Celebrating Vegetarianism

October is Vegetarian Awareness Month...and no, that doesn't mean you have to buy cards or gifts for the vegetarians in your life. It means you, as a meat eater, should spend a little time trying to understand why someone chooses to follow a vegetarian diet, and how such a choice affects other aspects of their lives.

One example is how some vegetarians also opt to eliminate other animal products, such as leather or fur, from their lives. They may do this because they feel that killing animals for the sake of clothing is inhumane. These are compassionate people. What these people are not are zealots.

They do not leave pamphlets on your doorknobs touting the re-emerging practice of Meatless Monday, a practice born of war. How ironic that something that is now considered humane started from a most inhumane action.

Vegetarians do not gather in front of the meat counters at supermarkets and terrorize those perusing packages of top sirloin or rump roasts. They do not picket or protest or otherwise engage in acts of culinary disobedience.

Vegetarians just don't eat meat. It's that simple, and that complex. As anyone who reads this blog with any frequency knows, my daughter is a vegetarian and has been all her life. Her father and I have teased her, good naturedly, about this lifestyle choice, as she has teased us about our food choices. But her decision, from the time she first started eating solids, to reject meat has presented me with challenges that have proven to be opportunities.

All of us in our family eat healthier because I've always had to include meat free dishes in our family meals. When my husband was put on a restricted diet because of his heart surgery, I was challenged even further, but it would have been all the more difficult if I hadn't already been familiar with cooking from a vegetarian point of view.

With food trends being so well-publicized now, thanks to Food Network and Food Channel and all the foodie magazines, blogs and websites, one would think vegetarianism would be no big deal. But as my daughter points out in her blog post, "5 Ways to Help Vegetarianism While Not Giving Up Meat," some people still don't get it.

She tells of eye-rolls and heavy sighs, and people trying to trick her into eating meat. Shame on them. Shame on them for their deliberate ignorance and their disrespect. Food is essential to our lives, to our well-being, and food choices are a part of who we are as sentient beings.

So take a little time this October to set aside any food prejudices and make a few meatless meals, and offer to break bread with your vegetarian friends. You just may find that they are presenting you with culinary opportunities you hadn't yet imagined.   

Obamacare and Healthy Diet Prescriptions

First Published July 7, 2012

Update: I still believe the American people are entitled to a better product from health insurance companies. If they can charge us for the privilege of seeing a doctor, they can provide that doctor with the tools to keep clients healthy.

Thanks for reading. October, 2025

Original Post: I'm not a fan of Obamacare. I think forcing American citizens to purchase expensive health care insurance is not a solution to the health care crisis. President Obama can enact a law saying "You have to buy this product", but that doesn't mean the financially challenged among us will magically have the money to pay for it. It's a stupid law, even if it is considered constitutionally correct.

The health care crisis, in my opinion, can't be addressed by insurance plans. But since that seems to be the direction this administration is taking us, I'd like to discuss an idea I have for insurance companies to offer a better product.

Start with a Script 
I'd like to see "healthy diet prescriptions." Doctors often say, "Eat healthy. Stay away from fatty foods and reduce your sodium intake." For many people, those words don't really identify what constitutes a healthy diet, one that would aid in their staying healthy.

Now, insurance companies encourage doctors to assembly line their patients through the office so there's no real dialogue. Patients leave the office thinking they just can't eat McDonald's anymore. I propose that patients who have plunked down their $50 copay get a little more for their money.

Physicians write a "Healthy Diet Plan" prescription, and the patient is then sent to a certified nutritionist. The health insurance company pays for this visit; it's part of the original copay.

The patient gets an in-depth session with a nutritionist. The nutritionist develops a diet specific to that patient's needs, and takes the time to explain how best to utilize this plan.

The Cost of a Healthy Diet

Healthy foods, though, are more costly than cheap, junky food. A single green pepper can cost a dollar (How outrageous is that!)Lean cuts of beef cost around $8 a pound, and chicken breasts around $6 a pound - more in some regions of the country.

People often forego the better foods because their budget is already strained, and ground beef is cheaper than chicken breasts, and a can of beans (think fat and salt) goes farther than a single green pepper.

