By Emily Carter, VRG Intern

If you are anything like me, you probably follow a lot of vegan food news on Instagram, Facebook, and in magazines, and you see photos of beautiful vegan food on the daily. Also, if you are like me, you have no idea how to make food look like that yourself. Last week, two VRG interns, Amy Dell and myself, went with Vegetarian Journal Senior Editor Rissa Miller and her partner Nathanial Corn (together they own Balance Photography) to assist in photographing all of the delicious foods the vegan Greener Kitchen restaurant and wholesaler in Baltimore offers. It turns out there is a lot more that goes into making those mouth-watering photos than I had previously thought!

Preparation is important for ensuring smooth transition between photographing different dishes. Prior to the session, Brenda from the Greener Kitchen put together a shot list to give order to the photo shoot. Organization and timeliness are necessary for food photography because food starts to get droopy and unphotogenic fairly quickly. For instance, when photographing their Philly cheesesteak sandwich, we had to act quickly so that the cheese sauce did not ooze too much (the cheese sauce was incredible if you are wondering). You have to photograph the dishes just like how you want to eat them–right away! 

Clean plates, fresh food, food placement, and lighting are the key ingredients to creating appetizing photos. Great photos are necessary for advertisement and appealing menus, so booking a food photographer is a good investment (unless you are already a master photographer of course). Rissa and Nathaniel did the bulk of the photography, while Amy and I held reflectors and moved food between several photo stations to change up the lighting. Oh, and we also helped eat all the food! Photographing food makes you very hungry, and then very full…like uncomfortably full. 

I took two photos of their seitan sausages, one of which showed Rissa moving a plate away from the shot (rearrangement is her specialty). I took a black and white film photography class in college, and I was never very good, so it was no surprise to me that I did not take the best photos. I learned that it takes a lot of experience to capture food and all of its glory. 

Located in Pigtown, Baltimore, The Greener Kitchen is all vegan. They have indoor seating, a deli with house-made vegan cheeses and meats, delectable desserts, and homemade vegan condiments that you can purchase and take home! The Greener Kitchen is fighting for food justice by providing healthy and affordable plant-based food to the local community.

See: https://www.facebook.com/greenerkitchenco/

http://www.thegreenerkitchen.com/

To see information about other restaurants in the USA and Canada, see: https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

For information about interning at The Vegetarian Resource Group, visit: https://www.vrg.org/student/index.php

How often have you wanted to make a gift in honor of a loved one or friend but weren’t sure which charities are vegan-friendly, pro-environmental, or pro-animal rights? Please remember The Vegetarian Resource Group. You can make a gift in memory of a loved one or as a living tribute to honor someone you care about on a special occasion, such as a wedding or birth. We’ll send an acknowledgment to you and to the recipient(s) you choose. Your gift will support educational programs and help promote veganism.

Make checks payable to The Vegetarian Resource Group and mail to PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203, or donate at http://www.vrg.org/donate.

Bungalow 360 offers wallets in several colors: http://www.bungalow360.com/vl-wallets.html

Corker out of Portugal offers a wide variety of wallets for men and women made out of cork: https://www.corkor.com/

Doshi makes wallets for men and women: https://doshi.shop/

Green Banana Paper makes beautiful wallets out of banana leaves: https://greenbananapaper.com/

Jeane & Jax Canadian company offers a wide variety of wallets: https://jeaneandjax.com/collections/wallet

K Carroll wallets are found here: https://k-carroll.com/collections/wallets

LaBante London wallets come in a wide variety of colors: https://labante.com/collections/wallets

Pixie Mood wallets from Canada are sold here: https://pixiemood.com/product-category/wallets/

Vegan Chic wallets can be found here: https://www.veganchic.com/vegan+wallets/search.aspx

The Vegan Collection offers a wide variety of wallets: http://thevegancollection.com/wallets/

