SoulVeggie

Book Review: "Off the Reservation" or "Hail to the Vegan President?"

Give or take a few wks., I've been vegan for 14 yrs. last month, and 20 yrs. vegetarian before that.  It started out as a spiritual/physical health "experiment," and evolved to incorporate environmental and animal rights issues.

For many, being vegan is a lifestyle choice, and not just a diet that omits meat, dairy, eggs, and honey (etc.).  For them it is an all-encompassing philosophy of how one live their life, relates to other living entities, and respects our common local and global environment. 

For those of us who've gone down this path, it hasn't always been easy.  In my earlier years, harassment or ridicule was often the case.  So-called nutritional authorities, food corporations, and even our government, seemed to co-conspire to make our lives as vegans a living hell of having to defend ourselves at every turn and go hungry at restaurants.

I can't imagine there isn't a self-professed vegan living who hasn't at one time or another, wondered what it would be like if the President of the United States (or an individual running for that office), was a true vegan.  How many of us were impressed, maybe even thrilled, when vegan Congressman Dennis Kucinich threw his hat into the Presidential race?  How many of us hoped that the values he expressed as a vegan would translate into better and more rational governmental policies?   

Even though he's not President, how many of us take pride in Bill Clinton has been trying hard to maintain a vegan diet?  How many of us didn't ponder on how the media and general population would respond to a philosophical approach and lifestyle so diametrically opposed to the average in this country?

The very talented author Glen Merzer has addressed these issues, and done so with creative flair, acute insight, and small measures of whimsy and wit scattered throughout.  His new novel, "Off the Reservation," could have been full of stereotypes, predictable confrontations, and a godawful lot of preaching.

Instead, he's accomplished a masterful feat of presenting a touching, moving, thought-provoking and intriguing story of the first vegan to win his party's Presidential nomination and the consequences before and after this unusual feat.  Glen wisely avoids the direct issue of diet until well into the story.  I write "wisely," as at first I was puzzled as to "why?"

Upon more reflection, I realized it was, in part I believe, because a person's diet shouldn't be an issue (something any vegan can fully relate to).  His political philosophies and rational reactions to political chaos and the governing of this country ARE the issues that are important.  In this day and age of a 24/7 news cycle and faster-than-light social media, the focus is often on the ephemeral and superficial, which is alluded to throughout the campaign.

It's a smart and subtle approach to the lead character, Evan Gorgoni.  A reader learns more about the man from his speeches, interviews, private introspections, and approach to running for office (originally deciding to not run for Congress again and go back to teaching), then realizing that he had deeper responsibilities and potentialities.  We learn much more about the man by the context of his life than a quick stereotype related to what he does and doesn't eat: 

"Congressman Gorgoni, why haven't you been open with the American people about your dietary inclinations?"

"I never imagined it was relevant.  If I get elected, I thought they'd be playing Hail to the Chief, not Hail to the Chef." (p. 158) 

A smart read, Glen's done his homework on parsing out the true solutions to the REAL problems besetting this country (and indeed, the world in general).  Simple answers to complex issues as posed in one debate denote an almost zen-like ability to break difficult issues into easy to, well, swallow solutions.  Throughout this book Evan remains steadfastly true to his internal integrity, despite intense differences of opinion with some of his closest friends, advisors, and family.

I don't want to be a spoiler to anyone not having read this marvelous novel.  However, it wouldn't spoil any surprises to note that one of the climaxes to this odessy is aptly entitled "The Speech."  Here are a few selected passages from Gorgoni's nomination acceptance speech (given off the cuff without a teleprompter).  It is awesome in scope, depth, and vision.  I urge Glen to release it as a standalone for printed and social media.  I'm only barely scratching the surface of this seriously amazing tome with the following excerpts: 

"...Folks, the time has long since come to declare an end to the age of ideology.  It is, quite frankly, a nuisance.  Let us stop thinking of ourselves as liberals or conservatives, Democrats or Republicans, hawks or doves, Keynesians or supply-siders, cat people or dog people, right-brained or left-brained, and let us remind ourselves that we are all human beings standing on a planet that is spinning on its axis and revolves around the sun.  Spinning and revolving.  Think of that.  It will be hard for many in Washington to understand this, but it is possible to do two things at once..." (p. 115)

 "...President Clinton famously said, 'it's the economy, stupid.'  I say, it's the food, stupid.  We need to eat healthier foods, and stop being the sickest, fattest population ever to walk the face of the earth.  Of course our health costs continue to skyrocket on a diet so extraordinarily rich, so dangerously high in fat, so preposterously high in sugars, and so tragically low in nutrients.  We can't go on eating the same lousy food and imagine that we will be saved by drugs and interventions.  That again is an arrogant fantasy. The elegant solution is always the the simplest one.  Eat healthy food..." (p. 117)

"...Our government has been in the business for generations now of subsidizin precisely the farmers who grow our unhealthiest food with the highest demands for water and energy.  That costs needs to stop now..." (p. 119)

"...I say to you with deep conviction in my soul, let us do away, totally, irreversibly, and permanently, with leaf blowers.  What a foul, execrable piece of machinery tht is.  To state what should be obvious to all, no human being should make his living wearing an internal combustion engine strapped onto his back.  It simply makes no sense to burn fossil fuels for the purpose of blowing leaves from one yard to the next..." (p. 121)

"...It's an age-old battle.  Greed versus decency.  Ignorance versus reason.  Intolerance versus inclusion.  Fear versus love.  I have chosen my side.  You have Election Day to choose yours..." (p. 131) 

"The Speech" is full of amazing raw, clarifying, and indisputable truths that are so often obfuscated or ignored by mainstream and social media.  Rational, connecting, and important perspectives on important issues generally not shown on TV.

It's obvious that Glen has put a tremendous amount of soul searching and effort into this thought-provoking and unique novel.  Even as he's been behind the scenes, so to speak, in co-authoring the landmark books "The Mad Cowboy" and "No More Bull!" with Howard Lyman, as well as "Food Over Medicine" with Dr. Pam Popper, "Unprocessed," with Chef AJ, and more books than I can list here, he's obviously been absorbing a lot of ideas and knowledge, and in this wonderful novel, steps up to the plate and hits a solid home run.

I will most likely read this book a second time, which doesn't happen to often these days.  The amount of subtleties, deep concepts, the underlying messages, and ideas presented are well worth re-visiting.  Again, "The Speech" alone, is worth the price of admission.

Oh, and I'd be remiss in not mentioning that the meals eaten by Evan and his family mentioned in the novel are presented as actual recipes by Glen's wife in a second section of the book.  How clever!  Another example of the creativity, thoughtfulness, and desire to help us all learn, think, and eat better for ourselves and our planet.

Kudos, Glen!  I recommend this novel highly.  It is not so much a "vegan" novel as it is a true inspiring "call to arms" and a rallying cry for rational approaches to solving society's (and indeed, our planet's) most serious problems.  A thoughtful thought experiment that explores the question of what if a truly rational politician ran for the highest office in the land.

And the amusing digs at a few prominent media commenters are also great sport (Chris Matthews beware).  Glen's sense of humor shows throughout this speculative journey.  Buy a copy and enjoy the ride!

BTW: "Off the Reservation" would make a great movie (hint to any smart producer out there....).

----------------

The website:

www.offthereservationnovel.com

Book available in print & e-book at:

http://bit.ly/OffTheReservationNovel 

The author on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/GlenMerzerAuthor

Short video of author speaking about being veg:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD1NoGqL-q0

3 Plant-Based "Cheese-like" Topping Recipes for Pizzas, & More

Three plant-based "cheese-like sauce" recipes that firm up on a pizza (or in pasta, etc.) from an article I wrote not published.  It was for the Engine2 Diet Blog and there were editorial differences of opinion on using low-quality snapshots of photos I spent hours on versus the higher quality supplied. Here's an edited version that shows how easy making a heart healthy pizza is, especially if you already have a crust prepared or purchased.  There's a link below to an article that includes my gluten-free oat crust recipe, the most popular of my gluten-free crust recipes.  Enjoy!

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"PIZZA CHEESE-LIKE TOPPING SAUCE RECIPES:  A PLANT-BASED TRIAD"  

One of the biggest problems with the Standard American Pizza (SAP!) is that according to recent surveys, the toppings most people prefer are (in order): pepperoni, cheese, and sausage. All of these animal products are very high in fat (in the case of pepperoni, surprisingly high in saturated fat), and the consumption of nutritionally sub-standard pizzas using these toppings will most likely contribute significantly to the development of any number of health problems for an individual (including, but not limited to, obesity, Type II Diabetes, and Coronary Vascular Disease).

Fortunately, it's very easy to make a plant-based pizza, one that doesn't employ meat, dairy, or high-fat oil-based high-processed "fake" non-dairy cheeses.  "Cheese-like" topping sauces providing excellent taste and texture profiles can be creatively made with simple and inexpensive ingredients. They "firm up" when baked!  Here's how it's done:

The basic method for making delicious and nutritious plant-based pizza topping sauces is to blend all selected ingredients in a blender or food processor, being careful to add the "harder" ingredients like nuts (if used), in incremental amounts with water, slowly achieving a smooth and thick pancake-like batter.

The sauce is then poured on the prepared pizza dough or crust (followed by vegetable fillings), or on top of vegetable fillings (in the same way some people prefer cheese on the "bottom" of a pizza, others, on top). When baked, the sauce will "thicken" to varying degrees, depending upon the recipe.

To finish, optionally sprinkle on such spices as ground black pepper or paprika, and put the pizza into a pre-heated 425 to 450 F. oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until your pizza fillings and toppings are cooked to your satisfaction. 

The following recipes were designed for pizzas generally containing a lot of "heat and spice" from their vegetable fillings, so plant-based pizza cooks may want to add more spices, a little salt, and/or herbs during the initial blending process.

 

MILLET, CASHEWS, & MUSTARD SAUCE

Cultivated for over 10,000 years, millet is a significant source of niacin, B6, and folic acid (B vitamins), as well as magnesium, calcium, iron, and zinc. In this recipe, millet combines with tasty cashews (containing manganese, phosphorus, and copper) to make a thick, almost custardy "cheese-like" topping sauce .

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups cooked millet (see recipe below)

• 1/3 cup raw, unsalted cashews

• 2 T. nutritional yeast (optional)

• 1 t. garlic powder

• 1 t. salt (optional)

• 3 T. corn starch

• 1/2 T. wet mustard

• 1 3/4 to 2 cups water

METHOD:

1. Process everything in a blender or food processor until the mixture is a smooth, thick pancake-like batter. Adding the water incrementally will help facilitate assessing the sauce's thickness as it's blending.

2. This is a longer processing due to amount of millet being used. 

NOTES:

• Using 1 3/4 cups of water yields a very thick sauce that makes nice "clumps" on top of a pizza, whereas more water will enable it to be poured easier from processing container.

• Dijon mustard will provide a tangy taste, while substituting chili-garlic "Sriracha" sauce adds a nice kick in addition to a reddish tinge.

• Left-over sauce plays well with cooked pasta, steamed vegetables, and baked potatoes.  You may need to thin it some with a little liquid of choice.

• Using raw sunflower seeds instead of cashews is an interesting and inexpensive substitute, as well as being a very good source of Vitamin E.  The sauce's texture profile will be a bit lighter, while still maintaining a nice taste feel.

• This makes around 3 cups of sauce.

COOKING MILLET: combine 2/3 cup millet with 1 1/3 cup water in a pot, bring to a slow boil, then turn heat down low.  Let simmer, covered, 15 to 20 minutes.  Note: this recipe differs from some in that it doesn't produce a very fluffy millet.  Yields about 2 cups cooked millet.

 

SWEET POTATO, OATS, CARROT, & GREEN CHILI SAUCE

Sweet Potatoes are a good source of Vitamins A and C, and manganese, while carrots double-down the overall nutrition with Vitamins A, C, and K.  Combined with oats, these three main ingredients not only bring fiber to the game, but help make this a somewhat "fluffy" topping sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup raw sweet potato (peeled, 1/2" dice)

• 1/2 cup carrots (1/4" dice)

• 2/3 cup rolled oats

• 4 oz. can chopped, diced chilies (undrained)

• 1 T. Dijon mustard (to taste) or 2 T. of nutritional yeast

• 2 T. corn starch

• 1 to 1 1/4 cup water (water plus leftover cooking broth)

METHOD:

1. Cover potatoes and carrots with water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, and let simmer for a few minutes until "fork tender." Remove cover, let cool.

2. Add drained vegetables and remaining ingredients to a blender or food processor, reserving the water.

3. Add liquid in incremental amounts, blending carefully until a smooth and thick pancake-like batter consistency has been achieved.

NOTE:

• This recipe makes more than enough sauce for two 12" to 14" pizzas (around 3 1/2 cups).

• Experimenting with adding different types of mustards or other condiments is encouraged.

