KarmaFree Cooking

It’s the holidays… I put up my Xmas lights last Sunday, which look very nice indeed, so I thought it was a good time to write my list for Santa.

 Dear Santa,

I’ve been a very good vegetarian girl this year.  And if you think so too, this are some of the things I would like to receive under the tree this year:

 1.  A cast iron dutch oven – I would like to try this no-knead bread recipe and a cast iron dutch oven is a must to execute this recipe. 

2.  A Kithchen-Aid Stand mixer – as you can tell from the previous entry, I like breads and pastries, but I do not like to mix or knead.  Plus, it has a pasta attachment so I could do homemade eggless lasagna noodles, raviolis, etc. 

3.  Rachael Ray’s East/West Knife – I once had this knife in my hand and it was only $40 bucks… now it’s a bit more expensive, but I am sure I will give it good use.  I love the way it rocks on the cutting board.

I know these are material things and are just nice to have. What I would really want, if possible, for Xmas is more understanding among people, more patience and more tolerance. Celebrating the holidays amongst friends and family in a humane way. For people to realize that to celebrate the Holidays they don’t need to inflict pain onto other living creatures – like our little siblings – the pig, the turkey, the lamb or the veal, cow, or even the fish.

That’s my true wish… for people to embrace Vegetarianism and to live an all-round more peaceful existence.

Thanks Santa,

Madelyn.

A few weeks ago I wrote about how a local restaurant guide was not respectful to the vegetarian community in Puerto Rico.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this site Happy Cow  which provides listings around the world of vegetarian restaurants and other vegetarian sources by country, as their website says:

HappyCow’s vegetarian restaurants guide is a global, searchable vegetarian dining guide and directory of natural health food stores, including nutrition & health tips, vegan recipes, raw foods, travel, vegan-ism and other vegetarian issues. 

And of course, they include a listing for vegetarian restaurants in Puerto Rico.  What I respect about this listing, is they mention which restaurants are not 100% vegetarian, so any vegetarian living here or visiting from abroad is fully informed before they visit the establishment.   Something I liked, is that on the top of the page you can select if you want the whole listing, or just 100% vegetarian and vegan restaurants only.  Yeah!!! they get it.

I believe it’s best to cook yourself, where you are 200% sure of what’s going into your food.  But I am realistic that cooking for yourself all the time is very difficult.

Just thought it is fair to give you good options and alternatives, not just criticize what’s available.

Bon Appetit!

I discovered this new blog – Veg Blog and I was intrigued by one topic… what are the meal options in our former colleges.  It’s interesting,  because I am “lucky” that when I decided to go vegetarian, I did it in an environment that makes it easier for me… where I have the yoga center I attend to help educate me on recipes, etc.  And the “lucky” statement is a contradictory one… because maybe it would really been luckier if I had had discovered vegetarianism and a healthier lifestyle earlier in life, rather than later.

But what if I had been a vegetarian when I went to Northwestern?  Granted, back then, I would have laughed at anyone who would have told me that I would become vegetarian… that was just not in my realm of consideration back then.  However, I do remember we used to visit Norris Center to have stir fry and they did have tofu as part of the alternatives.  I may have even had it once.

Sparked by the Veg Blog Topic… I searched Northwestern University’s current  meal options.  I was kind of disappointed.  Even though, I’ve seen Evanston now has a Whole Foods, only one of the over 10 options to eat and dine for students sponsored by the university, only ONE mentions openly the have vegetarian options:

Foster- Walker

1927 Orrington Avenue (map, hours)
Phone: (847) 491-5086

Come watch the game on Foster-Walker’s big screen TV while enjoying your delicious meal. Foster-Walker’s West Dining Room offers a variety of made-to-order specialties like freshly tossed salads, grilled sandwiches, pastas, burritos, and stir-fry. The West Dining Room also provides soup, cereal and desserts. Vegetarian burger options are available. Halal items are also available upon request.

Attached to the west side of Foster Walker is the newly renovated C-Store. There you can find a variety of Smart Market salads, sandwiches and wraps, along with many bottled beverages, snacks, ice cream and toiletries. They also have a new section in the Foster Walker C-Store called nuGreen Market, which features organic and or natural products.

I would like to think, that vegetarian options are so prevalent across the campus, that they feel they don’t feel they need to particularly highlight them in the descriptions.

Here are my recommendations to those students (or some former students)  who want to follow a vegetarian lifestyle while still eating out:

1. Ask for something made to order.  Order a sandwich with a whole-wheat bread, or a salad without animal based ingredients.  I ask at Subway for sandwich artists to change their gloves, and cut my sandwich using a disposable knife.  At Ponte Fresco, a local salad place, I ask people to use new cutting boards.  Most places will accommodate, and if they don’t, they do not deserve your business.
2. Mix & Match.  Even though I am not a big fan of just eating side dishes, I have had great satisfying meals by mixing and matching the side dishes of several different entrees. 
3. Don’t be afraid to ask how entrees are prepared.  Never tell people upfront you’re asking because you’re vegetarian.  People have very different ways of defining what vegetarians eat or not.  Just ask how the dish is prepared.  Meat-eaters are usually very eager to mention the bacon, the ham, the chicken stock, etc. 

