Wilde Things

Back in June when we started shooting COWBOYS & ALIENS, in the middle of the desert outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, I was the only Vegan member of our gigantic cast and crew.  Because our producers are so incredibly lovely and kind, they offered to hire an extra chef for the catering team, so that someone could cook meat and dairy free food for me throughout our 80 days of living all together like a happy cowboy and alien family. THRILLED and grateful, I sent Jason, our designated Vegan chef who had never tried Vegan food, a list of links and recipes, including a glossy new copy of Alicia’s book, The Kind Diet, to help him not get bored without his usual meaty, cheesy tools.

Now, one third of the way through the shoot, he is ON FIRE, whipping up all kinds of new and interesting cruelty-free creations. In fact he is so good, that more and more people are ordering the Vegan option for lunch instead of the regular meat market entrée! Sam Rockwell, one of my favorite people on the planet, asked if it would be ok to order my food for lunch from now on, and I nearly swept him into my arms with happiness and pride.

One of best recipes Jason has perfected is this one from the great book, Vegan Brunch, by Chandra Moscowitz. These crab cakes knocked the socks off everyone who tried them. One of our drivers, the lovely Linda, ran up to me to say how “ridiculously good” they were.  She was right. DEEEELICIOUS. And for those purists out there, you can trust me, I grew up very near the Chesapeake Bay, where crab cakes are perfected and taken verrrry seriously.

But let me be clear, this is not an attempt to replicate the taste of crab. I have no interest in desperately trying to pretend I’m eating meat. I love the crispy, crunchy, savory, tangy, satisfying feeling of eating crab cakes, and that is also what I get from these amazing, and polution-free, alternatives.

Give them a taste and see for yourself!

SERVINGS

10 cakes

INGREDIENTS

For the Cakes:

8 ounces tempeh (use the nori tempeh if you can find it, but plain soy tempeh is fine, too)

1 cup water

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons Vegenaise

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard (stone-ground Dijon works, too)

1 tablespoon hot sauce

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/4 cup very finely chopped red bell pepper

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

Fresh black pepper

1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs, plus extra for dredging

1 finely chopped nori sheet or 1 tablespoon kelp granules (optional, if you like a little fishiness, which I don’t)

Oil for panfrying

For the Remoulade:

2 tablespoons Vegenaise

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard (stone-ground Dijon works, too)

1 tablespoon hot sauce

2 teaspoons capers (try not to get too much brine)

For Serving:

Lemon wedges

DIRECTIONS

Make ahead: Make the entire mixture and the remoulade the night before. In the morning, form into cakes and panfry.

First we’re going to steam the tempeh to get the bitterness out and also to give it some flavor with the soy sauce. Crumble the tempeh into a saucepan in little bits. Add the water, soy sauce, oil, and bay leaf. The tempeh won’t be fully submerged, but that’s fine. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, let boil for 12 to 15 minutes, until most of the water has evaporated. Stir once during boiling.

Transfer contents to a mixing bowl, remove the bay leaf, and mash with a fork. Let cool for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to hasten the cooling process. Make sure the tempeh is barely warm before you proceed, or the cakes may fall apart when you cook them. Add the Vegenaise, mustard, hot sauce, vinegar, bell pepper, ginger, oregano, salt, and pepper and mix well. Add the breadcrumbs and nori, if using, and use your hands to incorporate.

Once you are ready to form the cakes, preheat a thin layer of oil in a heavy-bottomed, nonstick skillet (cast iron is great) over medium heat. Pour a few tablespoons of panko into a bowl. Scoop a little less than 1/4 cup batter into your hands and form into a ball. Flatten between your palms and then roll the sides gently to smooth them. You should have ten 2 1/2- to 3-inch patties. Press them into the panko to lightly coat. They don’t need to be thoroughly covered, just a little bit for some texture.

Fry a batch of five cakes for 4 minutes on one side and flip when dark golden brown. Fry for 2 minutes on the other side and transfer to a paper towel or paper bag to drain. Do your second batch and in the meantime make your remoulade by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Serve with lemon wedges.

From the book Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

Here’s the skinny: Small, grassroots organizations that focus on specific projects operated by the local community are often more effective and accountable than gargantuan, broad based, NGOs.

