I want to start by making amends to my good friend Alex, and I think that this is the best forum. While it may not have been the place to bring up our differences (next time, call me?), I can reconcile some of them. I would like to commend his postings, because I thoroughly enjoy them (if you do too, post a comment. Heck if you don't like them, post a comment. If you don't like my posts, consider reevaluating your position or reading it again, because as Alex said, they are always good). And just to prove that his are equal or better than mine (an odd transition from my previous statement, but it is true his are often better), I am going to proceed to write a boring post because its 3 in the morning and I have a test and paper due tomorrow (hence why its 3 in the morning) (I am committed to the blog).
So there has been all this talk between Alex and me about how we've got this thing down. We can stick it out. Alex is toying with the idea of continuing this beyond Thanksgiving. I quite often feel like I will continue this, or at least my meat consumption will drastically be cut come Nov 23rd. However, let me raise a few concerns that I still need to overcome to feel ready to commit for life to this "alternative lifestyle." (If you don't eat meat, you're un-American, and you are relegated to status of alternative lifestyle. I looked it up). One of the things holding me back is still the smell. I think I smell meat in some form on a daily basis, which shows you how prevalent it is in our society. I can't go an afternoon without smelling meat somewhere. I know on one hand I am more tuned into those smells since they are "forbidden" and "dangerous" and "intoxicating"... but still, it's ridiculous. I choose to not eat meat. I shouldn't have to smell it all the time. I don't need constant reminders of what I am missing. Secondly, even if I don't smell it, I see it. In the student union today I saw three or four people in a row walk by with fried rice and orange chicken on their plates, fresh from Panda Express. That just so happened to be my favorite dish to get at the union. I would never notice those three or four individuals either if it weren't for this restriction.
I think the reason why I am still tempted so much by meat is the fact that, well, we stopped Cold Turkey (pun intended, just like the first time. I always mean my puns), but also that we are so strict about it. I'll give you an example. I don't particularly like (ab)using caffeine. I am not a fan of coffee, I don't drink pop (Boston translation = soda.. phew, I almost lost some readership with my regional dialect. Gee whiz, you betcha that woulda been sad), so the only source of caffeine I even enjoy is tea. Now, I occasionally drink tea, but could go weeks or months without it and not even notice. But if all of a sudden I said, no tea, no caffeine, ever again, I think I would miss it so much more, now that there was such a strict re-strict-ion (can you even say strict restriction... sounds redundant. Comment on my post and let me know! Yes that's a cheap plea for comments but I am not above it. I also dance for comments.) placed on my caffeine consumption. What does this mean. This means come Turkey Day, I will probably eat turkey. I may eat Tur-duck. I will stay away from the Turducken though, thank you John Madden. But, after that day, I think, yeah, I'll try to avoid meat as much as possible. I think I'll have a certain stigma towards it. I may even be a bit snobbish when I see others ordering meat without thinking about it. But when the time comes when I have that craving, that desire to let go and indulge, I probably will.
But who am I kidding. It's still only a week into this thing and I am trying to predict how I'll feel when its over. A month is a lot different than a week (if confused about this concept, check out my other blog, simpleconceptsexplained.blogspot.com).
Until then, I will rely on my poor cooking skills and eat some frozen vegetarian meals, cook the occasional rice and veggie dish, and otherwise do what I did tonight and eat lots and lots of spaghetti. Maybe for now I will just Go With The Grain (ahhhhh, there it is, you knew there was a reason! There always is...)
Monday, November 5, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Rubber Fungus Mustache
I am very mad at Devin right now. I apologize if it is awkward for me to air out my differences with Devin in this public forum, but it has to be done. There are two main points of contention. First, he writes higher quality blog entries than I do and it makes me look bad. This is my debut on the blogging scene, and Devin – a blogging giant on an epic scale – is crowding me out as I try to get my footing in this strange world of fast-paced wit and rigorous criticism. Bad sport and hardly the conduct of a gentleman. (Here, here! *Pound fist on table and check pocketwatch indignantly*) The second issue I have with our mutual friend Mr. Ellsworth is that he stole my topic for a blog entry yesterday. This issue is not unrelated to the first you may notice. I know Devin and myself make this stuff look easy. But as you sit back and enjoy a daily chuckle perusing our blog, you need to remember that some underpaid intern brain cells have been working overtime to convert our daily lives into the highest quality philosophical waxings with just the right touch of humor. Now, my intern brain cells are of the highest moral character, and despite the thievery of those oppressed brain cells Devin commands with an iron fist, I will politely tell my own story and add some new content, just to show we won’t let such tactics get to us. (Pssst! Devin’s brain cells, you can come work for me anytime, I pay fair wages and provide room and board) Here goes:
My friend Tim drove up for the weekend on Friday night. I had explained to him the situation with the vegetarianism and he pressed me with some good questions about exactly what my goals were and what reasoning I had for believing this was worthwhile, but he ultimately seemed to agree with the idea and encourage it. He is an aspiring Biologist himself, so it was good to get some more diverse scientific criticism. Turns out he is has is own odd obsession with vegetables despite not being a vegetarian in the least. We took advantage of our mutual interest eventually, but first we had to overcome the obstacle that was Applebee’s™ (remember how you are supposed to be reading that little symbol now). Last night we went to eat at Applebee’s™ and I was a little curious how it would turn out because it was my first time at a restaurant since starting this new diet. I found much the same thing Devin found with his restaurant’s menu: 10 pages of diverse meat menu items. I don’t know what I expect them to have, but I did not have many options, which is a sad prospect when you are out to enjoy a delicious meal. I was constrained to a few items on the appetizer menu, so I ordered some bread with Italian cheesy dip and, combined with our chips and salsa and lots of lemonade, it filled me up in the end. It would have been nice to have a bruschetta burger with pesto sauce on focaccia bread though…oh man, it looked so good. I am going to have to plan ahead a little harder before I go gallivanting into local restaurants. I have been informed of a local restaurant that only focuses on vegetarian dishes and has a ‘green’ building to boot! I will have to become a regular.
