Wednesday, April 9, 2008

I'm Not a Vegetarian, I Just Play One On TV

I realized something recently. I'm practically a vegetarian. I only eat meat a couple of times a week and I don't usually miss it. I probably could be an herbivore if I had some strong moral opposition to meat, if I thought eating meat was cruel to animals and a narcissitic show of dominion over other creatures and was somehow morally superior, but I don't. Which I guess makes me like a fence-sitting pseudo-vegetarian who's not committed to the cause, or a meat-and-potatoes girl gone horribly wrong. Just so we're clear: I love meat. Just not all the time. I used to have a bumper sticker on my car that said "If we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made out of meat?" I still feel that way. Meat is good- beef, chicken, lamb, pork, deer, turkey, quail, veal... YUM. To all of it.

So why do I bring this up? Not to launch a discussion about vegetarianism vs. meat-eater-ism. No. I would find that boring, and since this is my blog, I choose not to be bored. Not even to discuss the reasons I find myself eating less meat now than I did a few years ago. Again, BORING. And quite frankly, generally speaking, I don't really care why you do or don't eat meat. If you do, give me your recipes. If you don't, give me yours, too, but spare me the lecture about how meat is going to kill me. Yadda, yadda, yadda. We all gotta die sometime, right?

SO. The reason I bring this up is because I wonder, on nights when people aren't eating meat and also aren't eating fish (which is not meat), what are they eating? I'm guessing for most people, it's pizza or pasta of some sort. Those were our only meat-free (and fish-free) meals for quite a while. But that got boring pretty fast, so I started looking around and I've discovered tons of really good vegetarian food and recipes. Several months ago I made soba noodle bowls, and stuffed portabello mushrooms before that. A couple of weeks ago I made egg drop soup and vegetable lo mein (though I'm looking for a better recipe), a couple of nights ago we had vegetarian stuffed peppers. I just found an insanely good recipe for a roasted vegetable sandwich that I can't wait to make, and this fall is going to be The Fall of Risotto- I plan to make it with nearly every variety of fall and winter squash available in order to find my favorite combination. So what about you? Do ever go meatless? And if you do, what do you eat? Have any favorite recipes?

6 comments:

Mary said...

In the words of Kurt Cobain, "It's okay to eat fish 'cause they don't have no feelings."

There have been times I too have given up meat completley.

Once I got pregnant with jacob I loved it! It like turned on my carnivor switch. It is still on and I cannot understuf a taco anymore. Give me chicken over another tortilla any day!

Have you ever ordered a veggie from In-n-out? Yeah thats how much I used to hate meat.

TheOneTrueSue said...

I'm not much of a meat eater either. It just doesn't sit well. Which is surprising, since I eat like a goat most of the time. I'll eat total crap, but not a filet mignon. I don't mind chicken, but we just don't eat a lot of it.

My kids don't really like meat either. When we do have meat it's not like - here's a piece of meat, eat it, it's more like - in an enchilada, or lasagna or fajita - like that.

We have salad bar nights, potato bar, tostadas... We also eat a lot of pasta, but nothing as fancy as what you've come up with.

Amanda XOX said...

Meatless?? Not my family, but you've inspired me so I'm going to try this meatless recipe: http://food.yahoo.com/recipes/eatingwell/508/lasagna-rolls

I've never had tofu, nor do I know how to cook it... but hey, I'll try anything once. Wish me luck!

Wendy said...

Amanda, I've only used tofu once or twice, but the nice thing about is it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with- so just make sure you cook it with something delicious!

Sue- mmmmm... tostadas.

Mary- I've never had a veggie. Is it a veggie burger? Or is it just lettuce and tomatoes?

Amanda XOX said...

The tofu lasagne rolls were actually really good! Everyone liked them and we will definitely have this meal again. I'm so impressed with myself on so many levels- cooking and eating tofu, having a meatless dinner, creating my own marinara sauce... Thanks Wendy for the inspiration =o)

Brooke said...

meat-eater-ism!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAA!!!!

I'm like you, I like meat but I don't have to have it everyday. I'm a girl from the South where we can eat beans and 'taters and be satisfied!! HA!