Double the onions.

What's the secret to divinely good food? Enough onions! I made a soup today, at the restaurant, and took a taste (for quality control, of course). It completely knocked my socks off (and I wasn't even wearing socks!). It had happened quite by accident.

I started sauteeing enough onions to make a large batch of soup. But then, when I went to the walk-in fridge, I realised that we were painfully short of the dark leafy greens that I wanted to use in said soup. It was going to be a riff on the classic Vichyssoise (potato leek soup), but instead of leeks, I used onions, and instead of plain potatoes, I was using potatoes, collard greens, and spinach, and then blending the lot together.

I also realised that I didn't have quite as many potatoes as I thought. This would mean that I had about triple the amount of onions that the recipe usually calls for. I cooked the onions down further than I normally would, and let them get a nice medium brown colour. I also added a bit of garlic to boost the flavours. When I added the last finishing touches, and gave the broth a taste, it was fantastic!

Then, when I finally pureed the lot of it together, I was in absolute heaven. All those extra onions gave the soup a really nice, bold taste. I'm not sure that I can do this every time, but once in a while should be fine.

Three 3s

The lovely ladies at Our Hen House gave a talk at the PA VegFest, and mentioned their Three 3s, which is three reasons to go vegan, three tips to transition to veganism, and three favourite resources. For the Hen House ladies, they needed to give a talk, and needed to keep it short, so their Three 3s were like little sound-bites. For us, we'll likely ramble a bit more, because this is me you're talking about, and I like to ramble. Feel free to skim, or read it all, or add your own!

Mind you, these are my own personal reasons, and don't reflect everyone here at Chow, or every vegan. Each vegan will have her or his own opinions. Get three vegans in a room, and you'll have five opinions on the same subject. :)

Three Reasons To Go Vegan

1. It's really fun & easy! Once you realise that eating vegan simply means opening up your eyes to the vast array of plant life (most of which is stunningly delicious), you start discovering new and interesting ways to fill your tummy. Once I went vegan, I began to introduce myself to vegetables that I'd ignored in the past, and began trying grains and pulses that I'd ordinarily pass by because they're "too expensive".

Cutting out the animal products made it so that I could afford a higher quality of food, and not really worry about watching myself carefully. Yes, quinoa can easily run about $3+ per pound, but how many pounds of quinoa can you really scarf in one sitting? That stuff expands like mad, and it's very filling. Splurge and enjoy it!

2. Animals are not there to be used by humans; they have their own wants, needs, and lives, and my life shouldn't interfere with theirs. This thought of peaceful co-existence spreads to my desire to see to it that all people, regardless of the shape they take in this lifetime, deserve to be treated fairly, and it's my responsibility to see to it that I do my best to reflect that. I'm not always 100% successful, but to strive for that is a noble goal.

3. I feel more at peace with my life, and the choices I make on a regular basis. When I was a vegetarian, and ate eggs and cow's milk, I always had an uneasy feeling in my soul that something wasn't quite right. Why was it OK for my needs/wants/desires to trump the needs/wants/desires of those animals to be left alone? Why is it OK for a system of living to thrive where the things that I consume are the products of suffering, of both human and nonhuman animals? It wasn't. I didn't feel comfortable with it, which is why I made the leap over to the vegan side.

I couldn't comfortably answer the questions of "what happens to the male cows, male goats, male chickens, who don't "produce" the products (milk, eggs, etc) that people want to eat?" I couldn't comfortably answer the questions of, "What happens to "spent" chickens, goats, or cows?" I was vegetarian from birth, for religious reasons, so I'd never really examined the reason to be a vegetarian until I got to school, and the other kids were asking me why my lunch didn't have any meat in it. Once I began to question my parents, and we all sat down to discuss it, I realised that my religion disallowed the eating of animals, because killing animals for food is not OK.

I was comfortable at that point, until I kept asking questions, like the ones that made me uncomfortable. When I finally came to the conclusion that the questions I was asking /are/ valid, and that silently continuing wouldn't do anymore, I made my change. Again, I'm not perfect, and won't ever say that I am. However, I'm striving to live by my ideals, and it makes me feel much more at peace with myself and my conscience.

