Category Archives: Vegetarianism

The holidays are right around the corner with their arrival comes a series of typical meat-based dishes. For vegetarians, it may be difficult to maintain their diet through the next two months because of a lack of options as crop season dwindles.

Instead of sacrificing your plant-forward lifestyle to a holiday turkey, ham or prime rib, there are ways around it.

Since protein is arguably the most important macronutrient to consume, eating primarily animal-based protein is more practical for many people because those proteins contain all the essential amino acids. Health and wellness manager of JMU dining services Gillian Kelly said you can live a perfectly healthy life eating animal-based proteins and that theres no evidence becoming a vegan or vegetarian results in a healthier lifestyle. Rather, Kelly said plant-forward eaters typically cite animal rights and sustainability as purposes for abstaining from meat or animal products.

Protein can still be abundant in many meat-free foods, namely in tofu, beans and nuts. But in order to receive all essential amino acids or to become a complete protein they need to be combined with grains, JMU dietetics professors Michelle Hesse and Danielle Torisky said. Torisky said that depending on different laboratories' research, there are either eight or nine but at least eight amino acids that arent naturally occurring and therefore need to be consumed through food.

There are nutritional risks if you don't do vegetarianism with the right combinations of foods, Torisky said. Vegetarians need to get more nutritional bang for their buck.

One of the most common and cost-friendly vegetarian and vegan combinations that fulfills all your essential amino acids is a bean and rice mixture, Torisky said. Hesse said beans and rice can become heartier by adding cheese or a fried egg on top for vegetarians that allow for it the cheese incorporates calcium and vitamin D, while Torisky said eggs have been recognized by athletes for many years as the superior protein because of their protein-efficiency ratio. The darker the yolk, the more iron an egg has, Torisky said.

There are different branches of vegetarianism that make different ingredients edible. Pescatarians eat fish, lacto-vegetarians drink milk and ovo-vegetarians eat eggs. These exceptions open the doors for more ways to experiment, like having a milk base in your fruit smoothie or incorporating canned salmon into your veggie stir fry.

Despite this, vegetarian, and especially vegan, eating can become monotonous with the elimination of animal proteins. To combat that, Hesse said different herbs and spices can complete flavor profiles in plant-forward staples.

Basil, a sweet herb, pairs well with cheeses especially mozzarella cheese in caprese salads or sandwiches and with other herbs and spices like garlic, rosemary and oregano. In Indian cuisine, a vegan lentil and tofu dish can be jazzed up with the herb cardamom. Cardamom, also a sweet, fragrant ingredient, typically pairs well with turmeric, ginger and cumin, according to CookSmarts.

If you play your cards right, Hesse said, combinations really are endless with plant-based cooking.

After exhausting your favorite herb-spice combinations, plant-based proteins can be taken to another level by changing textures, Kelly said. She recommended a tofu scramble, which takes the usual bricks of tofu and breaks them up to give the ingredient a smooth texture which can very easily mimic scrambled eggs she said theyre offered in the morning in JMUs dining halls.

I think really, if you are going to be vegan or vegetarian, you're going to want to experiment with these different ways to make these different proteins, Kelly said. You can have that creativity in there and not get bored with what you're eating while also not necessarily having to always have on hand several different types of protein at your disposal.

In addition to protein combinations, a combination of differing colors of food on your plate is also crucial, Kelly said. Red and orange vegetables bell peppers, radishes and tomatoes are higher in vitamin A and C, which Kelly said aid eyesight and hair and skin health.

Green vegetables cucumber and leafy greens like lettuce, spinach and kale contain folate, which Kelly said is especially important for young women because of its prevention of neural tube defects during pregnancy. Hesse said theres not much differentiation in the nutritional values between leafy greens, but darker, leafy greens like kale, spinach and collard greens contain more vitamin K and C than lighter leaves like romaine and iceberg lettuce.

Despite the abundance of vitamins and minerals, plant-based food can turn on you if consumed in excessive amounts, Hesse said. Specifically, she said minerals like iron and fat-soluble vitamins like vitamins A, D and K can be harmful when consumed in very, very high amounts.