There is light in this dark world of mine though. No, I don’t just sit around grumbling about Devin’s shenanigans, pouting over the menu at Applebee’s™ and paying wages to my interns all day. No, THIS evening was a revolution of food and light. Not the cultic sort that Devin seems to be getting involved in (why does he turn innocent meals into cultic ceremonies in his imagination?) (Why are you being so harsh on Devin when he is such a great guy?) (I don’t know, I will try to stop now) (That would be nice, Thank You) (No, Thank YOU for having the courage to keep me in line) (Think nothing of it) [Hey guys I am in the middle of explaining a revolution of food and light here, can this wait?] (Oh, sorry we can talk about this later) Anyways, today after church Tim and I went to the local supergrocer to exploit their produce section. We set out with the intent of eating new vegetables we had not had before. More of them were new to me than Tim, but he seemed to have fun too, especially since he could wash it down with some pinot grigio. That’s right, wine got involved as well, we were very classy. We made some fresh Bruschetta with shaved parmesan on Rosemary Olive Oil bread, steamed some butternut squash, asparagus and zucchini, sautéed and seasoned some chickpeas and mixed them with a generous helping of lentils, then topped the mixture off with Portabella mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and some more parmesan. All in all it was a lot of vegetables and weird little round things that I had not had before and it filled me to the brim with a variety of flavors yet…no meat…somehow…then the revolution: I liked it all! The biggest challenge of the whole meal was the mushrooms. Is anyone else afraid of eating a fungus that has fat brown whiskers growing in a hidden crevice? I was. I honestly still get the increased pulse thing going on when I have that rubbery substance churning in my mouth. I try not to think about the fungal mustache rubbing all over my tongue whilst masticating. (That’s sounds wrong - children be careful when you try to repeat that one on in class tomorrow) But really, those mushrooms had the most diverse and exciting flavor of anything that ever grew on a wet stump, or possibly even in the soil (to expand the competition just a little). Now, maybe I am going a little crazy in my meat-deprived state, but I think if I ordered the flavorfulness of various substances, the list would go 1)Steak 2)Portabellas 3)Chicken –PAUSE- Did you see what I just did there? I put the hairy, asexually-reproducing decomposer ahead of the succulent bird. (Succulent is a great word and you are welcome for me making it part of your day) I highly recommend those mushrooms to all who have not violated their instincts and made that leap already. At this point I should acknowledge my dad for telling me about Portabellas. You were right Dad.
As look back on that long paragraph, I am not sure I actually got around to conveying the excitement of that meal. It really was quite a thrill to find out those things did not taste horrible. Let alone that they had a good flavor. So now I have conveyed it. Maybe I should focus on writing relevant content instead of writing imaginary arguments between some unidentified voices. But the meal was probably a turning point in this experience. I actually feel almost overwhelmed with the number of options I have at the grocery as a vegetarian now. I had secretly been thinking to myself that I was going to be hitting the meat hardcore when this was over. That this wasn’t for me. Maybe Devin can join his clubs and run with it even when this is over, but I just can’t find enough ways to enjoy cooking and food like this. But for now I think I have options again. This might stick a little more than I once thought.
Plagiarized thought of the day*: Ever notice how soy beans always go around pretending to be meat, but you never see steak pretending to be soy beans? What does that tell us?
*For proper citation ask Tim Babatz who said it, it was one of his friends
My friend Tim drove up for the weekend on Friday night. I had explained to him the situation with the vegetarianism and he pressed me with some good questions about exactly what my goals were and what reasoning I had for believing this was worthwhile, but he ultimately seemed to agree with the idea and encourage it. He is an aspiring Biologist himself, so it was good to get some more diverse scientific criticism. Turns out he is has is own odd obsession with vegetables despite not being a vegetarian in the least. We took advantage of our mutual interest eventually, but first we had to overcome the obstacle that was Applebee’s™ (remember how you are supposed to be reading that little symbol now). Last night we went to eat at Applebee’s™ and I was a little curious how it would turn out because it was my first time at a restaurant since starting this new diet. I found much the same thing Devin found with his restaurant’s menu: 10 pages of diverse meat menu items. I don’t know what I expect them to have, but I did not have many options, which is a sad prospect when you are out to enjoy a delicious meal. I was constrained to a few items on the appetizer menu, so I ordered some bread with Italian cheesy dip and, combined with our chips and salsa and lots of lemonade, it filled me up in the end. It would have been nice to have a bruschetta burger with pesto sauce on focaccia bread though…oh man, it looked so good. I am going to have to plan ahead a little harder before I go gallivanting into local restaurants. I have been informed of a local restaurant that only focuses on vegetarian dishes and has a ‘green’ building to boot! I will have to become a regular.
There is light in this dark world of mine though. No, I don’t just sit around grumbling about Devin’s shenanigans, pouting over the menu at Applebee’s™ and paying wages to my interns all day. No, THIS evening was a revolution of food and light. Not the cultic sort that Devin seems to be getting involved in (why does he turn innocent meals into cultic ceremonies in his imagination?) (Why are you being so harsh on Devin when he is such a great guy?) (I don’t know, I will try to stop now) (That would be nice, Thank You) (No, Thank YOU for having the courage to keep me in line) (Think nothing of it) [Hey guys I am in the middle of explaining a revolution of food and light here, can this wait?] (Oh, sorry we can talk about this later) Anyways, today after church Tim and I went to the local supergrocer to exploit their produce section. We set out with the intent of eating new vegetables we had not had before. More of them were new to me than Tim, but he seemed to have fun too, especially since he could wash it down with some pinot grigio. That’s right, wine got involved as well, we were very classy. We made some fresh Bruschetta with shaved parmesan on Rosemary Olive Oil bread, steamed some butternut squash, asparagus and zucchini, sautéed and seasoned some chickpeas and mixed them with a generous helping of lentils, then topped the mixture off with Portabella mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and some more parmesan. All in all it was a lot of vegetables and weird little round things that I had not had before and it filled me to the brim with a variety of flavors yet…no meat…somehow…then the revolution: I liked it all! The biggest challenge of the whole meal was the mushrooms. Is anyone else afraid of eating a fungus that has fat brown whiskers growing in a hidden crevice? I was. I honestly still get the increased pulse thing going on when I have that rubbery substance churning in my mouth. I try not to think about the fungal mustache rubbing all over my tongue whilst masticating. (That’s sounds wrong - children be careful when you try to repeat that one on in class tomorrow) But really, those mushrooms had the most diverse and exciting flavor of anything that ever grew on a wet stump, or possibly even in the soil (to expand the competition just a little). Now, maybe I am going a little crazy in my meat-deprived state, but I think if I ordered the flavorfulness of various substances, the list would go 1)Steak 2)Portabellas 3)Chicken –PAUSE- Did you see what I just did there? I put the hairy, asexually-reproducing decomposer ahead of the succulent bird. (Succulent is a great word and you are welcome for me making it part of your day) I highly recommend those mushrooms to all who have not violated their instincts and made that leap already. At this point I should acknowledge my dad for telling me about Portabellas. You were right Dad.
