Vegetarian Star

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. And hope they do not adopt the typical American diet here which leaves them with diabetes, high cholesterol and heart issues.

A recent Top Chef episode had the cheftestants making a meal with conesssion style food on a ferry during a trip to Ellis Island where they would learn about their own ancestry and make meals which reflected their heritage.

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The Tom’s of Maine Wicked Fresh! Live Chat series went a little different than expected. While we were hoping “Top Chef All Stars” Carla Hall would do some cooking, she actually spent the hour answering questions from Facebook on food.

Which is still great, because Carla answered a question from Vegetarian Star about her favorite vegetarian or vegan dish and gave our site some love in the process!

Carla said right now she is really into root vegetables, so she loves to take rutabagas, turnips, carrots and parsnips and roast them in garlic and olive oil, throwing in some onions and simmering it all in vegetable broth. Then, toss in some tofu cubes. She also loves butternut squash soup and gave some great advice for a non-dairy substitute for cream.

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As promised, here’s “Top Chef All Stars” contestant Carla Hall discussing cooking for the holiday season using local, seasonal ingredients as part of  the Tom’s of Maine Wicked Fresh! Live Chat series highlighting people making a difference in their careers.

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Top Chef’s Carla Hall will be a guest on Tom’s of Maine “Wicked Fresh! Wednesdays” live chat series tomorrow, Wednesday, December 15 at 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m.to 9:00 p.m. EST. The “Wicked Fresh! Wednesdays” live chats are meant to promote Tom’s of Maine‘s new line of Wicked Fresh! toothpastes and mouthwashes and to celebrate individuals pursuing careers that benefit others.

As a special treat, Vegetarian Star will be broadcasting the chat between the veg-friendly chef and maker of vegan dental products live. Viewers can also participate in the live, online chat on the Tom’s of Maine Facebook live chat tab.

Carla will be making a special veg-friendly dish, teach viewers how to make holiday dishes using local, seasonal ingredients and tell what it’s like competing on “Top Chef All-Stars.”

Who needs TiVo? Plug in your cable or find a wi-fi hotspot tomorrow at  8:00 p.m. EST/5:00 p.m. PST and come to Vegetarian Star for the best programming in veg-friendly, sustainable food!

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How To Cook Like A Top Chef

Chef Rick Bayless and the Top Chef staff have compiled a cookbook featuring recipes from all six seasons of the show and the first season of Top Chef Masters. Plus, there’s tips for using utensils, getting the sauces just right and behind the scenes interviews.

Let’s not forget there’s Rick Bayless’ Vegan Corn Tamales.

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Andrea Curto-Randazzo. Credit: Bravo

Top Chef contestant Andrea Curto-Randazzo says the celebrity she had the most fun cooking for was Mike D. of the Beastie Boys.

“I was pretty excited to cook for the Beastie Boys. While I was at Wish there were quite a few celebrities that came in. They were really cool. During the MTV Awards their manager called up and was asking about all these vegetarian things because Mike D was a vegetarian.”

Fellow band member Adam Yauch adopted a vegan diet after undergoing treatment for cancer.

And a restaurant in San Francisco, Weird Fish, thinks the Beastie Boys are so much fun, they’ve redone a traditional seafood dish into a vegan one.

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Stephanie Izard

Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard received criticism from PETA for hosting a veal dinner in a series of meals titled “Wandering Goat.”

“We’re writing today because numerous individuals—including fans of yours—contacted us to let us know that they were shocked to see you promoting veal and even displaying a photo of a skinned baby calf—Guillermo, as you named him—on your Twitter. Please know that the veal industry is cruel and inhumane and will remain financially viable as long as influential people like you continue to refer to the meat from sick, malnourished baby cows as a delicacy. It doesn’t matter where you purchase the meat—if you support the veal industry, you are supporting cruelty.”

Izard responded to PETA’s letter on her blog, explaining she sought veal that was raised locally and by what she considers humanely.

“In the past I have rarely used veal due to the inhumane treatment of calves. However, I was contacted by a local farm that raises free range veal in a very respectable way. While many people shun veal, the greater culinary community will continue to have veal be a part of their menus. All I am trying to do is get people to look at these local farms as refuge from larger meat-processing plants.”

Although the Kilgus Farm in Fairbury, Illinois does let goats feed on the pasture in the spring and fall, switching to homegrown hay in the winter, the baby calves, of course, are fed mother’s milk before quickly being taken to slaughter.

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Two eco chefs and cookbook authors, Alicia Silverstone and Alice Waters, are scheduled to attend the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on April 24 and 25.

The event is being promoted as one of the largest literary ones in the United States and will feature chefs from both the Food Network and Bravo’s Top Chef.

The cooking stage is free of charge and will be open from 11AM to 3:30PM both Saturday and Sunday.

Silverstone is expected to be interviewed by the LA Times at 3:30PM on Saturday and Waters is expected to speak on Sunday at 11AM on the UCLA campus.

For more information, visit the event page.

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