Friday, June 8, 2007

Confessions of an Iron Chef Addict

Before I became a vegan, I was addicted to Iron Chef America . Every Thursday I couldn't wait to see what the next "secret ingredient" would be ... artichokes, lentils, maybe cranberries? As I became a vegan, watching Iron Chef became harder and harder, until I just couldn't do it anymore. A week or two ago when flipping through the channels I saw that the secret ingredient was steak, ugh. I felt almost sorry for the judges who would have to eat 10 plates of cholesterol, fat, and cruelty-laden meat. They didn't seem too upset about it though. I sent them an email (you can send them one too!) asking to invite a vegan chef on the show, or even doing a vegan throw down for an episode, what would be more challenging for grillmaster Bobby Flay than that?

Where are all the vegan cooking shows? Heck, I'd almost settle for vegetarian. I don't even think I've heard the word vegan even whispered on the Food Network. But last night I was browsing the usual channels and stopped when I saw chocolate cake batter oozing out my television screen. Then I heard the words tofu, then vegan soon after!! I couldn't believe that this woman was admitting to making a vegan chocolate cake with a tofu-based chocolate frosting on national television! The show was "Get Fresh with Sara Snow" on the Discovery Health channel. I visited the website and found the recipe for the cake, but not the frosting (there was also a vegan stir fry). She ended the show by encouraging viewers to try a vegan dish, yay! Her show is on Thursday nights (same as Iron Chef, hah!) if you want to check it out.

And speaking of vegan cooking shows, everyone who hasn't already should grab themselves a copy of both Everyday Dish and Vegetarian Cooking by Compassionate Cooks. They are both beautifully put together and contain some great recipes and cooking tips as well. Show your support for the vegan cooking community!

4 comments:

Mary said...

I'm addicted to Food Network. I even watch the chefs I hate (Emeril, Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay). I am so disgusted with the food they make. But I like looking for techniques that I could use in the kitchen. I've always wondered what a vegan episode of Iron Chef would look like. I wonder if they'd ever consider it.

urban vegan said...

I love watching cooking shows, too, especially Nigella. But it has gotten harder and harder to watch them cooking meat because for me, there is absolutely no disconnect between animals as senitent beings and the dead bodies on screen.

What I try to do is automatically veganize recipes as they're made.

Amy said...

I'm a bit of an Iron Chef fan myself (thus my blog's title). For some reason, I can still watch the non-vegan action okay. Possibly 'cause I prefer the old school Iron Chef with the crappy voiceovers.

I'll have to see if I can get my hands on the Sara Snow show (say that three times fast!).

KleoPatra said...

i don't watch TV but when i did, years ago, i used to watch Food Network from time to time and never could stay on a show for very long. Too upsetting for me, plus it seems so silly to eat dead animals when there are so many vegetarian ways to prepare almost everything the chefs would make...