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{"source_url": "https://www.inforum.com", "url": "https://www.inforum.com/lifestyle/food/4845616-Duluth-chef-leans-into-vegan-cuisine", "title": "Duluth chef leans into vegan cuisine", "top_image": "https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/incoming/4827746-zbudn0-010519.N.DNT.VEGAN.C01.jpg/alternates/BASE_LANDSCAPE/010519.N.DNT.VEGAN.C01.jpg", "meta_img": "https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/incoming/4827746-zbudn0-010519.N.DNT.VEGAN.C01.jpg/alternates/BASE_LANDSCAPE/010519.N.DNT.VEGAN.C01.jpg", "images": ["https://www.inforum.com/theme/images/weatherwidget/wdayLogo.png", "https://www.inforum.com/incoming/4677020-7pqufu-092619.F.FF.Scoop46Impossible/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/092619.F.FF.Scoop46Impossible", "https://static.forumcomm.com/images/300x50/newsletter_signup_inforum.png", "https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/incoming/4030127-3u2ktp-Bonnie-Ambrosi.JPG/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Bonnie%20Ambrosi.JPG", "https://www.inforum.com/incoming/912362-4ak4ol-Great-Plains-Food-Bank-Logo/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Great%20Plains%20Food%20Bank%20Logo", "https://static.forumcomm.com/images/300x86/inforum.png", "https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/incoming/4843684-y58o7u-squash-soup.jpg/alternates/BASE_LANDSCAPE/squash%20soup.jpg", "https://static.forumcomm.com/images/620x220/inforum.png", "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/activity;dc_iu=/7021/DFPAudiencePixel;ord=1;dc_seg=755754904", "https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/incoming/4827746-zbudn0-010519.N.DNT.VEGAN.C01.jpg/alternates/BASE_LANDSCAPE/010519.N.DNT.VEGAN.C01.jpg"], "movies": [], "text": "DULUTH -- \u201cThis is a wonderful time to be plant-based,\u201d says Arlene Coco Buscombe, known to many in the Duluth-Superior, Wis., area as the Cajun chef who headed Coco\u2019s Catering and Coco\u2019s to Geaux. Buscombe sold those businesses in 2005 and became a culinary instructor, teaching cooking classes and food safety in three states. In the spring of 2019, her food interests took a new turn \u2014 toward a plant-based diet.\n\nAs I chatted with Buscombe over coffee, she explained that health was her primary motivation for getting \u201con the road to vegan.\u201d \u201cI have good health, and I want to keep it,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to stay off medications.\u201d Mounting scientific evidence shows that plant-based eating significantly increases a person\u2019s chances of having a long and healthy life. Buscombe has found that she sleeps better and has more energy on a plant-based diet.\n\nHere are some highlights of our conversation.\n\nQ: What is the transition to vegan cooking like for a highly trained chef like yourself?\n\nA: Taste is paramount! After 40 years over the stove cooking professionally, I\u2019ve learned what tastes good. I\u2019ve always been interested in all types of cooking, and many traditional dishes don\u2019t have meat, so I was already familiar with many meatless dishes. And I love to learn new things! The most exciting thing for me is to learn something new after cooking professionally for so long.\n\nlisten live watch live\n\nSavory dishes swap out with vegan ingredients very easily. Vegan baking is a bit more challenging. Lately, I\u2019m looking toward making more of my own vegan meats. I make an andouille sausage with seitan. The first day, it\u2019s good. The second day, you can\u2019t tell the difference between it and meat sausage. My husband is a non-vegan, and he likes it.\n\nI\u2019m blown away by The Herbivorous Butcher in Minneapolis! People need to understand that when they experiment with plant-based meats and cheeses, they can\u2019t expect them to taste exactly the same as animal-based, but they\u2019ll be better off!\n\nQ: You mentioned your husband. Any insights on the subject of mixed vegan/non-vegan households?\n\nA: It teaches the art of compromise! You can\u2019t always have it your own way.\n\nQ: Would you describe yourself as vegan?\n\nA: I\u2019m a flexitarian \u2014 80% vegan. When I\u2019m a guest, I will eat a little meat, but I don\u2019t make it for myself, and I often bring a plant-based dish to share at potlucks. I still cook meat sometimes for my own guests, but I introduce them to vegan dishes, too. I occasionally have seafood, because it\u2019s part of my Cajun background, and it\u2019s my specialty.\n\nQ: What are some plant-based dishes you like to share?\n\nA: My favorite vegan cuisine is Italian. I make polenta lasagna with mushrooms, mushroom risotto, and mushroom bolognese. Mushrooms are a good swap for meat, and most people like them. I use a mix of fresh and canned. I like to make a base mix of celery, onion and carrot (called a mirepoix) with added mushrooms; it can go in many directions.\n\nQ: What advice do you have for readers who want to be more plant-based?\n\nA: From a chef\u2019s perspective, a whole food, plant-based diet requires two things: first, you must have time to cook. And second, you must learn to use seasonings and take an interest in learning about new ingredients and flavor profiles. Your spice cabinet will grow! Learning about plant-based food is an ingredient adventure. Have fun!