Melissa Bushby - The Vegetarian Kitchen

VEGETARIAN

kitchen

This is for my family my wonderful husband Lorne, darling,
beloved Rayne, and of course Gelyn, who has yet
to experience the delights of good food welcome to the world,
little one, what a fabulous adventure awaits!

MELLISSA BUSHBY

I would like to acknowledge the following people, for their invaluable support and patience: My much-loved and inspiring boys, Lorne and Rayne, for their constant advice, inspiration, encouragement and where necessary (constructive) criticism; my mother and father, for enabling me to discover my great love for all things bookish; and friends, near and far. The editorial team at Random House Struik, specifically Bev, for fabulous art direction and making my rustic, home recipes look glamorous and gorgeous; Linda, for seeing something there in the first place, and Bronwen, for being so patient with me. Also, the many great vegetarians of the world, who have so motivated me, and thus played no small role in the creation of this book.

The late, great and splendid Luciano Pavarotti said One of the very best things about life is how we must regularly stop what we are doing and devote our attention to eating. Surely, no truer words have ever been spoken, so Buon Appetito!

The Vegetarian Kitchen is a vegetarian and lactose-free recipe book, which specifically highlights meals and recipes that do not rely on meat or dairy products to make them healthy or delicious. My intention is to showcase the simplicity of transforming a previously meat- and dairy-product laden diet into a purely vegetarian one. The concept of such a diet is quite foreign and indeed a little intimidating to many people who have consumed dairy products all their lives, and there really is no reason for this. Although cheese, for example, is a firm favourite with many people, once they realise that there are many alternative options, it becomes much easier to make that transition. Food is easy to prepare and once the concept of deprivation has been abandoned, people realise just how many different types of meat- and dairy-free foods are actually available.

After having been quite an adept lacto-vegetarian cook for nearly ten years, it came as a shock to discover that my husband suffered from lactose intolerance, which loosely translates as the bodys inability to digest dairy products. Thus we were forced to rethink the way we prepared our meals. Consequently we cut all dairy products out of our diet.

Lactose intolerance results in stomach disorders such as cramping, bloating and general discomfort, which can, in extreme cases, become quite severe.

It is thought that as many as 75 per cent of the worlds population suffer from some form of lactose intolerance throughout their lives and is quite common in South Africa. There are many substitutes for dairy, and no aspect of cooking is out of reach of the dairy-free chef.

Life is about living in the moment and enjoying every day. In our stressful modern lifestyles, we dont always make time for the important things, and eating is one of them. Mealtimes should always reflect the values that our forefathers held dear prepare food with love, and take time to eat and enjoy it. I want to bring across the feeling of lazy summer afternoons spent with loved ones over a delicious meal, which is no less tempting or enjoyable simply because there are no animal products in the dishes. I have discovered that many people are of the incorrect opinion that meat- and dairy-free means bland, tasteless and unappetising. Vegetarian food is not rabbit food, nor does it belong in the realms of the strange. It is not a new age fad, but an ancient custom upheld by great men such as Pliny, Da Vinci and Einstein. It is simple, healthy and wholesome food, accessible to all who wish to make a change in their eating habits, whether for health, weight or ethical reasons.

The illustrations in this book are all my own, rendered in pen and ink, and are original drawings of the wonderful, delicious and colourful array of foods, herbs and spices that are available for us to eat.

I hope that this book shows you the joy of cooking, and how to return to basics and enjoy food that is meatless, dairy-free and delicious. And whether you are vegetarian or vegan for ethical reasons, lactose-intolerant, of a specific faith or religion that is intolerant of the consumption of animal products, or are simply following a healthier lifestyle and diet, there is something here for you. Even serious carnivores will find that food sans meat can be delicious and fulfilling, and just as comforting and hearty.

On Tuesday, 6 April 2010 Compassion in World Farming managed to secure a first for Africa, with Cape Towns Health Portfolio Committee agreeing to officially endorse one meat-free day a week. This endorsement came shortly after the town of Ghent in Belguim made headline news in support of the cause. Government in Ghent have recognised the importance of promoting vegetarianism as a solution to addressing climate change and have declared one day a week veggie only day. And now many other cities have joined this campaign, including Sao Paulo in Brazil, Bremen in Germany, Baltimore and San Francisco in the USA, and cities in Croatia and the list continues to grow. (from Frys Vegetarian: www.frysvegetarian.co.za)

The Meat-free Mondays Campaign in South Africa has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception. Have a look at http://www.supportmfm.co.za and add your voice.

MELLISSA BUSHBY

We live in a very beautiful part of the world, the Mpumalanga Lowveld, and our lives are spent in an idyll of not only what we feel like eating tonight, but what we feel like cooking. There is such pleasure in the eating, but also in the planning and especially in the making. There truly is nothing like baking bread from scratch focaccia, slipper bread, herb bread, wholesome wholewheat seed bread, to mention just a few. And it really is so easy once you get the knack. I even bottle my own chillies and dry my own tomatoes (a healthy and delicious snack, especially if you have children). A friend told me a while ago that she wishes she had the time to do all that, especially bake bread. And I said, Why not? We can all set aside the 10 or 15 minutes it takes to knead (very satisfying) a ball of dough. Then you leave it to stand, and it does most of the work on its own. Its easier than you think. And then theres the incomparable pleasure of enjoying the fruits of your labour. I always feel that as the baker, it is my privilege to eat the crust of freshly baked bread as it comes out of the oven. We were visiting friends a while back and I mentioned this to someone, and she promptly said, My husband doesnt bother waiting he cuts off both of the crusts for himself, because they are just wasted when not eaten straight from the oven!

So many of the foods we eat today are harmful to us, to our children and to the environment. My intention is to illustrate not only a healthier (and do not for one minute read bland or tasteless into that) way of eating, but also a way for the many vegetarian and lactose-intolerant people out there to see how easy it actually is to eat delicious, soul-satisfying food without meat or dairy. It involves, in large part, a mind-set adjustment; one has to not see it as a diet (its not) or as vegetarian food it is vegetarian, but only in that it does not contain animal products. For many centuries, many cultures ate a predominantly vegetarian diet, quite simply because that was what they ate. If you had to ask them if they were vegetarian, they would have said no, certainly not. For me, after having been vegetarian for many years, adapting my diet to a dairy-free one was fairly easy. I have often been asked by meat-eating friends and family But what do you eat? The simple truth is this a lot more than we used to! You become far more adept at creating tasty, healthy (mostly), satisfying food, and cooking becomes such a pleasure. Who doesnt feel a certain satisfaction in creating a thick, hearty winter vegetable soup? Or at least relish the deep, glorious smell of one merrily bubbling away in the kitchen? Not to mention the pleasing aroma of the homemade crusty bread, made to mop up the soup, wafting through the house and warming it.