For the first time since Thanksgiving, my Culinate chat will focus on meatless cooking, eating and shopping today (1 ET/10a PT) . Pull up a chair and join the merry crew of chatters. Can’t make the live hour?  Send early questions here.

And now for a little eye candy: Seattle photographer Luuvu Hoang masterminded this fun little video teaser for my forthcoming cookbook, with still imagineering by Myra Kohn.

I’ve spent much of January offline and in my pajamas, but I’m not convalescing.  In order to finish a manuscript, I took myself off the blogging grid and hunkered down in my writing cave.

I’m thrilled to report that the manuscript for “Licking Your Chops: A Meatless Guide for Meat Lovers,” has been turned over to my editor at Da Capo Press.    A collection of 52 meatless menus, the book will be released in September.

Over the past few days, I’ve been catching up on sleep – and headlines. Here’s a sampler of edible news nuggets that are worth chewing on.

The theme of today’s Oprah show is “Do You Know Where Your Food Really Comes From?” featuring  journalist Michael Pollan.  Best known for his seminal work, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma, ” Pollan has penned a new book, “Food Rules.”  Word has it that Steve Ells, founder and co-CEO of Chipotle, will join the conversation.

A trailer for “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” is now available for public consumption. Brit celeb chef Jamie Oliver spent last fall filming his newest reality show in Huntington, W. Va., “the unhealthiest city in America.”  The show airs March 26 on ABC.

A movie version of food writer (and editor of the recently defunct Gourmet magazine) Ruth Reichl’s memoir “Garlic and Sapphires” is reportedly under development with Fox.

Target has sworn off farmed salmon in all of its stores and swapped in wild Alaskan salmon.  Casson Trenor has the seafood scoop.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a statement of “concern” about the possible health risks of  bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical used to harden plastic bottles and to line canned goods.   Banned for use in baby bottles in Canada and the EU, BPA remains “safe” in the eyes of the FDA, but will be subject to further review this year.  Expect more developments on this story in the coming months.

President Obama has nominated Dr. Elisabeth Hagen as Undersecretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) a post that has been vacant since October, 2008.  The job of the FS Undersecretary  is to oversee food safety issues related to inspection of meat, poultry and egg products.

First Lady Michelle Obama has called on the nation’s mayors to join her in a nationwide campaign against child obesity.  One of her guests at tonight’s State of the Union address is Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett, who’s launched  an initiative called This City Is Going on a Diet.  The First Lady’s campaign is expected to kick off in February.

Activists in Prince George’s County, Md., are lobbying to put a moratorium on permits for new fast food restaurants.

And now that I’m out of my cave,  I’ll be filing more regular installments in this space.

Image by Matti Mattila via Flickr

For better or worse, this year in food has been anything but dull.

A trail of breadcrumbs comes to mind. We’re in the deep dark forest, except this forest is de-forested, and the big bad wolf and his no-good gang of vultures have us surrounded.  We haven’t eaten for days, but we don’t know if anything is safe to eat. The river is littered with dead fish and the trees are hanging with mad-cow carcasses, where fruit once grew.

Other than a flashlight and a prayer, we’ve got a Twinkie circa 1988 in our pockets, which we decide, instead of eating, to tear into small cream-filled pieces, and drop onto the earth, as an edible GPS, if you will.  We’ve got to find our way of this place. But how?

I’ve been trying to come up with a culinary metaphor for emotional rollercoaster, and I’m stumped.  And hindsight, instead of 20/20 vision, hurts like hell this time ‘round, but it sure has opened our eyes – and mouths and minds.

Here’s how I see it.

First, the unsavory bits:

2009 is the year….

…of many hungry people. Worldwide, the “undernourished” (consuming less than the minimum calories necessary to maintain minimum bodily functions) has topped 1 billion, the highest number in 40 years.

Here in this country, 12 percent of the population is living on food stamps – that’s  37.1 million of your closest friends, up from 35.8 million in August.

…Endless food safety calamities.  Here are this year’s top two:

Nearly 4,000 peanut products that contained peanut butter or paste from the Peanut Corporation of America were recalled, due to  a massive salmonella outbreak connected with nine deaths and 714 illnesses in 46 states. According to the US Food and Drug and Administration, which has been leading the investigation, this is one of the nation’s largest food recalls.

