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Spectacular Japanese Vegetarian Feast!

Cygnet — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:21:47 -0800

My family isn't doing presents this year. Instead, each of us will cook a spectacular feast for the others during the upcoming holiday break. I want to cook a Japanese feast!! Difficulty: must be vegetarian. I'm really really excited about this. I have some experience attempting traditional Japanese food - I've done pickled cabbage, carrots and plums, onigiri, vegetarian soba broth (with kombu), sushi, and hand-made udon noodles. I'm looking for more suggestions of awesome vegetarian Japanese food that will be totally delicious and beautiful to look at.

I'd enjoy trying to make my feast as traditional as possible (I know it's impossible to make it 100% authentic). What makes for a complete Japanese meal? Should I serve green tea with dinner, and if so, what kind? Table decorations? Any other suggestions?

I will have lots of free time to prepare the food, so, short of recipes that take days to ferment or pickle or whatever, I'm up for anything. I have access to a great co-op that sells some Asian vegetables and condiments, but I may not be able to purchase something that's really only grown in Asia - I don't know of any Asian markets in rural VT where my family lives!

Lastly, I know that dashi containing bonito flakes is much-used in Japanese cooking, and no, I will not be using it, or any other product containing fish (or any other meat). Sorry!

Vegetarian seeks most humane and delicious steak.

a.steele — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:40:32 -0800

Help me pick the best option for humanely raised and slaughtered beef (Local? Kosher?) I'm having a hard time deciding between certain criteria. After some deliberation and 7 years of being vegetarian/pescetarian I've decided to jump off the wagon for one delicious steak (which may lead to more occasional meat-meals). Because of my ethical convictions I would like for this steak to have come from a cow that lived a happy life and did not die in fear or pain. Onto my options:

There are two local beef farms that sell at the local farmer's market. I plan on asking them this directly, but in the meantime, is there a "standard" way for smaller farms to slaughter cattle? I know in most cases they are transferred to a separate place, but do smaller farms usually send their cattle to "humane" slaughterhouses?

Despite living in the meat-loving, bbq capital, most obese city in the South, we do have a Whole Foods, which opens up a ton of other options for kosher and "humane" beef. Can anyone explain what the distinctions mean? Does something being slaughtered humanely mean it was treated well it's whole life?

I like the idea of buying from a local farmer for reasons of freshness and legitimacy, but I would really rather not be thinking of all the horrors that occurred after it left the quiet little farm. I'm having trouble finding resources to help me make the most informed decision. And if anyone out there has first-hand experience, spare no details. I want my experience to be as delicious and guilt-free as possible. Thanks!

How do I go about eatting meat again?

deacon_blues — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:39:31 -0800

I've been a vegetarian for over five years. After being belittled by Tony Bourdain for years, I think I'm ready to eat some meat again. Advice? I've found it to be about time to start weening myself back to meat. To elaborate a bit i'm looking to start back with chicken and seafood, not red meat.

So, for those of you who have done this and/or know what to expect, can you give me some advice? I'm concerned about getting sick because my stomach no longer has the enzymes needed to break down meat...right?

Fried chicken awaits. Tell me how to get there.

Must See in D.C.

misha — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:21:58 -0800

Cheap eats and must-sees in D.C. for three adults and three teens? Bonus for any vegetarian-friendly options! We're taking our guys and heading to D.C., where we'll be joining our oldest son's girlfriend and her Mom for five days. We have tickets to the Capitol tour and plan to stop in the Holocaust museum, but we need suggestions for inexpensive places to eat (girlfriend is a vegetarian), as well as your picks for must-sees in town. I'd prefer places you've actually visited, thanks.

Also, I've always enjoyed the Smithsonian--any suggestions for exhibits our teens might especially enjoy as well? We have goths, metalheads and gamers to entertain in the party.

chicken and dumplings...but without the chicken

Epsilon-minus semi moron — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:32:01 -0800

I demand to know your best vegetarian "chicken" and dumpling recipe! My new roommate just mentioned that one of the food she misses most since becoming vegetarian is chicken and dumplings. I would like to make as close an approximation of said dish as possible. I've poked around and found a few recipes...but I'd like to get some tried and true ideas from my favorite source. Difficulty: I've never made dumplings of any sort before, so the easier on that end the better. Thank you!

Help me Hivemind: spending money and eating veggie in Japan.

Kirn — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:55:40 -0800

How much spending money do I need for 10 days in Japan? And: help me eat vegetarian while I'm there. I'll be visiting Japan for 10 days from the 8th of June. That's 3 days in Tokyo, 4 days in Kyoto (with a day trip to Nara and possibly another one to Osaka, and a few hours spent in Nagoya), 2 days in Hiroshima (with a day trip to Miyajima island) and finally 1 day in Narita.