I am really excited about my good friend, actress Megalyn Echikunwoke’s, new education project for women and girls in Nigeria, her father’s native country. The mission of the organization, called W.E.A.P.O.N (Women, Education, Arts, Providing Opportunity Now!) is this:

“Project by project and community by community W.E.A.P.O.N will create partnerships with local leaders, art centers, schools, and existing organizations, to develop and provide funding for specific arts and education projects designed to empower and support the women and girls in that community.

There are a few reasons I like this idea.

• First of all, Megalyn, being Nigerian herself, has a personal connection to her cause that will never fade, regardless of how much (or little) it appears in the news.

• Second, her decision to support local projects on the ground that are already proving to be effective, and are only in need of additional support, is a smart one. For example, they will provide full secondary school scholarships to young women so they don’t have to drop out and lose their chance at escaping the cycle of wasted brain power that leads to maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS, abuse, and other preventable tragedies. It is nearly impossible to import expertise into a foreign community without running into issues of trust, miscommunication, and fleeting fancy (when the volunteers have had enough and want to go back to Wisconsin.) By choosing to partner with existing education programs, W.E.A.P.O.N, and any other org that runs this way, is approaching the issue at hand with respect for the wisdom only gained from experience.

• Third, it’s an education program for girls! As I’ve quoted when discussing Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Pulitzer prize winning journalists, and co-authors of Half The Sky,“There’s a growing recognition among everyone from the World Bank to the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff to aid organizations like CARE that focusing on women and girls is the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism.

I have deep respect for this organization’s goal, and the way they intend to achieve it. They are passionate, and committed to being specific and effective, while respecting and collaborating with the local community. This is an example of someone identifying a problem and deciding to take action, despite the often harrowing and thankless process of running a small organization.

Support W.E.A.P.O.N’s exciting mission HERE

Port au Prince, a few weeks ago

Today is the 6 month anniversary of the earthquake. I remember the moment I heard what had happened. Sitting, stunned, on the set of “House,” I felt my stomach plummet. How could I go on working? I knew that the hospitals and schools where I stood only weeks before had little chance of surviving such a horrific beating. I also knew there must be thousands dead. I could never have imagined the number would reach as staggeringly high as 300,000. What followed was a month of sleepless nights, hot tears, desperate pleas for donations, and a constant stream of bad news from our friends on the ground in Port au Prince.

But amidst all the disbelief, anxiety, anger, sadness, and frustration, I found a deep well of hope. The world pulled together to offer help, arms held outstretched, pledging not to forget. In that moment I was proud to be a part of an organization that was in a position to offer real, effective assistance to those who needed it most.

So many of you were generous, raising funds immediately to help Artists For Peace and Justice, and other worthy organizations, provide critically needed care. APJ representatives were able to get into the country immediately to provide humanitarian relief, bringing surgeons, medical equipment (such as Morphine, so that amputations would no longer have to be performed using only Motrin,) and other emergency supplies. This would have been impossible if not for the donations we received in that first week.

Because we had maintained a presence in Haiti for a year before the earthquake struck, we were soon able to re-focus our efforts on our long term goal of education for the poorest children, while at the same time building a rehabilitation clinic for youngsters who lost limbs and needed prosthetics. This project is ongoing, and recently, when I was back at St Damien’s Pediatric Hospital with Father Rick Frechette, where APJ Haiti was born, I marveled at the clinic’s in-house factory, where tiny arms and legs are built before being individually fitted, so that the children can receive physical therapy, and begin to move forward with their lives.

On that same trip I scrubbed up and stood in on the surgery of a three year old girl, Fleurengina, whose hand had been badly bitten by rats while she slept in her tent, in one of the many refugee camps, and was now badly infected. APJ’s Co-Executive Director, Dr. Reza Nabavian, performed the procedure that saved her from probable amputation. As I listened to her howling cries for her mother, I realized what horrors this child had gone through, how much terror and misery she had seen, and how strong she would have to be to stay afloat in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation. I felt my dedication to her, and her country, solidify in my heart. I want girls like Fleurengina to have a chance at survival, and an education, so that she may grow, armed with the knowledge to help her battered country heal from the inside out.