Too much of a good thing is not a good thing, Hesse said. With certain vitamins and minerals, consuming too much can lead to toxic levels, which creates a disbalance in the body and can make you really sick.

However, there are certain vitamins that Torisky said plant-based eaters typically lack in their diets specifically, vitamin B-12, iron and calcium. She said a way to secure B-12 for plant-based eaters is through fortified milks namely, almond and oat milk.

Torisky said iron consumption can be difficult in vegans and vegetarians that consume spinach because it has phytates and oxalates antinutritents that can adversely affect metal ions bioavailability that chelate or bind with spinachs iron, causing the mineral to leave your digestive system. Calcium can be hard to consume due to vegans absence of dairy, so Torisky recommends leaning on the cabbage familys collard greens and broccoli, which she said absorbs calcium well.

Down the line, Kelly said chronic issues like osteoporosis can develop as a result of deficient vitamin consumption. Getting a variety of colors on our plates at a younger age, Kelly said, is critical to prevent long-term defects.

All those colors kind of have a higher little bit of concentration of different vitamins and minerals that you're going to want, Kelly said. I mean, you walk in the produce section, and it's a literal rainbow.

When you walk into a JMU dining hall, youre greeted by little flags at different stations that Kelly said distinguish between vegan and vegetarian stations.

In order to prevent contamination among the dining halls plant-forward options, Kelly said the sections of food are situated so students concerned with cross-contact can rest assured that meat residue doesnt get into vegan or vegetarian food for example, Kelly said tofu is farther from the server than chicken so that while tofu can intermingle with the chicken, the opposite cant happen.

Certainly, we do everything that we can to avoid that cross contact in most of our situations, whenever it's possible, Kelly said. In any instance where we have the space to accommodate that, we will.

Its situations like this where Torisky said vegetarians need to be extra careful, but also, she said plant-based eaters need to do their due diligence with the latest trends and findings with the niche diet. She said it was recently found that quinoa can serve as a complete protein on its own.

Stay on top of the research, Torisky said. In order to keep it interesting, in order to just love your food life, if you stay on top of the science and stay open to new foods, then your food life is just going to become more and more enjoyable.

For on-campus vegetarians, Kelly said buffalo cauliflower and vegan chicken noodle soup are some of her favorite, unique dishes the JMU dining halls offer. Even for those with dietary restrictions, Kelly said she thinks its impossible for a student to say they cant find anything to eat on campus.

Dining doesn't have to be something that stresses [students] out or is a big concern in their life, Kelly said. [Dining] can just be something that makes them feel included and part of this great community that we have here at JMU.

Contact Grant Johnson at breezecopy@gmail.com. For more health & wellness content, stay tuned for the A Wealth of Health'' column every other Thursday, and follow the culture desk on Twitter and Instagram @Breeze_Culture.

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A Wealth of Health | Guide to plant-based eating - The Breeze

In 2016, a cow escaped from a slaughterhouse in New York City. Luckily, Freddie was sent to live happily in a New Jersey sanctuary. Unfortunately for everyone around me, however, Freddies story launched my career of fierce but ineffective animal and environmental activism. This was largely in the form of informing the people around me that meat is murder.

Five years later, upon an intense discussion with my omnivorous girlfriend, I sat down to conduct some real research on the topic and discovered that my superiority complex, shockingly, was not as cemented in fact as I had thought. In reality, the most environmentally sustainable and morally conscious diet is far more nuanced than simply cutting out meat.

First, I confirmed what I already knew: that vegetarianism and veganism not only save livestock like Freddie, but also preserve the environment and increase industry accountability. Raising and maintaining livestock requires 163 times as much land, uses 18 times as much water and produces 11 times as much carbon dioxide as the same amount of rice or potatoes would use.

The production of vegan substitutes, especially oat alternatives instead of almond or soy products, has immense environmental advantages. There is a 61% discrepancy between the carbon footprints of dairy products and their dairy-free alternatives.

