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?

Oh Happy Day!

While at Sunflower Market with a friend the other night (yep, I force friends to go with me so I can convert them), I got some really great news: Vegas is getting 3 more Sunflower Markets next year! WOOOHOOO! Soon you may be able to share in the joys of having your very own in-your-area(ish) Sunflower Market. Let the happy dances commence.