An Update on Gelatin Top Restaurant Chains for Vegetarians

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Vegan RootsBy Debra Daniels-ZellerAUTUMN WOULDN’T BE THE SAME WITHOUTroot vegetables. While potatoes make mosteveryone’s weekly shopping list, beets, carrots,celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes, parsnips, rutabagas,turnips, and sweet potatoes are roots worth adding toyour seasonal line-up. Carrots and beets add sparklingcolor, and old-fashioned parsnips and rutabagas arewell-known for their earthy sweet flavors. Jerusalemartichokes and celeriac may appear to be newcomers,but they’ve been around for ages. Sweet potatoes areroots of a trailing tropical vine and have a long growingseason. Sweet potatoes and yams are harvestedbefore freezes begin, just as parsnips and rutabagas aresettling in, ready to turn sweeter once the frost hits.It’s easy to incorporate different roots into mealplans. Try altering familiar recipes first. Celeriac,rutabagas, or turnips make perfect additions to mashedpotatoes. Jerusalem artichokes, golden beets, or parsnipscan be added to a roasted vegetable medley. You canalso grate parsnips or rutabagas and use them like youwould carrots. Instead of a carrot-raisin salad, try carrotparsnip-raisinsalad.Each root has its own story. Peruse the history,nutrition, and cooking summaries, and try somethingdifferent this year.BEETSBeets have an extremely long history. In fact, theremains of charred ancient beets were discovered inMediterranean archaeological sites from the Neolithicperiod. The Romans used beets as an aphrodisiac andto treat fever, headaches, and constipation. In theMiddle Ages, beets were believed to build blood andsoothe digestion. While the root was used medicinally,beet greens were served at seasonal feasts in Europelong before the humble beet hitched a ride to NorthAmerica with the colonists. American farmers weregrowing beets for the greens by the 1800s, but it wasn’tuntil later that century that the ruby roots became adinner staple on this continent.Beets come in four basic types—red, white, golden,and Chioggia (a striped white and magenta beet sometimescalled candy-striped beets). Red is the most commonvariety and boasts a deep earthy flavor. White,Chioggia, and golden beets are harder to find, but theirflavors are more subtle and sweeter than red beets. Abonus about white and golden beets is that they don’tbleed onto other vegetables when roasted or steamed.Nutritionally, beets provide some vitamin C andfiber. Beet season is from June through November.Healthy greens attached to the roots are a sign of freshness.The red roots of the beets should be firm andsmooth with few blemishes. Once home, trim the greensfrom the roots and store for up to a week in a nylon orplastic produce bag in the refrigerator. Leave the rootsloose in the refrigerated produce bin for up to a week.There is no need to peel the beets because the skinis smooth and traces of minerals are just below the surfaceof the skin. Wash and grate raw beets into salads.Shred, slice, or dice and steam them, or cut beets intochunks and bake or roast them. Balsamic raspberry ororange vinegar enhances their flavor.CARROTSThe first wild carrot was eaten in Afghanistan morethan 2,000 years ago. It was purple, but decades ofcrossbreeding lightened carrots until they were nearlywhite. Eventually, the familiar orange carrot emerged,and the vibrant hue quickly won the color contest.In ancient Greece, carrots were used as food andmedicine, and they were considered an aphrodisiac.During the Middle Ages, doctors prescribed carrotsfor a wide spectrum of health problems. They’ve beenused to treat indigestion, prevent constipation, andimprove night vision. Carrots are rich in alpha- andbeta-carotene.When selecting carrots, look for bunches withhealthy greens attached. The carrot should be firm andsmooth with few blemishes. The season for carrots canbe year-round, but it often tapers off in March and6 Issue Four 2008 VEGETARIAN JOURNAL
