it's gonna be may
fancying up some pantry dinners, and fake meat conundrums
On Saturday, Jeff and I went with Natalie and her boyfriend Dave to MeeT in Yaletown to try their weekly feature. All the restaurant’s locations were doing different dishes using a vegan steak product by a company called Juicy Marbles, which is a) a name I can’t say I particularly enjoy, and b) apparently a big deal because it’s not sold here, and commercial availability even in the states is still pretty selective since they aren’t that big. Anyway, the Yaletown feature was something like a beef wellington, served with vegetables, scalloped potatoes, and mushroom gravy. (I got a burger because I kind of wanted one, plus I don’t much care for steak and figured with three features on the table I’d still get to try some.) It was impressive, arriving looking like a miniature pie, and the steak itself did have an amazing texture. It was tender and fibrous, I would say more like brisket than actual steak, less juicy-feeling, but it had a great flavour and worked well in the dish which is the important thing.
Talking about the meat itself also sparked a conversation about the approach to meat alternatives, both from an individual consumer standpoint and more commercially. Most reasonably conscientious people tend to agree that the way we consume meat is horribly unsustainable, and generally not great for long-term health (I am not talking about ‘weight’ here, I am talking about things like gout or heart conditions or just generally not getting the vitamins and fibers we need from other food groups because meat is so prioritized). But the simple option of ‘eat less meat’ seems to stick in people’s craws, because to some it feels like a moral judgement for daring to eat meat at all. And nor is eating a plant-based diet in and of itself automatically a wholly sustainable solution, when you start to look at things like cashew and almond farming, for example.
The problem of sustainability is obviously much later than just meat, and if you start thinking about every food choice as an ethical quandary, you will inevitably stop being able to feed yourself adequately. Meat is certainly one of the most egregious, and I do think there are people who look at options like Beyond burgers or Juicy Marbles— maybe people who can’t eat beef for health reasons, or omnivores who don’t feel particularly drawn to eating meat— and see them as good alternatives for foods that, really, should only be eaten some of the time, whether they’re animal-based or not. But there are people for whom part of the point of meat is that it came from an animal, and any alternative, even a lab-grown version that’s largely equivalent if we one day get to that point, will feel false and unsatisfying. Alternately, for someone who doesn’t eat meat because they simply don’t like it, a plant-based or lab-grown version that tastes and feels like the real thing will not be of any interest.
There just isn’t any singular direction we can head in this respect that will make everyone feel satisfied. And there certainly aren’t any easy changes that continue to allow us to keep up with the mentality we as a society have toward food: anything we want, always available, in whatever quantities we like. The current level of dependency on meat and dairy are at an unsustainable level, a level that very likely also also cannot be sustained by any so-called ethical alternatives. Shortages on pantry items, meat, and produce are going to continue as climate extremes affect agriculture and shipping and other aspects of food systems, and whether we consciously choose it or not, the changes will trickle down to our eating habits. What does my kitchen look like if sriracha sauce can no longer be made at production scale? What will I use when I can’t find coconut milk? What would I do with the realisation that I may have already eaten salmon for the last time?
On Sunday, Hiran and Tara stopped by to see our new place, and drop off some Vancouver Island-made whiskey as a housewarming gift. It was around dinnertime and none of us had eaten, so we went to check out Scratch Kitchen, a pizza place in Deep Cove I’ve been meaning to try. The great thing about going to a new place with a few people is that you can taste more of the menu that way (assuming people like to share). The feature was a paneer pizza with a masala sauce base, so of course someone had to get that. Jeff’s choice, however, was the standout: brussels sprouts with walnuts, parsley pesto, and onion jam. I got the margherita because I always judge a place on how well they make this pizza. In this case, it falls into the trap many pizza places fall into in that it had more cheese than a margherita should in my books, but it was still pretty good— great crust and a lovely tomato sauce. But the other pizzas (and the fact that it’s within reasonable biking distance) can more than make up for that, I think.
This baked rajma, a tomato and kidney bean curry with a lot of hands-off time, was a staple for me during the early part of the pandemic. I still revisit it fairly often because it’s just a damn good dish. If you don’t have a food processor you can still make it provided you use crushed tomatoes, though it’ll take a bit longer to chop the onion and pepper and mince or grate the ginger and garlic. Personally I love being able to just toss all the aromatics into the food processor and send them on their merry way, but it depends on your outlook— I would much rather wash the food processor than do a bunch of chopping, but if you really hate washing dishes, maybe the reverse is true.
