30-Day Vegan Challenge

The 30-Day Vegan Challenge / Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
New York: Ballantine, c2011.
323 p.

Another review for Meatless Monday! This is a book I've owned for a while now, but I never did mention it here. It's a pretty good choice for the beginner -- the Challenge is easy enough for someone not overly familiar with vegan eating -- the food choices are not "scary" and strange, and they are all fairly easy to prepare.

Even for myself, already vegetarian, with vegan leanings, this was an interesting book. It provides a full resource on vegan pantry essentials, introductions to some basic vegan foods, and of course, many quick recipes with reassuring photos of food that looks tasty! She includes a lot of information on living a vegan life and responding to some of the issues that come up as a person is making that transition, whether social or personal.

However, as I explored online to find out more, I discovered that this book is no longer available -- well, in this format anyhow. It's been updated and turned into an online program on Patrick-Goudreau's blog. The price for the program appears to be about the same as the book so I guess that works, too. (although I did see hard copies for sale in various online bookstores)

Either way, it's a good find for the individual who is interested either from their own inclination or because their doctor has suggested they explore veganism. It's more of a guidebook than a cookbook, really, as there are a few recipes included to illustrate each chapter of extensive information on varied aspects of veganism -- dairy alternatives, baking, the protein issue, and so on. Of course, there are fabulous recipes included, like chocolate mousse or tempeh paté, but this book is not only about recipes.

Highly recommended for a beginner or even as a refresher for those who eat mostly vegan but like a reminder of the issues and possibilities once in a while!

The French Market Cookbook

The French Market Cookbook: vegetarian recipes from my Parisian kitchen / Clotilde Dusoulier
New York: Clarkson Potter, c2013.
224 p.

I've been a longtime fan of Clotilde Dusoulier via her food blog Chocolate & Zucchini (I mean, who wouldn't love that?) She's so charming, and unpretentious, and I've always found that she doesn't follow food trends -- she has a sense of originality. Plus she lives in Paris, so it's irresistible to follow her!

Anyhow, when I saw that she had a cookbook out that focuses on vegetarian food, I knew I had to have it. She states that while classic French cuisine focuses nearly exclusively on animal protein, there is more to French cooking than the "classic" approach. Regional French cooking tends to highlight local produce a little bit more, and she is taking inspiration from the traditional foods and flavours of the varied regions in France.

It's full of beautiful photos of Paris and still life images of shiny fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as the actual recipes. The book is organized around the seasons (very French) and contains appetizers, mains, & desserts for each section. There is also an extra section at the end, Essentials -- doughs, vinaigrettes, sauces.

I really liked it. She notes at the beginning that drowning a recipe in cheese may be a tasty way to convert your meals into veg ones but it's not very healthy or creative. So she avoids heavy use of cheese, which makes me happy as I don't really eat it much myself. She does use a lot of eggs though, so if you're vegan you may want to browse this and not buy, unless you're good at creating egg substitutes.

In any case, there are some really fun, original combinations here, and things I never would have thought of trying. Shaved Fennel Salad with Preserved Lemon ... Savoury Zucchini & Apricot Tart... Jerusalem Artichoke & Potato Canapes... just a few things I want to try soon. There are traditional French combinations too; pears & chestnuts, or leeks & tarragon, for example. Everything looks fresh and lovely.

It's a fairly straightforward book, with recipes that take some care and attention. There are no 'instant' meals, rather she focuses on fresh produce and flavourings. It's really nice, and I know that I'll keep this one on the kitchen shelf. If you want a taste of her style, check out her blog -- there is always much to explore there.

Mouthwatering Vegan

Mouthwatering Vegan: over 130 irresistible recipes for everyone / Miriam Sorrell
Toronto: RandomHouse, c2013.
280 p.

What can I say about this book? It is exactly what it says it is -- over 130 mouthwatering recipes, with tons of absolutely spectacular photos that add to the temptation to make every single recipe as soon as possible. It's broken up into various standard categories, like breakfasts, desserts, mains and so on, but you can really tell that the author has a British background, as there is also an entire chapter of curries!

