Spotlight Food - Sea Vegetables...

What do you know about sea vegetables? Have you ever had them? Do you like them? This amazing nutrient dense food has been consumed in various parts of the world for centuries, but has only become popular in North America over the past decade or so. I’m still amazed by how many people haven’t tried the various different kind of sea vegetables out there, and even more amazed by those who claim not to like them. Granted they’re an acquired taste, I’ll give you that. They taste like the ocean, some people think they taste ‘fishy,’ and the flavor can be a bit strong for some, but once you get used to it, sea vegetables are such a wonderfully health supporting food that you’ll start craving them, I swear!

I remember the first time I ever ate seaweed. I was a kid, maybe 10, and I hated it. My dad was really into seaweed at the time, he’d buy bags of it from the health food store to eat as it was or to make sushi rolls. He’d give me pieces to try and I always thought they were nasty. Fast-forward to highschool when I started eating sushi, I wouldn’t say that I loved seaweed then, but I grew comfortable with it. Fast-forward to me becoming vegan and it took a while, but eventually I warmed up to it. Now I love some nori sprinkled over a salad, some dulse on a sandwich, some wakame in my miso soup. I love seaweed chips, I love toasted nori sheets, I love all those fun little seaweed snacks you can pick up at the Asian markets. I love that pungent, aromatic, sometimes salty ocean flavor, and the best part is that sea vegetables are so incredibly good for you, so you can feel good about eating them.

History/Cultivation 

A lot of us commonly think of sea vegetables os seaweeds as being an integral ingredient in Asian dishes, but the truth is that many cultures around the world have been enjoying this rich, nutrient dense food for centuries. Asia may have the longest recorded tradition of consuming sea vegetables - more then 10,000 years - but many other countries located near water also have a history with seaweed, such as Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Iceland, New Zealand, the South Pacific Islands, and even parts of costal South America.

What a lot of people don’t realize about sea vegetables is the overwhelming variety of them.  More then a thousand types of seaweed exist, and they’re broken down into three distinct categories based on color, brown, green, or red. Each type is unique, having a different shape, texture, and taste. They grow in two places, marine salt waters and freshwater lakes and seas. They may grow on coral reefs or rocky landscapes and can grow at virtually any depth provided sunlight can penetrate through the water to where they reside, as like plants, seaweed needs light for survival. Interestingly sea vegetables are not considered to be either plant nor animal, but are classified as algae.

Health Benefits 

It might surprise you to learn that sea vegetables offer one of the broadest ranges of minerals of any food, containing virtually all the minerals found in the ocean. In addition to offering a unique variety of phytonutrients and antioxidants. They’re also an excellent source of iodine, manganese, B Vitamins, potassium, iron, zinc, and phosphorus.

Sea vegetables also provide anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anticoagulant, antithrombotic, and antiviral benefits due to their unique sulfated polysaccharides. Sea vegetables anti-inflammatory benefits seem to take place by blocking selectins - sugar protein molecules - and from inhibiting an enzyme called phospholipase A2.  During an inflammatory response selectins allow inflammatory signals to be transmitted into the cells, so by blocking selectins response, inflammatory signaling can be lessened.  Over activity of the enzyme phospholipase A2 is widely present in unwanted inflammatory problems, and is important for creating the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid (AA.) AA itself provides the basis for a wide variety of pro-inflammatory massaging molecules and in fact many corticosteroid medications lower inflammation by blocking PLA2.

Sulfated polysaccharides are also responsible for sea vegetables cardiovascular benefits, as they can decrease the tendency of blood platelet cells to coagulate and form clots.  Sea vegetables have also been shown to help reduce total and LDL cholesterol.

Sea vegetables sulfated polysaccharides have also shown anti-viral activity, most notably in lab research conducted on Herpes Simplex Virus 1 and 2. It was shown that by blocking the binding sites used by HSV-1 and HSV-2 for cell attachment that sulfated polysaccharides help prevent replication of these viruses. Though we do not yet known whether or not dietary intake of sea vegetables can help prevent HSV replication in individuals with HSV.

Sea vegetables may be of particular benefit in the prevention of estrogen related cancer, particularly breast cancer. As intake of sea vegetables appears to modify various aspects of a woman’s menstrual cycle in such a way that over time - tens of years - the total cumulative estrogen secretion that occurs during the follicular phase of the cycle gets reduced.  Since the overproduction of estrogen can play a role in the risk of breast cancer for women who are estrogen sensitive sea vegetables can offer some unique benefits here. It’s also important to remember that cholesterol is required as a building block for the production of estrogen and intake of sea vegetables has repeatedly shown to lower cholesterol.

Sea Vegetables may also be particularly helpful when it comes to colon cancer, and research has focused heavily in this area with a special emphasis on the loss of calcium-sensing receptors (CaSRs) in colon cancer cells, and the ability of sea vegetable extracts to alter CaSR-related events. Of course since chronic, unwanted inflammation and chronic oxidative stress are both risk factors for development of cancer it’s possible that sea vegetables could be helpful in prevention of numerous cancers.

Sea vegetables may be able to help us increase our cells' sensitivity to insulin, help us prevent overproduction of glucose by our cells, and help us take existing blood sugars and convert them into storable starches. All of these factors would help us increase our blood sugar control, and lower our risk of type 2 diabetes.

Brown algae like kombu/kelp, wakame, and arame can be particularly concentrated sources of iodine, and for some health conditions - like hypothyroidism, in which the cells of the thyroid make too little thyroid hormone - increased iodine intake can provide important health benefits.

The antioxidant content of sea vegetables is also rather impressive, because sea vegetables not only contain measurable amounts of polyphenols like carotenoids and flavonoids, they also contain other phytonutrient antioxidants, including several types of alkaloids that have been shown to possess antioxidant properties. Coupled with measurable amounts of antioxidant vitamins (like vitamins C and E) and antioxidant minerals (like manganese and zinc), sea vegetables can be expected to help us reduce our risk of unwanted oxidative stress and many types of cardiovascular problems that are associated with poor antioxidant intake.

So you see, sea vegetables are really amazing!

Sea Vegetable Types - 

Arame - Brown Algae, limited to the temperate Pacific Ocean waters around Japan, though it is often cultivated in South Korea. It has a mild, semi-sweet flavor and firm texture.

Bladderwrack - A Brown Algae, the most common algae on the shores of the British Isles. It is typically found on the coasts of the North Sea, the Western Baltic Sea and both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It’s been recorded from the Atlantic shores of Europe, to Northern Russia, to Greenland, the Canary Islands, Morocco, Madeira, to the Atlantic Coast of North America, Hudson’s Bay, to North Carolina.  In North America it isn’t used as a food so much as it is an herbal medicine or remedy.

Chlorella - a single cell green algae high in protein and containing a significant amount of minerals. Usually sold as powder, or tablets and is commonly taken as a health supplement, rather then as an ingredient in cooking.

Dulce - A Red Algae, growing on the Northern coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific, as well as Iceland where it’s a popular snack food and has been consumed for centuries as a traditional food.  Usually sold in large dried strips, and is quite tasty on salads or lightly crisped in a pan to place on a sandwich.

Hijiki - Brown Algae, grows along the rocky coastlines of Japan, Korea and China. Somewhat similar to Arame but with a stronger flavor.

Irish Moss - A Red Algae growing abundantly along the rocky coasts of Atlantic Europe and North America.. A common ingredient in some traditional Irish and Scottish cooking. Also commonly used in Asian gelatin like desserts. In North America it’s commonly used as a thickener in many commercial products and has recently found a new use in the vegan community for making vegan cheese, and raw food desserts.

Kombu - Brown Algae, and an edible kelp commonly cultivated on the shores of Japan and Korea. Used extensively in Japanese cooking especially to make soups. It’s also a great addition to making a pot of beans from scratch!

Laver - Red Algae, a common ingredients in Welsh cooking and traditional Welsh dishes such as Laver bread. It’s also commonly found in the cuisines of Ireland, Scotland, Whales, China, Japan, and Korea, and may be one of the first kinds of algae to be cultivated.

Sea Lettuce - Green Algae, widely distributed along the coasts of the worlds oceans. It is particularly common in Scandinavia, Great Britain, Ireland, China and Japan.

