North Bay Woman

20 NORTH BAY WOMAN | F A L L 2 0 1 7 By Leslie Harlib V egan feasting for the holidays? Why not? Holidays are a perfect time to experiment with the rich range of vegetables, fruits, nut- based cheeses, spices and other culinary delights available to us here in Northern California. Making an entire vegan meal or cooking a classic centerpiece such as turkey, supplemented by a variety of purely plant-based dishes, is a way to enjoy doing something new that can refresh your feeling about the traditions of the season. There are sound reasons for doing this. Plant foods add to the abundance of a standard holiday feast while bringing down the calorie count. Cooking and eating vegan also boosts the health quotient of your meal in terms of digestible vegetable fats that have a lower impact on your body. "The resources for cooking and eating vegan have blossomed in the last few years," says Patti Breitman, director of the Marin Vegetarian Education Group, a vegetarian and vegan cookbook author and herself a vegan since 1986. "There is now so much information available on the Internet and in so many cookbooks and how-to books, you can't keep up with it all." If you are new to the concept of vegan, it differs from vegetarian in that vegans eat only plant foods, raw and cooked, without any animal products at all. Chia or flax seeds, rather than eggs, are used to thicken and bind. Cheeses are made from soy or nuts, not animal milk. There's plenty of room to enjoy ice creams, whipped creams, cheesecake and egg nogs — for vegans, these will be made from nuts, coconut or soy. Health-oriented cookbook authors such as San Rafael-based chef and culinary educator Rebecca Katz, say they eat a certain amount of animal foods but rely heavily on the plant world for both nutrition and stimulation for their kitchen imaginations. As Katz puts it, "One thing I love about vegan cooking is making vegetables the center of the plate, such as whole roasted cauliflower, or stuffed squash." She admits that many people find holiday cooking "daunting" and take refuge in old favorites that seem like a family must-have. However, she says, "I think many people would love to switch it up a little bit if they had some tools to be able to do it. Delicious Vegan for Holiday Dining Making an entire vegan meal is a way to enjoy something new that can refresh your feeling about the traditions of the season Patti Breitman Rebecca Katz

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