#VeggieDag Super Thursday

VeggieDag Thursday is an occasional Thursday post
on an animal-free diet and ecological issues.

Forget 'deflate-gate.' Today is the day for VeggieDag Thursday's obligatory nod to Super Bowl snacking.

In 2014, 112.2 million television viewers watched the championship game of the National Football League (despite it being a snoozer of a rout), and they ate while they watched the game. They ate a lot. In fact, only Thanksgiving exceeds Super Bowl Sunday in terms of total food consumption.

During the 2013 Super Bowl, here is how much Americans snacked (as compiled by The Street).

• 1.23 billion chicken wings
• 79 million pounds of avocados
• 11.2 million pounds of potato chips
• 8.2 million pounds of tortilla chips
• 4.3 million pounds of pretzels
• 3.8 million pounds of popcorn
• 2.5 million pounds of nuts

Yes, six of those seven are technically 'vegan.' 'Pigging out' isn't limited to animal-eaters.

Super Bowl XLIX (49):
New England Patriots (AFC) vs. Seattle Seahawks (NFC).

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RECIPES

Seventeen snacking recipes (equally valid for occasions other than the Super Bowl).

• Vegetarian 'Haggis'
  Since this past Sunday was the anniversary of Robbie Burns' birth, why not haggis, but vegetarian, keeping the intestines of free-romping sheep intact. The recipe is basically split peas, oatmeal, pearl barley, and Marmite - that last one, the 'intestines' of yeast, if you will.
  — Via The Guardian Food.


• Vegetarian Chili
  Sorry, Texas: lots of beans. ^*
  — Via YFGF.




• Veggie Dogs
  If you must go with 'faux' meat: steam some Field Roast Frankfurters in beer.
  — Via YFGF.


• Tempeh 'Burgers'
  Less faux.
  — Version 1 (grated tempeh patties), via Vegan Dad.
  — Version 2 (baked, marinated tempeh rectangles), via Slate.


• Cauliflower Hot Wings
  Baked with a chickpea flour batter. Your choice of hot sauce.
  — Via Evolve Vegan.


• Deviled 'Eggs'
  Hummus-filled potatoes.
  — Via Happy Herbivore.




• Hoppy Hummus
  For those 'eggs.'
  — Via YFGF.


• Guacamole
  To be one with those 79 million pounds of avocados.
  — Via Washington Post Food.


• Pico de gallo
  Basic, de rigueur, and easy. (Skip the salsa!)
  — Via The Kitchn.




• Kepta Duona
  With that hummus, guac, and salsa, try these Lithuanian fried garlicky-bread strips. (Really internationalizing it!)
  — Via YFGF.


• Pretzels
  For true 'Bavarian'-style pretzels, don't omit the ... lye!
  — Via NPR Food.


• Smoked Paprika Oven Fries
  A starchy day, but without the grease.
  — Via Washington Post Food.




• Black Pepper Beer Bread
  An easy, no-yeast recipe.
  — Via YFGF.


• Black Olive Tapenade
  Lots of garlic.
  — Via YFGF.




• Kasvipasteija
  Green bean paté.
  — Via YFGF.

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Finally, with permission from the author, here's a recipe for Beet Sliders with Avocado Cream, from the cookbook. Dinner in the Beer Garden, by Lucy Saunders, author of several books on cooking-with-beer.

These sliders are inspired by the infamously spicy beet sliders from Gatsby's Diner [unfortunately, now closed], in Sacramento, California. The original recipe, by chef and co-owners Chuck Caplener and Jared Nuttall, uses 8 arbol chiles for a super-spicy beet. This recipe is moderate in heat, as the hops in Sierra Nevada Pale Ale [Saunders' suggested beer pairing] will accentuate the chiles. To save time, I suggest cooking the whole beets and the avocado spread ahead of time, and sear and assemble the sliders right before serving.

Click on the graphics for larger, printable versions.

And (not that you might need reminding), don't forget the beer, itself a fine vegetarian foodstuff.

But, what to have?

The game will feature the American Football Conference champions, the New England Patriots, taking on the winners of National Football Conference, the Seattle Seahawks. So, one wonders, should the beer choices be Boston Beer vs. Anheuser-Busch?

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• ^* Kristin Capps of The Atlantic takes all of us to task about putting beans in chili (that's stew, not chili, she says), and, by implication, the exclusion of meat. Published on-line by Slate, January 2015: here.
• Dinner in the Beer Garden is available for purchase at the webstore of the Master Brewers of the Americas (MBAA). Read YFGF's review: here.

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• Why the name VeggieDag Thursday? Here.
• Read all the VeggieDag posts: here.
• Follow on Twitter with hashtag: #VeggieDag.
• Suggestions and submissions from chefs, writers, and home-cooks welcomed! Contact me: here.

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