Bidding Adieu

With our month of veganism complete for nearly 2 weeks now, it is finally time to say goodbye to the vegan blogging world. Thanks everyone for your support (and to some for your discouragement, which caused us to really think through our what we were doing). Karmic retribution for Brandt's major sacrifice for the sake of experimentation was had as Suzy had difficulties re-entering the world of animal products. In the end, we both now appreciate a world free of major food restrictions, and we have noticed that we are eating more plant-based foods as staples and that we have developed a greater appreciation for the taste, texture, and experience of eating animal products. I hope you'll try some of the posted recipes that we both love (both vegan and non).

While Brandt will tell you with great delight that you can't expect a similar month out of us both anytime soon, we will let you know if we are led to any new diet experimentation in the future.

Omnivorously yours,

Brandt and Suzy

America the beautiful

Despite its amber waves of grain, America has developed an unparalleled love of all things meat. So July 4th was the perfect weekend to welcome us back to omnivorousity. Enter: Nathan's famous Coney Island hot dog eating contest.

We spent Independence Day amidst beach and carnival goers and hundreds and hundreds of hotdogs. A combination of disgust and utter amazement came over me as world-record-holder, Joey Chestnut, devoured 54 Nathan's hotdogs in 10 minutes. This did not come close to beating his former record of 68 dogs, but the fact that this man consumed in 10 minutes more hotdogs than I have possibly consumed in a lifetime was enough impress this watermelon-eating, America-loving girl.

We finished off the evening with friends, fireworks, and a flag-themed fruit tart (recipe below), all the while basking in our freedom to eat anything we wanted.

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Berry America Tart

This just-sweet-enough and refreshing tart is from a recipe I found in Real Simple. I typically make it with only blueberries. For our 4th of July celebration, I added raspberries and strawberries for a slightly corny but delicious flag theme.







Ingredients
Flour (for work surface)
One 8oz sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup blueberries (or about 2 cups if other berries omitted)
3/4 cup strawberries, sliced
3/4 cup raspberries

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. On a lightly floured surface, unfold the sheet of pastry and roll it into a 10-by-12-inch rectangle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

2. Score a 1-inch border around the pastry without cutting all the way through. Brush the border with the egg and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Bake until golden and puffed, 18 to 22 minutes, or following package instructions.

3. Rescore the border of the cooked pastry without cutting all the way through. Gently press down on the center of the pastry sheet to flatten it. Let cool to room temperature.

4. Meanwhile, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the cream, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of the confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly within the borders of the pastry.

5. Arrange the blueberries, raspberries and strawberries in a single layer over the filling, in any pattern of your choosing, and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of confectioners’ sugar.

Suzy's Egg-cellent Breakfast

The month did a lot to improve my cooking skills and creativity, especially with legumes and vegetables. As mentioned in an earlier post, I have also improved my running performance. I feel that my body works more efficiently in this plant-based existence. Although I didn't eat anything "off" the vegan diet yesterday (we have a fridge full of delicious vegan foods, and I simply didn't crave anything else), I felt a huge sense of relief at not being restricted due to the self-imposed dietary guidelines of veganism. I've always eaten pretty large amounts of fruits and vegetables but prior to this month, got most of my protein from yogurt, cheese, and meat. Going forward, I am sure I will be eating a lot more plant-based proteins. What I like about being done with the month though, is not feeling any sense of guilt about wanting certain foods. I definitely crave and will choose more plant foods going forward, but plan on indulging any cravings for dairy and meat I might have.

Like this morning, on mile 5 of 7 of my run, I began to crave nothing but an egg sandwich. Without the restrictions of June, I thought to myself, "IT SHALL BE MINE." Whole wheat English muffin, egg, tomato--I literally gasped aloud in delight as I devoured the first bite of eggy goodness. And even after the month of increased plant foods, the honeydew and blueberries still tasted just as delicious!

The hours following were less delightful as I reintegrate my body to some occasional meat. But I imagine this to be a bit of karmic retribution for having convinced Brandt to give up his favorite foods for 30 whole days.

It's All Butter!

Well guys I guess this is it. It's been a hell of a run. I've learned a surprising amount. I think if I live through the saturated fat binge I am about to engage in I will actually change some eating habits. I think with a little perspective this may have worked out well for me. We'll just have to see how it all plays out.

