Rep. Kucinich, Tsk, Tsk . . . .

I was disappointed to hear a story on the news this morning about Dennis Kucinich (D - OH) filing a lawsuit against the Capitol Hill Cafeteria system for an olive pit that he found in his wrap. Rep. Kucinich, who suffered a broken tooth from the pit back in 2008, is suing for physical damages and also "loss of enjoyment". Really? What kind of lawyer would suggest an elected public official should sue for such a thing? Indeed, what elected public official would agree? Why not let the representatives' special lifetime healthcare benefits take care of paying for the damages, Rep. Kucinich? Yes, I am disappointed in the frivolous litigation, but more than that I am disappointed that Rep. Kucinich is painting vegans in a bad light. Yes, that's right, it is being reported that the reason Kucinich had been eating olive tapenade is that he is vegan! Ugh!

A broken tooth -- of course I wouldn't wish something so uncomfortable on anyone, but I've gotta wonder with how much vigor the representative was chomping his veggie wrap. As vegans, we realize our food is much less processed than most and a little olive pit fragment in my tapenade wouldn't surprise me.

In fact, remember bunco last week with my olive tapenade crostini? Sorry for the repeat photo, but it is the best serendipitous illustration of this Kucinich story I've got. At bunco, while my neighborhood lady friends were enjoying my vegan snacks, my friend Carol pulled a little something from her teeth and held it up, saying, "Oh, got a little extra roughage here," referring to an olive pit fragment.

"Oh, sorry, are you okay? I bought the tapenade at Costco," I said.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine -- I've got that Costco tapenade too, love it! I don't know why anyone would make their own when they could buy such good tapenade so cheaply,"

Then everyone within earshot nodded in agreement and that was the end of the olive pit episode in my basement pub.

Rep. Kucinich, sorry you lost your enjoyment with the little olive pit. With your frivolous lawsuit you are illustrating what many constituents believe about their elected officials, that they are elitist and out of touch. I'm not sure you would fit in at bunco.

Luscious Leftovers Salad

When a vegan actually cooks something rather than just opening a package for food, it is usually pretty darn spectacular. I'm serious. When we consider our nutritional needs coupled with our over-the-top celebration of plant foods and how special they make us feel, every meal can seem like a gourmet indulgence if we wish it to be. So, I don't know about you, but around here vegan food doesn't get wasted. It just gets reborn!

This wonderful salad was born of some of my bunco leftovers (the raw veggies) and my leftover potato gratin. It is a giant handful of arugula topped with the veggies and crispy cheezy potatoes, then a julienne of raw daikon which I am loving lately most days. I've been doing a fair amount of spackling and sanding, dusting and rearranging, so my sinus has been working overtime processing the nasty air I've been breathing. So, since I have been taking decongestants from time to time, the daikon offsets the systemic problems the medicine will bring. I love food as medicine!

To top my healthy luscious leftovers creation I slightly drizzled two oils I have been enjoying lately.

On the left is Blood Orange Olive Oil from The Olive Press, a gift from one of our wonderful friends, and on the right, the Black Truffle Oil I bought for Alicia's Radicchio Pizza (my most favorite food of all time as of this moment). I was unable to locate White Truffle Oil, which was called for, but I've got no complaint with the Black Truffle version. I was very light with the truffle oil, which is more viscous and richer in flavor. The two oils beautifully complemented one another and my delicious salad.

Food reinvention is one of my favorite vegan hobbies. "Waste not, want not" becomes, "Wow -- this is better than the first time!"