However, meat substitutes do sometimes fall short of our expectations. Although plant-based alternatives to meat produce only 10% the emissions of beef, their environmental impact is still similar to the production of poultry. Production of plant-based meat alternatives will definitely not have as harmful an impact as the meat industry, but it will take its own toll.

Research from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future has shown that removing meat or dairy from your diet for two-thirds of your daily meals reduces your carbon footprint and water consumption almost as significantly as if you cut meat and dairy out altogether. This partial dietary change would allow for enough of an economic threat to the meat industry to incentivise environmental prioritization without tanking the industry altogether, creating a new consumerism-driven environmental disaster in meat and dairy substitution industries.

Indeed, an important consideration in environmentally conscious choices is the decisions monetary impact, since economic success is frequently valued above environmental preservation. Meat production is the foundation of many agricultural and working-class communities. Both the farm and factory work that goes into meat production rely heavily on coast-to-coast consumption, and disrupting the demand for these products would have disastrous implications for national economic stability.

In the United States, the macroeconomic and microeconomic repercussions of reducing the national consumption of animal products inhibit the progression of environmental policy. Vegetarian alternatives to meat such as Impossible Burgers or Beyond Burgers have only recently reached a notable production capacity.

Additionally, the price of vegetarian and vegan alternatives is not reasonable for a large number of U.S. residents. In order to consume sufficient nutrients for a healthy diet while relying on meatless products, buyers must purchase more food at a higher price point.

While I would love to believe from atop my vegetarian high horse that I am the savior of Freddie and, by extension, the earth, when you acknowledge the research, its evident that being aware of your animal product consumption is far more sustainable for your body, the planet and the economy than holistically restricting your diet.

Anne Poulos is a first-year in the School of Foregn Service. Sustaining the Discussion is published every other week.

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POULOS: Shift to Plant-Based Diet - Georgetown University The Hoya

A man eats his lunch at Holycow steak house in Jakarta, Indonesia on December 7, 2012. Reuters/Enny Nuraheni

A meat-free diet is linked to higher levels of depression and anxiety than omnivorous eating, according to a recent analysis in the journal Food Science and Nutrition.

That analysis examined 20 studies on meat consumption and mental health, and found an association between vegetarianism or veganism and poorer mental-health outcomes.

"How many people have you met that are both happy and diet all the time?" Urska Dobersek, a psychologist at the University of Southern Indiana who co-authored the analysis, told Insider. "Probably very few - and there is a strong, scientific reason for that - restrictive diets make people unhealthy and unhappy in the long term."

Any potential causal link, however, is still debated. Although some studies suggest that nutritional deficiencies associated with vegan diets can be linked to depression, it's possible that depression and anxiety may precede someone's decision to go meat-free.

"Meat avoidance may be both the 'chicken' and the 'egg' when it comes to mental illness," Dobersek said.

An employee prepares steak tips at Stew Leonard's grocery store. Taylor Rains/Insider

The research included in the new analysis spans the years from 2001 to mid-2020, and includes nearly 172,000 participants across four continents. Of that group, about 158,000 people ate meat and 13,000 did not.

All but two of the studies relied on questionnaires in which respondents self-reported whether they ate meat or not, then answered prompts about whether they experienced anxiety and depression.

The analysis concluded that "meat abstention is clearly associated with poorer mental health."

That was true regardless of a person's sex, though the researchers weren't able to see the whether other factors influence the correlation - such as a person's age, the particular types of meat they eat, their socioeconomic status, their history of mental illness, or how long they've abstained from meat.

Story continues

Still, the finding builds on previous research demonstrating similar trends, so Dobersek said she wasn't surprised. Her own team, in fact, published an analysis last year that suggested abstaining from meat is associated with a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and self-harm.

An August analysis from a team in Germany, meanwhile, also found that vegetarians were more depressed than meat eaters.

"The idea that we can become healthier, or happier, by eliminating foods and beverages is simplistic, unscientific, and not supported by valid evidence," Dobersek said.

Luhv Vegan Deli in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Aleeya Mayo

However, there's no evidence a meat-free diet directly leads mental health to decline.