Wakame - Brown Algae, grown in Japan and Korea, but also commonly cultivated in sea farms in France off the coast of Brittany, and Tasmania in Australia. It has a subtly sweet flavor and slippery texture. Usually used in soups.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of sea vegetables but it contains the most common ones.

Preparation

So, now that you’ve gone to the health food store and bought some bags of seaweed, what the heck do you do with it? Easy, make Sushi Maki rolls! Or if that’s too much time and trouble for you make a sushi salad! All your sushi ingredients diced up in a bowl, no rolling required, just sprinkle the nori over top. You could put it in miso soup, or any other Asian inspired soup, or any soup in which a little ocean flavor is needed. Such as a vegan ‘clam’ chowder. Try it as a salad topping or make a seaweed salad by soaking some arame and then mixing it with some diced vegetables and a nice Asian style dressing. Toss it into a raw kelp noodle dish, or top a stir-fry with it. Heck, just buy some roasted seaweed sheets from the Asian grocery and eat it as is! Super yummy! Get creative with it, and don’t be afraid to try new things.

Seitan Making 101...

If you’ve been following this blog for a while you’ve probably heard me talk about Seitan on a number of occasions. Or maybe you’ve scrolled through my posts and caught a glimpse of a rather ‘meaty’ looking dish and wondered to yourself “What’s that?” Maybe you’re new to the inventive world of seitan, or maybe you’re well acquainted with it, but didn’t know you could easily make seitan at home. Well, no matter where you fall on the spectrum, this post’s for you.

So lets start at the beginning shall we? Seitan - (Pronounced Say-Tahn) is a vegetarian meat made from gluten, the main protein in wheat. It’s said to have originated in ancient China as a meat substitute for adherents to Buddhism - but just who invented it and how is anyone’s guess. Some stories claim that seitan was born in a Buddhist monastery, made by monks who had originally been making bread. The dough became over-kneaded and tough and so they tired to salvage it somehow and ended up with what we know as seitan. Other stories insist that seitan was originally developed by the chefs who worked for the Chinese emperor who traditionally observed a week of vegetarianism each year. Personally I like the monk story best, but that’s me.

Even though seitan might be a new concept for you, it’s actually been used in a wide variety of ways for a very long time, and it’s still quite popular in many Asian cultures, in fact, you may be more familiar with it then you realize. Have you ever been into a Chinese restaurant and ordered something vegetarian? Mock duck, or mock chicken perhaps? Then you ate seitan. Have you ever been into a vegetarian Chinese restaurant and eaten anything that looked ‘meaty’? Then you were eating seitan, unless it was otherwise specified as being soy. The word might not have been in your vocabulary, but the product was on your plate.

Over the past decade as vegetarianism, and veganism have grown as a movement worldwide - and especially in the West, the word Seitan is popping up more and more. The product itself is popping up more and more, and sometimes in the most unlikely places. You can even buy prepared seitan in health food stores, and most other places that vegetarian meats are sold. This shift is really quite fantastic, and I think it’s great that seitan has become so easily available to the masses. However, I don’t personally like a lot of store-bought seitan. To me, it has a strange after taste that I dislike. In fact when I first went veg, and tried Seitan I found it so unpleasant that I avoided it for years until I discovered that making your own seitan was super easy, pretty fun, and way, way tastier! - Obviously this is not the case if you're Celiac, or have a gluten sensitivity or allergy, however I have heard of a few ingenious gluten-free vegans who've made gluten-free seitan. give it a Google, see what pops up!

Honestly, it might sound like a big hassle or a pain in the ass but it really isn’t, and the finished product is so rewarding. Typically I spend one morning every couple of months - maybe 4-5 hours - and make up huge batches of seitan to store in my freezer. This way I always have seitan handy when a recipe catches my interest, and this makes seitan a convenient food for me, it’s something I don’t need to buy, and something I don’t have to prepare on the spot. How often I do this is not set in stone basically whenever my seitan stores get low, I pick a day and have at it. How often I need to make seitan depends on how often I use it, and my use of it varies depending on the season or what recipes I’m currently interested in making. Sometimes I might not eat any home-made seitan for an entire month, and sometimes I might cook it once or twice a week. It’s never the same.

For the past month or so I’ve been telling myself I need to re-stock. The freezer’s been pretty empty, but I also haven’t really been eating seitan lately, and so I kept putting it off and putting it off. Since I knew I would have a lot of free time yesterday morning I decided to spend it making seitan, and I took pictures to show you just how easy it is!

Dry Mix for 'Moo-Free Seitan'

Firstly, there are a few different ways one can make seitan. The traditional way - the original way - is to use whole what flour mixed with water, and to knead and knead and then rinse the dough to remove the starch and then knead some more, and rinse again, and then simmer it for an hour or two. I’ve never made seitan that way, though I’m intrigued to give it a try even though the process is a little more time consuming.

'Moo-Free Seitan' once mixed

I typically use one of the three more common ‘streamline’ methods, which involve mixing Vital What Gluten with water/broth and other seasonings and then simmering on or in the stove, steaming, or baking. My personal favorite method of the three is steaming, that’s the one I use most often. I like it because it’s quick and easy and makes for really chewy firm seitan. The simmer method makes pretty flavorful seitan but I also find the end result rather soft, sometimes spongy. Finally the baking method I’ve only tried twice, both times resulted in really flavorful and extremely firm seitan.

'Moo-Free' Seitan' In it's broth and ready for the oven!

Yesterday I used two of the three methods. First, because I wanted to make the Monte Cristo Sandwiches from “Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day” by Celine Steen and Tamasin Noyes I had to first make the Moo-Free Seitan, which is a beef-flavored seitan used in several of the recipes in the book. This recipe called for vital wheat gluten, soy flour, nutritional yeast, and various other wet and dry seasonings like broth and soy Tamari. So, first things first. You combine your dry ingredients in a bowl, combine your wet in a separate bowl, and then mix the two together until a dough forms. Up to this point it’s very much like baking bread. Once your dough sticks together and isn’t sticking to your hands you knead it for 5-8 minutes, and then let it rest for 10 so that the gluten can develop. Then you roll the whole thing into a ball shape and place it in a casserole dish with vegetable broth, onions, garlic and a few other things. Then bake in the oven at 300'F for 3 hours. Though this particular seitan is being baked the finished product is more like what you get when you simmer on the stove for an hour. Soft and chewy - other baked seitan recipes require being baked in aluminum foil with no liquid.

The finished 'Moo-Free Seitan" with a few garlic slivers on top

Anyway, once that was in the oven it was time for me to move on. I set up two pots with water and steamer baskets on my stove and set about making a batch of Red Seitan and a batch of White Seitan both from Terry Hope Romero’s “Viva Vegan!” book. This is really my ‘go-to’ seitan recipe. It’s quick, easy, tastes great, and never fails. You can put it in anything. Now if you’re wondering what the difference is, red seitan is more like a ‘beef’ flavor, where as white seitan is more like a ‘chicken’ flavor. Different combinations of seasonings are used to alter the flavor while the same base recipe is used. While her recipes call for the use of vegetable broth or water I typically use a vegan beef bouillon cube and a vegan chicken bouillon cube to added flavor enhancement.

White Seitan on the left
Red Seitan on the right

So once you have your dough mixed together and properly kneaded your next task is to divide it. Divide each dough into four portions and roll those portions into a loaf shape. Once that is done you cut off a strip of aluminum foil place the seitan on top and wrap it up - tight but not too tight - like you would a Christmas parcel. Once that’s done you stick them seam side down in your steamer basket and steam for about 30-45 minutes, until the packages have expanded and they’re firm to the touch.

Seitan Loaf Ready to be rolled

Remember to roll it tight but not too tight. It will expand as it steams,
and if the parcel is too tight it will explode.

A perfect fit into the steamer

Once I had that going it was time for me to make some sausages. All I had left in the freezer were some curry apple sausages and some chorizo. So I pulled out my copy of Sky Michael Conroy’s book “The Gentle Chef” and proceeded to go crazy. I made the German Bratwurst, the Italian Sausages, the Bangers, and the Andouille Sausage. I’ve made both Italian and Andouille sausages before using different recipes - usually Isa Chandra Moskowitz's recipe from "Vegan Brunch"  for the Italian, and Alicia C. Simpson’s  recipe from "Quick and Easy Vegan Celebrations" for the Andouille, - but since I haven’t tried many recipes from The Gentle Chef yet, I wanted to give them a try. Plus I was particularly excited to try some seitan brats, and bangers.  I have to say the dough is much wetter, and softer then other seitan dough I’ve previously worked with, in fact most of the dough’s didn’t stick together at all and I had to add a bit more flour. No big deal though. After the dough rested the next step was to roll it into sausage shapes. Since the sausage recipes called for the same steam technique that he red and white seitan use, the process is fairly similar.