I'm trying to get an idea of how much spending money I should take. Flights, hotels and JR pass are all booked already, but I'll pay to get around Tokyo for the first 3 days (subway or trains) and from Narita Airport->Tokyo, as the JR pass is only for the last 7 days. I won't be looking to eat anywhere that expensive, though doing so by accident is quite possible. I'll be looking to take some souvenirs home, but I'm not after anything specific (and unlikely to go for expensive electronics etc.) and travelling carry-on only so space is limited. I'm travelling with friends so we'll probably want to go out drinking some nights, but not clubbing. No specific tourist destinations in mind but we'll be going to see temples, maybe a couple of museums etc.

So: how much spending money should I take?

And... I'd like to make an appeal for advice on eating vegetarian in Japan. I get that this will be difficult and that there's fish stock/flakes in everything - I'm ok with the fish stock/flakes but would like to avoid meat/fish flesh/seafood.

So my second question is: are there any common vegetarian dishes (with or without fish flakes but ideally without) that I can look for in restaurants? Something I can learn the name of and be sure (or at least relatively sure) that I'm getting something flesh-free? (What about convenience stores etc.?)

And finally: if I learn phrases for 'do you have anything without meat, fish or seafood?' and 'can you make it without meat/fish/seafood?', what kind of response am I likely to get in typical eateries? Refusal/bewilderment/misunderstanding/annoyance? (I won't be able to carry on a conversation as I only know a few basic words and phrases, though I will occasionally be accompanied by a fluent Japanese speaker.)

Thanks very much in advance everyone, and sorry for the many sprawling questions - I'm trying to get the most out of my weekly questions before I go! For what it's worth, I'm a 24-year old male from the UK, travelling with 2-3 guys and 1 girl of similar ages.

Improving texture in a vegetarian diet

slow graffiti — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:07:23 -0800

My vegetarian cooking tastes good, but the lack of different textures bores me. Help me incorporate dishes that have some chew or crunch! I cook vegetarian 99% of the time at home. This means I make alot of soup and stew type things, rice, pasta and legumes. Often I miss the crusty exterior and melty insides of seared meat, or the crunch of baked or fried things. I'm learning to bake my own bread and pizza, but that's pretty labor intensive. What other vegetarian dishes can I try at home when I want satisfying texture and I'm bored to death of soft vegetables? I especially love something like nachos that has multiple textures going on in one dish.

Feed us!

teraspawn — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:35:40 -0800

What should we cook for dinner tomorrow? We're vegetarians, bored of curry, chilli and pasta with sauce. Help us feed our friend with something that is either unlikely to go wrong, or easy to make in advance and not too horrifyingly expensive if we do it wrong. Because you never know. We're looking for something new to try.

Anything with lots of garlic and chilli in is always a hit with us :) We are completely out of ideas.

How can I eat more protein within a vegan diet?

jfricke — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:43:07 -0800

I was shocked how little protein my current diet consists of. How can I make sure that I get enough protein? Problem: I am almost vegan I have been a vegetarian since I am twelve and I have been almost vegan for two years now. Almost vegan means I eat vegan at home but when I am invited or eat outside I also eat cheese from time to time.

Last week I started a nutrition log at gyminee.com. I was quite shocked about the little amount of protein in my current diet. My questions are:

(1) How much protein should one eat daily? The gyminee.com suggestion of 150 to 200mg seems extremly high to me. Do you need more or less protein, when all your protein sources are non-animal?

(2) What is the best vegan food to increase my protein intake besides soya milk and tofu? If you are vegan, how do you make sure to get enough protein?

(3) Is soya protein powder a good alternative?

Vegetarian meals in Edinburgh

fearnothing — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:06:30 -0800

Eating out with quality vegetarian options in central Edinburgh? Looking for suggestions on dining places around the middle of Edinburgh (UK), especially ones whose vegetarian dishes are known for being at least as good as non-veggie options. All styles are welcome, italian, indian, greek, thai, chinese... while I wouldn't say money is no object, it's by no means the most significant factor in my choice. Links to websites are especially welcome!

Mac N Cheese, please!

lonefrontranger — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:35:27 -0800

[ComfortFoodFilter] Give me your kickassedest huevo-lacto vegetarian mac-n-cheese recipes. I've been tasked with making mac n' cheese for the Super Bowl party the mister is hosting on Sunday. I have limited online / wireless time right now and have come up short on google and mefi search is down. I'm sure this has been asked but I have a couple qualifiers:

I need a killer baked mac n cheese recipe. I have pretty much every good spice available, and I will probably be using the good Tillamook extra sharp cheese. But beyond that I'm kind of stumped.

Here are the ingredients qualifiers:

- NO meat, with no meaning none. No bacon, no chicken, no ham, no tuna, no broth.
- NO mushrooms. This makes me sad, but that's just how it goes.

Preferably:

- no canned soup / soup packet type ingredients. My goal is to use fresh grated x-sharp cheddar for the main cheese.
- would prefer this not to have too much of a custard-based sauce as custards kind of scare me to begin with, and especially at altitude (5300')

So we're looking at a pretty simple, straightforward mac n' cheese casserole recipe. I was pointed at the one on Alton Brown's site but the custard base thing kind of gave me the willies. I've never done the baked mac 'n cheese deal before, only the sort from a box. So I need one that will both rock and be fairly easy to deal with when we've got a bunch of people over.

