Vegans, Not Freaks

I recently received a copy of Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World by Bob Torres and Jenna Torres.  I read the book in a couple of days, and I have to say, as much as I love fellow vegans, I am sincerely disappointed. 

Vegan Freak is a sort of vegan manifesto in which the authors, a married couple and the executive editors of Tofu Hound Press, the company that published the book, attempt to instill vigor and commitment into already-vegans and inspire non-vegans to take on the lifestyle.  There isn’t anything wrong with this.  Sometimes the only way for vegans to get respect is to be able to eloquently state their reasons for being vegan and to be consistent in their diet and lifestyle.  Inspiring others to be vegan is OK, so long as it doesn’t go to far.

I don’t want to write a blog entry criticizing Vegan Freak because the authors spend so much time criticizing anyone who is not vegan and using a variety of other negative tones such as cursing profusely and making bad sexual jokes.  Instead, I’d like to argue for a different vegan manifesto, one that reflects the compassionate lifestyle and peaceful mindset that is inherent to veganism in the first place.  Here are a few of my thoughts on veganism.

Any reasons for being vegan are great, so long as they are motivated by a desire to create some sort of positive change. 
Although animal rights is one great reason for going vegan, there are many other reasons people decide to go vegan.  As long as your reasons for going vegan are not completely vain or ill founded—i.e. you think it will make you look like an emaciated movie star, you think it’s the new fad, or you want to impress someone else—your reasoning is probably logical.  Among these motivations might be for the ethical treatment of animals, to support a more sustainable environment, for your personal health, or to simply adopt a more compassionate outlook on life by changing your relationship to food and other consumables.

Environmental vegans are just as valuable as ethical vegans.  We certainly need vegans to advocate for animal rights. 
If you aren’t aware of how unethical and cruel our meat and dairy industries are, just watch or read Food, Inc, and you just might end up being vegan.  But veganism is also about supporting a more sustainable environment.  Not only does the meat and dairy industry abuse and kill animals, it also uses an unbelievable amount of energy in the process.  Although the process of harvesting and transporting produce, grains, and other plants to grocery stores and farmer’s markets requires energy, the energy required is significantly less and can produce many more pounds of food per area of land than producing animal products.  And because vegans are often among the groups of people interested in where their food comes from, they are more likely to support sustainable agricultural practices and support local and organic foods.

Veganism is about you. 
I’ll risk using the cliché, “you are what you eat,” because I believe that veganism embodies this phrase perhaps more than any other diet.  By choosing to be vegan, you are bringing a heightened awareness to the type of food you put in your body, where that food comes from, and how that food makes you feel when you eat it.  Being vegan might also make you consider how the clothes you wear make you feel, and you might stop wearing leather, wool, and silk. It’s OK to be proud of yourself for making these personal choices, but acting with modesty and humility around non-vegans is always the best way to go.

The whole world isn’t going to stop eating meat. 
As a vegan, I think it’s great that veganism is becoming more widely known. There are more online and print resources than ever for vegans, vegan conferences, vegan clothing brands, and vegan restaurants.  That being said, vegans are a minority—not freaks—and cannot expect our entire society to adopt a vegan lifestyle when meat and dairy are central components of most Americans’ diets.  While some are able to make the transition to vegan lifestyle “cold turkey,” most people in our country wouldn’t even begin to consider this process. What we can do is support the people who are interested in learning more about vegan lifestyle and possibly becoming vegan without alienating ourselves by projecting our vegan philosophies on others who may not be interested at all.

Veganism is sometimes about compromise. 
It might make me a speciest to say this, but people are much more important to me than animals.  So if on my birthday, someone makes or buys me a non-vegan cake, I’m going to have a slice to avoid offending that person or causing hurt feelings.  There have been so many instances in my vegan experience thus far where someone has made a special effort—at a restaurant, family dinner, or gathering with friends—to make sure I was accommodated.  As vegans, we need to reciprocate.  There are more appropriate time to talk about our lifestyle choices.

Vegetarians are OK. 
Yes, the dairy industry can be just as cruel and unethical as the meat industry, but vegetarians and vegans have many common values, and as vegans, we must respect that in order to be respected.

Finally, and most importantly, veganism is about respect, for animals, the earth, and other people.  
We can’t expect to receive respect from non-vegans and grow any sort of vegan movement if we don’t treat others with respect.  We need to recognize that animal products have deep roots in our society and we can’t expect everyone to agree with us.  Even if you never compromise your vegan values, this still means not projecting your values on non-vegans, not making judgments about meat eaters, and treating everyone with the same respect you would always like to have as a vegan.

Vegan Freak lacks the compassion, humility, peacefulness that should come with a vegan lifestyle.  To give credit to the book, the authors offer a lot of useful tips about vegan cooking, what types of restaurants are the most vegan-friendly, and traveling vegan.  If you’re thinking about going vegan, the best thing you can do is talk to a vegan you know and check out the plethora of online and print resources available.  If you’re vegan, don’t be a freak about it.

Vegan Meat (Asian style)

Being vegan below the Mason-Dixon line can be challenging. Depending on where you are, almost everything in the South can seem like its been pulled (from animal ribs, not from the ground), fried, laden with cheese, and served with a side of lard-based beans and sausage.  Not that this food isn’t good for your soul.  I’ve eaten fried artichokes, vegetarian beans and rice, and bread pudding in New Orleans that I made my heart soften towards Southern Comfort and my soul scream, “hallelujah!”