Once you have a nice sausage shape you place it onto a sheet of aluminum foil and then roll it up and twist the ends like a Tootsie roll. Once that’s done you place them in your steamer and steam for about 40 minutes.

Bratwurst Sausage ready for the steamer

Still, even after all that I wasn’t quite finished. I really decided to go all out and once my Gentle Chef Sausages were done I made a batch of Bianca Phillips Creole Sausages from her book “Cookin’ Crunk” and then a batch of Taymer Mason’s Jamaican Jerk Sausages from “Caribbean Vegan” only by then I was running low on vital wheat gluten and so I decided to half the Jerk Recipes - which was huge it made 12 sausages as written! Anyway I’m not quite sure what happened, I don’t know if my calculations were off or what but I still ended up with more liquid ingredients then dry and the dough was more of a paste. In hopes of saving it I had my husband run to the store for some more gluten, and in the end was able to add enough to make a proper dough. It steamed up nice, and the sausages were very firm, but I still ended up with 10 even though I initially halved the recipe so I don’t know flavor wise how those ones are going to turn out. Hopefully they still taste great though.

Andouille Sausage ready for the steamer

Anyway, once everything comes out of the steamer it’s a good idea to set your seitan on a plate and let cool to room temperature. Leave the dough in it’s aluminum foil wrapping and then once it’s cool place it inside a zip-lock bag and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Then you can use them any little way your heart desires or pop ‘em all into the freezer for a later use. Personally I don’t always refrigerate for 8 hours sometimes I just throw ‘em all into the freezer right away, but I’ve read recently that refrigerating first helps develop the texture and flavor of the final product so I’ve been testing this out.

And that my friends is how you do it - seitan making 101. See how easy it is? I mean it may seem like a lot of steps but really the longest part of the process is either the steaming, baking or simmering and that’s all down time you know? Mixing the dough and kneading takes less then 10 minutes. Admittedly rolling the sausages can be a pain in the ass but once you do it a few times you’ll be a pro!

The Fruits of my labor.
Top, Left to Right - Red Seitan, Bratwurst, Andouille, & Creole Sausages
Bottom, Left to Right - White Seitan, Italian, Bangers, & Jerk Sausages

If you’ve never made seitan at home before because you were intimidated by it or simply didn’t know you could, I urge you to give it a try. There are a lot of great recipes out there, you can find plenty online or use one of the books I mentioned! Let me know how it goes! And if you’re an old hand at seitan making feel free to drop me a line with any helpful hints or tips for making the best seitan!

Lastly, the beautiful and delicious Moo-Free Seitan on the delicious
Monte Cristo Sandwich! 

Cumin Is The Spice of Life...

Long time readers of this blog may remember that there was a time when I did a series entitled “The Spice of Life” in which I featured a different spice and told you about it’s cultural history, as well as it’s healing properties or potential. It’s been a few years since I did the last one, I got side-tracked with other things and school took up so much of my time that I didn’t have any time leftover to really do personal - non-school-related - research, but I really miss doing those posts, and I think it’s great information to share and so my goal for the year is to start doing them again.  Starting today, with one of my favorite spices of all time - Cumin! I absolutely love cumin, I adore it, I use it liberally in a lot of my cooking, it is fantastic and wonderful, and makes food taste great, but that’s not even the best part.

Cumin -

History/Cultivation 

Cumin is a flowering plant in the Apiaceae family, native from the East Mediterranean all the way to India. For millennia it has been used as both a spice and as a medicine. In fact there’s evidence of cumins use in Indian archaeological sites that date back to the second millennium BC and some New Kingdom Archaeological sites in Egypt that date as far back as the 11th century BC, where it was used - at least in part - in the mummification process of the Pharaohs. Cumin is even mentioned in the Bible, both as a culinary spice, as well as a form of currency! All this is to say that Cumin has been around for a very long time, and was once highly prized.

It’s hard to say exactly where it was originally cultivated, some say Iran, some say Egypt, some say the Mediterranean.  The ancient Greeks and Romans used cumin widely in their cooking, and the Greeks actually kept jars of it on their kitchen tables as we would do with pepper today. During the Middle Ages cumin was one of the most common spices used in Europe, where somehow it became a symbol of love and fidelity. It was carried in the pockets of wedding attendees, and women would commonly bake it into bread to give to their soldier husbands as they left for war. Certain Arabic traditions also consider cumin a symbol of love and fidelity and even consider it to have aphrodisiac properties.

From Europe Cumin was introduced to the Americas by Spanish and Portuguese colonists. Though popularity of the spice dropped off in Europe after the Middle Ages it still remains an widely used and extremely important spice in the Middle East, and India. Interestingly today India produced 70% of the world cumin supply, and consumed 90% of it’s own supply! (63% of the world production) Other producers of Cumin are Syria, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Morocco, China, and Chile.

Health Benefits 

Cumin has long been used in Ayurvedic medicine as a digestive aid. In fact in Sanskrit Cumin is known as Jiraka, Jira meaning “That which helps digestion.”Ayurvedic medicine also uses Cumin as a way to enhance appetite, taste perception, vision, strength, and lactation. It’s also used to treat ailments such as fever, loss of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal distension, and edema. Though it has been used for centuries as a digestive aid medical science is just starting to prove it. Recent research has shown that cumin may stimulate the secretion of pancreatic enzymes which are compounds necessary for proper digestion and nutrient assimilation.

Recent research has also suggested that Cumin may have anti-carcinogenic properties. In animal studies cumin was shown to protect laboratory animals from developing stomach or liver tumors.  It’s thought that this is due to cumins potent free-radical scavenging abilities as well as the ability it has shown to enhance the liver’s detoxification enzymes. Since free radical scavenging and detoxification are important for the general maintenance of wellness, cumin’s contribution to our overall health may reach even further then that, only time will tell.

Cumin is also a significant source of iron which helps to boost our energy and is integral to enhancing our immune system. Iron is particularly important to children and menstruating women. 2tsp of Cumin contains 15% iron, 7% manganese, 4% copper, 3% Calcium, 3% magnesium, 2% Phosphorus, and 2% B1.

Preparation 

There are many ways to enjoy cumin. It’s typically used most in North African, Middle Eastern, Spanish, and Indian cuisine. So use it in curries, korma’s, and dal’s. You can use it to flavor chili, stews, and soups. It’s often used in hummus, and chili as well as other Spanish or Tex-Mex dishes. You can add cumin to a black bean salad or a black bean dip or even a black bean salsa. Add cumin seeds to bread, or flatbread, or incorporate them into homemade pizza dough. You can rub vegetables with a little olive oil and sprinkle cumin over them and roast them for a delicious side dish. It makes a great compliment to any hearty bean or lentil dish, and adding cumin seeds into brown rice gives the rice a really nice aromatic flavor, add some dried apricots and almonds for extra pizzazz. You can even saute vegetables in a little oil and cumin along with other spices you might like and serve it atop a plate of rice or cous cous for a North African flavor.

If you’re interested in a more medicinal use you can make cumin tea by boiling cumin seeds in water and then letting them steep for 10 minutes. This concoction is reported to be both warming and soothing.

Lastly the combination of black pepper, cumin and honey is considered an aphrodisiac in certain Middle Eastern countries, whether or not it actually works is anyone’s guess , but it is a tasty way to dress vegetables, tofu or tempeh. Only I’d urge you to replace the honey with agave instead, for a cruelty-free option.

May your life be rich in spice! And as always happy and health eating to you!

If you enjoyed this post check out -

Close Is The Spice of Life
Sage Is The Spice of Life
Thyme Is The Spice of Life
Dill Is The Spice of Life
Black Pepper Is The Spice of Life

Mad Cow Disease - Back or Never Gone? New Case Discovered In California...

I had really been hoping to post this last week, when the story was fresh but I’ve been a bit busy of late. I know this article is a tad long, but it is really, really important information, so I hope you do read it. At the very least please go to the links I’ve provided. Staying informed is always vitally important.