Help? Thanks!

Peas help us find a missing cookbook

fijiwriter — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:39:15 -0800

Peas help me find a vegetarian cookbook my daughter loves that has been sold and can't be remembered. Here we are with a "please help me find a certain book" question, but this might be off the wall.

Here's the story: our little 22-month-old Toddler Writer loves to shop with us at local book store. With her granddad in-tow, she always finds this small vegetarian cookbook with peas on the cover. "Peas ... book," she says. She's enamored because she loves peas, mushy, but they are peas.

So, this goes on for a few weeks; she finds the book without problems. But jump to this past weekend: the book has been sold! Oh, no! Cue my daughter saying, "No....book...no book." We look around and can't find it. Sadly, the book store won't help much without us remembering the name of the book or the author.

And that's where you come in, dear MetaFilter users. Please help us find this book she loves!

The details:

1. Vegetarian cook book
2. Peas on the cover, but in a close-up/macro way, like peering into a pea pod.
3. It might have read something like XXX number of vegetarian recipes.
4. Size-wise, its more tall than wide. I'd say 10 inches tall by 5 inches wide.
5. Length, its not too long. Figure 100 pages or so.
6. The copy we've seen is hardbound with a glossy-like cover.
7. No author details that we can remember.

And if you think this is too hard to help with, just imagine saying no when a little girl like this asks for a cookbook she loves.

Should vegetarians eat marine creatures?

jpg15 — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:15:56 -0800

Should vegetarians eat fish? How about shrimp? Mollusks? I'm a recent vegetarian convert, having read Peter Singer's seminal work. It took me about 30 minutes to realize that this is what I needed to do.

Singer only devotes two pages to the subject of marine life, and it lacks the authority that most of his writing carries (he notes this at the beginning of the section). There are a small number of for/against webpages, but I'm very interested hearing in the rationales of practicing vegetarians.

The question, as Singer always puts it, is whether or not the animal in question "has interests" and whether or not it can suffer, in the sense that humans can. Most people agree, for example, that insects do not. What about the various marine creatures? My instinct tells me that they do not, but this is based on scant data.

Vegetarian in Vegas, 2k8 edition

booknerd — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:40:26 -0800

Vegetarian food in Vegas, take 2. On a four-day trip to Las Vegas, with a car, where can I eat? Also, other Vegas suggestions welcome. This question is essentially what I'd like to ask, but I'm hoping there's some new information from the last couple of years, since that thread has very little activity. I've heard all the good things about Lotus of Siam, will check out Gaylord Indian Restaurant, maybe the Hash House a Go Go, Enoteca San Marco, but that won't quite fill our four days in Vegas. Where's the best place to get cheap sushi? Is Freakin' Frog still the best (only?) place for craft beer?

After perusing all of the posts tagged with "vegas" in the past couple of years, doing some research, here are the things we're planning to do:
Pinball Hall of Fame
Neon Museum (I emailed for a tour reservation to see the Boneyard, too)
Atomic Testing Museum
LV Art Museum
Natural History Museum
And probably a day trip to Valley of Fire

Our interests are heavily skewed towards geeky/nerdy and a bit away from the typical gambling deals, and unfortunately, it'll be around 104* so too hot for most outdoor things. Our budgets won't be allowing for super posh dining or helicoptor rides (librarian and grad student salaries), but we'd still like to celebrate a minor dating milestone year-anniversary in style.

Organic food in the boonies

panoptican — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 20:03:10 -0800

I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere with Wal-Mart as my only option for purchasing groceries. What are some online retailers that sell organic food and the like? I don't own a car, there is no public transportation, I am vegetarian and I'm pretty far from any major metro area so the food would have to be sent to me via the postal system which I guess would eliminate any perishable items.

Creative ideas for a Lost-themed party

FritoKAL — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 09:11:19 -0800

PartyFilter: My roommate has requested that for her birthday upcoming, this spring (Yes, we plan ahead), that we throw a Lost Party. As in "Purchase the first and/or second season of, and theme the party accordingly." - I need help! The rest, inside. I've never thrown a themed party. I've barely ever thrown a party in the first place. That being said - I know how to cook, I know how to make our DVD player work, I have room, I am competant with decorations. So I have the basics.

I'm just Lost (Haha. I think I'm funny) for unique and creative ideas for food and decorations outside of Inflatble Palm Trees and A Stuffed Polar Bear.

Here's the kicker.

At least one of the people attending is vegetarian, at least one keeps semi-kosher, and one has more food allergies than I can shake a stick at*. Not -everything- has to be edible by everyone, but some vegetarian -and- themed finger foods, or party foods would help a ton.

So fun, creative ideas would help a ton. Espically for food, but decoration-ideas are also welcome.

* Dairy, shellfish, pork, carrots, squash, pumpkins, strawberries, cinnamon, apples. Hell, I am probably missing a few, which gives you some indication of how many things he's allergic to. I'm -dating- this guy and I can't list all of them easily.