More than 2.5 million pounds of ground beef from several different processors were recalled (including 248, 000 pounds on Christmas Eve) for E.coli, and in three instances, salmonella contamination.

We continue to overfish the oceans (bluefin tuna is nearing extinction — literally) and, as sustainable seafood activist Casson Trenor recently put it, “we are on pace to empty the oceans of all seafood in less than forty years.”

Trenor goes on to say: “The single most powerful and meaningful thing that happened to our oceans this year is that we truly began to wake up to the truth of what we are doing to our planet.  We are more aware.  We are more alert.  And we are much more energized and focused.”

Which leads me to the year’s more palatable bits.

2009 is the year when….

…For the first time since World War II, when Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt were running things, there is an edible garden on the White House lawn.

…And for the first time since the Thomas Jefferson administration, there is a farmer’s market within earshot (and approval) of the White House.

“One of the things that we’re trying to do now is to figure out, can we get a little farmers market—outside of the White House,’’ President Obama said at a health care forum in August.  The following month, such a market launched a block away from 1600 Pennsyvlania.

….the USDA launched a “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative, a $65 million program that supports  small farmers and local food systems.

…when school lunch was put under the microscope. As Congress prepared to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act (it gets reauthorized every 5 years), a lively debate ensued on the financial constraints of the National School Lunch Program and the resulting quality and standards of the food that’s served to our kids.

Reauthorization has been postponed til 2010, with appropriations remaining the same for the time being, but the conversation seems to have spurred much activity, including an amendment to the Healthy Food for Healthy Schools Act, introduced by Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) and an investigative series by USA Today about the sub-par food safety standards for meat purchased for school lunches.

…the proverbial cat was let out of the bag about industrial agriculture and the state of our food system with food documentaries such as Food Inc. and Fresh that got people talking and asking hard questions. Fresh in particular celebrates the work of alternatives to the status quo, including Will Allen, farmer/founder of Growing Power, an urban farming project in Milwaukee.

End of the Line helped to create awareness about the state of our seas, with particularly emphasis on the aforementioned endangered bluefin tuna.

And big media listened; Time magazine did a cover story about tuna and the New York Times ran a front-page story on Stephanie Smith, the 22-year-old woman left paralyzed after eating an E.coli-contaminated hamburger patty last year (which caught the attention of Larry King).   On New Year’s Eve, NYT reporter Michael Moss wrote a story investigating ammonia fillers in frozen hamburger patties, an industry practice explored in Food Inc.

It has been a year of way too much shit-in-the-meat, but it has also been a year of awakening – for consumers, media, farmers and decision makers.

When the news got to be too much, we allowed our “Top Chef” friends such as Carla and Fabio to steal our attention, much like we did with the release of “Julie & Julia,” because after all, at the end of the day, food is about pleasure, right?

P.S.  Thanks for your understanding for less-than-usual dispatches of late; I am in the final stretch of writing my cookbook, “Licking Your Chops,” and should be back to a more regular schedule by late January.

It’s party time, y’all.  Put down that cheese ball and perk up your ears for somethin’ a little bit different on the holiday vittles theme.

Spinach leaves make the most beautiful pakoras of all. Photo: Kim O'Donnel

Instead, let’s tear a page from the book of chaat, the finger-licking savory snacks of India and south Asia.  At the top of my list are pakoras, delectable hand-held morsels fried in a chickpea flour batter.   Tempura’s got nothing on these babies; they’re spiced and spicy, crackly thin and light and get dipped with a cooling herbal chutney.

The caveat: Pakoras should be eaten hot and on the spot, which means you gotta fry on the fly.  My suggestion: Fry early, as guests begin to arrive.  Park yourself at the stove for 30 minutes and crank out a couple batches of pakoras, with a helper on hand to serve while they’re still hot.  At minute 30, turn off the heat, take off your apron, and take a bow. Your guests will give you a standing ovation for your best-ever fried performance.

