Vegan activism in the workplace

The workplace is a great place for vegans to be food activists. Back when I worked in an office, my co-workers liked to bring packed lunches as did I. As long as you have fantastic tasting vegan food to share, people will listen to you harp about the health and compassionate benefits of a vegan diet. It helps when you don’t sound condescending and don’t talk about the animal cruelty part of an omnivorous diet.

Instead, focus on the positive: how you can get maximum flavour by using herbs and spices; how roasting or grilling vegetables will make a veggie lover out of a veggie hater; how tofu gets tasty from absorbing any marinade you soak it in; how beans are the most versatile ingredient there is and add heartiness to soups and main dishes.

Of course, the health benefits is a bonus too: yummy food doesn’t have to kill your arteries with cholesterol; you can solve that constipation problem without relying on psyllium husks or Fibrosine; you can easily manage your weight by eating whole food; and this isn’t a health benefit but a benefit nonetheless – plants are cheap. You can make a cheapy vegan dish and have it taste gourmet-ish.

Making your co-workers vegan should not be your #1 goal when sharing your food and discussing vegetarianism with them. People need to make the decision by themselves and on their own time. Your main goal should be to inspire your co-workers to think about the food they eat.

I think I’ve been a fairly good vegan activist in my workplace. I’ve already inspired a former co-worker friend to go vegetarian merely by sharing my lunch with her and sharing cooking tips. Two other co-workers have voluntarily tried TVP (texturized vegetable protein). In fact, I bought TVP granules for them to cook into spaghetti bolognaise, lasagne, burgers, and siomai at home.

Apart from sharing lunches with co-workers, office festivities are another tool to get vegan food in the spotlight. About a month ago, the October celebrants in my former office hosted a merienda for everyone on our floor. I think we served food for about 50-60 people. The others brought barbecue, baked macaroni and drinks; I volunteered to bring a pasta salad and brownies.

Here is a recipe for the farfalle and black bean salad I made for an office birthday celebration. The great thing about this dish is that it was so easy to make, and cheap too! The recipe feeds 8-10 people and you’ll end up spending about P25 / US $0.52 per person.

Farfalle and black bean salad
Ingredients
1 bag, 250g dried black beans / black sitaw, cooked
1 bag, 500g farfalle / bow-tie pasta, cooked
1 bag, 1kg calamansi, juiced
1 head garlic, grated or chopped finely
½ to ¾ c. vegetable oil – olive or combination of olive and canola
1 ½ kg tomatoes, seeded and chopped finely
1 large yellow bell pepper (optional), seeded and chopped finely
1 head onion, chopped finely
1 bag, 100g basil, chiffonaded
Salt and pepper
Additional calamansi juice or vinegar if needed, such as cane, balsamic, or red wine

1. Place the pasta in a large salad bowl. Combine the calamansi juice and garlic; add half of this mixture to the pasta. Drizzle in the vegetable oil – the amount is up to you. Add enough to lubricate the pasta, about ½ to ¾ cup. Toss to coat. The pasta may seem sticky because of the starch, but just be patient with it. The dressing will loosen it up.
2. Add in the black beans, tomatoes, bell pepper, and onion. Add the remaining half of the calamansi-garlic mixture as well as salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
3. Add the basil to the salad and toss. Taste and if needed, season with more salt and pepper. If the dressing seems to be lacking, add more calamansi juice or vinegar.

Suggestions

1. Serve the pasta in a large bowl and top with a basil branch.
2. This pasta is perfect for potlucks because heating it up is not an issue. This can be served cold or room temperature.
3. Play around with the ingredients:
• Pasta – aside from farfalle (bow-tie), you can use: orecchiette (litte ears), conchiglie (shells), ruote (wheels), fusilli (corkscrew), penne, or macaroni.
• Legumes – aside from black beans, you can use: kidney beans, cannelini / white beans, lima beans, chickpeas / garbanzos, lentils, even mongo.
• Vegetables – you can use: cucumber, julienned carrots, singkamas, roasted eggplant, etc.
• Herbs – aside from basil, you can use: cilantro (wansoy), rosemary, tarragon, parsley, dill.
• Acid – aside from calamansi juice, you can use: lemon, lime, or even vinegar such as cane, coconut, balsamic, or red wine.