Do you take bacon with your veganism?

Helena Echlin has a fabulous piece on Chow.com about the dos and don'ts of dinner parties for folks with unique dietary styles. Such as vegetarians who eat bacon. This of course caused a general freak out in the posts below about who's "allowed" to call themselves a vegetarian and who's not.

I say if you steer clear of all meat except smoked pig, more power to you. Just think of all the cow poop you kept out of the waterways. I call that awesome! You go baconarians!

Spelt Right helps kids eat better

Last night I heard some encouraging news about the state of school food. It seems Beth George who runs Spelt Right bagel company in Portland is working with the Scarborough School system to evaluate the link between low-quality cafeteria food and the sky-rocketing costs of special education. George started the bakery after discovering that her son's erratic behavior and digestive problems were caused by the wheat, artificial colors and flavors, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils in his diet. Once they were gone, he got better. As an attorney who's advocated for children with similar issues, she's witnessed this link between behavior and diet on numerous occasions. Now she's working to bring that information to people who can make a difference in kids diets.

It only makes sense that if schools spent more money serving locally-grown, whole foods (instead of the mystery meat and overly processed junk the USDA likes to dump on them), the need for special education (where schools can spend upwards of $100,000 a year on one student) will decline. And that sounds like a win-win for Maine taxpayers and farmers.

What to make when it's 7:50 pm

You may have noticed I have a tempeh obsession lately. I just can't help it. There's this whole wide world of tempeh out there and I'm just skimming the surface.

Last night I ordered the Tempehilla (totally made up word) at the Pepper Club. It was sauteed tempeh mixed with vegetables, wrapped in a Napa cabbage leaf and baked. It was seriously yummy. And while tofu and those freaky fake soy meats are ultra-processed with little of their nutritional integrity left, tempeh is a whole food. The fermenting that turns whole soy beans into tempeh also makes those beans more digestible.

So when I finally walked in the door at 7:50 this evening absolutely starving, I reached for the Fakin' Bacon smoked tempeh strips to help me get dinner on the table fast. This came together in a flash, and we sat down by 8:15. The verdict? Absolutely yummers.

Smoky Pepper Pizza

olive oil
sea salt
basil
1 pre-made pizza crust from the bakery (whole grain, if you can get it)
1 package smoky tempeh strips
1/2 cup organic marinara sauce
1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 bunch scallions, diced

Preheat oven to 450. Saute tempeh strips until browned. Remove from pan and crumble. Brush crust with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and basil (fresh, if you have it). Add marinara sauce. Sprinkle on pumpkin seeds and then add diced bulb ends of the scallions. Add crumbled tempeh and diced pepper. Lower oven temperature to 425. Cook pizza for roughly 10 minutes, or until crust is golden. Remove from oven and sprinkle with rest of scallions.

You're sorbetto-ing me crazy

Here's how I know I suffer from dark chocolate sorbetto addiction: I have a frequent pint card on file at Maple's Gelateria. At least I haven't hit rock bottom yet. Then I'd be buying it by the pan.

Don't eat dumb food

"Closing the Food Gap" author Mark Winne gave a fascinating talk this evening at Rabelais books in Portland. He spoke about how forces from sprawl to government subsidies conspired to give us a land of fast-food and processed everything. But he also spoke of the dawning of a new era of food consciousness and greater access to succulent local eats. I loved his comment about how we and our food have been dumbed down over the years by corporate marketers. All I could think of was Cheetos. I mean, what is in one of those Dayglo things?

Can't wait to read the book!

Common sense trumps big biz

At least in Montville, ME. 

Today's Maine Sunday Telegram has an interesting story about this Central Maine town's recently passed ban on genetically modified crops. It's the first of its kind in the US (outside of California). As anyone with half a brain knows, these frankenfood crops are a financial windfall to chemical companies who cook up seeds with such nifty traits as embedded pesticides and the inability to produce seeds that a farmer can plant the following year. Farmers still stuck in old paradigms of monoculture and chemically-intensive agriculture may fall prey to these companies' slick marketing messages of science overruling nature. But thankfully here in Maine, most farmers are smarter than that.

As the story says: "Rather than compete with farm states in commodity crops that are dependent on genetic modification, why not capitalize on consumer demand and premium prices for organically-raised produce and animals? Rather than hurting the economy (organic gardener Kai) George said, sustainable agriculture could generate new revenue."

All the while protecting Maine's claim to setting the standard for "the way life should be."

Bare skin + derby chicks

We're headed out to the WMPG Fashion Show at SPACE tonight. More than 20 local designers will parade everything from gowns to lingerie across the catwalk. You can catch a full report next week in SWITCH.

Tomorrow night more hot chicks come out to play. This time the action's at the Portland Expo where Maine Roller Derby's Port Authorities take on the Rhode Island Riveters. I hear this season the beer garden will expand beyond the brewskis to serve up wine and cocktails too. Sweet!

