Interview With The Herbivore*
Interview
This is not your typical interview. Mostly because mine is not a food blog and most of my readers aren’t interested in a vegetarian lifestyle.
HOWEVER, Lindsay (the Happy Herbivore herself) not only expressed interest when I offered to interview her, she also agreed to answer hard-hitting questions about vampires and zombies in between questions about broccoli.
<insert fangirl squee here>
Food is Food
Remember, folks. Vegetables are food, too. Just because you eat chicken and steak, there’s no reason you can’t also be interested in recipes starring potatoes and carrots!
Speaking of recipes, stay till the end for a FREE recipe from Lindsay’s Book, “The Happy Herbivore Cookbook: Over 175 Delicious Fat-Free and Low-Fat Vegan Recipes” (available in all major book outlets now and HIGHLY recommended by myself and Mr. Moore, who enjoy her recipes on a regular basis).
Also, you’re not going to want to miss the zombie question.
To The Interview-mobile!
1) If you could have any one mythical creature for a pet, what would you choose and why?
Lindsay : a miniature unicorn. have always wanted one.
Tami : See? Now that’s just cool. Also, I lovelovelove that she chose an herbivore for a pet. Assuming unicorns are herbivores – not so in all unverses. Still, miniature unicorn is not only a great answer, it’s COMPACT. I wonder if she meant “miniature” as in “pony-size” or “miniature” as in “pocket-size”? See, this is why I fail at interviewing, I don’t get into the really hard-hitting follow-up questions until it’s too late!
2) Are there any myths about vegetarians that you’d like to dispel?
L : I have a picture for this answer. will attach.
T : *gigglesnort* No, I do not think I wish to discuss protein with that gorilla. (For the TRULY curious, let me assure you that protein is VERY easy to come by without meat … even without the common soy-based proteins. BEANS, for example, are awesome protein. And quinoa. And hemp seeds. And nuts. They’re also fiberlicious. Mmmm, fiber. Your colon will thank you.)
3) What is a sample day’s menu that you would recommend for an adventurous meat-eater who might be interested in implementing a “Meatless Monday”?
L :
Start off breakfast with oatmeal, yogurt parfait or cereal and fruit.
For lunch, get a veggie sub or sandwich, or take a pb&j with snacks
like chips, pretzels, carrots, fruit.
Dinner have a really lovely stir-fry or vegetable curry dish, or even pasta.
T : I do find it interesting that the question of “If you don’t eat meat, what DO you eat?” is so very common. I remember asking it myself, not too long ago. A lot of people are becoming more aware of what they eat and “Meatless Monday” (one day a week where no meat is eaten) is becoming fairly popular. I think people might be surprised at just how easy it is to find and make delicious meat-free dishes, even if they aren’t interested in a vegetarian lifestyle. Books like Lindsay’s “The Happy Herbivore” are a great place to start looking if you’re curious. Remember, Amazon lets you peek inside the book!
4) What’s your favorite recipe – your go-to recipe whenever there’s a potluck and you want to bring something to knock the socks off your hosts?
L : I tend to bring the nachos or the hawaiian teriyaki from the cookbook.
T : *notes to herself that Hawaiian Teriyaki recipe must be tried* Also? Mmm, nachos.
5) What is the secret to kick-ass veggies? Broccoli, in particular seems to be either undercooked or overcooked!
L : I’m allergic to broccoli… I find getting a steamer ($20, electric) is the secret to perfectly cooked veggies
T : *hangs head in shame* I don’t know why I still haven’t bought one of these. You’d think that as many veggies as I eat, it’d be a no-brainer.
6) Who do you think would win in a fight between zombies and vampires, and why?
L : zombies. they can be outside in the daylight, and be lying in wait to pounce on the vampires.
T : That’s a good point, but it raises questions of zombie intelligence. CAN a zombie “lie in wait”? I haven’t seen a lot of patience in the hunting style of the Greater North American Zombie. What I want to know is what happens if a zombie bites a vampire? Or if a vampire bites a zombie? We can totally have cross-faction contamination going on here that could TIP THE SCALES at any moment. Zombies could overwhelm vampires by sheer numbers alone! They could eat so many humans that they cut off the vampire’s primary food supply. On the other hand, vampires are crafty – they could totally strap on flamethrowers and raze an entire flock of zombies all in one go. Or machine guns. Or flamethrower machine guns. And then I’d want to know what universe of vampire we’re talking here. Because sparkle-vampires would die out immediately, but Anita Blake vampires would be pretty tough to beat.
Wrapping Up
Whee! So I had fun. Did you have fun? I hope Lindsay had fun.
If you’re interested in Lindsay’s book, “The Happy Herbivore Cookbook: Over 175 Delicious Fat-Free and Low-Fat Vegan Recipes” it’s available just about everywhere. Rather than linking eleventy billion places, I’ll just shunt you over to her site, where she has them linked. Bonus! She’s also got photos of the food from the cookbook.
Wipe your chin after drooling. *winks*
FREE RECIPE
Lindsay let me pick a recipe to share with y’all. I choose cornbread. I LOVE cornbread, but I hate how all the cornbread mixes are filled with preservatives and uncontrolled sugars. I love to add real corn to my cornbread, then break it into bits and sprinkle it over mexican rice dishes.
Then again, I also like to top it with a homemade cinnamon honey butter and just eat it by the fistful. YMMV.
Cornbread
(serves 6)
This is my favorite cornbread recipe. It’s quick and simple — the kind of recipe you can whip up at any time because you always have the ingredients on hand.
