Our New Branch in the North Is Opening Soon

One World Cuisine is pleased to open its third Pay as You Feel international cuisine restaurant in Tuart Hill on January 14, 2010. Our buffet style restaurants have been featured in newspaper, television and rated highly by visiting chefs. Try our Sweet and Sour Vegan Chicken, Vegan Lamb Curry, Pork, Fish and even Garlic King Prawn dishes.

Main Shop:
Shop 7, 23 South Street, Kardinya (Next to Super IGA) WA 6163
Lunch 11:30am - 2:00 pm / Dinner 5:45 pm - 9:00 pm
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Phone: (08) 9331 6677

One World Cuisine in Conjunction with PAWS:
120 Beaufort Street, Perth WA 6000
Wednesday to Friday
Lunch 11:30am - 2:00 pm
Phone: (08) 9228 2435

Branch in the North:
249 North Beach Drive, Tuart Hill WA 6060
Lunch 11:30am - 2:00 pm / Dinner 5:45 pm - 9:00 pm
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Phone: (08) 9207 1668

Save Copenhagen: Real Deal Now!

from Avaaz

With only 2 days left, the crucial Copenhagen climate summit is failing.

World leaders have arrived and begun 60 hours of final negotiations. Each one will have to decide whether to step forward as heroes, or fail us all. But they will only act if we do. Around the world a global movement has been building towards this moment. Now it's time for one last, massive push -- with a global public outcry for a real deal that will stop catastrophic climate change. In the next 48 hours we can build the largest petition in history. The names of petition signers are actually being read out inside the summit.

Please sign the petition, and tell everyone:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_copenhagen/97.php?cl_tta_sign=c56897e38ad419280418bb335a6aeb0b

Global Warming Hearing with Sir Paul McCartney and Dr Rajenda K. Pachauri

The European Parliament will host a major event on global warming and food policy on 3 December where Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Dr Rajendra K. Pachauri and environmental activist Sir Paul McCartney will urge legislators and experts to focus on what an individual can do to fight climate change, for example by eating less meat.

The "Global Warming and Food Policy: Less Meat = Less Heat" hearing takes place on 3 December, in Parliament's plenary chamber, in Brussels, from 10.00 to 12.30, chaired by Vice-President Edward McMillan-Scott. The opening speech is to be delivered by Parliament's President Jerzy Buzek. It will be followed by a press conference.

Read the whole article

You didn't know, did you?

Help End Factory-Farming at AnimalsAustralia.org

ANIMAL AGRICULTURE: THE FACTS

ANIMAL AGRICULTURE: THE FACTS @ Yahoo! Video

Climate Change and Meat Consumption

A recent authoritative report published by the World Watch institute, authors Goodland and Anhang concluded that over 51% of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions come from Livestock.

In the run up to the Copenhagen climate change summit, it is vital the following information be disseminated to the public as well as to our political leaders.

A widely cited 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Livestock"s Long Shadow, estimates that 18 percent of annual worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributable to livestock....however recent analysis by Goodland and Anhang co-authors of "Livestock and Climate Change" in the latest issue of World Watch magazine found that livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions!

Read the whole article

Al Gore Admits Meat Eating Dangers

Al Gore has finally come clean about his thoughts on meat consumption and the environment.

"I'm not a vegetarian, but I have cut back sharply on the meat that I eat," Gore told ABC Television from New York.

Gore had been criticized in the past for claiming to be an environmentalist, but not discussing the effects of the meat industry and global warming, especially in his narrated documentary on the environment, An Inconvenient Truth.

"It's absolutely correct that the growing meat intensity of diets around the world is one of the issues connected to this global crisis – not only because of the CO2 involved, but also because of the water consumed in the process."

Read the whole article

Walnut and Almond Pie

Ingredients:
Pie crust:

150g margarine
4 Tbsp raw sugar
220g plain flour
50g almond meal
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp soy milk

Filling:
300g lightly roasted walnuts
120g margarine
200g raw sugar
3 Tbsp No Egg (egg replacer)
1/2 cup soy milk
100g almond meal
50g plain flour
Some almond flakes

Directions:
To make pie crust: Preheat oven to 180℃. In a medium mixing bowl, cream margarine and sugar. Add plain flour, almond meal and salt, and mix well. Add soy milk and mix together to form a dough. Press evenly into a greased pie pan. With a fork, pierce bottom of the crust all over. Bake in oven at 180℃ for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

In a small mixing bowl, mix No Egg and soy milk. In a large mixing bowl, mix margarine, sugar, almond meal and plain flour. Add No Egg mixture, and mix well. Add walnuts, and mix well. Pour the mixture into pie crust and sprinkle some almond flakes on top. Bake at 170℃ for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Mung Bean Pastries

Ingredients:
Filling:
600 g peeled split mung beans
1000 g cold water
500 g raw sugar
120 g margarine
100 g coconut cream powder*

Pastry:
Inner layer:
210 g cake flour
140 g margarine
Mix together to form a dough. Divide into 25 portions, 14 g each.

Outer layer:
110 g bread flour
90 g cake flour
75 g margarine
65 g raw sugar
60 g water
Mix together and knead for 5 minutes until very smooth. Divide into 25 portions, 16 g each.

To Finish:
1 Tbsp No Egg (egg replacer)
3 Tbsp soy milk
1 Tbsp caster sugar
2 tablespoon white sesame seeds, for sprinkling as topping
Mix No Egg, soy milk and caster sugar for brushing.

Directions:
Rinse the peeled split mung beans, and soak in 1000 g cold water for 2 hours. Cook in a rice cooker until soft. Crush with a wooden spoon to form a paste. Add sugar, margarine and coconut cream powder, and mix well. Turn this mixture into a non-stick pan and stir constantly over low heat until all the moisture is gone. Set aside to cool. Take 750 g of mung bean paste and refrigerate the rest for future use. Divide into 25 portions, 30 g each, and shape them into small balls. This will be the filling.

