vegan summer: hits and misses

Petty grumbles about summer at the vegan coal face.

Vegan cookbooks

With barely 1% of Australians claiming to be vegan (according to a 2010 Newspoll survey) the market for local vegan cookbooks is slim to say the least. The bulk of recipe books available are American and that leads to the perennial problem of measurements. I love PPK and would likely buy Veganomicon if it did a metric edition. Despite being more than competent at maths, adjusting for English versus US cups and pounds for grams is exhausting after a while. The SE is a stickler for following a recipe and in the end the conversions really got to him.

I did however make PPK orange ginger baked tofu, because there was a heck of a lot of tofu consumed over summer and I’d never baked it before. In the end the quantities were a total guestimate, not only because of the imperial to metric conversion (it gets so tiring checking every single ingredient) but because I was using a smaller block of tofu so resizing each one was another issue. Fortunately it wasn’t a cake and I can read a recipe and get the general gist of where it’s going. I also had no wine open and as the SE is also currently a non-drinker, so I modified it further by using about a tablespoon of dry sherry instead. The alcohol gives the flavour of the sauce a bit of depth but I think mirin could do a similar thing for those with a grog-free kitchen. Despite all that the dish was a hit.

As an aside I tracked down the title of an Australian vegan cookbook and was excited to discover that it was being reprinted and that the authors were publishing their second cookbook. This is only available from a few outlets in and around Sydney as it’s self-published. But despite having a website, they don’t seem keen to distribute online. I contacted them with the location problem, mentioned Fishpond being useful (they have a number of vanity titles in their catalogue) but they responded by reposting the interstate options. It’s really hard to support an initiative that wants to shoot itself in the foot.

Agave

The website for the aforementioned book showed promise. The one sweet recipe they shared had something going for it. That being it didn’t use agave syrup. Oh boy, don’t get me started on this stuff. Oops too late! Rant alert.

Agave syrup continues to feature like a vegan star both in recipes and every vegan-friendly eatery. I have no idea why so many health oriented eateries keep pushing the stuff. It’s been known for years that agave nectar/syrup has a similar molecular structure to the dreaded high fructose corn syrup and is metabolised by the liver in a similar, potentially hepato-toxic way. By my reckoning it’s just an overpriced, and potentially harmful, fad. On top of this it seems to appear in many sweet raw foods recipes. It’s not raw. The substance that becomes what we know as agave nectar or syrup begins life in the cactus as a starch, which is boiled to be transformed into the syrup. This process alters the molecular structure, producing a high fructose liquid. The original indigenous “nectar” was also either fermented or boiled. It’s not a case of tapping a ready to use liquid straight from the plant.

Eating out

Before the vegan summer I’d been excited to attend a special vegan dinner at Embrasse. While it was a lovely night, with elegant food and great company, it left me wanting. The minimalist style of the cuisine had not taken into account the degree of hunger the diner is left with when the morsels of animal protein are left out of the degustation. Imagine a multi-course dinner where you get only to eat the garnishes? Knowing the SE’s devotion to filling his gut, I figured that the vegan options at many glamorous omni restaurants would end up being a waste of money, so when not cooking at home the local veg*n haunts were visited on high rotation.

Despite some delectable meals, by the end of six weeks I was over the grunge factor. Are there not elegant vegans, who enjoy a bit of linen, a decent wine list and to be skillfully waited on once in a while? Having suffered a lack of choice in fine dining, even with fish and eggs on my regular diet, I just couldn’t face forking out big dollars for a potential disappointment, or to gorge on something fishy and fabulous but watch the SE miss out. Accordingly we opted to support the eateries that make an effort to cater for those who don’t eat meat. This meant Yong Green, The Veggie Bar and Munsterhaus in high rotation (plus a couple of our local omni Asian joints where we chomped our way through a lot of vegetarian fried rice and stir fries with tofu and vegetables).