6 months later, APJ is still firmly planted in Haiti, with many new exciting partnerships allowing us to launch projects such as water purification systems, a mobile clinic, and others, that are making a huge difference in the lives of those hit hardest by the poverty that was grossly intensified by the quake.  With the help of the World Food Program, we are thrilled to now be able to secure food and water for 8000 children a day.

We firmly believe that education is the key to sustainable recovery of this devastated nation. Our school programs are progressing every day, and we have many exciting plans for the future. We have high standards and expectations for our work in Haiti, and we are in it for the long haul.

For me, today was a chance to pause and remember those lost in the dust 6 months ago today, just as things were starting to look up in Haiti. In their honor, I choose not to forget. Food, water, shelter and medical care are in short supply. International relief and reconstruction efforts are slowing down when Haiti is most in need of help. It is not OK for us to leave our fellow human beings desperately clawing at survival. We must not look away and throw up our hands. The only ethical and responsible reaction is to take action, and work to break the cycle of suffering.

I am proud to work on behalf of APJ, and I look forward to a day when all Haitian children have a safe place to sleep and play, a healthy meal, a doctor, and a classroom.

DONATE NOW

This recipe is from one my favorite blogs, Vegan YumYum. Check out her site. She also includes videos. Fancyyyy.

Broccolini, Cherry Tomato and Butter Bean Udon Serves One

1 to 1 1/2 Bundles Udon Noodles

Oil, about 2-3 Tbs

3-6 Stalks of Broccolini, depending on size

1/2 tsp Red Pepepr Flakes

Black Pepper

Salt

10 Cherry Tomatoes, quartered

1/2 Cup Butter Beans/Lima Beans, drained and rinsed

1-2 tsp Italian Herbs

Balsamic Vinegar, for drizzling

Heat a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add udon noodles and cook for four minutes (or as long as package directions dictate), then drain and rinse well. Coat lightly with oil to prevent noodles from sticking. I use spray oil for this, I think it’s the easiest and you use the least amount of oil. Set noodles aside.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium high with a little oil. Add broccolini and coat with oil. Season with 1 big pinch of salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Once the broccolini starts to turn bright green and get a little color (just a minute or two), push them to the edge of the pan.

Turn heat up a little and add quartered cherry tomatoes. Stir to coat in any oil/spices leftover from the broccolini, then let cook, untouched, to get a little color and soften up, 1-2 minutes. Once tomatoes are softened, add 1/2 cup of butter beans. Stir everything together and remove to a bowl.

In the still-hot pan, add a 1-2 Tbs more oil. Add cooked udon noodles to the hot pan, seasoning with a pinch of salt and italian herbs. Toss to coat the pasta. Once the pasta is coated and is heated through, add back the broccolini, beans, and tomatoes. Taste and season with more salt or pepper if needed.

Plate, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar if desired.

Full disclosure: This photo is not of my vegan bolognese. This is because my cruelty-free creation was eaten, enthusiastically, before the evidence could be captured in a photo. So trust me on this one, and give it a whirl next time you’re watching The Godfather, Goodfellas, Big Night, or any other pasta porn.

Eat this with any kind of pasta you love, or with some fresh arugula leaves for a non-traditional alternative.

We used a bunch of veggies from the garden, but I think you could try this with any veggies you love.

a few splashes Olive Oil

1 tsp Earth Balance (http://www.earthbalancenatural.com)

1/2 Onion

3 cloves Garlic

Big bunch of Mushrooms – any and all kinds (well, not all)

1/2 package Tempeh (i used this one http://www.lightlife.com/product_detail.jsp?p=tempeh_threegrain)

1/2 Zucchini Squash

1 Eggplant

A carrot

Tomatoes – 2, boiled, skinned and pureed (or 1/2 of your favorite jar of tomato sauce if you’re pressed for time)