Take one portion of inner layer pastry and wrap it inside a portion of outer layer pastry. Press lightly, roll it out into a thin flat sheet using a rolling pin. With your hand, roll the thin sheet up into a cylinder. Turn 90° so that one of the round ends faces you. With the rolling pin, roll it out into a flat sheet again. Then roll it up into a cylinder again. Repeat with the rest of the pastry portions. This is the pastry crust.

Roll each pastry crust into a flat disk, place filling in the centre, and gather the edges of the circle, to seal. Place the pastries, pleated side down, on a baking sheet. Brush with soy milk mixture and sprinkle a pinch of sesame seeds on top. Bake in a preheated oven at 180℃ for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

*Coconut cream powder is available at Asian shops.

Scientists say curry compound kills cancer cells

Wed Oct 28

LONDON (Reuters) – A molecule found in a curry ingredient can kill esophageal cancer cells in the laboratory, suggesting it might be developed as an anti-cancer treatment, scientists said on Wednesday.

Researchers at the Cork Cancer Research Center in Ireland treated esophageal cancer cells with curcumin -- a chemical found in the spice turmeric, which gives curries a distinctive yellow color -- and found it started to kill cancer cells within 24 hours.

Read the whole article

Climate chief Lord Stern: give up meat to save the planet

From The Times
October 27, 2009
Methane is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas


by Robin Pagnamenta, Energy Editor

People will need to turn vegetarian if the world is to conquer climate change, according to a leading authority on global warming.

In an interview with The Times, Lord Stern of Brentford said: "Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world's resources. A vegetarian diet is better."

Direct emissions of methane from cows and pigs is a significant source of greenhouse gases. Methane is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas.


Lord Stern, the author of the influential 2006 Stern Review on the cost of tackling global warming, said that a successful deal at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December would lead to soaring costs for meat and other foods that generate large quantities of greenhouse gases.


Read the whole article

World Go Vegan Week

"I chose to be vegan initially as an energetic pursuit, as meat and dairy slowed me down, but have since become convinced that it is not only the most healthy way to live, but also the most compassionate and ecologically responsible way."
-Woody Harrelson, World Go Vegan Week Supporter

World GO VEGAN Week

Celebrate Compassion...

The 4th annual World GO VEGAN Week is taking place this year from October 25 through 31. This week is a celebration of compassion and a time to take action for animals, the environment and everyone's well-being. We encourage people to use this week to use this week to educate their community about the vegan lifestyle as a compassionate, sustainable, and healthy way of eating and living. Promoting veganism through outreach events and the media, we know that our annual World GO VEGAN Week is helping make the word "vegan" a household word, universally recognized as meaning love and compassion for all living beings.

World GO VEGAN Week is also about celebrating what it means to be vegan. Veganism enables people to live in balance with all of Earth's creatures and promote freedom from exploitation for animals as part of their everyday lives. Modern animal agriculture is cruel and violent toward the chickens, cows, pigs and other creatures used to make meat, milk and eggs. During World GO VEGAN Week, we encourage people to become conscious of what - and who - they are eating, the effect it has on the world, and that a non-violent alternative exists.

We urge people to recognize the effects their actions have on the world, and our ability to actually avert some impending disasters such as global warming.

For the health of people, the environment, and farmed animals, veganism is the best choice. World GO VEGAN Week embodies this idea. As an international campaign, it encourages people around the world to experience the benefits and joys of a more compassionate way of life.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.worldgoveganweek.com/

Climate benefits of changing diet

Article from Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency

Reducing global meat consumption would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cut the costs of climate policy substantially. This is the result of a PBL study published in Climatic Change. Apart from a reduction in methane and N2O emissions, vast agricultural areas would become unused, mostly as a result of reduced cattle grazing, and could take up large amounts of carbon. Shifting worldwide to a healthy low-meat diet would reduce the costs of stabilising greenhouse gases at 450 ppm CO2 eq. by more than 50%.

Abstract

Climate change mitigation policies tend to focus on the energy sector, while the livestock sector receives surprisingly little attention, despite the fact that it accounts for 18% of the greenhouse gas emissions and for 80% of total anthropogenic land use. From a dietary perspective, new insights in the adverse health effects of beef and pork have lead to a revision of meat consumption recommendations. Here, we explored the potential impact of dietary changes on achieving ambitious climate stabilization levels. By using an integrated assessment model, we found a global food transition to less meat, or even a complete switch to plant-based protein food to have a dramatic effect on land use.

Read more

Organic Farming Could Help Stop Global Climate Change

Organic soils such as those seen here could sequester 40% of global carbon emissions.

Article from Treehugger

by Timothy J. LaSalle, Rodale Institue, Kutztown

Global Climate Change Chaos

We've overshot sustainability. Three hundred fifty parts per million (350 ppm) is the recommended safe threshold for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Today, at 386 ppm, we're over the limit. There is evidence that we will see ice-free summer Arctic a hundred years before IPCC estimates and we have already seen flooding in Iowa's city that would never flood and massive fires in the American west. An ice-free Arctic full of dark water will absorb more heat and change global climate patterns. Burning forests emit massive amounts of carbon dioxide, producing a deeper greenhouse effect. To avoid further expensive climate chaos we must deploy the most creative and innovative technology in the world to rapidly pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. And regenerative farming is it.

Hope in Organic Farming: Agricultural Carbon Capture and Sequestration

Even if we acted sustainably by stopping carbon emissions today, we would not be living on a healthy planet-- we need agriculture to pull carbon out of the atmosphere. The US Congress is considering a law to cap emissions of greenhouse gases, and to award credits for technologies that capture carbon from the atmosphere and sequester it safely. Write your representatives to tell them you support the most sophisticated carbon capture and sequestration method around: organic farming. Or better yet, call them up, and tell them that organic farming could pull fortypercent of global greenhouse gas emissions out of the atmosphere -- each year.

