Eating pescetarian seems to be my happy place -- the bummer is I get lectured by both vegetarians AND omnivores. Both can be equally insistent that theirs is the ONE TRUE WAY.
I think one of the off-putting thing about some people who eat veggie is that it can be an identity and not just a choice of diet. You rarely hear people describe themselves as "I'M an Omnivore." In contrast to that "I'M a Vegetarian" can sound a little judgy like "I'M a Christian" or "I'M an Athiest"...
Such things, to me, seem to come across better as adjectives than nouns. How you eat or worship is just something you do, man, it doesn't have to be who you are.
Like a man is "Gay" or a woman is "A Lesbian" -- that one is changing a little and I'm glad. Adjectives, people, embrace the descriptors.
Hows the neph doing, billytea?
Vegetables are not big in the Cuban culture. I was probably well into my teens before I realized a salad could consist of more than avocado, onion, and olive oil. And that the vegetables we did use had a purpose other than being cooked in a lot of olive oil to be added to starch or meat dishes.
I've seen letters to advice columns from at least three different people who said that they went to a wedding, then found out the food being served was vegan, and so they left, taking their present with them, because they felt the bride and groom were being incredibly rude to expect a gift when they weren't serving meat.
WHAT??? That is crazy with a side of thick, meaty crazy sauce and crazy bonbons for dessert. Having just had a fully vegetarian meal at my own wedding (with a significant number of vegan dishes), I am full of WTF and smashy-ragey thoughts.
(1) The food at our wedding was seriously delicious, and everyone said they loved it. Several of Mark's Okie cousins were sitting at our table, and they all went back for seconds. (I realize this is a bit of a stereotype, but we figured if anyone would be disappointed in the food, it was likely to be Mark's family, who are from Oklahoma and pretty big meat-eaters, but many of them went out of their way to compliment the food.)
(2) If anyone had LEFT OUR WEDDING because they were mad about being served vegetarian food, I hope they wouldn't expect to remain on friendly terms with us. That is so rude I can't even believe anyone would do that, let alone defend their behavior later.
(3) I am a vegetarian (and Mark is most of the way there). I didn't want any meat at my wedding. How is that possibly anyone else's business???
Man, that makes my blood boil, but it also makes me feel really grateful to have the family and friends that I do.
The Boy is vegetarian, and he's very good-natured about holiday dinners, and can generally make a feast out of side dishes. And if ham turns up in the green beans, he'll just eat it and say he needed some vitamin B12.
Yeah, this is me, or at least, I hope I'm good-natured about it! This year will be my first Thanksgiving dinner with Mark's family, which will be interesting. Mark's dad in particular will sometimes (jokingly) give me a hard time about not eating meat (which I don't mind a bit; that's just how I know I'm really part of the family), so I can probably expect some of that, but otherwise I'm planning to fill up on sweet potatoes, green beans, biscuits, salad, pie, and plenty of other yummy stuff.
I get not eating meat. I just don't get not eating BACON. That makes no sense.
Heh. I've honestly never understood why people love bacon so much. It's never appealed much to me, even when I did eat meat. *shrug*
Heh. I've honestly never understood why people love bacon so much. It's never appealed much to me, even when I did eat meat. *shrug*
Me neither. I mean, when I did eat meat, if I was at a restaurant and bacon was served to me, I'd eat a few bites, but it wasn't something I'd specifically take if I was at a buffet or something.
Whereas I used to decimate the bacon bin at any given breakfast buffet. These days I keep it to 3-4 slices, but still... bacon. Mmmm...
HA - after posting last night about how I always try to bring non-cream-non-bacon dishes to Thanksgiving dinner? I'm not hosting this year, we're going to Ethan's aunt's house because she lives in Brooklyn and I'll be 35 weeks pregnant at that point (normally we go to one or the other parents' house in DC and I do most of the cooking). She finally got back to me on what she wants me to bring - onion pie and creamed spinach. So much for providing a lighter option!
Maybe I'll offer to also bring green beans in a nice citrusy vinaigrette, just for balance. Or offer to make the salad.
[Huh. Posting that reminded me that I was pregnant at Thanksgiving last year too. Last year can seriously go fuck itself.]
So of course, given all the shit I have to do, I'm kicking it off with a mani-pedi and the DVR.
People who would walk out of a wedding over the food are assholes of the first order, and should be sentenced to a long walk and dinner with Bear Grylls. The kind where he dares not light a fire, and has to eat the snakes and grubs raw.
My two best friends are a vegetarian and a vegan, and never once have they made me feel guilty about my omnivorous ways. We host an urban family thanksgiving for our local friends, and the only thing that has meat is the turkey. I don't trust stuffing in the bird (and I use Trader Joe's amazing stuffing, btw, which is om nom nom), and Alton Brown's recipe precludes it anyway (you put aromatics like a baked apple, rosemary, and cinnamon sticks in), so it seems to work out well. Everyone has plenty to eat, and no one feels judged. Win.
The best inside/outside stuffing compromise I've ever found is Cook's Illustrated's high-roast butterflied turkey. You butterfly the turkey and then roast it on a wire rack over a roasting pan full of stuffing. You still get the full flavor benefit of drippings infusing the stuffing with turkey-y goodness, but also a nice crispy top from being in the oven AND the turkey cooks faster & more evenly.
(It does mean making extra stuffing for the vegetarians and cooking it separately, but extra stuffing has never really struck me as a Thanksgiving problem.)
