Mutable Menu

I saw pigs in a truck while driving to work this morning.

I see many trucks on my commute along I-287 every morning and afternoon. I normally don’t check the trucks out unless one of them is obnoxiously and dangerously cutting off cars that are a fifth of their size, which happens often enough. The sides of the trucks are usually emblazoned with company logos for supermarkets, soda, moving companies.

The body of this truck carrying pigs had no logos, just metal open slates for air. I knew there were animals in there and peered to see what kind. At first, I could only see the walls of the truck, nothing else. As I got right beside it and took a better look, I saw the backs and tops of heads of pigs. Immediately my stomach dropped and I stopped looking.

For a few moments, I imagined what would happen if I followed the truck and tried to stop whatever was going to happen. The pigs were pretty big so I guess they were going to a slaughterhouse. I thought about just tailing the truck to wherever it was off to and pleading (screaming and crying) with the driver to let me have them. This seemed impossible for a number of reasons. One, I doubt any business person and animal-owner would hand over their property to me and I wouldn’t be able to afford what a truck full of live pigs probably costs (although I would have no problem being able to pay for the pigs once they are turned into ham, bacon and chops; I’m pretty sure pigs are cheaper when they’re dead). Also, who knows where the truck would end up? I’m already late on my way to work. Finally, what good would it do? Let’s say the truck and I end up in some alternate universe where my hysterics persuades all interested parties to hand over the pigs to me. Then what? I take them home? The dog has 100 new siblings?

I did what was practical, convenient and less painful. I drove way past the truck and went to work. I thought about how there didn’t seem to be that many pigs in that one truck given how much meat I see in a supermarket. I started thinking about how many trucks have to travel everyday just to fill up the Stop and Shop in my neighborhood, let alone all over the world. It seemed incomprehensible, the number of animals and miles. I thought about how this is the first time in my life I’ve seen pigs in a truck. I’ve seen horses before but never pigs or cows or chickens or sheep. The animals being transported and killed are truly invisible but once they are dead, processed and package, we can’t escape it. We don’t have to because it’s ok once they are in the refrigerated section. Just another product to pick up like the cereal and toilet paper.

When I told Brian about my idea for Mutual Menu, I wanted it to be about how vegans, vegetarians and omnivores could happily coexist without anyone’s proverbial feathers being ruffled, no dish being questioned. I’d write about making chicken and tofu using the same recipe or how I was buying all my steak from Whole Foods now because it’s humane. I was so excited and happy! Everyone would get their cake and eat it too. Just as quickly as the blog was up, though, I stopped eating chickens and pigs and cows. Then I stopped eating the fishes. Now it’s been a while since I’ve bought cheese but I’ll still eat it in a restaurant. I once told Brian that maybe we’d have to change the name of the blog if I went vegan because then the menu wouldn’t be so mutual. As soon as I said that, I didn’t need him to point out the huge idea I was missing. I realized which way the mutuality could go. I’d be extending it the animals. I didn’t have to change the name. I’d just change myself.

Mutual Menu is giving away one copy of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. To enter to win and for more details, please leave one comment here.

Not Dead. Just Frozen.

It's officially winter. Out here in my part of the Northeast of the US of A, central New Jersey, yesterday we had what the weatherpeople like to call a wintry mix. I call it a multitude of collisions waiting to happen. On the highway I steamroll down on sunny days, I went a mere 25 MPH. People who drive 18-wheelers and SUVs are, quite frankly, morons. As one radio listener noted on NJ's own semi-conservative radio station--that I listen to for weather, traffic, and to keep up with how the other half lives--"I don't know where these people get their tires but their not invincible. Just dumb." I concur, my brother. But it doesn't matter because they are usually the ones who end up jackknifed on an exit ramp or wrapped around a tree.

Anyways, the delight of my morning today wasn't my cup of lemon tea or my lovely commute through ice and traffic. It was the half-sandwich I ate and I can't get enough of it. It's been my obsession of the week. I go through these phases where everything I eat for a week or two is centered around one ingredient.