Let's Hold Agriculture Accountable

The Senate's new climate bill caps our nation's greenhouse gas emissions, and begins rewarding people and organizations that reduce our impact on the climate system. Farmers can store atmospheric carbon dioxide in their soils as soil organic carbon, which is why the Senate climate bill must support farmers with carbon credits. Unfortunately, the current bill does not limit the amount of greenhouse gases that farmers can emit, even though agriculture is responsible for 15% of our national emissions. Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions are mainly produced when chemical companies burn fossil fuels to produce synthetic fertilizers, and when distributors fly food around the world. Why should we give farmers credit for storing carbon in soil and not hold them accountable for their greenhouse gas emissions? You can help create this accountability when you tell your Senator to cap agricultural emissions.

The Real Farmers of the Future Will Build Soils

The most cutting edge forms of climate-friendly agriculture -- organic, regenerative, local, biodynamic -- don't produce greenhouse emissions the way industrial chemical farming's toxic inputs do. Rather, the real farmers of the future nurture their soils with innovative techniques such as advanced crop rotations, intercropping, soil amendments, and even animal grazing. These healthier soils are more resistant to dry and wet years, the frequencies of which are increasing as our climate transforms. The cutting-edge techniques these farmers use are continuously being improved and developed by farmer experience and supported by scientific research. Rather than giving carbon credits based on specific practices (which may become outdated or disproved) farmers should get credits based on the measured amounts of carbon they sequester in soil. A bill that rewards farmers for measured sequestration means farmers can work to increase soil carbon, rather than be limited by a specific law.

Read more

Nature Makes Us Nicer People, New Study Says

Article from Treehugger

by Jaymi Heimbuch

Don't disregard those wall calendars showing far-off nature scenes quite yet. It just might make you a more caring, community-oriented, and generous person. A new study by the University of Rochester found that after looking at nature scenes, people feel closer to their community, are willing to give more money to a charitable cause, and care more about social outcomes than they are after looking at man-made scenes. The reason, the researchers state, it communing with nature helps people also commune with their basic values.

The University of Rochester reports what we all have been savvy to for awhile now, that seeing naturescapes helps reduces stress, and even having a window in a hospital room helps people recover more quickly. "While the salubrious effects of nature are well documented... this study shows that the benefits extend to a person's values and actions. Exposure to natural as opposed to man-made environments leads people to value community and close relationships and to be more generous with money, find [Richard] Ryan and his team of researchers at the University of Rochester.

From experiments including 370 participants, the results show that after viewing urban settings or natural settings, people exposed to natural settings rated close relationships and community higher than they had before seeing the scenes, whereas after viewing urban settings, people placed more value on wealth and fame. Additionally, those who viewed nature scenes were more likely to give higher amounts of money to a good cause.

"Lead author Netta Weinstein says that the findings highlight the importance of creating green spaces in cities and have implication for planners and architects. Incorporating parks and other representations of nature into urban environments may help build a stronger sense of community among residents, she explains. By contrast, "to the extent that our links with nature are disrupted, we may also lose some connection with each other," the authors warn."

If it is the case that being around and seeing nature makes us more people-oriented and generous, perhaps we should flood the offices of Copenhagen delegates with plants, scenes from natural settings, and earthy furniture so that they're really ready to negotiate with the future of the planet front and center.

Need to see some nature now? Check out this slideshow of 20 Wild Spaces for Getting Back to Nature - It'll make you a nicer person.

Save The Human! "Don't Eat The Planet"

SAVE THE HUMAN STOP GLOBAL WARMING!!
GO VEGGIE NOW!!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=32068839545

DO YOU KNOW... "18% of all global Green Houses Gases are from the consumption of MEAT and DAIRY?"

Recently we came across some statistical facts that shocked us. Alarm bells began to ring loudly inside our being! There was nothing I could do to stop them ringing.

Out of this an idea to launch a graphic and visual campaign to raise public awareness to save the human came to me.

We have been increasingly hearing about saving the whales and saving the tigers and saving the Amazon rain forests for over 20 years now...

This is all good and noble and necessary, but to most people it is too far detached from their busy lifestyles and immediate bubble of existence...

However to save the human implies something far more serious and urgent, it forces one's mind to stop, think and connect the dots. It shocks us into awareness.

Humanity needs to wake up now in large numbers if we are to survive at all.

According to Dr. James Hansen, leading climate scientist with NASA: "we have passed tipping points. We have not passed a point of no return. We can still roll things back, but it is going to require a quick turn in direction."

Some of the recent facts* that we came across:

-- Livestock production is responsible for 18% of global GHG emissions from all human activities.

-- 70% of previously forested land in South America is used for livestock production.

-- At present there are nearly 60 billion animals a year used to produce meat & dairy. The human population is 6.7 billion.


The UN FAO predicts that between 2001 & 2050 the above figure could double.
-- A vegetarian driving a gas guzzling SUV car is more eco friendly than a carnivore riding a bicycle.

**OUR MISSION STATEMENT**
Save the Human campaign is to raise public awareness about these alarming facts in a funky graphic way that appeals to young & older people in an inspirational way that empowers them to not only change their lifestyles but also to pro-actively be part of the solution.

The team with which to manifest this campaign at this moment in time is made up of designers, directors, producers and sponsors all acting selflessly & voluntarily with a strong passion and full-hearted support to see this change happen.

This is an idea whose time has come and therefore it will receive popular support.
It is the time to save us, go vegetarian, go organic now and today.
- Bobsy Gaia, Chairman of ABLE Charity

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the
world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead-

Pug uses pushchair to walk puppies

Jenny the pug has taken puppy love to a whole new level, after taking to pushing toy dogs around in a pushchair.

Jenny's owner, Ellen Zessin, a children's book artist from Portland, Oregon, US, explains: "Jenny loved the little stuffed pugs we got for her right from the beginning and was forever picking them up in her mouth and mothering them.

