Vegan Burial Feast

It is an honor to design a feast to follow Kathy High’s  screening of the new video entitled “Death Down Under”.

”Death Down Under” is a documentary (directed by Kathy High with Cynthia White) about death and decay, and eco-friendly or ‘natural earth’ burials. This video was shot in Western Australia and follows the collaboration of a young fashion designer/artist and funeral celebrant, Pia Interlandi, and a forensic scientist, Ian Dadour. An experimental research project was created between them, allowing Pia to test out her fashion-for-the-dead and Ian, an entomologist who studies human homicide, to research clothing decay on dead (animal) victims. “Death Down Under” looks at ideas of green burials and the ecology of death.

Every performance is a conversation. I focus my interaction with ingredients I am about to use. When I design a dish that has a new ingredient, I want to know everything about it! This time, Kathy High and I wanted a vegan feast. I learned a lot from sites like Peta, that has a section on baking (http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/baking.aspx). I did not know about the different sugar processing methods and what was vegan sugar. According to http://www.vegsource.com/jo/qa/qasugar.htm, “Over half of the cane refineries in the United States use bone char (charcoal made from animal bones) as their activated carbon source.”  Hope everyone enjoyed their treats prepared with
Produce from Capital District Community Gardens.

“Dirt”

First Layer: Vegan Chocolate Coconut Pudding
1 can coconut milk (1 1/2 cups)
32 ounces soy milk
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup of certified vegan sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp cocoa powder
pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp espresso or very strong coffee
pinch of hot pepper optional
Heat up all 6 first ingredients. Cook 1-3 minutes. Stir in vanilla and coffee.
Pass through a sieve to avoid lumps before pouring into serving dishes. Chill before serving.
Second Layer: Vegan Brownies
1/2 cup Earth balance vegan buttery sticks
2/3 cup water
2 cups of certified vegan sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Mix all dry ingredients and set aside.
Mix 1/2 cup of flour with the water and cook to form a paste, let it cool.
Beat my hand: buttery sticks, sugars, vanilla and flour paste. Add the dry ingredients.
Bake on a 350 oven, on a 9×13 greased pan for 25 to 30 minutes
Makes 12 large squares or 48 mini bites.

Raw Beet Gazpacho

Yield: 1 gallon

• 4 large beets peeled
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 cucumbers cubed
• 1 large red onion peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• pinch chili pepper
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 red pepper de-seeded
• 2 apples cored

Blend the beets and water. Strain the pulp. Put the juice back into the blender and working in batches, blend together the remainder of the ingredients. Chill for 4 hours. Serve with sour cream, lemon zest and fresh dill.

Cold Mango Ginger Soup
3 large green mangoes
1/2 onion
3 cups water
1 wax pepper, seeds and ribs removed
pinch of cayenne pepper or other chili to taste
1/2 cup of lime juice (about 3 limes)
4 tsp grated ginger
Salt to taste
3 tbsp of rum
Blend and Chill. Garnish with mint leaves and serve