As look back on that long paragraph, I am not sure I actually got around to conveying the excitement of that meal. It really was quite a thrill to find out those things did not taste horrible. Let alone that they had a good flavor. So now I have conveyed it. Maybe I should focus on writing relevant content instead of writing imaginary arguments between some unidentified voices. But the meal was probably a turning point in this experience. I actually feel almost overwhelmed with the number of options I have at the grocery as a vegetarian now. I had secretly been thinking to myself that I was going to be hitting the meat hardcore when this was over. That this wasn’t for me. Maybe Devin can join his clubs and run with it even when this is over, but I just can’t find enough ways to enjoy cooking and food like this. But for now I think I have options again. This might stick a little more than I once thought.
Plagiarized thought of the day*: Ever notice how soy beans always go around pretending to be meat, but you never see steak pretending to be soy beans? What does that tell us?
*For proper citation ask Tim Babatz who said it, it was one of his friends
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Welcome, You Have Arrived
While sometimes it can be more fun to hype up how hard it is, I have to agree with Alex and say that it hasn't been that bad. Do I miss meat? Yes, absolutely. But is it a constant daily craving? Yes. Well not a craving. I probably think about meat daily, something that definitely was not true a little over a week ago. Meat has become this almost sacred item in my mind. It actually means something now. It's no longer food. It's untouchable. Sometimes that can be frustrating, and there are cravings. But in general its just interesting to notice meat so much more. Meat comes up so much more than you notice when you have no restrictions on it.
However, I also must agree with Alex that there is a whole other world of food out there, one that I knew with meat, but am exploring and enjoying without. Growing up in the Midwest I think both of us were raised with the mentality that meat is the centerpiece of every good meal. And it's true that if a meal didn't have meat I would notice. It's just not complete without it. It's like those commercials for cereal that claim their product is part of a balanced breakfast (whatever that really means, I mean come on, who actually prepares toast with butter, and has a banana and apple, and a glass of milk and a glass of orange juice, all with the cereal box as a backdrop framing their meal for breakfast everyday...). Meat retains that balance in a normal lunch or dinner.
But what about those other foods that surround the centerpiece? You may be asking yourself - "Hey Devin, aren't there like 5 or 6 other categories on the food pyramid?" To which I would respond, "if you are asking yourself, why did you address me?" I would also say, "yes, sir or madam, there are indeed other food groups, good ones too. I've heard good things about the grains. And the fruits always make it more festive. Don't forget those dairy products to spice it up, or the veggies to add decoration that will be pushed aside later. (no I'm over that fear.. keep telling yourself.. I am better than my broccoli!)" The part in parentheses I'd think to myself, but you'd get the gist of it, had you asked me the aforementioned question. There is a whole world of food that doesn't care that meat goes around like it's the high school quarterback. After all, everyone likes the wide receiver, and the running back I hear is good. Even the linemen have their place (fats and oils category.. ooh analogies).
So why is my post called "Welcome, You Have Arrived"? Well because on Friday night I was initiated into the vegetarian cult. While I am not proud of what I did with the salad, I was accepted. Ok maybe there was no hazing involved. Actually, vegetarians are pretty accepting people. They are just like you and I. Except they don't eat meat. I know I should have established that a week ago when we started this (sorry for the surprise) but its true.
But I digress. Let us get to the story. Friday night I had an all vegetarian meal cooked by two wonderful vegetarians (they are wonderful people, not wonderful at being vegetarians, I am sure they are just normal at being vegetarian. I don't think there are varying degrees of ability to be a vegetarian. I suppose if you ate meat daily you'd be a bad vegetarian, but that's about it..). One thing they are wonderful at is cooking. The meal was delicious, and I was also accompanied by several other vegetarians. As we enjoyed our delicious black bean and corn veggie burgers (or as Alex would call them, beetles with purple sauce burgers), salad (I made the dressing! Or followed the directions I was given!), and squash, I shared our story of going veg for the environment. It was great to hear some of the other stories for going vegetarian. One was contemplating switching, but was fearing giving up steak. I told him chicken was my vice, but I felt his pain. Another told me that she initially went vegetarian after reading about Buddhism. That was a reason I had never heard. One of the most interesting things about vegetarianism is that everyone has slightly different reasons, yet all are united under the same cause. Many go veg for animal rights reasons, and some at the dinner were into that. I expressed my feelings of general apathy towards animal slaughter, and they still respected me for going vegetarian (if I wasn't vegetarian they wouldn't have respected me... they are ruthless. They say never get on a vegetarian's bad side; its true) (Disclaimer: No one says that). Animal rights, general dislike of the taste of meat, the environment, dietary reasons, Buddhism, challenging oneself for a month so you can have something to blog about - everyone has their reason.
So thank you to Ginny and Alex for the wonderful meal, and to the vegetarian community delegation present at the dinner who oversaw my initiation into the community. Accepting a meat-loving Midwesterner into the vegetarian community is a big deal. Ok I am over-hyping this again. I am sorry I just get so excited. Really I imagined this welcome ceremony. There was no kneeling or oaths or hazing or secret handshakes (*wink wink* I'll show you later). I think enjoying the all vegetarian home cooked meal, for me, made me feel like I could really do it. Like I was accepting it on a personal level. So in my head I was hazing my meat-loving tendencies, and I was kneeling down, giving oaths and pledges, and totally high fiving everyone. I even invited the local authorities and newspaper editors from my stomach and gave them the secret high five, and they are no longer perplexed (what a bad running joke, I apologize...). Regardless - I enjoyed a meal with no meat. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thought nothing was missing. Oh yeah and we had cupcakes with cinnamon and granola frosting (yay protein). As my friend pointed out, one good thing about going vegetarian is that all desserts are a.o.k. Except my famous ice cream sundae with ham on top. I'll have to cut that out.