Not all restaurants in the South are like this, but I definitely didn’t expect a vegetarian, vegan-friendly restaurant to pop up when I Google-searched “Greensboro vegetarian” the week before visiting the quaint, beautiful North Carolina city.  To my surprise, Greensboro is home to Boba House, a restaurant and tearoom just off the UNC-Greensboro campus.  Established in 2003, Boba House is the winner of the Vegetarian Restaurant of the Triad (the “Triad” includes Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point) and both the Rhinoceros Times and the Triad Diner Vegetarian Restaurant of the Year Awards.

My last vegan restaurant review featured the Chicago Diner, a dive that skillfully and deliciously purged all animal products from American food including BLTs, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, and even milkshakes and cheesecake.  Boba House offers some dishes that are similar to the Chicago diner—the staple burger and yam fries and vegan cakes—but serves predominantly Asian cuisine, each entrée served with a different type of vegan “meat.”  Some tantalizing examples from the dinner menu include blackened tuna, ginger chicken, and sesame beef. Boba House also offers delectable appetizers including crispy rolls and fried calamari. For dessert, vegan guests can choose from cheesecake, carrot cake, and chocolate cake.  “Boba” (bubble) teas are the signature drinks and can be made with either with tapioca pearls or coconut jelly, but a wide variety of black, green, and herbal teas are also offered. 

Boba House is open Monday-Friday 11:30AM-3:00PM and 5:00-9:30PM.  Saturday hours are 12:00PM-9:00PM; the restaurant is closed Sunday.  Prices are extremely reasonable, with dinner entrees ranging $8-$11.  The lunch specials, however, as Cody and I discovered, cannot be beat.  Boba House offers some of their most popular entrees as lunch portions, including Eternal Bliss, “a harmonious blend of green treasures,” and Black Pepper “Steak,” starting at $5.99.  Each entrée comes with your choice of “meat:” tofu, chicken, beef, or shrimp (all vegan).  Guests can also add salad or crispy rolls for an additional $1.99.

Cody and I shared the Eternal Bliss with tofu and the Pad Thai with chicken for lunch.  Each entrée was beautifully presented on a colorful plate and the portions were generous (we were too full to try any of the vegan desserts).  The servers were friendly and outgoing, and Boba House indeed seemed like the neighborhood meeting place, with the crowd including students, faculty, and everyday townies.  Not all of the Boba House patrons could have possibly been vegan, which to me was an encouraging sign of vegan cuisine having the power to attract vegans and meat-eaters alike.

Boba House also sells all of their “meat,” including chicken, steak, shrimp, fish fillets, and ribs online, providing an alternative to some of the grocery store meat-replacement brands.  To order vegan meat from Boba house, click here.

It was a pleasant surprise to find a vegan restaurant in Greensboro, and our meal at Boba House was the tastiest we had on our road trip.  Be sure to check out Boba House’s beautiful website here and pay a visit next time you’re traveling to North Carolina!

Vegan Hamentashen

To revisit the Adventures with Sourdough post from two weeks ago, creATE reader Sam S. suggested the following to bake lighter and more flavorful sourdough bread:

• Work for a moister and more pliable dough
• “Retard” the dough by putting it in the refrigerator for several hours during the second rise

On my second attempt at sourdough bread, I followed Sam’s suggestions, making sure my dough was moist and pliable after mixing all the ingredients and let the dough sit in the refrigerator for approximately 6 hours during the second rise.  I extended the baking time during the second (375 degrees with no water) phase to 50 minutes, although this could be an inconsistency with my apartment’s oven.

Sure enough, the bread was much better, and gone within 24 hours.  Thanks, Sam!

The Jewish holiday Purim begins tonight at sundown.  I’ve always enjoyed Purim because it’s one of the happiest holidays, celebrating the Jews being saved from extermination by the Persians.  Along with reading the story of Purim, dressing up in costume, and engaging in age-appropriate festivities, my favorite aspect of Purim is the tradition of giving money or food to charity and delivering small gifts of food to family and friends.  I love this tradition because we are commanded to be happy and community-friendly in one great day.

For Eastern European Jews, it’s custom to eat hamentashen, triangular-shaped cookies filled with fruit, poppy seeds, or chocolate.  This cookie is symbolic of the three-cornered hat that the Purim story’s villain, Haman, wore in the story.

Jewish holidays, as with holidays in many cultures, can be challenging for vegans, and I struggled to find a recipe for vegan hamentashen and an even more difficult time finding a vegan chocolate filling, which is my all-time favorite flavor.

After scanning through several recipes that looked unreliable, I tweaked the most promising version I could find for creATE.  Enjoy! (And share with your friends.)

Vegan Hamentashen
2 cups unbleached flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ cup non-hydrogenated vegetable oil spread (such as Earth Balance)
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup soymilk

Your choice of filling.  Suggestions include: any flavor fruit preserves or butter (blueberry and cherry are my personal favorites), pie filling, chocolate (see filling recipe below), or vegan cream cheese.

1. Mix together the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside. 
2. In a large bowl, cream the vegetable oil spread, brown sugar and soymilk.  Mix in the dry ingredients.  Chill dough for 6 hours or overnight.
3. On a floured surface, roll dough ¼ inch thick.  Use a 3-inch cookie cutter or drinking glass to cut circles in the dough.  Place a small amount of filling in the center of each circle.  Pinch three corners of the dough to form a triangular-shaped cookie with a small hole in the center.
4. Bake on a lightly oiled cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on wire racks.

Vegan Chocolate Filling
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup flour
½ cup soymilk
½ cup brown sugar or other natural sweetener
¼ cup vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until blended.

Enjoy!