A few weeks ago it was ricotta cheese cooked a la Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe--stir-frying it in some olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and some dried Italian seasoning, like a creamier, more delicate scrambled egg.

This week it's been sun dried tomatoes packed in garlicky, herby, red-hued olive oil. Before my last cookbook writing class on Monday, I stopped into Whole Foods' Fresh and Wild and got the Grilled Salmon Omega Salad: grilled salmon, dried cranberries, walnuts, avocado, sun dried tomatoes, and balsamic vinaigerette over a bed of greens. Much more delicious (and cheaper!) than the so greasy they were slimy sugar snap peas and rubbery tofu I kept eating from the $8.99 a pound buffet before. That started my sun dried fixation.

I've been eating sun dried tomatoes at home mostly as a sandwich filling to tide me over before workouts or before bed when I'm feeling the stirs of hunger but have already had dinner. This morning, it was my pre-breakfast breakfast (I usually have either two breakfasts or two dinners with a few snacks throughout the day because I'm hungry pretty much every two hours. And this is one of reasons I have to workout). You should have it for breakfast, lunch, a snack, or light supper too. It's delicious anytime. The well-seasoned and pleasantly chewy sun dried tomatoes pack a surprisingly meaty flavor and texture that will please meateaters and veggies alike. The recipe below could be replicated on several slices of baguette or on one large focaccia loaf and serve as a very nice appetizer for a few folks. This is how I make it for me.

Sun Dried Tomato and Avocado Toast
Ingredients
2 slices of whole-grain bread
1 ounce (basically one chunk, about the size of two dominoes) of Monterey Jack cheese or 1 tablespoon of garlic herb Alouette spread, optional
1/4 to 1/2 of Haas avocado
3 slivers of sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil (you can use completely dry ones if you're watching your fat intake but I'm not going to lie and say it will taste as luscious)

1) Toast bread. If using Monterey Jack cheese, add to bread before toasting so it can melt. If using Alouette, add after bread has toasted. If omitting cheese, just toast the bread.
2) Add avocado and tomatoes to one slice of toast. Top with other slice and smoosh down to break up and spread the avocado. Eat.

Serves one, happily.

Breakfast in Belmar

It seems inappropriate to use a fishing metaphor to describe a vegan restaurant, but Kaya's Kitchen asks for it. Only a 10-minute walk from the Atlantic Ocean and a beatific beach in Belmar, NJ, this restaurant is a great catch! Joselle and I shuffled down to this hip shore town late Sunday morning in an attempt to make it to Kaya's for brunch. We arrived just in time (before the staff actually announced an early-afternoon closing, since they were "out of food")---but the rush was definitely worth it.

With bountiful brunch portions, it's no wonder Kaya's runs out of grub. Fluffy vegan pancakes and french toast adorned our respective plates (Joselle's french toast was topped with fresh fruit and coconut flakes), along with full side saucers piled with perfectly-seasoned tofu scramble and roasted potatoes. If that weren't enough, some of the best mock ham and sausage I've ever experienced came with my meal, officially known as "The Hungry Vegan."

My only quasi-complaint is that I mistakenly received a more standard order of amazingly fluffy flapjacks infused with fresh banana, rather than "The Happy Hippie" peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-banana pancakes I'd originally requested. Considering my casual response to this mix-up, the server might've thought that I was, instead, referring to myself as a happy hippie; not their beloved dish (for the record, while I am typically happy, Joselle will attest to my non-hippie character). It also could've simply been a case of busy brunchtime service and too few hands and seats to meet the needs of the relatively meager masses. Hopefully, Joselle and I will get to the root of this happy accident when we return for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner before the end of the season.

Make sure to call ahead when planning a visit to this tasty spot, especially if you're taking the New Jersey Transit North Jersey Coast line from New York City or another town along the way (the Belmar station stop is located directly behind Kaya's business strip). A mellow atmosphere mixed with apparantly limited food resources at the restaurant makes for an unpredictable encounter. Reservations are highly recommended, along with a healthy appetite. Bring your beach chair for a stroll down 10th Avenue after your meal---and don't forget the sunscreen!