3 Tips to Transitioning to Veganism

1. Find other vegans, and soon. If you live in the middle of nowhere, get online, and start subscribing to blogs, news sites, and podcasts. Find every vegan cooking show, food blog, website that you can possibly find, and read them voraciously. Find vegan forums, and start making friends there. This goes double if you're in a place that's hostile to vegans. If you're a teen vegan, this is especially important, because your family may make you feel like you're stupid, or too young to know any better, or find any number of reasons to belittle you and your ideals. There are others out there like you, and they're just a few keystrokes away. We're here. Find us!

2. Start finding recipes that are already vegan to begin with. I haven't eaten cheese in well over five years. If I have a Daiya grilled cheese sandwich, it tastes and feels just like what I remember. Why? Because it's been a /very/ long time since I've had the stuff, and eating the stuff now reminds me of the experience enough that it's not going to be off-putting for me. The same thing goes for soy milk. I hadn't had dairy milk in a very long time by the time I tried soy milk, and found it to be satisfying. (For the record? Nowadays I find that I like the taste of Trader Joe's Almond Milk far more than any other nondairy milk for just drinking. I've heard the same from other folks.)

The point is, that if you look at this as a "OK, now I will be exploring all those things I'd ignored in the past", rather than "I can't have ____", you'll feel like you're on an adventure, rather than on some kind of great big self-denying, self-sacrificing, martyr thing. It becomes fun. Indian, Chinese, South American, African, and even some Eastern European cuisines all have excellent foods that are vegan to begin with. They also often involve ingredients that you can find relatively easily. If you can't find specific spices or ingredients, substitute! I've found that with cooking, it's easy enough to have some wiggle room, as long as you've got a bit of confidence in doing so.

This is why I suggest that you join those vegan forums and cooking websites. Ask questions! People are very eager to share what they know, and will be more than willing to guide you along the way.

3. Take food with you. I've gotten into the habit of taking food with me regardless of how long I anticipate the trip to be. Why? Because vegan food can get pricey, if you're not prepared. For example, if I were to go to a typical Falafel Hut on MacDougall, and snag myself a vegan falafel sandwich, I can pay about $2.50 for that. It's tasty, and reasonably filling. However, water costs another $1. We're at $3.50. For that same $3.50, I can buy an onion ($0.50/lb), some beans ($1/lb), some brown rice ($1/lb), and spices (I'd only need a few scant pinches of this and that), and put together an entire dinner for me and my husband, with leftovers. Mind you, it's nowhere near as fast as paying that $3.50, but it starts to add up rather quickly.

And the $3.50 is the best case scenario. Often times, while running around, the cheapest option is a bag of potato crisps (very unhealthy, very salty so I need more water) for about $1. But then, I'm hungry again fairly quickly. I'd sooner spend that same money, and buy some unsalted nuts, some seeds, some raisins, and toss them together as a sort of a trail mix. If you're feeling a bit more extravagant, throw in some dates, some almonds, some dried fruit of various sorts, and you've got yourself a much more nutritionally dense snack that will keep you moving.

If I am to stop somewhere and pick up individually wrapped snacks of some sort, I'll spend a fortune. If I buy the large packs at the store when they come on sale, I can wrap them up in my own little reusable containers, and not pay nearly as much.

Why do I mention this? Because often times, when I was a freshly minted vegan, I had trouble finding places that had something that I could eat. Then, on the way home, I'd feel hungry again, and feel tempted to stop somewhere and snag something. I'd think, "It's only a couple of bucks here and there", and think nothing of it. All of a sudden, I'd look at my expenses at the end of the month, and have a heart attack over how much I'd spent on random junk I bought outside. It was ridiculous! There was absolutely no reason for it either, because my house was always well stocked.

