in slideshow form, coming to us from Claire Sibboney of Food Network Canada, details the must-haves that work with vegan, vegetarian, keto, paleo or Volumetrics diets. The list is useful. But you will want to ignore several of the suggested recipes. Click here

Legendary vegan chef Isa Chandra Moscowitz shares five of her favorite recipes with  CNBC’s Makeit section. The quintet includes Banana French Toast and Thai Noodles With Seared Brussels Sprouts. Read more.

Summer is a-coming in, and that only can mean we should be alert to the inevitable infestation of zucchinis. They will be all over the place. Fortunately, Serious Eats has assembled a ready reference to all the things you can do with the zucchini. Click here.

It had to happen. We were so glad it did. Eating Well has presented us with a recipe for cauliflower “potato” salad. Just click right here

Popular five year old LA-based hamburger mini chain (two locations), Burgerlord’ s has reimagined its menu, according to Veg Out’s  Allie Mitchell. As of July 16, 2020, it will be an all-vegan oasis. Read more.

It’s summer, proclaims Ben Mims of the Los Angeles Times. He confesses that he’s a lapsed vegan; but notes that he, even now, eats meat “only occasionally.” Which is why summer is so special. He says it's giving him a chance to dive into the seasonal bounty of fruits and vegetables. He includes links to a handful of recipes. Click here.

What are the best new vegan products of July 2020? Mohini Patel of Veg Out has compiled a list. You can access it here

Rebecca Maness of PETA reports  El Pollo Loco is the largest chain to offer plant-based “chicken” burritos. The article also offers a “complete guide to eating vegan at El Pollo Loco.” Click here.

Give a warm veggie welcome to Simulate, the new parent company of Nuggs, purveyor of plant-based “chicken” style nuggets. The mission, according to Food Business News reporter Sam Danley, is to expand into other plant-based offerings. Click here

In case you were wondering what to do with that extra lemongrass, here’s. Meera Sodha’s recipe for cashew curry in the Guardian. Click here.

Writing for Eating Well magazine, Lisa Valente, (M.S., R.D.) tells us that oatmeal is “The #1 Food You Should Eat for Breakfast.” For the whys and hows and a few serving ideas, click here.

 

Kayla Pasko  has compiled a list of black owned vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants in New York for VegOut magazine. The descriptions come complete with mouthwatering photos. Care for a taste? Click here.

Put  these three magic words together — barbecue, Texas, vegan — and you’ve got yourself a treat. You’re probably standing by the Houston Sauce Pit food truck. Raleigh-Durham ABC affiliate WTVD  airs the report. Click here

Daily Meal writer Holly Van Hare turns to tidying expert/author/Netflix star Marie Kondo for inspiration. The result is an article with the self-explanatory title “How to Marie Kondo Your Spice Drawer: What to Keep and What to Toss.” The suggestions might even add a new joy to your cooking. Click here.  

 

lemons seen in vegetariangazette.com

What has the 21st-century really done for us, anyway? Oh, right! Smart phones! Get a taste of a different time, without all that messy jet lag. You might want to look into Shaker lemon pie. In his Gastro Obscura article, Sam O’Brien gives the history of and recipe for the simple but popular dish. Warning: The crust part of the instructions includes lard; but you can substitute your favorite cruelty-free crust and still have a lovely experience. To get your slice, click here.

PETA  wants us and our meat eating friends to know about the great array of plant-based cheeses at Whole Foods. Several carry the house “365” brand. It’s quite an extensive list. You can get it here.

 How are vegetarian-friendly South Florida restaurant serving their customers? Jenny Lee Molina tells all in  Miami New Times. Click here

 Peter Peverelli tells his trade pub Just Food readers about the “booming” plant-based scene in China. It’s attracting international players and local startups and benefits from government interest. For more, click here.

 In 2017, London-based Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman went from owning burger chain Chosen Bun to founding Plant Meat. Just Food’s Dean Best interviewed Shovel  about the company’s growth, future and the Covid 19 impact. Click here

The three-year-old Spain-based Foods for Tomorrow’s  Heura brand has been “growing exponentially by 400%,” according to Katy Askew of trade journal Food Navigator. The company began with “plant-based chicken,” and worked its way through the non-animal kingdom. Askew spoke with company CEO about food for tomorrow’s future, plant-based foods’ future, and the impact of COVID 19 on all of the above. The results of that conversation are here.

 

Let’s face it. There is such a thing as bean fatigue.Sho Spaeth, a Serious Eats staffer brings us an antidote — or at least a pretty good workaround with his recipe for “Double-Bean Mazemen (Broth-less Ramen With Savory Beans).” Learn more.