Mad Cow Disease - These three words inspire fear in the hearts of many, and indifference in the minds of others. Mad Cow Disease - or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) - however  is no recent phenomenon, nor is it - as many would like to believe - simply an epidemic of the past. Nor Is it an epidemic limited to the boundaries of only one country or even one continent despite what the ‘powers that be’ would have us believe. No, Mad Cow Disease is alive and well, and possibly living in a burger near you. It is there lurking amongst the shadows, ever omnipresent throughout the cattle industry and wherever ruminants are sold. The question, in my opinion, should not be “Is mad cow a threat?” but rather “Will they tells us when it is?”

If you grew up in the 80's or early 90's as I did then the imposing threat of mad cow should be all to familiar to you. Perhaps you recall the massive outbreak of BSE that started in Britain in the 1980's and completely decimated their cattle herds. Perhaps you recall the hundreds of human deaths from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) that occurred as a result of the consumption of BSE infected meat. You may even recall the famous  20 million dollar lawsuit filed by the Cattleman’s Beef Association against Oprah Winfrey. After a former cattle rancher named Howard Lyman appeared on her show in the mid-90's explaining that the same livestock-feeding practices responsible for the BSE outbreak in Britain were also being practiced in the United States. Upon hearing this she declared, “It has just stopped me cold from eating another burger.” You may remember the bans on importing British beef and that your mother suddenly started serving up a lot more chicken for dinner.

But why, you may be asking yourself, am I talking about this today? Because as I said in the opening paragraph BSE is alive and well not only in some distant place you may never have been to and may never go, but right here, today, on U.S. soil. In case you haven’t been following the news of late the USDA confirmed last week that a case of Mad Cow (BSE) was found in a California dairy cow. Considering that virtually all ‘spent’ dairy cows in the U.S.  are eventually ground up and made into hamburger meat, this news has naturally caused some alarm. Of course meat industry officials have been quick to point to the rarity of BSE in the U.S., and while it’s true that there have only been 4 official cases confirmed and reported in the U.S. since 2003, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there hasn’t been more. You see 34 million cattle are slaughtered for human consumption in the U.S. each year, and out of those only 40 thousand animals are tested for BSE. That equals out to be only 1 in every 1000. John Robbins makes a good point when he asks “If we tested 80 thousand would we find 2 cases? If we tested them all would we find 1000?”  You have to ask yourself if you think testing 1 in every 1000 animals is effective or adequate. If you were playing the lottery would you take 1 in 1000 odds? I wouldn’t. Add to that the startling fact that 1 cow can ultimately end up in numerous burgers. How many burgers exactly? No one knows. If even one BSE infected cow makes it past this inadequate testing system and enters the food chain it has the potential to cause a disaster of untold magnitude.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the dairy cow in question was discovered at a transfer facility near Hanford. The cow had died on one of the regions hundreds of dairies, and had arrived at the facility on a truck full of other dead cows. Though the cow in question had shown none of the symptoms of BSE - unsteadiness, un-coordination, drastic changes in behavior, or low milk production - it was nevertheless selected for the testing process due to it’s 30 month age. Industry officials claim this is an isolated incident, and point to the fact that the cow never entered the food chain as evidence of the public’s safety, but bigger questions continue to loom. Where did the cow come from? And how did the cow become infected? Until those questions can be answered with absolute certainty we can not really be sure if this is indeed an isolated case. BSE doesn’t just spring up inside of a cow out of nowhere, it isn’t a natural process that occurs as a cow ages, the infection has to come from somewhere or something, so I am of the opinion that where there is one case, there are more. The fact that other cases have not yet been found, only strengthens my opinion that the testing system in place is inadequate. Of course these questions could be answered if the U.S. had a mandatary identification system that tracked animals from birth to the slaughterhouse. Such a system would be able to identify without a doubt where the cow was born, and then the other cows on that farm could be tested for possible BSE contamination. Unfortunately the U.S. is one of the only beef-producing countries in the world that does not have a mandatary identification system put in place to track it’s food animals. Even third world countries such as Botswana have such a system in place. Though there have been attempts in the past to instill such a system nationwide, they have all been obstructed by various segments within the cattle industry. Which leads me to wonder what they have to hide?

Howard Lyman wrote in his book “Mad Cowboy” that cattle ranchers across the nation are all too familiar with occurrences of mysterious cow deaths. He writes that you may go to bed one night with all your cows looking normal and healthy and wake up the next morning to find that one has died from unknown causes during the night. He writes that while these cows show no outward signs of BSE infection, and no one ever says aloud that these deaths are in fact BSE related, ranchers can’t help the suspicion from entering their minds. With the numbers of ‘downed cows’ on the rise and only 1 in every 1000 animals being tested, this is a somewhat unsettling revelation.

An outward display of symptoms is one of the things Industry officials point to in order to reassure the public. They say cows displaying odd behavior would be immediately removed from the human food chain and tested, but what of the cows that do not display symptoms? As this dairy cow did not. BSE is not a suddenly striking disease. It comes on gradually, and has a long incubation period relative to the natural life span of the species in question. A small animal like a mouse ora  rat may display symptoms in a matter of months, a cat or dog maybe a year. A cow doesn’t typically display symptoms until the age of 5, and the incubation period in humans can be anything from 10-40 years. However no cow slaughtered for human consumption is ever aloud to live out it’s natural life span, animals in the beef industry barely make it to 3, and are routinely slaughtered between 18-24 months of age. Dairy cows typically live longer, making detection of BSE in them easier, but if a cow can be infected with BSE at the age of two, and not show any symptoms at the time of slaughter how would we ever know of the infection when only 1 in 1000 animals is tested? If the animal is not considered high-risk why would it ever need be tested? This is what worries me. More worrying still is that an infected cow can transmit BSE to her baby . If these animals aren’t tracked, which they are not in the U.S. how would we ever find the offspring of a cow who was later discovered to have BSE? How would we ever find out whether or not the offspring from that infected cow ever contracted BSE from it’s mother? We couldn’t. In fact we still haven’t been able to locate all of the British cows that were imported into the U.S. for breeding purposes before the 1987 ban. There was a massive effort to track down and destroy all of those cows and their offspring but without an identification system finding each and every one proved impossible.

I’m sorry, but the margin for error is just too large, and I have a very hard time swallowing the assurances made by those who have the most to gain from our continued beef consumption.

And I am not alone in my concern. Last week two major South Korean grocery retailers pulled all U.S. beef from their shelves. South Korea is the 4th largest importer of U.S. beef, but the Korean public aren’t buying the meat industry assurances either. Indonesia also placed an immediate ban on all U.S. beef imports.

Despite the meat industry’s assurances that this particular dairy cow didn’t make it into the food chain there is still a lot to be concerned about when it comes to BSE. According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine “The conditions that led to the emergence of BSE in Britain have also been present in the United States. Although some changes have been made, many U.S. livestock rendering and feeding practices are similar to those that were present in Britain at the onset of the BSE epidemic.” Meaning it’s definitely possible that more cases of BSE are going undetected in the United States.  For example though the FDA placed a ban on feeding most mammalian remnants to ruminants in 1997, a 2001 FDA report showed that of 180 renderers, 16% lacked warning labels on feeds designed to differentiate those intended for rudiments from those intended for nonruminants. Also 28% of renderers had no system set in place to prevent the mixing of these feeds. There is also no restriction on the use of blood, and blood products, gelatin, milk and milk products in feeds, through which BSE prions may be transmitted. (Though there is not yet any evidence to suggest that BSE prions can be transmitted to humans through drinking the milk of cows infected with BSE, there is some suggestion that BSE prions can be transmitted to other animals through the milk of BSE infected animals) There are also no limits on nonruminant use in feeds. Meaning animals such as pigs and horses can and are routinely fed to cows as part of their feed. Unfortunately since BSE prions are very difficult to destroy if the remnants of a BSE infected cow are fed to a pig, and that pig is then in turn fed to another cow, that cow may become infected with BSE. Similarly ruminant remnants can be fed to poultry and poultry feces are routinely used in cattle feed. Not very reassuring huh?

