Every once in a while, a girl's got to take a break from baking cookies, cakes, and brownies and start cooking some vegetables. For this week's Mixed Review I decided to prepare an uber-healthy cauliflower dish using an Arora Creations Indian spice mix. Like a lot of people, I love to eat Indian food in restaurants but am intimidated to make it at home because of the numerous and unusual spices required for many dishes. Fenugreek? Nigella seeds? Where am I going to find them? And what am I going to do with the leftovers? What attracted me most to the Arora mix was the fact that it was made entirely from organic, exotic spices, including ground turmeric, ajowan... More

Photograph from cobalt123 on Flickr Going almost vegetarian, while allowing a few specks of meat here and there into the diet, is good for Mother Nature. That makes our Meat Lite contributors Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond, who focus on delicious almost meatless recipes, model environmentalists. A piece in Audubon Magazine explains that daily meat consumption per capita should drop from about 12 ounces in America to 3.1 ounces to protect the climate. That's about the size of a deck of cards, explains U.S. News and World Report. Where do your loyalties lie—meat, the earth, or both?... More

The real deal turducken (meat involved). Photograph from Phil Romans on Flickr The name might inspire an "oh, my!" face, but tofucken is actually just turducken made with tofu. Adapted from a recipe by Chef Paul Prudhomme (the bearded, hat-wearing dude from Louisiana with a line of cajun seasonings), Stefany Anne Golberg of Table Matters turns the "infamous carnival of carnage that involves three unfortunate birds" into an infamous carnage of soy beans and wheat gluten. If you could combine multiple meats (real or fake) for a turducken-esque mishmash, what would they be? And what potentially inappropriate-sounding name would you give it? Related Qua-duc-ant (Quail, Duck, Pheasant) Fake Turk'y Taste Test... More

"I am fake." —anonymous stuffed turkey. Photograph from JP Puerta on Flickr When uncles and grandmothers interrogate you tomorrow for being vegetarian, just savor your meatless drumstick and know that 7.3 million people in the U.S. join you. Juliet Lapidos of Slate tried four brands of faux bird and rated them according to appearance, meatiness, and taste. The winner? Not Tofurkey. Found in the hot foods section of Whole Foods, the Gardein Stuffed Veggie Turkey Roast won for its twinkie-shaped deliciousness (made of soy, wheat, peas, beets, and carrots). "After my first bite, I felt a little anxious—I wondered briefly whether I'd mistakenly bought real turkey and glanced at my taste partner to see whether she, too, had a... More

Dreena Burton, blogger and author of Eat, Drink & Be Vegan, Vive le Vegan! and The Everyday Vegan, shares what she will be serving during her meatless holiday. More

Cinco de Mayo is a day of national pride for Mexicans around the world, commemorating Mexico’s victory over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. We join in the celebration with our favorite Mexican food and drink. --> Rick Bayless's Braised Greens Tacos: Earthy and rich because of the greens, sweet from the caramelized onions, smoky from the chipotle. Black Bean Tostadas with Corn Relish: The interplay between hot and cool, the balance of savory warm filling, and the spicy bite of a good salsa—all good things. Poblano Tacos: These tacos filled with roasted poblanos contain no meat, but still pack lot of flavor. Chorizo, Egg and Raisin Tacos: Because chorizo is highly spiced and ready... More

I still remember my first sandwich press. I convinced my mom to let me order it after spending a day at home sick from school watching some lady make apple pies, brownies, waffles and, of course, sandwiches. I also remember my first car accident—it was caused by my fumbling for a boombox that had just tumbled off the dashboard of my Honda (the car stereo was broken). I can't help but think that S. King had me in mind when it developed the car-powered Pro 12-Volt Sandwich Maker—it's perfect for that person who is in love with cheap sandwich presses but also stupid enough to put an appliance on the dashboard.... More

One would imagine that in a society where roughly 85% of the people are practicing Buddhists, vegetarian restaurants could be found on every corner. While this may be true in some parts of Asia, it is certainly not the case in Saigon, where eateries specializing in com chay are few and far between. Exceptions to this general trend appear on the first and fifteenth of each Lunar Calendar month, when all Buddhists shy away from meat. On these particularly auspicious days, nearly all workers’ lunch establishments (com binh dan) serve vegetarian options.... More

Surprisingly, I actually like Valentine’s Day. Maybe it's not that big a surprise since I have someone I love, and against all odds, she actually loves me back (food obsessions and all). I know you can do nice things for people you care about “anytime you want,” but there’s something about Valentine’s Day that I like. Maybe it’s that you have an excuse to do something on a weeknight that you may not do otherwise. Last year my wife and I had the best Valentine’s Day—it involved a movie, some wine, and, of course, a pair of serious sandwiches. Fancy dinners and expensive flowers are nice, but I think hidden food snuck into a movie (with alcohol pairing of... More