Cooking Class

It was a good time last night at the special Vegan Cooking Class presented by EarthFare for S.O.S folks. For those of you who couldn't be there, I'm posting the recipe for the Curried Lentils we all got to try last night. Enjoy!

Curried Lentils

1 med. onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 med. carrot, chopped

2 cups cauliflower, chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 cups cooked lentils

2 cups peas (frozen)

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable stock

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

In a large saucepan over med-high heat, saute the onions, garlic, carrot, and cauliflower in the oil until the onions are glassy, but haven't started to brown. Add the curry powder, cumin, turmeric, lentils, peas, salt, and vegetable stock. Stir and reduce heat to a simmer for 10-15 minutes until cauliflower is tender but still firm. Serve over rice. (when cooking the 2 cups of lentils before hand, be careful not to over cook!)

Dogs Need Your Help!

A little over a year ago, UGA law professor Steve Shi and his wife Betsy learned of nearly 150 abandoned dogs on a property in North Georgia. These dogs were left in filthy pens outdoors, exposed to all weather extremes. Steve and a few others helped transport most of the dogs to no-kill shelters around the country. The Shis kept seven dogs in order to rehabilitate them to be able to later adopt them out to their forever homes. These dogs are very fearful because all they have known from humans is abuse. In order to help rehabilitate them, it is necessary for them to be exposed to kind people who will spend time with them in a calm and loving environment.

The Shis have set up a system where people come to their house and spend time with the dogs, taking them on walks, feeding them, and simply petting these animals. The dogs are still fearful and don't jump around and play with humans like other dogs do. It is evident that they are still uncomfortable when new people come to the house, but after you spend a few hours with them, they will relax and even let you touch them. The experience is very rewarding and you get to spend an afternoon with these amazing creatures. If you are interested in volunteering some of your time, please email Betsy Shi at betsy@shilaw.com

Bear Rescue Worldwide

Listen to a hour long radio program that aired today, discussing the plight of bears worldwide and what is being done to rescue them from abuse and to preserve their habitat.

To learn more about bear rescue worldwide, join Speak Out for Species Monday, November 12, for an event featuring Kartick Satyanarayan and Geeta Seshamani of Wildlife SOS, an Indian non-profit organization, who will be speaking about efforts to save India's rapidly-vanishing wildlife including the "dancing bears" of India.

Year of the Dog

If you like dogs, or any animal, really, may I please recommend Mike White's film Year of the Dog. I heard it was Mike White's apology for not being vegan. Anyway, it's a sweet story of Peggy (Molly Shannon) and her beloved dog, Pencil. When Pencil dies unexpectedly, Peggy's life takes many other unexpected turns: she gets into animal rights, goes vegan, and starts saving animals left and right. Those of us who are already will likely identify with Peggy during scenes with her uncomprehending family, and her coworkers who are afraid to eat her vegan cupcakes. Those who aren't yet vegan will appreciate the humor and humility of the film--it's not preachy, I swear!

It does seem, though, that Peggy goes through a bit of everything, almost becoming a hoarder and the stereotypical "crazy dog lady" at one point, but that's not necessarily a low point: we do see that hoarding is wrong and that we need to only take in as many companion animals as we can care for.

And anyway, with a writer/director like Mike White, and actors like Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Peter Sarsgaard, and John C. Reilly (who walked out of a stupid Lars Von Trier film in protest over a donkey being killed on set), you can't go wrong!

Red Lentils, Indian Style (Masoor Dhaal)

This lentil dish was one of the first dishes I made for my partner. He hates lentils, yet we're still together after 8 years. It must be that good.

Red lentils Indian style
(Masoor Dhaal with vegetables)

½ onion, chopped
3 green chiles, chopped (I used 2 fresh jalapeno peppers)
6 whole curry leaves (if you have them—if not, don’t worry!)
1.5 t ground coriander
1 t grated ginger or ginger pulp
1 t garlic pulp, or about 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
Some cayenne pepper, to your spice level
1.5 t salt
2 T oil

½ C red lentils
1 potato, coarsely diced

3 T chopped fresh cilantro
Some tomatoes, chopped (however many you want. The recipe called for 3, I used 3 cherry tomatoes and that was just fine.)
3 T lemon juice

Prepare all the ingredients (up to 2 T oil), and sautee them in the 2 T oil in a large saucepan on medium heat until the onion is at least translucent.

Chop the potato and wash the red lentils. Add them to the spices along with enough water to cover the ingredients. If I had to specify, I’d say at least 2 C water, because you definitely want to make sure those lentils cook all the way through. Bring to a low boil on medium heat, or lower heat if you need to. Cook for about, I don’t know, 20 minutes, until the lentils and the potato are done.

If you want to cook your cilantro, add it now. If not, just add the chopped tomatoes and lemon juice, and then add the cilantro as a topping to your final dish. I prefer fresh, not cooked, cilantro, so I added mine once I plated it.

I served this dish with some potatoes and cauliflower Indian style, as well as some brown rice cooked with a stick of cinnamon, 2 cardamom pods, and 2 whole cloves. (Do take those out before serving, though!)

Georgia Sea Turtle Center

Georgia now has a center devoted to the care of sick and injured sea turtles on Jekyll Island. Opening in June 2007, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center works to promote the conservation of sea turtles through rehabilitation, research, and education. Next time you are at the coast you should stop by and visit! More info on their blog about their activities.

Cage-Free Egg Campaign

The egg industry is one of the worst examples of animal cruelty in agribusiness. Millions of hens spend their lives in small battery cages packed so full that they cannot even stretch their wings, let alone engage in any other natural activity, such as nesting or foraging. Factory farm hen houses are made up of rows upon rows of these battery cages stacked one on top of the other. This set up results in waste from the chickens above falling on those below. These horrible conditions leave the hens in very poor health with hardly any veterinary care.

Cage-free facilities remove the cages and allow the hens to move about on the ground. The quality of life for these hens is so much better than those stuck in battery cages. They have more space to run around and socialize. Battery cages are so awful that the countries in the European Union, such as Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden are completely banning them. A few cities in the U.S., such as Cambridge, MA, West Palm Beach and New Port Richey, FL, are following suit. Big companies like Whole Foods, Earth Fare, and Ben&Jerry's have switched to exclusively using cage-free eggs. Over 160 universities are now serving cage-free eggs in their campus dining facilities.

SOS is trying to convince the University of Georgia Dining Services stop supporting the torture of these chickens in battery cages and switch to cage-free eggs. There are many things you can do to help: write a letter or an article for the Red&Black supporting cage-free eggs, write an email to the director of Dining Services J. Michael Floyd (mfloyd@uga.edu) requesting cage-free eggs or make the request on a Dining Services comment card located at all four campus dining halls. Also, you can make the switch in your own kitchen. Stop buying eggs that are the result of an inhumane practice. If there is a larger demand for cage-free eggs, battery-cage facilities will be phased out in favor of cage-free ones. We really can make a difference.

For more information on the Cage-Free Egg Campaign led by the Humane Society of the United States, go to http://www.hsus.org/farm/camp/nbe/