Bunch of Basil

Bunch of Italian parsley

Oregano

Rosemary

Salt

Red Pepper flakes

Red wine

Chop, and sauté onions and garlic in olive oil. Toss the mushrooms in the food processor (or chop them if you’re not as lazy as me) and stir into the pan. Do the same with the tempeh. These two ingredients make up the “ground meat” of this “bolognese” so keep that in mind when chopping, and make the pieces small. Splash in some red wine (just a sip or two) and a tsp of Earth Balance, and some salt, pepper, and stir. Chop up or food process your zucchini squash, eggplant,  fresh basil, parsley, carrot, and whatever else looks good, and toss into the pan and stir. Add the tomatoes (or tomato sauce) and stir. Sprinkle in some oregano, rosemary, and red pepper flakes. This is basically the gist of it. Add a little more wine, salt, pepper, and let it it simmer for a while. When you’re ready to serve, throw some fresh chopped basil and parsley on top. Ta DA.

These aren’t your average hippy bags. These are chic, unique, and sleek purses made from Vegan leather and recycled water bottles. Need I say more?!

http://www.mattandnat.com/

“There’s a growing recognition among everyone from the World Bank to the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff to aid organizations like CARE that focusing on women and girls is the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism. That’s why foreign aid is increasingly directed to women. The world is awakening to a powerful truth: Women and girls aren’t the problem; they’re the solution.”

Tonight, after a stormy afternoon that forced our Cowboys and Aliens film crew to turn in the cameras, actors, and horses early, I found myself with the evening off (a rare and welcome luxury) and therefore free to attend a lecture by one of my favorite NY Times columnists: the author, and social activist, Nicholas Kristof. He was here in Santa Fe, as a part of the Folk Art Market, at the beautiful Lensic Theatre, built as a vaudeville stage and movie palace in 1931, to discuss “Half The Sky, Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide“ – the hugely popular, inspiring, and impactful book he wrote with the other half of his Pulitzer Prize-winning team, his wife, Sheryl WuDunn.

With the publishing of this powerful argument for the education of women around the world as an investment in the state of the world’s health and economy as a whole, Kristof and WuDunn started a movement. Millions of readers were called to action and, with the help of a list of non-governmental organizations, personally vetted by the authors, in the back of the book, many of them found a way to engage, and become useful participants.

I was one of the readers spurred to action, no longer satisfied with being a bystander as 100 million women went missing due to neglect. Though I have been involved in many great organizations since my teen years, this book solidified my belief that small, locally run organizations are the most effective, and therefore the most worthy of my investment of time and money. As we build Artists For Peace and Justice, I recall the stories from Half The Sky, and remember why we have chosen to dedicate ourselves to a community operated, privately funded, independently run education program in Haiti. It is simply the most effective way to have an impact.

What makes this book so astonishing are the stories of women who, despite horrifying setbacks, overcome extreme abuse, poverty, and imprisonment, and turn back to help their sisters still fighting for their freedom. Tonight, as the packed audience listened to Mr. Kristof discuss his, and Sheryl’s, dedication to the movement they inspired, he stressed the importance of connecting personally with the cause one chooses to invest in. I could not agree more. I will never forget the moment I walked into the school in Port au Pince, Haiti, that I sponsor, and stood before a group of children singing a song of gratitude and hope. Shaking their hands and learning their names, I knew I was newly inspired to ensure their continued education, in a way I couldn’t have understood by reading about them from a couch in California.

My advice: read Half the Sky, and then get some friends together and discuss the causes you feel passionate about. Once you know what project you are willing to dedicate yourself to, dig in deep, connect with the recipients of your passion, and I promise you, your life will never be the same. There is no happiness like that which comes from giving yourself to a cause greater than yourself.

Check out the fantastic website, http://www.halftheskymovement.org/ for more information, stories, and resources to help you participate in the movement!

Alicia Silverstone is one of the loveliest creatures on the planet. She inspires me with her dedication to animal rights, her joyful activist spirit, and her simple way of explaining how easy, healthy, and delicious it is to adopt a Vegan way of life. She isn’t judgemental or preachy. On the contrary, she offers sympathetic anecdotes about understanding what it’s like to be brought up on, and loving, pork chops. This book is a MUST READ for anyone looking for a comprehensive approach to shedding meat and dairy from their bodies and lives. It really communicates her personality too, which is enough to get anyone on board. Buy it here and enjoy!

