Land of Kush is a vegan soul food restaurant in Baltimore, Maryland; however, they are much more than just a place to eat. Land of Kush does vegan outreach year-round! They do cooking demonstrations at a wide variety of events in Maryland and also speak and promote the vegan lifestyle in various settings. They are heavily involved in organizing Vegan SoulFest and Vegan Restaurant Week in Baltimore.

The next time you’re in Baltimore, be sure to visit their restaurant and show support for all they do!

For more information on the restaurant see: https://landofkush.com/

VRG Co-Director Debra Wasserman gave a presentation at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Nutrition and Dietetic Educators and Preceptors Eastern Conference in Annapolis Maryland. This is attended by preceptors and teachers from Maine to Florida, who are teaching future dietitians.

VRG Nutrition Advisor Reed Mangels, PhD, RD created Resource for Teaching Students and Interns about Vegetarian and Vegan Diets: https://www.vrg.org/family/Resources-for-Teaching-Students-and-Interns-about-Vegetarian-and-Vegan-Diets.pdf

For other resources, see https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/

To support The Vegetarian Resource outreach, donate at www.vrg.org/donate

By Rissa Miller, Vegetarian Journal Senior Editor

I kind of thought… there’s no way. Not that I doubted Vegetarian Journal columnist Nancy Berkoff. She’s a chef and dietitian, a food expert. Every quarter she has great ideas on easy things to do with vegan eats. But watermelon curry? As I stared at her monthly column (page 32 coming up in Issue 3, 2019), I wondered if Nancy was mistaken.

Never one to back down from a vegan culinary adventure – or a challenge – I decided to check it out. As it happens, there are many, many variations of this traditional dish from Rajasthan, the largest state in India, which is in the northwest corner of the country. I rarely meet Indian food I don’t love, so I set about making my own version with easy-to-find spices and directions simple enough to prepare on any weeknight.

Watermelon curry is sweet and savory; it comes together in 20 minutes, about as long as it takes rice to get fluffy in my rice cooker. I used pre-cut and seeded watermelon from the grocery salad bar. If you’re ambitious enough to cut your own melon, make sure you remove the seeds.

Watermelon Curry

Serves 4

Sauce

3 cups cubed, seeded watermelon

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. turmeric powder

1 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. powdered mustard seed

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

Pinch salt (optional to taste)

Pinch red pepper flakes (optional to taste)

Curry

1 Tbs. neutral oil, such as canola oil

1 small onion, cut into half moons

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped into rings

15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed

4 cups cubed, seeded watermelon

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional topping)

1 small jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional topping)

2 Tbs. chopped cashews (optional topping)

Lime juice (optional topping)

4 cups prepared rice

To prepare the sauce, purée watermelon cubes in a blender or food processor until liquid. Add puréed watermelon and all spices to a large pot. Cover and cook over low heat until infused, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

In a second pan over medium heat, sauté chopped onions, green pepper, and minced garlic in the oil until fragrant and lightly browned, about 4-6 minutes. Pour into large pot with the watermelon sauce, adding chickpeas and cubed watermelon. Stir gently to coat. Cook to warm through, about 5-7 minutes over medium heat.

Serve over one cup of warm cooked rice. Top as desired with chopped cilantro, cashews, jalapeño, and/or a splash of lime juice.

In honor of Earth Day, you can show your family and friends a simple way to save water by sharing The Vegetarian Resource Group’s Burrito on My Plate poster. This handout uses simple graphics to show how much water is needed to produce a vegan burrito without tofu, a vegan burrito with tofu, and a beef burrito.   

See: https://www.vrg.org/environment/BurritoOnMyPlate.pdf

With Target selling almond and soy milk, Chipotle carrying Sofritas as well as listing it as vegan bowl on their website, and Carl’s Junior offering the Beyond Burger, it seems there is an explosion of interest in vegan foods. However, The Vegetarian Resource Group wanted to know how many vegans there are.

In a national Harris survey, we asked the following question in 2016 and 2019… To see question and rest of article, go to https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/Polls/2019_adults_veg.htm 

For more polls, see https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/faq.htm#poll

The Vegetarian Resource Group is an activist non-profit organization that does vegan outreach all-year-long. For example, VRG tables at different events throughout the USA and also sends literature free of charge to other groups/individuals doing educational activities in schools, hospitals, camps, restaurants, libraries, offices, etc. Our ability to continue doing this depends on people like you! Your donations allow us to promote the vegan message whenever we’re called upon for assistance. Please consider becoming a monthly or quarterly donor to The Vegetarian Resource Group.