"We cannot say that meat-free diets cause mental illness. What we did find is that the research doesn't support the idea that eliminating meat can improve mental health," Edward Archer, who co-authored the 2020 paper with Dobersek, previously told Insider.

Although several studies have found that vegetarians are more depressed than meat-eaters, other research has shown the opposite. There's also the question of chronology: Do people stop eating meat first, then develop a higher risk of depression? Or do more people who are already depressed chose to become vegan or vegetarian? Very few studies offer answers, though research from 2012 suggested that depression may precede a switch to vegetarianism.

Other possible explanations for the link, according to Dobersek and Archer, could be that people try meat-free diets to address existing mental health issues, or people with depression may be more likely to empathize with animals and make nutritional choices based on personal ethics.

"Individuals struggling with mental illness often alter their diets as a form of self-treatment," Dobersek said. "And it appears that many people choose veganism as an ethical response to the cruelty inherent in 'nature' and human societies."

It's possible, too, that individuals who are depressed or anxious about climate change are more likely to make dietary choices that lower carbon emissions. Globally, the livestock industry is responsible for about 15% of annual emissions.

Dobersek noted, though, that strict vegan diets can sometimes lead to nutrient deficiencies, especially in pregnant women. That, in turn, can increase the risk of physical and mental illness. For example, vitamin B-12, folate, and Omega-3 fatty acids are only in animal products, and a deficit of those nutrients is linked to depression, low energy, and poor metabolism.

A steak with vegetables. BURCU ATALAY TANKUT/Getty Images

When Dobersek's 2020 analysis came out, some who read it thought it demonstrated that meat-eating improves mental health, but Archer said "that's patently false."

Additionally, critics of those same findings pointed out that Dobersek had recieved more than $10,000 in grant money from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association "to conduct a systematic review on 'Beef for a Happier and Healthier Life.'"

The new analysis, too, was funded in part by a grant through the beef association. The authors noted, however, that the sponsor did not influence the research design, data collection, or study conclusions.

Dobersek said she thinks the results could still have implications for how dietary guidelines are created and communicated.

"With each edition, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans became more restrictive," she said. (In 2020, for instance, federal recommendations suggested Americans limit their intake of red meat, whereas no such recommendation was in the 2005 version.)

"Yet the US population has become more diabetic, more anxious, and more depressed," Dobersek continued. "I do not think this is a coincidence."

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People who eat meat report lower levels of depression and anxiety than vegans do, a recent analysis suggests - Yahoo Singapore News

With more and more of us taking a closer look at how we consume, our eating habits have never been more relevant. Whether for environmental reasons, ethics, or personal health, there has been a massive surge of people switching to vegetarian and vegan diets over the last ten years. A 2017 study found that 14% of the Swiss population eat vegetarian or vegan diets (11% vegetarian, 3% vegan), while 17% call themselves flexitarians. Approximately one-third of the population is therefore consciously following a meat-free or a low-meat diet.

When I first started cooking professionally 18 years ago, as far as many of us were concerned, eating habits were just a superficial trait you were vegetarian, maybe vegan, or you just ate meat like everyone else. Someone whose ideology influenced their eating habits was seen as extreme and frankly, most of us werent interested in hearing what that ideology was. Like most Chefs who have worked in high-stress Michelin kitchens, I never held vegetarianism in any high regard. I wanted to slow cook melting chunks of meat, chargrill marbled steaks to perfection, make rich and intense jus from the bones and everything in-between.

When I became Head Chef of the Verbier Lodge, I had to deal with suppliers face to face, and this was when I began to see the pressure that the meat industry is subject to. In many cases, profit and productivity are placed at a much higher value than animal welfare and sustainable farming practices.

I started to understand that the meat industry is exactly that an industry. Many of us have come to believe that meat is a commodity, and we should be able to have it whenever we want. Because of this mentality, weve lost a certain connection to the food we eat.

I know there are a great many livestock farmers, butchers, and restaurants that care immensely about animal welfare and are very committed to delivering sustainable, ethical products. But I think even they would agree that overall, this is not the driving force of the market.