Ahh, but now the patient has a prescription for these healthier foods. Now, getting healthy and staying healthy through proper nutrition is a medical thing, not just a food trend. The patient isn't just buying expensive food, he's buying meds.

So, how does the healthy diet prescription help our patient reduce the cost of his medically prescribed diet?

Tax Deductions
According to the Obamacare plan, it falls to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to collect the penalties for lack of health insurance from those citizens unable or unwilling to pay for this product.

Medical costs, such as doctor visits and prescriptions, are tax deductible. I propose that anyone with a healthy diet prescription, or a prescription for a gluten free diet, or a prescription for a diabetes diet - you get the idea - is allowed to claim the cost of their foods as a tax deduction.

So, let's say our patient spends $75 a week on his prescription diet. In a year's time, he's spent $3900. That entire amount counts as a medical deduction.

Why Should Health Insurance Companies Do This
It's time for the health insurance industry to put its money where its mouth is. Health insurance companies yammer on about "health visits" and "preventative care" and send customers pamphlets about being healthy. They do this because healthy customers don't cost them money.

If we, as a nation, are putting the health insurance industry in charge of our health care, then it needs to put up or shut up.

Insurance companies need to pay for customers to stay healthy. They need to make it possible to deduct the cost of healthy foods, of yoga classes, gym memberships and exercise equipment.

The health insurance industry needs to subsidize health food stores and supermarkets that carry specific dietary foods that meet the needs of those whose conditions demand a specific diet. This subsidy would reduce the initial out of pocket costs of these foods for those who are already financially challenged.

If we, as a nation, are putting the health insurance industry in charge of health care, then we need to demand a better product, one that keeps us healthy, not leaves us sick and financially crippled.

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake, Made from Scratch

First Published April 30, 2012

Update: This recipe still works. The trick is to break down the sugar to superfine. Then measure for the recipe. This keeps the cake light and provides a better texture.

You can watch the video on YouTube: Recipe for Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Thanks for reading. September, 2025

Recipe for Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Last Christmas, I received a copy of the Star Trek Cookbook by Ethan Phillips and William J. Birnes. It's a collection of recipes of the various foods served on the various Star Trek shows. One of the recipes is for 'Picard's and Troi's Earl Grey Chocolate Cake' and it's the inspiration for my Gluten Free Chocolate Cake that isn't dry and doesn't crumble when you slice it.

I use Pamela's Gluten Free Bread Mix and Flour Blend for this cake and superfine sugar. Just pulse granulated sugar in a food processor for about two minutes, giving it a finer texture, but don't process it into powdered sugar. I think the sifting of dry ingredients and the use of superfine sugar is what makes this recipe work.

Watch the video to see how this cake comes together. I've also included the recipe in this post. Please feel free to leave a comment on how the cake turns out for you.

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Dry Ingredients:
Pamela's Gluten Free Bread Mix and Flour Blend
2 tbs cocoa
1 tsp guar gum
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 sticks butter
3/4 cup superfine sugar
2 tsp gluten free vanilla
2 tsp earl grey tea (you can substitute 2 tsp brewed coffee)

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter an 8 in square pan
Sift the dry ingredients together into a mixing bowl
Stir to combine and set aside

Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer
Add the eggs one at a time
Add the vanilla and tea
Add the dry ingredients all at once
Mix until well blended


Spread the batter into the buttered pan
Bake in 350 oven for 20 to 25 minutes
Allow cake to cool completely before removing from pan
Frost with your favorite frosting
Slice and serve

Gluten free baked goods needn't be dry or crumbly. With a little finessing, you can convert most baking recipes to gluten free without sacrificing flavor or texture. This recipe is easy to follow and sure to please everyone, even those who don't need to go gluten free.

Mad at Betty Crocker and Looking at New Ranges

First Published March 16, 2012

Update: The oven has long since been replaced, and Gluten Free Betty Crocker is still more expensive than Wheaty Betty Crocker. 

Thanks for reading. October, 2025

Original Post: Cooking and baking is a large part of my life and for that I need a good oven range. I have a freestanding electric range that has served me well for about twelve years now. But the door hinge is gone lame and so the door doesn't shut properly - which really messes with my cooking times and the consistency of the interior temperature. My cakes and cookies aren't quite right.