The SE had been lukewarm about Yong Green when it first opened but all that changed once he became vegan. This was his new spiritual home and he’d rip through three courses without blinking, loving every bite. We also became reacquainted with the Dragon Bowl (the first thing we’d eaten there a couple of years ago) and the combo of kimchi/rice/tofu and salads became a home cooked summer staple.

My relationship with the Veggie Bar goes back a long way, to a date in 1988 in fact. It’d just opened in the small corner site, there was no liquor licence but the rather gorgeous owner at the time gave us teacups to surreptitiously sip our illicit BYO wine from. In the early days I fell in love with the tofu burgers and was introduced to tempeh bolognaise, something I really must make at home again. But a bit like the date, while we hung around together for a while and shared the odd episode of deliciousness, it was never going to be a long-term infatuation.

Going back to the Veggie Bar after so many years was a bit like catching up with an old boyfriend. There was the rush of reconnection and reminiscence but after a couple of meetings you tend to realise why you broke up in the first place. On a warm summer’s afternoon we stopped in for a quiet juice and the best hommos (raw! sprouted!) I’ve ever eaten. How I marvelled about the gluten-free seedy crackers and craved more! The next visit at 6.30 on a Monday night found us in a noisy, chaotic and rather annoying restaurant, eating food that we really could have made at home.

Munsterhaus has been a weekday lunch favourite ever since it opened. I’m just a little addicted to the glass noodle salad and tofu a hundred different ways. But alas, it’s not a night dining option and the hard seats never make you want to linger.

After six weeks I was well fed but a little miserable. A restaurant with not just one but a number of enticing vegan options on their standard menu, is a rare find. Spontaneous eating out became a bit of a chore.

The SE is back in Sydney and I have to admit my standby proteins, eggs and tuna, have snuck back into my weekly eating in his absence. I can see a day when I ditch tuna, if not all seafood, but I still love the handy egg hit. It's so bloody easy and satisfying. Although my vegetable intake has always been higher than the national average, I'm still consuming even more than before the summer of vegan cooking. I've got into the habit of upping my intake with fresh vegetable juices and amazed that the second hand juicer I snagged nearly 23 years ago is still up to the job.

On the downside, and here I'm not claiming that 6 weeks of mainly vegan eating is the biggest culprit, I discovered that I'm quite severely anaemic. It first began as a child when I'd have meat at least twice a day. Since animal flesh was dropped from my diet in 1984 the deficiency has come and gone. I have no desire to ever eat meat but perhaps the fish and eggs have helped kept the problem at bay, a little.

What are your vegan loves and peeves around Melbourne?

watermelon salad and the summer of love

My golden rule for cookbook buying these days is that I have to actually cook from it in the first week or two of ownership. Otherwise after that initial flick through it tends to be cast aside, relegated to mere food porn. I guess like the real thing, being a spectator’s one thing but it’s a heck of a lot more fun to participate.

In New Zealand I made an impulse purchase of Heidi Swanson’s lovely new cookbook. The current generous exchange rate always makes me feel so rich whenever I go home and was happy to spend some it in a local, independent bookstore.

As a longtime fan of 101 Cookbooks I knew it wouldn’t be hard to find something to cook within the critical timeframe. With eat.drink.picnic promising a stellar 30c day, the watermelon salad was a no brainer.

Did I take photos? No, in the rush to head off to the gardens I forgot. But it’s a simple dish – watermelon balls (note to self: must improve balling technique), toasted pistachios, slivered dates, a squeeze of lime and a dash of rosewater. Next time round I’ll throw caution to the wind and add more lime and roses and toss in some fresh mint.

The picnic was one of the best I’ve been to for ages. Perfect weather, a great mix of people (old and new acquaintances, all delightful), pétanque, vegan desserts (oh how I love to be able to eat a dairy-free dessert) and a delightful location. With the annual Village event next door providing some enjoyable music, by 5 pm our little pocket of Edinburgh Gardens was covered with so many blissed out park goers that it looked like The Summer of Love.