Read more

FAMOUS AUSSIES PLEDGE TO TRY VEG TO HELP SAVE THE BARRIER REEF

National Vegetarian Week, 28 September - 4 October 2009

An impressive line-up of celebrities are supporting the third annual National Vegetarian Week by making a 'Pledge to Try Veg' to boost awareness of the effect of meat consumption on our health and the environment, and to raise vital funds to help save the Great Barrier Reef from destruction due to climate change.

Cricket legend Brett Lee, world surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore and head of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr Rajendra Pachauri are among those who have made a pledge to support National Vegetarian Week, with television and radio personality Sami Lukis leading the charge as this year's campaign ambassador.

Pledge to Try Veg is the theme of this year's National Vegetarian Week (28 September - 4 October 2009) and Australians are encouraged to make a pledge either to try a plant-based meal, increase their plant based meals or commit to eating vegetarian for the week by visiting www.vegetarianweek.com.au. For every pledge, one dollar will be donated to the Great Barrier Reef Foundationi to help fund research into protecting the national icon and tourism drawcard from environmental threats such as rising water temperatures and water acidification. If left unchecked, such issues could cause major problems such as coral bleaching and damage to reef ecosystems.

Sami Lukis, a vegetarian since the age of nine, said the purpose of National Vegetarian Week is to demonstrate that eating too much meat may have an impact on our health and a very real impact on the environment, and to inspire people to make small adjustments to their diet.
"We are not asking people to make a complete switch to a meat-free diet. Rather, we are encouraging them to consider how they can make a difference globally and within the skin they're in, by eating more vegetarian meals. We need as many people as possible to make a pledge so we can help save our Reef, one of the seven natural wonders of the world and improve everyone's health," said Ms Lukis.

According to new Newspoll research commissioned by Sanitarium Health Food Company, seven out of 10 Australians are now eating plant-based meals. The national survey of 1200 adults also showed a continuing trend in the belief that eating less meat and more plant-based foods improves overall health.

Sanitarium Accredited Practising Dietitian, Angela Saunders, said, "Including more plant based foods provides a number of health benefits including protection from common lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and some cancers."

"People on plant-based diets eat more fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes which are naturally low in fat, and so manage their weight more easily. These foods also contribute more fibre, helping us feel full and reducing the need for snacking," she added.

Part of National Vegetarian Week this year is to also raise awareness of how meat production negatively impacts the environment.

Livestock activity such as agriculture involving cattle and sheep is responsible for more than a third of all human-produced methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide. While methane breaks down in less than 20 years, carbon dioxide stays around for 100 years or more. Cutting carbon dioxide emissions will have no effect on global warming for decades, but reducing methane by restricting our meat intake will make a difference very quickly.

For more information visit: www.vegetarianweek.com.au

Beef-Dairy Fat May Fool Brain's Appetite Signals

Article from Vital Choices Newsletter

Saturated fat abundant in butter, cheese, milk and beef is seen to block fullness signals sent from rats' brains via appetite hormones

by Craig Weatherby

While the basic physiology of rodents and humans is very similar, the two species can differ significantly when it comes to weight control.

So it's smart to take weight control experiments in rodents with a grain of salt, so to speak.

But the results of a recent rat study seem to dovetail with a very human experience... that is, bingeing on burgers and ice cream seems to beget more burger-and-ice cream bingeing.

The findings from Texas suggest that we may be able to blame our bodies' reaction to a particular saturated fat - palmitic acid, which abounds in beef and dairy - for sabotaging efforts to get back on track after enjoying its major food sources ... such as beef burgers and ice cream.

Scientists from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center suggest that the specific saturated fat called palmitic acid causes rats' cells to ignore any appetite-suppressing signals received via the key weight-regulation hormones called leptin and insulin (Benoit SC et al. 2009).

read more

UN International Day of Peace on September 21st

Peace begins on our Plate



For more information, please visit:
http://meatfreemovement.org/peace-day

Pizza with Tempeh

Total servings: 4

Ingredients:
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
300g tomato puree
2 cups broccoli, cut in small pieces
150 g mushrooms, cut in slices
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 tsp baking powder
250 g tempeh*, cut in small cubes
2 Tbs soy sauce
4 Tbs vegetable oil
2 fresh tomatoes

Directions:

In a saucepan heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the onions, garlic, and peppers. Sauté until the onions are tender. Add the tomato pulp, broccoli, herbs, salt and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes or until the broccoli is almost soft. Add the mushrooms and continue to heat for 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 420° F (210°C). In a large bowl combine flour, salt and baking powder. Add the oil and mix. Add water, while mixing, until the dough holds together, but is not sticky. Put the dough on pizza pan and form the pizza. Bake for 20 minutes.

Pour the soy sauce over the tempeh until most of the sauce is absorbed. Drain tempeh. Bake the tempeh in a frying pan in the oil, turning often, until all sides are golden brown. Turn off the heat.

Take the pizza crust out of the oven and spread it with sauce. Arrange the tempeh and tomato slices (and optionally grated vegan cheese or olives) on top and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Serve the tempeh pizza immediately.

Vegan: Yes

Vegetarian: Yes

More tempeh recipes

* What is tempeh? See here.

* Thanks to Mr. C.T. Cheong's loving contribution One World Cuisine is able to provide delicious organic tempeh dishes for customers. In addition, various high- quality tempeh products and other new soy products are available at One World Cuisine now.

Colorful Couscous Salad with Vegan Tuna

Couscous is nutritious, low in fat and cheap, and can be cooked in many ways.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups organic couscous
3 cups water
1/2 red capsicum, diced
1/2 green capsicum, diced

1/2 cup chopped red cabbage
1 small bunch fresh dill, chopped
1/2 package (150g) vegan tuna*
1 medium cucumber, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 avocado, diced

15 pitted black olives, diced
1/2 cup currants (optional)

Dressing:
6 Tbsp lemon juice
5 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp curry powder
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Bring 3 cups of water and 1 Tbsp oil to a boil. Then stir in couscous. Cover and remove from heat. Allow all liquid to absorb (usually about 6 minutes) then fluff with fork.