Let me quickly tell the story of my dinner tonight before I let you guys get back to what you were doing before you chose to procrastinate and read about what I ate for dinner each night this week (honestly who blogs about what they eat daily...). Tonight I joined a friend for dinner at the Sunset Cantina restaurant - a Mexican themed restaurant on campus that is just amazing. I have to say that so far I have been seeking out vegetarian friendly options. This menu proved just the opposite. If you have been to Sunset, you know that the menu is longer than what you have to read that night for class. Luckily for me they put a green "V" by each vegetarian friendly option. I was glad I wouldn't have to carefully read each item. Especially because after a second it became quite apparent that out of the maybe 90 options on the menu, a grand total of FOUR were deserving of the coveted green "V." Wow, talk about meat as the focal point. That means that they had 86 distinct dishes with meat in them. 86! Meat is everywhere! That means two things: one, that virtually everyone in the restaurant was eating meat, and two, that about 5-6% of people are vegetarians. Ok it doesn't have to mean the second part, but doesn't that seem fair to have your menu reflect the general distribution of your patrons?
Anyway, I got the veggie burger, and it was DELICIOUS. I have to say, I honestly think it was better than a normal burger. Much healthier too. I guess I am transforming into a crunchy granola, hippy, vegetarian. Uh oh... Bring it on.
However, I also must agree with Alex that there is a whole other world of food out there, one that I knew with meat, but am exploring and enjoying without. Growing up in the Midwest I think both of us were raised with the mentality that meat is the centerpiece of every good meal. And it's true that if a meal didn't have meat I would notice. It's just not complete without it. It's like those commercials for cereal that claim their product is part of a balanced breakfast (whatever that really means, I mean come on, who actually prepares toast with butter, and has a banana and apple, and a glass of milk and a glass of orange juice, all with the cereal box as a backdrop framing their meal for breakfast everyday...). Meat retains that balance in a normal lunch or dinner.
But what about those other foods that surround the centerpiece? You may be asking yourself - "Hey Devin, aren't there like 5 or 6 other categories on the food pyramid?" To which I would respond, "if you are asking yourself, why did you address me?" I would also say, "yes, sir or madam, there are indeed other food groups, good ones too. I've heard good things about the grains. And the fruits always make it more festive. Don't forget those dairy products to spice it up, or the veggies to add decoration that will be pushed aside later. (no I'm over that fear.. keep telling yourself.. I am better than my broccoli!)" The part in parentheses I'd think to myself, but you'd get the gist of it, had you asked me the aforementioned question. There is a whole world of food that doesn't care that meat goes around like it's the high school quarterback. After all, everyone likes the wide receiver, and the running back I hear is good. Even the linemen have their place (fats and oils category.. ooh analogies).
So why is my post called "Welcome, You Have Arrived"? Well because on Friday night I was initiated into the vegetarian cult. While I am not proud of what I did with the salad, I was accepted. Ok maybe there was no hazing involved. Actually, vegetarians are pretty accepting people. They are just like you and I. Except they don't eat meat. I know I should have established that a week ago when we started this (sorry for the surprise) but its true.
But I digress. Let us get to the story. Friday night I had an all vegetarian meal cooked by two wonderful vegetarians (they are wonderful people, not wonderful at being vegetarians, I am sure they are just normal at being vegetarian. I don't think there are varying degrees of ability to be a vegetarian. I suppose if you ate meat daily you'd be a bad vegetarian, but that's about it..). One thing they are wonderful at is cooking. The meal was delicious, and I was also accompanied by several other vegetarians. As we enjoyed our delicious black bean and corn veggie burgers (or as Alex would call them, beetles with purple sauce burgers), salad (I made the dressing! Or followed the directions I was given!), and squash, I shared our story of going veg for the environment. It was great to hear some of the other stories for going vegetarian. One was contemplating switching, but was fearing giving up steak. I told him chicken was my vice, but I felt his pain. Another told me that she initially went vegetarian after reading about Buddhism. That was a reason I had never heard. One of the most interesting things about vegetarianism is that everyone has slightly different reasons, yet all are united under the same cause. Many go veg for animal rights reasons, and some at the dinner were into that. I expressed my feelings of general apathy towards animal slaughter, and they still respected me for going vegetarian (if I wasn't vegetarian they wouldn't have respected me... they are ruthless. They say never get on a vegetarian's bad side; its true) (Disclaimer: No one says that). Animal rights, general dislike of the taste of meat, the environment, dietary reasons, Buddhism, challenging oneself for a month so you can have something to blog about - everyone has their reason.
So thank you to Ginny and Alex for the wonderful meal, and to the vegetarian community delegation present at the dinner who oversaw my initiation into the community. Accepting a meat-loving Midwesterner into the vegetarian community is a big deal. Ok I am over-hyping this again. I am sorry I just get so excited. Really I imagined this welcome ceremony. There was no kneeling or oaths or hazing or secret handshakes (*wink wink* I'll show you later). I think enjoying the all vegetarian home cooked meal, for me, made me feel like I could really do it. Like I was accepting it on a personal level. So in my head I was hazing my meat-loving tendencies, and I was kneeling down, giving oaths and pledges, and totally high fiving everyone. I even invited the local authorities and newspaper editors from my stomach and gave them the secret high five, and they are no longer perplexed (what a bad running joke, I apologize...). Regardless - I enjoyed a meal with no meat. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thought nothing was missing. Oh yeah and we had cupcakes with cinnamon and granola frosting (yay protein). As my friend pointed out, one good thing about going vegetarian is that all desserts are a.o.k. Except my famous ice cream sundae with ham on top. I'll have to cut that out.
Let me quickly tell the story of my dinner tonight before I let you guys get back to what you were doing before you chose to procrastinate and read about what I ate for dinner each night this week (honestly who blogs about what they eat daily...). Tonight I joined a friend for dinner at the Sunset Cantina restaurant - a Mexican themed restaurant on campus that is just amazing. I have to say that so far I have been seeking out vegetarian friendly options. This menu proved just the opposite. If you have been to Sunset, you know that the menu is longer than what you have to read that night for class. Luckily for me they put a green "V" by each vegetarian friendly option. I was glad I wouldn't have to carefully read each item. Especially because after a second it became quite apparent that out of the maybe 90 options on the menu, a grand total of FOUR were deserving of the coveted green "V." Wow, talk about meat as the focal point. That means that they had 86 distinct dishes with meat in them. 86! Meat is everywhere! That means two things: one, that virtually everyone in the restaurant was eating meat, and two, that about 5-6% of people are vegetarians. Ok it doesn't have to mean the second part, but doesn't that seem fair to have your menu reflect the general distribution of your patrons?
