Fantastic New Cookbook from a Sea Shepherd Chef

"Think! Eat! Act!" is a terrific new cookbook from Raffaella Tolicetti,  In the "Think" section, she  discusses her days on the Sea Shepherd.  Tolicetti describes the perils of cooking in high seas during anti-whaling campaigns.  She also provides facts and figures on veganism, animal welfare, environmental issues, gardening, cooking, etc.   There is a chart on how to get your essential nutrients on a vegan diet. 

The "Eat" portion of the book shares creative vegan recipes with large pictures of the completed dish.  I am thoroughly enjoying these recipes!  They are pretty easy and don't contain too many ingredients.

The final section, "Act," gives information on activism and how you can help.

"Think! Eat! Act!" was funded through Kickstarter and produced by Microcosm Publishing.  It is now available through Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle versions. 

Spicy Yellow Curry Rice

This recipe was adapted from a video done in 2007 by Kerry Weber called "Vegan Cooking for Animal Lovers with the Hardcore Chef."  This young man, who is into punk and uses some spicy language, provides some terrific recipes.  I was unable to find any more cooking videos or websites for his recipes.  However, Netflix has this video available for rent. 

I  served this rice with some roasted veggies for dinner.  Weber called his rice "Tamil Tiger Rice."  I did not have all the ingredients in his recipe, so I improvised.  This is a good curry paste but I'm sure any paste will do.  If you don't like spicy food, reduce the amount of cayenne pepper or don't use it at all.

Spicy Yellow Curry Rice

3 T. Earth Balance
1 medium onion
3 cups Jasmine or Basmati rice
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1 T. minced garlic
3 cans of coconut milk (regular)
3/4 cup water
3 T. yellow curry paste
1 can garbanzo beans, drained

Rough chop the onion and saute in large pan with Earth Balance and rice for a couple minutes.  Stir often so rice doesn't burn.  Stir in salt, basil, cayenne, and garlic.  Cook another 2 minutes.  Add coconut milk, water and curry paste.  Whisk to incorporate the curry paste.  Add garbanzo beans and bring mixture to bubbling.  Lower heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Stir now and then so that the rice doesn't burn or stick to bottom of pan.  Turn off the heat and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Chef Tal Ronnen's "Crisped Capers"

The recipe for Chef Tal Ronnen's Heirloom Tomato Salad with Crisped Capers is in his cookbook, The Counscious Cook.  He has so many great recipes in this cookbook.  I never would have thought to fry capers!

Try it!  Heat one teaspoon of olive oil in a small saute pan.  Add a tablespoon of capers and cook over medium-high heat until crisp.  He says that it should only take a minute or two.  Mine took a lot longer.  Maybe I didn't have the temperature up high enough.  Drain the capers on a paper towel once they are crisp.

The salty crispness of these capers are such a nice topper for a tomato salad.  Chef Tal also tops this salad with thinly sliced basil.

http://www.talronnen.com/