Even if it means that you buy some bread, some peanut butter, and some sandwich bags, packing a peanut butter sandwich is way cheaper than you'll ever spend on anything from outside your house. Throw on some banana, or strawberry, and you've got a serving of fruit, protein, and grain all in one. The point is that if you set yourself up for success, you'll find yourself keeping on top of your needs more, and you'll see your vegan lifestyle go much more easy than if you depend on the kindness of strangers.

Mind you, I say all this even though I live in New York City, where the local bodega has like three different brands of soy milk, and pretty close to /every/ restaurant you walk into will have vegan options. I just don't fancy spending that kind of money, or going hungry. You wouldn't like me when I'm hungry!

Three Favourite Resources

1. Vegweb.com is an excellent resource for anyone who's into cooking. It's where I learned to make my own bread. It's where I learned how to make pineapple upside down cake (that even the omnis were pleased with). It's an enormous repository of information.

2. Google. I'm serious. Type in "vegan _____ recipe", and see what happens. I've gotten to where I don't bother with cookery books so much anymore, because the Googles is so good at ferreting out good finds for me.

3. Bryanna Clark Grogan's Vegan Feast. This is like your aunt who's a mad vegan scientist. She has made recipes for so many things that I lost count. She's a complete genius when it comes to cooking, and making things work. Give her site a shot, and see what you find.

Ginger

So Mini Preefer gave the corrected Korean Tofu Cutlets a try. "Huh! That's a really nice taste of ginger!" Kiddo has a pretty good palate, apparently. I'm glad he noticed, because we had to increase the ginger by four times, notice that it was still too weak, then double that amount! Why?

Ginger is a finicky little rhizome. When it's bought fresh fresh fresh, it tastes strong and pungent, and gives this delightful spicy kick. The smell of grating ginger is refreshing. It clears the palate really well, as well as adds its own contribution to the eating experience. In short, it's a cool little plant.

However, if you let ginger sit around, and get lazy, its tastes get lazy too. Ginger begs to be used immediately. However, when it's cooked, the whole ballgame changes. The sharp pungency starts to mellow out extremely fast. When cooked, ginger becomes very tame, very quickly. For that reason, when I cook, I tend to add it towards the end of the cooking process, rather than along with the garlic and onions. If I specifically want a milder taste, I add it towards the beginning. Just knowing these little tricks can make it so much easier for you to incorporate ginger root into your cooking.

This is why when you're throwing a knob of ginger into your juicer, a very little goes a long way, whereas when you toss some in with your stir-fry (or, in our case, our BBQ Seitan, or Korean Tofu Cutlets) at the beginning of cooking, the taste is rather mild, and works more in the background than in the forefront.

It's the same like with garlic. When you chop up garlic very finely, and cook it for a long time, its sweeter notes come to the fore, and the garlicky taste sort of fades into the background flavours, and everything just tastes fantastic, but you can't quite tell why.

I mentioned all that to say this: the Korean Tofu Cutlets are roasted in the oven for a looong spell. During that cooking, the sugars caramelise, the chiles intensify, and the ginger gets more and more quiet. In the recipe we were using, the ginger was barely making any sound. You couldn't taste it in front of the rest of the stuff.

Here's your helpful hint. For long-cooking dishes, double the amount of ginger you think you'll need, then double it again.

Everything right is wrong and now right again.

Today, we were reviewing the recipes, and realised that many of them weren't nearly as good as they could be. The Korean Tofu Cutlets, for one, were ending up way too sweet, without enough spice, and you could hardly taste the ginger. What's the point of putting it in there if you can't taste it? The latkes were ending up falling apart. The yuba crunchies (that go atop the Four Seasons Salad) were ending up on the greasy side, even though they're not deep fried! What gives!?

We went ahead and poked around until we got things just right. Then we wrote down copious notes as to how to get it just right. And then we tested it again and again, until it was just right. It's days like these that remind me why I love cooking in the first place. It's like the greatest mystery novel ever: "How can I get that to taste like it did that one time, no not that time, the other time", but without the annoying cliffhangers, or diversions. When Bossman and I are working together, to perfect and refine the recipes, it's like the best parts of Chemistry class (the labs) and the best parts of toddling around behind my mum when she was in the kitchen, and asking me my opinion on how to refine such and such dish.