The author grew up in London and Malta, of Greek background, and all those influences show. There are tempting dishes which meld traditions, and yet most of the recipes are fairly straightforward for those familiar with vegan cooking. For those new to the concept, she also provides an intro about herself and why she cooks vegan, as well as a glossary of a basic vegan pantry. She also recommends Becoming Vegan by Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis for info about nutrition, a book I often recommend myself. This book was sparked by the success of the author's blog, Mouthwatering Vegan, still going strong. Lots to explore there, too.

If you're looking for a mainstream, appealingly beautiful vegan cookbook, this could be it. There are numerous full-page photos, lots to dream over, and a variety that I haven't seen in some of my other vegan/vegetarian cookbooks. While there are a few standards, there are also newer-to-me curries and fusion dishes. I'm pleased with this one, and have numerous post-its flagging pages to try next. I think this will be a fun resource to have on my shelf. And I always love it when an author's name suits their subject so well!

VB6 for Meatless Monday

VB6: eat vegan before 6:00 to lose weight and restore your health... for good / Mark Bittman
New York: Clarkson, c2013.
276 p.

I recently read this one, interested because I've been vegetarian for over 20 years, and have been eating more and more vegan-like, though I am definitely not a strict vegan at this point. I wanted to see what Mark Bittman, a food writer and carnivore, had to say. His doctor stated that at age 57 he had the beginnings of poor health, and suggested that the best solution was to become vegan.

So Bittman came up with the VB6 plan, something he thinks is both healthy and practicable for those who don't choose to take up the vegan lifestyle for philosophical reasons. The idea is that for most of the day you eat a vegan diet, and after six, during that dinner hour that most people find hardest to change, you can eat meat,dairy, and sweets, but in moderation. Bittman thinks that dinner is about much more than food; it's about community and sociability, and to tell yourself that you can no longer eat or drink familiar foods with your friends and family will doom you from the beginning.

The six key points of this way of eating (he hesitates to call it a "diet") are as follows:

1. Eat fruit and vegetables in abundance
2. Eat fewer animal products
3. Eat (almost) no junk food
4. Cook at home as much as possible
5. Consider quality over quantity
6. See your weight as just one component of good health

Each of these elements is then further discussed, with tips on how to make them work for you. The second half of the book is broken up into recipes for different times of day: breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, and one on some basic "building block" staples. The dinner chapter is almost entirely meat dishes, but the rest are, obviously, vegan.

To someone starting down this path, I think this book would be very useful. I know people who have been put off the idea of veganism when it was suggested by their doctors because everything they read focused on animal rights, not a concept in their purview at all. Bittman's focus on the health aspect (even while he does mention the environmental and animal costs of factory farming) is one that might be more easily assimilated by those new to vegan eating. The recipes are simple and basic, using familiar foods, with tips on how to add flavour with herbs & spices and cooking techniques.

While as a longtime vegetarian, this book didn't teach me anything very new, I appreciated the way Bittman presented vegan eating, and know that I'll be recommending this to one of those "you should become vegan" people I know! Eating less of processed, animal products in any way is a good thing.

Meatless on a Monday

Meatless: more than 200 of the very best vegetarian recipes / from the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living
New York: Clarkson Potter, c2013.
384 p.

This is a great compilation of recipes for anyone considering the idea of going vegetarian, even if just for Meatless Mondays! It is from Martha Stewart Living, so it is big and colourful, with many gorgeous pictures to get your taste buds excited. And while I think "very best" in the title may be a bit of hyperbole, it is still a good resource.

It's broken up into eight sections, like salads, pasta, side dishes, casseroles etc. and also includes a guide to the basics of a vegetarian pantry, and some suggested menus. It also has quite a good index with symbols to indicate recipes that are vegan, gluten-free, or "special diet". Most of the recipes that I've looked at so far include dairy or eggs, so it certainly isn't wholly vegan. However, I think its strength is that the recipes are not too far-fetched for people who are just beginning to incorporate vegetarian meals into their eating habits -- the concepts are familiar, ie: salads or pastas or burgers, while the actual execution (being Martha Stewart) can get quite fancy with extra ingredients or techniques.

