In general I’m very happy with my decision to become a vegetarian. The anniversary of the day I quit meat is next month, sometime in early September after reading this article written by Mark Bittman (author of my favorite vegetarian cookbook). Initially I thought I would just see how long I could go without eating meat. I didn’t tell anyone my plans for fear I would fall down a slippery slope of bacon grease back into a carnivorous diet. It was about a month after my experiment that after only relapsing once (italian wedding soup was the culprit) that I decided to make it public and declare myself a lover of vegetables.
The first person I decided to tell was my mother. She was a test for the reactions to come, as I wasn’t sure how much grilling to expect with this lifestyle change. I casually dropped into conversation, “and I’ve decided that I’m going to be a vegetarian from now on.” Her response, “But, can’t you just wait until AFTER Thanksgiving?” I explained to her it didn’t quite work that way. She sounded confused but didn’t ask many questions. I figured she assumed it would be a short-lived fad. When I spoke to my Dad later, he had clearly spoken to my Mom and all he had to say was, “well as long as you’re not one of those weird vegans. That sounds like some kind of intergalactic cult.” So all in all, it was no big deal.
And really for the most part, it’s not. There are some pockets of the earth that don’t seem to understand the concept, but most restaurants accommodate (though sadly a lot divert to mushrooms, of which I’ve voiced my distaste here) and generally no one cares. I do get asked ‘why?’ a lot at dinner parties, but I figure it’s mostly because they’re curious and not because they want to get into some Peta-hating fulled debate. Plus my answer is always: “Well I didn’t eat that much meat before, and then I did some research into the meat industry and all of the hormones and vaccines that they give animals, and it really put me off.” There’s not much controversy in that.
But despite all of that, I do miss certain meat-y things as a vegetarian. They’re probably not what most people expect: I never had a taste for bacon, I didn’t love steak and I never ever liked seafood. But if you put any of the following in front of me, I will feel a little tinge of jealousy for those who can eat it:
Gravy. Onion gravy is just NOT the same as gravy made from pan drippings. I miss drowning my mashed potatoes in it.
Crab cakes. I know I said I never liked seafood, but crab cakes made with so much buttery herby breadcrumbs that you can barely taste the crab, to me, are delicious.
Duck-fat french fries. I’ve only had these once, but once was enough to leave a lasting impression.
Beef-broth based French Onion soup. It just doesn’t taste the same with vegetable broth and sadly most places don’t make the vegetarian version, so I rarely get the chance to eat this divine soup.
Baseball park hot dogs. The only real meat I ever crave and it’s not really meat, so I’m not about to break my record for something as lowly as a hot dog. But I’ll shamefully admit, it is tempting.
Everything else though, I really could honestly care less. After three years of it, I think I’ve lost all taste for meat. Who knows though - ten years down the line you might find me chowing down on a turkey burger.