 Guess what? We are crazier than meat eaters. It’s a depression thing. Okay, maybe your humble editor sensationalized the conclusions of the study by US-based researchers. As reported by Oliver Morrison of the Food Navigator, researchers, working from a National Cattlemen’s Association grant, said “meat eaters have better psychological health.” Maybe it’s because they don’t have to bother their pretty little heads about extermination of sentient creatures. For more, click here.  

Eating Well scores with a low-calorie recipe for grilled broccoli with smoky yogurt sauce. The flavor comes from lemon, cumin, and smoked paprika. For details, click here.

WJZ (the CBS-TV Baltimore outlet), using data provided by Hoodline.com declared the city’s three best restaurants for “cheap vegetarian eats.” They are Soup’s On, Red Emma’s, and Brown Rice. For details, click here

What are the odds of an all vegan restaurant coming to the Las Vegas strip? What with the similarity of names and everything, shouldn’t they be high? Apparently not! But, good news. A makeover of the Venetian Resort's Truth & Tonic (already wellness prone) will bring the first all vegan menu to the Strip sometime in January. This is reported to us by Diane Edelman of vegansbaby.com, which makes “being vegan in Las Vegas and beyond easier.” To learn more, click here.

 

No vegans need apply. That seems to be the word from the New Zealand Defence Force —at least in the case of a 23-year-old Auckland native. The Evening Standard’s Megan White writes of a 23-year-old Auckland native’s attempts to enlist as a Navy medic. He was turned down because he’s vegan. For more, click here.

It never hurts to remind ourselves of those essential nutrients that are a little harder to come by. Writing in Medical News Today, Jon Johnson gives us the rundown on what we need to avoid feeling — well — rundown. He details building blocks, what they are and where to get them in his article, “Supplements for vegans: What to know.” Learn more here.

 

Writing for the Greatist, Kate Morin and Anisha Jhaveri tell us how to beat those midafternoon munchies with protein instead of empty calories. Almost all of their suggestions are plant-based. This list definitely is worth a look and, better yet, a taste. Click here.

Perfect Day Foods  placed the first batch of its new cowless but dairy based ice cream on sale. The 1000 3-pint packs (at $20 a pint) sold out within a few hours. As CNBC’s Jade Scipioni reports , the cream is made by "taking cow’s milk DNA and adding it to a micro-organism like yeast to create dairy proteins, whey and casein, via fermentation." For more (or seconds), click here.

Hungry in Cleveland? Not to worry. John Petkovic of the Plain Dealer has assembled a list of the 30 best Cleveland vegetarian and vegan friendly restaurants. For example there’s Rood Food & Pie which just serve sliders and pies. The veg sliders include sloppy tofu, charred brussels sprouts, and barbecue grilled jackfruit. For Petkovic’s Roundup, click here.

Sometimes, commercially baked bread can mess with our minds. It tastes and feels so good; but it contains ingredients that — let’s face it — are not really that good for us(especially when consumed in the quantities that your humble editor considers normal).  Fortunately, there also is Ezekiel bread. April Benshosan’s  2016 Eat This Not That article gives us the skinny on this brand and its story. Click here.

 

And here’s another sign of the plant-based march toward the new normal. Forbes blogger Robin Raven offers useful advice in her posting, “Tips for Flying As a Vegan.”

At one point in our saga, this would have been framed as one  of the many arenas where we have to fight for the right to eat a cruelty free meal. But now it’s presented as a set of tactics to deal with one of those “sticky situations” that still pop up despite progress made. Learn more here.

 

UK supermarket chain, Waitrose, is bringing fresh ammo to the battle for the minds and tummies of vegans — namely the first seitan burger available in a British supermarket. So reports Harriet Flook in the Mirror. Flook says, “Seitan is one of the hottest vegan alternatives, with searches on Waitrose.com for vegan burgers…increased by 86%, with seitan searches up by 148%.” For more, click here.

Why do mega international corporations sometimes have cutesy names? That’s actually a side issue. We don’t have to ponder it in this particular incarnation. But we did get to wonder about it for a moment when we receive this piece of news about KFC, a division of Yum Brands Corporation. (Yum also is parent company of Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.) It seems they are investigating the addition of vegan items to their menu both abroad and in the US. That’s the word on the street. Really! It was reported by Tony Owusu in thestreet.com. Here is the link.

VeganBurg sounds like a mighty nice town to move to. Of course, it is the name of Alex Tan’ s fast, casual (and we might add ethical) restaurant. There are two locations —San Francisco and Singapore. VeganBurg recently was named one of Fast Casual magazine’s top 100 “Movers and Shakers.” Details about the restaurant, its philosophy and success can be found in Kat Smith’s article, appearing in livekindly.com here’s the link.

 

"We Are Boats" Breaks Bread and Ground As First All-Vegan Film Set.

We Are Boats has bragging rights for being the first all  vegan film set.