I actually really liked the side dishes sections, with some new ideas on how to prepare vegetables like kohlrabi or broccolini that I don't think of eating, generally. Also, roasting common vegetables like cabbage or cauliflower makes them look very tasty, I must say. There are a few recipes that stood out for me, ones that I'd like to try shortly. The sautéed kohlrabi is one, roasted pumpkin with pasta another, avocado-chipotle sandwiches yet another. It'll be fun to go through and try things that are new to me, whether in ingredients or techniques, even though I've been vegetarian for 21 years.

Something I found interesting with this book is the introduction of a basic recipe like pesto, which is then followed up with six variations using different ingredients -- like arugula, or spinach, or walnut-sage. There are also similar suggestions for alternatives to the basic grain salad, or other staples. It shows how recipes can be tweaked and altered, and opens up possibilities for any cook.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes to cook and wants to branch out a bit. A brand-new vegetarian could probably find better books aimed at being wholly vegetarian, but this will be a nice addition to my already stuffed shelf of veg cookbooks!

Get some free recipes and images from the book at Martha Stewart's website (it includes the recipe for portobello-zucchini tacos which look so good!)

Check out Meatless Monday!

The Garlic Edition

This weekend I went to the Stratford Garlic Festival. This has become a tradition for me -- as long as I am not working I attend and stuff myself with garlicky samples of all kinds and wander around looking at all the wonderful artisans and food people who are participating. I always end up taking things home - not all garlic - and enjoying the day. I look forward each year to bringing home a saskatoon berry pie; it makes me feel less homesick for Saskatchewan!

This year I tried out some pickled garlic scapes, garlic jelly, garlic peanut brittle, garlic fudge, and had an amazingly good vegetarian samosa as well. Once again, some of my fave vendors were there, including Distinctly Tea, who was featuring his famous Vampire Tea (a blend of garlic flakes, vanilla and either black tea or rooibos. It is surprisingly good.) Also, Nudge Nudge Fudge was there. And now Nudge Nudge Fudge is in my kitchen.... I couldn't resist some of their new flavours made for the Festival! I tried the garlic, of course, but purchased some other new and strange flavours for myself: lavender, chocolate chili, green tea (my fave!), pumpkin, apple cinnamon, and hoppin' jalapeno (and boy is that HOT). It is a laid back and entertaining day, and there is even a kids' tent, if you have kids to entertain -- our library's outreach program, PLOW, was there doing storytime in the morning.

In any case, being as this is Meatless Monday and I'm all about garlic this weekend I thought I'd share a favourite and very garlicky recipe. This recipe is dear to my heart both because it was featured in the Atwater Library Cookbook -- one of those fundraiser type cookbooks put together by the library my husband and I worked in at the time, and designed by my husband on an ancient Mac -- and its source was a local celebrity who was supporting the library. It was also the first meal my then-boyfriend, now husband, made for me on an early date. We've adapted it and don't know where the original cookbook is now, but we call it "Joe Fiorito Sauce" in honour of the person who contributed the original. Hope you will enjoy.



"Joe Fiorito Sauce"


5-6 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes with Italian herbs
Heaping teaspoon Italian Herbs
pinch sugar
Some fresh pasta


Sauté the garlic over medium-low heat in a generous drizzle of olive oil. You want there to be a lot of garlic -- when it starts getting fragrant, not brown, pour in a few tablespoons of tomato juice from the can and let it all sauté together until it becomes a paste of sorts. Don't rush this part, as the saute-ing is what really flavours the garlic. Drain the tomatoes (save the juice for something else) and break up the tomatoes into the pan. Stir it and simmer it all for a bit, then sprinkle in a pinch of sugar -- it takes down the acidity. Add in the Italian spices and stir. Let it simmer over low heat while you make pasta. This is best with some fresh pasta, spaghetti, linguini, or my favourite, tortellini. Also have some baguette to soak up the leftover sauce, you won't want to waste any! This makes 2 servings, as I like to have lots of this sauce on my pasta.

Chilly Outside, Chili Inside

Now that the weather is turning a bit, with some rain and cooler temperatures, it is a good time to start making meals in which I turn on the stove again. This week I'm sharing one of my favourite stalwart fall & winter cookbooks. Although I'm meatless every day, anyone who wants to start going meatless easily may find this book a very handy resource. There are tons of easy and delicious recipes in it that don't depend on meat for their heartiness.