For now let me leave you with one final reflection, and that is: Butter is delicious! I completely forgot what I was missing, but it all came rushing back this morning when I went to breakfast with all my old friends. Eggs, Bacon, Toast and Butter - the whole gang was there this morning and man had I missed them. As I left the diner the sun was shining, birds were singing, and I swear colors were just a little bit brighter. I feel like I've been reborn. If this diet has taught me anything it's not to take anything for granted, you never know when you've had your last pat of butter.

Finally I'd like to thank my real life friends who - to a man - offered not one solitary word of encouragement or support through this entire experiment. If a guy's friends aren't going to tell him when he's doing something ridiculous who will? Don't worry guys - I'll be here to repay the favor next time you pull an absurd stunt - which knowing you all should be sometime within the next hour or so.

I'll see you around.

The Last Supper

Last night we had our final meal in our month-long vegan experiment. June 30th: aka the birthday of my dear sister, Jacqueline (right with her delicious birthday cocktail courtesy of Brandt's bartending expertise), and the last day on the vegan diet. She was kind enough to relinquish any birthday meat sandwiches to join our last hoorah. The Birthday Girl requested her favorite vegan meal of June, Mushroom Walnut Burgers, which I had made for my family for Father's Day dinner a few weeks ago. These are a satisfying dish for meat and non-meat eaters alike, have a lot of flavor, and like so many of our favorite recipes that came from this month, use the beloved Cuisinart Food Processor. Last night, I served the burgers (recipe at the end of this post) with roasted red potatoes and an herb salad with pine nuts, cucumbers and balsamic dijon vinaigrette. A delicious end to the vegan month of June.

Then, at midnight, Brandt dove into his Halvah that I had purchased him earlier in the day in preparation for a ravenous start to meat-eating. It's his favorite candy and made him quite happy...

...but not nearly as happy as the 12:30am July 1st Bacon, Egg and Cheese.


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Mushroom Walnut Burgers

1 1/2 pounds cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 large yellow onions, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 to 2 cups bread crumbs (I used panko, but any would do)
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 Tbs fresh
1/2 teaspoon dried sage or 1 Tbs fresh
salt and ground pepper, to taste

In a food processor, mince mushrooms and parsley. Remove and set aside.

In a sauté pan over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil and cook onions and garlic for 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to a large-size bowl, and combine with minced mushrooms and parsley, bread crumbs, tahini, Worcestershire sauce, walnuts, soy sauce, oregano, sage, salt, and pepper.

Place mixture in refrigerator for one hour (THIS STEP IS KEY FOR GETTING PATTIES THAT WILL STICK TOGETHER LIKE A BURGER--I MADE MINE IN THE MORNING AND REFRIGERATED ALL DAY FOR BEST RESULTS).

Create patties using your hands--mixture will be soft but should still be able to form patties; add additional bread crumbs or tahini if necessary. In a sauté pan, warm remaining olive oil, and fry patties over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and crispy. Be careful to keep patties intact.

Serve on whole grain buns with caramelized onions, tomato slices and arugula.

NYC Restaurants

I thought some people might be interested in checking out some vegetarian and vegan restaurants in NYC. I found a great site that lists them by neighborhood. So, without further ado, check them out!

The "Suzy Sympathy" Diet

I would like to thank Phil Devlin for his commitment to our cause. I recently found out that this wonderful father of my dear friend, Christine, has gone on a meatless diet to show his support. While perhaps this would better be titled the "Brandt Sympathy Diet", Phil's efforts are nevertheless appreciated!

I'm not a proponent of fad diets or cutting solid foods and/or entire macronutrients (a la Atkins) in order to lose weight or detox. However, making a change in a healthy and conscientious fashion, even if only temporarily, can permanently alter your dietary comfort zone. I know these 25 days without meat/dairy/eggs has done just that for me. I have become more open to new dishes as permanent mealtime staples (see the Recipes page for some of my favorites) and a much more creative cook, especially with legumes, vegetables and different spices; I also simply feel better, running more and recovering faster. I imagine many aspects of this diet will stick with me after our 30-day trial run, and it doesn't feel like a tremendous effort any longer.

I'm not saying a month of veganism is something everyone should do. And I'm not saying that dramatic dietary experimentation is for everyone. But I would encourage everyone to try at least a minor health-conscious change for an entire month. Nothing crazy--incorporate a new whole grain twice a week, switch to natural sweeteners (like summertime fruit!), skip the 3rd (or 6th) beer of the night...whatever it is for you, try it. And see if it becomes comfortable.

And Brandt, I know you still don't find veganism "comfortable" by any stretch. But at least Falafel night is something we will look forward to even when hamburgers and cheese platters are options.