 

Zombot Pictures new movie “We Are Boats,” holds special meaning for us. This is not because it is profound, spiritual and moving (which it is). But because of its business-almost-as-usual line that briefly appears in the end credits.

 “No animal was harmed, worn, or eaten in the production of this film.”

In fact, the movie’s press material states this is the “first fully Vegan film set.”  [more]

 

CPAC and its Cows Célèbre 

Hillstone vegeeburger for story about CPAC and cows in vegetariangazette.com 

Dear CPAC and other meat eaters of any political stripe. Please do not fret. We know hamburgers are your sacred cows. We do not want to pry them from your cold, dead plates. Your right to eat dead animal flesh is safe. Yes, you may take a moment to sigh in relief. [more]

 

It's a Waffle! It's a pop!

Waffle Pop as seen in vegetariangazette.com

Pop Bar the NYC based gelato shop franchiser offers something new under the winter sun— waffle pops.

Describing the company’s shop in the Anaheim Packing House,Los Angeles Times writer S. Irene Virbila said, “Pop Bar draws the crowd for impossibly beautiful gelato on a stick (think popsicle) in a gazillion flavors.”  [more]

We have a big shakeup in pizzological studies. Chris Crowley, writing in New York magazine’s “Grub Street,” reports that researcher Peter Regas offers a new theory about the origins of pizza in New York (and hence the USA). Regas says Filippo Milone  is the seminal figure in pizza’ s New York origin story. Regas will present his findings on 23 February at Chicago’s U.S. Pizza Museum. (No, we didn’t know there was a pizza Museum either.) In the meanwhile, read the GrubStreet story here

Gastro Obscura (Atlas Obscura’s younger sibling) tells us of the guang bing story. GO calls guang bing the “Chinese bagel.” It was devised by a 16th-century general. The trick was to bake the rolls during downtime (like when the troops weren’t fending off attacks). The Baker inserted a string through a hole in the center. The troops could wear necklaces of these “bagels,” and indulge while they were on the move. The article is accompanied by a video, featuring Lin Xiu, described as “the last guang bing maker in his village of Fuqing, China.” For more information and a peek at the video, click here.

Speaking of New York, Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld of the magazine’s “Grub Street” have compiled a list of “The Absolute Best Places to Eat Vegan in New York.” And there just happens to be 10 of them. This is very important because one doesn’t want to be caught dead in a place that isn’t the best. Moreover, New York City being the cosmopolitan mecca that it is, just heightens the pressure. See for yourself here.

And yet another sign that we are moving into the mainstream. The Guardian’s Amy Walker reports that the UK has a vegan chef shortage. “As the number of people embracing a vegan diet grows,” writes Walker, “ restaurants are scrambling to recruit enough chefs.“ (We presume no eggs were involved in the scrambling.) Fear not! New vegan cooking schools and workshops for professional chefs are opening up. Click here. posted 4 November 2018

The next time someone warns you about the terrifying B vitamin deficiency that accompanies a vegetarian diet, lay this PETA link on them. It provides alternate B12 sources that don't harm animals. Click here

Tandoor Chef

 Tandoor Chef's Vegetable Korma , as seen in vegetariangazette.com

Hunting down the various 20 spices and odd ingredients that go into the wonderful 5000-year-old complex Indian cuisine, and cooking same could take hours. Fortunately, the freezer gods have heard our prayers.  Tandoor Chef’s frozen meals to the rescue. [more]

Beetology Juices

What is it with the beet community? They are punsters —and apparently proud of it. We didn’t know that about them; but the evidence is all around. They unleash their wordplay before a poor journo even has a chance to wake up and free associate, let alone thumb through a thesaurus. It’s enough to drive an ink-stained wretch to sobriety.

 For solace we turn to a bottle of Beetology Beet+Cherry Juice. [more]

 

Seaweed coming to a bar stool near you? Jenna Blumenfeld reports in B to B site New Hope Network on the efforts and desires to take seaweed a little more mainstream. The problem is seaweed tends to taste and feel like seaweed. She details some possible solutions. Click here.

 

It’s a corrupt world and sometimes you need a shamus to stake out the grocery store; to sift through the package claims, the marketing hype and the food industry bought-and-paid-for-research. The word on the street isn’t always reliable either. Enter Maria Marlowe

Marlowe’s her name. Maria Marlowe. Health’s her game.

She’s a health coach with an important new book, The Real Food Grocery Guide. Learn more.

A recipe for vegan Vegetable Soup with Cherry Tomatoes, Chickpeas and Olives comes to us from Vicky and her Avocado Pesto blog. Her mission? “ Help you plan your meals and stay healthy with real food!”  The site is not exclusively vegetarian but it contains a goodly supply of plant based ideas. Click here.