Its no secret that the livestock industry is responsible for 14.5% of our total greenhouse gas emissions. But as a Chef, what are you meant to do? I used to use my profession to justify my diet choices, but if Im honest with myself I think there was a certain amount of willful ignorance involved. The more informed I have become about the meat industry, the harder it is to ignore its negative and harmful impact.

So Ill ask the question again: as a Chef, what are you meant to do?

Dont just take the meat out!

When the opportunity arose to work on a brand-new vegetarian program at Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland, I jumped at the chance. For the past few years, Ive identified as a flexitarian, meaning I generally follow a plant-based diet. I will not order meat, choose it on a menu, or buy it for my home, but if I go to someones house for dinner and they have prepared meat, then I wont be going hungry!

I remember hearing the word flexitarian for the first time and finding it ridiculous, but it means you are thinking about the ways you consume and the choices you make as a consumer. I dont believe anyone can tell you how you should or shouldnt eat as it is a very complex issue, but the more informed we are, the better we can reflect and have honest discussions.

A frequent complaint when it comes to vegan and vegetarian gastronomy is that chefs will often simply remove the meat from a dish and call it the vegetarian option. This is a perfectly valid complaint part of being a Chef is being creative with food and searching for new ways of transforming an ingredient. Vegetarian and vegan cooking shouldnt consist of traditional meals with the animal products removed half the time, that will leave us with a plate of lettuce. Instead, vegan and vegetarian cuisine should be seen as a blank canvas on which chefs can create something new and interesting by drawing on all their experiences and understanding of products.

A lot of our favorite foods are born from the creativity of cultures and communities whose aim is to make the most of whatever ingredients they have on hand and in abundance. The examples of this kind of innovation are endless: when wine was clarified using egg whites, the Bordeaux Canel was created to avoid wasting the yolks. The French soup Bouillabaisse was initially made from damaged fish that fishermans wives knew couldnt be sold. During the war in the UK we would add herbs and breadcrumbs to sausages to stretch the quantity now this recipe is a proud regional specialty.

These examples go to show that an abundance of fresh or imported ingredients doesnt always lead to the best dishes- its often when faced with a challenge that the best dishes and ideas are born. Removing ingredients from our diet is not restrictive, it merely demands you to be innovative.

With the growing popularity of vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian diets, the world is moving toward a higher consumption of plants. Taking this direction with our diet seems to be a sustainable choice for the future and is an exciting opportunity for the culinary industry to adapt to new trends.

Chef Darren Burke trained in an Italian gastronomic restaurant in the UK and went on to become Head Pastry Chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant in the North of England. He has worked for Sir Richard Branson in Morocco and Switzerland. Most recently, he held the position of Chef-Owner of Restaurant Le Bois Sauvage, a restaurant focused on sustainable dining and local produce. Since 2019, he has been sharing his expertise with the students at Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland, where he is Chef Instructor.

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Don't Just Take the Meat Out: Innovation in Vegetarian Cuisine - Food & Beverage Magazine

HOULTON, Maine Christopher Roof, who was identified earlier this fall as the man whose body was found 10 years ago in the Stacyville woods, spent parts of his childhood in Maine while living with his mother Marcia Moore.

Maine State Police identifiedRoof, a teacher from Concord, Massachusetts, after a former student recognized the description of the bodys clothes when she heard it on a podcast discussing the case. The manner of Roofs death strongly resembles that of his mother, whose remains were found in the woods near her home in 1979 in Washington state after she had been missing for two years.

Anewbook reveals more about the familys connection to Maine. Dematerialized: The Disappearance of Marcia Moore looks further into the circumstances of Moores death, but also gives glimpses into Roofs childhood during his mothers marriage to Simon Roof.

The book describes Moores son as the most sensitive and closest to his mother out of all her children, and he was nicknamed Chrishna, a reference to the Hindu god Krishna. He seemed to have followed his mother in some of her alternative lifestyle, practicing vegetarianism and spent time living in an ashram, a type of monastery originating from the Indian subcontinent.

He was pretty deeply affected by the Vietnam War era and what was happening, said Joseph DiSomma, who co-wrote the book with his wife, Marina.He never really wanted to be in just a regular 9-to-5 jobs kind of thing.