More data from the National Veterinary Science Laboratories BSE Surveillance program from 1990-2000 show that out of 900 million cattle slaughtered only 11,954 brains were examined for BSE. That amounts to only 1 in every 75 thousand. Does 1 in 75 thousand seem like an appropriate number to you? How would you like those odds?

Scarier still is the fact that BSE is not limited to just Britain nor the United States. According the the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine BSE has been found in native cattle in France, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, The Republic of Ireland, The Channel Isles, the Isle of Man, Spain, Germany, Japan, Russia, Denmark, Oman, The Falkland Islands and Canada.  Also according to the PCRM at least 100, 000 cattle who’s BSE status is unknown have been shipped from the UK to other countries. Most of those animals remain unaccounted for.

Mad Cow disease is no joke, and neither is it’s human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. (vCJD) Like BSE in cows, vCJD in humans robs an individual of their mental faculties, and muscle coordination. There is no treatment for the disease and It eventually leads to coma and death. It is always fatal. The disease essentially eats away at the brain until the infected individual can no longer function. It’s a gruesome disease resulting from contact with the prions in tissues of cattle infected with BSE. Sadly only a minuscule amount of infected tissue is required in order to transmit the disease. These prions concentrate mostly in the brain and spinal tissue, but have also been found in blood and muscle tissue according to the PCRM.  These prions are also very difficult to destroy even by disinfectant, chemical or heating methods. In fact a temperature of 134'C or 273'F does not reduce their ability to infect an animal or individual.

Worse still is that the symptoms of vCJD infection are very similar to that of dementia, or Alzheimer’s, so many people with vCJD are mis-diagnosed as such, making the disease in humans very hard to track. Since it is very hard to determine the difference between vCJD and Alzheimer’s in a living patient, and since most people who die from neurological illness are never autopsied their brains are never examined. Meaning we may never know exactly how many people have or have had vCJD. According to the PCRM death certificates from 1979-1988 show that 4,751 people died of vCJD in the United States.

Interestingly a 1989 study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh found that when 54 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia were autopsied after death 3 of them (5%) were actually found to have vCJD.  Another study from 1989 conducted at Yale University discovered that out of 46 people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 6 (13%) were actually found to have vCJD upon being autopsied. Since there are over 2 million cases of Alzheimer’s in the United States, if even a small percentage of them turned out to be vCJD, we could be faced a vCJD epidemic. Now that’s a scary thought.

So while the meat industry and the USDA continue to assure us that we are safe from this latest incidence of Mad Cow, one can’t help but feel a little unsafe when it comes to the disease on a greater scale. With inadequate testing, shady feeding practices, and an apparent unwillingness by the industry to put in place a national animal identification system, one can’t help but feel a lack of confidence not only in the integrity of the industry itself but also in the products they’re pushing. It’s just one more reason I’m glad to be a vegan. Of course with such a long incubation period there’s no telling whom among us might develop BSE related vCJD. Every time I think about the beef I ate growing up in Canada, and living in the United States, as well as the burger I ate here and there over in Ireland I feel a little sick. However I can at least feel confident in the fact that I am no longer potentially exposing myself to undetected BSE. My made from scratch veggie burgers are safe, as is the rest of the food I prepare on a daily basis. For that I am grateful.

For more information on Mad Cow disease I highly recommend Howard Lyman’s “Mad Cowboy” as well as John Robbins “Food Revolution” the latter is not exclusively about BSE but it is a wonderful book with a section devoted to the disease.

The Huffington Post
The L.A. Times
John Robbins Article for The Huffington Post
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Spotlight Food - Apples...

Though I love almost all fruit, if there was only one fruit I could eat for the rest of my life it would be apples. There are not words enough anywhere in human language that could accurately or fully describe to you just how much I love apples. I have loved and adored them since I was a child, and though some people may consider the apple to be a rather boring fruit I have never, not once in my life, ever gotten tired of it. I eat them with relish, I always have. You know that old saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away?" well I must have taken that message to heart as a child because I ate an apple every day at lunch or for snack growing up. Not a day went by that I didn’t pack one into my backpack to take to school, and that practice has held over well into my adulthood. I bring 1 and sometimes 2 apples to work each day. Some days I can consume up to 3 apples a day in various ways. One on it’s own, one in a smoothie, and one chopped into a salad for instance, sometimes I even enjoy them for dessert. There is just something magical for me about their cool crisp texture, and tart-sweet juicy flavor. I say tart sweet because while I love apples I only love certain kinds of apples, the tart kind.

By now some of you may have wondered why in my recipes I always specify using Granny Smith apples or Pink Lady apples, and there are two reasons for this. One is that they are my absolute favorite and very rarely do I ever buy any other kind of apple. Secondly they are lower in sugar then other apples, Granny Smith in particular contains less sugar then any other apple, which makes it’s glycemic index lower, and it’s overall glycemic load less of a burden if that’s a concern for you. In short Granny Smith are the healthiest apple to eat on a regular basis, and since I eat them very regularly indeed it’s a good thing for me.

As far as other apples are concerned I absolutely despise red, and golden delicious. I’m not too fond of honey crisp either. However I don’t mind Macintosh, and Gala - both of which remind me greatly of childhood - or Fuji but still they can’t compare to the Smith and the Lady. So I rarely buy them, and eat them rather rarely, and usually only when they’re offered to me by others. My husband on the other hand prefers Gala apples above all others.

Another thing I love about apples is that they’re perfect anytime of year. They’re so universal and can be used in so many ways. They’re perfect to bake into pies in the fall, perfect to poach for dessert in winter, they’re great for eating on their own, or tossing into salads during any season, and they are always, always available no matter what grocery store or market you happen to walk into.

The apple in my opinion is natures most perfect food, but don’t just take my word for it, read on!

History/Cultivation

Did you know that there are over 7,500 known cultivars of apples available to humans? And that China, The United States, Iran, Turkey and Russia are the top five producers of apples worldwide? Did you also know that the apple has 57,000 genes (that’s 27,000 more then the human genome!!) which is the highest number of any plant genome studied to date? The complete genome of the apple was decoded by an Italian led consortium in 2010, proving that Malus sieversii was in fact the wild ancestor to the domestic apple, an issue that had been long debated within the scientific community, and the interest surrounding apples doesn’t stop there.

The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree (Malus domestica) a member of the rose family. It originates from Western Asia and is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits. They have been grown for thousands of years in both Asia and Europe. Alexander the Great is credited with finding dwarfed apples in Kazakhstan in 328 BCE; which he brought back to Macedonia. For millennia the apple has been an important food source in Asia, Europe, Argentina and the United States upon arrival of the Europeans. It was in the 17^th century that apples were brought to the New World by colonists, and it’s said that the first apple orchard on the North American continent appeared near Boston in 1625. While the apple has been the subject of many interesting stories throughout history, it also features quite prominently in the mythologies of many diverse cultures around the world.

For example in Norse mythology the goddess Iounn is credited in the 13^th century Prose Edda with giving apples to the gods that in turn gave them eternal youthfulness. The apple is mentioned in many Greek Myths from Heracles having to pick the golden apples from the Tree of Life, to the goddess of discord Eris throwing an apple in anger into the wedding party of Peleus and Thetis after being excluded, to inadvertently causing the Trojan War. The apple was also considered to be sacred to the goddess Aphrodite, but that’s not all. The apple is notoriously famous in Christian Mythology, thanks almost entirely to the story of Adam and Eve. Even though the ‘forbidden fruit’ in question, is never identified in the book of Genesis, the apple has become synonymous with the tale. Most likely due to the fact that renaissance painters had a habit of adding elements of Greek Mythology into their biblical depictions. In this case the unnamed fruit of Eden became an apple, and as a result of popular Christian tradition the apple became a symbol of knowledge, immortality, temptation, sex, seduction, the fall of man into sin, and even sin itself.

How one little fruit could become the inspiration for such wild speculation and interpretation, as well as the heated subject of thousands upon thousands of fanciful myths is beyond me, but there is plenty of evidence for why they should regularly be included into a healthful diet.