Thanks so much to everyone who turned up (and sorry if any shy souls arrived and couldn’t find us, like a blind date I should have been wearing a pink carnation in my lapel). I really want to make Michael’s vegan caeser with Black Ruby’s stunning GF bread, Carla’s I can’t believe it’s not pate and Johanna’s vegan nutella fudge*. The Significant Eater is determined to buy me an ice cream maker to recreate Kristy’s balsamic strawberry ice cream.

Notable mention also goes to Claire’s wonderful prawns and Ed’s proseco. Not that I’m picking favourites, just two days after a 5 hour feast this is the best my mind could muster. Surely a good sign that it was an excellent day,




P.S. Some random thoughts while writing this post

Independent stores – books, locally made clothes, food…are awesome. If you have to buy things for Christmas, it’s nice to support the little guys.

We must have more picnics! There’s talk of a bloggers end of year “break up” at Barefoot Bowls. (Though Christmas may be loosely translated to early in the New Year).

We need to make all food related gatherings, whether it be friends, family or food lovers, as inclusive as possible. That doesn’t mean 100% gleegan but it’d be nice is half of it is. Everything was delicious.

Summer of Love? Yes please.

I really don’t watch porn (or not in the past two decades at least!)

the winter solstice experiment

Twelve months ago I started an experiment on this site. To celebrate the winter solstice I shared some of my favourite healthy cookbooks and linked them to an online bookstore with affiliate sales, to raise money for a couple of my favourite charities. Some of you joined in and I added your suggestions to the list. Around summer solstice I updated the list and added a new donor.

So what did we raise for The Smith Family’s Learning for Life and Ian Thorpe’s Fountain of Youth? The princely sum is $286.53, which would have been more if Fishpond hadn’t halved its affiliate rate earlier this year. I’ve thrown in some bucks of my own and rounded it up to $400 in total.

I’m still on the lookout for healthy cookbooks – especially vegetarian ones that are simple to follow and don’t rely heavily on dairy or wheat. I’m also curious as to where you turn to for inspiration cooking seafood and if you have any vegetable gardening books that ring your bell.

The healthy cookbook roundup

Here’s the list, with a few new favourites added since the last update. Anything else you'd add to the list?



Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook has been popular with those who went shopping on Fishpond.


Melbourne’s own Flip Shelton’s latest offering Veg In: Simple Vegetarian Dishes from Around the World ticked all my boxes.


How to Cook Everything: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food: Vegetarian
I'm a big fan of Mr Bittman and I think this book is an absolute ripper for techniques and good vegetarian recipes.


Eastern Vegetarian Cooking
This is probably my most tattered cookbook attesting to how often I've used it. Madhur taught me how to make dolmades, roll sushi and cook tasty simple dishes with pulses and grains. It's a cheap book and written for the British who've traditionally not been known for their cookery skills - so it is also suitable for beginners.


Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: An Unrivalled Sourcebook of Over 600 Recipes and Ingredients from All Over the Globe
This is newer than my all time favourite and not limited to Eastern cuisine. It's the pick of one of my oldest vegetarian friends.


The Cook's Companion
This might be too ambitious for a newbie but for those building some cooking confidence she covers basic techniques well but what makes this book a star for me is the list of other foods that the featured ingredients goes with.


The Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen
If Nigel Slater was straight, and I believed in marriage, I'd tie the knot with this bloke because I like his writing so much. Wasn't Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger one of the best foodie memoirs ever written? I've included a couple of Slater books because not only is he a joy to read, his recipes are easy to follow and I figure for those who enjoy eating meat, you can't go better than his chicken roast.


Real Cooking
More Slater love!



Feel Good Food
Another local chef/food writer to be proud of. Great macro inspired recipes.


The Asian Vegan Kitchen: Authentic and Appetizing Dishes from the Continent of Rich Flavors
Lisa's pick.