The Vegetarian Chili Cookbook: 80 Deliciously Different One-Dish Meals / Robin Robertson
Boston: Harvard Common Press, c1998.
160 p.

This is a favourite cookbook, one I've had for some years. I've made at least half the recipes in it, with some turning into huge favourites.

It is what it says it is: a collection of 80 chili recipes. They range from the more traditional to some gourmet versions. Some are simple and quick, incorporating such things as ready-made veggie burgers and salsa, and others are very elegant, using seasonings like thyme and orange zest, chocolate or tequila. The connecting factor in all is the use of some kind of chili powder. Robertson opens the book by giving us some recipes for homemade chili powder of different heats. She closes the book with a wonderful chapter on recipes to use up leftover chili if you don't want to keep eating plain bowls of it for a week. (if you click on the book cover, you will be able to 'look inside' this book and see a few of the recipes).

Some of the recipes fit the chili designation loosely, such as one made with chickpeas, yellow peppers, tomatoes and apple juice - it does have a bit of chili flavour but is very mild and stew-like rather than spicy and chunky (and I love it). My favourite recipe in the book, though, is the last one, "Sandi's Award-Winning Five Spice Chili". It incorporates prepared vegetarian 'ground beef' (I like Yves brand), baked beans, and Chinese 5-spice powder, among other things. It is thick and faintly sweet and absolutely delicious, even though I have cut down the amount of 5-spice powder - I like a hint, not a strong taste, of that spice. It is a fun book to have out during fall and winter, with many options to try out.

After using this book heavily the first year I had it, I was thinking in chili when I made suppers, and thus came up with my own variety from what I had in the fridge one night. It is a milder mix, not too spicy, but still quite chili-like, and good over pasta or rice, or just with fresh bread alongside. I'll share it, since it was inspired by my usage of this book, and hope that you will want to pick up a copy of this great chili book for the chilly winter months ahead!


Chili Italiano

1 large onion
2-3 garlic cloves
1 green pepper
3 small carrots
1-2 medium zucchini
2 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
Dash cayenne
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes with Italian herbs, broken up
1 tsp. Italian herbs
1 19 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 pkg. Yves Veggie Cuisine Italian style Ground Round

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until they begin to soften. Add all vegetables, chopped into bite sized pieces, chili powder and cayenne, and stir. Add both cans of tomatoes and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Keep on a low boil 10-15 minutes, stirring often. Add italian herbs, chickpeas and Ground Round, mix in and simmer for 10 minutes. Good over pasta or with toasted Italian bread.

Vegan Victorian Tea Party

As I am participating in the Middlemarch readalong and this is the week for discussion, I felt drawn to create a menu for a wonderful early Victorian tea party for this week's Meatless Monday. What are a few of my favourite things? Victorian literature, tea, vegan scones & cake :)

Without further ado, please consider yourself invited to my tea party. Pull up a comfortable chair, have a cup of tea, and crack open a nice long Victorian novel (may I suggest Dickens, George Eliot, or Wilkie Collins?)

Selection of Teas

Murchie's Library Blend

Any Selection from Novel Teas

Sandwiches

A Variety of Finger Sandwiches

Dainty & Unusual Tea Sandwiches

Cakes

Lavender Tea Cake

Rich Chocolate Cake

Scones

Blackberry Almond Scones

Ginger Chocolate Chunk Scones

Oatmeal Currant Scones



Toppings

Lemon Curd

Vegan 'Clotted Cream'

Jam (you can make your own!)

Petits-fours

Vegan YumYum's Petits Fours

(actual photo of VeganYumYum's Petits Fours, from her blog)

Or, you can just take a look at this Afternoon Tea article in the Veg News for more inspiration, or perhaps the tea menus from The Cat-Tea Corner, or maybe the yummy pictures of Vegan Lunch Box's birthday tea. Whatever you choose, enjoy yourself :)

Ripe From Around Here

This week, another cookbook review...the latest from Torontonian Jae Steele.








Ripe From Around Here / Jae Steele
Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, c2010.
263 p.

Another wonderful new cookbook I received from the publisher, this is the second book by Toronto nutritionist and cook Jae Steele. I bought her first one and have enjoyed it, so was looking forward to this one as well.