Anyway, I got the veggie burger, and it was DELICIOUS. I have to say, I honestly think it was better than a normal burger. Much healthier too. I guess I am transforming into a crunchy granola, hippy, vegetarian. Uh oh... Bring it on.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Beantles
As long as Devin is making all sorts of confessions, I have a confession to make too: it is not hard being a vegetarian. I am sorry if I talked as if this was a trying experience, but honestly, it is pretty normal. I am not saying it is not a distinct or unique experience full of new things, but it is not torture to thinking about meat. The truth is that I still eat lots of food and a wide variety of it. The only time any sort of difficulty arises is when I look at my meal and think “What’s missing?” and then realize the answer to my question is “The meat you idiot, you are vegetarian now!” Then I move on with my meal and enjoy it to the full extent and it is like nothing happened until later that night when I complain about how the voice in my head calls me names. I mean, he’s right, but he seems a little immature. It is hurtful and unnecessary.
That said, I had a one-of-a-kind dinner tonight. By ‘one-of-a-kind’ I mean it was a completely normal meal that I am sure you have all eaten many times. It was basically homemade Nachos Grande, like from Applebee’s™ or you favorite local Mexican or American cuisine purveyor. Corn tortilla chips, cheese dip, salsa, chopped onions, tomato, rice and black beans. The chips on the bottom even got soggy, just like at Applebee’s™! Now that I think of it, I don’t think Applebee’s™ uses rice, and especially not seasoned wild rice (yeah, it makes no sense, but it was the most Mexican-ish rice I had in the house). But the rice is not what made my meal one-of-a-kind as I initially led you to believe it was - it was the adrenaline rush I got from eating it. I will explain. (I hope when you were reading this paragraph you actually read the little ™ symbol as “tee-em” or if you are really ambitious the full “registered trademark”, it makes the paragraph so much funnier. Go ahead, read it again and give it a try)
We all have had foods we do not really want to eat, or maybe even look at (and that includes you, sitting there claiming you are totally open-minded…you know who you are, and you are a liar) and that food for me is black beans. They look like a pile of beetles and their juices turn kinda purple. If I saw “Beetles in Purplesauce” on a menu I would leave that restaurant just in case they hid some in my Fettuccini Alfredo (without the chicken this time…you thought you caught me there for a second, didn’t you?) So I was nervous about my first attempt to eat a meal based primarily on these “beantles” as I scooped the black balls and purple-brown broth onto my nachos. As I munched I realized the whole thing tasted quite delicious. Next thing I knew I was almost done with the whole pile and I had to pause to catch my breath. Why was I eating so fast? Why was my heart pounding? I took a moment to look inward and there I found that I was afraid still! I was racing through each successive bite in fear that the next one would be the bite where the beantles overpowered my senses and caused me to vomit onto my nachos. I took a short break to catch my breath, falling back on the dipping of new chips into just plain old cheese dip to comfort myself. I had two heaping soggy chips left with the bulk of the rice and beantles that had escaped my previous chips covering them. I tried to eat them slowly. They still tasted fine, but my pulse did jump back up. The whole experience was mild to moderate on the intensity scale. I have a lot of beantles left over, so I will get another workout tomorrow for lunch probably. I hope to bring down my pulse with repetition. It’s a lot like training for a marathon in that way, if any of you know anything about that…no, none of you would, would you?
I am sorry for all of you bean-lovers out there who have no idea what I am talking about, which is probably most of you. I am also sorry for those of you who find my constant interjections to address the reader in a facetious tone to be annoying. I actually was going to follow that apology up with a sarcastic remark, but I will leave it out, just for you. This paragraph is getting ironic, which means its time to wrap it up.
Today’s headline: Stomach of BU Student has it’s own Police Force and Newpaper! (Details on page 9)
That said, I had a one-of-a-kind dinner tonight. By ‘one-of-a-kind’ I mean it was a completely normal meal that I am sure you have all eaten many times. It was basically homemade Nachos Grande, like from Applebee’s™ or you favorite local Mexican or American cuisine purveyor. Corn tortilla chips, cheese dip, salsa, chopped onions, tomato, rice and black beans. The chips on the bottom even got soggy, just like at Applebee’s™! Now that I think of it, I don’t think Applebee’s™ uses rice, and especially not seasoned wild rice (yeah, it makes no sense, but it was the most Mexican-ish rice I had in the house). But the rice is not what made my meal one-of-a-kind as I initially led you to believe it was - it was the adrenaline rush I got from eating it. I will explain. (I hope when you were reading this paragraph you actually read the little ™ symbol as “tee-em” or if you are really ambitious the full “registered trademark”, it makes the paragraph so much funnier. Go ahead, read it again and give it a try)
We all have had foods we do not really want to eat, or maybe even look at (and that includes you, sitting there claiming you are totally open-minded…you know who you are, and you are a liar) and that food for me is black beans. They look like a pile of beetles and their juices turn kinda purple. If I saw “Beetles in Purplesauce” on a menu I would leave that restaurant just in case they hid some in my Fettuccini Alfredo (without the chicken this time…you thought you caught me there for a second, didn’t you?) So I was nervous about my first attempt to eat a meal based primarily on these “beantles” as I scooped the black balls and purple-brown broth onto my nachos. As I munched I realized the whole thing tasted quite delicious. Next thing I knew I was almost done with the whole pile and I had to pause to catch my breath. Why was I eating so fast? Why was my heart pounding? I took a moment to look inward and there I found that I was afraid still! I was racing through each successive bite in fear that the next one would be the bite where the beantles overpowered my senses and caused me to vomit onto my nachos. I took a short break to catch my breath, falling back on the dipping of new chips into just plain old cheese dip to comfort myself. I had two heaping soggy chips left with the bulk of the rice and beantles that had escaped my previous chips covering them. I tried to eat them slowly. They still tasted fine, but my pulse did jump back up. The whole experience was mild to moderate on the intensity scale. I have a lot of beantles left over, so I will get another workout tomorrow for lunch probably. I hope to bring down my pulse with repetition. It’s a lot like training for a marathon in that way, if any of you know anything about that…no, none of you would, would you?
