For those of you not in the know, Sea Shepherd is a rad organization that sends incredible people out to sea to disrupt the whaling industry. They work to enforce international conservation laws when no one else is willing or able.
When 50 people board a ship for a 100 day journey, you need to have a plan for how to feed them. That’s where Laura Dakin comes in. She is chief cook on the Steve Irwin (one of the ships in Sea Shepherd’s fleet), and not only does she take excellent care of her crew, she’s also a pretty great writer. Listen to this:
“Regarding my choice to be vegan, I understand that I’m part of a privileged minority that has the luxury to make choices about food and the money to support those choices. I’ve also had the time to develop a relationship with food. As a human living a life with this freedom of choice, I know it’s my responsibility to extend the privilege of freedom to other lives when possible: freedom from fear, pain, injury, and disease; freedom from hunger and thirst; and freedom to express natural behaviors.”
Thanks to Dakin, we have Cookin’ Up a Storm, which is a cool little window into what it must be like to be one of those admirable Sea Shepherds. Spending your days on deck, performing physical labor, getting thrown around by the ocean, and struggling to stay warm and dry between gusts of wind and sprays of sea, but then, gathering in the cozy mess hall for warm meals and camaraderie. As Dakin says in the book, meals are a highlight of the day for many crew members. And it just so happens that these meals have been a highlight in my days too! Let’s talk recipes!
Bob Barker Yum Bowls
Last month I moved from Brooklyn to D.C. My husband Neil and I spent no more than four days packing up house and home before loading everything into a UHaul and driving out of the city just as we had driven in three years earlier: over the terrifyingly narrow Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Sadly, I was not able to enjoy the amazing view of New York Harbor. As Neil’s co-pilot, it was my job to keep all eyes glued to the side mirror and report back how close we were to the lane lines. “Good. Good. Good. Perfect. A little close. Good. Perfect. …” But back to those four and only four days of packing. That’s impressive, is it not? During those four short-but-long-at-the-same-time days, I found the time to make the Bob Barker Yum Bowls – FOR THE SECOND TIME. That’s right, I re-made this recipe during a considerably stressful, busy stretch of life! I hope that this indicates to you that this is a tasty, tasty, delicious recipe. Because it really is.
Also, the Bob Barker Yum Bowls are probably the most protein-rich thing I’ve ever made. Almonds, nooch, chickpeas, tofu, black beans, brown rice, and peas (because I had them and I did not have corn), goodness gracious. I didn’t even mind that this recipe left me with a partially-used package of silken tofu because it was SO GOOD. I will be making the BB Yum B’s many more times to come.
Red Lentil, Lemon, and Rosemary Soup
Make this when you’re freezing cold and don’t have any fresh groceries left. It will warm you up and fill you up! There are hardly any more ingredients than those listed in the title, so I think you can do a darn tootin’ job imagining what it’s like. Simple. Good.
Recipe: Sea Shepherd’s Pie
Printed with permission from Book Publishing Company.
This recipe made a lot of food. Six servings, Laura Dakin? I don’t think so. This stretched out to eight gigantic servings, but it’s not like that was a bad thing or anything. Dakin recommends topping the pie with Punk Rock Gravy, but since making the pie itself was already a big endeavor and the gravy wasn’t a required component, I skipped it. After the initial taste test, however, I decided it was a tad dry and needed something, so I made the gravy the next night to pour over the leftovers like milk on cereal. Wow! Welcome to Yum Town. The Thai chilies gave the gravy a nice heat, and the nutritional yeast and onions made the gravy so tasty that I couldn’t help but lick my plate.
Ingredients
Makes 6 servings
Filling:
1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil
1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegan butter
3 cups (750 ml) sliced button mushrooms
1 leek, thinly sliced (tender green parts only)
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons (45 ml) reduced-sodium tamari
1 teaspoon (5 ml) freshly ground black pepper
3 cups (750 ml) no-salt-added vegetable broth or water, plus more as needed
3 cups (750 ml) dried French lentils, picked over, rinsed, and drained
2 tomatoes, finely diced
1 tablespoon (15 ml) cider vinegar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) nutritional yeast flakes
Topping:
4 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon (15 ml) thinly sliced fresh chives
Instructions
To make the filling, put the oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat until the butter is melted. Decrease the heat to medium and add the mushrooms, leek, onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tamari and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Add the broth, lentils, and tomatoes and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to medium, partially cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 25 minutes. If necessary, add more broth as the lentils cook so they don’t become dry. Stir in the vinegar and nutritional yeast. Transfer to a 4-quart (4 L) casserole. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
While the lentils cook, prepare the topping. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, partially cover, and cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain. Add the oil and salt and mash until the potatoes are smooth and creamy. Spread the topping evenly over the filling. Sprinkle the chives evenly over the topping and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.
Serving suggestion: Serve hot, covered in Punk Rock Gravy (page 106) and with a side of steamed vegetables.
Full Disclosure: I was sent this cookbook free from the publishing company for review, however, all of the opinions stated above are my own.
This was a guest post by Reina Pohl! She lives in NYC, where she does the majority of her cooking, baking, and eating. An animal ag truther, she wants YOU to go vegan. For the animals. And the planet. And your health. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.