Back to Basics

My head swirls when I think of all the reasons that people I know have for wanting to adopt a more plant-based diet: health, animal rights, the environment, human hunger, economics, religion, and convenience, to name but a few. I'm not here to preach, because you've already thought this one through, one way or the other.

For me, one of the main reasons for making the final switch-over to veganism has very little to do with the way in which veganism is serving me now, which is simple...

No, that's it, it's that it's so simple. I love being able to stock the most unadulterated ingredients, smug in the knowledge that I could probably make it into a decently yummy meal in half an hour. I have one of those kitchens that is so apparently dull that someday, if I remain true to form, my kids will look in the cupboard and say, "Ugh, there's NOTHING to eat". And I'll just laugh, and put them to work picking the stones out of sacks of lentils.

Which brings me to my main beef with the veg-fad: if it's not beef, then why are we compelled to consume - and consequently, manufacture and market - foods that look and taste just like it? But even for a seasoned vegan, these products are almost impossible to avoid, especially around the holidays when people look at you like a you're a starving orphan if you don't have something on your plate that they feel is an adequate substitute, like a Tofurkey. Maybe they just like to know that as much as you are a vegetarian, you still long for a hunk of meat to round out the holidays, and maybe this helps them ease their meat-guilt and enjoy their roasted bird. I said maybe.

Anyway, most of these meat substitutes, like the witty but brainless Tofurkey, are soy-based and can be found in what I've heard referred to as the "bourgy-hippy section" of the grocery store. These are well-masked and well-marketed, but they're basically the hotdogs of vegetarian cuisine.

I cook with them on a regular basis.

But I promise to try not to so much, and I promise I'll never post a recipe and say, "And you can't even tell it's vegan!!!" Because hopefully, you'll always be able to tell that your food is probably fear-free, and you can enjoy it even more because of it.

These are the veggie burgers I like to make sometimes. It took me a while to find this recipe, and in the process I became convinced that people post and publish recipes that they think sound good, but the ingredients don't actually add up. (Once, I fell for a cookie recipe that had no flour.)

Millet Patties

1 cup of dry millet

2 1/2 cups of water

1/4 cup of finely chopped onion

1/4 or so cup of whole wheat flour

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

garlic to taste

fresh oregano, thyme or sage to taste

8 oz (about 3/4 of a brick) of tofu

2 tbsp of ground sunflower seeds, almonds or cashews

1. Cook the millet in the water, covered, for about 30 minutes. Allow it to cool.

2. Add the remaining ingredients.

3. Form into patties, using as much flour (or breadcrumbs) as you need to de-stickify it.

4. Cook 'em. The patties can be either baked in the oven at 375 for 5- 7 minutes per side, or fried in an oily pan on the stovetop. They tend to better maintain their structural integrity in the oven. Also, they cook best if they're no more than a couple centimetres thick, so I like to stack two in bun. McDonalds, eat your heart out.