Vegetarian Revelations

It's funny when you start down a road less traveled...you're never quite sure where it might take you. One thing is for certain, adventure will ensue. I wasn't at all aware of all the twists that would result from my decision to stop eating meat.

I didn't note the date when I became a vegetarian. Somewhere around spring 1980 or so. I did it mostly for weight control. It was simply easier to manage my pounds (excuse me, kilograms) if Whoppers and bacon and shrimp and other sundry temptations weren't part of the equation. Truth be told, I wasn't eating all that much meat by then, anyway. It had pretty much be pared down to bacon, shrimp, and sometimes beef jerky. While I've never regretted my choice, I can't say that it's been easy being a non-carnivore.

You look around your average grocery store today, or go into your typical dining spot, and you can see that veggies don't exactly have the same breadth of choice that meaties do...not by a long shot. And I eat eggs and dairy; the situation is much more restrictive for vegans. Despite this, the selections available are a veritable banquet compared to the offerings a quarter of a century ago.

I quickly learned what a minefield the grocery store could be. Sure, the produce section provided lots of grazing possibilities, but what if I wanted something that I could just pop in the microwave or quickly heat up? That's when you find out that most "vegetable" soups are based in beef or chicken broth. Argh!

Like many long-time veggies, I soon learned how to cook my own meals mostly from scratch. You think you can be safe. But wait... surprise, surprise... most Worcestershire sauces contain anchovies. When I discovered that, I couldn't help but feel a little betrayed.

What surprised me most was the social implications of being a vegetarian in a family (and society) filled with meat eaters. No one really prepares you for that. I think it took at least five years before my mom stopped insisting that it was a phase or a fad and that I should just sit down and have some of the lovely steak my dad just grilled up.

I also wasn't prepared for all the salads I would have to eat. Just around the time I went vegetarian, restaurants were putting in their salad bars. So, even though the items on the menu more appetizing than bread wouldn't qualify as vegetarian fare, there was the salad bar. Yet, even that oasis could be problematic. Was there Worcestershire in the dressing? Or anchovies? What's that reddish-brown stuff in the mix -- ham? Before long "salad bar" becomes little more than lettuce, tomatoes, oil and vinegar. Oh joy. After several hundred visits to various salad bars, I had enough. No more. As a result, I don't really go out much with friends to eat. They implore, "They have a great salad bar!" As much as I enjoy their company, that phrase no longer serves to stoke the fire of my appetite. Neither does the smell of cooking beef suet or frying fish.

And these are people who already know me and like me.

More professional affairs are even less fulfilling. You go to any number of business affairs, seminars, or other excuses to get out of the office, and you'll often find a meal is being made available. Rarely is it anything other than rubber chicken, cold beef, or over-cooked fish. Oh sure, they serve up sides of mashed potatoes, or mixed veggies, but who knows if they are flavored with a tasty chicken stock?

Chicken stock has got to be one of the most insidious ingredients in the lives of vegetarians. Cooks the world over use it as their base stock or special flavoring...even when a vegetable broth would do as well. Thus enters another reason on the list why it's difficult for vegetarians to eat out. Even if the meal seems to veggie-friendly, oh so often that lovely glistening sauce has, at its core, a base of chicken stock. As a result, unless you have an honest list of ingredients, you can't hardly eat anything prepared that is more complicated than Jell-O.

No, wait. You can't eat Jell-O. Gelatin is an animal product.

Ah yes. Gelatin. It's in so many things from marshmallows to those gel-caps you took this morning. I have to confess...this is one case where I simply had to throw up my hands. Too many medicines have gelatin coatings. I can avoid the gelatin-laden foods, but when I'm suffering from a migraine, I'm taking my analgesics.

Still, times have been changing. There are more vegetarian restaurants to be had. True, they are mostly Indian and Buddhist cuisines, but I'm down with that. There are more vegetarian offerings in the frozen food section...not just meat substitutes, but actual entries (often in the above just-mentioned cuisines).

