Religion and eating meat, and Red wine chocolate coconut cookies

Red wine chocolate coconut cookies

Food Diary (September 11, 2011)

Breakfast: Rolled oats with plums, sunflower seeds and flax seeds

Lunch: Pasta with spinach and egg

Dinner: Wholemeal sourdough toast and peanut butter, pickled carrots

Baking/sweets: Red wine chocolate coconut cookies

Red wine + coconut + chocolate in a cookie is unusual but delicious. You have just to take my word for it, or try it yourself.

The cookies are light and crispy, not very sweet and have a complex flavor. 

The aroma from combining red wine and cocoa or chocolate is absolutely divine. I cannot explain in words the aroma but it reminds me of high quality Mexican vanilla beans. Unfortunately some of the aroma disappears once the cookies are baked but I guess you can’t have everything.

The cookie dough is unlike regular cookie dough, instead it is more like bread dough. As such it is quite workable and easy to form into shapes. The recipe is available here.

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Camemberu

Pepper Salt Shanghai Small Yellow Fish on Green Mango Salad

Today’s Favourite Blog

Source: Ottawa Citizen

I’ve heard people say that the human body was not designed to consume meat. I also saw a documentary on evolution and different parts of the body from our ancestors was analysed. The teeth from our ancestors was more flat and the researchers concluded that it was a sign of vegetarianism. As we evolved and started eating meat the shape of the teeth changed in order to allow us to chew meat.

Today I came across an article looking at meat consumption from the religious perspective. I am certainly not trying to preach any religion, neither am I trying to express a view on whether or not god exists! I am merely summarising the article.

In the Old Testament, believers could eat meat, as long as the animal was classified as “clean” (Deuteronomy 14:3-8). In the New Testament Jesus declares all foods “clean” (Mark 7:19). The apostle Paul said “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” (1 Timothy 4:4). So Christians are morally free to eat all foods God created, including meat.

What about Hindu’s? Orthodox Hindus view meat, fish, eggs, onions and garlic as profane foods, i.e., ritually impure, and therefore unacceptable as religious offering, except in certain Tantric rites. Certain emotions are linked to various foods and meat is believed to stimulate rajasic (passion, restlessness) and tamasic (indolent) tendencies. Thus those seeking mental serenity avoid meat. Many meat eaters abstain from these foods at least once a week as a religious discipline.

The Buddhism view point is mixed. One view is that it is deemed acceptable to eat meat so long as animals are not slaughtered specifically to feed the eater. Another view is that it depends on location. Someone living in the Arctic must be able to eat animal-based food.

The article did not discuss other religions and unfortunately my knowledge in this area is lacking to make any meaningful contribution. 

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