- 1 c cornmeal
- 1 c whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 1 cup non-dairy milk (such as fat-free soymilk)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp raw sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 400F. Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Add non-dairy milk, applesauce, maple syrup and sugar, if using, on top. Using a spatula, stir until just combined. Pour batter into a nonstick shallow 9″ pie dish, or other oven-safe dish. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
PostScript
Anyone else want to join the fun in chattering about the questions/answers? I want some more opinions on just how small miniature unicorns are, what kinds of vampires we’re talking here, and whether or not anyone else has tried a veggie steamer.
Footnotes
* The title of this post lacks the PIZAZZ of “Interview With The Vampire” but I’m sticking with it.
17 Comments
Cornbread…yummmy!
Thanks Lindsay and Tami for the great interview! Now to get of the gorilla’s way!
this interview was so awesome to do… and good point about the zombies…
Clearly, I have given the problem of zombies vs vampires some solid thought. *winks*
Thanks again for allowing me the opportunity to interview you!
Very cool interview. I have always wondered what Vegans ( is that the correct term?) eat and how you get your proteins.
While that life choice does not appeal to me, I have great respect for those that do. I, however; agree with a friend of mine who so elegantly stated : ” I did not crawl my way to the top of the food chain to become a vegetarian.”
Vegans are vegetarians on steroids. Vegetarians will often eat animal products (eggs, dairy, etc) but Vegans do not. Many vegans won’t even eat honey.
I have a few friends who go beyond “omnivore” and into the “carnivore” territory. No such thing as a meal that doesn’t include meat and any non-meat substances are garnishes for the meat instead of the meat being a garnish for the food. It’s all a point of view thing. ^_^
Whatever will rid the world of sparkly vamps most expeditiously gets my full support. I’m kinda meh re: unicorns, but give me a pegasus and I swear I’ll take riding lessons!
Also, the cornbread recipe? MMMMMmmmmmm!!
Unicorns are like … extra security around the house!
Unless they’re pocket-sized. Then they’re mostly just adorable.
Pegasus, eh? Might I recommend library-ing Pegasus by Robin McKinley? It was kinda heavy on politics and backstory for my tastes, but OH LAWDY the pegasus. Besides, you (like many folks I know) actually LIKE heavy history in a book. You might enjoy it! Definitely worth librarying to find out if it’s one you’d want to buy.
An oh yes. Cornbread. MmMmMmMmmmm indeed. *drools a little*
Excellent recommendation: I’ve seen it often, thought about reading it, and never have. So I have added it to the list. I do recall reading quite a few Robin McKinley books many, many years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed them.
It’s the first, and only list entry. :P But I did come up with a new (for me) use for Evernote! A 3-column table listing Title, Author, Recommended By. Since Evernote syncs to EVERYTHING, and I have my phone with me when I am at the library…so, WIN!
Due to the flour in the cornbread recipe does this mean you are eating gluten again? Notice any differences since bringing it back?
I went to my doctor to be tested for Celiac on Friday, should get my results sometime this week. Haven’t noticed a huge change yet on gluten-free diet but it has only been a few days.
Nope! Still gluten-free in my household. They make a really nice GF replacement for all-purpose flour – I’d just use that instead of the regular flour.
I think it took Mr. Moore a few months before he started REALLY noticing the changes from the diet, but now even a little bit of wheat gives him very obvious side effects (more bumps on the leg, headaches, general blah feeling)
Personally, my reaction isn’t nearly as strong, but I’ve definitely had some very good side effects from our overall dietary changes.
*fingers crossed for your test* You can be sensitive without having Celiac – I hope you don’t have Celiac. That’s definitely the far-more-unfun sensitivity.
When we were offered gluten-free this weekend, Bob said, “Glutton-free? No, I am a full-on glutton. Don’t spare me anything.”
When Jacob started insisting that I prepare black beans and rice with fried bananas for breakfast, I was the happiest mom in the world. I have never been an anything…or as the Viloent Femmes say, I am N-O-T-H-I-N’……but I have never been a big meat eater. I love fruits and veggies, and spent my youth eating black beans and rice.
My favorite cornbread recipe is cornbread with fresh berries thrown in and topped with a honey-lemon drizzle after baking. That is a great breakfast. Unless you are my child who doea not appreciate cornbread. Forgiveness for this sin comes in thier love of avocados.
I approach all hypothetical scenarios where I have to pick the winner just like I approach the presidential elections. (That is the same thing, right? Picking the ficticious, buffed up superhero who could save us all?) I want the best looking-candidate to win. Zombies are some ugly folk and nobody has ever swooned over one. I gotta hope the vampires win.
Some day, I shall be granted the incredible gift of being able to cook and eat with you, and it will be glorious.
Although I still think you made up the grilled watermelon thing. *winks*
I’ll take a guy who explodes when sunlight hits him over a guy who’s showing me the color of his insides any day.
Oh, and I have bamboo steamers, but I am guessing that is not a “veggie steamer.” I am supposing that those must be like rice cookers, an independent appliance meant for a specific purpose. I love the bamboo steamers, but you do have to know how long to steam and pay attention. Broccoli is about a 5 minute steam…boiling broccoli is yucky. Steam it…it is done when it becomes a bright, happy green.
Bamboo steamers? this is new to me, I think.
I steam my broccoli in the little wire colander I have – just set it over a pot of boiling water and put some kind of lid over it.
And yes, a very happy green. <3
Bamboo steamers are Oriental. Try an Asian store.
They are stackable, so you can easily attain single layers of food, essential for thorough cooking, or you can steam multiple items at once. Not expensive, about $15.00. (well, I am sure you can spend more.)
Did you try it?? Grill you some watermelon and then call me a liar.
Just because Mr. Moore ate hot sauce on strawberries, oranges, and poptarts doesn’t make that a REAL food.
*raspberry*
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