Vegetarian Star

Mario Batali was given a vegetable challenge and he took it!

Food and Wine asked Batali to create three recipes featuring vegetables and to pair those meals with appropriate wines.

Batali hinted that he not only enjoyed the task, but personally feels vegetables should be the center of the meal.

“Protein has been intensely over-represented on the plate,” Batali said and added that the main course should be primarily from the “garden.”

Of course any seasoned vegetarian knows protein can be both represented on the plate and from the garden, given the numerous sources of plant proteins like chickpeas and beans.

One of Batali’s star vegetables was grilled asparagus with red pepper zabaglione, paired with a fruity Tuscan red wine.

Now you know asparagus can be paired with red wine, but can peas be paired as well?

Visit Food and Wine to find out.

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Mario Batali made fun of Gwyneth Paltrow for refusing to eat baby lambs and accused her of killing “baby soy” when she drank soya milk during the filming of the show Spain…On the Road Again.

But Batali has admitted to PEOPLE that following a mostly vegetarian diet has allowed him to lose some serious spare tire.

“I try to have vegetables or salad and stay vegetarian through my evening meal,” Batali said. “It’s really working for me. I try to eat half portions of whatever they serve me at a restaurant and things as small as my fist or smaller when I eat in the daytime. At dinner I try to have a regular meal, some kind of protein, salad and vegetables.”

Batali went from 280 to 235 and is hoping to make it to the 200 club.

But why on earth is he skipping breakfast?

“I try not to eat breakfast. I try to have an espresso around 10 or 11 a.m.”

Shouldn’t Mario be at least grabbing a bowl of oatmeal or chowing down on a vegetarian breakfast burrito from Amy’s?

The occasional fake sausage from Lightlife or Morningstar Farms wouldn’t hurt.

People included an example what he might eat at dinnertime and it’s so very veggie!

Grab the recipe for Whole Grain Rigatoni with Tuscan-Style Cauliflower and Pecorino now!

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"Iron Chef America" Michelle Obama Garden. Photo: New York Times

Iron Chef America will open its season premier on January 3 2009 at the White House using fresh produce from Michelle Obama‘s garden.

The Food Network show hosted by Alton Brown will feature White House chef Cristeta Comerford paired with Bobby Flay to compete against Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse.

The “secret” ingredient the chefs must use in their dishes is anything that grows in the White House garden.

Michelle will also use the opportunity to discuss encouraging children’s healthier eating habits and reducing childhood obesity.

“What’s exciting for us is this is the first time I can remember the White House taking an active interest in doing something about diet and health,” Batali said.

Looking forward to this episode.

Would love to see a cookoff featuring the Obamas and two chefs!

via nytimes.com

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Gwyneth Paltrow is no vegetarian saint.

But while filming Spain…On the road again with Mario Batali, she did refrain from eating many meats, including ham.

And Anthony Bourdain thinks she’s such a bitch for doing so.

From Ecorazzi.com:

“While on a panel with fellow foodie Mario Batali at Seattle’s Paramount theater last weekend, Bourdain poked fun at Batali’s PBS series Spain… On the Road Again; which featured the chef and Paltrow on a culinary tour of Spain. “Why would you go to Spain with the one bitch who refuses to eat ham?””

Now we know how he really feels about Paltrow.

Jerk? Funny? A little bit of both?

Personally, we’d like to see Gwyneth be an even bigger bitch and refuse every animal.

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Mario Batali and fellow vegetarian hater Anthony Bourdain recently did a Q & A session with fans and one person asked Batali what he thought of vegetarians.

“Some of my favorite things to eat are vegetarians!”

Ha, ha haaaaaa, Mario.

Gwyneth Paltrow scolded him for eating baby animals during their culinary adventures in Spain…On The Road Again, saying it was bad karma to do so. Of course, given her phony vegetarian history (turkey burgers, anyone?) she didn’t have much room to talk, but good for her for selectively taking up for some animals.

Yeah, we’re sure there’s even worse bad karma for those who eat baby AND grass fed animals.

via seattletimes.nwsource.com

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Add another celebrity who likes strange sounding food to the list. Professional skateboarder Danny Garcia is into Squash Blossom Pizza.

“It’s like the flowers from a squash plant,” Garcia told ES Footwear, speaking of the pie he ate at chef Mario Batali’s restaurant. “On top of the pizza with the cheese and stuff. They are kinda sweet. It was good.”

He started off being vegan for a couple of months, then decided it was too hard. Now he sticks to pescetarianism.

“It just turned into a habit where I do not want or crave red meat now. I don’t even think about it. I’m looking at a menu or making food, it’s not even on my mind. It’s pretty much habitual now.”

Which makes you wonder why his favorite Food Network Show is Bobby Flay, king of putting every animal on the grill, with the occasional plant here and there.

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Despite her recent transgressions against vegetarianism, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who claims she is “pretty much vegetarian,” actually stood up in defense of both animals and soy milk. Yes, the crucified soy milk.

During a clip of “Spain…On The Road Again,” she’s sitting with Mario Batali and exclaims that Spanish soy milk is delicious.

Mario teases her about his, asking if he can get her some, “steamy, hot stinky soy milk,” and jokes that Spanish soy milk is good because they [the Spaniards] make “great soy sauce.”

Gwyneth tells Mario to shove it. Ouch!

She then chides him for eating lamb earlier, saying it’s such bad karma to eat baby animals (grown  male turkeys still fair game).

Mario’s argument that lots of “tiny soys,” gave up their life for her milk just isn’t as convincing a rebuttal.

Visit Eat Me Daily to view the video (it’s the one at the bottom of the page) as well as a clip showing Gwyneth cringing at the death of a lobster.

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Forget the horse, forget the cowboy. Save a pig, eat a turkey!

Gwyneth Paltrow has no doubt taken a beating from the vegetarian community these days and for good reason, including her fur wearing ways in a Tod’s clothing ad.

Her “Spain…On The Road Again” series on PBS, which UKTV has now obtained the rights, features Gwynnie, celebrity chef Mario Batali, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman and Spanish actress Claudia Bassols and their culinary experiences while traveling through the country.

While filming the series, Gwyneth said she did not eat jamon, a cured ham product only found in Spain and Portugal, because she’s a vegetarian, according to UK’s Digital TV blog.

When she apologized to PETA for wearing fur for Tod’s, she did say that her and husband Chris Martin, Coldplay frontman, are “pretty much vegetarian.”

However, in the Huffington Post she wrote about how turkey always has a place (dead, not a seat at the table, that is) at her Thanksgiving table with recipe instructions for how to make turkey burgers!

Hollywood divas can be ever so confusing! For now, it’s assumed Gwyneth follows the “Save a pig, eat a turkey!” vegetarian plan.

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