Mix the dressing ingredients well. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to combine. Serve right away or chill first.

* Vegan tuna is available at One World Cuisine.

'Whale Wars' Capt. Paul Watson's vegan vessel -- with recipes!

Article from Los Angeles Times

Here's a tasty tidbit for fans of activist/conservationist Capt. Paul Watson and his acclaimed Animal Planet series "Whale Wars."

The exciting new season (airs at 9 p.m. Fridays) just started last week.

But we found out from Paul that everyone on board the Sea Shepherd, eats vegan. No fish. Ever.

DR: Tell me what you and the crew of the Sea Shepherd eat?

PW: I run my ship as a vegan vessel. It's not for animal rights reasons but to set an example and to try and get people to think about the connection between what they eat and what we're doing to the oceans, because it's quite simple, really. I personally feel that it's the most important cause on the planet; more important than anything else for the simple reason as this – if the oceans die then we all die. And we've removed 90% of the fish from the oceans. Marine ecosystems are in serious situation and it could collapse. Two weeks ago the world's experts on coral reefs met at an international conference. The conclusion of that conference is that coral reef ecosystems will be gone, worldwide, in 20 years, and it's irreversible. Nothing can be done now to stop that. That's the first major collapse of a large ecosystem on the planet and that's the first of many. This is something people have got to be very concerned and involved with because if too many ecosystems collapse, the whole structure comes down. That is going to bode very ill for all of us."

Read more

Beluga whale carries struggling diver to surface

A DROWNING diver has a beluga whale to thank for helping to save her life after her legs were paralysed by cramps.

Yang Yun was taking part in a free-diving contest at Polar Land in Harbin, north-east China, in which participants were required to sink seven metres to the bottom of a pool and stay there for as long as possible without the aid of breathing equipment.

Ms Yun, 26, thought she was going to die amid the beluga whales she shared the arctic pool with, after struggling to move her legs while trying to kick her way to the surface.

"I began to choke and sank even lower and I thought that was it for me - I was dead," she told The Sun.

"Until I felt this incredible force under me driving me to the surface."

That "incredible force" was Mila, a beluga whale which had noticed her distress and clamped its jaws around her leg.

Read more

Soymilk Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

1 cup soymilk
1 cup sugar
3 tsp salt
1 2/3 cups sunflower oil
3 tsp vinegar (adjust the degree of sourness, according to taste)

Directions:

Mix soymilk, sugar and salt and blend in a completely dry blender. A very important tip for making mayonnaise is to blend the ingredients at high speed. Then slowly stir in oil, and continue to blend at high speed. When oil is blended thoroughly, the mixture will become very thick. Finally, stir in vinegar and mix well.

Tofu Tuna Salad

Created by admin



This recipe really brings back memories of childhood. Do make sure to freeze and the thaw the tofu before preparing this recipe. It gives it a more chewy texture.



Ingredients:

* 1 block firm or extra firm tofu, frozen, then thawed and pressed
* 2 stalks celery, diced
* 1 tbsp pickle relish
* 2/3 cup vegan mayonnaise
* 1 tbsp lemon juice
* 1/2 tsp kelp powder
*1/2 tsp sea salt or more to taste
*1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Preparation:

In a small bowl, crumble or mash the tofu with a fork until it reaches the desired consistency. Add the celery and relish.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and kelp. Gently add this mixture to the tofu and stir to combine.

Serve chilled on toast with lettuce and pickle on the side.

Tesco criticised by vegetarians for using waste meat to generate electricity

Article from Telegraph.co.uk

The Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (Viva) claims that consumers should be informed if any of their home electricity is being generated by what it described as the "macabre" recycling process.

Tesco now sends 5,000 tonnes of meat that has passed its sell-by date to be turned into enough National Grid electricity to power 600 homes for a year.

It has hailed the scheme as part of a "green" drive which has enabled it to stop sending any of the waste it produces to environmentally damaging landfill sites.

But Viva said many vegetarians would be "horrified" that their houses were being powered partly by out-of-date meat.

They said any environmental benefits of recycling the meat were far outweighed by the greenhouse gases produced by rearing more meat than was needed in the first place.

Read more

21-Day Vegan Kickstart

By Eccentric Vegan on August 9th, 2009

PCRM launches a new program to help people go vegan.

Here's their description of the program:

Whether you're drawn to chocolate, cookies, potato chips, cheese, or burgers and fries, we all have foods we can't seem to resist-foods that sabotage our best efforts to lose weight and improve our health. But PCRM's Vegan Kickstart will help you win the food fight.

Based on research by Neal Barnard, M.D., PCRM president and one of America's leading health advocates, this 21-day program is designed for anyone who wants to explore and experience the health benefits of a vegan diet.

During these three weeks you will have an all-access pass to:

*Daily e-tips that will put you on the path to weight loss, better health, and greater well-being
*Delicious, easy, and satisfying recipes that will help you break your cravings for unhealthy foods *Weekly motivational nutrition webcasts featuring Dr. Barnard
*Social support of other Kickstart participants through a message board where nutrition
*Professionals answer your health and diet questions

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The Low-Carbon Diet

Change your lightbulbs? Or your car? If you want to fight global warming, it's time to consider a different diet.

Article from Audubonmagazine.org

By Mike Tidwell

Full disclosure: I love to eat meat. I was born in Memphis, the barbecue capital of the Milky Way Galaxy. I worship slow-cooked, hickory-smoked pig meat served on a bun with extra sauce and coleslaw spooned on top.

My carnivore's lust goes beyond the DNA level. It's in my soul. Even the cruelty of factory farming doesn't temper my desire, I'll admit. Like most Americans, I can somehow keep at bay all thoughts of what happened to the meat prior to the plate.

So why in the world am I a dedicated vegetarian? Why is meat, including sumptuous pork, a complete stranger to my fork at home and away? The answer is simple: I have an 11-year-old son whose future-like yours and mine-is rapidly unraveling due to global warming. And what we put on our plates can directly accelerate or decelerate the heating trend.