Thanks so much for your support. You can become a monthly or quarterly donor online here: vrg.org/donate

Vegetarian Resource Group Co-Director Debra Wasserman gave a presentation at the  Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Nutrition and Dietetic Educators and Preceptors Eastern Conference in Annapolis Maryland. This is attended by preceptors and teachers from Maine to Florida, who are teaching future dietitians.

VRG Nutrition Advisor Reed Mangels, PhD, RD created Ideas for Teaching Students and Interns about Vegetarian and Vegan Diets. https://www.vrg.org/family/Ideas-for-Teaching-Students-and-Interns-about-Vegetarian-and-Vegan-Diets-1.pdf

For other resources, see https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/
To support The Vegetarian Resource outreach, donate at www.vrg.org/donate

After a successful Vegan Restaurant Week, Miss Shirley’s has decided to add a seasonal vegan menu for breakfast and brunch in the spring and fall, so that vegan options are available all-year-long in their 3 locations. Thank you to Vegan Week organizers, and all those that patronized featured restaurants that period. Some items on the current menu includes Oh Snap! Quinoa Salad (includes green beans), Gluten-Free Griddle Cakes, and Be More Beyond burger (with spinach, avocado mash, and Pico de Gallo on an ancient grain roll).

For more information, see https://www.missshirleys.com/uploads/file/2019springveganmenu.pdf

For info on other veggie restaurants throughout the USA and Canada, see: https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

Del Taco just announced the nationwide expansion of its Beyond Tacos, offered in partnership with  Beyond Meat®. Beginning Thursday, April 25^th, Del Taco will offer the Beyond Meat option at the company’s 580 restaurants across the country.

By Marcy Schveibinz, VRG volunteer

My daughter got married last May and we contracted with Green Plate Catering, a farm-to-table catering company based in Silver Spring, Maryland which serves the Baltimore and Washington DC areas. We requested all vegan menus and Green Plate did not disappoint. Green Plate started as a small brown bg vegetarian catering business 30 years ago and does full service for events large and small.  Catering to special dietary needs such as vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free is their specialty.  

Their philosophy is sustainable, seasonal, local, and organic. Green Plate uses Veteran Compost to divert their food scraps and waste from the landfill to healthy soil. They work closely with ECO City Farms to source their produce. ECO City Farms is a non-profit educational farm in Maryland that trains farmers and local children in sustainable, all natural farming techniques. Their founder, Kit Wood, has been doing organic catering for over 30 years (before it was cool). They donate their leftovers to Martha’s Table, a local food bank. Also, they specialize in Zero Waste events, where everything is either consumed, composted, or recycled, leaves nothing going to the landfill. 

Steve Hurley is the head chef at Green Plate Catering and was the point of contact for our event. I can’t say enough about how wonderful it was working with him. Steve was easy to communicate with, responsive, and flexible during the entire planning process. He worked with us on every detail to ensure the event went smoothly and that we were totally satisfied. He takes great pride in the food creations and service that Green Plate provides. From the initial proposal, to creating a varied menu, making adjustments, food tastings, and selecting tableware, Steve made the experience painless and enjoyable. His service was highly personalized and customized to our preferences and the tastes of our guests.  

Our wedding event at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland included 3 different sites for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception, along with a totally different site plan in case of rain. Green Plate helped us to plan for each part and possible scenario of our event.

Our menu consisted of Vietnamese spring rolls, asparagus crostini, and twice baked potato croquets for appetizers. A buffet dinner included a falafel bar, Seitan Asada, and a Gnocchi station with a choice of tomato basil marinara, arugula pesto, and mushroom ragout. The favorite among the guests was the gnocchi station, but every dish was delicious and beautifully presented. Green Plate’s cake chef created a yummy vanilla cake with white vanilla maple buttercream frosting decorated simply but elegantly.

A couple of weeks after the wedding, Steve followed up in an email from his staff: “We were all very proud to be a part of such a well-executed and beautiful wedding.” Steve and the entire Green Plate staff played a key role in the beauty and wonder of our special day.

You can reach Greenplate Catering here: https://www.greenplatecatering.com