Roof would go on to graduate summa cum laude from Emerson College in Boston with a degree in English, and wrote childrens books and poetry while also working as a substitute teacher in his hometown of Concord, Massachusetts. It would eventually be one of his former students who identified his remains, which finally allowed the Maine State Police to solve the case.

Some the books Roof wrote were poetry for children and adults, with titles like A Winter Nights Revels, Halloween to Halloween, Idylls, The Mythical Magical Poetry Book, The Pink Sheep and The Spook House, according to the Concord Public Library.

Moore, who was married five times, had been known as an author of esoteric books on astrology and yoga and had experimented with drugs such as LSD and ketamine, leading some to conclude her death was a drug trip gone awry.

The book describes her attempts to have Roof try ketamine as well, but he was adamantly opposed and would plead with her to stop. Roof had explored all possibilities regarding his mothers disappearance, including a possible kidnapping, but also seemed to have accepted that she may have died by suicide, according to the book.

While Moore died in Washington, it was when she lived in Maine with her third husband, Mark Douglas, that she had her most creative output, DiSomma said.

It was really such an immense source of activity for her, DiSomma said. She wrote her magnum opus Astrology: The Divine Science, which is probably her most successful book, which she wrote together with Mark Douglas.

Moore and Douglas lived together with their children, including Roof, at Greystone Manor, a large home in the small coastal town of Cape Neddick in York County. Moore, who was the daughter of hotel magnate Robert Moore, financially backed Douglas opening of a publishing company that focused on topics such as astrology.

Marcia held affection for the Maine coast, having spent pockets of her childhood at her grandmother Janes home in Cape Elizabeth, where she was introduced to Spiritualism and psychism, the book said. To Marcia it was another sign of fate; Mark finds this mansion that she felt truly destined for.

In addition to her grandmother, Moore had other relatives in the state, as her uncle was a Unitarian minister in Portland. The book also said that her children, including Roof, spent time at summer camp, although it doesnt specify where in Maine the children attended.

But despite the connections, the book doesnt explain what Roof may have been doing in Stacyville, far from the southern coast, when he died.

Roof, an avid reader of Henry David Thoreau, was not reported missing for the past decade because many, including his family, believed he had gone in search of a Walden-like lifestyle in the woods.

I think Christopher was just really enchanted with the whole forest and wooded areas up in that part of Maine, DiSomma said. If there was any connection, I think it had more to do with that, or maybe it was some people he may have known up there, but as far as I know he had cut ties with most of his friends and family back in 2010.

The DiSommas book is set to be released on Nov. 16.

More articles from the BDN

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New book reveals more Maine connections of man who mysteriously died in Stacyville - Bangor Daily News

By trade, Im an omnivore. The only food rule I follow is that I eat everything, because anything can lead to deliciousness. Maybe its goat meat on the bone, cooked low and slow and served in a dark pool of its own cooking juices. Maybe its a bloomy wheel of cheese made from cashew milk, dense and creamy in the middle. If its good, I want it, and then I want seconds.

But when I cook at home, what I want more and more of is vegetables. Right now, this instant, I want long, skinny tongues of charred aubergine dressed in soy sauce and maple syrup, over rice. I want bright tomato pulp pured with bread and olive oil, right from the lip of the bowl. I want a big pile of lettuce leaves filled with Hetty McKinnons sweet and spicy tofu larb.

When the weather cools down? I want a hot pot of winter greens and chewy noodles in miso broth. I want my favorite toor dal with whole boiled peanuts. I want sweet-edged, wrinkly roasted root vegetables over heaps of cheesy polenta, swimming in olive oil.

I dont know exactly when my appetite became so intensely focused on vegetarian foods in my own kitchen. It happened slowly, then all at once, like a custard thickening on the stovetop. I revised my food shopping, and my home cooking followed, branching out and expanding. I went back to old, favourite cookbooks that included meat and fish only occasionally, or not at all, like River Cafe Cook Book Green, by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers, and Classic Indian Vegetarian Cookery, by Julie Sahni.

