Books, a Movie and Celery Soup!
January 11, 2010
“The degree to which we humans will finally stop abusing other creatures, and, for that matter, one another, will ultimately be measured by the degree to which we come to understand how integral a part of us all other creatures actually are.” from The Wauchula Woods Accord by Charles Siebert
Check out this post on CrazySexyLife.com, by Wayne Pacelle the Humane Society US, President and CEO. He reviews some of his favourite books of 2009, The Wauchula Woods Accord by Charles Siebert quoted above, is one of them. Of course as the head honcho at the Humane Society US the books deal mostly with animals and the environment, the two main reasons I decided to adopt a vegan diet and am working towards a complete vegan lifestyle (ohhh good-bye leather). Three of my favourite books of 2009 were on his list and his brief reviews are below.
Tal Ronnen’s “The Conscious Cook” is a beautiful and hearty cookbook on vegan eating, and after his appearance on “Oprah,” it appeared on the New York Times’ bestseller list. In “The Quantum Wellness Cleanse,”Kathy Freston gives readers a 21-day how-to on eating and living better, and it’s readable and accessible and not the least bit doctrinaire. But it was Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Eating Animals”that was the biggest critical success in the genre of diet and agriculture. Foer wrestled with ethical questions related to his own eating habits and factory farming throughout his life, but it was the birth of his new son that prompted his own life-changing examination of the problems and his commitment to a vegetarian lifestyle. He takes apart factory farming in his account, and his book has provoked an intense and serious public discussion of the many problems associated with industrial animal agriculture.
I’ll add that all three books finally brought the ideas of Veganism to the masses, Tal Ronnen was featured on Oprah a number of times and Kathy Freston guided Oprah through her 21-day Vegan Cleanse (Tal Ronnen also provided all the recipes for Kathy’s book, big year for him). And of course Johathan Safran Foer’s “Eating Animals” has been all over the news and he was featured on, among many other main-stream media, Martha Stewart!
Another great book I read and cooked from this year was Alicia Silverstone’s “The Kind Diet“, based on the principles of a vegan, macrobiotic diet and lifestyle, the book is great reading and a convincing argument for vibrant living without eating animals. And a favorite movie was Food Inc.by filmmaker Robert Kenner, a real eye-opener and confirmation on how big business affects the food we eat and at the same time an important message that we the consumers are the ones telling the companies what to produce – if we won’t buy it they won’t make or sell it - we all vote with our grocery dollars!
Below is a great recipe for Tal Ronnen from The Conscious Cook, Celery Root Soup with Granny Smith Apples, which I wrote about in my previous blog post. This is delicious and simple to make, good-bye artery clogging cream! The Cashew Cream recipe is listed on his website and he made the Celery Root Soup on Oprah , along with a few more recipes including the Chive Oil which he suggests you dot on the soup
Cashew Cream by Tal Ronnen from The Conscious Cook
2 cups whole raw cashews (not pieces, which are often dry), rinsed very well under cold water
1.Put the cashews in a bowl and add cold water to cover them. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.
2.Drain the cashews and rinse under cold water. Place them in a blender with enough fresh cold water to cover them by 1 inch. Blend on high for several minutes until very smooth. (If you’re not using a professional high-speed blender such as a Vita-Mix, which creates an ultra-smooth cream, strain the cashew cream through a fine-mesh sieve.)
3.To make thick cashew cream, which some of the recipes in this book call for, simply reduce the amount of water when they are placed in the blender, so that the water just slightly covers the cashews.
Makes about 2 1/4 cups thick cream or 3 1/2 cups regular cream
Prep time: 10 minutes, plus soaking overnight.
Celery Root Soup by Tal Ronnen from The Conscious Cook
“This is the most popular soup I make-people go crazy for it. I first made it for a supper club I started at my friend Ko’s jazz place in L.A. Throwing in some diced apple at the end adds a surprise tartness, and dots of chive oil give it a sleek, dramatic finish.” Serves 6
Ingredients
Sea salt
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium celery roots , peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 stalks celery , chopped
1 large onion , chopped
2 quarts vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 cup thick Cashew Cream
Freshly ground black pepper
1 unpeeled Granny Smith apple , very finely diced
Chive oil
Place a large stockpot over medium heat. Sprinkle the bottom with a pinch of salt and heat for 1 minute. Add the oil and heat for 30 seconds, being careful not to let it smoke. This will create a nonstick effect.
Add the celery root, celery, and onion and sauté for 6 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft but not brown. Add the stock and bay leaf, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the Cashew Cream and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
Working in batches, pour the soup into a blender, cover the lid with a towel (the hot liquid tends to erupt), and blend on high. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls. Place a spoonful of the diced apple in the center of each serving, drizzle the Chive Oil around the apple, and serve.
If you make the soup let us know what you think, have a veggie soup recipe to share – send it along!
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