And if you’re college-bound, try to have a mini fridge and a George Foreman grill in your dorm or apartment so you can help yourself to healthy eating without the limitations of people who are not ready to embrace a more healthful, vegetarian lifestyle.  You’ll never go wrong by making your own meals…  believe me, it’s made a blogger out of me.

This past week the first Puerto Rican restaurant guide was launched.  It’s called SAL!  To give you an idea, it’s like the local attempt to a ZAGAT’s guide.  It’s  backed by all this big name local chefs and published by El Nuevo Día, the largest local newspaper.  I was very interested in it so I browsed thru a copy at my local Border’s store yesterday.

Very disappointing!!!! And I say this from the perspective of a Vegetarian looking to see what they had to offer for newly vegetarians or for vegetarians visiting Puerto Rico, using this guide as a resource on where to dine around the Island. 

 Why? Because the editorial staff did not have the back bone to sift thru the “phony” restaurants who dare to call themselves vegetarian, while serving on a daily basis animal-based entrees, such as chicken, cod, tuna, turkey, among others.  I know, because I have eaten or visited these so-called vegetarian restaurants, while feeling less than confident of what I am being served. 

And what bothers me the most, is that even in one restaurant entry, the editors even suggest that if you want to “commit sin” or steer-away from your vegetarian ways, “Try the chicken-whatever… it’s delicious.”  and in just that phrase, completely mocking the local vegetarian community and any other vegetarian reading the newly released guide.

For the first time, and maybe even fueled by this new-found voice I have thru this blog, wrote a letter to the editors of the newspaper and the restaurant guide letting them know my outrage.  I include a copy of my letter – bear with me, it’s in Spanish… but in essence I repeat the same thing i include here.

SAL! – Que Insulto a la Comunidad Vegetariana de Puerto Rico!!!!!!

From: Madelyn

Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2007 2:52:06 PM

To:  opinion@elnuevodia.com

Hola, soy Madelyn, y soy vegetariana.  Y como vegetariana viviendo en San Juan, me interesó mucho la noticia de la nueva guía de restaurantes SAL!, dada especialmente TODA la promoción que le estuvieron dando en el periódico.
 
Puedo entender que hayan restaurantes allá fuera que digan que son vegetarianos, me imagino que para sentirse hip y a la moda… porque vegetarianos no lo son.  Me refiero a restaurantes como Pure & Natural en Condado o Garden of Health en Hato Rey, entre otros, que dicen ser vegetarianos, pero en sus menús tienen diariamente alternativas no-vegetarianas como pollo, bacalao, atún, entre otros.  Para un vegetariano genuino, estos restaurantes son una farsa porque no se puede confiar en la confección de sus alimentos, si las personas que trabajan en el restaurante realmente te comunican con honestidad los ingredientes de los platos, porque en ese restaurante se cocina de todo.  El hecho que un restaurante tenga platos sin una proteina animal como eje central no hace el restaurante vegetariano.  Pregúntale a una persona que sea vegetariana por muchos años si comería en uno de esos restaurantes y con certeza diría un rotundo NO!!!!!!!   Que digan que son Orgánicos es una cosa, pero si se ofrecen platos con ingredientes animales, por definición NO SON VEGETARIANOS.
 
Pero lo que más me molesta de todo, es que aunque se que vivimos en una cultura carnívora y que el público en general no fomente el vegetarianismo, que una guía de restaurantes apoyada por tan estimados chefs locales, como la guía SAL!, NO RESPETEN que el vegetarianismo es un estilo de vida y de alimentación válida, en aumento en el resto del mundo y que sus seguidores se deben respetar, no tiene excusa.  El que haya una sección de restaurantes vegetarianos y que entre ellos hayan restaurantes que claramente NO SON VEGETARIANOS y que más allá, los editores de la guía sugieran en la descripción de uno de ellos que, “Y si quieres pecar, tienes que probar el Pollo whatever…” es un insulto a la comunidad vegetariana de Puerto Rico. 
 
Desgraciadamente, esta guía de restaurantes SAL! perdió todo tipo de credibilidad, porque no podemos confiar que sus editores tengan la integridad necesaria para evaluar los restaurantes por lo que son y no por lo que dicen ser. 
 
Que pena. 
 
Madelyn Rodríguez
San Juan, Puerto Rico
 

I urge you that if you feel the same way as I, to also email the editors of El Nuevo Día and voice your opinion.  Living in a culture that does not respect the vegetarian way of life is one thing – it’s cultural.  But having the restaurant community and an editorial staff fully mock our lifestyle choice adds insult to injury.  I expected much more from the local culinary community.