So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.
Franz Kafka
There were a few incidents that occurred over the last year that prompted the idea of doing this. Well, if I were honest, this has probably been in the works for a few years, but specifically the idea of writing about one of my passions started to marinate about a year ago. It was about a year ago, you see, that my wife told me that she was going to start to eliminate meat from her diet. Not all at once. Just bit by bit...a little at a time... She started with red meat and pork. Shortly after that it was all barnyard creatures. I asked if that included squirrels, rabbits, deer, snakes, wild turkeys and other game fowl. I got the "I'm just going to be patient with you" look. "Everything but fish and seafood, but they're going next."
"When?"
The look again. I thought it was a reasonable question.
"What should we have for dinner?" Ahhhh...distract me with something shiny...
My wife cooks. Actually, she cooks pretty well, though she disagrees with me on that point. I usually end up doing a lot of the cooking because a) she has a pretty stressful job that requires her to work long hours, and b) I enjoy it. No, more than "enjoy," I love it. I love food. I love eating food. I love preparing food. I love watching television shows about food. I can't think of anything food related that I don't love. Except, maybe, cleaning up. But even that doesn't bother me too much. And besides, when I cook, I use a LOT of dishes. Using lots of dishes when you cook is a sign that you love someone a lot.
My wife decided to go vegetarian because she does a lot of work in the animal rescue field. I guess it's hard to reconcile spending hours on the weekends driving a cute little furball puppy halfway across the state so that it won't be euthanized, then coming home and eating a cow or a chicken or a pig that spent much of it's life in filthy, inhumane conditions simply to die an undignified death so that we can have something to slow-roast and smother with BBQ sauce. So, she decided to align her food choices with her ethics. And I admire her for it. I wish I felt as strongly about this as she does, but I'm just not there quite yet. But just as she is supportive of me as I continue to be an omnivore, I am supportive of her choices as well, and as a by product, I eat a LOT less meat now. Maybe 2-3 times a week. Usually fish or chicken (I'm not saying that by way of justification...just that those are what I'm drawn to). Oh, and an occasional hot dog. All-beef, of course, grilled and topped with a nice spicy deli mustard, diced onions and some pickle relish.
I digest. Er, digress...
So, for my wife, vegetarianism is a lifestyle choice. For me, it's a cooking challenge. And it's been a learning experience. I'm discovering lots of ways of preparing foods that are familiar to me, and I'm even discovering how to cook with things that I probably never would have attempted before. Like tofu. For those unfamiliar with tofu, it's basically a flavorless mushy cheese-like substance made from curdling soy milk. Just like chevre is a very tasty, creamy substance made from curdling goat's milk.Part of the reason for this blog is to share some things that I'm learning - some tasty recipes, some things to avoid, some ways to modify existing recipes to make them veg-friendly, and some thoughts on non-veg items. Like hot dogs. And pastrami.
The second reason that I decided to launch this was an incident that occurred a few months ago. I was driving to teach a yoga class, and needed a snack. I stopped by a large, well-known chain grocery mega-store and asked where I might find the Power Bars. "Over there in the Nutrition section."
Seriously? I'm in a grocery store surrounded by produce, fruit, legumes, meat, fish, dairy - all the things required to make a healthy meal, and they have a "Nutrition" section? Shouldn't the whole freakin' STORE be your "Nutrition" section? This made be begin to consider how we view our food, and sadly, the fact that most of the food that we consume isn't really nutritious.
nu·tri·tious -
[noo-trish-uhs, nyoo-]–adjectiveproviding nourishment, especially to a high degree; nourishing;healthful: a good, nutritious meal.
The other occurrence that prompted me to consider writing about something that I'm passionate about, but really have very little training in, also happened at a large, well-known chain grocery mega-store. I had filled my cart with lots and lots of fresh produce, some vegan sausages (Tofurky brand Kielbasa and Italian Sausage - the texture will never be the same as regular sausage, but I have to say that they're very flavorful and satisfying) and other items. Oh, and some non-dairy ice-cream-ish treats for our dogs. Which I never get, by the way, but I saw them, and had a momentary lapse of good sense. I got to the checkout, which was attended by a rather large woman in her early 40's. She began to ring up my order, and I could tell that she was a bit annoyed that most of my cart contained items that couldn't be mindlessly run over the scanner. She kept shaking her head and "mm-hmm-ingfaux-sausages and she exclaimed, "Your meat ain't got no meat in it!" Part of me was angry - how dare this woman question my food choices! Besides, she could back away from the Dorito's herself! Then I became amused, then a little saddened that someone who works in a grocery store (with a separate Nutrition section) doesn't view fresh fruits and vegetables as food. They're a chore, "just something to clean and chop!" Finally she saw the Dog Ice Cream and she laughed and said something about having to fight the dog for desert if she came to eat at my house.
I think many people share this woman's philosophy - food is no longer about providing healthy, nutritious fuel for our bodies, nor is it about demonstrating our love for other by feeding both their bodies and their souls. Food, for many of us, is about getting something quick and easy on the table, or in a container that can be eaten in the car of the way somewhere, or something that will fill a hole in our hearts or psyches. There are lots of reasons for this - our busy, over-scheduled culture being one - but ultimately we have lost the connection that we have to our food. It's now a commodity that we purchase with very little thought. Just something with far too much fat, sodium and preservatives that we know instinctively isn't good for us, but can be microwaved quickly. Or it's something that comes from a drive-thru window from a disembodied voice, prepared by someone who knows how to slap a frozen patty on a grill and plunge a basket into a deep fryer.
What I hope to do with this blog is to de-mystify the idea of freshly-made, healthy food. To show that good food can be tasty, interesting and not overly complicated to prepare. To show how to use both prepared and fresh ingredients to create a healthy, satisfying, nutritious meal for a fraction of what it would cost in a restaurant, and without much of the fat and sodium that leads to so many health problems. To empower the home cook with skills and strategies that still allows them the free time to live their lives. And finally, to have a little fun on this strange new road that I'm on - living in a mixed kitchen and treading the middle path between ethics and appetite.
Bon appetit!
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