On the other hand, it's also massively rewarding, because I know that it'll mean that the people eating it are going to enjoy it so much more.

Y'see, recipes go through a sort of radioactive decay. Over time, like a game of Telephone, you start to lose the exact measurements, the exact techniques, the ingredients, etc. Every now and again, regardless of whether it's at home or in a professional kitchen, you need to tighten things up to make sure everyone's on her or his toes.

For example, there are recipes that I've made so many times that I'm a bit lax on the measurements. "Eh, it could use a titch more pepper", or "Why don't I add less cumin?" Then, as time goes on, the original recipe, though still bravely sitting around, starts to fade at the edges. Things get tweaked in the interest of expediency or time, and now the food no longer tastes right. The last incarnation (which, fortunately, didn't go out to the customers) of the Tofu Cutlets was just /sweet/ and nothing else. No ginger, no chile, no sesame. Just sweet. Gag.

We looked at the recipe, and realised that some of the kitchen folks would bump up the chiles a little, while others would use a different amount of maple syrup, and different amounts of fats. It was a mess.

The two of us went in, pens blazing, to fix those egregious errors. We tasted, we blended, we gingered. I know ginger isn't a verb. It is now. When you bump up 1 TB of ginger to 1/2 cup, it's a verb. Mind you, this is for 9 pounds of tofu, and it cooks a long time, so it's not like you're biting into a bag of gingery gingerness.

Sorry. Got carried away.

Anycow. We replaced some of the maple syrup with a bit of sucanat, twiddled the amounts of sesame oil and canola oil, and added a touch of salt, a bit more chile, and baked it way longer than before.

Perfection. Utter and complete perfection.

Until one of the guys tried to recreate it, and rather than laying down the slices of tofu in one neat layer, stacked a couple, because he had extras. And again, the blurring. So again, with the explaining and refining and making sure everyone gets everything right every time, so help us G-d. And again we go flying into the sublime. It's now crispy on the outside, slightly chewy, a little sweet, a bit salty, a light hint of ginger, a good kick of spicy, and ever so tasty. This is exactly what food should be. And then, served atop the steamed kale? Excellent.

This is why I cook.

Happy 1000th post!

Wow. I can't believe it's actually been a thousand posts since we started blogging here. To celebrate, I'll explain a few questions I've gotten from a couple of customers either via email, or in person.

Why isn't the menu split into Protein and Complex Carb Tapas anymore?

For one thing, all foods have protein. Continuing the myth that only certain foods have protein makes it seem like vegans need to watch their intake of protein and do all kinds of gymnastics to lead a healthy, happy life. Whether it be soy, gluten, or beans, nuts, fruits, seeds, whole grains, or vegetables, as long as you're eating a varied and colourful diet, you'll be fine.

But aside from that, having the differing price structures was confusing to some, and not representative of the labour or expense of the food involved. A plate of the BBQ Seitan doesn't cost us near as much as a plate of the Sesame Steamed Collard Greens. When we were looking at the menu, and realised the unfair pricing, we decided to make a change, and shift it so that those things that cost us less will cost you less as well. :)

How do you come up with your ideas for food?

It depends! Sometimes, I or Bossman will get inspiration from reading food blogs, magazines, or watching TV or movies. Sometimes we'll think of something that we had pregan (pre-vegan) and want to make it vegan. Other times (in fact, this is the most common way), we'll discover a recipe from another culture or country, where all the ingredients are vegan to begin with!

Then, we toss ideas back and forth, refining and perfecting, until we both are satisfied with the concept. Then, one or both of us will execute it, and taste for seasoning frequently. Once it's perfect, we'll have the wait staff and kitchen staff taste it, so that everyone is on the same page as to how that dish should come out. Finally, I'll put it out as a special.

It's why sometimes it takes a bit of time for completely brand new recipes to appear on the specials menu. I love to explore different foods, but I'm not going to make something here that isn't going to be perfect for our customers. I can experiment all I want at home, but at work, it's all about ensuring that everything is exactly as it's meant to be.

