Pineau d'Aunis is a great vegetarian wine

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BJ

BJ
I finally figured it out, over at L's veg cousin's house on Saturday. Had a Moosewood Cookbook kind of dinner and the CRB l'Arpent just brought it all to life.
 
originally posted by Arjun Mendiratta:
Do you think this is particular to the Moosewood school, or more general than that?

What is the 'Moosewood school'?

I didn't know they had a very distinctive style of cooking at that restaurant.
 
I don't think anyone actually refers to the 'Moosewood school,' but the recipes in that book (and its sequel) definitely embody a particular phase in the evolution of vegetarian cooking in America.

My main motivation for commenting, however, is that I am suspicious of the idea that any two dishes that lack meat will necessarily have anything else in common.
 
originally posted by Arjun Mendiratta:
the recipes in that book (and its sequel) definitely embody a particular phase in the evolution of vegetarian cooking in America..

How would you describe that phase?

An early form of U.S. vegetarianism? When people were just getting acquainted with meat substitutes?

I'm like you, I don't really know what 'vegetarian' cooking is. It's all just cooking, with different ingredients depending on the meal at hand.
 
The Willamette Valley syrah I had Sunday went great with a bowl of split pea/brown rice/miso soup. It was a recipe from a macrobiotic guy I used to live with in Colorado.

What vintage of l'Arpent?
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by Arjun Mendiratta:
the recipes in that book (and its sequel) definitely embody a particular phase in the evolution of vegetarian cooking in America..

How would you describe that phase?

An early form of U.S. vegetarianism? When people were just getting acquainted with meat substitutes?

I'm like you, I don't really know what 'vegetarian' cooking is. It's all just cooking, with different ingredients depending on the meal at hand.

If you look at recipes in the original Moosewood (which I own), you'll find that they are often quite heavy in dairy products and also fairly blandly seasoned. If you compare them to e.g. the recipes in Madhur Jaffrey's tome, they'll strike you as fat laden and lacking in spicing. Just my $0.02.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by Arjun Mendiratta:
the recipes in that book (and its sequel) definitely embody a particular phase in the evolution of vegetarian cooking in America..

How would you describe that phase?

An early form of U.S. vegetarianism? When people were just getting acquainted with meat substitutes?

I'm like you, I don't really know what 'vegetarian' cooking is. It's all just cooking, with different ingredients depending on the meal at hand.

If you look at recipes in the original Moosewood (which I own), you'll find that they are often quite heavy in dairy products and also fairly blandly seasoned. If you compare them to e.g. the recipes in Madhur Jaffrey's tome, they'll strike you as fat laden and lacking in spicing. Just my $0.02.

Mark Lipton

Yes. It was certainly long before Indian cuisine became such a strong influence in US vegetarian cooking.

The way I read the question (and I have no idea if that's what Arjun really meant) is whether it would work with more strongly spiced vegetarian food.
 
The way I read the question (and I have no idea if that's what Arjun really meant) is whether it would work with more strongly spiced vegetarian food.

The way I read it -- and I think Arjun's second post clarifies things -- is that vegetarian cuisine is quite diverse and can any type of wine pair with anything so broad successfully? Strongly spiced or not, vegetarian cuisine doesn't all taste the same, of course. Even just the base vegetables and grains will lend a lot of different characteristics to the food; but spices, creams, oils, cheeses, and so on will obviously do so even more.

In other words, there's not really any reason to suspect any particular wine would go as well with lemon lentil soup as it would with fried zucchini as it would with goat cheese and beets. So is there any wine that can be broadly classified as great for vegetarian meals? I doubt it.
 
originally posted by Brad L i l j e q u i s t:
Hippie food

Did hippies really have their own food?

Sprouts and tofu?

I thought most of them were refugees from Conventional Middle America, likely to be more familiar with Denny's-like food than what is offered at Chez Panisse.
 
originally posted by VLM:
I preferBarolo with my vegetarians.*

* someone had to beat Coad to the punch.

I realized I had some bad grammar going; but I liked how it turned out so left it.
 
originally posted by Marc D:
The Willamette Valley syrah I had Sunday went great with a bowl of split pea/brown rice/miso soup. It was a recipe from a macrobiotic guy I used to live with in Colorado.

What vintage of l'Arpent?

Hey man, it was the 2007. Fresh and great color too! Juicy!
 
originally posted by Brad L i l j e q u i s t:

I realized I had some bad grammar going; but I liked how it turned out so left it.

OH, I'm about the last person who can correct grammar. I just think to be consistent with my belief system, I should eat vegetarians as well.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by Brad L i l j e q u i s t:
Hippie food

Did hippies really have their own food?

Sprouts and tofu?

Yup, and maybe tempeh, granola, carob, too.

I thought most of them were refugees from Conventional Middle America, likely to be more familiar with Denny's-like food than what is offered at Chez Panisse.

Ah, but they were rejecting all of that and embracing The Other with unbridled enthusiasm and endless navet. See T. C. Boyle's "Drop City" for the sordid details.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
Ah, but they were rejecting all of that and embracing The Other with unbridled enthusiasm and endless navet.

Sure, but did they have time to create their own cuisine?

The 70s came pretty quickly and in most popular accounts of Hippies you don't hear much about their gastronomical explorations.
 
Is Alice Waters really a hippie?

Ok, if you put it that way.

I guess I had too narrow a definition.

(Spend enough time in Berkeley and you find the subgroups of the subgroups of the progressive alternatives)
 
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