Health Benefits

No area of apple research has been more concentrated then the study of apple polyphenols. As it turns out the balance of phytonutrients in apples is a lot more unique then previously suspected. The flavonoid quercetin is the primary phytonutrient found in apples and is more concentrated in the skin than in the pulp. Kaempferol and myricetin are also important apple flavonoids, and chlorogenic acid is the apple’s primary phenolic acid which is found both in the skin and the pulp. In terms of catechin polyphenols, epicatechin is the primary nutrient found in apples, while the flavonoid phloridzin accounts for 98% of the flavonoids found in apple seeds. (However Apple Seeds are mildly poisonous, and while they shouldn’t post a threat to humans in small quantities they are a deterrent for birds and other small creatures) The total polyphenol content of an apple ranges from 1-7grams/kilogram of fresh pulp, however the ratio increases in the skin, which underscores the special value of apple skins in deriving optimal polyphenol benefits from the fruit.

There’s a very interesting reason for why apples have such a diverse amount of polyphenols as recent research shows that polyphenols are the apples favorite mechanism used to protect themselves against UV-B radiation. The cells within the skin of the apple that conduct photosynthesis are particularly sensitive to UV-B light from the sun. However many of the polyphenols in the skin can absorb UV-B light, and therefore prevent the UV-B from damaging the photosynthetic cells within the apple skin. Basically polyphenols act as the apples own natural sun block, how cool Is that?

Another interesting fact about the polyphenol content of apples relates directly to why apples brown so quickly/easily when sliced open or bruised. Inside the cells of both the apple skin and the pulp are enzymes called polyphenol oxidases. When the cells of an apple are physically damaged these polyphenol oxidases begin oxidizing, which results in the browning of the damaged portion. Subsequently not only dose the apples turn brown but it also begin releasing large amounts of ethylene gas that can pose a risk to other undamaged apples. This phenomenon is what coined the phrase "One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch." So it’s good to remember to be gentle when handling apples, as well as to remove any bruised apples from a bunch before storing in bulk, to help protect the apples polyphenol benefits, and prevent the release of this ethylene gas.

Apples are also quite high in antioxidant activity as most of the polyphenols they contain also function as antioxidants. Particularly strong is the apples ability to decrease oxidation of cell membrane fats, which is especially important for our cardiovascular system. Since oxidation of fat in the membranes of the cells that line our blood vessels is a primary risk factor for atherosclerosis. (Clogged Arteries) as well as other cardiovascular problems. Studies have shown that total cholesterol, and LDL-Cholesterol are both decreased through regular intake of apples. In addition to protecting the oxidation of fat in the blood vessels, they also help prevent oxidation of the fats found in the bloodstream. (Triglycerides) Decreased lipid preoxidation is a key factor in lowering risk of many chronic heart problems. Research also shows that the quercetin content of apples also provides our cardiovascular system with anti-inflammatory benefits. The studies show that our blood levels of C-reactive protein are reduced with regular consumption of apples which leads researchers to believe that the quercetin in apples is the primary reason for the drop.

New research on apples also shows their potential in regulating blood sugar. Studies show that the polyphenols in apples are capable of influencing our digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, and the overall impact of these changes improves regulation of our blood sugar. The impact of apples on our carbohydrate processing includes slowing down carbohydrate digestion. Quercetin as well as other flavonoids found in apples act to inhibit carbohydrate-digesting enzymes like alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase. When these enzymes are inhibited carbohydrates are broken down less readily into simple sugars, which places less of a load on our bloodstream. Polyphenols in apples also work to lower the rate of glucose absorption from our digestive tract, which again in turn lessen’s the sugar load on our bloodstream. Since getting the sugar our of our bloodstream often requires the help of insulin which is produced by the beta cells of our pancreas; by telling the beta cells of the pancreas to produce more insulin, the polyphenols found in apples can help us clear more sugar from our blood and keep our blood sugar levels in better balance. In order for sugar to leave our bloodstream and enter our cells (particularly the muscle cells), insulin receptors on those cells must bind together with the insulin hormones and create cell changes that will allow sugar to pass through the cell membrane and into the cell itself. (Muscle cells for example continuously need this uptake of sugar from the bloodstream in order to function properly) Polyphenols in apples help to activate the muscle cell insulin receptors, and in this way, they help facilitate passage of sugar from our bloodstream up into our cells, which results in better blood sugar regulation in our body.

Numerous studies have also researched the correlation between vegetable/fruit intake and a decreased risk of lung cancer, and while these studies show an impressive ability of overall fruit/vegetable intake to lower lung cancer risk very few individual fruits have been shown to be protective against lung cancer - except apples! Researchers aren’t yet certain why apples prove to be so beneficial at reducing lung cancer risk, though their unique blend of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits certainly play a role. However these things alone don’t fully explain why apples have been such a standout in this area of health, future research will hopefully shed some more light here. Some preliminary results also suggest that apples may have an effect on reducing the risk of colon, prostate and breast cancers as well.

Apples are also surprising researchers because of their anti-asthma benefits. Though further research needs to be conducted multiple studies have already shown that regular apple intake is associated with a decreased risk of asthma. Like it’s anti-cancer benefits it’s thought that apples anti-asthma benefits are related to their blend of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients, however it’s suspected that there is another unique component of the fruit at play here, which we do not yet understand.

Preliminary health benefits of apples have also been established for several age-related health problems, including macular degeneration of the eye, and neurodegenerative problems like Alzheimer’s. in animal studies prevention of bone loss has also been an area of investigation, particularly related to the phoridizin content of apples.

Interestingly research shows that apple juice concentrate has been found to increase the production of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in mice, providing a potential mechanism for the prevention of the decline in cognitive performance that accompanies dietary and genetic deficiencies in aging. Other studies have shown an alleviation of oxidative damage and cognitive decline in mice after administering apple juice. Subsequently researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong found that fruit flies who were fed and apple extract lived 10% longer then other flies who were fed a normal diet.

Scientists have also recently shown that the important health benefits of apples may stem from their impact on bacteria in the digestive tract. In studies on laboratory animals, intake of apple is known to significantly alter the amounts of two bacteria (Clostridiales and Bacteriodes) in the large intestine. As a result of these bacterial changes metabolism in the large intestine is also changed, and many of these changes appear to provide health benefits. An example is that due to bacterial changes in the large intestine, there appears to be more fuel available in the large intestine cells (in the form of butyric acid) after apple is consumed.

So what should you take away from all this? The fact that there may very well be some truth to that old saying "An Apple a day keeps the doctor away"

Preparation

In all honesty my absolute favorite way to eat apples is raw, and by themselves. There’s nothing better or more satisfying then taking a big bite out of a juicy, delicious apples, and this is how I eat them the most. However, I also enjoy them in smoothies, where they’re great at adding a bit of sweet and a hint of tart. I love them sliced thin or chopped in salads. They’re great blended into a salad dressing for sweetness rather then using sugar. They’re great baked, or poached, wonderful dried, fantastic in pies, cakes, cobblers, crumbles, and tarts. Perfect for topping oatmeal or cereal and this is going to sound weird but they’re really great chopped and sprinkled overtop of vegan cream of celery root soup. There are a lot of fun and creative ways one can eat apples, so don’t be afraid to try out a few new recipes. Enjoy apples in all their forms and relish the fact that you’re doing something good for your health.

Happy and Healthy Eating to you!

Sushi: An Introduction...

Sushi - People either love it or hate it. Some people are afraid of it. Some people don’t understand it. Some people are misinformed about it. They hear the word sushi and the first thing to pop into their head is this image of some pale, slimy, and quivering, raw fish flesh. Not very appetizing to most people I’m sure, but there’s a whole world of sushi out there! Far to often we don’t realize that there is and can be so much more to a thing then just the stereotype with which we are most familiar with. Sushi is a great example of this.

The history of Sushi is actually quite interesting. I mean did you know that the word sushi actually means ‘sour-tasting’? This meaning is a reflection of it’s historical fermented roots. As the oldest type of sushi was originally made by fermenting fish in sour fermenting rice. This caused the fish proteins to break down into it’s constituent amino acids resulting in a sour taste, one of the five basic tastes called umami in Japanese. Also very interesting is that once this process was completed it was only the fermented fish that was consumed, while the fermented rice was discarded.

Of course the contemporary sushi that we know - and love - today bears little resemblances to this dish of the past. In fact the sort of sushi with which we are acquainted today was created by Hanaya Yohei in Tokyo sometime in the 1800's. It’s intention was as an early form of fast food. Fresh fish was used instead of fermented which decreased the preparation time, and the small rolls were something that people could eat quickly and easily with their hands on the go, in a theater or at a roadside food stall. Strangely - or perhaps not so strangely considering the common humans aversion to all that is perceived as being different - Sushi did not make it’s way to the West until the 1950's and didn’t really catch on until the end of the 20^th century.

