On our first free day in New Orleans James and I decided to take in as much of the city as we could on foot. The friend we are staying with  attends Tulane Law School on the north-side of the city. Our mission was was to travel the 5 miles from there to the French Quarter and along the way find a good Louisiana-style vegetarian lunch.

Okra Po'Boy from Mahoney's

After wandering past seemingly endless blocks of Victorian mansions on St. Charles Street, we turned west toward the river and found ourselves on surrounded by boutiques, antique stores, and restaurants on Magazine Street. Increasingly warm and hungry, we happened upon Mahoney’s Po’Boy Shop just as the grumbling in our stomachs was becoming unbearable.  Luckily for us, Mahoney’s had a Fried Okra Po’Boy special for the day, as well as several other vegetarian po’boy options – including Fried Green Tomatoes, Eggplant Parmesan, Grilled Cheese, and even a Potato Chip Po’Boy.  We opted for the Fried Okra and Fried Green Tomato sandwiches. When okra is abundant it is easy to get tired of it, but after a whole year without it (okra does not exist in any reliable quantity in Peru) this fried okra sandwich was divine.  Both po’boys were moistened by homemade remoulade, consisting primarily of mayonnaise seasoned with horseradish, green onions, and chopped hard boiled eggs.

Adventure Car on the ferry in Cameron Parish

This Sunday James and I set out on our first trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. The trip was prompted by an invitation from a close friend which coincided with a week of fantastic weather. Is there a better way to embrace the spirit of spring than with a road trip under a blue sky with the windows down? No, there is not. So, we strapped the bikes onto the car, packed our cleanest clothes, and hit the open road.

This drive took us east from Austin to Houston. Then, rather than take the interstate in to Louisiana we decided to venture along the Creole Nature Trail, also known as Highway 82. This route parallels the Gulf of Mexico allowing us to take in some interesting views of beaches, wetlands, and numerous massive oil and petrochemical refineries. True to its name, this scarcely-traveled two-lane highway is indeed a nature trail and in this coastal landscape we spotted thousands of birds, several snakes, a few alligators, a beaver, and a wild boar!

Megamega Hummus with carrots and Dr. Krackers

The Anti-Inflammatory Diet is likely to gain popularity in the near future. The diet, which emphasizes consuming whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats to reduce chronic inflammation and promote health, is, for the most part, easily adapted to a vegetarian diet. However, the diet recommends a high-level of Omega-3 fatty acid consumption including 2-6 servings of fish and seafood a week. For most vegetarians this is untenable as is the recommendation to take a 2-3 gram fish oil supplement. The reason that fish and fish oil are preferred to plant-based Omega-3 sources is that the fish contains two important Omega-3s, EPA and DHA, while plant-based Omega-3 sources only contain ALA fatty acids. The human body can, rather inefficiently, convert ALA to the necessary EPA and DHA. So, in order to consume all of the necessary ALA for this conversion a vegetarian requires about 5 times the Omega-3 consumption that someone else will obtain from fish or fish oil – at least 6 grams of ALA a day.

Even with all of this information I still can not bring myself to eat a fish oil capsule knowing as I do that the undesirable fishy taste will be in my mouth for at least three hours. The only remaining solution is to eat all the plant-based sources of ALA Omega-3 fatty acids I can get my hands on. This includes most nuts, seeds, and the remarkable herb purslane (more on that later this spring).

Tamales are popular from the tip of Chile up to the American Southwest. Peru is part of this tamale zone and has several varieties of these steamed savory corn treats. We have created a delicious traditional tamale recipe for The Authentic Peruvian Vegetarian Cookbook but last night we decided to have a bit of fun. While in Lima we stumbled across a small natural food restaurant serving large steamed corn tamales that included quinoa and coca powder in the masa (corn based dough). We wanted to recreate these healthful and colorful tamales, but as coca flour is unattainable in the United States we used a fortified broth to add some fun color to the dish.

If this is your first time to make tamales you might find the process a bit time consuming and tedious. However, once you have the techniques down and understand the process it can be fun and the results are rewarding. We have some steps and photos that might be helpful on our Tips and Techniques page. There are also many helpful videos online that you may want to study before starting.

Wrapping tamales can potentially be a tedious process, but we hope that these photos will help you know that you are on the right track:

Spread the masa evenly across the bottom of corn husk in a 3 inch x 5 inch square