 

BARLEY, WHITE BEANS, & HORSERADISH SAUCE

More than 1,800 years ago the gladiators of Rome were known as "hordearii" (literally, barley-eaters). They were vegetarians by choice!  Preferring to fuel themselves with barley and legumes, they took advantage of the fiber, iron, niacin, and manganese in barley with the protein, fiber, folate, and potassium in beans. This thick and filling topping sauce does, too. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3 cup pearl barley

• 1 1/4 cup water

• 1 cup cooked white beans

• 2 T. corn starch

• 1/2 T. prepared horseradish

• 1/2 T. wet mustard (optional)

• 3/4 cup water 

METHOD:

1. Rinse and drain the beans (to remove any salt).

2. Bring 1 1/4 cup water and barley to a boil, cover, turn down to very low, simmer, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes or less (until the water is absorbed). Let cool to room temperature.

3. Add all ingredients except the water to a blender or food processor, pulse a few times, and add half the water, pulse, and then the remaining water to blend until it's a smooth and thick pancake-like batter. 

NOTE:

• Makes enough sauce for two 12 to 14" inch pizzas (around 3 cups).

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

For a gluten-free oat flour pizza dough recipe, see:

http://www.hearthealthypizza.com/PSPCache.010.html 

Photos and text all ©2014 by Mark Sutton. These recipes are variations from those first published in: "Heart Healthy Pizza: Over 100 Plant-Based Recipes for Making the Healthiest Pizza in the World," 

http://www.hearthealthypizza.com • [email protected]

Victoria Moran Interview: Happy Cow, Jill Nussinow, & Me

Victoria Moran ("Main Street Vegan") interviewed Eric Brent (Happy Cow), myself (Heart Healthy Pizza), and Jill Nussinow (aka, "The Veggie Queen" and author of the cookbooks "CHAMPs" & "The New Fast Food") just over a week ago.  I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Eric and Jill, and my session with Victoria covered much more than my book (my relationship with Howard Lyman, aka, "The Mad Cowboy," diet, nutrition, yadda).  The audio of the interview is now available at the link below as a streaming file or a downloadable mp3.  Enjoy!  I hope to do it again with Ms. Moran... she's quite articulate, interesting, and knowledgable.  There are many excellent interviews in her archive, which I highly recommend.

The Interview entitled "Food, Glorious Food" here!

 

Pizza Cookbook Review & FREE Giveaway

"VeganRunnerEats" reviews "Heart Healthy Pizza," offers FREE book giveaway.  Some great photos, I'll post the recipes later this week (in the process of moving domiciles). Check it out: http://wp.me/p3LYmB-FV  Here's one of her photos:

Interviews: The NotMilkMan & Natural Disaster Preparedness

Robert Cohen is a vegan original. Brilliant, hardcare animal rights, & one of the 1st to publish and speak out loud about the dangers of drinking cow milk.  His daily "notmilk" column inspired me to go vegan (pus cells), start the largest vegan Yahoo Group (The Mad Cowboy Newsletter), start one of the 1st vegan blogs (this one), and write the first vegan pizza cookbook.  How wonderful that he gets two sessions with Dr. Don. Here's the link to the audio stream as well as a downloadable mp3. Robert has to be heard.

Also, a few weeks ago, I did a radio broadcast with Dr. Don on "Natural Disaster Preparedness," also touching on the vegan perspective of same.  We talked little about my book and, imho, there's a lot of useful information and tips for people.  At the time of the broadcast, I was snowed in!  Here's a link to the audio stream and downloadable mp3.

Finally, glom the rest of Dr. Don's archives.  He's interviewed some of the best, ever, regarding living a truly healthy life. Campbell, Esselstyn, Barnard, McDougall, Klapper, cookbook authors galore, and more.

The "Healthy Librarian Interview"

The Healthy Librarian has been an inspiration to me for years, and constantly impresses with analysis and interpretation of current studies on nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.

A little over a year ago she interviewed me, and it was long.  Since then, our lives have been quite busy and she was unable to finish the project.  Over the past couple of weeks, I've been able to complete the work and just now posted the results.  She asked some great questions that I've not been asked before in a public forum.  We talked about my relationship with Howard Lyman (the Mad Cowboy), my diet, my youth/family, many aspects about my book, how I came up with my "non-cheese" sauces and why I wrote the 1st vegan pizza cookbook, my screwing with the FDA, interacting with various vegan cookbook authors, and much much more.

Here's the primary link to the, admittedly, long interview (broken down into 4 parts). 

http://www.hearthealthypizza.com/14_0223_HHLMSSiview01.html

I've embedded many hyperlinks to make it easy to learn more about what we were talking about.  It's the most detailed and informative interview I've ever given, and might be of interest.

A great experience... she's an impressive soul, and gave me full permission to post this all.  

Thanks, Deb!

Enjoy!

 

Review & Free Giveaway: "The China Study Cookbook"

As one of the handful of cookbook authors who've published a cookbook of plant-based recipes with no added oil and minimal to optional salt and sugar, it is always wonderful to have the opportunity to review another author's work in this growing "genre."  I've been no-added oil for seven years this month (from interviewing Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn).  There is ample and growing evidence that added oil is highly detrimental to human health and definitive proof that one's taste buds can be re-calibrated, the addiction conquered, by avoiding oil altogether.  Still, it surprises me how many people in the veg community really get upset by these facts and often express vitriolic skepticism reminiscent of the reactions of those who still eat meat when confronted with evidence of the several reasons to avoid meat.

In his amazing book (my review), "Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition," Dr. T. Colin Campbell (co-author of "The China Study" about his discoveries managing history's largest study on diet and researcher with over 350 mostly peer reviewed scientific articles published) manages to distill his recommendations for the best diet into just 66 words:

"Consume plant-based foods in forms as close to their natural state as possible ("whole" foods).  Eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, raw nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, and whole grains.  Avoid heavily processed foods and animal products.  Stay away from added salt, oil, and sugar.  Aim to get 80 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, 10 percent from fat, and 10 percent from protein."  (p. 07)

He calls it the "Whole Foods Plant-Based" diet (WFPB).  Dr. Campbell is part of a growing chorus and scientific consensus, spearheaded in part (but not exclusively), by Drs. Caldwell Esselstyn (reversing heart disease), Neal Barnard (reversing diabetes), and John McDougall, about the incredible protective and curative effects of a WFPB diet.

So, imagine how delighted I was to receive a copy of his daughter's new book, "The China Study Cookbook" (by LeAnne Campbell, Phd.).  Without mincing words, I have to acknowledge up front, that it's a marvelous effort.  Many of the beauties of this cookbook are subtle, but having been through the fires of writing a WFPB-based cookbook myself, I'm able to recognize the incredible thought, creativity, and mindfulness that Leanne has put into her book.  It is worthy of the statement on the front cover, the "Official Companion to The China Study."

Chock full of over 120 recipes, "The China Study Cookbook" is more than a cookbook.  Although that might sound cliche, it truly isn't.  The book is beautifully organized and well-structured, providing a lot of detailed information about diet and disease, nutrition, stocking your pantry, storage and preparation of food, tips on using no oil and less sugar and salt, substitutions, raising children to consume a WFPB diet, transitioning to a WFPB diet, and even recommended "Chef's Tools"...  all of this BEFORE you get to the recipes!! 

The recipes are listed by category in the Table of Contents, which is excellent, and the Index is based on ingredients.  This has all been very well thought out.  For my own self-published book, I spent at least a month working on a Recipes Index and an Ingredients Index.  Why?  Just as Leanne undoubtedly knew, they save time and effort in searching for what you want to cook and how to do it.  Also worth noting: the recipe categories are: Breads & Muffins, Breakfast Dishes, Appetizers & Salads, Soups, Sandwiches, Entrees, Side Dishes, and Desserts.  

Leanne engaged her whole family to assist with this project.  That she's a busy mother AND a very busy professional (as her father proudly notes in the "Foreward") shows in the construction of the recipes as well as she's, ahem, taken the time to note the estimate "Preparation Time" for each recipe.  There are also "icons" under the title of each recipe that represent one of 8 categories of whole plants: Fruits, Grains, Leaves, Roots, Legumes, Flowers, Nuts, and Mushrooms.  A most useful approach.

So, by now you might be thinking "get to the main issue, Mark, how are the recipes?" 

I found them to be creative, designed with obvious care, and extremely well written such that a novice in the plant-based kitchen will have no trouble making very very tasty dishes.  That these are so delicious is a real testimony to Leanne's ability.  Many of the WFPB recipes with no-oil, etc., in some of the other cookbooks I've read are, well, sometimes bland, derivative of others, and don't show the attention to detail and care that these do.  Accustomed to seeing lesser efforts (not always, but too often), I was pleasantly surprised by how excellent and diverse her recipes are.

BOTTOM LINE: as a vegan for 12 years (vegetarian for 20 years before that), no-oil for 7 years, from being a cookbook author AND proud owner of some 500+ cookbooks (at last count, that's probably an underestimate), I do NOT hesitate to recommend this book.  

It will be quite useful to anyone wanting to explore a WFPB diet, and especially for busy professionals and Moms everywhere who want to make the healthiest meals possible for their families.  This book and versatile recipes will be of great help to anyone wanting move towards on a new path of true health, without the degenerate diseases Modern Science unfortunately believes are inevitable.

As her father (and others) have proven they are not inevitable, LeAnne and her family have proven how to implement his recommendations with style, taste, enjoyment, and ease.

This is truly a unique and important contribution to the growing Whole Foods Plant-Based Diet movement, and I sincerely hope that she finds the time to produce another cookbook.  Finally, I've a hopeful hunch there's a lot more yet to be seen from all the Campbells!  What a family!!

CONTEST RESULTS! Congratulations to Jim Olichwier for winning the luck of the draw and a copy of the China Study Cookbook!

SPECIAL CONTEST: Dr. Campbell's publisher, BenBella Books, is sponsoring a FREE giveaway of this book to the winner (selected at random) of the following contest.  To enter, leave a comment below describing why you are interested in an WFPB diet and what prompted your interested in it as well as this book.  Be sure to include your e-mail address (won't be shown).  Deadline for comments:  Tuesday, February 25th, 11:59 pm est.

Below are two recipes from "The China Study Cookbook" that help showcase Dr. Campbell's considerable "chops!"  All are ©2013 by LeAnne Campbell.

 

SCRUMPTIOUS BAKED VEGETABLES WITH FRESH SPINACH

Preparation Time:  25 minutes   Baking Time:  20 minutes

Makes 6-8 Servings

 

FOR THE BAKED VEGETABLES:

1 medium onion, sliced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and julienned

1 sweet potato, cut into bit-sized pieces

1 head broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 pound mushrooms

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1 medium zucchini, sliced

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Sea salt and black pepper

8 cups fresh spinach

2 cups cooked brown rice

 

FOR THE SAUCE:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup almond slivers

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice  [I used lemon juice]

1 teaspoon thyme, dried

1 teaspoon basil, dried

1 teaspoon rosemary, dried

1 clove garlic, minced

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Prepare all vegetables except the spinach and place in a large baking pan lined with parchment paper.  Sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper.  Bake vegetables for 20 minutes.

2) While vegetables are cooking, whisk together all sauce ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.

3) Place spinach in a large serving bowl.  Combine cooked vegetables and sauce.  Serve warm over spinach and brown rice.

[MSS NOTES:  a versatile recipe that can easily be modified to fit with the veggies in your 'frig.  I like the sauce used, as well as the idea of putting the roasted veggies over spinach (which will wilt the spinach quite nicely).  This recipe shows a generic approach to cooking veggies without oil and, imho, is a very important one.  A variation of her method was my "go to" during some of the busiest periods of my recent life, and now that I've got the sauce recipe, yeeha!]

 

APPLE GINGERBREAD UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Preparation Time:  20 minutes    Baking Time:  35 to 40 minutes

Makes 8 Servings

1/2 cup water, divided

3 medium MacIntosh (or other tart) apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1.2 cup unsweetened applesauce

2/3 cup molasses

2 egg replacers (2 tablespoons ground flaxseed meal with 6 tablespoons water)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Put apples in medium saucepan with 1/4 cup water.  Cover and cook 3-4 minutes over medium heat, until soft.  Add maple syrup and stir to combine.

3) In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt.  Set aside.

4) In a separate bowl, mix applesauce, molasses, egg replacers, vanilla, and 1/4 cup water.  Add to dry ingredients and mix well.

5) Spread cooked apple-maple syrup mixture evenly on the bottom of a 9x9 nonstick baking dish.  Pour batter over apples.

6) Bake uncovered for about 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the gingerbread comes out clean.

7) While cake is still warm, place a serving plate over cake pan and carefully turn the cake over so it comes out onto the plate.  Serve warm.

[MSS NOTES:  if you're missing a few of the spices, add a little bit more of the ones you do have.  Great recipe that proves you don't need fat and a lot of sugar to make a fine and delectable dessert.]

Review of "Whole" (Campbell) & FREE Giveaway of Same

Books that significantly change your life don't come around all that too often.  A handful of the ones that come to mind for me are "The Mad Cowboy," by Howard Lyman, "Diet for a Small Planet," (Francis Moore Lappe), "Diet for a New America," (John Robbins) "Vegan Planet," (Robin Robertson), "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease," (Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn), and "The China Study" (Dr. T. Colin Campbell). 

I was most intrigued when receiving a copy of "Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition" by Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Howard Jacobson.  I mean, can they possibly top "China Study" in impact, new nutritional realities, dietary insight, and health perspectives?