Vegan Essentials offers a wide range of wallets: https://store.veganessentials.com/non-leather-wallets-c18.aspx

Vegan Wares out of Australia offers many wallet styles: https://www.veganwares.com/shop/shop/wallets/

Vivari offers men’s wallets: https://vivariwear.com/collections/shop

Vegan in Volume is published by The Vegetarian Resource Group and has been greatly received by people working in the food service sector, as well as those that enjoy throwing parties in their own home or simply cooking in volume. This book by Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD offers 125 vegan recipes serving 25. It also offers a lot of helpful advice including A Fast Course in Vegan Nutrition, The Mechanics of the Operation, Food Safety Pointers, and a section on Vegan Ingredients.

The quantity recipes greatly vary depending on the audience you’ll be serving. Nancy includes recipes for breakfast such as Lots of Grains Pancakes and Peachy Keen Breakfast Crumble. A section for kids serves up Squiggly Noodles and “Not-Meatballs.” For dinner parties and elegant dining for adults try French Onion and Olive Tart and Eggplant “Caviar.”

You will also find quantity recipes for special occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, bar/bat mitzvahs, communions, and more. Enjoy Watermelon Gazpacho, Spicy Bean Cakes with Fruit Salsa, Curried Vegetables with Polenta, and Sophisticated Poached Pears. Next, move on to college campuses and try Vegetable Tagine, Two Alarm Four Bean Chili, Jumpin’ Veggie Jambalaya, and Gooey, Chewy Peanut Butter Bars.

Grab and Go Fast Food recipes include Sweet Potato Burgers, Cold Noodles with Peanut Sauce, and Fragrant and Fast Tofu Sandwich. Un-Hospital Food items include Orange and Wild Rice Salad, Sweet Potato Soup, New England Baked Beans, Eggplant Lasagna, and Cinnamony Baked Apples. And a section for senior citizens includes recipes for Chesapeake Corn Chowder, Southwest Tomato Rice, Pasta with Vegetable-Marinara Sauce, and Homestyle Molasses Cookies.

Vegan in Volume can be purchased from The Vegetarian Resource Group Book Catalog: http://www.vrg.org/catalog/

By Kavitha Shankar, VRG Volunteer

Tamarind is a tropical fruit that grows on a tree in bean like pods. In South India, we do not use pre-made tamarind sauce (more often referred to as Chutney). The common dips (sambhar) and soups (rasam) are those we make by simply soaking tamarind in plain tap water and then extracting the tamarind juice from it. There are recipes that use the same tamarind sauce base and add fish as an ingredient in lieu of vegetables (we call this kara meen kolambu). This one is a non-vegetarian dish and it will be evident that fish is added to it (Example cuisines that use a lot of fish is Chettinadu type cooking – down south in India). In north India, we use tamarind chutney as a sauce/condiment. This usually contains pulped tamarind, chili powder, dried dates (optional), and sugar. In other words, no authentic Indian restaurant adds fish sauce to tamarind chutney. If it is fusion such as Indian Chinese they may add fish sauce, but it is fairly uncommon. We add monosodium glutamate in such fusion recipes to get the Asian aroma. The tamarind chutney will not contain dairy – it does not sit well with tamarind in our recipes.

Here is a sample recipe for Sambhar – a South Indian recipe using a tamarind base: https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/andhra-sambar-recipe-how-to-make-south-indian-sambar/

North Indian Tamarind Chutney: https://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/tamarind-chutney/

Finally, be aware that that in Thailand, Vietnam, and China they may use fish sauce in their tamarind sauce.