esumes in the summer. The sweetest carrots are oftenthose grown close to home, from farmers’ markets oryour own backyard. Remove the greens before storing.Leaving greens attached can cause the carrot to wilt andbecome old before its time. Store greens and loose carrotsin a plastic or nylon bag in the refrigerator. Use thegreens within a few days. The body of a carrot will lastup to two weeks.Carrots are portable and easy to prepare. (I alwaystake a few when I travel.) Grate or slice carrots andserve raw, or steam, roast, braise, sauté, or stew them.They’re also good pickled or steamed and served withbalsamic vinegar. The greens can be chopped and usedin a stir-fry or tossed into a soup stock for addednutrition and flavor.CELERIACHundreds of years ago, Mediterranean farmers grewboth celery and celeriac. Celeriac was a common vegetablein this country until 1940 when it fell out offashion and practically disappeared. Still, it remainedpopular in Europe, and just a few decades ago, youpractically had to travel across the pond to find thesavory root. Thanks to farmers’ markets and a renewedinterest, though, celeriac is making a comeback here.Celeriac, a relative of celery also called turnip-rootedcelery or knob celery, is cultivated for its root, not itsstalks, which are thin, limp, and bitter. It is a knobbyvegetable with a rough, brown, hairy texture andcrevices where dirt from the farm hides. Nevertheless,when celeriac is peeled, soaked, and cut, this uglyduckling offers an amazing celery-parsley flavor witha texture of cooked potatoes.When shopping for celeriac, look for firm roots.Store it unwashed in the refrigerator for up to twoweeks. Peel the outer skin and soak the flesh in waterwith a little lemon juice or vinegar added to preservethe white color.Raw grated celeriac salads are traditionally lacedwith mayonnaise and sour cream. Vegan mayonnaiseand plain soy yogurt could be used as substitutes inthese kinds of traditional recipes. One of my favoriteways to serve celeriac is to mash it with potatoes androasted garlic. (Use more potatoes than celeriacbecause celeriac contains more water.)JERUSALEM ARTICHOKESThese roots are neither related to artichokes norfrom Jerusalem. In fact, Native Americans cultivatedJerusalem artichokes long before Europeans arrived onthe shores of the New World. Also called sunchokes,these small, tan to brown knobby tubers look likemisshapen ginger roots. They have an earthy flavorthat becomes sweeter the longer they are cooked.Jerusalem artichokes contain B vitamins, potassium,and iron. Look for firm, unblemished specimens fromfall through early spring. Select dry, firm tubers, andavoid any with a greenish tinge. Wrap in paper towels,place in a plastic bag, and then store in the refrigeratedvegetable crisper. They will keep for up to three weeks,but for the best flavor, eat them within a week.Jerusalem artichokes are often available at farmers’markets and natural foods stores.To prepare Jerusalem artichokes, wash and peelwith a vegetable peeler. Or leave the peel on since italso contains some vitamins and minerals. Slice or dicethe tuber, then immediately immerse it in water witha little vinegar or lemon juice so these roots won’t discolor.Jerusalem artichokes can be served raw, perhapsIt’s easy to incorporatedifferent roots into mealplans. Try alteringfamiliar recipes first.grated into salads, or they can be roasted, boiled,steamed, or fried. When cooked, their flavor is oftenenhanced with a little sweetener, such as agave nectar,and a squeeze of lemon juice. They can also be steamedand mashed with potatoes or stirred into soups as athickener. Don’t use a cast iron pot to cook them, orthey may turn black.PARSNIPSParsnips, which look like albino carrots, originatedaround the Mediterranean, and wild parsnips wereeventually cultivated by the Romans. In the 1600s,Europeans brought carrots and parsnips to America.Unlike carrots, though, parsnips didn’t catch on asa popular vegetable except in the Midwestern states.Freezing temperatures convert the starch to sugarin parsnips. The flavor is transformed from starchyto sweet and earthy. The best parsnips are harvestedafter the first frost. Look for firm, unblemished rootsin small to medium sizes. Large parsnips can be toofibrous. If you buy parsnips with greens attached, snipthem off before storing. Parsnips retain their sweetVEGETARIAN JOURNAL Issue Four 2008 7
Page 1 and 2: VOLUME XXVII, NO 4Meals Made in a B
Page 3 and 4: MANAGING EDITOR: Debra WassermanSEN
Page 5: l e t t e r sVRG’s MEMORIALAND HO
Page 9 and 10: ORANGE-MARINATEDBEETS(Serves 6)I’
Page 11 and 12: Special Gift Ratesfor Vegetarian Jo
Page 13 and 14: • Cream of Green — Allow a pack
Page 15 and 16: Vegetable Medley, Ginger Soy Long N
Page 17 and 18: • Sides: Garlic Snap Peas, Shangh
Page 19 and 20: Souplantation is in its 30 th year.
Page 21 and 22: Avoiding GoutHave you ever seen a p
Page 23 and 24: or frozen patra, depending onyour t
Page 25 and 26: may also cool the patra and freezef
Page 27 and 28: sipping on the non-dairy beverage t
Page 29 and 30: gelatin is not a food. At one time
Page 31 and 32: veggie bitsEnter Vegetarian Journal
Page 33 and 34: VRG CatalogBooksMeatless Meals for
Page 35 and 36: Vegetarian ActionNellie McKay By Bo

An Update on Gelatin Top Restaurant Chains for Vegetarians

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?