Jam Today: A Diary of Cooking with What You've Got
Lucy's pick.



The Yoga Cookbook: Vegetarian Food for Body and Mind
Zoe's pick.


Edmonds Cookery Book
Ok not a health book but I was cruising the site and came across it. Other than my mother's tuition, the Edmonds ("Sure To Rise") cookbook was the one that taught me how to make afghan biscuits and fairy cakes.

And for those who like a serve a politics with their food


The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Search for a Perfect Meal in a Fast-food World
An eye-opening read, without the sledge-hammer approach of some other authors of the genre.


In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
You can't get enough of "the thinking woman's crumpet".


Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: Our Year of Seasonal Eating
Barbara Kingsolver's journey into the locavore lifestyle never goes out of season.


Give a little

Don’t forget it’s only a couple of days until the end of the financial year, wouldn’t you prefer to give your favourite charity a few dollars and be able to claim some of that back on tax?

writing in the margins: vandalism or interactivity?

I come from a family that has a certain reverence for the written word. My father begins his day worshipping the newspaper. It’s now delivered at 5 am and I swear the early drop off is the cause of his insomnia. He can’t bear to think of all that paper and ink sitting out on the drive in the cold.

Books are even more holy. In our house you’ll find no dog-eared pages and never, ever has a book taken to be read in the toilet!

But contrary to the unwritten lores of my family, in recent years my father has begun defacing books. I can only imagine the inner struggle that must go on between the Virgoan twin desires of neatness and utter righteousness. One day I noticed one of the many tombs on his beloved national park had been sullied with his unmistakable handwriting. He’d taken a pen and annotated every single mistake the author made, neatly in the margin.

Coming across a defaced book in the house was a revelation. I didn’t know you were allowed to write in the margins. It was as if the world had tilted slightly. My father had become so incensed with the authors inaccuracies, that correcting them was the only option. He did not, as far as I know, actually send the notes back to the publisher. Instead the book just continues to sit innocently amongst others on the subject.

Though last month that changed. During my trip home my father handed me two foolscap pages of corrections for a different book. This one was written about the town he grew up in. Instead of sullying the edition he’d decided to send them directly to body that had commissioned the work. Each mistake was noted by quotation, page number and the correction supplied, often with references from his archive – including old copies of his high school’s own journal. From the 1940s. Page numbers included.

So this morning, lying in bed (an indescribably wonton act on a Monday morning while the rest of the world toils), I glanced at a new “healthy” cookbook I’d picked up from the local library. I was surprised to read that the author was Australian and alumni of my own profession, as I’d never heard of her.

I was only a couple of pages in and a photo showed seedling of “coz” lettuce. Not a good start. The following page spruiked the wonders of agave syrup. I checked the publishing date, 2010. No excuses because by then this highly promoted wonder food had since been relegated to the “almost as bad as high fructose corn syrup” department by most of the authors peers. And spriulina? Surely that’s not still doing the rounds in the 21st century?

Like father, like daughter - I was already itching to pick up men pen and write a few references in the margin. But it’s the fourth recipe that did me in. It’s one for rhubarb and guess what doesn’t feature in the ingredients list? Aha, rhubarb. With 4/5 of the book yet to explore, should I just take a chill pill and take it back unsullied to the library.

So here’s the deal. Do I throw the baby out with the bath water? There are some good recipes and health information amongst the inaccuracies. Should they go through to the keeper? It’s one thing to annotate in the margin if your own cookbooks. Because as far as recipes are concerned, the notes of your own experiences, the temperature and timing of your own oven, varying the amounts for your own palate – to me adds to the value of a cookbook.



Illegible teenage scrawl in my Moosewood cookbook. Indeed the sour cream cheesecake is pretty damn good subbed with tofu. Must make it again soon.

But should you deface a library book? In pen? In pencil? Is this bringing the interactivity of new media to an old format? Or is it just vandalism.

I’m leaning towards sticky notes. What do you reckon?