I am sorry for all of you bean-lovers out there who have no idea what I am talking about, which is probably most of you. I am also sorry for those of you who find my constant interjections to address the reader in a facetious tone to be annoying. I actually was going to follow that apology up with a sarcastic remark, but I will leave it out, just for you. This paragraph is getting ironic, which means its time to wrap it up.
Today’s headline: Stomach of BU Student has it’s own Police Force and Newpaper! (Details on page 9)
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Fake Chicken
On Wednesdays, my roommates and I have started this tradition to try a new restaurant in our neighborhood. You may think we'd run out of restaurants pretty quickly, but you haven't been to Allston. At least not my street. In a one block radius there are probably at least 40 different places to get food. Italian, American, Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Brazilian, Columbian, Lebanese, Nepalese. It's pretty nice. But turning vegetarian, I was worried I wouldn't be able to fully enjoy this ritual, since chicken is my food of choice for any ethnic food.
Luckily, we can add Vegan Chinese to that list above, as last night we went to The Grasshopper, a local restaurant for people against eating just about everything. Well not everything apparently. On the menu they had chicken and shrimp! So much for vegan restaurant right? I got the sweet and sour chicken finger (yes it was singular on the menu, but I did get 5 of them). To drink I had a soy milk - that's more like it. It came with some veggies of course, and pineapple. It was delicious. I have a confession to make (something I seem to do a lot on this blog..) - the "chicken" wasn't real chicken, it was actually tofu. I have another confession to make - I knew that before ordering it. However, if I wasn't already incredibly keen, I would have actually believed I was eating chicken, the real deal. Let me tell you; those people in the Tofu Research Group (look it up) should win an award for deception, or if they don't give away awards for deception, then they should be scolded for tricking people. In short, this chicken was good. And by chicken I mean imitation tofu chicken.
Tofu is pretty impressive. It really seems to be a versatile substance. So after a heated game of basketball at the gym this evening, I went shopping with inspiration from my dinner the previous night. At Shaw's, the grocery chain around here, my roommate and I were confronted with a question I had never before considered - where to they keep the tofu?? What is it really? What section would it be in? I know tofu is based on soy, but there's no soy section. On the wikipedia site for the food (yes I wiki'ed tofu..) I found the analogy that tofu is to soy milk as cheese is to cow's milk. Not sure what that means exactly, since I don't think there are any cultures or enzymes involved in tofu, but the analogy nonetheless holds some weight. So, the cheese section? Nope. It's supposed to taste like meat, so meat section? No definitely not.. thats not the same demo by any means. Hmm, we were stumped, until we checked the tiny "Wild Harvest" section of Shaw's, specifically designed to cater to those crunchy granola types I associate with. Think of it like maybe one aisle of Whole Foods. This section is small, but packs a wallop. Or at least it packs tofu - in the freezer to be exact. Eureka! I picked up some Indian style tofu and tofu chicken breast, as well as some tofu based frozen meals with veggies already in 'em. Needless to say, I am excited.
My only reservation I have for my tofu endeavor is the price. Each meal went for about $3 to $4 -- cheaper than eating out, but on the other hand I think cooking a plate of spaghetti costs like 9 cents. The cost of rice just went up to 4 cents a plate I think I heard on the news. Point being, tofu is a bit pricey comparatively. I may have to get good at cooking the stuff, and then buy it in bulk which will save a few pennies. Until then, I will dream about my fake chicken meal, and pretend its real...
Meat Missing Update - Meat has gone missing! Local authorities perplexed!
That's what I imagine the headlines to be in my stomach. Then I imagine that I didn't write that and post it for the world to see, and I feel a bit better, if only for a moment.
Luckily, we can add Vegan Chinese to that list above, as last night we went to The Grasshopper, a local restaurant for people against eating just about everything. Well not everything apparently. On the menu they had chicken and shrimp! So much for vegan restaurant right? I got the sweet and sour chicken finger (yes it was singular on the menu, but I did get 5 of them). To drink I had a soy milk - that's more like it. It came with some veggies of course, and pineapple. It was delicious. I have a confession to make (something I seem to do a lot on this blog..) - the "chicken" wasn't real chicken, it was actually tofu. I have another confession to make - I knew that before ordering it. However, if I wasn't already incredibly keen, I would have actually believed I was eating chicken, the real deal. Let me tell you; those people in the Tofu Research Group (look it up) should win an award for deception, or if they don't give away awards for deception, then they should be scolded for tricking people. In short, this chicken was good. And by chicken I mean imitation tofu chicken.
Tofu is pretty impressive. It really seems to be a versatile substance. So after a heated game of basketball at the gym this evening, I went shopping with inspiration from my dinner the previous night. At Shaw's, the grocery chain around here, my roommate and I were confronted with a question I had never before considered - where to they keep the tofu?? What is it really? What section would it be in? I know tofu is based on soy, but there's no soy section. On the wikipedia site for the food (yes I wiki'ed tofu..) I found the analogy that tofu is to soy milk as cheese is to cow's milk. Not sure what that means exactly, since I don't think there are any cultures or enzymes involved in tofu, but the analogy nonetheless holds some weight. So, the cheese section? Nope. It's supposed to taste like meat, so meat section? No definitely not.. thats not the same demo by any means. Hmm, we were stumped, until we checked the tiny "Wild Harvest" section of Shaw's, specifically designed to cater to those crunchy granola types I associate with. Think of it like maybe one aisle of Whole Foods. This section is small, but packs a wallop. Or at least it packs tofu - in the freezer to be exact. Eureka! I picked up some Indian style tofu and tofu chicken breast, as well as some tofu based frozen meals with veggies already in 'em. Needless to say, I am excited.
My only reservation I have for my tofu endeavor is the price. Each meal went for about $3 to $4 -- cheaper than eating out, but on the other hand I think cooking a plate of spaghetti costs like 9 cents. The cost of rice just went up to 4 cents a plate I think I heard on the news. Point being, tofu is a bit pricey comparatively. I may have to get good at cooking the stuff, and then buy it in bulk which will save a few pennies. Until then, I will dream about my fake chicken meal, and pretend its real...