And about those meat substitutes.... Meat-eating friends of vegetarians, I know you mean well, but the fact of the matter is that most long-term veggies don't really miss the taste of meat. Much like salads, there are only just so many veggie-burgers that a person wants to eat. (By the way, if you are grilling them...don't place them on the same grilling area as was just used to char up the steaks or burgers. Most vegetarians aren't all that tickled with the cross-contamination.)

"Well, CJ," you might be saying, "if it's so hard being a vegetarian, then why do you keep doing it?"

Fair enough. The weight maintenance reason still holds, but don't let anyone kid you -- you can gain weight just as quickly and as easily with a vegetarian diet as you can with one without limitations. It all comes down to what you actually stuff in your mouth and swallow. It's a little bit about the animals, but not a lot. I mean, I still wear leather. It's more about the water at this point. So much more water goes into meat production than vegetable production that it makes more sense to me to avoid adding to that problem.

Mostly, though, I like the food. I used to loathe vegetables. For the longest time I wasn't so much a vegetarian as a non-meat-eater. Over time, I evolved. As the years passed, I started to put the veggie back into vegetarian. It helps that my native, home-cooking cuisine is New Mexican. Beans, tortillas, chile (red and green)...mmmmmm. Had I not been vegetarian, I might never have appreciated Indian entrees. I found that I had been a practitioner of the Mediterranean diet long before it was labeled that. With so many vegetables available, vegetables once considered exotic and found only in specialty markets, there is now seemingly little end to the marvelous flavors.

Do you want to know the ironic thing? I still buy and cook a lot of meat. Though I don't eat it, I do cook, and my family still eats animal flesh. I'm not always happy about it, but I continue to have to deal with the meat dishes that my family refuses to give up. And it's not just the meat that's the problem...it's the tasting. When I cook meaty goodness for my family, I pretty much can't taste it as I go. I largely have to go on my memory of how meat tastes under a variety of cooking methods, and season accordingly. Surprisingly, I don't often use tasters. Even so, the results are usually well spoken about.

Lest you think it's all tofu and bean sprouts for me, I do spend a fair amount of time in front of the stove trying out different ideas. I put together a little something for a comfort-food sort of treat. I call it a faux beef stew. People seem to like it -- veggie and non-veggie alike. Give it a try. Tell me what you think.

Servings: 2 

Cooking Time: 1/2 hour 

Preparation Time: 15 minutes 

---Ingredients--- 

2 tsp Oil 

2 Knorr Vegetable Bouillon cubes 

3 Russet Potatoes 

1 large Carrot 

4 cups water 

1 Tbs. Kitchen Bouquet 

1 tbs Soy Sauce 

1 tbs Worcestershire Sauce 

1 dash  Pepper 

1 dash  Salt 

2 Bay Leaf 

1 pinch Nutmeg 

1 tsp Onion Powder 

2 tbs Corn Starch 

1/2 cup Potato Flakes

1 tbs Red Wine (optional)

1/2 cup Frozen Peas (optional)  

--- Instructions ---

Peel and cube potatoes and carrots to between 1/4" and 1/2" size (1cm). The recipe goes faster if they are first partially cooked in the microwave. Put ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl with a splash of water. Cover with plastic wrap and nuke on medium for 3 minutes and high for an additional 1 1/2 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan set on high. When hot, add carrots and potatoes. Add onion powder. Stir frequently to avoid sticking. After a couple of minutes pour in 1 cup of water and stir to remove the fond from the pan.

Crumble and add the bouillon cubes. Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT corn starch and potato flakes (and optionally, frozen peas). Bring to boil then lightly cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.

After the time has passed, remove the bay leaves and raise temperature to high. Mix corn starch with enough *cold* water to form a slurry (about 1-2 tbs).

When the stew is boiling, (add peas now, if using) stream in the corn starch slurry while also stirring continuously. When the corn starch is mixed, allow the liquid to return to a boil. While stirring, add the potato flakes. Stir until the potato flakes dissolve. Remove from heat. Serve.

NOTES --- This recipe is meant to be a base. Adding other vegetables or ingredients can certainly enhance the dish and make it your own.

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