Vegetable Pakoras

Adapted from “Lord Krishna’s Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking,” by Yamuna Devi

Ingredients: Batter:

2 cups chickpea flour (also known as besan or gram flour; available at Asian groceries; Bob’s Red Mill also sells in many supermarkets)

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking powder (optional: use if you like a puffier result)

1 teaspoon coriander

3/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon asafetida (a peculiar and odiferous plant resin available at Southeast Asian groceries; if you can’t find it, don’t sweat it)

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (optional but nice)

Approximately 1 1/2 cups cold water

1 quart vegetable oil

Veggie options: Bell pepper rectangles, eggplant rounds (about ½-inch thick, using thinner Asian eggplants), onion rings, sweet potato round (1/4-1/2-inch thick) cauliflower or broccoli florets, spinach or kale leaves

Method

With a rubber spatula, mix all batter ingredients, except for the water, to combine. Add water gradually, mixing well after each addition, and continue until batter is the consistency of pancake batter. Let rest for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prep vegetables and make green chutney (which can be made in advance). Make sure veggies are completely dry before dipping into batter.

Eggplant and bell pepper require a medium-consistency batter for maximum adherence. More delicate items such as spinach leaves require a thinner batter. For a mixed order, prepare the heavy-batter items first, then water down batter as needed for more delicate pieces.

Heat oil in a heavy, deep pot or a wok until temperature reaches 335 degrees. Alternatively, test oil with a spoonful of batter, which bubbles in response when ready.

Dip veggies into batter, completely coating surface. With a pair of tongs, transfer veggies into hot oil and let cook until medium golden brown. Do not overcrowd oil bath; fry in small batches. Turn with tongs to brown on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to paper towels.

With slotted spoon, skim burnt bits and allow oil to return to 335 degrees before adding next batch of battered veggies.

Eat while pakoras are still warm and serve with chutney.

Green chutney

Note: I highly recommend that you double amounts and make a big batch of this stuff, as it’s addictive and your guests will plow through it.

Ingredients

1 large handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 small handful stemmed mint leaves, chopped (1/4 cup)

½-inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 or 2 cloves chopped garlic

1 plum tomato

1 small green chili, seeded and diced

Method

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and well combined. Add salt to taste. Serve at room temperature.

Cover of Simple Vegetarian Pleasures

Ever since I started my weekly meatless feature 15 months ago, I’ve wanted to compile a resource list of titles that encompass the diverse and wide-ranging meatless recipe world.

With the holiday season in full swing, the requests for kitchen-specific gift ideas have been trickling in, an impetus if there was ever one to finish what I had started.

It’s extensive all right, a testament to how far the meatless cookbook world has gone from lentil loaf extravaganzas.  Is it  definitive? Not by a long shot. But I’d plunk my money down for any of these titles. And feel free to add to the list if you see something missing.

P.S. As I mentioned last week, Culinate is donating commission revenue to Feeding America for online purchases made through Amazon and Powell’s.

All-Purpose Tomes

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

The Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon

Global Perspective

World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey

World Vegetarian Classics by Celia Brooks Brown

Getting Ethnic

Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Jewish Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World by Gil Marks

The Greek Vegetarian by Diane Kochilas

Mediterranean Harvest by Martha Rose Shulman

Putting on the Pressure (Cooker)

Cooking Under Pressure by Lorna Sass (20^th anniversary edition released this year)

Pressure Cooking: A Fresh Look, a DVD by nutritionist Jill Nussinow

Just The Basics, Please

Simple Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin

Seasonally Focused

Fast Food Fresh by Peter Berley

Vegetarian Suppers by Deborah Madison

A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop

Vegetarian Without Mention of the Word

Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson

Vegetable Cookery 411

Mediterranean Vegetables by Clifford A. Wright

Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini by Elizabeth Schneider

Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop

No Dairy or Eggs (aka Vegan)

Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry

Vegan Express by Nava Atlas

For “Mixed” Company

Almost Meatless by Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond

Adaptable Feast by Ivy Manning

Happy Endings

More Great Good Dairy Free Desserts Naturally by Fran Costigan

Vegan Cupcakes Rule the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

New on the Shelves

Lucid Food by Louisa Shafia

The New Vegetarian by Robin Asbell

get cooking. by Mollie Katzen

For next year’s holiday gift list

Licking Your Chops, a meat-less guide for meat lovers, by yours truly (Da Capo/Fall 2010)