Meat Missing Update - Meat has gone missing! Local authorities perplexed!
That's what I imagine the headlines to be in my stomach. Then I imagine that I didn't write that and post it for the world to see, and I feel a bit better, if only for a moment.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
KFC
Every other week I have to wake up at 3:30am on Mondays and Wednesdays to work from 4-8am. I patrol my campus, keeping an eye out for…well I don’t see anything all morning. But my eye is out there, and the way I manage to keep it open is by listening to one of my favorite radio programs: the hilarious Free Beer and Hot Wings Morning Show. If you don’t know the show, it’s too hard to explain it, but they often have interviews with some very interesting people. This morning they were replaying an interview they had a in the past with a man who is part of PETA. The reason they were talking to him was because this guy legally changed his name from whatever it had been to “KentuckyFriedCruelty.com”
Yeah, that’s a pretty dumb thing to do.
But, as you would hope, KentuckyFriedCruelty.com is a real website, and it is devoted to getting the real KFC to use more humane practices in raising its chickens. The radio hosts had a lot of fun pointing out how ridiculous this guy was, and they eventually turned to making fun of vegetarians and describing how much they wanted to eat popcorn chicken (one of my favorite foods of all time). A timely thing for me to hear I thought. They also mentioned that if you actually went to the site, it had so many gross things on it you would not want to eat chicken for at least a little while. So, as I am sure many of you will do, I went to the site. Obviously.
It is not that gross if you expect to see the transformation of thousands of animals into food. It’s bloody and full of injury and death for the chickens, but nothing truly shocking. What was truly disturbing though was an undercover video they made of some chicken factory employees throwing chickens against a wall and stomping on them for fun, then going to a party to celebrate being factory of the year. Those people just have problems as human beings if they enjoy that, regardless of animal rights. I hope they don’t have children. Now, this is the point where my discussion of this topic can go basically two ways. I can express furious rage about the way we treat animals, or I can act like it doesn’t bother me at all. There is a lot of gray area in between there, which is where I actually find myself, but this issue is so charged that any tendency you display in one direction is usually interpreted as a firm stand for the extreme position. So I will move to a tangent that interests me personally and keeps me out of the two angry camps.
As you should know, Devin and I did not try this vegetarian thing because we are part of PETA or angry at anybody, but I do have my own concerns as an aspiring biologist about the practice of raising chickens. Last spring some high up person from the Center for Disease Control came to speak here at my school. He was in charge of the department heading up the investigation into the avian flu. He was an amazing speaker. I think he had given his speech a few too many times because he could talk a mile a minute, pacing back and forth excitedly while clicking through hundreds of flashy images and moving graphics without even looking over his shoulder once (and he was always right on cue). The gist of his speech was this: factory bird farms are virus mutation factories. Seriously, if we wanted to see how quickly we could generate new viruses, we would probably create a giant chicken warehouse, except it would be contained as a biohazard facility instead of maintained as a source of human food. By putting hundreds of thousands of birds in one room without sanitation or ventilation, we roll the dice on how many times a bird virus can mutate before it becomes dangerous to birds, and maybe even humans. Keep in mind that by dangerous I mean capable of wiping out 40% of the population. We obviously aren’t trying to do it. Farmers are not thinking about pandemics when they raise chickens, and especially in places like China, chickens sell faster than you can grow them. But if one day we are faced with a plague of historic proportions, we may have nobody to blame but ourselves.
So here is what I have to say about chickens: Go ahead, pack them into trucks, hang them up by their legs, slit their throats on an assembly line, remove their feathers with boiling water, do what it takes to provide billions of people with chicken on a regular basis, but be responsible at all costs. When we have the foresight to avoid catastrophe, but money talks us into sitting on our asses instead of taking preventative measures, we have failed to act as a species and as a community, and our priorities have become grotesquely backwards.
You don’t have to be a nut-job to be worried about these things. You just have be one of those people who would do anything to keep their grandchildren from living in fear. I think there are a few people like that left.
Yeah, that’s a pretty dumb thing to do.
But, as you would hope, KentuckyFriedCruelty.com is a real website, and it is devoted to getting the real KFC to use more humane practices in raising its chickens. The radio hosts had a lot of fun pointing out how ridiculous this guy was, and they eventually turned to making fun of vegetarians and describing how much they wanted to eat popcorn chicken (one of my favorite foods of all time). A timely thing for me to hear I thought. They also mentioned that if you actually went to the site, it had so many gross things on it you would not want to eat chicken for at least a little while. So, as I am sure many of you will do, I went to the site. Obviously.
It is not that gross if you expect to see the transformation of thousands of animals into food. It’s bloody and full of injury and death for the chickens, but nothing truly shocking. What was truly disturbing though was an undercover video they made of some chicken factory employees throwing chickens against a wall and stomping on them for fun, then going to a party to celebrate being factory of the year. Those people just have problems as human beings if they enjoy that, regardless of animal rights. I hope they don’t have children. Now, this is the point where my discussion of this topic can go basically two ways. I can express furious rage about the way we treat animals, or I can act like it doesn’t bother me at all. There is a lot of gray area in between there, which is where I actually find myself, but this issue is so charged that any tendency you display in one direction is usually interpreted as a firm stand for the extreme position. So I will move to a tangent that interests me personally and keeps me out of the two angry camps.
As you should know, Devin and I did not try this vegetarian thing because we are part of PETA or angry at anybody, but I do have my own concerns as an aspiring biologist about the practice of raising chickens. Last spring some high up person from the Center for Disease Control came to speak here at my school. He was in charge of the department heading up the investigation into the avian flu. He was an amazing speaker. I think he had given his speech a few too many times because he could talk a mile a minute, pacing back and forth excitedly while clicking through hundreds of flashy images and moving graphics without even looking over his shoulder once (and he was always right on cue). The gist of his speech was this: factory bird farms are virus mutation factories. Seriously, if we wanted to see how quickly we could generate new viruses, we would probably create a giant chicken warehouse, except it would be contained as a biohazard facility instead of maintained as a source of human food. By putting hundreds of thousands of birds in one room without sanitation or ventilation, we roll the dice on how many times a bird virus can mutate before it becomes dangerous to birds, and maybe even humans. Keep in mind that by dangerous I mean capable of wiping out 40% of the population. We obviously aren’t trying to do it. Farmers are not thinking about pandemics when they raise chickens, and especially in places like China, chickens sell faster than you can grow them. But if one day we are faced with a plague of historic proportions, we may have nobody to blame but ourselves.