The biggest note I left for myself about this recipe is that it can handle a lot more seasoning than what is listed. I use at least a teaspoon of cumin seeds, and up to a teaspoon of garam masala, and I’ll throw in a couple of dried whole chilis when I don’t have fresh hot peppers. I’ve made this with both mozza and heavy cream at different times, and both work beautifully and taste delicious. If you’re vegan, Miyoko’s mozza is good here, or just some full-fat coconut milk.
The recipe has instructions for quick-pickled onion, but since I like to keep a jar of pickled red onion on hand at all times, I made a fresh batch using this method while the curry was in the oven. It only takes about ten minutes, and they’ll easily keep in the fridge for until you use them all up on curries and tacos and such. Alas, tragedy struck when we made this particular dinner: we set the timer on the rice cooker so that it would be ready at a particular time, without realising that we hadn’t reset the clock on it since daylight saving time, so the food in the oven was ready long before before the rice was done. You win this round, people who can make rice on the stove.
Another fave pantry meal is this white bean bake with garlic, cheese, and tomato paste, which I fancied up a bit after getting radicchio off the dollar rack. They’re such tiny little heads of lettuce that I always feel vaguely offended when they cost like, five dollars. Most of this one was decently salvageable and worked just fine to quickly wilt in the pan before adding the beans and broth. We’ve also been procrastinating going to Costco and thus have been without cheddar and mozza since last week, but there was some cave-aged gruyère I bought awhile ago for something else and then proceeded to abandon in the back of the drawer, thereby fancying up my beans on toast dinner even more. While it was in the oven, I made a kale caesar with the remainder of the dressing I made last week. Sadly, I still had to settle for green kale instead of lacinato, but the craving has been satisfied, and now I don’t have a ramekin’s worth of dressing haunting me from the fridge.
I keep looking at recipes that use asparagus, getting excited about them, then going to the store and either not finding any or finding some that doesn’t look very good, so I don’t buy it. But this garlic-lemon orzo is pretty basic, and it takes additions and substitutions well. Here, I chopped the rest of the kale I’d bought and used that instead, and added some kalamata olives in at the end. I left significant notes for myself on this one, because I tend to make orzo in the cooking pan with broth rather than boiling it like a pasta, which you can do here if you like; the order of things will just be reversed from how it is in the recipe.
Do the breadcrumbs first and put them in a bowl, then wipe out the pan and cook the vegetables, setting aside on a plate while the orzo cooks. Use 2 cups of broth for 1 cup of orzo, bringing it to a boil along with the pasta, then turning it down to simmer with the lid on, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom as it cooks. It usually takes about 10 minutes for all the broth to get absorbed. Then you can add the parmesan, lemon zest, juice, and olive oil (and anything else like olives or capers or herbs you want to use) and mix it right in the pan if you want to eat it warm. If you prefer it more like a salad, or at room temperature, transfer it to a bowl to mix. The bite of the raw garlic and the crunch of the breadcrumbs really elevate this. Parsley is usually my first choice for herbs, but I have a lot of dill right now which was great, too.
Finally this week, I made something inspired by this rice bowl, because I had a ripe mango to use up, but instead of the chicken, I made a red curry version of the coconut curry glazed tofu in this recipe, which featured in last week’s meals. The tofu turned out great, and I love the salad from the first recipe: lots of crunch from the cucumber and jalapeño, sweetness from the mango, and the cilantro and lime make it balanced and a little punchy (I skipped the vinegar because I was using coconut yogurt instead of pure coconut milk, so it was already a bit sour). The avocado we had wasn’t ripe enough to use, unfortunately, but it was decent enough without it, especially since the tofu was in a creamy sauce. The chili butter from the first recipe the sounds incredible, but I was lazy and just used regular chili crisp which we already had in the fridge. And I’m pleased to report that the rice was ready right on time.
Thanks for reading— if you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it with someone new! I like providing this to you for free, but it does still involve time and effort, so any donations, especially while I’m still looking for work, are greatly appreciated. Lastly, an important reminder to Canadians this week that in May there is a consumer boycott of all Loblaws-owned companies (a comprehensive list can be found in the righthand sidebar of the reddit group that started the movement).