I read the book twice, in part in preparation for my interview the co-author (yet to be transcribed and published due to technical problems), and primarily as it's a stunning read.  Comparing "China Study" to "Whole" would be folly.  They are two entirely different masterpieces.  The 1st, a very detailed technical scientific report, if you will, from the Director of history's largest study on diet.  It's how, why, and what it means.  The indisputable (in my mind at least) conclusion that animal casein facilitates and enables cancer and heart disease (among other health problems), is mind-blowing. 

"Whole" however, is more philosophical in tone, a more accessible read (thanks to the co-author), and in many ways, a summation of what Dr. Campbell has learned from the experiences of the China Study, his entire career, the media tour, the medical industrial establishment, and is a finely tuned critique of the problems that keep people from embracing the demonstrable restorative and preventative value of a whole foods plant-based diet (WFPB).  It chronicles this stellar scientist's journey from the highest government and academic levels of health-related research, his early "daze" of reductionism, to now embracing a "wholistic" view of nutrition and what that means for society.  

Dr. Campbell's paradigm isn't new:  mystics, philosophers, new age practitioners, and quantum physicists, as but a few examples, have all embraced the concepts of everything being interconnected and synergistic in processes where the "whole" is greater than the sum of the parts.

What IS new, however, is Dr. Campbell's superbly trained mind and powerful insight carefully, and with a surgeon's precision, dissecting all the mistaken perspectives/values/money spent in research, corporations, the health care industry, government, and mass media, until the conclusion he presents is inescapable.  He points out tirelessly, how the collective reductionist paradigm is not solving our health problems, but in fact, make things worse.

One of the most stunning revelations in this book is the (soon to be infamous) study by a colleague of his on the amount of Vitamin C in a single apple.

"...the specific chemical we refer to as vitamin C accounts for much less than 1 percent of the vitamin C-like activity in the apple --- a minuscule amount.  The other 99-plus percent of this activity ["an astounding 236 times as potent as the same amount of the isolated chemical!"] is due to other vitamin C-like chemicals in the apple, the possible ability of vitamin C to be much more effective in context of the whole apple than it is when consumed in an isolated form, or both."  (p. 153)

With 4.5 billion years of evolution, our bodies have developed the means to extract exactly what it needs from plants,in both quality and quantity, and synergistically build on that input to nutrients and vitality superior to the original input.  An absolutely fascinating discovery and it has a wide range of implications in regards to nutrition and human diet/health.  

WFPB: the summarized prudent dietary strategy, as exemplified in Dr. Campbell's summation (see below) is to, in my words, consume as diverse and many multi-colored vegetable, fruit and plant-based foods as you can, and let your body figure out what to use, and dispose of.

Dr. Campbell's marvelously succinct description of what his and other's research is that the best diet you can effect follows:

"Consume plant-based foods in forms as close to their natural state as possible ("whole" foods).  Eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, raw nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, and whole grains.  Avoid heavily processed foods and animal products.  Stay away from added salt, oil, and sugar.  Aim to get 80 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, 10 percent from fat, and 10 percent from protein."  (p. 07)

Everyone should memorize the above words, as they are subtle in text, but profound in terms of your health. 

Furthermore, Dr. Campbell, as does Dr. Neal Barnard in "Power Foods for the Brain," comes down hard on the issue of supplements.  Not how the body works.  They are ill-considered, make no sense from a wholistic paradigm's perspective, and can easily cause more harm than good.  Ironic that a few weeks ago the Feds came out with a major study saying that supplements have no serious benefit (other than B12, maybe Vitamin D on occasion).  It's a reductionist view that we can add "X" to get "Y." 

I could go on for "pages and pages" about this superb effort. The old story of blind men studying an elephant was so incredibly apt for what he wanted to explain.  Modern scientific research (and funding) is akin to these individuals attempting to comprehend what an elephant is by, for example, studying the ears, or just the trunk.  Marvelous way to explain what's going on and why this approach is conceptually myopic. 

"I can't think of a better metaphor to highlight the big problem with scientific research today.  Except that instead of six blind men, modern science tasks 60,000 researchers to examine the elephant, each through a different lens... [the] researchers don't talk to one another or acknowledge that the overall goal of the exploration is to perceive and appreciate the whole elephant."  (p. 851, 853) 

Suffice it to say, it you want to understand WHY we are in the health mess we're in, the implications, the waste of time and money focusing on genetics, and the incredible curative and preventative value of a WFPB diet, this book is mandatory reading.  This book is a magnum opus: the culmination of over 50 years of the highest level of scientific research (both government and academia) and the brilliance of a man who's internal integrity forced him to question his previous assumptions and follow the truth as it unfolded.  People, he's published over 350 mostly peer-reviewed studies.

He has the cojone to lay out his life's efforts and show how he was wrong, and what he's come to understand from the realities in his subsequent research and deliberate integration into what it all truly means.  A totally thoughtful, intelligent, and unassailable analysis of the "disease-caring" industry and why it must change.  He is, indeed, "re-thinking" nutrition with the scientific caliber of few alive today.  His perspectives demand attention.

I'm just so impressed.  It's a wonderful read, and I recommend it highly for anyone who wants a "whole" view of the problems of health in our society, and particularly, for any health professional who REALLY wants to help people help themselves, as well as the individual who wants to foster good health, knowing that a WFPB diet will get them there. 

And yes, this book has had a major impact on how I view the world, health, diet, and society.  Somehow, for me, he's done it twice with his first two books, and I dearly hope there's more to come.  IMHO, there needs to be two statues in front of the National Institute of Health: one of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn (whom Dr. Campbell notes did one of the most incredible research studies ever accomplished, reversing heart disease), and Dr. Campbell himself.

These are two scientists that should be put out in front of the building to inspire future researchers and remind us (and everyone entering and exiting that prestigious institution), that true revolutions in thinking and saving human lives are not always loud or corporate-funded, but they can be quietly persistent, and "whole."  The work of both of these individuals has the potential of saving, literally, millions of lives from long-term degenerative diseases that need not exist.

With "Whole," Dr. Campbell provides a deeply penetrating, experienced, and encompassing "thought umbrella" to understand how to avoid the mis-information raining down on use from media, government, corporate, and academic sources, and instead, shine with the time-tested knowledge of how a whole foods plant-based diet can cure, prevent, and promote a truly healthy life.  I cannot recommend this book any more highly than I just have (especiall to all medical students or anyone involved with health and nutrition).  With regards to Dr. Campbell's two books, IMHO, lightning has, indeed, struck twice.

"• What you eat every day is a far more determinant of your health than your DNA or most of the nasty chemicals lurking in your environment

• The foods you consume can heal you faster and more profoundly than the most expensive prescription drugs, and more dramatically than the most extreme surgical interventions, with only positive side effects.

• It's never too late to start eating well."  (p06) 

My sincere thanks to BenBella (publishers of "Whole" and many other fine books) for sending me a copy for review, as well as offering to sponsor the giveaway of a FREE copy of "Whole" for the lucky winner.

RULES:  leave a comment on this blog (w/ e-mail address) telling us the most important event, book, person, whatever, that enabled your epiphany to give up animal protein and embrace a plant-based diet.  Doesn't have to be long, spelling won't count!  Deadline for entries is Tuesday, February 11th, 11:59pm est.  The winner will be selected at random.  I'll send the winner an e-mail requesting a physical mailing address on the 12th.

Go for it!

[Extra Credit:  check out Dr. Don Wagner's excellent interview with Dr. Campbell about "Whole" from last month.  Available (free) as a streaming/downloadable audio here.]

AND WE HAVE A WINNER!  Here's what she wrote to earn her free hardback copy.

"Hello, my name is Monica Cameli and I am 56 years old and when I was 7 years old, my mother remarried and we went to visit my new step dads brother on a farm. My sister and I went with our new cousins who were the same age as us to the 'slaughter house'. I had no idea what we were walking in to. Every time I tell this story, I can see it, smell it, and hear the animals crying for their lives! That experience is what started me on my vegan journey. It's taken many years to figure out how to eat right, though. Thankfully, I've heard Dr. Esselstyn speak twice and have read many good books within the last few years to help me along in this journey.."

Next week: a review and free giveaway of "The China Study Cookbook!"

Special! 200 Recipes: "No More Bull" (H. Lyman) & HHPizza Together!

While going through some boxes in my office, I found a box full of "No More Bull!" books by Howard Layman, aka, "The Mad Cowboy" (see description below). I helped edit this book, as well as select and manage the recipe section.

What a time interacting with some of the top vegan chefs ever! I've decided to share my find.

With Howard's permission, I'm offering a copy of "No More Bull!" and MY book (the 1st vegan pizza cook book) "Heart Healthy Pizza: Over 100 Plant-Based Recipes for the Healthiest Pizza in the World" for a special discount. I'm willing to autograph either or both. 

You get around 220 vegan recipes. 

"NO MORE BULL! The Mad Cowboy Targets America's Worst Enemy: Our Diet" by Howard Lyman with Glen Merzer & Joanna Samorow-Merzer 

"Howard Lyman, who told the story of his transition from cattle rancher to vegetarian in Mad Cowboy, exposes the flimsy lies sustaining the meat industry in this new volume.  With an update on the Mad Cow threat, an eye-opening discussion of the link between Alzheimer's and meat consumption, and a raucous dissection of the folly of high-protein diets, "No More Bull!" makes the case for a plant-based diet as clearly and powerfully as it's ever been made. 

Features over 100 vegan recipes from Howard's friends, cookbook authors, award-winning chefs, and easy-to-follow tips for those transitioning to a vegan or plant-based diet. 

Includes recipes from Robin Robertson, Nava Atlas, Chef Ron Pickarski, Chef Ken Bergeron, Bryanna Clark Grogan, Dr. Neal Barnard (President, PCRM), Brenda Davis, Chef Beverly Lynn Bennett, Patricia Bertron, Dr. T. Colin Campbell ("The China Study"), Albert Chase, Robert Cohen (the NotMilkMan), Joseph Connelly (VegNews), Sally Errey, JoAnn Farb, Dr. Alan Goldhamer ("The Pleasure Trap"), Dr. Michael Greger (Nutrtionfacts.org), Francis Moore Lappe ("Diet for a Small Planet"), Dr. John and Mary McDougall, Vesanto Messina, Marie Oser, Tanya Petrovna (founder, "Native Foods"), Jennifer Raymond, Jo Stepaniak ("The UnCheese Cookbook," Larry Wheat (Owner of the "Millenium Restaurant"), and many more! 

Pass this unique deal around.  You can learn more at:

http://www.hearthealthypizza.com/NMBHHP.html

 

The "Go Vegan Radio" Interview!

My 1st National Radio Interview w/Bob Linden on "Go Vegan Radio" is now available for streaming or an MP3 download:

http://www.goveganradio.com/2013/12/11/8-december-2013/

It was a great experience, although the 5 minutes on, 4 minutes of commercials (cut out in these audios, 'cept for a plug or two by Bob), 5 minutes back on, 4 minutes of commercials, etc., threw me initially.  I was honored that the previous speaker, Dr. Gary Francione, well-known academic and animal rights activist, mentioned that he just bought my book and was excited to receive it!  So cool.  Gary ends his bit mentioning my book around 42:11 and Bob segues into my interview.

Many thanks to Bob for the opportunity, and to Gary for really making my day!

P.S. - you can get an autographed sent to you at a special Holidaze Discount here.

"The Devolution of Thanksgiving" - my lecture to Olgethorpe University

"My recent lecture. The History of Thanksgiving, fasting/prayer, corporate excess, the modern turkey, the kitchen as a biohazard laboratory, a no-fat plant-based diet, veganism, metabolic syndrome (heart disease, type II diabetes, alzheimer's disease, etc.), pesticides, gmos, advice for dealing with Thanksgiving, and a host of other related issues.  Roughly a 35 minute talk, and I cut loose a bit in the subsequent 30 minute Q&A.

This slideshow accompanying the audio (the lecture was given via Skype) was a quick'n'dirty assembly of related images to the topics I was discussing.  By no means comprehensive, they seem to augment the whole experience." 

"A Vegan Should Be Able To...."

A re-post from 2007.

2007.10.11

A Vegan Should Be Able To:

The following is one of my all-time favorite quotes ('cept the hog bit).  In mentioning it to a friend yesterday, I had intended to just post it on this blog without much comment:

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." ---Lazarus Long in "Time Enough For Love," by Robert Heinlein.