That giant chunk of an Antarctic ice sheet, the one that disintegrated in a matter of hours, the one the size of seven Manhattans-did you hear about it? It shattered barely a year ago "like a hammer on glass," scientists say, and is now melting away in the Southern Ocean. This is just a preview, of course, of the sort of ecological collapse coming everywhere on earth, experts say, unless we hit the brakes soon on climate change. If the entire West Antarctic ice sheet melts, for example, global sea-level rise could reach 20 feet.

Since the twin phenomena of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Gore, most Americans have a basic literacy on the issue of climate change. It's getting worse, we know, and greenhouse gases-emitted when we burn fossil fuels-are driving it. Less accepted, it seems, is the role food-specifically our consumption of meat-is playing in this matter. The typical American diet now weighs in at more than 3,700 calories per day, reports the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, and is dominated by meat and animal products. As a result, what we put in our mouths now ranks up there with our driving habits and our use of coal-fired electricity in terms of how it affects climate change.

Simply put, raising beef, pigs, sheep, chicken, and eggs is very, very energy intensive. More than half of all the grains grown in America actually go to feed animals, not people, says the World Resources Institute. That means a huge fraction of the petroleum-based herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers applied to grains, plus staggering percentages of all agricultural land and water use, are put in the service of livestock. Stop eating animals and you use dramatically less fossil fuels, as much as 250 gallons less oil per year for vegans, says Cornell University's David Pimentel, and 160 gallons less for egg-and-cheese-eating vegetarians.

But fossil fuel combustion is just part of the climate–diet equation. Ruminants-cows and sheep-generate a powerful greenhouse gas through their normal digestive processes (think burping and emissions at the other end). What comes out is methane (23 times more powerful at trapping heat than CO2) and nitrous oxide (296 times more powerful).

Indeed, accounting for all factors, livestock production worldwide is responsible for a whopping 18 percent of the world's total greenhouse gases, reports the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. That's more than the emissions of all the world's cars, buses, planes, and trains combined.

So why do we so rarely talk about meat consumption when discussing global warming in America? Compact fluorescent bulbs? Biking to work? Buying wind power? We hear it nonstop. But even the super-liberal, Prius-driving, Green Party activist in America typically eats chicken wings and morning bacon like everyone else. While the climate impacts of meat consumption might be new to many people, the knowledge of meat's general ecological harm is not at all novel. So what gives?

Roughly three percent of all Americans are vegetarians, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group, a nonprofit that educates people on the benefits of a meat-free diet. Part of the reason, I know, is the unfortunate belief that vegetarianism is a really tough lifestyle change, much harder than simply changing bulbs or buying a better car. But as a meat lover at heart, I've been a vegetarian (no fish, minimal eggs and cheese) for seven years, and trust me: It's easy, satisfying, and of course super healthy. With the advent of savory tofu, faux meats, and the explosion of local farmers' markets, a life without meat is many times easier today than when Ovid and Thoreau and Gandhi and Einstein did it. True, many meat substitutes are made from soybeans, a monocrop with its own environmental issues. But most soy production today is actually devoted to livestock feed. Only 1 percent of U.S. soybeans become tofu, for example.

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Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, is the author of The Ravaging Tide: Strange Weather, Future Katrinas, and the Coming Death of America's Coastal Cities (Free Press).

MELTING MOMENTS

1½ cup self-raising flour
2 tablespoons corn flour
6 ounces or 187 gm vegan margarine eg. Eta margarine
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1 small teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 170ºC. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

Mix margarine, vanilla and icing sugar together and add flours. Mix until smooth but not too soft. Adjust with extra flour or margarine if too soft or too floury. Form into balls and flatten on trays using floured fork.

Bake for 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Join together with jam while still a little warm.

Vegan Chocolate Whipped Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup plain soymilk
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 Tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
3 Tbsp Nuttelex margarine
1 2/3 cups sunflower oil

Directions:
Mix soymilk, sugar, vanilla extract, cocoa powder and margarine and blend in a blender. Then slowly add in sunflower oil, and continue to blend at high speed. When the oil is blended thoroughly, the mixture will become thick.

Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients:
Crust:
3/4 cup Nuttelex margarine
1 1/3 cups plain flour
3 Tbsp caster sugar
2 Tbsp soy milk
1/3 tsp salt
(20cm spring form pan is recommended)

Filling:
3 tubs plain Tofutti Cream Cheese
1 cup caster sugar
100g bar dark vegan chocolate
2 Tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 cup soy milk
4 tsp heap No Egg (egg replacer)

Directions:
To make the crust: Preheat oven to 180 C. Cream margarine and caster sugar. Add in flour and salt. With both hands, work the margarine into the flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add soy milk and salt, and mix gently to make a dough. Press evenly onto the base of a lined pan (see picture below) and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.



Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. In a mixing bowl, whisk No Egg and soy milk until foamy.

In another bowl, mix vegan cream cheese, sugar and cocoa powder. Fold in melted chocolate and No Egg mixture, and mix until smooth.

Pour onto the cooled crust. Place the pan in a tray and fill with cold water up to 2cm deep. Bake in oven at 170C for 60-80 minutes.

When the cake is almost done, remove the tray and water first, and then bake for 5 -10 more minutes in case the water moistens the crust. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight before serving.

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
3 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup vegan margarine
100 g Tofutti cream cheese
3 teaspoon cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whip all ingredients until smooth. Add more icing sugar or a bit of soy milk to reach desired consistency.

Vegan Chocolate Cheese Biscuits

There are two recipes for pastry. If you like crispy pastry, try the first one. To make muffin pastry, try the second.

Makes 60 - 65 biscuits

Ingredients:
Pastry 1:
240g Nuttelex margarine
200g caster sugar
460g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp soy milk
Pastry 2:

240g Nuttelex margarine

200g caster sugar

420g self-raising flour

2/3 cup almond meal

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp soy milk

Filling:
1 1/2 packages plain Tofutti Cream Cheese
160g caster sugar
1 bar dark vegan chocolate (100g)
2 tsp cocoa powder, sifted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 170C.

