{"id":15467,"date":"2020-05-12T10:00:53","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T14:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=15467"},"modified":"2020-04-28T11:34:48","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T15:34:48","slug":"a-short-tale-of-the-deli-boy-who-became-vegan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2020\/05\/12\/a-short-tale-of-the-deli-boy-who-became-vegan\/","title":{"rendered":"A Short Tale of the Deli Boy Who Became Vegan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Add beans to yellow rice for a hearty dish!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

By Emilio Gironda<\/p>\n

Growing up. Interesting concept. Does it mean just getting older? Does it mean growing wiser? Seeing old things with new eyes? New things with old eyes? Does it mean you groan more easily? Forget more readily? Say things like \u201cwhen we were kids\u201d more annoyingly? As usual, there is some truth in all the clich\u00e9s. \u00a0
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the 60’s and 70’s I grew up in an Italian-American Family working in the family Deli. I learned early on the value of hard work, perseverance, and a strong family foundation. What I didn\u2019t learn early on was the value of healthy eating. Being in the Deli every day, I was surrounded by a smorgasbord of junk-food: cold-cuts, soda, potato chips, oodles and oodles of cheese, pastries, homemade sausage, and every conceivable kind of meat and meat by-product. It was a Shangri-La for a chubby Italian kid who was obsessed with food. And I looked the part. At one point I was 100 pounds heavier than I am today.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes, I have had some health issues along the way, and, while most had something to do with me being too high strung, as we used to say, the basic issue was my diet. I came to the vegan table late in life. I was a vegetarian for over five years and have been vegan for just over one. For me it has been a natural progression from dog owner, to animal lover, to animal rights advocate, to vegetarian, and on to vegan.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Becoming vegan has, if not quite saved my life, improved it in far reaching and unintended ways. It\u2019s not just the healthier eating; it is the knowledge that by choosing to be vegan I am actually doing something, however small, to alleviate suffering. That and I get to eat creative and delicious food from all over the world.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 While my partner and I love finding and supporting main stream and out-of-the-way vegan and vegan friendly restaurants, cooking vegan is my real passion. One of our pet projects to help support and spread veganism is cooking for the uninitiated and showing them that vegan food is not just a substitute for something, it is its own thing \u2013 healthy and delicious. No one has to suffer for us to eat, enjoy our food, and thrive. \u00a0
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So now it\u2019s 2020, I\u2019m vegan and living in Baltimore. What\u2019s next? Well my partner and I dream of opening our own vegan place. Sure why not? I have the experience and I love to cook. Moreover my food is amazing. Our first idea was to open a vegan Italian Deli. Imagine the possibilities. We did, and then the possibilities really began to open up. What if we opened a vegan restaurant, or how about a vegan bar? Vegan clothing store, vegan bakery, vegan pizza parlor, vegan block party, vegan theme park, vegan, vegan, vegan… The possibilities are endless, if possibly a bit far-fetched. \u00a0
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Where are we now? Not sure what direction we are headed in but I am sure it will involve mindful and compassionate living. So without further ado here are a few of my vegan recipes.<\/p>\n

Yellow Rice with Beans<\/p>\n

(Serves 4)<\/p>\n

1-1\u00bd Tablespoons olive oil
\u00bd medium yellow onion, chopped
\u00bd green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1\u00bd cups rice (any kind will do, I like Jasmine or Basmati)
3 cups organic vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons turmeric (I use 4 but you may want to start with less)
2 cans of beans of your choice, drained well but not rinsed

In a large pot saut\u00e9 onion and garlic in the olive oil till translucent. Add pepper and saut\u00e9 for a short time keeping it crisp. Add rice, broth, salt, and turmeric. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and add beans. Simmer 15 minutes with the lid on stirring occasionally. Add more broth as needed.

<\/p>\n

Vegan Mushroom Gravy<\/p>\n

(Serves 6)

1-1\u00bd Tablespoons olive oil
16-ounce pack small mushrooms, well cleaned and sliced
\u00bc teaspoon salt<\/p>\n

\u00bc cup all-purpose flour, or as needed
3-4 cups organic vegetable broth
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
\u00bd teaspoon thyme

Saut\u00e9 mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat; season with salt. Continue until liquid from mushrooms is almost evaporated and they are near crispy. Add flour a little at a time. Continue cooking and stirring for about 5 minutes or until the flour has been absorbed and no longer white.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Add 1 cup of broth, stirring briskly until incorporated and liquid has thickened. Slowly pour in 2 more cups of broth and mix thoroughly. Season mixture with black pepper and thyme.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Simmer at a gentle boil until thickened (adding more broth if necessary to get the right consistency), about 20 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat; gravy will thicken while standing.<\/p>\n

Vegan Pot Pie<\/p>\n

(Serves 6)<\/p>\n

3 Tablespoon vegan butter
1 large russet potato, washed, peeled, cut into \u00bd-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
\u00bd teaspoon thyme
\u00bc teaspoon sage
\u00bc teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
\u00bd teaspoon salt
\u00bc teaspoon pepper
\u00bc cup all-purpose flour
1\u00bd cups organic vegetable broth
\u00bc cup unflavored soymilk
2-3 cups frozen broccoli, cauliflower, peas, and carrots, thawed and drained
3 Tablespoons vegan grated Parmesan cheese (see recipe below)
1 can (8 oz) refrigerated vegan crescent dinner rolls

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 10-inch glass deep dish pie plate with cooking spray.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In a nonstick pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add potato, onion, and spices and stir 10-12 minutes until potatoes are browned. Mix in flour and stir for about another minute, then stir in broth heating to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat stir in vegetables, milk, and cheese and spoon mixture into pie plate.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Separate dough into 8 triangles. Starting at the short side of each triangle, roll up the triangle halfway and lie over vegetable mixture with tips toward center; do not overlap.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Place pie plate on cookie sheet and bake 20-25 minutes or till crust is golden brown.<\/p>\n

Vegan Parmesan Cheese<\/p>\n

(Condiment that lasts about 1 month in the refrigerator )<\/p>\n

\u00be cup freshly roasted\/toasted organic cashews
3 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
\u00be teaspoon kosher salt
\u00bc teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until desired consistency. I like it a little bit course. My secret is to use raw organic cashews and toast them up fresh.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Emilio Gironda is The Vegetarian Resource Group Volunteer Coordinator and Catalog Manager.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Emilio Gironda Growing up. Interesting concept. Does it mean just getting older? Does it mean growing wiser? Seeing old things with new eyes? New things with old eyes? Does it mean you groan more easily? Forget more readily? Say things like \u201cwhen we were kids\u201d more annoyingly? As usual, there is some truth in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15467"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15471,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15467\/revisions\/15471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}