Vegetarian Star

Padma Lakshmi, Food 52’s Amanda Hesser, celebrity chef Charlie Trotter and author Kathleen Collins made up a panel that recently discussed whether or not food TV does anyone any good at the “Food on the Tube: How TV Shapes the Way We Think About Food” discussion.

Sure, we need to learn to cook versus ordering out, taking out and boiling processed packaged contents in the microwave every night, but do food television programs teach or are viewers just there for entertainment?

Celebrity chef Trotter, who owns Charlie Trotter, a restaurant that features an entire vegetable menu, got his first lessons in cooking in college from reading The Vegetarian Epicure and admits, like the rest of the panel, he didn’t have anyone teaching him to cook early in life.

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"Top Chef" Carla Hall

It’s high time the veggies got their own Food Network show and during a screening of The Next Food Network Star, Bob Tuschman, senior vice president of programming and production said that a vegetarian chef isn’t out of the question, it’s just a matter of finding the right personality.

“I think if we found a great, break-out personality, yeah [a vegetarian show would work], but our food shows are driven first and foremost by our talent,” Tuschman said. “So when people go to the Food Network, you think of the talent you love on it…I think if we found a great personality, then sure.”

TV Squad has nominated former Top Chef contestant Carla Hall, who’s a vegetarian that whipped up several veggie dishes during the show’s competition, suggesting Hall’s persona and pecan tofu would attract both the carnivores and plant eaters.

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Mezzetta brand of specialty foods is holding a contest to create the best sandwich using Mezzetta’s signature peppers, olives and other products. Interested sandwich masters can enter their recipe online, making sure to indicate which Mezzetta product is used in it, for a grand prize of $25,000.

Several celebrity chefs are entering their sandwiches too, which you may vote on, to raise money for their favorite charities. There are several deliciously sounding vegetarian options included. For example, you may remember Lisa Adams, who created the vegetarian meal to honor Lisa Simpson on Top Chef Masters. She’s concocted a sesame eggplant in pita with peppers, walnuts and feta.

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Vegan chef Christina Pirello took to the Huffington Post to discuss how fast food companies like McDonald’s have lured children into their restaurants through the use of clever, cheerful marketing and a few plastic toys here and there.

“Since the Happy Meal hit the menu under the Golden Arches, childhood obesity has ballooned from 4.2% to 17%, according to the Centers for Disease Control. This hugely successful public relations brainstorm, linking cheap food with cheap toys (which actually dates as far back as free junk toys in Cracker Jacks and cereal boxes and on top of Ovaltine jars) led corporation after corporation to see the opportunity to make money off your kids’ desires. Before long, all that disposable plastic junk found its way into almost every bag of high-fat, high-sugar meal while hawking the movies your kids are dying to see.”

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"Farm To Fork" Emeril Lagasse

Emeril Lagasse is the next big celebrity chef to jump on the vegetable bandwagon.

His latest cookbook, Farm To Fork: Cooking Local, Cooking Fresh focuses on fruits, vegetables and grains, with only a small portion of meat and poultry recipes.

As expected from the title, Farm To Fork, emphasizes fresh, local ingredients to use in recipes like lemon scented blueberry pancakes and roasted beet salad.

Lagasse also says kind things about the farmers market and growing your own veggies, beginning his culinary series with the sentence, “I have had a connection with the soil since I was a young boy.”

Alice Waters may soon lose her place as top dog locavore cooking champion.

Farm to Fork is due for release in June 2010.

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Erin McKenna. Photo Credit: Clarke Tolton

Although Erin McKenna may run the very popular and successful BabyCakes Bakeries in New York and California, home to the vegan, gluten-free and mostly sugar free desserts, she didn’t always have the vegan dough to put out for buying all the ingredients when experimenting in the kitchen.

According to a recent story in LA Weekly, McKenna worked three jobs as a waitress, had no credit and no money to put down to purchase products while she formulating her recipes for the restaurant.

So if anyone is ever upset that a spelt or gluten free Red Velvet Cupcake costs $4.25, it’s not like she’s not feeling your pain.

The baker who’s treats were voted best by New York Magazine said, “People get upset because they think it’s really expensive,” adding that prices will come down once more people get on the healthy eating bandwagon.

Yes, we are all looking forward to the day when dairy-free, gluten-free muffins can be bought for $2 from the vending machine just like the ones that guy name Otis makes.

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The True Blood Season 2 DVD and Blu-Ray edition has just been released and there are special features included, such as fake infomercials and The Vampire News.

One segment on The Vampire News has Tom Colicchio making an edible version of a blood drink for vampires that have stopped eating humans for ethical reasons (even the free-range humans).

Why do conventional chefs think chicken stock is a necessity in an otherwise vegetable based dish?

Who knows, but if you substitute vegetable broth for the stock, you have a completely vegan shake with fava beans for protein, spices like fennel and star anise, beet juice and other greens.

“I have a few friends that are vampires, and I’ve had this issue,” Collichio says. “We go out, and I’m sitting there through appetizer, and entree, and dessert, and they’re just kind of nursing a TruBlood. It’s a little awkward.”

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Gordon Ramsay will prepare a vegetarian dinner for the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Tun Razak, and others visiting the Buddhist Maha Vihara temple in Kuala Lumpur for the Wesak Day celebration that celebrates, birth, life, enlightenment, and the passing of a great spiritual leader, Gautama Buddha.

According to The Star,  the chef’s production crew found out about the celebration through a food blogger who had attended a Sri Lankan Fiesta in March.

“Ramsay’s production crew read about it and asked her what other interesting events would be taking place and we told her about the upcoming Wesak Day and soon everything fell into place,” said Leslie Tilak, Buddhist Maha Vihara president.

Ramsay has been spending much time at the temple, learning the cuisine from local chefs, but the dish he will actually prepare for the celebration on the 21st of May is still unknown.

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