However, upon reflection, I thought maybe I could write a quick "vegan" version.  Normally I'd wait a day or more to review and re-edit, but we're having an extended harvest due to warm weather and I've too much else "on my plate" (actually, the 50lbs. of tomatoes are in boxes on the floor).  So, here it is as it is for now:

"A vegan should be able to:  press a block of tofu, roast vegetables, sprout beans, grains, and seeds, grow vegetables and herbs from seed, harvest lettuce or greens, water or pressure can produce, bake homemade bread, create a stir-fry from scratch in a friend's kitchen, boil three kinds of grains successfully without a recipe, make seitan, saute stuff without using oil, use rice or soy milk to make a thickened sauce, own a crockpot, blend a good pesto, eat a variety of colors every day, wash salad greens, mix an ad-hoc low-fat salad dressing, cook more than two kinds beans and grain dishes, know three types of "egg replacers" for recipes, use nutritional yeast, list plant sources of Omega 3 and calcium, suggest alternatives to ingredients on a restaurant's menu, answer the question "why are you vegan?" or correct the protein myths in 30 seconds or less, identify trans-fats and "hidden" dairy products on labels, comprehend what "calores from fat" means and why that's important, cite some environmental statistics regarding factory farming and modern food production when asked in line at the supermarket, remember at least three websites to recommend for aspiring vegans or vegetarians, vocalize the problems with dairy and cheese if asked to, have listened to or seen at least one talk by Howard Lyman, summarize Dr. Cauldwell Esselstyn's research and McDougall's Diet recommendations, have read a NotMilk column by Robert Cohen, have attended a Veg'n'-related Conference, design a flyer, write a convincing "letter to the editor," laugh often and for the right reasons, stop and smell some flowers, listen gracefully, be non-judgemental as much as possible, encourage all healthy eating habits, never stop learning, do volunteer work for a worthy cause, help build relationships in the veg'n community where you live, make love often, be polite to your carnivorous friends and family members, place a small footprint in the environment, then ultimately die peacefully with the knowledge that you made a difference..." --- Mark Sutton

Feel free to pass it around, but please include @2007 by Mark Sutton, and the address of this blog with the quote.  Thanks!

 

Audio: Orson Welles Meets "Vegan World"

Dr. Don Wagner and I did an "Orson Welles War of the Worlds" in a radio interview last week, with the concept of "what if the world went vegan last night?" 

It was quite the improv experience. 1st few minutes, my book, the rest, a "thought experiment" in real-time on what the implications would be for the planet and global society.  Apparently, some listeners actually thought it had happened and went looking online social media for reference to the event!

It's about 45 minutes streamed or as an MP3 audio download:

Don and I had talked about the possibility the night before, and I said, "sure, you lead, I'll follow."  We were basing the idea upon a recent blog anniversary essay I wrote, "While You Were Sleeping..." 

A wild ride ensued.  We covered, among other things, farm animals, Global  Climate Change, water, companion animals and cancer, the entertainment industry, the health profession, the military-industrial complex, and more. Don has interviewed so many "biggies" the past several years (Barnard, Esselstyn, Tuttle, Goldhamer, Greger, etc.) and was quite knowledgeable and obviously "on fire" during the discussion.

In many ways the interactions encapsulated some distilled essences of many of those interviews and what he's learned in his efforts to "change the way we eat, and in effect, change the world." We riffed on a war between two worlds: plant-based and current.

My thanks to Dr. Don for a wonderful bit of time thinking about the future, and the fun we had.  It was a tightrope walk, and I'm honored to have been on the rope with him.  We all DO need to ponder about and plan for the future inevitability of most of the planet being whole foods plant-based.  It's gonna happen.

Check out his archives for so many marvelous and informative interviews (over 600 he's done, don't know how many are in the archives) with authors, nutritionists, scientists, and movers'n'shakers swimming upstream society's river of ignorance.  You won't be disappointed.

While you were sleeping...

BTW:  you might have missed this, but the entire world adopted a "plant-based" diet last night.  This has freaked-out global markets and promoted high-level fiscal concern for most countries as economies across the world are now drastically collapsing; billions of people are suddenly without work, and small farmers don't have the capacity to deal with the demand for whole, unprocessed, non-GMO'd, real food.  Issues of what to do with, literally, billions of tortured factory farmed animals is suddenly a major concern on many levels.

It's not clear what the cognitive tipping point was in helping people understand that the best medicine for most of what ails them is preventative and restorative from whole, unprocessed, real food.  Certainly Drs. Caldwell Esselstyn, John McDougall, Neal Barnard, Michael Greger, Fuhrman, and T. Colin Campbell, among others, may be culpable in their dedicated, scientifically documented, and tirelessly consistent efforts to point out that a plant-based diet can effectively prevent, let alone reverse, many types of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and hyper-tension in humanoids.  They been ridiculed for years, and maybe now they'll get the praise they deserve for swimming up the so-called nutritional knowledge stream for so many years.

However, the sudden collective recognition and ability to separate emotional attachment to food from logical recognition of nutritional value and source implications of what we consume, has staggered the industrial-food complex.  They cannot make money on whole plant-based foods, without adding, to varying degrees, oil, sugar, and salt... these food-like products proven to be tremendously detrimental to human long-term health.  Their corporate holdings are now collapsing as fast as an artery with an ill-fit heart valve stent.

The impact of so many people consuming primarily healthy whole foods, eschewing processed food-like products, and embracing a wholistic plant-based dietary lifestyle has been devastating to the financial and political status quo.  Millions of people in restaurants, support businesses, and fast food venues are being laid off, while said businesses must close their doors from lack of customer interest and purchase.  They were not ready for what obviously had to happen, they were not prepared.  There was no long-term strategy based upon the many nutritional realities that have emerged over the past decade. The Health Care Industry is possibly beyond repair.

Civilization, as we conceive of it, has been irrevocably transformed, and the resulting implications cross across literally all human devices, endeavors, and support systems.  What we eat is fundamental to our existence, and the food corporations have been messing with the concept in irresponsible manners long enough, solely concerned for short-term profits and not long-term health.  Their bluff has been called, they cannot force us to buy their products.

Even so, we be in deep nitrogenous do-do, people.  And we must get past our collective political, mental, and emotional biases to deal with this serious New Reality.  Politicians grandstanding on TeeVee eating cheese, drinking milk, and gnawing on steaks isn't going to change this inevitability nor sway us from the understanding and final awareness that meat, dairy, and highly processed food, are killing us by the millions.

It's not going to be easy, such a mega-paradigm shift is going to generate a lot of collateral damage in the manifestation process.  But given the stakes at hand, the entire human race and the ability of our planet to support carbon-based lifeforms, it's abundantly clear that we have no choice.

We have to transcend.  We have to accept transformation of our consciousness from one predicated by lower-based taste addictions to one embracing our knowledge of a healthier way to live, to thrive, and to love.

We... just... have... no... choice...

Namaste, Mark

[This is my personal "Happy Anniversary" post... as one of the very first vegan bloggers, today "marks" my 8 year anniversary.  I started my blog to (1) promote a plant-based diet, (2) communicate well-referenced and related scientific studies/evidence supporting such, (3) to force myself to write regularly (which led, eventually, to my book), and (4) to torque people and organizations when I deemed it necessary.  Of course, too, it became a wonderful vehicle for ranting on occasion, but also, as I've learned, a vehicle for personal transformation of sorts.  I do apologize, somewhat, to those I've pissed off in the process of growing up.

The post above is an "Einstein Thought Experiment" of sorts, and, I believe, suggests all kinds of interesting implications.  As noted in a recent interview, I LIKE TO THINK.  We all need to think more about the ramifications of our belief structures.  I obviously don't have all the answers, which also upsets me at times, as we are collectively headed for a major global conflaguration involving lifestyle, the environment, the animals, and the ability of our planet to support carbon-based lifeforms.  It's going to happen, of this there is no doubt.  

Are we going to be prepared?  That's the really tough question.  It's the question that Congress should be answering, i.e., our water, air, soil, health, and food, in the future, instead of spending an absolutely assinine and absurd amount of time passing over 40 bills to de-fund something, Obamacare, that they cannot do.

Anyway, as a personal indulgence for a day or two, here's a couple of links to some of my favorite posts the past 8 years, along with a link to a special short-term discount for purchasing an autographed copy of my book.

I hope to be around in another 8 years to see what's happened, how I've hopefully grown, and that maybe this civilization can start acting as though they've been blessed by their very existence instead of abusing same.  You are what you eat and don't excrete, to put it bluntly.  The human body has had 4.5 billion years of testing to learn how to optimize good matter input into long-term health.  That conclusion has become inescapable, and imho, is of vital importance to our species if we're going to be around here in any significant numbers several years from now.  We MUST embrace these changes in thinking.  We literally "have no choice."

I love you all.... Mark

 About the Hex Globe

"The Milk Cellar at Chez Ignorante" 

"My Sojourn to Burger King"

"Heart goes BAM!"

"My Vegan Tipping Point"

"Identify This Vegetable and Win Something"

"The Experimental G-BOMBS V-12 Pizza Prototype"

A Special "Heart Healthy Pizza" Cookbook Anniversary Discount

 

Digital Radio Interview with Me: "I Like Thinking"

About a year ago, I did my first interview in promoting my self-published book.  It was in Fairfax, VA, and I spent days preparing.  I showed up with a pizza ('natch), hobbling with a cane (from a leg injury) and in quite the physical pain.  It was a struggle, and the start of a new and longer experience.  The interviewer, Daniel Michael, had started an online radio station (Mainstreet Universe) and I was one of his first interviews, ever.

Last night, it was an extraordinary experience to interview with Dan after all this time.  We've both grown, gained knowledge, and I felt so relaxed and comfortable to be with the guy who helped initiate my marketing efforts a year ago.  It was so strange, but fitting, to have spent an hour interviewing Dr. Neal Barnard, in person, a few days earlier (for the Mad Cowboy Newsletter, out next month), then spend time with Dan and his team.

I've done a lot of interviews in the past year, but this one was special, and I think the results show a maturation process effected that almost scares me.  I appeared to be lucid, engaging, and polite.  Go figure.  Why I don't do dairy or oil, global water issues, growing food... it covers an interesting range of topics.  Probably the most "wide-range" interview I've done so far.

My final statements in this session struck me today as I reviewed the broadcast:  "I like being asked questions.  Questions make me think.  I like thinking."

That about sums it... I need a lot of rest, though.  Dr. Barnard was incredible and last night was a catharsis of sorts.  Lots to, well, "think" about.

Here's a link to the audio of the interview with Dan and his team.  I'm honored and delighted to have been there and recognize that growth is sometimes tasking, but it does occur, and not often in ways you can possibly anticipate.  As I noted in the interview, plants, when under stress, produce additional and extra nourishment that that aids tremendously in our own health when consumed.

Not unlike our own lives in a similar ongoing process.  Here's a link to the audio of our chat:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/daniel-michael/2013/08/07/main-street-universe-vegan-pizza

Cymlinging Along

Growing excessive numbers of pattypan squash (or, if you will, "Cymling") and bartering boxes of it with a nearby Farm/Farmer's Store for equivalent values of peaches or apples, was one of the more enjoyable and personally satisfying experience of my life. I 1st read about the "saucer-shaped" squash in the fine "American Harvest" by the esteemed Nava Atlas. Unfortunately, I'm on the road right now and my copy of that book from 1988 is safe at home, or I'd post the recipe.

I think my favorite techniques for cymling consumption are:

1) spooning out the center, stuffing, and steaming or baking

2) making sandwiches by slicing "horitzontally" and grilling or sauteeing (adding other stuff to said sandwich)

3) simply "chunked" and added to stir-fries, soups, stews (think "summer squash")

This photo is from a nearby Farmer's Market in the DC area. Brought back some wonderful memories! (and my thanks for Nava for so many kitchen inspirations!)

(click on for larger image)

"Thinking Outside the Pizza Box" - Article, Photos,Videos, & Recipe(s)

A few months ago I did my 1st TeeVee gig on how to make a plant-based pizza for the "busy professional" in less than 30 minutes. Here's the full 30 min. video and then the cropped 3 minute version (focused on just making the pizza).  I later wrote a short article documenting the recipes for the Vegetarian Society of DC (the oldest such group in this country). The quick "cheese-like" topping is gluten-free and modified recipe from the 1st Vegan Pizza Cookbook, "Heart Healthy Pizza." 

 

As a proud Life Member of VSDC, it was wonderful to see my article in their newsletter. My thanks to VSDC for all their efforts in promoting veganism and a healthy plant-based lifestyle.

JPEG version of the Article "Making a Plant-based Pizza in 30 Minutes:" (the full newsletter not totally accessible in all browsers): http://www.hearthealthypizza.com/VSDCNews2013Summer08.jpg

PDF of Full Newsletter:  http://www.vsdc.org/downloads/VSDCNews/2013/VSDCNews2013Summer.pdf

25 Minute Cable TeeVee Demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXR_InxQPQg

3 Minute "Close-in" Demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbJYvigtkIE

"Thinking Outside the Pizza Box" 8 Min. Ramble/Short Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONfgiS2DNXI

Now, there's enough information for anyone who wants to make a healthy plant-based pizza in 30 minutes or less.  No more excuses...

Tons of Sandwich-Related Recipes: The Latest Vegan Culinary Experience

I don't know how Jason does it, but here's another FREE edition of the Vegan Culinary Experience. Over 80 sandwich-related recipes and neat info packed into over 150 pages.  A downloadable PDF, this is, with all due modesty as a contributor, a gourmet effort that is as large as many cookbooks. Profusely photographed, quite detailed, marvelous indexing, you must check this out!

Here's a general description of this issue, followed by images of the Cover and Table of Contents (click on each to read a larger version). Honored to be along such esteemed company in this magazine, and it's a fine contribution to the Vegan Community. Besides, it was also cool to show that I do more than create Heart Healthy Pizzas!