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

The Vegetarian Resource Group will have a table at the 4^th Annual Clarksville Vegan Fest being held on July 20^th near Roots Market in Clarksville, Maryland. Stop by and introduce yourself to VRG’s summer interns that will be staffing our table. For information on this event see: https://www.facebook.com/events/2379093562372734/

VRG will also be exhibiting at the Animal Rights 2019 National Conference being held this year July 25^th through July 28^th at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Virginia just outside Washington, DC. With 100 presenters from more than 60 organizations across the movement, the conference offers a variety of educational and networking opportunities including activist support workshops, group discussions, 100+ exhibits (free to visitors), film screenings, and so much more. If you are attending this conference, be sure to stop by the VRG booth. Information on the event can be found here: https://arconference.org/

Do you ride motorcycles and are you vegan? The list below offers online sources for vegan motorcycle gear.

Alien Moto vegan motorcycle boots are sold by a company from Sweden here: http://www.alienmoto.se/Alien-Moto-A51-RR-Motorcycle-Boots-Black.html They also sell vegan motorcycle gloves here: http://www.alienmoto.se/Alien-Moto-A51-RR%20Evolution-Protech-Motorcycle-Racing-Gloves-Spec.html

Corazzo offers vegan motorcycle jackets and gloves here: https://www.corazzo.net/product-tag/vegan/

Forma Boots USA offers Nero Touring Boots for men and women, which are vegan friendly: https://www.formabootsusa.com/products/nero

Motorport offers a non-leather racing glove. The entire glove is made from their Racing Grade Stretch Material Made with Dupont™ Kevlar® Fiber. (No Leather Used On the Entire Glove!) This is the only synthetic material approved for road racing suits. See: https://www.motoport.com/product/motoport-racing-glove/

Olympia Gloves offers several varieties of vegan motorcycle gloves here: https://shop.olympiagloves.com/collections/vegan-motorcycle-gloves

The Vegetarian Resource Group Book Catalog offers a wide range of vegan books. Your purchases support our outreach!

Grills Gone Vegan

Vegan for One

Simply Vegan

Gluten-Free Tips and Tricks for Vegans

The Kick Diabetes Cookbook

Vegans Know How to Party

Artisan Vegan Cheese

Plant-Powered Families

The Joy of Vegan Baking

The Indian Vegan Kitchen

The 4-Ingredient Vegan

The Almond Milk Cookbook

Vegan Microwave Cookbook

Vegan Soul Kitchen

Vegan Brunch

Vegan Meals for One or Two

The Lowfat Jewish Vegetarian Cookbook

The Vegan Lunchbox (for kids and adults)

Teff Love

Vegan Seafood: Beyond the Fish Shtick for Vegetarians

More Fabulous Beans

Vegan in Volume

Soups On!

Nona’s Italian Kitchen

Food Allergy Survival Guide

The Natural Vegan Kitchen

Asian Fusion

And so many more….

FREE media mail shipping for orders over $30 in the United States only! Inquire about shipping costs outside the USA before placing your order by emailing [email protected].

Visit http://www.vrg.org/catalog/ to order books online and support VRG’s outreach at the same time!

Some members have asked us about home delivery of vegetarian food for aged parents, or for themselves when they can no longer cook.

VRG intern Amy, who volunteered for Meals on Wheels, let us know about Mom’s Meals Nourish Care. This national service caters to seniors and those with special needs. You can pay individually on your own. They also provide refrigerated, home-delivered meals to the elderly, disabled, and individuals in poor health, who are eligible for economic assistance through Medicaid Waiver or other government funded nutrition programs. Mom’s states that they offer vegetarian options with some vegan entrées available.

See: https://www.momsmeals.com/healthcare-organizations/menus/

For a list of other delivery services, see:
https://www.vrg.org/links/CateringPersonalChefServicesAndMealDeliveryServices.htm

Doshi offers briefcases for both men and women. Visit www.doshi.shop

Matt & Nat offers briefcases for men here: https://mattandnat.com/shop/men-s/briefcases/

Tokyo Bags offers unique vegan briefcases here: https://tokyobags.co/vegan-briefcases/

Tough Traveler offers briefcases for both men and women in a wide variety of colors. See: https://toughtraveler.com/collections/briefcases