Steele is a holistic nutritionist, so her books are each nearly half full of information and tips about healthy vegan eating, vitamins and antioxidants and so on of various foods, how to prepare foods best and all sorts of fascinating things like that. It's very useful even for those who are quite well versed in the subject and I can imagine it would be invaluable for new vegans. In this one she also talks about the benefits of eating locally, and provides a how-to on composting.

I've tried quite a few of the recipes in this book, being fortunate enough to test a few for the book in its pre-publication state. A couple of the recipes have become staples for me: the pesto potato salad was amazing and simple -- my husband thinks it should be called Dangerously Delicious Potato Salad. And I love the Arame Broccoli Salad; broccoli, sesame seeds and arame (seaweed) tossed in a luscious dressing of soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and dulse powder. I serve it over buckwheat noodles with a bit of extra dressing, and it is fantastic. Even non-seaweed eaters enjoy it.

There are many tempting recipes, using generally familiar ingredients, though a few are a bit more expensive or hard to find, especially when you're not in a big city. These are usually not quick and dirty recipes, rather some may take a little more time. They do use quality ingredients and feel a bit more 'gourmet' than instant. Not all take loads of time -- the Arame salad only takes about 20 minutes, but the focus is on fresh produce and homemade meals, not fast food or the use of ready made veggie products. She also places strong emphasis on eating locally, so if you're interested in the slow food movement or local eating or veganism - any of these are important parts of her presentation.

This book is well worth perusing, with lots of information and rigorously tested recipes. Jae Steele also has a website where she shares quite a few of her recipes so if you want to try some out, pop on over to A Domestic Affair. There are recipes for a whole meal, from drinks to desserts, shared generously amidst lots of news about what she is up to next. (my fave? Flax Maple cookies. Yum.)


Both this book and her first one, Get It Ripe, have tons of ideas for the adventurous vegan cook. They are mostly text, with a few central photos of some very delicious looking meals. This would be a good addition to a vegetarian or vegan kitchen.

You are what you... read?

For my Meatless Monday post this week, I thought I would share my latest object of covetousness. Two of my favourite things, vegetarianism and reading, tied up in one lovely tshirt:

Isn't that nice? You can find it, and many other vegetarian & vegan friendly shops, on the Veg News website -- where you can also find hundreds of wonderful recipes, articles, and links -- and sign up for their e-newsletter. There are sections for recipes, for news, for job postings (mostly US), green living, travel, AND a brand-new book club blog. Here is the schedule for the first 3 months -- there are still two reads to join in on if you want to:

July: Mad Cowboy by Howard Lyman

August: Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin

September: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Vegan Butter Tarts a la Sarah Kramer

This week's Meatless Monday post is a review of one of my favourite cookbooks. Enjoy!






How It All Vegan, 10th Anniversary Edition / Sarah Kramer & Tanya Barnard.
Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, c2010.
232 p.

I bought the first edition of this book when it first appeared and fell in love with it then. I was not and am not a vegan, though I've been vegetarian for the last 17 years or so. I lean toward vegan in my eating generally though, and have found that the only cookbooks I've bought in years have been vegan ones. This is one of my favourites.

I received this 10th anniversary edition from the publisher, and eagerly dug in to the new features: a new essay by the delightful Sarah Kramer, colour photos of mouthwatering recipes, and the addition of five new recipes including the sine qua non of Canadian cooking, a vegan buttertart. Best buttertart ever created in the history of buttertarts, in my humble opinion! I've made them for parties at which nobody was aware they were vegan but raved over them. Great, great recipe. Easy and delicious.

Things I love about this book:

• the fun, kitschy design & 50's feel


• Sarah & Tanya's intros


• the way they make veganism hip and easy, no weird unavailable ingredients or 7 hour prep times here


• tips on making vegan living easier


• no pretension, everything comes from experience and their hard gained knowledge

Any of the recipes in this book could be easily figured out and tossed together after a long day at work, and satisfy a whole family. Nobody will be picking at their plates wondering what the heck they are eating or feeling deprived. These are vegan meals full of ease, familiarity and there are also sweets! I like how the whole feel of all of Sarah & Tanya's books is one of enthusiasm, giving you a feeling that you are getting a treat by trying out the recipes, not fighting to 'take out' ingredients and deprive yourself but rather that you are honoring your body by giving it more of what is good for it.