What's your kitchen like? Is it anything like the ones we see on TV/movies?

I get this question frequently, and I'd have to say that working here is like working nowhere else that I've ever been. There isn't a stressed out boss, shouting at everyone to get things done. Bossman doesn't work that way. He's about making less, not more violence. Instead, he tends to collaborate, ask for input, and then come to an understanding of how best to work with the folks we have, and how to make sure that the customer is happy.

Granted, there are times when either I or he have to make policy changes that are absolutes. However, it's done in such a way that it's (again) not angry, but matter-of-fact. "This is what needs to get done, and here's why." Similarly, the kitchen tends to work in a fairly genial atmosphere. Even when things are a little hectic, because of the volume of food that needs to go out, we're still polite to each other, and say please and thank you frequently.

Why?

When you permeate your work place with loving kindness, and gentle attitudes, you foster an environment where people are happy to be there. I work hard at my job, but at the end of the day, I am happy doing what I do. I'm proud of the food that I make, and of the people that Bossman and I are reaching.

My mom always believed that you should cook only when you're in a good mood, and keep the anger and negativity out of the kitchen. Good words to live by. Not only does it prevent you from making mistakes, or hurting yourself (if you're distracted or angry, you have more chances of not paying full attention to your work), it also makes the food taste better. Call it confirmation bias if you will, but every time I step into the kitchen with the thought of, "This is going to be part of someone's life as they eat it, and I need to fill my thoughts with good things", my food ends up coming out fantastic.

I hope you enjoyed the little peek into the thinking that runs this place. If you have any more questions for me, or if you're curious about anything else Chow related, feel free to leave a comment here, or email sacredchow at aol dot com.

Thank you to all of you for reading along, and sticking with us all these years!

Love,

Sacred Chow

Uphill both ways, right?

There's times (like today), when I had to get up way too early to get to work on time (long story, get into it later), and there's a lot of work to catch up on (thankfully, food actually sold when we were open during the before and after of the storm—either our customers are the awesomest, or our food is awesome; I suspect it's a lovely combination of the two), and the dish guy just quit, and then everything comes crashing down in a wall of too much to get done with not enough time. The pie's in the oven, the food is made, and all that jazz, but there's still a bunch of stuff to get done (including vetting out the new dish guy) before leaving, which is starting to get stressful for all parties concerned.

Fortunately, in moments like these, I can stop myself from panicking, and say to myself "This too shall pass, some day, we'll find something that works". Granted, on days like this, it's difficult to believe, because everything that could go wrong, has done so, spectacularly so.

There is a ray of sunshine, however. The pie turned out fantastic.

Yes, it is gluten free.

What to do for the hurricane?

I used to live in Florida, before moving to the promised land (New York, NY), so I know a thing or two (or five) about hurricanes. Every time one would hit, I would inevitably get the call from work to come over and help put plastic covers over the computers, and to generally get stuff off of the floor that could get flooded. Granted, they had double pane bullet resistant windows, but that's not the point. In the event of an actual breakage, and masses of flooding, you don't want your insurance company having any excuse to tell you that you didn't perform due diligence to protect your property.

Then I'd go home.

Anyone who knows me and my family knows that my mum (on average) keeps enough food in the house to last this and then next ten coming apocalypses (apocalpsi?), regardless of how long they take. I didn't have to think about those sorts of things in the past. Now, it's me and the husband living alone, and although I'll be off in DC with my family this weekend, there are a few things that I think that anyone who's preparing for a hurricane needs to have on hand.

1) Booze. Seriously. Nobody wants to be stuck indoors, and feel bored. Might as well have an excuse to party down a bit. When you see the thunder and lightning, and the winds whipping through, have yourself a drink. If you don't drink alcohol, take this as an excuse to get those awesome sparkling ciders or sodas that we've got peppered throughout the city. Even the Bodega by my house (which is very oddly stocked) in Washington Heights (OK, it's Inwood. I'm on the border, people!) has some rather neat sodas that are made right here in New York. This is a very good time to acquaint yourself with them.