Also check out her amazingly helpful and informative website, The Kind Life.

Cowboys & Aliens is a an action-thriller (think western meets sci-fi) being directed by Jon Favreau (not Obama’s speech writer) starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell, Paul Dano, Adam Beach, Keith Carradine, Ana de la Reguera, Abigail Spencer, other incredible actors, and yours truly. It’s FUN, and exciting, and full of heart. I am having an incredible time shooting the film down in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where the sunsets are straight out of an acid trip, and the food never disappoints.

here is the official description of the movie:

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution dont welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). Its a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where hes been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponentstownsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriorsall in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

If I could whip up some pasta and pour some vino for any group, alive or dead, here are a few of the world-changing ninjas I would invite:

Dr. Oliver Sacks

“Music can lift us out of depression or move us to tears – it is a remedy, a tonic, orange juice for the ear.”

Coolest, and, let’s be honest, cutest, neurologist around. If you haven’t read “The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat”, which takes its title from a story about just that, or any of his other fascinating accounts of neurological curiosities, such as “Musicophilia,” which explores the undeniable connection between music and our brain chemistry, get to purchasing, and treat yourself to a mind-blowing (pun intended) reading experience. I often dream of going to Columbia to study with Dr. Sacks. Maybe they’ll let me in based on my TV medical pronunciations…

Dr. Paul Farmer

“I would argue that a social justice approach should be central to medicine and utilized to be central to public health. This could be very simple: the well should take care of the sick.”

If you’ve read Tracy Kidder’s Pulitzer prize winning BRILLIANT biography of Dr. Paul Farmer, Mountains Beyond Mountains, you know how worthy he is of an invite to the dinner table. He is anthropologist, physician, author, Professor at Harvard Med, and, to many of his patients in Russia, Rawanda, Lesotho, Malawi, Peru, and Haiti, he is a god. His approach to international health crises is comprehensive and community based, meaning he first understands the culture, and then finds the most practical way to help, without attempting to use the same tactic for every situation. Through the incredible organization, Partners In Health, he has had an enormous impact on the the fate of AIDS and TB patients in the poorest developing countries, not to mention the way governments form their own health-care programs. I continue to be inspired by Dr. Farmer’s love for Haiti, his humility, passion, determination, and his steadfast belief that health care is a fundamental right, not a privilege.

Katharine Hepburn

“If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.”

The definition of an independent thinker in a town where women were highly discouraged from speaking their minds, Katharine Hepburn was a perfect combination of fierce and fabulous. Never taking Hollywood too seriously,  she won 4 Oscars, which is still the record, by turning in some of the greatest performances of the 20th Century.  As if that’s not enough of a reason to invite her to the party, she was passionately politically active, did her own stunts, survived a hurricane, is on a stamp, and was brutally funny. She’s in.

Oscar Wilde

“An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.”

Come on, could there be a better dinner companion? Oscar Wilde may be the most quoted man of all time, due to his well documented acerbic tongue, but he was also a brave social activist. He was thrown in prison and served two years of hard labor for committing “gross indecency” with other men, an injustice that damaged his career but not his fierce spirit. He was Irish (which wins major points with me,) hilarious, brilliant, insightful, and irreplaceable. Yes, I took his name as my professional name because, while performing in a production of “The Importance of Being Ernest” as the fabulously ferocious Gwendolyn, I fell in love with Wilde, and found real inspiration in his devotion to guiding his life and art with intelligence, courage, joy, wit, and independence.

Nina Simone

“I’m a real rebel with a cause.”

Oh Nina, sing to me! I don’t think there’s any other singer whose voice so passionately or intensely expresses the joy, anger, pain, love, and loss she describes in her songs, which is why her performances were known “not as mere concerts, but as happenings.” The High Priestess of Soul was a fierce and unapologetic civil rights activist, singing openly about racial injustice in the south, leading certain states to boycott her work. In short, she fascinates me. I can’t listen to “Lilac Wine” without my heart breaking and my soul soaring. I often think of her music as a standard to be reached by all artists who strive to communicate emotion. Maybe if we get her drunk enough at dinner, she’ll sing.