Maybe youre drawn to vegetarian food for ethical reasons, for health reasons, for ecological reasons, for reasons you cant quite explain just yet. Maybe youre trying to get out of a kitchen rut. Maybe, like me, you really love to eat well, and you want to cook with vegetables more.

I still smoke a lamb shoulder in the backyard or roast a salmon now and then, but when I plan a meal, its more often around vegetables than meat or fish. I shop once or twice a week, either at the supermarket or the farmers market, and later I study my cupboards and drawers, considering it all strategically a glut of Persian cucumbers, a bunch of fading dill, some green onion.

I rummage through my ice-crusted freezer drawer, wondering what that unlabelled container is filled with (leftover cannellini beans and greens?) and reach for a half bag of frozen peas. And despite my own inconsistencies when it comes to shopping and planning (and labelling leftovers), vegetables always lead me to something delightful and satisfying.

Frozen peas, brought up in hot, salted water, then roughly pured with some chilli flakes, lemon juice and zest, are positively springy when spread onto a thick piece of sourdough thats been crisped under the broiler and rubbed with a clove of garlic. Or, simmered with a little cream, they can dress a big bowl of pasta, with black pepper and grated cheese on top.

Persian cucumbers, roughly peeled, chopped and plopped into a blend of buttermilk and yogurt, quickly form the base of Naz Deravians abdoogh khiar, an Iranian chilled soup, crunchy with walnuts, which is quick to make, and life-affirming in this late summer heat.

Im energised by cooks who coax the best out of vegetables, and not only professionals restaurant cooks, recipe developers, cookbook authors whove been working with vegetarian food for far longer than me but also friends, family and other home cooks who have patiently walked me through a technique, or documented their work online.

Just when I thought I might be getting a little bit sick of salads, for example, Ali Slagle went and put one on a pizza. And not just any pizza, but a super thin-crust pizza covered entirely with a crisp, lacy layer of parmesan cheese.

Piling salad on a cheesy, thin-crust pizza is the kind of smart, simple technique I know Ill practice again, not only exactly as written, with baby rocket and white beans on top, but maybe with crunchy lettuce in a tahini dressing, or lots of sauted summer squash. Or maybe with some cherry tomatoes, roasted until they burst, tossed with olive oil and big pieces of torn basil. Its official, salad pizza is now a part of my repertoire.

And thats the thing about a good vegetarian recipe: it leads you to a delicious meal, then makes hundreds more possible.

Tofu larb

Hetty McKinnons sweet and spicy tofu larb is perfect for summer

(Getty/iStock)

Total time: 20 minutes

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

For the tofu:

3 tbsp uncooked glutinous (sticky) or jasmine rice

2 (400g) packs extra-firm tofu, drained and patted dry

1 tbsp neutral oil, such as grapeseed or vegetable

1 lemongrass stem, outer layer removed, tender stem finely chopped

1 shallot, halved and thinly sliced

4 makrut lime leaves (optional), thinly sliced

1 cup mixed soft herbs, such as mint, Thai basil, basil, cilantro and chopped spring onions

1 tsp salt, plus more as needed

1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated

50g shop-bought crispy fried shallots or onions

For the dressing:

4 tbsp fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)

3 tbsp dark or light brown sugar

2 tbsp soy sauce

tsp red-pepper flakes or to 1 red chilli, such as birds eye, finely chopped

Method:

1. Make the toasted rice powder: heat a medium (25cm) frying pan over medium-high. Add the rice and stir constantly for 4 to 6 minutes until golden, with a nutty aroma. Transfer rice to a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and grind until it is a coarse powder (you dont want it too fine; some texture is nice). You should have about 3 tablespoons. Set rice powder aside.

2. Make the dressing: in a small bowl, combine the lime juice, brown sugar, soy sauce and red-pepper flakes; whisk until the sugar is dissolved.

3. Crumble the tofu into small chunks and place in a large bowl.

4. Heat the medium frying pan over medium-high and add 1 tablespoon oil. Add the lemongrass and shallot and cook, stirring constantly, until softened and aromatic, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add to the tofu, along with the lime dressing, rice powder, makrut lime leaves, herbs and salt. Taste and add more salt if needed.

