I was intending to write about The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8. Lee tonight, but work has got me too beat to condense my thoughts on it, even after skipping cooking and going out for Chinese. Had my fortune cookie said something like "you will condense your thoughts and post them to the blogosphere" then maybe I would, but instead it told m I would try something new and be successful at it (in bed).

The NY Times recently had an article about the vanishing Mediterranean Diet, considered to be one of the healthiest in the world and one that's easily compatible with veganism:


"The traditional diet, low in saturated fats and high in nutrients like flavonoids, was based on vegetables, fruit, unrefined grains, olive oil for cooking and for flavoring, and a bit of wine — all consumed on a daily basis.

Fish, nuts, poultry, eggs, cheese and sweets were weekly additions. Red meat, refined sugar or flour, butter and other oils or fats were consumed rarely, if at all."

Ok, so I - and a lot of other vegans I know - have a hard time keeping sweets to a weekly indulgence! (I have a pumpkin pie in the oven right now).

I haven't used Donna Klein's The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen as much as I would have liked too; when I'm short on time to cook, which is often, I go for a tried and true recipe that I've made before. That being said, there are some great recipes in this book:

- Barley Pilaf with Mushrooms. It sounds like a boring staple of every veg*n cookbook, so I was surprised at how good this was. It's baked in the oven for over an hour, with stock added to it periocically and giving it a risotto-like texture.

- Marinated Button Mushrooms with White Wine, Cloves and Saffron. This was too fancy to have been eaten by a rube like me. This is a tapas-style dish and not something I'd make just for myself again. A lot of recipes in this book are good for "entertaining", i.e. cooking for someone who's not my husband because there's nothing vegan in them: no nutritional yeast, no tempeh, no tofutti products. I've found that omnivores more often than not wind up loving dishes with tempeh and nutritional yeast, but it's getting them to try it in the first place that's the stumbling block. Don't we all have a sibling who's grimaced at the site of a vegan peach cobbler and asked if it will "taste funny"?

- And for dessert, it has a huge variety of fresh and baked fruit dishes. The Macedonia of Melon in Mint Syrup and Apples Baked in Red Wine are two that I've tried and loved. They're not show-offy desserts, but I like their simplicity.

I'll post photos of the pumpkin pie, with homemade whipped cream, tomorrow!