Firstly --- Happy 2010! We wish you all a peace-filled new year.
Secondly -- Sorry for the vanishing act. We're still here, and still vegan. Life has been getting in the way of blogging. We've both been very busy and when we've had a break, neither of us has been motivated enough to blog.
And thirdly -- If you had to fly through Newark tonight, you have our deepest sympathies!
But enough with the excuses already... Back to the blog.
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While I've been m.i.a. I had the opportunity to read Eating Animals
by Jonathan Safran Foer, and I can't recommend it highly enough. While none of the information presented was new to me, it was presented in a manner that I found easy to read and entertaining. Often this material can be very difficult to read. Safran Foer lays it all out in its gruesome details, but he also alternates that information with stories from his personal life, and his personal experiences with food.
Best of all, I think this book will be easy to read for the disinterested omnivore. Safran Foer is able to present the information in such a way that the facts are simply that, the facts. He explores all sides of the argument so that you, the reader, can decide for yourself. The logic he uses is inescapable. You cannot consider yourself to be an environmentalist if you eat meat (water, pollution, etc.) He recounts his decision to stop eating meat, and all that that entails, in an intelligent and non-judgmental manner. Really, this is one of the better books on the ethics of eating than any other I have come across. The omnivores in my life will be getting copies of this book to read during the coming year.
Mezzetta Southwest Vinaigrette
Jane and I sampled two of the Mezzetta Vinaigretta salad toppings recently. We tried both the Southwest (pictured) and Mediterranean toppings. The product comes ready made in a jar. Their tag line is "just add lettuce." Jane loved the idea of the product as something quick to prepare for those days when getting a meal together can be a challenge. I was a little leery. I'm not a huge fan of things like this... I feel that the ingredients all tend to gelatanize over time and become a soft mush. But I'm not the cook, and if the cook needs to have the occasional quick fixins I'm not going to complain.
We were concerned about the lactic acid and "natural flavors" on the ingredient list. This is the email we received:
The Vinaigretta is indeed Vegan (except for flavors with honey, which is debatable). Regarding your questions:
1) The lactic acid we use is produced from the fermentation of sugar.
2) The natural flavor is derived from spices.
Let me know if you have any further questions, thanks so much!
So how did it taste? Neither of us loved the Mediterranean Vinaigretta. It had an odd taste and was rather oily. The Southwest Chipotle Lime Vinaigretta was better. I liked it, Jane thought it was okay. Neither of us in any rush to run out and buy more, but it makes a nice meal if you don't really want to think about putting together salad dressing and fixings.
Zesty Lemon Tempeh-Tations
A little while ago we tried Lightlife's Tempeh-tations, Ginger Teriyaki flavor. As I mentioned in that post, Lightlife also had come out with two other flavors of the product. We recently tried those as well.
Jane is always on the lookout for new vegan products, especially convenience foods for the nights she isn't going to be cooking. We don't tend to eat a ton of pre-packaged foods, but having something you can heat up and have ready in 5 minutes has its appeal! The next flavor we tried was the Zesty Lemon. In our opinion, it was by far the weakest of the three, we wouldn't eat it again - and wouldn't recommend it.
BBQ Tempeh-Tations
We had the classic barbeque last week. As I've mentioned previously, Jane really doesn't care much for tempeh. She's always willing to give something new a try, but has come to expect little from it. Maybe the barbeque sauce is all she needed, but we both really enjoyed this product. Jane served it up with corn on the cob, red cabbage slaw, and our usual green salad.
So, if you're thinking of trying the lightlife tempeh, we both recommend the barbeque.
Nutritional Information:
Lightlife Tempeh-Tations
Jane has never been a huge fan of tempeh. We've tried it a number of times. I like it, but we both much prefer seitan. Recently, Lightlife came out with a new Tempeh product, Tempeh-tations. It comes in three varieties: Zesty Lemon, Classic BBQ, and Ginger Teriyaki.
Last night we tried the Ginger Teriyaki. The package is 6 ounces and makes two servings - 160 calories each. Jane sauteed up a bunch of vegetables and made some brown rice to go along with it. She also added some chicken vegetable stock to the sautee pot to make a little sauce, otherwise it would have been a tad dry.
The verdict: I thought it was delicious. Jane thought it was better than other tempeh she'd tried and would have it again, but still had a hint of bitterness. What she loved most about this product is its ease of preparation. It's another option for a quick and easy dinner, and I will happily consume it.
Next time we'll try the BBQ I think.
