Vegan dishes for red wine?

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
21

Can someone take a stab at explaining this for me?

22

I missed that the first time through. I’m curious as well. I’ve never heard that. Mushrooms = fungus = plants (to me anyway)

23

I don’t eat an entirely vegan diet, but I do cook for my Vegan wife and myself. Rachel hit many of my favorite cook books, but a few more: d2d - “Vegan on the cheap” by Robin Robertson (vegan dan dan noodles!!); d2d & special occasion - “Chloe’s Kitchen” by Chloe Coscarelli; special occasion - “Vegan Holiday Kitchen” by Nava Atlas.

My wife also agrees with Rachel regarding fake meat and cheese - when it’s bad it’s not worth it, and when its good (meat, we’ve never had good cheez), it’s disconcerting!

24

I don’t mean this in a xenophobic way but I think we would need a German member to have any chance at an explanation.

We have a vegan in our German office and the first thing he asked me when he learned I was vegetarian was if I eat mushrooms. I didn’t really think much of it but later that year I was eating dinner in a restaurant in Heidelberg and asked the waiter if a mushroom pasta dish was vegetarian and he replied something like, “Nein, es hat Pilze” (No, it has mushrooms).

So, that’s 2 independent sources for this opinion, both German, and that’s all I know.

25

A quick googling has revealed that some people have an issue with the method in which mushrooms are grown - apparently manure is not vegan, and may or may not be organic. I think that’s a bit of a stretch but hey no judging here.

26

Interesting notes on the mushrooms. Thanks Mathew and Larry. I’ll likely post this to a vegan board I’m a member of to see what people say. I’ve read about cultivated mushrooms in this country and never read about use of manure, but I really don’t know.

27

This could be an SNL skit: Vegans Talk Mushrooms

http://www.30bananasaday.com/forum/topics/are-mushrooms-vegan

Highlight: “even the mushroom advocates dont eat them raw they say the cell wall must be broken to access anything, they are actually more related to animals than plants and have similar nervous systems and cannot sustain us, so why eat them they are dirty and may not even be in the sunlight to be sterilized, I just saw an interesting video that shows where santa claus, the north pole, flying raindeer, and the red and white suits come from- the eating of fly agaric mushrooms in siberia”

28

Roberto, that’s nothing. If you really want to see us vegans implode, start a debate about whether honey is vegan.

Kevin, I don’t know “Vegan on the cheap” by Robin Robertson, but I’ve read/browsed some of her other books and agree that she’s great.

29

I was taken to a raw restaurant and they tried to explain to me why apples and potatoes are bad and thus not served there but my head exploded.

30

they are actually more related to animals than plants and have similar nervous systems

This is the argument of my German friend.

FWIW I though the honey != vegan was pretty much settled amongst vegans. I substitute agave nectar whenever cooking for my sister & her husband, both vegan.

31

Roberto, plants color their fruits brightly and hold them out to get your attention, so you may eat it and spread the seeds. The plant doesn’t want you to eat its roots, which is why it hides them underground.

That said, I’ve got no answer for the apples. I thought apples domesticated us just as grapes have - by producing fruit with a juice easily fermented into alcohol [cheers.gif]

32

It’s mostly settled but I know some vegans that will eat locally produced honey if the beekeepers follow certain practices like not re-queening. Me, I don’t use honey at all at home and don’t buy products that use it, but it’s not a complete deal killer if I’m out someplace. It’s about the only food that I’ll let slide on that basis, but my preference is still to avoid it.

Not so sure on the mushrooms having a nervous system that’s closer to animals than plants. I’m no mycological expert but fungus was still plant kingdom last time I checked.

33

You know what’s harder to cook for than a vegan? A Taiwanese Buddhist Vegan. They also don’t eat any unclean/strong tasting vegetables such as garlic, onions, green onions, chives, shallots, leeks, etc… =O
Yeah, ask me how I know…

34

OOOPS. I’m sorry I missed that “honey” part. I agree as was pointed out, agave is the standard swap-out.

35

Eggless pappardelle with vegetable ragú? Use the same red wine for your deglazing liquid.

36

How do vegans drink wine? Yeasts are living creatures and die during the production of alcohol.

Not that I want any of you to quit drinking wine. [wow.gif]

37

Also, if one attends a crush, there are a bunch of bugs that get tossed in the bins along with the grapes…

38

My favorite wine making term is MOG= Matter other than Grapes!

39

Yes, yeast is living - so are other plants. Yeast = fungi = plants, so wine is fine as are things like nutritional yeast (a cornerstone of a lot of vegan cooking).

Before someone brings it up, yes, bugs and other animals get killed as part of wine making, when you wash produce, etc. For animal right’s vegans It’s about minimizing animal cruelty. It’s a goal - most of us realize the part about bugs. But, the comeback is usually, “if you don’t mind killing bugs, then you might as well eat a rib roast, etc.” That’s when I have to reiterate the phrase “minimize cruelty to animals.”

40

Just found this by googling:
The blog Dallas Vegan did a poll on whether oyster mushrooms are vegan. The issue wasn’t that they had an animal product in their name (which of course can’t help), but that oyster mushrooms are a carnivorous plant, so when vegans eat them, they might be eating the roundworms that oyster mushrooms slaughter to get their nitrogen.


Weird.