5. To serve, spoon the tofu larb into the lettuce leaves and garnish with crispy fried shallots.

Salad pizza with white beans and parmesan

Piling salad on a pizza is a simple technique youll want to recreate again and again

(Getty/iStock)

Total time: 45 minutes

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 (425g) can white beans, such as cannellini or Great Northern, rinsed

30g sliced pickled pepperoncini (about 6 to 8 peppers), plus 2 tablespoons brine

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing

Salt and black pepper

450g shop-bought or homemade pizza dough, at room temperature, divided into two 225g portions

90g freshly grated parmesan, plus more for serving

85-140g ounces baby rocket

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 260C. Place a baking tray in the oven to heat.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the white beans, pepperoncini, pickle brine and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.

3. Place a kitchen towel on a work surface, then place an upside-down baking tray or cutting board on the towtl (This will serve as your pizza peel; the towel stabilises the setup as you roll the dough). Lightly grease a piece of parchment with olive oil and place on top of the upside-down baking tray. With a lightly greased rolling pin, roll one half of the dough on the parchment as thin as you can, about 0.3-0.6cm thick (if the dough retracts, let it rest a few minutes before continuing).

4. Sprinkle the parmesan over the dough. Remove the preheated tray from the oven, and carefully slide the parchment with the dough onto the hot baking tray. Cook until golden brown on the top and bottom, 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, roll out the remaining dough on a second piece of greased parchment and cover with the remaining parmesan. Transfer the first pizza to a cooling rack to crisp, then repeat with the second piece of dough.

5. Add the rocket to the bean mixture, season with salt and pepper, and stir gently to combine. Top each pizza with the salad, plus more grated or shaved parmesan.

Abdoogh khiar (chilled buttermilk cucumber soup)

Iranian chilled soup is quick to make and life-affirming in late summer heat

(Getty/iStock)

Total time: 15 minutes, plus chilling

Makes: 2 to 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 tsp dried edible Damask rose petals (optional, see tip)

475ml buttermilk, plus more if desired

123g cup plain yogurt

Salt

3 Persian cucumbers (200g), cut into 0.5cm pieces, plus more for garnish

50g golden or black raisins, plus more for garnish

40g walnut halves, coarsely chopped, plus more for garnish

1 tsp finely chopped fresh dill, plus sprigs for garnish

1 tsp finely chopped chives or green onion

1 tsp dried mint, plus more for garnish

lavash rectangle or 1 large slice bread of choice (such as sourdough)

4 ice cubes

Fresh mint leaves, for garnish

Method:

1. If using dried rose, crumble a few petals coarsely for garnish and set aside. Place the rest on a cutting board and chop as finely as possible.

2. Place the buttermilk, yogurt and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender and blend until frothy, about 30 seconds, or whisk together in a large bowl until smooth and frothy. If you used a blender, pour the mixture into a large bowl. Add the cucumbers, raisins, walnuts, dill, chives, dried mint and teaspoon of the finely chopped rose petals. Stir well to combine and season to taste with more salt. Cover and refrigerate to chill and allow the flavours to come to life, at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

3. Just before serving, toast the lavash or bread until crisp but not burned, and break into pieces. Stir the soup to mix. It should be the consistency of a thin, runny soup. If its too thick, thin it out with water or more buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time. Keep in mind that you will be adding ice cubes, which will also thin out the soup as they melt. Divide the soup among serving bowls and add the ice cubes. Garnish the top as creatively as you like with crumbled dried rose petals, cucumber, dried mint, dill sprigs, raisins, walnuts and fresh mint leaves. Add the bread pieces right before serving or serve on the side.

Tips: Dried edible Damask rose petals, available in Middle Eastern markets and online, are used in various Iranian dishes as a fragrant and savoury spice. Theyre worth seeking out, grinding to a powder (whole petals are pretty as a garnish but tough to chew) and adding to your spice cabinet. Feel free to swap out for more of the fresh herbs, as you like.

The New York Times

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