2) Nonperishable food that will actually make you feel like you ate something. Yes, crackers are nonperishable. Yes, tortilla chips and salsa are nonperishable. However, after eating them, you don't feel like you've actually had anything. However, a nice peanut butter and banana sandwich will hit the spot. Jam is nice too, but I've never left the stuff out of the fridge for any length of time, so your mileage may vary.

3) Sandwich material, and a cooler packed with those little freezer packs. If you don't have those little freezer packs, freeze a few zip top baggies in the freezer, and use those instead. Get some tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, onions, your favourite hummus, some pita bread, some regular bread, your favourite condiments, and keep them at the ready to pop into a cooler, should you lose power. Making a sandwich and eating it will fill you up more than snack foods. When my parents and I would go on long drives, we'd do exactly this, because it keeps a good long time, and it means that you don't have to worry about stopping off at a rest stop where the only vegetarian option is to go grazing on the grass that they keep outside.

4) Fruit, be it dried or otherwise. Bananas keep. Apples keep. Pineapples keep. Watermelon keeps, and is massively delicious. All manner of dried fruits keep rather well.

5) Nuts. I'm a huge fan of those giant bags of nuts that you get at Subzi Mandi in Jackson Heights. They have them very inexpensively priced, and will keep in the freezer for when you get power back on.

6) Water. In fact, freeze a few gallons before the storm hits, and keep it in your fridge, so that it keeps things cold in the event of a power cut.

7) A full charge for your mobile phone, laptop, ipod, headphones, and any other device that you can keep fully charged. Boredom sets in fairly quickly when you are trapped in your apartment for any length of time. This is also a very good time to introduce yourself to your neighbours, who may very well have that one thing you forgot to get, or wouldn't mind coming over to hang out when the winds are whipping through.

Aside from the usual stuff, like candles or flashlights or what have you, I hope that this list keeps you from getting too terribly bored. All in all, I find that it's best to be over prepared than under prepared. I can't remember which hurricane it was (Katrina?) that ripped through Florida, but it left us without electricity for the better part of two and a half weeks. I didn't have water for a week. Trust me when I say that I was not looking cute, but I didn't smell too terrible, because we'd though to fill our bath tub before the storm hit, and were able to take sponge baths in the dark.

Also, grilled vegetables give me PTSD flashbacks. Let's never speak of them again.

My gameboy (yes, I still have it) was one of the things keeping me sane when I'd finished reading every single book we owned. But the other thing was the bread (the worst possible mega chain brand you can find, because that sucker is filled to the brim with preservatives galore, and will keep through everything that could happen) and the gas stove kept me fed. For those of you without a gas stove, you can buy those little portable gas stoves at the H Mart in Koreatown. They're like $30, and are good to have on hand for any kind of emergency. Granted, it won't cook as fast as your regular range, but that's OK. Having a plate of piping hot home fries, some tofu scramble, and a bit of tea in the morning feels lovely after all that partying.

Please be safe, and relax! This is one of the few times you'll get to disconnect from the world at large. Enjoy a bit of it.

"just make a note"

So yesterday, a water main broke, a little bit up the street. There was all of a sudden no water in the pipes. Nothing. Then it came back, then it stopped, then it came back again, and round and round it goes, where she stops, nobody knows. Of course, having never seen such a thing happen before, I go into a blinding panic. Bossman looked cool as a cucumber, and said, "Just catch the water in a bucket, and then filter it through a fine mesh strainer. It won't be drinking or cooking water, but it can be used to wash hands, as needed. Then, just make a note about it, and put it up."

There is a certain level of nerves of steel that makes it possible to own and run a business. Bossman's got that. Granted, we'd not be able to do many of the things we normally do, but it wasn't some insurmountable thing. We could still clean up after ourselves, and wash hands with the water in the buckets. We could also leave a bucket in the washroom for the customers to wash up as needed. In other words, aside from the nerves of steel, one needs to also have ingenuity. There will come challenges that will present themselves in a regular basis.