Now when it comes to sushi you are probably imagining a tight roll with a one inch diameter with either seaweed or rice on the outside and a filling on the inside, but there is a vast array of sushi types out there. They come in different shapes, sizes, styles, with different fillings and seasonings, different preparation and presentations but the one thing they all have in common is that they all include rice, which has usually been seasoned with rice vinegar and sometimes sugar. Everything else however is up to the discretion of the chef.

Here is a quick guide to the most common types of sushi.

Makizushi - Also known as Norimaki, Makimono, or simply Maki meaning ‘roll’ or ‘Rolled Sushi’ Is the most common variety of sushi you are likely to find at least in the West. It is also my favorite to make. It is a cylindrical piece formed with the help of a bamboo mat, and cut into six or eight pieces. It is generally wrapped in Nori seaweed, and contains rice and whatever your desired fillings are. Within this category there are several different types of Maki.

Futomaki are a popular type of Maki that are larger and thicker then your average Maki. They are traditionally vegetarian and can be vegan if they do not include egg. Generally three or four fillings are picked to fill the Futomaki for their complimentary color and taste.

Hosomaki is another type of Maki that are very thin and only contain one filling. Usually cucumber, avocado, pickle or tuna. Interestingly Cucumber Maki known as Kappa Maki is named after a legendary Japanese water Imp called the Kappa said to be fond of cucumbers.

Temaki is a hand roll not cylindrical but cone shaped stuffed with various ingredients spilling out of the wide end. These too are very delicious and I enjoy them, though I’m not so skilled in making them myself.

Uramaki also known as an ‘inside out roll’ because in this case though it’s still a cylindrical roll like many other maki, the seaweed is on the inside while the rice is on the outside. They can be filled with any kind of filling you prefer and are usually coated with something on the outside. Sometimes it’s fish roe or avocado but more often it’s sesame seeds. Interestingly enough the Uramaki isn’t that popular in Japan, but in the West it is the most popular kind of maki, mainly because Westerners are adverse to eating seaweed. So having the seaweed rolled on the inside makes it more appealing to the average Westerner. I admit I love inside-out rolls too but not because I dislike seaweed. I like them for their presentation! And by the way if you fall into the category of ‘not liking seaweed’ get over it! It’s SO good for you! It’s loaded with vital nutrients and is so beneficial to ones health.

Chirashizushi - Also known as 'scattered sushi' is a particular favorite of mine because it always looks so beautiful. It’s also quicker and easier to prepare then a traditional hand roll. Scattered sushi traditionally consists of rice, that is garnished with various things either raw or cooked, though generally raw. There is no set formula for the ingredients and is usually determined by the chef’s mood, or a request by the customer. Think of the sushi roll salads that are becoming more and popular here in the west - such as the one I posted about from Appetite for Reduction last year - this could technically be considered a scattered sushi, although in a much larger form.

Inarizushi - Is a pouch of fried tofu filled usually with just rice. Named after the Shinto God Inari for his supposed love of fried tofu. Not to be confused with Inarimaki which is fried tofu in a regular maki roll.

Nigirizushi - Also known as ‘hand formed sushi’ or ‘pressed sushi’ is an oblong mound or rice formed by pressing a rectangle of rice between the palms. It is then topped with a bit of wasabi (sometimes) and a topping that is draped over it. Sometimes these toppings are secured by a strip of Nori Seaweed but not always. These are also really fun and easy to make, and have an endless amount of possibility as far as taste and presentation go. I love them!

Gunkanmaki - also known as a‘Warship roll’ is another form of Nigirizushi that is an oval hand shaped clump of rice with a strip of Nori wrapped around it’s perimeter to form a vessel or boat that is then filled with loose, soft, or fine chopped ingredients. These are also quite tasty and very cute!

Temarizushi - Known as ‘ball sushi’ is another form of Nigirizushi that is formed by pressing rice and your desired filling into a ball shape using plastic wrap. Sometimes it is wrapped in Nori, sometimes it’s left plain, and sometimes it’s wrapped with just a strip of Nori. These can also come in other shapes beside a ball. A square or a triangle are also popular. These can be a lot of fun especially to make for other people. You display the rice balls on a plate, everyone grabs a few, they take a bite and are surprised by the filling hidden inside!

Oshizushi - Also known as ‘Pressed sushi’ or ‘Box sushi’ it is a pressed sushi in which a wooden mold is used to form it. Topping ingredients are scattered along the bottom of the mold and then the rice is placed over top. The top of the wooden mold is then secured and the sushi is pressed into a tight square or rectangle. Then the mold is removed and the sushi is cut into bite sized pieces.

Lastly there is Narezushi - which is a matured sushi that is left to ferment in a wooden barrel for six months. This always consists of fish and so Is not in any way appealing or desirable to me.

So you see there are many different types of sushi, many different ways to roll it, adorn it and serve it and it can literally be made with any ingredients under the sun. I’ve known so many people over the years who wouldn’t try sushi because they were disgusted by the idea of eating raw fish, or even warm fish - as sushi is often served at room temperature - They had no idea that sushi doesn’t automatically equate fish, and that many Maki Rolls are made vegetarian. Though I guess in honestly I wasn’t so quick to jump on the sushi bandwagon either. It wasn’t until I reached high school that I braved to try it. Interestingly even though at that time I ate many different kinds of sushi, vegetarian and non vegetarian alike, my favorites were always Asparagus Maki, Spinach Sesame Maki, Sweet Potato Maki or Yam Maki, Cucumber Maki, Avocado Maki, Vegetable Roll Maki, and Futomaki. I guess my mind, body, and spirit were even trying to tell me something way back then.

But I guess by now you’re wondering, "What the hell does this have to do with anything?" Well aside from it being a bit of interesting culinary history peppered with some fun facts, I tend to make a lot of sushi. Both my husband and I love it, it’s one of our favorite foods. Since I make it so often, especially lately it seems I would like to be able to share my sushi recipes with you, however I thought little lesson in sushi history would be nice first. Particularly for those of you who may not be so familiar with this delicious little food, or for those of you who may regard it with suspicion and distaste.

Tomorrow I hope to post my recipe for Sesame Asparagus Maki - Pictured below.

Thanksgiving - Reexamining Traditions....

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday, but because modern Thanksgiving traditions focus so heavily on the consumption of turkey flesh, it can be the most difficult holiday to sanely maneuver as a vegan. Today Thanksgiving is all about the turkey, yet what few people realize is that Turkeys had virtually nothing to do with the first Thanksgiving in either Canada or the United States, and were not a common meal item during Thanksgiving until the Mid 20^th century. In fact many of the things we consider Thanksgiving traditions today, from the spirit of the holiday to the food involved have little or no connection to the original celebration, and are complete myths. The Thanksgiving traditions that we are all familiar with today, have only been developed over the last two centuries.

In America there is actually very little known about the first Thanksgiving, and what we do know about it comes from only two sources. One a letter by Edward Winslow dated December 1621, the second a book by William Bradford written twenty years after the event took place. Though interestingly enough Bradford’s book was stolen during the revolutionary war, and didn’t resurface until 1854 so it had very little influence on shaping American Thanksgiving traditions. No where in either document do they write that turkeys were slaughtered for the actual Thanksgiving feast. In fact the only mention of turkey is from Bradford, who writes in his book only that the colonists hunted wild turkey’s during the autumn season. Though his book gives clues as to what may have appeared at the feast.

The animals killed for the first Thanksgiving were likely ducks, geese, various kinds of fish, and possibly deer. Though there is some speculation that because of the bounty of abundance brought in by the fall harvest, there would have been less meat, and more fruits and vegetables adorning the table. Interestingly many of the dishes we consider so familiar were entirely absent at the first Thanksgiving. Cranberry’s if they were used at all would have been used almost solely for their color because their tartness wasn’t desirable to the European settlers. It wasn’t for another fifty or so years that people began boiling fruit with sugar to make sauces and pies. Though had the settlers been privy to this trick it is unlikely that sugar would have been available anyway. Potatoes either regular or sweet were also not available at this time as cultivation of the popular root vegetable had not yet spread to North America. Pumpkins were also likely absent, but even if they had been available there was no flour so pumpkin pie would have been impossible, subsequently there were no ovens in which to bake a pie so it’s doubtful any pie at all was served for dessert. Another interesting fact is that there were no forks at the Thanksgiving feast.