So here is what I have to say about chickens: Go ahead, pack them into trucks, hang them up by their legs, slit their throats on an assembly line, remove their feathers with boiling water, do what it takes to provide billions of people with chicken on a regular basis, but be responsible at all costs. When we have the foresight to avoid catastrophe, but money talks us into sitting on our asses instead of taking preventative measures, we have failed to act as a species and as a community, and our priorities have become grotesquely backwards.
You don’t have to be a nut-job to be worried about these things. You just have be one of those people who would do anything to keep their grandchildren from living in fear. I think there are a few people like that left.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Lachanophobia
Look it up. It means a fear of vegetables. And its a condition I suffer from. This sort of thing might be something I should have thought about before starting a vegetarian diet, but alas I did not have that foresight.. Actually, thinking back on the past few days is funny. I have been vegetarian for four days now, and have essentially not eaten any vegetables - certainly in no more abundance than I did normally. Fruits either. Both are something that people assume vegetarians just absolutely love, and may even be the reason they chose to give up the beef in the first place. A love for the plants. Not so true with me.. and probably not others as well.
Before I go on, let me pause, because I feel I must come clean and admit that I do not actually suffer from Lachanophobia (I shouldn't poke fun at real afflictions by claiming I have them...shame..). There are plenty of veggies I enjoy - peas, carrots, broccoli, green beans, corn. And I love just about every type of fruit. Yet the veggies I like are standard and boring, and I feel like I am going to need to learn to like more of 'em.
This diet so far has actually shown me how much I eat that isn't meat OR veggies. I have relied heavily on my friends at the bottom of the pyramid, the grains, and those on some edge of the pyramid above fruits and veggies..? which are the dairy products. My cheese intake has already increased two fold it seems, and I eat yogurt and granola like its my job....if only..
However, I have what may be a coming of age tale in my vegetarian quest. And so it begins...
While I know full well that this is a blog about going vegetarian and not a blog about burritos (sorry burrito fans) I do feel I need to tell one more burrito story. I call it the tale of two burritos.
Only just yesterday, I found myself in line at Qdoba with a 2 for 1 coupon for this delicious dish. I decided to take a chance, go out on a limb, and also make my choices a good experiment. For my first entree, I chose a Queso burrito without the normal chicken I would get (so beans rice cheese queso sauce pico etc). For the second one, I got their grilled vegetables burrito, complete with three new veggies I am not so comfortable with - zucchini, squash, and red pepper. Well, I ate the queso burrito last night, and let me tell you, it was incredible. I actually didn't even miss the chicken. That seemed like a big step in the right direction.
Then tonight, I had my second burrito. I went into this one thinking there was no way I was going to like it. And this is when I thought I may have a fear of vegetables.. With that first bite, I opened up the top, and stared down into a sea of rice, beans, red peppers, green zucchini, and weird looking squash. Normally when faced with these items in a dish I pick around them and laugh at the thought of calling those pretty decorations actual food. I poke them, and see them squish and squash. If I bite one, I secretly think "icky" and think of the gross slimy texture, and then think about why I still say icky at age 21.
That was the old me. I can say with pride that I sucked it up and took that second bite (the most crucial I've found). And to my surprise - and delight - the grilled vegetable burrito through and through was better than the queso burrito. Of course it still could have used the queso sauce (although Qdoba doesn't support this blog (yet).. if you haven't had a burrito with this sauce, stop reading, go get one now, they are amazing). Now this is a step in the right direction. Not only did I not miss the meat, but I actually feel like I preferred the veggies on some level. Who knows, this may stick!
Its good to get over fears. Now I just need to learn to cope with the smell of cow juices...
Before I go on, let me pause, because I feel I must come clean and admit that I do not actually suffer from Lachanophobia (I shouldn't poke fun at real afflictions by claiming I have them...shame..). There are plenty of veggies I enjoy - peas, carrots, broccoli, green beans, corn. And I love just about every type of fruit. Yet the veggies I like are standard and boring, and I feel like I am going to need to learn to like more of 'em.
This diet so far has actually shown me how much I eat that isn't meat OR veggies. I have relied heavily on my friends at the bottom of the pyramid, the grains, and those on some edge of the pyramid above fruits and veggies..? which are the dairy products. My cheese intake has already increased two fold it seems, and I eat yogurt and granola like its my job....if only..
However, I have what may be a coming of age tale in my vegetarian quest. And so it begins...
While I know full well that this is a blog about going vegetarian and not a blog about burritos (sorry burrito fans) I do feel I need to tell one more burrito story. I call it the tale of two burritos.
Only just yesterday, I found myself in line at Qdoba with a 2 for 1 coupon for this delicious dish. I decided to take a chance, go out on a limb, and also make my choices a good experiment. For my first entree, I chose a Queso burrito without the normal chicken I would get (so beans rice cheese queso sauce pico etc). For the second one, I got their grilled vegetables burrito, complete with three new veggies I am not so comfortable with - zucchini, squash, and red pepper. Well, I ate the queso burrito last night, and let me tell you, it was incredible. I actually didn't even miss the chicken. That seemed like a big step in the right direction.
Then tonight, I had my second burrito. I went into this one thinking there was no way I was going to like it. And this is when I thought I may have a fear of vegetables.. With that first bite, I opened up the top, and stared down into a sea of rice, beans, red peppers, green zucchini, and weird looking squash. Normally when faced with these items in a dish I pick around them and laugh at the thought of calling those pretty decorations actual food. I poke them, and see them squish and squash. If I bite one, I secretly think "icky" and think of the gross slimy texture, and then think about why I still say icky at age 21.
That was the old me. I can say with pride that I sucked it up and took that second bite (the most crucial I've found). And to my surprise - and delight - the grilled vegetable burrito through and through was better than the queso burrito. Of course it still could have used the queso sauce (although Qdoba doesn't support this blog (yet).. if you haven't had a burrito with this sauce, stop reading, go get one now, they are amazing). Now this is a step in the right direction. Not only did I not miss the meat, but I actually feel like I preferred the veggies on some level. Who knows, this may stick!
Its good to get over fears. Now I just need to learn to cope with the smell of cow juices...
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