We once had a customer who was dead set on having the sunflower lentil pate. For one thing, she was allergic to garlic, and the pate is one of the few things on the menu that doesn't have large quantities of garlic in it. For another, she was also gluten free, and couldn't have soy. There goes other large pieces of the menu. It's understandable why she was counting on that particular dish happening for her.

I didn't have any sunflower seeds, however. Our delivery of the seeds and such wasn't arriving for a couple of hours yet, and the person was also allergic to peanuts, so there were other things that were falling off of the list. I offered to make the pate (since I already had the beans and sauteed onions ready and waiting) with almonds instead. She said that it would be fine. I apologised for the delay, and booked it back to the kitchen. A few minutes later, there was a scoop of lentil pate with sliced veggies ready for her. She seemed pleased.

So throughout the day, we're calling 311, calling the landlord, calling rabbi to pray for us. Suffice it to say that the day was tense, if not outright nerve-wracking. And then the water would come back on, but only give this brown stuff. Ugh. No thanks. So again, we wait some more, and keep filtering the water we did have collected. About 3:00 the water finally turns back on for good, and we all breathe a sigh of relief.

"Fortunately", it was a very slow day, and everyone wanted takeaway or delivery.

Running a business also involves luck.

Still wish there were more people coming in, though.

The world is waiting.

What's the best that we can do?

Determine to find our unique way to make less hunger, cruelty & impoverishment happen.

Not an easy mission in our thug powered world. Think of how we behave as we pass vehicle crashes on highways: traffic slows, we get angry for the slow-down, then as we approach miles up the highway, closer to speed freedom - we slow down too, & "rubber neck" (stretch our heads) out of the car window to check out the gory details; and then, we quickly speed on forward. It seems to tantalize us: another beings pain - their degradation, impoverishment, sad predicament - we are relieved that this is not our plight; yet, we experience a degree of delight in the viewing of the carnage.

When we purchase our food choices, most of us, are so far removed from how the product made it's way to the markets' shelves or the plate before us: our consumption equation does not rest on whether our choice will harm our mental or physical being, our fellow beings, the planet. We primarily live in a cost ratio world: moving on from the car wreck - we are herd ourselves into the highest & lowest of the culinary kingdoms to consume our power over the food on our plate - speeding forward, with knife & fork, disregarding the dripping cruelty, blood lust, greed, carbon destruction & related health issues.

Most of our fellow beings live in terribly cruel, tortured, violent, impoverished and inhumane conditions. We know this. We all know this. Yet, we consume despite the harm being done, and we turn our backs. If all of us are not living in safety, then there is no safety. Is it possible to bring safety & change to our fellow beings living in such dire cruelty? If we live in a democracy, our voices & deeds have the power to make the impossible: possible. Let's make change happen!

What's the best that you can do? Find your voice, the world is waiting.

"You're the only ones with NOTHING!"

"Can't you like maybe hide something somewhere that's non-kosher, so I have something to report? You're the only restaurant that we Kosher that has /never/ had a single violation of any kind." Of course, rabbi was joking. Of course he doesn't want us to have non-kosher stuff in the restaurant. But he said how other restaurants all have minor little hiccoughs, whether it be about grape issues, wine issues, etc. Us? Not a single violation ever.

Why?

When you're a vegan, you're doing lots of reading of labels. Does it contain whey? What about ablumin (egg white)? What about weird natural flavours (like the ones found in certain brands of tomato juice) that come from all kinds of animal ingredients. No thanks! Then, when you're Kosher on top of vegan, you're not only looking for the Pareve symbol, but you're again double-checking to make sure that there's no eggs or fish in there.

That being said, it avoids a lot of issues. At Chow, all wines are Mevushal. This means that regardless of your religion, you are allowed to open the bottle and pour it (non-mevushal wines may not be opened by folk who aren't frum [observant of shabbos, and observant of Pesach], or indeed an open bottle may not be set in front of folk who aren't frum). All the food is vegan. All the food is Kosher. Why? Because then you don't have to ask all these questions.

Ironically, we follow the strictest Kosher and vegan rules, because it is so much easier to do so than to not follow them!