There is also some controversy not only about whether or not the pilgrims actually first landed at Plymouth Rock, but also just how friendly their relationship with the Wampanoag Indians was. There are many stories and accounts of the European colonists stealing from and raiding the homes and ‘pantry’s’ of the Wampanoag. Taking their corn, beans and other harvest foods. It is also said that the Wampanoag weren’t originally invited to join in the festivities. That it was only after hearing gunfire from the settlers hunting rifles that the Wampanoag - thinking the settlers were preparing for war - appeared on the scene. Once they realized that they were mistaken and that it was a feast being prepared they returned to their homes to gather their people and the bounty of their harvest to share with the settlers.

Contrary to popular belief this first Thanksgiving really shouldn’t be labeled as such, but rather be called "The first Thanksgiving of the New World" Thanksgiving historically and traditionally has always been a celebration of the fall harvest. This tradition of celebrating the abundance that comes with autumn goes back as far as civilization and appears in some form or another in every culture in every country across the globe. The European settles likely celebrated fall harvest in some form in the years before their journey to the new world, making this ‘first Thanksgiving’ just a continuing tradition of something that was already familiar to them. Thanksgiving has little to no religious significance, in fact the European settlers while religious, never would have celebrated fall harvest in a religious manner, doing so would have been considered inappropriate. They actually had two separate fall traditions, the fall harvest which we know today as Thanksgiving, the celebration of food and feasting, and then an actual Thanksgiving which was spent in quiet reflection and fasting in the name of God. This second tradition was a solemn and serious affair as were most religious rituals and practices of that day. A very different kind of thanks giving then we are accustom today. For centuries afterwards Thanksgiving remained a religion-free celebration, and it wasn’t until the twentieth century that Thanksgiving began to take on a more religious significance at least in the United States.

So, how, you might wonder did our current traditions and notions of Thanksgiving come to be? Well the credit can almost solely be placed upon the persistence of one woman named Sarah Josepha Hale, who lived from 1788 to 1879. Hale was the editor of a very popular magazine. She is also the author of the novel Northwood: Life North and South, one of the first American books written by either gender about slavery. She is also famous for authoring the children’s nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

Believing there were too few annual holidays celebrated in America, Hale embarked on a 40 year quest beginning in 1827 to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. Before becoming a national holiday Thanksgiving was only regularly celebrated in New England. While other states had harvest festivals, their traditions were sporadic and took place anywhere between the beginning of October to the end of January, and was relatively unknown in the South. She used her status as an author and the vehicle of her editors position to write romantic and idealistic tales of the First Thanksgiving, taking many liberties to better appeal to her readership, she also went so far as to include her own personal recipes for some of her favorite fall dishes in the magazine. Recipes including those for roasted turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie, things that - as already mentioned - would not have been present at the first Thanksgiving, but subsequently are all things that we eat today as part of our ‘tradition.’

In her quest to make Thanksgiving a national holiday she wrote letters to five different American Presidents - Zachary Taylor, Millard Filmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln - as well as other officials. Virtually all of her letters went ignored, until her letter to Lincoln which was persuasive enough to convince him to support legislation establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863. The new national holiday was considered at the time a unifying day after the stress of the Civil War. Interestingly prior to the addition of Thanksgiving the only national holidays celebrated in the United States were Independence Day and Washington’s Birthday.

However even as many of the myths Hale started began to seep into the culture’s collective consciousness, turkeys were not widely accepted as the picture perfect Thanksgiving meal until the mid twentieth century. You see wild turkeys - the kind of turkey the pilgrims would have eaten had they eaten any turkey at all - are adorned with dark plumage, and are thus dark skinned, meaning they have dark meat. Dark meat was unappealing and unappetizing to a great majority of consumers so to make turkey meat more desirable the Beltsville white was bred in 1947 at the behest of the National Turkey Federation. Since the white meat was more appealing to consumers, this is when turkey consumption went on the rise, increasing exponentially over the years. Turkey consumption continues to rise, and according to the USDA slaughter numbers an average of 240 million turkeys are killed each year, and anywhere from 22 to 40 million of those deaths occur at Thanksgiving, with another 22 million occurring at Christmas.

Canadian Thanksgiving traditions aren’t based in reality any more then the American ones. Various First Nations in Canada had long standing traditions celebrating in the bounty of the fall harvest dating back centuries before the European settlers arrived. Though the history of Thanksgiving as we sort of know it today can be traced back to the 1578 voyage of Martin Frobisher from England in search of the Northwest Passage. It was his intention to start a small settlement in the pressent Canadian territory of Nunavut and his fleet of fifteen ships was fitted with men and materials for exactly this purpose. However his expedition was plagued by ice and freak storms which at times had scattered his fleet, but upon rejoining at their anchorage Robert Wolfall an appointed preacher gave a sermon of thanks to God for their miraculous deliverance from danger, after which they celebrated.

Years later French Settlers having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1604 and onwards, also held huge feasts of thanks. They even formed "The Order of Good Cheer" and happily shared their food with their First Nations neighbors.

After the Seven Years War ended in the 1763 handing over of New France to the British, the citizens of Halifax held a special day of Thanksgiving. Beginning in 1799 Thanksgiving days were observed though not held every year. After the American Revolution American refugees who were still loyal to Great Brittan moved from the newly independent United States into Canada bringing with them many of the traditions and customs of American Thanksgiving. Still celebrations varied across the country. Lower Canada and Upper Canada for example celebrated Thanksgiving in different ways and on different dates, usually coinciding with the ends of wars and rebellions. Following the rebellions when the two Canada’s had merged into a united Provinces of Canada Thanksgiving was only observed six times between the years of 1850-1865.

It wasn’t until 1879 that Thanksgiving Day began to be celebrated every year, though the date was initially a Thursday in November. The theme for Thanksgiving also changed each year to reflect an important event to be thankful for. In the early years it was for an abundant harvest, however after World War 1 Thanksgiving Day was combined with Armistice Day and celebrated on the Monday of the week in which November 11^th occurred. In 1931 the two days once again became separate holidays, and in 1957 Thanksgiving was permanently set on the second Monday in October.

Interesting no? Another interesting little fact is that while Hale was no friend or savior to the Turkey she did have some other very noble ideas about what a Thanksgiving tradition should include. She originally envisioned that Thanksgiving would be about charity and generosity writing, "Let us consecrate the day to benevolence of action, by sending good gifts to the poor and doing those deeds of charity that will, for one day, make every American home the place fo plenty and of rejoicing." I guess some traditions stick better then others which is kind of my point in this writing.

We as people pick and choose our traditions and our beliefs. Our emotional attachments to ‘traditional Thanksgiving’ - as well as other cultural traditions - are incredibly powerful, and very often we try to justify them by citing historical accuracy. However historical accuracy plays no role in the Thanksgiving traditions of today, the idea is completely absurd. We continue to view turkeys as the quintessential Thanksgiving meal because that’s what we’ve been taught. We continue to eat turkeys because that’s what we grew up with, it’s what we’ve always enjoyed. At a very young age we are conditioned into a set of traditions, rituals and values, but often as we grow up we choose to ‘cherry pick’ those traditions, and values that best suits us, while leaving the rest behind. We choose to make Turkey our tradition but we can just as easily not choose it. It’s our ideals that shape our traditions, they’re not - or at least shouldn’t be - dictated by what people may or may not have eaten 400 years ago. That’s crazy if you think about it.

Our celebrations should reflect our values, and my values don’t jive with the mindless slaughtering of millions of beautiful animals whose flesh I have no nutritional requirement for. It’s important to remember that we can live our values and honor tradition at the same time. Remember that above all else Thanksgiving was a celebration of the fall harvest. We can easily, happily, healthfully and without murder celebrate in the countless bounty of fall. 22-40 million innocent and beautiful turkeys are slaughtered every year for this day of Thanks, but they don’t have to be. You can choose to celebrate kindness, you can choose to celebrate mercy, you can choose a gentler tradition.

This year live the values of compassion and celebrate a turkey free Thanksgiving.