Friday, October 27, 2006

Aloo Panak & Mochi

Tonight I had potatoes and fresh spinach that needed to be used, so what else was there to make! I diced two small white potatoes and put them on to boil. I diced an onion and sauted it until it was golden brown, then added garlic, cumin, coriander, tumeric, salt, and red pepper. When the potatoes were done, I added in the spinach, let it wilt, then added in the potatoes and let it simmer just a few minutes to let the spices bloom.



I also tried Mochi for the first time (inspired by Bazu!). I found a hemp and flax seed mochi and cut a one inch square. It baked at 450 degrees for 8 minutes, which may not have been quite long enough. It was definitely odd looking after baking. I pulled away the insides, which were still quite doughy, and was left with - well, not much. I was hoping to fill it with cooked apples and peanut butter, but I ended up just cutting wedges of raw apple and topping it with a dollop of peanut butter. I'm sure I can improve on this recipe!


If you haven't figured it out yet, I live in Austin, Texas. I grew up here. Austin is the birthplace of Whole Foods and home to its awesome landmark store. I love Whole Foods and always have, ever since it was the Safer Way grocery store in a tiny little space only frequented by "hippies." There was a strange commentary in our local paper today by a regular columnist about Whole Foods' animal compassion policy. My first thought was "this clearly shows the uncompassionate nature of meat eaters and why they refuse to accept the vegetarian way of eating." If anyone is so inclined, I wish you would read this short article and tell me if you think Whole Foods is hypocritical (but don't hurt my feelings!). I don't fault John Mackey for being vegan and a business person. Perhaps I have a skewed view.

You can find the article here: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/10/27kelso.html

Thanks. And see ya Sunday!

7 comments:

bazu said...

Aw, you tried mochi! I'm sorry it came out weird (you saw how weird mine looked!) Mochi is just one of those things- I still like it, though!
I read the article, and while there are a lot of criticisms I could make about Whole Foods (there are a lot of things I like about it too) their attempt to set humane standards for animals is not one of them. The person writing the article had such a crude and cruel tone. To be that glib about animal suffering means you are truly ignorant about animal suffering.
So, carrot to Whole Foods on this issue. Stick to article writer dude.

Candi said...

Hi!! Thank you so much for trying to comment so many times on my blog! It has been giving me trouble now and then too.

Your potato dish looks great! I love anything with potatoes! All those spices must have been great in it!

How exciting to have witnessed Whole Food's beginnings!! To see it expand to where it is today must have been so inspiring!

I read the article and was unimpressed. The writer seemed to be trying to be funny instead of make valid points. Among his crude sarcasm were some valid points that we've all probably thought of. Humane slaughter? To me, there is no such thing. I also do not expect to make a difference with that attitude, and opt for the "small steps" approach. In that regard, I completely LOVE Whole Foods and the awareness they are stirring up! If a so-called writer who supports "Double meat patties" can spend enough time to think about humane slaughter and animal rights, then I think Whole Foods deserves lots of credit!! :) I love what they do and have endlessly said that I prefer to support the good that they do, versus look for where they (or anyone) are falling short or possibly being hypocritical. We can all do better, but let's keep perpetuating the positive so that things can improve. Look how far WF has come with that attitude! Thanks for the link and info on WF! I'm a WF fan, definitely.

Anonymous said...

I read the article too - WF is a business and they are looking at the market overall. I think they are doing their best to be as humane as possible but still meet the needs of the public.

I have my own issues with our local WF because it seems like it's becoming more a mainline grocery. For a while, it was hard to find vegan products but they're slowing bringing those back.

What's mochi?

aTxVegn said...

Bazu and Candi,

Thanks for your comments about the article. I know the author was trying to be funny, but like our other icons - Lance Armstrong, Michael Dell, even Willie Nelson! -their good deeds far outweigh their flaws. (Can you tell I'm in love with my hometown!?!)

MW Vegan - See Bazu's post about food finds. She's the one that turned me on to mochi. It's a little rice sheet you bake and fill. Try it - you'll probably have better luck than me.

Mary French said...

Thank you for the comment on my blog. The black bean soup recipe looks great, I'll try it.

As for the Whole Foods article, I think the author has no compassion. I like Whole foods, but there aren't any in my town. I have to travel a couple of hours to get to one.

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