Vegetarians, Food, and Recipies from the Post Punk Kitchen

Both hungry and curious will be pleased to know that the Boston Vegetarian Society is holding their 11th annual Food Festival. Past attendees have said the event is often flooded with people, as it attracts the vegan, vegetarian, and inquisitive carnivores. Year-round, the BVS is a an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that has been going strong for twenty years, and are supported by a main staff who are welcoming and helpful to everything from planning gatherings, hosting events, or simply answering inquiries through e-mail. The Food Festival, as you can imagine, is a larger than life presentation of the progress BVS has made in being a stable, influential facet of Boston’s progressive culture. Taking up the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center on Tremont, the festival will feature cooking demos, dietician consultation, children’s activities, discounted shopping, and – of course – free food.

The highlight event will be the Brooklyn-based kitchen goddesses Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero. Hosts of the popular NYC cable access show, "The Post Punk Kitchen," Is a is a bit of a role model for quarter-life herbivores. I’ve seen vegetarians go vegan with major reasoning being obsessive upkeep of the PPK website, and her first cookbook, "Vegan With A Vengeance." "That book was pretty much my life story in recipes," she says. "The next one is going to tell readers what to do with every veggie under the sun, plus menu planning ideas."

"We’ll be making Autumn Rice Paper Rolls and Rutabaga Brussel Sprout Curry, and afterwards handing out cupcakes. We are pretty much just going to do a cooking demo, since it’s too difficult to pull off audience participation in so short a time. We’ll just show everyone how we do it, then send them home with the recipes and pray for the best!" The cupcakes coincide with the PPK’s latest book, "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World." Though popular, nothing quite compares to "Vegan With a Vengeance," as that cookbook surpassed the ability to connect with a part of a dietary subculture that often faces a lot of aggression from non-vegans. Books like "Vegan Freak" is another book written with a pop-culture twist that is an appropriate companion to Isa’s cookbook.

One thing that’s apparent in Isa’s books is her equal qualities of sassiness and modesty. She’s often referred to as a punk rock kitchen goddess by vegans and vegetarians alike, and I’ve yet to meet an individual who has a bad word to say for her. Fueled by her love for cooking, she’s also a big music fan, but considers her taste varied. "This week, I was listening to The Mekons, Sham 69, and Camera Obscura a lot." She also enjoys bird watching and guitar playing, but has been so busy that it’s been difficult to get out of the kitchen. She’ll definitely be warming many hearts at the Food Festival tomorrow by the surefire way of our stomachs. Afterwards, Isa and Terry will be signing copies of their books, which will be available for purchase in the exhibit room.

5:10 PM — Recipes from the Post Punk Kitchen: Roots and Rolls: Making the Most out of Fall and Winter Produce Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

11th Annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival
Saturday, Oct. 21, 2006
10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Reggie Lewis Athletic Center
1350 Tremont Street, Boston
Free parking • Subway stop across the street

Post contributed by Vicki G. Siolos