October 27th, 2007
I got a new cookbook, and I am newly inspired to get all cheffy and try new things. Despite totally changing my eating habits last year when I went veg, I am actually not very adventurous as an eater. I like what I like, and I don’t like to mess with that. For example, for years, I always got a hamburger at any restaurant I was at that served them. It’s like the rest of the menu didn’t exist. And there are other rules: I don’t like sweet with savory, I don’t like anything doughy or dumplingy, I hate a salad with fruit in it.
I am beginning to find this boring.
Today I made some new things, and I am so thrilled! Not necessarily with the recipes – one was gross (a pesto based dip), the other not quite right (a chile, cilantro, garlic, lime and yogurt dip) because it’s supposed to be blended but I don’t have a food processor, but I don’t care – it was great to be trying something new! I am making a new resolution: I am going to try making and eating new foods. New flavours, new methods. Oh baby! One easy way to do this is with soup. If I make a pot of soup, I can have some with lunch every day and have an excuse to make a fresh soup once or twice a week, which will be enjoyable and provides lots of opportunities for experimentation. I love soup – frankly, only dessert can’t be made better by serving it in hot broth. My other plan is to start serving salad every night with dinner so I can experiment with dressings (home made of course) and greens in new combinations.
I also just heard about seitan – it’s a wheat protein product and apparently, it’s a dead ringer for beef. I’m a little suspicious about this because as a new vegetarian, I can tell you that when vegetarians tell you something is “just like beef” or “just like chicken” they are always wrong. It’s not just like beef. It’s just like tofu. Only beef is like beef – the texture and taste just cannot be faked. But my source on this one is an omnivore and a professional chef, and advises that in something like a stew, where the seitan is not naked and plain and vulnerable to the discriminating taste buds of a recent meat eater, it really is quite beef-like. So I think I’ll give this one a try. I will of course report back on the beefiness or non-beefiness of seitan.
And I think I’m finally ready to really give up the bivalves. Husband and I have eaten bivalves (oysters, clams, mussels, scallops) once in a while, though a couple of months ago I began saying I didn’t want them any more. The reasoning behind eating them is pretty simple: there is no evidence of social behaviour or intraspecies affection in bivalves, and they do not have a sophisticated enough nervous system to suggest they experience pain. And, they are all harvested in environmentally sustainable ways. So basically they are meaty vegetables, and no one suffers when you eat them. But I had scallops tonight after a couple months without, and I really did not enjoy them. For starters they were overcooked (I was spoiled by Halifax, where every chef knows how to make a perfectly browned yet tender scallop; no one in Vancouver can do this), but beyond that I just couldn’t get past the meatiness. Rationalize it as you like (or as I did), but I just couldn’t get past feeling like I was eating an animal, and I don’t want to be doing that. It’s a gut level reaction. I know it doesn’t make much sense, but why waste calories on food I am not enjoying? So I think I’m done with bivalves. It’s a shame, because lord knows I have loved me some oysters. Oh, oysters! But now? I don’t think I’d want one. Go figure.
If you’re looking for good vegetarian cookbooks, there are an impressive collection of Moosewood cookbooks available. My personal favorite is the “Moosewood Restaurant Cooks At Home”. Very good, simple recipes that all take less than an hour to prepare.
Intriguing blog. My family and I were just talking about this the other night. Also your post looks good on my old laptop. And thats rare. Keep it up.