Articles: When Is a Sandwich Not Really a Sandwich? by Jill Nussinow, The PB&J: America's Favorite Sandwich by Robin Robertson, Sandwich Activism by Madelyn Pryor, Heart Healthy Greens of Spring Sandwich by Mark Sutton, The Reuben: An American Melting Pot Sandwich by Tamasin Noyes, The Celestial Sandwich by Angela Elliott, Religion, Politics, and the Third Rail: Sandwiches! by LaDiva Dietitian, Sandwich Construction by Jason Wyrick, What You Need to Know about How the Pharmaceutical Industry is Poisoning Pigs, Poultry, and People by Mindy Kursban and Andy Breslin, Tasty Homemade Vegan Breads by Liz Lonetti, and The Vegan Traveler: Hudson Valley, NY by Jason Wyrick. With recipe contributions by Ani Phyo, Dynise Balcavage, and Sharon Valencik. 

Interviews/Reviews:- Interview: Cookbook Author Tamasin Noyes; Product Reviews: Casa Noble Organic Tequila, Eppa Organic Sangria, Daiya Cream Cheese, Earth Balance Cheesy Puffs, Beyond Meat, Book Reviews: Vegan for Her, Vegan before 6, Practically Raw Desserts, and Whole Grain Vegan Baking.

Podcast: - Shopping with the Chef

My Solution to the California Pizza Kitchen Cruelty Controversy

Still sorting thru all the AR2013 experiences. PETA's campaign to expose the horrific practices on cows and resulting cheese supplies to the California Pizza Kitchen Campaign was something I was totally unaware of (PETA tabled next to my own table where I was selling autographed copies of my cookbook).

I was quite shocked about what was being done to cattle from reading the literature and than, had a neat idea: PETA was pointing out a major problem. What was a solution to people still wanting pizza?  Of course, as the author of the FIRST vegan pizza cookbook, I had a solution. I asked one of the PETA exhibitors to take a few photos of me, my book, and their pamplet. Last day of conference, fried beyond belief, I'm still very very proud of this photo:

Click on photo for larger version

 

Here's a summary from their website of the issue at hand:

"Many people are surprised to learn that nearly all cows used for milk are born with tissue that will develop into horns. That's because most farmers remove the sensitive horn tissue or the horns themselves from the cows' skulls using searing-hot irons, caustic chemicals, blades, or hand saws.

One simple solution is for farmers to breed for naturally hornless, or "polled," cows. A single gene determines whether or not a cow will have horns, and this approach has proved effective in the beef industry. PETA has shared this information with California Pizza Kitchen and asked that it require its cheese suppliers to phase out the practice, yet the company has refused to act to stop this horrific suffering."

You can learn more about this heinous practice, see a video, and voice your concerns to the CPK CEO at PETA's webpage for this activism here.

DC Area AR2013 Conference & "Making a Pizza in 30 Minutes" Clip

Preparing to table at a Conference (in this case, the esteemed Animal Rights 2013 Conference in DC) is a daunting task.  Sure, I've helped others at Conferences, and did several "head photographer" gigs for the the yearly FARM sponsored Conferences (including the 1st ever, "this is what happened the past few days photo slideshows" presentation at the Banquet (back when it was difficult, before Instagram and WannaPeek? or WatchMoreOfMyStuff!, the past two being non-existent, of course).

This time,though, I don't have a team and I've had to invest in books, various resources, exhibiter fee(s), handouts, the early setup, managing my event, talking all day each day for 3 to 4 days, then breaking it all down. Logistically, it's amazing what some of these Activist Groups do so frequently, and they deserve credit from the physically, emotionally, and spiritually hungry people who attend these events, often oblivous to all that these people went through on their behalf, and for the animals.  Then there's the incredible program of speakers, panels, and learning.  And there's the food... gawd, the food...

To support my effort, I've clipped out a 3 minute or so video clip from my recent 1st Cable TV Broadcast, the "up close and personal" stuff on how to make a plant-based pizza in 30 minutes and surrounded it with some text.  I'll be adding this to 2 more minutes of text, quotes, marketing stuff, for an estimate 5 or 6 minute "loop" I can show on a large monitor at my table.  Hopefully seeing how I make pizza will answer a lot of questions early, demonstrate how simple it is, and be encouraged to do the same (maybe even buy a autographed copy of the 1st Vegan Cookbook with a Conference Discount. Stop by and visit! I'll be bored beyond belief unless I get to interact with other quasi-humans.

Here's an imbedded version of the 1st part of my "soon to be created" video piece.  Thanks again to Jorge Meras, at Healthy Food Happy You for his directorial and producing efforts:

Of course, I'm not anxious to "hear my voice" looping over again and again (think Prometheus and the vulture), but I want to help people realize that they can truly make and enjoy "heart healthy pizza."

So, if you're in the DC area the next four days, stop by the Mark Hilton Hotel and visit AR2013.  The entire exhibit area is FREE, there's FREE transport from the Metro to the hotel available, and a LOT of FREE vegan snacks, goodies, and information.  Visit to support the exhibiters, to support the animals, and meet a lot of great like-minded people.  You could spend your time much less wisely in this beastly DC heat.... oh, did I mention the food (FREE samples and hotel-provided?).

Daiya Cheese: "Expensive, Unhealthy [Vegan] Crap."

It's no secret that I abhor Daiya and all the other "self-promoted as healthy" faux cheeses.  Hell, I even wrote an appendix in my book devoted to detailing the FAT content of these nutritiously vapid and expensive taste addictive quasi-food substances (here's some of my previous posts:  1, 2, 3, Rip Esselstyn on "Daiya").  One of the reasons I wrote my book was to promote alternatives to this fatty junk food.  I spent near SIX years devising heart healthy cheese-like sauces with NO OIL.  Here's a summary of 15 Reasons to Avoid Added Oil as a refresher for those not aware of my thoughts on the matter.  BTW: some processed fake cheese products contain as much fat per serving as whole milk mozzarella.

Anyway, I've been remiss in doing my duty on this blog in responding to comments.  Publishing a book, the self-marketing, my injury, preparing for AR2013, it's been exhaustive and I regret not being able to punch it out as much as I used to (oh, and I'm supposed to be "nicer" and less critical these days...).  The following comment, verbatim (I did indent it) hit me hard emotionally and conceptually.  I've been sitting on it for awhile to when I could properly focus on what this woman wrote about "Daiya Cheese" and how her words should resonate in the vegan community.  I'll have more to say about this after her words.  Here's what she wrote, unedited (I did "bold" a few lines):

"Hi, Mark -- just wanted to chime in with my own experience with Daiya. I've been a Vegan for nearly 25 years now but over a year ago I saw Daiya in my health food store and thought I'd give it a chance. My first reaction to it was that cold out of the package it looked, smelled, and tasted like stale, sweaty shoelaces. But, what the hell, it melted great and tasted better hot, so me and my family ate it for about a year. We used it in all kinds of recipes that harkened back to our pre-Vegan days--pizza, tacos, heck just about anything that called for cheese in the recipe.  

After about six months of after eating the stuff pretty regularly, I felt ... weird. You know the old joke people would say about eating a heavily cheesed pizza? The old "Man, I can feel my arteries hardening as I eat this!" Well, it was like that. Exactly like that. It actually felt like my arteries were clogging up and shrinking with each bite I took. Silly me (by then addicted to the gooey matter), I ignored the feeling and kept right on eating the stuff. I thought, surely there can't be anything wrong with it ... it's not like it's real cheese. Six more months passed and in that time I noticed that I was getting indigestion almost every day when I rarely ever got it before. 

One day, I was surprised to step on the weighing scale and discover that I was twenty-five pounds heavier. Strangely, I didn't look it, but I was. Let me just say here that I'm in good health and exercise regularly, but one night I went to lie down in my bed and got the whopper of all chest pains--something I've never experienced in my life. I really thought I was going to die. Right away my subconscious was telling me it was the Daiya. It just had to be. There were no other changed factors in my life that could have accounted for it. 

Naturally, I cut out eating the stuff immediately, for my health and my family's health. I returned the unopened packages we had to the store. I've been off the stuff for several months now and my heart feels normal, my arteries clear. We all feel better, lighter inside. Never again will I do something as stupid as get a "so-called" health product that claims to be a substitute for a non-Vegan item. There are too many other things to eat out there without needing something that looks like cheese or whatever else. 

If me and my family had been Vegan all our lives (we wish!) we would never have encountered something like cheese in the first place, so why try to copy it? If you're Vegan, just be thankful you are because it's a health choice as well as a moral one. I think it's wrong the way this Daiya product is marketed like it's actually healthy. It's junk food, pure and simple. Nothing but saturated fat, gooey and totally unnatural. It just clogs up your insides and screws with your digestive process making you feel heavy and sluggish. Daiya, meanwhile, is laughing all the way to the bank at all the people they have suckered in with their inedible product. If you feel any of the feelings I've described at any time while eating this goop, do yourself a favor and quit the addiction. You'll live a longer and healthier life and you will save hundreds of dollars a year from not buying this very expensive, unhealthy crap. But why wait until it's too late?"

Her words touched me, and elucidated what I've felt all along.  I recently visited the Daiya website, noting that they spend more time discussing what they DO NOT have in their products than they do.  Here's what's in the Cheddar Cheese.  Recognize any Whole Foods in this description?

"Filtered Water, Tapioca Starch, Palm Fruit Oil, Expeller Pressed non GMO Canola Oil and/or Expeller Pressed non GMO Safflower Oil, Coconut Oil, Pea Protein Isolate, Natural Vegan Flavors, Vegetable Glycerine, Brown Rice Syrup, Sea Salt, Yeast Extract, Xanthan Gum, Lactic Acid (Vegan, for flavor), Annatto (for color) Carrageenan, Titanium Dioxide (a naturally occurring mineral), Vegan Enzyme."

And yes, the bastards are still using Palm Fruit Oil, which is heinous not only from the saturated fat content, but social issues (threatening the existence of Oranguatans).

Drs. Caldwell Esselstyn and Ornish have REVERSED heart disease, the number one killer of people in the world, through a NO-added oil plant-based diet.  Dr. Barnard has done the same with Type II Diabetes. Drs. T. Colin Campbell and John McDougall say to avoid added free oils.  The evidence is in.  These fake cheeses merely drain your pockets, foment your taste addiction to fat, are nutritionally useless, and help bring about so many degenerative diseases in your later years.  These nutritional experts all note that "moderation kills."  As does "free oil", Daiya kills.

It might help the animals to not ingest dairy cheese, but you eat this stuff, and you're not helping yourself in the long run. Just because it's "vegan" doesn't mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that it's healthy.

How disappointing, in thinking about it all, that a major Veg magazine was recently so proud to announce that they were awarding someone at random, "A Month's Supply of Daiya Cheese" in celebration of a Facebook "like" threshold. "Hey, here's a month's worth of fat-ladden, nutritionally useless, cheese-like stuff for you to eat and enjoy. Lucky you!"

Maybe this attitude and apparent nutritional ignorance helps explains why, after a year of having the copies I've sent them, they still haven't done a published review of the "1st Vegan Pizza Cookbook." Perhaps their sponsors weren't enthused by the concept of heart healthy pizza made with whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and vegetables."

 

"Making Pizza:" Mark's Cable TV Debut Now Available Online

It was my 1st time in a TV studio, let alone being filmed in front of 3 cameras, team of people in a hidden booth barking orders through headsets to those around myself and the hostess.  All volunteers, we were there to film my making a pizza, start to finish, and a short interview.  Although this was to be a half hour episode, we were in the studio for several hours.  It's amazing how much time was spent standing, re-doing things, waiting... the hostess was shivering from the cold, I was in pain from a leg injury (couldn't use my cane on set), and I had no makeup! (looking like a gaunt vegan zombie from no sleep the night before).

The Director/Producer, Jorge Mera, did a marvelous job of editing, though, and Gina Lewis (the hostess) was a real pro.  I think the primary missions were accomplished: demonstrated making a truly heart healthy plant-based pizza in 30 minutes or less ("for the busy professional"), gain experience in these kinds of presentations, and learn (which camera to look at? you wore black???).  Still, all things considered, I'm content that it was worth the effort.  The second half, where I make the same pizza again with the camera in close all the time, imho, is particularly effective.  Wish we had more time at the end to talk about my cookbook.  The final broadcasts were on Fairfax Public Access TV, Channel 10.

Anyway, here it is! I be a "video virgin" no longer... Enjoy!

For Pizza & Pasta: A Vegan "Cheese-Like" Topping Sauce Recipe

A frustrating aspect of writing a cookbook is all those tests, recipes, and ideas that for a variety of reasons, don't get done or included in time for publication.  Lord knows, there's so many brunch and dessert pizza concepts, tons of other cheese-like sauces, and additional neat ideas that didn't make the cut in my cookbook. After all, I spent over 5 1/2 years research recipes for this effort, and at some time, it hadda be released!

One of the more intriguing ideas was using my 60 published cheese-like sauces for purposes other than pizza (here's a link to the Recipes Index for all recipes). I was able to use left-over sauce to great effect with pasta, in quesadillas, as a crudite dip, on baked potatoes or steamed veggies, in spreads, and more. But, only having tried this with a couple of them, I was hesitant to promote the concept much more than a tacit reference here or there in the book itself.