\n\nIt doesn\u2019t have to be all-or-nothing. You can start with a Meatless Monday or Mark Bittman\u2019s VB6 idea (vegan before 6 p.m.). Like any lifestyle change, it can\u2019t be done successfully overnight. A supportive partner is helpful. I have a niece who lives in another city; she is vegan and has been a great influence on me.\n\nFor me, this is part of a lifelong journey. As I grow, I find people along the way to collaborate with. It\u2019s an opportunity for exploration.\n\n* * *\n\nArlene offers frequent cooking classes at Whole Foods Co-op and teaches cooking parties in private homes. She also does TV cooking segments on Duluth's Fox 21. Readers can find some of Buscombe\u2019s recipes on her blog at arlenecoco.com.\n\nHere are two recipes Buscombe shared with me.\n\nSkinny Vegetable Soup\n\nMakes 6 servings, or 10 cups\n\nFrom \u201cCoco\u2019s Latest Bite: Cozy Soups and One Pot Meals for a Crowd\u201d\n\n\u201cThis soup is gluten-free and dairy-free. It can be made with most any type of vegetable. Freeze it in pint containers for individual servings or the whole batch for a first course at an upcoming dinner party.\u201d \u2014 Arlene Coco Buscombe\n\n4 pounds winter squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes*\n\n2 medium white onions, diced\n\n2 tablespoons olive oil\n\n1 tablespoon minced garlic\n\n\u00bd teaspoon salt\n\n8 cups vegetable stock\n\n\u00bd teaspoon ground cumin\n\nOne 13.5-oz can coconut milk (optional)\n\n\u00bd cup pistachio nuts or pumpkin seeds for garnish (optional)\n\nextra virgin olive oil for garnish (optional)\n\n*Winter squashes include acorn, butternut, kabocha, hubbard, pumpkin. You can use frozen squash that is already peeled and cubed; butternut is the variety most commonly available. Or, if you\u2019re starting with a whole raw winter squash, make peeling easier by microwaving the entire squash for a few seconds, or baking it for a few minutes and letting it cool. This will soften the hard skin.\n\nHeat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add olive oil. Add onions, garlic and salt and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add squash, vegetable stock or water, and cumin and cook until soft, about 30 minutes. Carefully puree until smooth using an immersion, or stick, blender or a food processor or blender. Add coconut milk. Garnish with nuts or seeds and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, if desired.\n\nMushroom Farro Risotto\n\nMakes 8 servings\n\nFrom \u201cCoco\u2019s Latest Bite: Vegan and Vegetarian\u201d\n\n\u201cAny kind of dried mushroom will work. I used dried lobster mushrooms. Leftovers freeze well.\" \u2014 Arlene Coco Buscombe\n\n1 ounce dried mushrooms\n\n4 tablespoons olive oil, divided\n\n1 onion, minced\n\n1 tablespoon garlic, minced\n\nThree 8-oz containers (or 3 cups) fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced\n\n3 cups farro, rinsed\n\n6 to 8 cups vegetable stock, hot\n\n\u00bd cup frozen green peas, thawed\n\n\u00bd cup white wine\n\n\u215b cup truffle oil (optional)\n\n\u00bd cup vegan Parmesan (optional)\n\nSalt and pepper to taste\n\nSoak dried mushrooms in warm water for at least an hour. Drain through a sieve or coffee filter and reserve mushroom water to add to vegetable stock. Chop soaked mushrooms into small pieces. Rinse farro and set aside. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons olive oil, then add fresh mushrooms and saute until soft and water releases, about 10 minutes. Add soaked mushrooms and heat until cooked through, about 2 more minutes. Remove mushrooms from pan, add 2 more tablespoons olive oil, and saute onions and garlic for a couple minutes until soft. Add farro and stir to coat all the kernels. Add hot vegetable stock, a cup at a time, and cook until farro is tender to the tooth, much like arborio rice \u2014 18 to 30 minutes, depending on your cooking heat and how hot the stock is. When farro is cooked, add mushrooms back in, plus peas, white wine, truffle oil (if using) and vegan Parmesan to taste. Add salt and pepper and serve hot.\n\nDid you know?\n\nIf the US became a nation of vegans, we would save $250 billion annually in health care costs and carbon emissions, and would avert 320,000 deaths due to obesity and chronic disease. Another estimate places the savings at $2 to 3 trillion. From a study by Marco Springmann published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2016, reported in \u201cThe Atlantic.\u201d\n\nBonnie Ambrosi lives in Duluth and is an organizer of The Vegan Cookbook Club, which meets at 11:30 a.m. on the first Thursday of every month at Mount Royal Branch Library. Contact Ambrosi at [email protected].\n\nRead more about Veganuary\n\n'Veganuary' is a gift you give to your body and the Earth\n\nI'm riding the Veganuary train", "keywords": [], "meta_keywords": [""], "tags": ["FOOD", "COLUMNISTS"], "authors": ["Bonnie Ambrosi", "Forum News Service"], "publish_date": null, "summary": "", "article_html": "", "meta_description": "", "meta_lang": "en", "meta_favicon": "/theme/images/favicon/inforum.ico", "meta_data": {"viewport": "width=device-width, initial-scale=1", "robots": "index, follow", "description": "Arlene Coco Buscombe: It teaches the art of compromise! 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