Melt vegan chocolate in a double boiler. Whip Tofutti Cream Cheese with caster sugar. Add in chocolate and cocoa powder, and mix well. Put the mixture into a plastic bag, seal with an elastic band, and cut a tiny hole in one corner. This is for the filling.

Cream margarine and caster sugar. Add in flour and salt, along with almond meal if you are making the pastry 2. With both hands, work the margarine into the flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add soy milk and mix gently to make a dough. Add more soy milk if it's too dry.

Divide the dough into small portions, and evenly press each portion into muffin pan. Use a bottle cap to make a small well in each pastry's centre.

Put into oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove and fill each well with filling. Return to oven, reduce heat to 150C, and bake for 6-7 minutes.

* You can vary the filling with green tea powder or strawberry extract.

Lose a Pound a Week With a Vegan Diet

No calorie-counting or exercise necessary.

Article from planet green

You may be thinking about going vegan/vegetarian because you believe animals should be treated ethically or because you want to reduce pollution. Quitting the meat habit can cut your carbon footprint by more than 5,000 pounds a year. Pounds of carbon won't be the only thing that you'll be shedding.

According to a recent study, you can shed about one pound a week without diet or exercise simply by sticking to a low-fat vegan diet. Only 0%-6% of vegetarians are obese.

Dr. Berkow: Lead Author of the Study
Our research reveals that people can enjoy unlimited portions of high-fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to achieve or maintain a healthy body weight without feeling hungry. There is evidence that a vegan diet causes an increased calorie burn after meals, meaning plant-based foods are being used more efficiently as fuel for the body, as opposed to being stored as fat.

A different study, which focused on obese middle-aged women, found that the women on a low-fat vegan diet were able to lose, on average, 13 pounds in 14 weeks. While the women in the control group who were on a low-cholesterol diet only lost 8 pounds in 14 weeks.

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Try a Weekday Vegetarian Diet: Eat Green Food without Taking the Plunge

Article from Treehugger

To most people, meat tastes great. To ask them to go cold turkey (har, har) is a huge ask. The vegetarian movement has focused on pushing a binary decision. A "Either you're with us, or you're against us" approach. A result of this is that meat-eaters either immediately reject the concept or promise themselves that they'll go vegetarian later. And that "later" rarely comes.

Meat Ain't What it Used to Be
Over the last fifty-odd years, the meat on our plate has gone from being the garnish to being the main feature. In short, It has switched places with the vegetables. Over the same period, the manner in which we "grow" meat has gotten more and more unsustainable (via factory farming, antibiotic use, more food miles, and overall inefficient use of resources). The result is that the volume of meat and the negative ramifications of it reinforce each other and therefore meat has become a huge issue for us.

A Proposal: A Weekday Vegetarian Diet
Paul McCartney's recent proclamation that we should all practice "Meat-Free Mondays" is a fine idea, and a fun meme, but it's impact really pales in comparison; weekday vegetarianism has five times the impact, and that can be a big boost to your footprint-cutting endeavors. If you're serious about reducing your footprint, once a week won't get the job done.
Instead, follow this one simple rule: Save your meat-eating for the weekend.
It's easy to follow.It's non-binary.It's significant (reduces impact by 70%).It's not too restrictive.It'll save you money.It's good for your health.You can start today.

"But, I need meat to be healthy!"
a) Check out these vegetarian athletes and then re-think that.
b) You can still eat some meat on the weekends.
c) There is a ton of data to suggest that most meat is actually not good for your health.

"But, I love the taste of meat!"
a) It takes a bit more work as our culinary culture has been built around meat but tasty vegetarian food does exist -- here are seven tasty recipes to get you started. Still skeptical? Check out these tasty meat alternatives.
b) You still get to look forward to the weekends.
c) By cutting it during the week, you do gain in health, helping the environment out and fattening your wallet.

Considering all this, it can really be a no brainer; here are some links to help get you started.

More on the delights of a vegetarian diet:
Vegetarian Diet Could Cut Climate Change Mitigation Costs by 70%, If Enough Of Us Make the Switch
7 Cheap and Easy Vegetarian Meals
Proven: Vegetarians Live Longer
Reduce the Meat in Your Diet: Become a Weekday Vegetarian
Vegetable Recipes on Planet Green

Australian town bans bottled water

Bottled water is often criticised as an environmental menace.

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 9 July 2009 12.03 BST

Residents of a rural Australian town have voted to ban the sale of bottled water. They are possibly the first community in the world to take such a step.

Residents of Bundanoon cheered after their near-unanimous approval of the measure at a town meeting on Wednesday. It was the second blow to Australia's beverage industry in one day. Hours earlier, the New South Wales state premier banned all state departments and agencies from buying bottled water, calling it a waste of money and natural resources.

"I have never seen 350 Australians in the same room all agreeing to something," said Jon Dee, who helped spearhead the "Bundy on Tap" campaign in Bundanoon, a town of 2,500 about 100 miles south of Sydney. "It's time for people to realise they're being conned by the bottled water industry."

First popularised in the 1980s as a convenient, healthy alternative to sugary drinks, bottled water today is often criticised as an environmental menace, with bottles cluttering landfills and requiring large amounts of energy to produce and transport.

Over the past few years, at least 60 cities in the United States and a handful of others in Canada and the United Kingdom have agreed to stop spending taxpayer money on bottled water, which is often consumed during city meetings, said Deborah Lapidus, organiser of Corporate Accountability International's "Think Outside the Bottle" campaign in the US.

But the Boston-based nonprofit corporate watchdog has never heard of a community banning the sale of bottled water, she said.

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Veggie Queen Is Planning to Open a Worldwide Chain of Vegetarian Restaurants

Devout vegetarian Radhika Oswal doesn't squirm at the thought of meat - in fact, she still remembers how tasty chicken legs are.