However, since that time, I've successfully tested several of the recipes, made fresh for purposes other than pizza, and taking advantage of left-over sauce (most keep at least 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator). I've been wanting to document this online for awhile now, and today's the day:

The "cheese-like" sauce recipe I'm publishing here is a variation of one of my favorite "non-grain-based" sauces, the infamous "Cauliflower, Millet, Carrot, and Mustard" sauce.  Clearly influenced by the classic macrobiotic "faux mashed potatoes" recipe (using millet, cauliflower, and onions), it was one of the recipes that I deliberately set out to make work when writing the book. I also love this recipe as it's a "one-pot" process by which the cauliflower, millet, and carrot, are cooked together, then blended as a cheese-like sauce/topping.  In the case of this experiment, I thought that using 1/2 cup of peeled raw finely diced sweet potato would work as well as carrot due to color, similar density, like texture.  I also used a "spicy" mustard instead of plain to add a little "kick" to it all.

First up, I made a "whole wheat & rye flour" dough for the pizza crust, and topped it with raw chopped kale, sliced tomatoes, diced shiitake mushrooms, herbs, and sliced onions.  Then I made the sauce (recipe below) and put around half of it on the pizza (sprinkling on some ground black pepper) and baking as normal.  Here's some photos of the pizza while being constructed, after backing, and playing around with the camera to get a shot of "pizza in hand" (the idea from a photo here by Somer Vedge).

 

Click on for Larger Image

Click on for Larger Image

"Want Some Fresh Pizza?" Click on for Larger Image

"Day-old Slice!" Click on for Larger Image

A few days later, I decided it was time to play with the roughly 1 1/2 cup of leftover sauce.  I added some dry vermouth to a medium "wok-like" cooking pan (sorry, I didn't measure anything, this is a basic cooking process), followed by crudely sliced onions, chopped garlic, dried red chili pepper flakes (from crunching the homegrown peppers,and dicing the skins as well), a lot of chopped mixed greens from the garden, leftover sliced/chopped tomatoes, and brought this all to a steaming simmer, stirring frequently, until the kale started to wilt (covered with a pan lid when not mixing).  I then added some sliced/diced mushrooms, a little balsamic vinegar. To keep it low sodium, no soy sauce or tamari was added, additional water if needed to keep veggies from sticking.

Then, when everything almost done, I added a little liquid cautiously, and then added a bunch of pre-cooked wheat/oat high fiber spagetti pasta, again, stirring deeply and slowly until the chill was gone. I added the leftover cheese-like sauce, stirring frequently and deeply, not adding liquid until it was too thick. Soon, the sauce begins to thicken to the desired degree, you'll need to turn off the heat, and cover until served.

Here's photos of the results!

Click on for Larger Image

Click on for Larger Image

And now, finally, the cheese-like sauce recipe for your enjoyment!

Cauliflower, Millet, and Carrot* Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cups cauliflower (chopped/diced, 1/2" pieces)

• 1/2 cup uncooked millet

• 1/3 cup raw carrot (diced)

• 2 cups water (as needed)

• 1 t. garlic powder

• 1 t. salt (optional)

• 2 to 2 1/2 T. corn starch

• 2 T. wet mustard of choice

• 1 t. red Tabasco sauce

• 1 cup water

METHOD:

1. Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in a small pot, then simmer on lowest heat setting for 25 to 30 minutes. Turn off heat, and let sit covered for 10 minutes. Uncover and let cool to room temperature. If necessary, drain.

2. Put vegetable mixture into a blender or food processor (mash a little with the back of a wooden spoon)

3. Add remaining ingredients, reserving the water to add in small increments, gradually increasing the processing seed until the mixture is a smooth and thick pancake-like batter.

4. Pour on top of prepared pizza and back at 425 to 450 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes, or as preferred.

VARIATIONS:

• Depending upon the type of pizza being made, fresh or dried herbs can be added and hand mixed into the batter when smooth.

• Mix in chopped canned green chiles and sliced black olives with leftover sauce to make nachos (pour over tortilla chips, etc., and heat) or in quesadillas.

* I used 1/2 cup raw peeled diced sweet potato, instead of carrot, for this test.  Cooked in place of the carrot.

• The addition of around 1/4 cup of raw unsalted sunflower seeds will add a nice extra creaminess to this sauce.  Be sure to allow for a little extra blending time to facilitate a silkier sauce texture. 

NOTE:

• This recipes makes around 3 1/2 cups of sauce.

The above is ©2013 by Mark Sutton, "Heart Healthy Pizza: Over 100 Plant-Based Recipes for the Healthiest Pizza in the World." You can order autographed copies of my book here.

All-Creatures Review of "Heart Healthy Pizza"

The All Creatures Website has been around for OVER 15 years! One of the original vegan, animal rights websites, it is chockful of recipes, news, reviews, and information.  An obvious labor of love by the Mary and Frank Hoffman Foundation (who've supported and donated to many very important animal rights/vegan documentaries and projects over the past decade and a half), it's old school in design, but still retains its timeliness in content, heart, and spirituality.

I'm honored that they recently reviewed my book here.  An excerpt:

"The thing we like best about Heart Healthy Pizza are the wonderfully different ideas for making heart healthy vegan pizza; things that we hadn't even thought of in our decades of creating healthful vegan recipes, and publishing them on our web site."

The Recipes (with photos) section of this website is extraordinary and one of the first truly comprehensive collections of vegan recipes and animal rights information on the web.  Think about it:  15 years ago this was a godsend. It was still amazing and vital resource to many of us struggling forward without the plethora of vegan cookbooks, websites, blogs, and social media sources available these days to help people eat healthier and vegan.  By all means, check this out!  They've obviously influenced many a recent vegan cookbook author (including, I'm proud to say, yours truly!).  Lord knows how many people they've helped with their web and financial resources.

And while you're at it, check out their newsletter, and pass the link on to someone you know.  This is from two of the original groundbreakers, those who were swimming against society's tide long before many of us had our first tofu burger!  You want to see how far we've come and why? here's one of the reasons: They showed us the true power of the Internet, long before anyone else in the movements!  Explore, learn, enjoy, and marvel at their dedicated and altruistic efforts.  Thank God for all they've done, and I for one, will always be appreciative.  They were a digital oasis in a lonely world at the time, and I'll never forget the comfort I gained from spending time on their website.  Kudos!

Sutton's Sushi: "Plant-Based Pseudo-Maki"

It's been fascinating. Ya writes the 1st vegan pizza cookbook, and people think you're a one-trick pony, that all you can do is make pizza!  Kids, I've been cooking and exploring veg'n food in the kitchen for over thirty years.  At last count, I own well over 400 veg'n cookbooks. Why, back when I was your age, we'd have to walk 60 miles in the snow to a local Korean grocery store to get blocks of yellow tofu (stored in a 5 gallon container in water). Note: only the snow and distance is exaggeration.

Anyway, I had four cookbook ideas in mind when I settled on "pizza" (which took me over 5 years to research and get the published 60 cheese-like sauce recipes the way I wanted them). One of the original book concepts, which I came very close to doing (may still) was "vegan sushi."  Was thinking about this recently when making a new batch (a play on "Futomaki" for the purists out there), using greens and asparagus from the garden.  Here's a photo of before and after.  Desu!

Click on image for slightly larger version.

Of course, Heart Healthy Pizza Vol. II remains a distinct possibility...  there's an abundance of pizza and cheese-like sauce recipes, let alone, other pizzeria goodies I didn't get to include in the 1st book... we'll see!

"Pac Man" Pizzas!

For fun over the weekend, I made two whole wheat/buckwheat pizza crusted pizzas.  The recipe for the dough is detailed below (it's not gluten-free as is the buckwheat recipe in my book).  The ingredients for each pizza is listed on the main photo (sorry! the "Sorrel, Mint, Chickpea Hummus" recipe is embargoed until published in the upcoming "Vegan Culinary Experience" online magazine).  The "millet cheese-like topping" sauce is a variation from my book (using sunflower seeds instead of cashews).

After sampling each, I noted how much like a popular old video archive game they looked like... hence, "Pac Man" Pizzas!

Remember, the Special Mother's Day Discount for an autographed copy my cookbook, the 1st vegan pizza cookbook, "Heart Healthy Pizza" ends at midnight est. tonight! 

Click on Photo to see Full-size Version

Click on Photo to see Full-Size Version

"WHOLE WHEAT & BUCKWHEAT FLOUR PIZZA CRUST"

"Buckwheat seeds (often referred to as a grain) is most popular in Europe.  A relative of rhubarb, buckwheat has a hardy nutty taste and is often sauteed then cooked with water and other vegetables to make a great stuffy or pilaf. Nutritionally, buckwheat contains all essential amino acids, is rich in iron and zinc, and is a protein-powerhouse with loads of fiber.  Buckwheat adds a nutty flavor to a pizza crust."

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of unbleached bread or all-purpose flour

• 1 cup of unbleached whole wheat flour

• 1/2 cup of buckwheat flour

• 1 T. sweetener of choice

• 1 t. salt (optional)

• 1 T. oil (optional)

• 1 to 1 1/4 cups of warm water (as necessary)

• 2 1/4 t. regular yeast (1 packet)

 

METHOD:

• Bread Machine: add sweetener, oil, and warm water.  Add flours, salt, and yeast. Use "dough/pizza" setting.  As the dough is being mixed, add water in small increments if necessary to get the texture of "an ear lobe" when done kneading.  Let cycle complete (dough will rise).

• By hand: add sweetener, oil, water, and yeast to a bowl, and mix.  Let sit until bubbly.  Slowing add flours, mixing, and adding additional water as needed while kneading (!).  Shape into big ball, put in glass bowl, cover, let rise until roughly doubled in size (60 to 90 minutes).

• Pre-heat oven to 425 to 450 degrees F.

• Split dough in half to make two very thin 12" pizzas, or use for one large 16" pizza.  Shape dough by hand to fit into non-stick pan (or pizza pan) of choice.  Some pans might need a light oiling, some non-stick pans do not.

• Add toppings of choice, bake in oven 15 to 20 minutes until crust is crispy and toppings are browned.

 

©2013 by Mark Sutton, http://www.hearthealthypizza.com

"Heart Healthy Pizza!" Special Mother's Day Discount

My nephew, Mom's grandson, being taught by 2nd generation pizza master!

In honor of Mother's Day, I'm offering a special $15 discount price (shipping included) on autographed copies of my book, "Heart Healthy Pizza," purchased through the webpage below. This offer is valid through midnight, Monday May 13th, 2013. Here's a favorite photo (posted last year) of my young nephew learning to make pizza from a 2nd generation pizza cook (my sister-in-law took this fabulous shot).http://www.hearthealthypizza.com/MDayDiscount.html

The reasons "why" are summarized at the link above (with a photo of Mom, who died on Mother's Day when I was 14 years old).

Best to all, Mark

Short Bootleg Clips of My Cable Broadcast Debut

They're small (parents took them with smart phones, I haven't seen the full broadcast and won't until the digital version is available late this month), but I strung them together to give some friends, family an idea of how it went.

Great sport, and Jorge Mera did a fine editing job.  Details about this event can be found in my previous post and with the video.

FYI, Mark

"Heart Healthy Pizza" Demo/Interview Being Broadcast this Week

Well, it's happening. The Cable TV demo/interview taping session I blogged about earlier last month, is finally being broadcast.  It'll be in the Fairfax, VA area (ComCast Cable).  Other nearby counties will probably be able to view it as well.  I'm showing start to finish, how to make a plant-based pizza "for the busy professional" in 30 minutes or less (eat your heart out Domino's and Papa John's).

Here's the broadcast information:

"Healthy Food Happy You's" broadcast of Mark's demo of making vegan pizza & interview will be on Fairfax Public Access (FPA) Cable Channel 10 on: Wednesday, May 8th at 9:30 am; Friday, May 10th at 5:30pm; and Sunday, May 12th at 6am.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to be in Fairfax during that period to throw things at the TeeVee, but the digital version of the broadcast will be available later this month, and of course, no matter what the results, will be announced here.

...and if you happen to see it, let me know how it went, will you?  Thanks!

VeggieSue's Review of "Heart Healthy Pizza!"

"While I haven't made that particular pie of his (yet), I have made others, and they beat anything you'll find in the grocer's freezer by miles and are perfectly fine to eat on any plant-based food plan, whether it's Dr. McDougall's, Dr. Fuhrman's or even the more restrictive Dr. Esselstyn's, and everything in-between."

From VeggieSue's Veggie Adventures. I'd gotten lazy and did a web search to find the name of my own video channel (that's what fatigue does to you), and found her short, but cool review of my cookbook!  Sue's also a long-time member of the Fat Free Vegan Yahoo Group, and also, I think, the Eat to Live Yahoo Group.

Thanks, Sue!

Sorrel/Mint Hummus w/Veggies on Wheat/Millet Seed Bread

So, what did I finally do with the unusual yard-harvested Sorrel & Mint Hummus I posted last entry?  Well, been kicking around a new bread (or pizza dough!) recipe in my head that involves using whole wheat flour and millet seed (millet is not a grain, and I'm not using it as flour herein). But, the quandary was "what" would balance with strong chlorophylly-flavored minty, lemony chickpea hummus?