The coils on the cooktop are warped from age, (like so many of us) so when I put oil in a pan it all pools to one side. The pan doesn't heat evenly and so again, I am presented with uneven cooking temperatures.

Trouble is I really like this range: it has knobs for the cooktop and a digital set for the oven temps; the interior of the oven is just the right size; and it has the self-cleaning option.

But I know it only has so much time left before I have to replace it. So I've started looking and will likely get one of those new-fangled ceramic glass cooktop ranges - and will have to get a new set of pots and pans to go with it because the glass top only likes certain kinds of cookware. Geez.

So I'm going to have to spend a bunch of money on a new range and cookware. I'm wondering if there's a tax deduction in there somewhere.

And money is what brings me to my wrath against Betty Crocker. I was so utterly excited when I found that the company was producing gluten-free products I literally jumped for joy in the aisle. The cost was higher than the standard mixes, but not by much.

But now, I see in all the supermarkets and superstores the cost of Betty Crocker mixes is way up, usually $5.99 or $6.99. That may not sound like much, but when I see the standard mixes on sale at 5 for $5 - I get a little angry.

The company is well aware that gluten free products are a necessary medical treatment for those with celiac disease and gluten intolerance. And while brownies and cake may not be an essential food group, (or is it?) I still think it's kind of crappy that the products cost so much more than the counterparts.

It may be the retailers that are upping the price - I don't know. But I do know that when I first found Betty Crocker's gluten free baking mixes, they were less than $4 a box. That two or three dollar difference may not seem like much, but it's the principle, I think.

Anyway, I have to get a new range and I'm not buying so much of the Betty Crocker mixes now. So that's the life of this Contemporary Cook - Looking for a new range and Angry with Betty.

A West Indies Experience

We recently returned from a trip to Nevis, an island in the West Indies. It's a remote place; it took us three plane trips and a boat ride to reach the five star resort where we lived the fabled lives of the 'One Percent'.

We stayed at the Four Season, a resort hotel that includes two pools, a first-class golf course, tennis courts and hiking trails. There's an onsite spa, and the Swedish massage is just the right activity after a day of swimming and hiking.

There are plenty of restaurants and bars, and everyone drinks rum punch, wine and Carib, the local beer. But you can get Bud Light as well.

The food is fabulous, of course. The first night we attended a reception -the trip was a business trip, so such meetings were part of the package. As everyone sipped pink-colored rum punch and heady red wine, servers dressed in understated floral button down shirts and pale brown skirts moved through the outdoor restaurant with trays of appetizers.

I didn't really know what it was I was eating, but I recognized shrimp, spinach puffs of some kind, chicken with a very, very spicy dip, and skewered pork and pineapple.

As I said, the food is fabulous, but I believe most of what we enjoyed was somewhat 'adjusted' in flavors and textures from what the locals actually eat. I was expecting goat meat (in fact I looked forward to it) but what we actually ate was pasta, pizza, and sandwiches.

My husband described the pizza at the Neve restaurant as "Very good, almost as good as Wolfgang Puck's in Vegas."

Two of the restaurants, Coral Grill and Mango, offer local fare, but again, I don't think it reflects what the locals eat. As one attendee of our party said, "I'd like to go into town and offer someone one hundred dollars to fix me a meal like they would eat."

The highlights of this trip for my husband and me were the hiking, the jeep tour through the island, and the spa. The food, while perfectly prepared and scrumptious, was high-end sustenance, and well-suited to the tourist palette.

So, I did what any curious foodie would do. I bought a local cookbook, "A Taste of the Caribbean", written by expatriate Angela Spenceley. The Caribbean islands have a spicy and tantalizing flavor profile, and the overall diet is actually quite heart-friendly and vegetarian friendly. I'll be cooking up some of those recipes, and posting the results here. Then- We be jammin'!

Cooking for Christmas - NOT

First Published Dec 22 2011

Update: Still true today. Do not want to spend my holidays in the kitchen.