Making lentil stew

This utterly delicious soup combines my favorite bean with a savory tomato base. I used locally-grown carrots (the purple kind), potatoes and onions. Because I was out of tomato paste and didn't have any Maine-grown Backyard Beauty tomatoes, I poured in a jar of organic tomato juice.

Hearty Lentil Stew

olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

5 carrots, diced

4 small potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 gallon organic tomato juice

4 cups water

2 cups lentils

1 cube of organic, vegan bouillon

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Heat heavy bottom stock pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and diced onion. Saute onion until translucent, then add garlic and stir for less then a minute. Pour in the tomato juice and water. Add the bouillon and stir until dissolved. Add the lentils, carrots and potatoes. Stir in seasonings. Cover, reduce heat and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour. When lentils, carrots and potatoes are all tender, turn off heat, stir in a few tablespoons of olive oil and let steam for a couple minutes. Serve with hunks of peasant bread.

Caiola's plans brunch

I hear West End gem Caiola's plans to start serving brunch on Mother's Day.

TV gets more delicious

A new season of Delicious TV begins April 12 on PBS stations around the country. The totally vegetarian cooking show is filmed in chef Toni Fiore's Cumberland, Maine home and on location throughout the state. You can get a preview of the season and tons of yummy recipes at www.delicioustv.com.

Sunshine from the earth

Here's the yellow kiss of sunshine I found today in our courtyard garden. It's making me forget winter already. 

February? Never heard of it.

Greendrinks

I hear there's a hot party on tomorrow night at Maple's Gelateria in the Old Port. Greendrinks promises natural networking, free drinks and whispers of free gelato.

Hot shots at the Fling

Check out the Vegan Chocolate Coconut Hot Shots created by the Pepper Club for this year's Chocolate Lovers' Fling. I think I OD'd on them. (But isn't that what happens every year?) My favorite Pepper Club entry remains the vegan chocolate cake. I like it so much we served it at our wedding.

This weekend's cocktail of choice

Maine Mochatini

Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, we actually started mixing these up last weekend during Earth Hour. They were so amazingly yummy we had to make some more last night.

1 oz. Cold River Vodka

1 oz. Creme de Cocao

2 oz. chilled organic coffee

1/2 tsp. Madagascar bourbon pure vanilla extract

1/2 oz. Maine maple syrup

3-5 dark chocolate covered coffee beans 

Mix with ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a martini glass. Add the chocolate covered coffee beans. Enjoy!

Is Megan the cutest vegan alive?

She looks like a cutie to me, so she's got my vote. Cast your vote for Megan from South Paris, ME in PETA's Cutest Vegetarian Alive contest. 

Bayside rising

I can't wait for more buildings like this in the neighborhood. The dorms going up next door will be a welcome addition too. I'm so excited that new people will have the chance to live, work and shop on the peninsula. Living in Portland is such a treat!

Wheat & dairy free peach lavender tart

Natural gourmet vegan chef Ryan Henderson of Beetroot Kitchen in Portland cooked up this peach lavender tart for my sister's birthday. The flaky crust was made of rice flour and coconut oil. The peaches were amazing (and so indulgent at this time of year). 

Locavore harvest

Earl Dotter photograph

Another Art Walk venue we hope to hit tonight is the Meg Perry Center where "Farmworkers Feed Us All" is opening. The show by photojournalist Earl Dotter and audio-producer Tennessee Williams was up at the Augusta State House at the end of February. It offers a peek into the lives and working conditions of migrant workers during the 2007 harvest in Maine.

Blood for oil?

Martha Piscuskas image

We'll ditch the car and head out on the First Friday Art Walk tomorrow night. Rain, snow or shine. (That's the beauty of living downtown.) One show on my must-see list is "Oil,"on view at 3 Fish Gallery. It's a group exhibition with a wide-range of work exploring the human relationship with petroleum. Good, bad and disturbing. (See above.) If you can't catch it on Friday, check it out on Saturday, during the official opening reception, from 5-9 pm.

New camera and Pom's for dinner

It's so awesome to live in downtown Portland.

Case in point: My camera broke over the weekend. (Obviously not awesome.) But yesterday my husband and I headed a couple blocks up Congress Street to Fotoshops to get a new one. The customer service was amazing.

The guy who helped us select our new point-and-shoot even programmed the time and date stamp and then set up the memory card. He stressed that the camera had a year warranty and that we should come back to the shop should anything go wrong. We were both super impressed.

Since we were in the neighborhood, it only made sense to stop at Pom's Thai Taste & Noodle House for dinner. (Twist my arm, why don't you.)

While I'm not a fan of fake meat, those of you who are will be happy to know Pom's is now offering soy chicken and other meat substitutes.