I literally woke up in bed in the "wee hours" with a flash of solution, it's Middle Easternish!  Cumin and cinnamin... cool... and got to experiment with the tripod and lighting. Here's one of my favorite photos from the two sessions (yup, over a two day period). Recipes will be submitted to the Vegan Culinary Experience magazine for the upcoming "Sandwich" issue! Neat to show that I can do more than pizza in the kitchen. And of course, it's all "no oil."

Heart Healthy "Sorrel & Mint Hummus"

Sorrel is the rare perennial green, coming back every year in more Northern climes. It's a fav in Europe, usually served as a soup with milk/cream.  Sorrel has a spinach/lemony taste.  A few days ago I picked a bunch of sorrel from the garden as well as mint.  I've only used sorrel previously in salads or on sandwiches. But, in thinking about my next article for "The Vegan Culinary Experience," and the topic will be "sandwiches" I came up with a unique "Sorrel & Mint Hummus" recipe.  I want to show that making pizza isn't all I do...

The lemony sorrel and mint combo, with chickpeas, garlic, and finely ground toasted sesame seeds (thereby no need for the very high fat/oil tahini which is customary), kicked really well together.  If I don't use the recipe for VCE, I'll post it on this blog in mid-May.  One could substitute for the sorrel using raw spinach and probably some additional lemon juice.

Here's a two photo collage of the pre and post results: 

Click on to see larger image!

 

Video/Audio Clip: "Thinking Outside the Pizza Box"

I've posted a short video clip with audio. The audio was the 1st (and only) practice take for the big DC pizza demonstration/presentation I did back in late January with VSDC (Vegetarian Society of DC).  This is my practice Intro, and I thought even unedited, it might be interesting to people.  I call it "Thinking Outside the Pizza Box."  The team and I made 9 16" pizzas from my cookbook to serve to 30 people. Wildly successful!

A quick bit of effort to also practice using the video/audio editing application I'm using.  It's limited (I'm used to higher end stuff), but I learned a few more things and that's part of the reason I spent the afternoon playing with it.

Note: I've no real control over the poster frame chosen, quite irritating). Here's the video embedded.

Doing TeeVee

Whew.... just finished several hours at a video studio staffed with several pros who knew their way around the three HUGE cameras facing the set, and amongst them, the GENERAL, issuing orders from a remote control both through the camera operator's headsets on how/when to move his chess pieces (the host of the show, Gina Lewis, and me).

Incredible experience, and if it were not for her hubbie, mother, and kids in the studio, they might have had to cut more of my "off comment" comments... much not said, but thought in earnest.

Still, a thrilling situation.  The director/producer and host are vegan, and I got to make two pizzas "for the busy professional," the second being for closeups and staff internal enjoyment.  Yes, that's TEN veggies on that puppy.

But, I be a "video virgin" no longer, and hope to do more these kinds of events in the future, not just for my book, but to advance concepts of a heart healthy plant-based diet,

I'll post the broadcast times later.... Here's a collage of the more tolerable photos... gawd, I was SO tired (yes, that is my "happy face")  from packing/unpacking/shopping/travel.  Oh well, still cool event!

 

©2013 by Mark Sutton.

 

"Preparing & Cooking Kale" - 4 Short Video Clips

Thought it might be useful to post the clips, essentially unedited as rough cuts, as they still might be useful for people and I don't know when I'll have the discretionary time again to not only video me in the kitchen, but properly post-process the results. I first did some video clips back in Sept. 2012 on kale, but wasn't happy with the bits.  These are more focussed, and, imho, better.  Been practicing for an upsoming Cable taping.

Cooking kale takes around 15 to 20 minutes, since these clips represent a "real-time" process, there are a couple of periods where there's not much going on.  Minimally, Part 1 (prepping the kale) and Part 2 (cooking setup, initiating the process) are the most useful of the four clips. 

Here's a link to my video channel and, to make it easier to get to, the individual clips.  The kale was being made for the previously posted "plant-based pizza" how-to's.

https://www.youtube.com/user/HeartHealthyPizza

Enjoy!

Heart Healthy Pizza: "I Has A Video Channel" - plus 4 "How-to" Video Clips

Practicing for a video taping for Cable Public Access. Have posted clips of my "practice" sessions (verbal errors, corrections, whatever) without any serious editing as they might be useful for people in:

1) learning how to shape your pizza dough

2) how to put your vegetable toppings on your pizza in an optimal fashion

3) how to make one of my "cheese-like" topping sauces (from my book)

4) what the finished product looks like & discussion

These are raw experiments (no serious post-editing), but great sport nonetheless.  Don't know when I'll time to do them again, so I wanted these available now.  I will be doing several more in the near future (and not all will be pizza! many cooking techniques, making pizza components, etc.).

Here's a photo of the final product described in the above video clips:

Oh, and I has a Video Channel.  Here's the link which will give you access to all of the above and more. And, obligatory note from a self-published author, you can order an autographed copy of the 1st Vegan Pizza Cook, "Heart Healthy Pizza," here.

"Mad Cowboy Pizza" Recipe, Giveaway, & Short Interview

Somer has outdone herself w/ photos illustrating the Official Mad Cowboy Pizza from my cookbook, "Heart Healthy Pizza."  Back in 2008, Howard actually worked with me in the kitchen, instructing me as to what (and in what order) he wanted on his vegan pizza.  It was great sport!  BTW: by going "no oil" in addition to his already vegan, he's lost considerable weight since then.

©2013 by Vedgedout (note the cheese-like dollops!)

Anyway, at Somer's Vedgedout Blog you'll find several photos of the creation process, all associated recipes, a short interview with yours truly, and a free giveaway of an autographed copy of Heart Healthy Pizza!

" A slice of Mad Cowboy Pizza coming atcha!" - ©2013 by Vedgedout

Well worth your time... have fun! And my thanks to Somer for her excellent (and hard) work.

HHPizza Cookbook Giveaway, Recipes, & Review by Vedgedout

©2013 by Vedgedout

A wonderful post of recipes for my "Spanakopizza" creation, a giveaway of my cookbook, and Part 1 of her review of said book.  Somer has posted some fine photos, too, showing her pizza in different stages. Here's a favorite part of her review:

"I have to admit, when I first dug into Mark’s Book, I was a little overwhelmed. There are nearly a dozen crust recipes (including some for my GF peeps!) Close to 20 sauce recipes (for the pizza base), then more than 50 No-Nonsense  Non-Cheese Sauces. I mean, the combinations are nearly endless. It all felt a bit daunting! Thankfully, Mark knows how to help a home cook out, he devotes a whole chapter to some amazing pizza combinations (nearly 40 combos) to help you get started. All of the recipes in his book are vegan, heart healthy and very low in fat. Several of the combinations immediately caught my eye. However, this Spanakopizza recipe that Mark is sharing with you today is going to be hard to beat."

©2013 by Vedgedout

Her next post (this coming Friday) will have the full recipes for the Official Mad Cowboy Pizza (that Howard Lyman designed with me) and an interview with yours truly!  Stay tuned...

03/14/13: Mark's Interview w/ Dr. Don Wagner (stream/audio download)

"This is our second interview with Mark Sutton, author of Heart Healthy Pizza “Over 100 Plant-based Recipes for the Most Nutritious Pizza in the World”.  Dr. Don and Mark discuss many of the healthy alternatives to eliminating animal fats from your pizza and still making great tasting pizza.  The combination are almost endless. Treat yourself to a copy of this book direct from the author here."

How cool!  Dr. Don Wagner (who's interviewed close to 500 people over the past two years, on radio, such as Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. Goldhammer, Chef AJ, Dr. Fuhrman, Chloe, Dr. Pam Popper, Dr. Neal Barnard, Victoria Moran, Kathy Fisher, and the list is just too long to be complete here), asked me back for a another interview!  Am honored.  We had a great time, much more relaxed this time (we chatted for a long bit the night before).  As usual, Dr. Don asked some insightful questions and forced me to be serious for a few minutes...

They've built a new website (looks marvelous) and here's the page where you can listen to the audio stream or download the audio MP3:

http://www.drdonshow.info/2013/03/14/heart-healthy-pizza-cookbook-with-guest-mark-sutton/

Enjoy!  And, ahem, remember you can order autographed copies of the 1st Vegan Pizza Cookbook here.

 

Plant-Based "St. Patty's Day Pizza Pie" Recipes

"St. Patty's Pizza Pie" Before Adding Sauce

My "St. Patty's Pizza Pie" recipes from the world's first vegan pizza cookbook.  All 100+ recipes are no-fat and plant-based.  The St. Patty's Pizza Pie recipe calls for a wonderful "Barley, Navy Beans, and Horseradish" cheese-like topping sauce! 

Here's a photo of a slice of the finished pizza:

Completed and savory "St. Patty's Pizza Pie (all photos @2013 by Mark Sutton)

"St. Patty's Pie" Out of the Oven

St. Patty's Pizza Pie 

CRUST:

• Whole Wheat Dough (add 1 T. dried dill before mixing)

LAYERING INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup carrots (sliced small julienne)

• 1/2 cup turnips (sliced small julienne)

• 1/2 cup parsnips (sliced small julienne)

• 1 cup diced cabbage

• 2 t. horseradish

• 1 t. wet mustard

• 1 t. dried parsley

• 1/4 cup white wine (or water)

• 1 t. soy sauce

• TVP Corned Beef Cubes (recipes follows)

• Barley, White Beans, and Horseradish Sauce (recipe follows)

• 1 onion (sliced thin)

• paprika (optional)

METHOD:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 or 450 degrees F. (depending upon your oven).

2. Put ingredients up to soy sauce into a non-stick (preferably) saute pan or wok. Bring to a slow boil, stirring to mix, and simmer on very low until most of the liquid is gone and the vegetables are still tender crisp. Drain, let cool to room temperature.

3. Arrange vegetable mixture on prepared and shaped dough.

4. Sprinkle on TVP Corned Beef Cubes.

5. Arrange onion slices on top of pizza.

6. Pour topping sauce on pizza.

7. Sprinkle on paprika (to taste).

8. Bake pizza for 15 to 20 minutes.

VARIATION:

• Use 3/4 cup carrots and 3/4 cup cubed potatoes instead of 1/2 cup carrots, turnips, and parsnips. Be careful not to overcook the potatoes or they will be mushy.

TVP Corned Beef Cubes Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup unflavored TVP cubes

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

• 1/4 t. ground pepper (or to taste)

• 1 T. Ketchup

• 3/4 cup water

• 1 T. red Tabasco sauce

METHOD:

1. Put all ingredients into a small pot, mix, and slowly bring to a boil.

2. Simmer on very low for 10 to 15 minutes, turn off the heat, and let cool. Drain if necessary.

VARIATION:

• Substitute TVP cubes with tempeh cubes, reducing simmering time to 5 minutes.

Barley, White Beans, and Horseradish Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3 cup pearl barley

• 1 1/4 cup water

• 1 cup cooked white beans

• 2 T. corn starch

• 1/2 T. prepared horseradish

• 1/2 T. wet mustard

• 3/4 cup water

METHOD:

1. Rinse and drain the beans (to remove any salt).

2. Bring 1 1/4 cup water and barley to a boil, cover, turn down to very low, simmer, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes or less (until the water is absorbed). Let cool to room temperature.

3. Add all ingredients except the water to a blender or food processor, pulse a few times, and add half the water, pulse, and then the remaining water to blend until it's a smooth pancake-like batter.

NOTE:

• Makes enough sauce for two 12 to 14" inch pizzas (around 3 cups).

Recipes @2013 by Mark Sutton.  Please include this copyright, post and my website address if you post them elsewhere.  You can purchase autographed copies of "Heart Healthy Pizza" online here.

Heart Healthy Pizza: Review by Lani Muelrath ("Fit Quickies") & Sauces Versatility

Early in February, Lani Muelruth posted a short review of my book on Amazon (here).  I was convalescing in a hospital at the time and didn't find out about this until a few days ago.  I'm honored!  Lani, aka, "The Plant-Based Fitness Expert," has been making quite a well-deserved name for herself recently, in no small part due to the success of her book, "Fit Quickies: 5 Minute Targeted Body-Shaping Workouts."  Here's what she had to say about "Heart Healthy Pizza:"

"Mark Sutton's Healthy Pizza is beyond innovative. When seeking to create a pizza that is outside the usual pizza box of high fat, full of dairy or meat, one is usually left to their own devices.

No more. Mark has created a book with guaranteed healthful sauces and toppings that can stake their claim in the 'whole foods, plant based healthy' world. And with endorsements by Caldwell Esselstyn, you know you can trust the contents to be heart healthy.

His sauce recipes also inspire versatile application. I made one of the sauces last night to put over a salad and it was perfect! Rice, nutritional yeast, and a few other elements made a robust and tasty sauce. Next is to tackle the crust recipes, which are not wanting. Nice work Mark!"

Clever cook!  Only in recent months, when I've had chance to test the idea of using some of the 60 "cheese-like" topping sauces on pasta, in casseroles, on veggies, on potatoes, in quesadillas, etc., did I affirm that, generically, pretty much all of them can be used this way and NOT just on top of pizza (or underneath the vegetable fillings, depending upon whether you are a "top" or "bottom" person).

