Table of Contents
Praise for
You Wont Believe Its Vegan!
You Wont Believe Its Vegan! really lives up to its title. Its wide
variety of scrumptious recipes coupled with easy-to-follow
directions will please vegans and non-vegans alike.
Lois Dieterly, author of Sinfully Vegan
Lacey Sher and Gail Doherty, both graduates of New York Citys Natural Gourmet Institute, in 1999 opened Down to Earth, New Jerseys first organic vegan restaurant, which they ran for seven years, until 2006. Lacey Sher owns a catering company and is opening a new organic, sustainable, vegetarian restaurant. She lives in Oakland, California, with her husband. Gail Doherty is a specialty vegan chef designing cuisine for Americas second largest natural supermarket, in addition to providing restaurant consulting focused on natural foods and the importance of local agriculture. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband and daughter.
Introduction
When we opened Down to Earth, our organic, vegan, whole-foods restaurant in Red Bank, New Jersey, our objective was to create a place that would serve the world as well as the vegan community, a place where vegan diners could come regularly but to which they would also bring their families and friends regardless the foods being vegan. For a long time, vegan food had a reputation for being bland and boring, and we were out to disprove that. In sharing the food that we ourselves enjoyed, we were delighted that nonvegetarians showed up and loved what they ate: delicious, high-quality food prepared well. These recipes youll find here, born out of that desire, were some of the favorites at Down to Earth.
While one of our goals is to create delicious, flavorful world cuisine thats so tasty you wont miss the animal products, we also emphasize eating organic, whole foods. Even though organic, sustainable, and even local have become buzzwords, commercially grown and produced products predominate in the market, and so we believe it is still important to pay attention to where your ingredients come from. When you buy organic, you are choosing food thats grown without the use of synthetic chemicals, additives, fertilizers, or pesticides. You are also supporting a way of farming that is not subsidized by the government. This means that organic farmers often pay into the system as taxpayers and with agricultural fees, but they seldom or never receive the funding that mainstream corporate farmers get. Buying organic means that the money you spend is helping to support the organic farmers. Buying from your local farmers market or directly from a local farmer is an even more proactive way to help support an age-old, healthier way of producing food. By using fresh, flavorful, naturally grown produce, spices, oils, nuts, and legumes, you can help perpetuate a tradition that goes back to the original chefs of all cultures, who were 100 percent organic.
Of course, chemicals used in the growing of food arent the only problem. The use of chemicals to make and process food is a major industry. New advances in food science technology, like factory automation and the refining of grains, has made possible products with long shelf lives and high profits. Just in the last few decades, frozen, freeze-dried, instant, and artificial foods have become the norm. Modern society has embraced these foods, trading its health for the allure of the quick and easy meal. The recipes in this book help move you back to a more healthful way of eating by using whole foods, such as unadulterated grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables. Not only are these foods better for you, they simply taste better. Our recipes are designed to maximize flavor, elevating vegan cuisine to new heights.
As vegans, it is also important to both of us to prepare food that is kind to animals. There is a profound connection between raising and slaughtering animals for meat and growing and cultivating crops with petrochemicals, artificial hormones, and pesticides that affect human hormones. Our advocacy of using fresh, local, animal-free ingredients in our recipes gives you the opportunity to dine without supporting factory farming and agribusiness.
Of course, the mere mention of vegan or vegetarian will almost always spark a debate. It is easy to get defensive about eating animalson both sides of the argument. Religion, history, educated and noneducated opinion, and misinformation all complicate the issue. Unfortunately, most people automatically assume that being a vegan means believing that all nonvegans are bad people. For the same reasons that organic, whole foods are better for you and the Earth, so is choosing vegan food. Modern-day agricultures dependence on higher yields accelerates topsoil erosion on our farmlands, rendering land less productive for crop cultivation and forcing the conversion of wilderness to grazing and farmlands. Animal waste from massive feedlots and factory farms is a leading cause of pollution in our groundwater and rivers. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has linked animal agriculture to a number of other environmental problems, including the contamination of aquatic ecosystems, soil, and drinking water by manure, pesticides, and fertilizers; acid rain from ammonia emissions; greenhouse gas production; and depletion of precious water aquifers. With regard to human health, the overconsumption of animal products has contributed to rampant heart disease, soaring cholesterol levels, all types of cancers, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and kidney stones, just to name a few major health concerns. Add to that the use of antibiotics, drugs, and hormones on severely overcrowded, overstressed animals, and you can see why we support vegan ideals.
Ultimately, our philosophy about food stems from our deep love for the Earth and animals that share it with us. When we eat food, we are filled with appreciation for the wonderful variety and abundance that surround us. It is our hope and belief that by choosing an animal-free diet, we are not contributing any unnecessary suffering in animals lives. We also look at veganism as a way of lessening the huge impact that meat production places on the Earths vital resources. To us, the most important ingredient in our food is loveour love for the Earth and its bounty and all of its creatures.
Whether you are new to vegan cuisine or have been preparing animal-free meals for years, theres something for everyone here. From vegan versions of classic meat-filled entres to a section devoted to kid-friendly food, from our signature desserts and baked goods to an assortment of live food dishes that serve as a great introduction to raw cuisine, these recipes are easy to make, satisfying, and great additions to any diet. Simply put, this is food thats good for you, animals, and the planet.
With our restaurant, we had set out to open many minds and palates to a new, fresh way of eating, no matter what a persons diet choices were. We challenged ourselves daily so that when diners sat down at our tables, they would have their horizons expanded and would know, firsthand, that vegan cuisine is about much more than salad. In sharing these recipes, we hope that you enjoy making, eating, and sharing these dishes as much as we enjoyed creating them.
