vegoftheweek

PETA likes to have a lot of contests, including sexiest celebrity male and female vegetarian and Cutest Vegetarian. Leonard Sun, a sophomore going into Film Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, decided on a whim to find out how cute he was. After over 3,500 entries and 50,000 votes, Sun was crowned the cutest male.

VOTW: On PETA’s website, you said that all you really need to be happy are “some tunes, a cup of coffee, and a good book. Can you name some books you like, what kind of coffee you drink, and what you’ve read lately.

Sun: There’s a band called Fear Before The March of Flames and I think they’re heavily underrated for how long they’ve been around. Ore Ska Band-they’re an all girl ska band from Japan…Right now I’m reading a book called, “You Suck,” by Christopher Moore. It’s about a conflicting love story about this guy whose girlfriend turns into a vampire. And then there’s a book called “Choke,” by Chuck Palahniuk. He’s basically goes to fancy restaurants and chokes himself. (And for coffee) Allegro Brand Coffee. It’s fair trade certified, organic. It tastes pretty good.

On Vegetarian fare on and around The University of Colorado Campus:
The dorms, depending on which one you go to, they’ll have vegan pizza and you can get pasta. They’ll have a random vegan dish everyday. Sometimes it’ll be like some tofu dish. They always have Gardenburgers available, which are vegan. And there’s always a salad bar. There’s a vegan fast food restaurant (off campus), which is pretty cool. It’s called V.G. Burgers.

What he’s eaten for the week:
I made spaghetti with a whole bunch of vegetables in it. I made these vegan chocolate chip cookies, which my friends thought were pretty good. I make a lot of fruit smoothie things. And cereal.

Learn what Leonard is addicted to and whether he prefers tofu or tempeh after the break…

(more…)

Singer Missy Higgins kicked off her U.S. tour last week. When I spoke with her over the phone a couple of weeks ago, she mentioned it was going to be hard to stay green with her tour bus since only a couple of cities she was traveling through offered biodiesel fuel. But that doesn’t stop this vegan from doing all she can to help the environment as you’ll learn below. And is it just me or does she sound like Edie Brickell of the New Bohemians when she sings, “Peachy.” Just take a look at her Myspace and listen to it in the player. For those that don’t remember Edie Brickell, she was the one who was not aware of too many things, but knew what she wanted if you knew what she meant…Well, never mind, just go to Edie Brickell’s video and compare the two. Vocal twins? I think so.

What she’s eaten for the week:
I go to the farmer’s market every Saturday and stock up on a lot of yummy fruits so I’ve been eating some yummy local fruits and berries. And I’ve been eating a lot of raw foods because I’ve lived near raw restaurants. Last night, I had some tabbouleh and tomato and basil soup. A couple of days ago, I made a dish with coconut milk (and) raisins in it. And I’ve been drinking ginger juice lately too. My friend works at a juicer and she thinks it’s the wonder drug-so she’s been giving me shots. And I’m really into hemp milk at the moment.

Tofu or Tempeh: Tofu because it’s more hearty and I like the idea of the soybean being in the earlier stage than what tofu is. I feel like it’s better for you.
Roasted Red Pepper or Baba Ghanoush Hummus: Anything other than red bell pepper is good. I have a thing with peppers and cilantro-they are the 2 things I just can’t eat and the two things that are in absolutely everything.
Peanut Butter or Almond Butter: Well, I’ve got almond butter in my cabinet so I’d have to say almond butter. Although I do love peanut butter. Peanut butter and sliced banana on toast is one of the best things ever.
Seitan or Texturized Soy Crumbles:I’ve never had texturized soy crumbles, but they sound delicious!

On Being Stuck In A Food Monotony:
It’s really hard to eat vegetarian and vegan on tour. I make a real point of sourcing out nature marts or vegan restaurants or co-ops in every city that we visit beforehand. But some of the cities…they have no concept of any sort of vegetarian dish. So I end up just eating raw veggies and dip from the supermarket every night because the only other option is fries or beans and rice.

Learn what Missy wouldn’t mind eating over and over again and how her father gave her “the talk” after the break…

(more…)

“Wildman” Steve Brill is known as one of America’s Best Known Foragers. He gives park tours primarily in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, instructing people how to find edible plants, wild mushrooms, and weeds. His best known book, “The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook”, contains dozens of recipes from Sassafras Peanut Sauce to Mashed Potatoes with Daylily Shoots. A longtime vegetarian, who jokes that he still eats “chicken mushrooms” and “sheep sorrel,” he agreed to chat with me while tending to some mulberries he had collected earlier that morning.

On His Decision To Go Veg:
3 Reasons-health, environment, and humane. My mother died of cancer at the age of 57. I’m now 59. My father, his brother and sister all died of heart disease in their early 60s. And my cardiovascular system is in apparently good health. I swim a mile in 36 minutes, run around to all these parks with kids…keep very active. So I think the genetics (of me and my family) are the same. It has to be the lifestyle.

I don’t like the way the animals are treated-the cruelty is quite upsetting. And all of the waste-from what goes into the waterways to all of the large carbon footprint of being involved with the meat industry-is also quite objectionable.

What he’s eaten for the week:
At this point, it’s mulberries and juneberries-those are in season. I’m going to make some jam. I’m going to put some of the jam into a vegan ice cream. I’m going to make a Juneberry cobbler. I’m also making salads with all of the early summer greens.

Tofu or Tempeh:
Tofu. I just don’t really care for the flavor of tempeh. (It’s) one thing I just don’t have an affinity for making taste delicious. And I can make a hell of a lot of things taste delicious.

Bok Choy or Cabbage:
I prefer Bok Choy.

Morel Mushroom or Chanterelle Mushroom:
That’s a hard one. I guess the morel…I’m not good at finding morels and when I do, all the people in my group get them all.

Dandelion Fried Rice or Cattail Fried Rice (from “The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook”):
I think I prefer the Cattail Fried Rice. I love cattails. I love dandelions too, but cattails are something special.

On Being Stuck In A Food Monotony:
I guess in the cafeteria in college the first year when you’re forced to live in the dormitory. That was probably the worst.

What he wouldn’t mind eating over and over again:
Oysters Newburgh-made with Oyster mushrooms.

On The Dave Letterman Show And The Media In General:
Letterman was a real exception. A lot of media people are really nice-Regis Philbin loves cracking jokes, Al Roker is incredibly intelligent and was very into all the science relating to what I was showing him. There are lots of people that are into cooking. And Letterman was just plain unfriendly, obnoxious, and self-involved. His entire staff was the same way. (But) I had a good experience…I watched the show and I knew ahead of time, this was not going to be supportive situation. And I thought for a while and I came up with a plan. Learn about the plan to take care of Letterman and Wildman’s advice on how to find love after the break… (more…)