For Christmas this year, Jane received a subscription to bon appetit magazine. She received the gift because the giver knew that she was always cooking and looking at recipes. Unfortunately, the giver did not pay particular attention to the kind of recipes that Jane was looking at, but it's the thought that counts, eh?
So every month, before passing it along to a friend who does appreciate this kind of cooking, Jane's been looking through bon appetit for ideas. Clearly, the magazine is not geared towards vegans, but there are some interesting spice combinations and some hints of ideas of things that could be veganized. There is even the occasional article that we'll read. But overall, the magazine is definitely slanted towards omnivores. So you can imagine our shock, when Jane found a clearly marked vegan recipe in the June issue. It's on page 40 and the recipe is for "Grilled Veggie and Tofu Stack with Balsamic and Mint." And right above the recipe, highlighted in green, it reads "vegan main dish." You could have just knocked me over with a feather! It even sounds good!
They also promote the recipe by indicating that it "isn't just vegan -- the main course is also high in fiber and low in calories and cholesterol. Of course, the recipe immediately following is for grilled lamb chops. But still... bon appetit featured a vegan recipe.
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A Reminder of Where Your Meat Comes From
While Jane's mom was here we did a few "touristy" things. One of the things we hadn't done with her yet was to visit Farmer's Market. It's a tourist attraction that pulls them in by the busload, and where there are people, there is food. This is someplace to grab a bite to eat and people watch. So we went on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
One of the restaurants had this in their display. I'm left wondering who their target demographic is? You're not going to pull in any vegans or vegetarians by showing pig-shaped sausage meats, and most omnivores don't seem to really want to know where their meat comes from.
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So I'm watching CNN as I'm getting ready for work, and across the bottom of the screen, the scrolling news goes by.... PETA urges Ben & Jerry's to replace cow's milk with... (at this point, I'm expecting to see soy millk. aren't you?) human breast milk. Jane loudly exclaimed "ew," and we looked at each other in disbelief.
Now after a few moments, I thought to myself, "really what's the difference between cow's milk and human milk? And why is the thought of drinking human milk so repulsive?" But it is. I'm sure the point of the campaign is to drive home how badly cows are treated, and that cow's milk isn't all that healthy for us, but I'm not sure this is the most effective way to do that. In my opinion, this is exactly the kind of thing PETA does that makes the rest of the vegan community look insane. Are they kidding? Or is it simply a matter of "any press is good press?" If you don't believe my eyes, here's PETA's press release.
One final thought, if you're using the argument "adults consuming dairy products made from milk that was meant for a baby cow just doesn't make sense," does it make sense to for an adult to consume a product that was designed for a baby, even if it's a baby of the same species? It would seem to me the answer should be a resounding "no" as the nutritional needs for a growing infant are different than those of an adult. (For a comprehensive study on the dangers of dairy, and eating meat in general, I highly recommend The China Study
, if you haven't read it already!)
In any event, I wish PETA would change their direction a bit. I applaud their efforts to get the word out there, but perhaps they could do it in a manner that might be a little less histrionic.
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We wish all of our US readers a Happy 4th. Today's post might be a little late for this weekend's festivities, but it'll certainly be of value throughout the summer. It turns out that watermelon isn't just a fun summer fruit -- it contains certain chemicals that might help ensure some fireworks in the bedroom.
Apparently watermelons contain citrulline, a chemical which can trigger the body's blood vessels to relax. According to scientists at Texas A&M's Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center, this is similar to the reaction a man has when he takes Viagra.
Found in the flesh and rind of watermelons, citrulline reacts with the body's enzymes when consumed in large quantities and is changed into arginine, an amino acid that benefits the heart and the circulatory and immune systems.
"Arginine boosts nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, the same basic effect that Viagra has, to treat erectile dysfunction and maybe even prevent it," said Bhimu Patil, a researcher and director of Texas A&M's Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center. "Watermelon may not be as organ-specific as Viagra, but it's a great way to relax blood vessels without any drug side effects." Todd Wehner, who studies watermelon breeding at North Carolina State University, said anyone taking Viagra shouldn't expect the same result from watermelon.
"It sounds like it would be an effect that would be interesting but not a substitute for any medical treatment," Wehner said.
source - Watermelon Yields Viagara Like Effects
Don't look to watermelon to actually replace those little blue pills however, as you probably need about 6 cups of watermelon to ingest enough of the chemical to see any effects. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see who's buying lots of watermelon at the farmer's market this weekend.
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