I mention the possibility briefly in my book, but the process is simply to use leftover sauce (maybe thinned a bit) to, say, integrate with stir-fried vegetables until it gets creamy.  Or, pre-heat the sauce in a sauce pan until it thickens, and then use in any number of ways.

However, Lani figured it out and I appreciate not only her succinct and great review, but noting how "versatile" the recipes are.  Thanks Lani!

You can learn more about Lani and her work at:  http://www.lanimuelrath.com/

...and, you can order an autographed copy of "Heart Health Pizza" here!

DC Area: "Heart & Planet Healthy Diet Choices: Pizza Sampling & Lecture"

You can see more photos of previous event HERE

The web page announcement/where one can order tickets:
http://hearthealthypizza.eventbrite.com

 

“Heart and Planet Healthy Diet Choices: Pizza Sampling & Lecture”

March 2, 2013, 4pm to 7pm, Eastern Village Co-Housing, Silver Spring, Maryland

Plant-Based Pizza Sampling:

“Really Reubenesque Revisited”

• Pumpernickel Crust
• Russian Dressing with Pickles
• Green & Red Cabbage, Mushrooms, Red Onions
• Oats, Cannellini, Horserashish, Paprika Topping Sauce

“The Brassy Brassica”

• Whole Wheat & Black Bean Crust
• Kale, Tomatoes, Cauliflower, Herbs, Peppers, Onions
• Millet, Sunflower Seed, Chili Garlic Topping Sauce

“The Artfully Moderna”

• Garlic & Mixed Herbs Wheat Crust
• Pizza Sauce
• Seasoned Vegetarian Sausage, Artichokes, onions, & Black Olives
• Quinoa, Sweet Potato, Corn, & Dijon Mustard Topping Sauce

“The Experimental Veg-8 Prototype Mach II”

• Corn Polenta Crust (gluten-free)
• Red & Green Cabbage, Carrots, Broccoli, Jicama, Bell Peppers, Radishes, & Celery
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Tofu, Ginger, & Flax Seed Topping Sauce

(A complete list of all ingredients is available for review by attendees with food allergy concerns)

Cost: $20 per person

Recipes from “Heart Healthy Pizza” by Mark Sutton.  Learn more about the 1st Vegan Pizza Cookbook at:  www.hearthealthypizza.com  Autographed copies of “Heart Healthy Pizza: Over 100 Plant-based Recipes for the Healthiest Pizza in the World,” will be available at a special discount price of $15.

FAQs

What are my transport/parking options getting to the event? This session will take place from 4-7 pm in downtown Silver Spring MD – just about 1/2 mile from the Silver Spring Metro station (Red line). There is street parking within 1 block (should be Free on Sun but be sure to read signs carefully and follow parking instructions).  Address will be supplied on tickets.

What is the refund policy? We have room for 16 attendees and expect this class to fill up quickly. Please RSVP ASAP. It’s first-come, first-serve, payment will be required in advance, and no refunds will be possible.

"Thai" Issue of Vegan Culinary Experience is Available!

 

VCE Cover (click for larger image)

I'm proud to have an article in the latest issue of the Vegan Culinary Experience.  The theme of this issue is "Thai Cuisine" and it was a challenge for me, taking several attempts to get the crusts right, as Thai food is not one of my strongest suits.  I wrote an article detailing how to make a "Pad Thai Pizza Pie" and a "Heavenly Pineapple Pie." Here's the structural overview of each pizza:

PAD THAI PIZZA PIE

• Brown Rice, Chickpea, and Cilantro Crust
• Sweet 'n' Spicy Chili Corn Sauce
• Filling Ingredients:
- sliced cucumbers
- shredded carrots
- sweet red pepper strips or slices
- bean sprouts (rinsed and drained)
- sliced scallions
- raisins (optional)
• MIllet, Ginger, Peanut, and Lime Sauce

HEAVENLY PINEAPPLE PIZZA

• Whole Wheat, Millet, and Banana Crust
• Tofu, Coconut, Mint, and Lime Sauce
• Rum‐soaked Pineapple
• Unsweetened, Shredded Coconut
• Red Chili Pepper Flakes (optional)

Click on Image for Larger Version

Chef Jason Wyrick does a marvelous job doing the layouts for each issue, let alone adding additional content beyond that of invited Chefs:

http://veganculinaryexperience.com/VCEFeb13.pdf

At over 200 pages, this magazine will give you a greater understanding of Thai Cuisine as well as a ton of recipes to try and enjoy! Contributers for this edition are:

Jason Wyrick, http://www.devilspice.com and http://www.veganculinaryexperience.com
Madelyn Pryor, http://www.badkittybakery.blogspot.com/
Bryanna Clark Grogan, http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/
Robin Robertson, http://www.robinrobertson.com
Mindy Kursban, [email protected]
Jill Nussinow, http://www.theveggiequeen.com
Liz Lonetti, http://www.phoenixpermaculture.org/profile/LizDan
Sharon Valencik, http://www.sweetutopia.com
Andrew Breslin, http://andyrantsandraves.blogspot.com/
Milan Valencik, http://www.sweetutopia.com
Mark Sutton, http://www.hearthealthypizza.com
Eleanor Sampson, [email protected]

The Vegetarian Resource Group Reviews "Heart Healthy Pizza!"

VRG Cover (click to see full-size)

VRG Review of HHPizza (click for full version)

One of the 1st vegan cookbooks I ever purchased was "Simply Vegan," by Debra Wasserman. Debra's co-director of one of the oldest vegetarian/vegan informational organizations in the country (The Vegetarian Resource Group), as well as co-founder of the long-running, "Vegetarian Resource Journal."

She's a prolific cookbook author, and it's hard to underestimate my delight that she's published a review of my book in the latest issue of the VRG Journal.  Some excerpts:

“If you’re looking for a book devoted to creative vegan pizza recipes including crusts, sauces, and toppings, look no further.  Heart Healthy Pizza offers a variety of crust recipes... Mark also shows you how to prepare delicious vegan non-cheeses... The ingredients are all blended to make creamy cheese alternatives... The next time you plan on throwing a party, be sure to use this book and wow your family and friends!”

This issue of the VRG isn't available currently online, so above is an image link to the full review (next to one of Nava's great "Wild About Greens!" cookbook).  Remember, you can order an autographed copy of "Heart Healthy PIzza" here.

Both images from the VRG Journal in this post are @2013 by VRG.

Photos: 1st Ever Heart-Healthy Pizza Public Demonstration/Sampling!!!

Well did it!!! 9 16" no-oil heart healthy plant-based pizzas served to 30 hungry guests in 3 hours (I had decided to serve one to volunteeers before we got started; they often don't get to eat, and can see how I approached making a pizza).  The day was incredible, and we learned a helluva lot pulling this "first time ever" demonstration.  The Vegetarian Society of DC (Saurabh (the Pres., managing, food prepping, serving, speaking), Paige (food prepper extraordinaire, serving, speaking). Diane (food prepping, serving, managing, photography), Colette (photography), and Rodney (all-around problem solver, member of the Eastern Village Co-Housing Community where this presentation was accomplished) were absolutely amazing.

Fortunately, all I had to do was bring 8 16" pizza crusts premade, topping ingredients pre-measured segregated, and sit and watch the fun... yeah, right...  It was exhausting.  Aggravated my leg injury, hadda use a cane for the first time in five weeks.  Oh well, adversity makes it all the sweeter when the team is victorious.

There's going to be more of these events, not just in the DC area (I hope). Here's a link to where the menu is posted.  I loved speaking to the group and used, in public for the first time, my goal phrase of "helping people think outside the pizza box."  More on this some other day...

In any case, my deepest appreciation to the VSDC and volunteers for all their hard work.  It was truly an exciting and thrilling time. Clearly, though, the most popular pizza was the "Really Reubenesque" (you can see it in the photos before being smothered in oat/cannelinni beans/horseradish 'cheese-like sauce"), which is straight from my book.

Here's a link to some 170 photos of the party, with copyrights going to Diane Payne, Colette Price, and Mark Sutton.  I've also added two of my favorite photos below.  Enjoy!  The event was on January 13th, 2013.

Mark Slinging Pizza!

Diane, Mark, Rodney, Paige, and Saurabh: We Make Heart Healthy Pizza!!

 

Dung Perspectives and Life's Uphill Struggle

It's not often that something I read just floors me philosophically and metaphysically.  I'm old enough to be quite jaded and skeptical of the vacuous crap that passes for knowledge or information these days on TeeVee and the Internet.  Four Point Five billion years of evolution, and we are fixated on some stupid college football player's inability to figure out that his online girlfriend doesn't exist, and still fire bullets or drones (a step up, kinda, from throwing rocks or feces instead), when disagreeing with another human's religion, philosophy, politics, or resource needs.  What a waste of neural energy.

But then, there's this article, denoting how the so-called "lowly" dung beetle navigates via the Milky Way Galaxy.  Just can't get it out of my mind. The "lowly" dung beetle, navigating his/her waste ball, like Sisyphus uphill, via being cognizant of a frickin' GALAXY. That's so cosmic as to make me want to try and smoke my flat screen. I mean, BILLIONS of stars, guiding this little critter's attempts to "roll it." The implications, while straight, are still amazing. 

Think of the number of talking heads we see every day who's major focus in life are shiny lights, handheld devices, American Idol, and pretty colors. And this INSECT is navigating by way of viewing a GALAXY. 

Eat your heart out, SIRI... sure, the dung beetle's got a tough job (probably non-union), but how unbelievably elegant in execution, dedication, and precision. I mean, I can't navigate my way through Baltimore unless my GPS is working... makes me feel kinda, well, small.... and insignifisect (yeah, just made that word up... insignificant intersecting insect... homage to Dungy).

And despite our so-called and so-vaunted collective intellect, we only now figured this dung beetle's efforts out (or so we think... what else is going on in this cunning critter? just what are they planning? why so many balls?).

I'm very concerned, as well as totally awed.

ADDENDUM:  the Egyptian View of this "Insect God"

 

Video Clip: "McGnaw: The Gluten-Free Beaver"

Hilarious... don't know how long this funny "Food for Thought" clip from "The Colbert Report" will be available...

"...Freaky Awesome Sauces & Pizza Amoebas..."

Love this FB post from Lori. Helps keep me working hard to get the word out about what my 5+ years of research into writing the 1st Vegan Pizza Cookbook (self-published) has accomplished in helping people to make the penultimate comfort food in a heart healthy way.

Here's the part of the quote/comment (among others), the link to it on Facebook (so damn cool to see a my book in the photo!) that's the source of photo and comments.

"...they turned out awesome, im not afraid to try the more complex ones now. This was the confidence I needed for some of those freaky awesome sauces I saw in the book (Heart Healthy Pizza)."

The photo she posted (click on for larger version):

Love that she called them "pizza amoebas" as I used that term, if memory serves, in describing the many shapes pizza can be.  You can see sample recipes, articles I've written ("in The Media"), the Foreward, Introduction, and Recipes index here. Among the recipes in the book, of course, there's some 60 "freaky awesome" cheese-like ones...

Video Clip: My Latest Pizza Test

I haven't had much time the past several months, due to recovering from an injury and self-marketing my book.  Great fun to get to spent a little discretionary time doing one of the things that made my career (particularly at NASA):  video animation.  Although I'm very new to the software I used, and it's got me puzzled, can't do all I want to (yet), here's my first test showing the results of another test, a humongous vegan pizza in prep for my presentation/demonstration later this month in the DC area.  Enjoy! (there's also a "mobile" version at my YouTube Channel as well).

"Hooked on it:" The "Healthy Librarian" Makes More Pizza

It's alway gratifying to get positive feedback from people trying my recipes. Many have been skeptical that you can actually create "Heart Healthy" cheese-like sauces without expensive, nutritionally vapid, and fatty faux dairy cheeses.  Imagine my delight when the Healthy Librarian posted this on Facebook today:

 

@2012 by the Healthy Librarian (click for larger image)

 

"Friday night "Dinner & a Movie" & a home-brewed beer. Last night we streamed, "Bernie" http://tinyurl.com/c8whr6t Jack Black & Shirley MacLaine in a hilarious black comedy based on a true small Texan town's murder. Thoroughly enjoyed it, along with homemade pizza schmeared with "Heart Healthy Pizza's" millet, cashew, mustard sauce, & our fave toppings. I'm hooked on it. Great cheese substitute."

So so cool... she interviewed me last month, and it'll be neat to see it published soon.  A long time champion of a no-added oil plant-based diet, she's one of the most knowledgeable people regarding diet and nutrition I've ever interacted with. A real blessing. You can learn more about the 1st Vegan Pizza Cookbook, "Heart Healthy Pizza," here. Around 60 different "cheese-like" sauces amongst the 112 recipes. Namaste!

ADDENDUM:  1500 est:  Ms. Librarian added another comment of note:

"We were 100% happy & used to cheese-free pizza. But, after Mark Sutton asked me to try one of the toppings in his "Heart Healthy Pizza", I decided to give it a try. Oh baby, it really added a delicious creamy dimension to the pizza. No cheese WAS fine--but, this is BETTER! Worth a try & very cheap & easy to make. I'm going to try it on tacos or a taco salad."