As Thanksgiving 2008 approached, it seems I heard more than the usual discourse on the ethics of food, and in particular, meat-eating. Maybe I am just more attuned to these discussions, as lately I've been doing a lot of examination of my food consumption and have been contemplating vegetarianism and even veganism. I then start adding back in animal based products that I don't want to live without, namely fish and cheese. God knows, there is probably a name for that kind of diet! If not, I'm open to suggestions.
There were several stories aired on NPR regarding the vegetarians' dilemma during the holidays. I heard about people that were just as conflicted about what we choose to eat and how that food produced.
We had decided to go out for sushi for the Thanksgiving. (As I write this, NPR is broadcasting a story about the threatened Atlantic Blue-fin Tuna, an impressive and beautiful fish that is a threatened species because of high demand for, um, sushi.) No birds were harmed in our holiday feast, however tuna, yellowtail, razor clams, shrimp and eel all suffered great carnage.
As both 'L' and I expected 'A' to be participating in our holiday plans, we both made vegan desserts. 'L' did her usual vegan pumpkin pie, which is damn good and almost indistinguishable from the kind made with animal fluids (mmmmm, fluuuuuuu-ids...). I, having only one dish to make, characteristically became very ambitious and decided to create a vegan version of one of PDX's dessert landmarks, the Pear Rosemary Tart from Pix Patisserie.
I made a pate sucree and added first a layer of almond cream. I placed sauteed pears second and topped the tart with a ganache made with Valrhona 70% chocolate infused with rosemary. I was fairly happy with it but next time want to make the ganache creamier.
I think I do not want to be a vegan, but want to be a vegan chef because of the challenge.
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