Thanks for reading. September, 2025

I cook all the time. And because of the range of specialty diets in my household, I'm often cooking different meals at the same time. I love to cook. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the challenge and have become a home cook master of specialty diets.

But I don't want to spend my holidays in the kitchen.  

On Christmas Eve, we'll have pizza from a local pizzeria. We'll eat off paper plates and use paper napkins and drink from paper cups. I don't want to do the dishes. I want to open presents and play with toys.

For Christmas dinner, it's sandwiches. I'm sort of cooking, but will actually cook on Friday. I'm making Italian beef. It can then be reheated on Christmas evening. We'll have some fruit for a side dish.

There are hundreds of articles on holiday cooking, and you can learn how to cook elaborate meals including prime rib, crown rib roast, turkey, ham, duck, goose and all manner of side dishes and desserts. But try and find an article on not cooking for Christmas.

So for the holidays, I'll just wing it. I'll make a batch of cookies and that's it for me. This holiday, I'm putting my feet up and giving my kitchen the day off.

Wolfgang Puck and Kerry Simon: Celebrity Chefs and Dining in Las Vegas

First Published Dec 13, 2011

Update: This a trip down memory lane, when Bob and I would go to Las Vegas once a year; the company he worked for hosted their holiday party in Vegas- expenses paid. WooHoo!

Thanks for reading. September, 2025

Original Post: The city of Las Vegas, Nevada is all about indulgences: gambling, entertainment and food. Lots of food. From Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill, featuring southwest flavor with a New York twist, at Caesar's Palace to Tom Colicchio's high-end Craftsteak restaurant located in the MGM Grand hotel, anyone visiting Sin City is sure to find just the kind of food they crave.

We recently returned from our annual weekend trip to Las Vegas and this time around we ate at Wolfgang Puck's Bar and Grill and at the KGB - Kerry's Gourmet Burgers. Both were culinary experiences to be remembered.

Wolfgang Puck is the master of California cuisine. We're not talking sushi and sprouts, here; Wolfgang Puck is all about comfort food and classic dishes such as pizza, burgers and steak.

We had our Saturday brunch at Wolfgang Puck's located at the MGM Grand hotel. My husband had a meatball pizza (so off his diet!) and I had the Cuban style roast pork sandwich. Our son had an order of French fries.

The French fries were exceptional, served with a rich and tangy ketchup sauce. A simple plate of fries was elevated to a gourmet delight.

The pizza was a perfect combination of bread, sauce, cheese and meat, perfectly flavored with ribbons of fresh basil. The crust was crisp and light, the sauce sweet and tangy and the cheese golden and gooey. The meatballs, cut to just the right bite size, were so beautifully seasoned and textured, they excited the tongue with each encounter.

The Cuban style pork sandwich was served on a toasted bun that boasted grill marks but was still soft and sweet. The shredded pork was infused with spices; each bite was a like a chorus line of smoky spices dancing across my tongue. The melted gruyere cheese complemented the pork perfectly. It was neither too rich nor too wimpy.

Pizza, pork and fries can be a meal of greasy fat that sits on your stomach for days. But Wolfgang Puck's California touch made the meal lighter, fresher and left us feeling sated, rather than sluggish.

The night before, on Friday, we had a late dinner at the KGB. We kind of stumbled across the place as we wondered through the hotel in search of another restaurant, and it was a happy accident indeed.

The KGB -Kerry's Gourmet Burgers- is Kerry Simon's (an Iron Chef winner) casual restaurant located in the Harrah's hotel. He plays the KGB theme up; the decor reflects 1960's KGB idealism in a kind of anime way. But it is the burgers and shakes that makes this place the burger and fry joint to visit in Vegas.

Succulent. Tender. Meaty. Juicy. Both my husband and I had the All American burger and the preceding adjectives are almost insufficient in describing this classic sandwich. It was just the right burger for a late night dinner.

My son had a milkshake that was so rich, so creamy, so decadent, it was practically pornographic.

But that's what Las Vegas is all about: decadence and indulgence. Our forays into celebrity chef dining was a bit expensive, and the food a detour from our low-fat diet (my son did stay gluten free) but it was well worth every calorie.