You can probably tell I recommend this book! New vegans will find it priceless, and established ones (if they don't already own it...) can find lots of quick new ideas. It is wonderful for non-vegans, even non-vegetarians, who just want to eat less meat, as it doesn't get preachy and alienate anyone who just wants a meatless meal once a week. Rather, as said in the intros, "Life is a gift. Don't be so serious."

Meatless Monday Book List

Although I'm meatless everyday, not just Mondays, I think this is a great initiative. If everyone ate meatless just one day a week it could have great environmental impact. And it might let people know that in fact, meatless eating is easy, healthy and very satisfying. So, in honour of Meatless Monday, I'm pulling an old post from the archives and re-sharing it here. Check out their site for lots of great recipe ideas and inspiration!

Aspects of Vegetarianism from May 23, 2008:

Dewey's latest challenge, though I'm coming to it late, nearly at the end of the week, was to pick a social issue that you are interested in and post some relevant books on topic. They don't have to be books you've read; they can be ones you are simply interested in reading. I have chosen vegetarianism as my topic, as it is a big part of my life and has been for the past 15 years. Though it may not seem like a big deal, compared to things like human trafficking , I see many issues tied to being a vegetarian, all of which concern me. (and there are food-based reasons for child slavery) There are moral elements, the question of animal rights, of health, of environmental impact, of equitable distribution of the world's resources... so I'll point out a few books on a few of these subjects. These are some I like; there are countless others!

First up is one I have had on my TBR for a very long time, but have not sat down to systematically go through, yet. It's a look at the philosophy & ethics of vegetarianism:

The Case for Vegetarianism: Philosophy for a Small Planet by John Lawrence Hill. (University Press of America, 1996)

It covers different related issues in each chapter, and gives a solid philosophical ground for abstaining from meat.

And then one from a more personal viewpoint, former cattle rancher Howard Lyman's Mad Cowboy. This is a fascinating look at how the conditions in commercial cattle farming led a fourth-generation rancher to become an evangelist for the vegetarian lifestyle. This is the writer whose book shocked Oprah and caused the infamous lawsuit brought by Texas cattle ranchers.

The Bloodless Revolution: a cultural history of Vegetarianism from 1600 to modern times / Tristram Stuart -- this is a book that I recently purchased and am loving. It should properly be called a history of vegetarianism IN ENGLAND however, as it's very British. But it's great fun, full of historical anecdotes that would make good dinner table conversation, plus it ties religion and empire, fashion, and aesthetic motivations into the many reasons for eating the meatless way.

Two books which can be depended on if you're interested in going vegetarian or even vegan for your health are Brenda Davis & Vesanto Melina's Becoming Vegetarian and Becoming Vegan. Both have tons of information to allay any family concerns that you're going to waste away to nothing, and to ensure that you are eating healthily and knowledgeably.

John Robbins' The Food Revolution is a good look at all of the issues you can have an effect upon simply by becoming vegetarian.

As the Publishers Weekly review of this one says,

What can we do to help stop global warming, feed the hungry, prevent cruelty to animals, avoid genetically modified foods, be healthier and live longer? Eat vegetarian, Robbins argues. Noting the massive changes in the environment, food-production methods, and technology over the last two decades, he lambastes contemporary factory-farming methods and demonstrates that individual dietary choices can be both empowering and have a broader impact. Robbins, heir to the Baskin-Robbins ice-cream empire (he rejected it to live according to his values), takes on fad diets, the meat industry, food irradiation, hormone and antibiotic use in animals, cruel animal husbandry practices, the economics of meat consumption, biotechnology and the prevalence of salmonella and E. Coli.

And just for fun, a vegetarian friendly novel which takes on the meat industry:My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki.

I really enjoyed this book when I first read it, as it features an American woman of Japanese descent who is hired to make a tv program featuring American meats, to air in the Japanese market. She is supposed to highlight All-American families cooking with beef, but ends up learning more and more and as a result moving farther and farther away from her instructions -- until the last family she highlights is a lesbian, vegetarian couple.