But the wife of fertiliser billionaire Pankaj Oswal has vowed not to eat meat again because of the damage it does to the environment.

Mrs Oswal hit back at criticisms this week after she made a 40-minute presentation on the benefits of vegetarianism on global sustainability at the Oswals' annual ball last weekend.

She told The West Australian that she had nothing against meat-eaters but believed we could help reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by going vegetarian one day a week.

"I don't have a problem with people eating meat," she said. "I think people don't understand the impact of eating meat. I have learnt that vegetarianism is one of the most important and absolutely most ignored concepts relevant to the sustainability of our species, to this planet's ecosystems and to humanity.

"I'm just putting my views out there because I want to show my face to my great-grandchildren and my grandchildren and be able to tell them that I did try. Vegetarianism is something you can do at your own home. All I ever quoted and all I say today, and I say it today again, is try one vegetarian day a week. I've never said stop eating meat."

Mrs Oswal stood by her comments that "we are covering the world in s..." because of the livestock excrement that was clogging the world's rivers and forests. But she had tried meat, having rebelled from her vegetarian family in her teens and eating meat at boarding school.

"Here when you rebel you become vegetarian, but in India it's the opposite. So I rebelled and my friends were all eating these chicken legs and I have to say, it's really sad but they were tasty," she said.

"I started realising the benefits of vegetarianism when someone told me about these benefits less from the angle of religion and more from the angle of sustainability and environmental impact and kindness towards animals. That's when I really understood the importance."

Mrs Oswal is busy with plans to open a worldwide chain of vegetarian restaurants called Otarian. Flagship stores are due to open in Britain and the US this year.


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Super-size Deposits Of Frozen Carbon In Arctic Could Worsen Climate Change

ScienceDaily (July 6, 2009) - The vast amount of carbon stored in the arctic and boreal regions of the world is more than double that previously estimated, according to a study published this week.

The amount of carbon in frozen soils, sediments and river deltas (permafrost) raises new concerns over the role of the northern regions as future sources of greenhouse gases.

"We now estimate the deposits contain over 1.5 trillion tons of frozen carbon, about twice as much carbon as contained in the atmosphere", said Dr. Charles Tarnocai, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, and lead author.

Dr. Pep Canadell, Executive Director of the Global Carbon Project at CSIRO, Australia, and co-author of the study says that the existence of these super-sized deposits of frozen carbon means that any thawing of permafrost due to global warming may lead to significant emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane.

Carbon deposits frozen thousands of years ago can easily break down when permafrost thaws releasing greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, according to another recent study by some of the same authors.

"Radioactive carbon dating shows that most of the carbon dioxide currently emitted by thawing soils in Alaska was formed and frozen thousands of years ago. The carbon dating demonstrates how easily carbon decomposes when soils thaw under warmer conditions," said Professor Ted Schuur, University of Florida and co-author of the paper.

The authors point out the large uncertainties surrounding the extent to which permafrost carbon thawing could further accelerate climate change.

"Permafrost carbon is a bit of a wildcard in the efforts to predict future climate change," said Dr Canadell. "All evidence to date shows that carbon in permafrost is likely to play a significant role in the 21st century climate given the large carbon deposits, the readiness of its organic matter to release greenhouse gases when thawed, and the fact that high latitudes will experience the largest increase in air temperature of all regions."

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Vegetarian Diets Can Help Prevent Chronic Diseases, American Dietetic Association Says

Vegetarian meal of chickpea or garbanzo beans salad. Appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases, according to the ADA. (Credit: iStockphoto/Elena Elisseeva)

ScienceDaily (July 3, 2009) - The American Dietetic Association has released an updated position paper on vegetarian diets that concludes such diets, if well-planned, are healthful and nutritious for adults, infants, children and adolescents and can help prevent and treat chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes.

ADA's position, published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, represents the Association's official stance on vegetarian diets:

"It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life-cycle including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence and for athletes."

ADA's position and accompanying paper were written by Winston Craig, PhD, MPH, RD, professor and chair of the department of nutrition and wellness at Andrews University; and Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, nutrition advisor at the Vegetarian Resource Group, Baltimore, Md.

The revised position paper incorporates new topics and additional information on key nutrients for vegetarians, vegetarian diets in the life cycle and the use of vegetarian diets in prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. "Vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle," according to ADA's position. "There are many reasons for the rising interest in vegetarian diets. The number of vegetarians in the United States is expected to increase over the next decade."

Vegetarian diets are often associated with health advantages including lower blood cholesterol levels, lower risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure levels and lower risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, according to ADA's position. "Vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Vegetarian diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol and have higher levels of dietary fiber, magnesium and potassium, vitamins C and E, folate, carotenoids, flavonoids and other phytochemicals. These nutritional differences may explain some of the health advantages of those following a varied, balanced vegetarian diet."

The position paper draws on results from ADA's evidence analysis process and information from the ADA Evidence Analysis Library to show vegetarian diets can be nutritionally adequate in pregnancy and result in positive maternal and infant health outcomes. Additionally, an evidence-based review showed a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease.

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Puttanesca Scramble

Recipe from Post Punk Kitchen

Serves 4

Inspired by the classic Italian dish, pasta puttanesca, this scramble is screaming with flavor. Olives, capers and plenty of fresh herbs make for an easy to throw together scramble that tastes like a Mediterranean feast you've been slaving over for hours.

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 - 8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 lb extra firm tofu, diced

4 roma tomatoes, diced

2 tablespoons fresh thyme

2 tablespoons fresh oregano

1/2 cup mixed olives, roughly chopped

1 tablespoons capers

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Preheat a large heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Saute the garlic in the olive oil until lightly browned, but be careful not to burn. 3 minutes ought to do it. Add the red pepper flakes and the tofu and saute for about 10 minutes, until tofu is browned. Add a little extra oil if necessary.

Mix in tomatoes, thyme and oregano and cook for about 5 minutes, until tomatoes are a bit broken down but still whole. Add olives, capers and salt to taste. Cook just until heated through.