Apologies for the recent lapse in posting. To be honest, I have cooked this week, but I didn't feel like the dishes were quite blog-worthy yet - they need a little something still. Another reason for the lapse is that I haven't been feeling too great the past couple days. Not sure what it is, but I think it's starting to get better this afternoon. Oh yeah, and my monitor went nuts for a couple days, but I think (fingers crossed) after an hour Brian spent on the phone with Dell people to no avail, that little ol' me may just have figured it out.
So instead of posting my nothing-to-write-home-about quesadillas from the other night, I'd like to take this time to get something else off my chest concerning eating out:
if you say it's spicy on the menu, then - and I know this is asking a lot - it should actually be spicy. My husband should not be able to eat it without experiencing some pain and discomfort. Please don't lead me on with your little chili peppers unless you really mean it.
Sometimes I really don't think they take me seriously. (Is it the pasty white skin perhaps?) Maybe we can design a new rating system. There could be the "pansy spicy" and the "no, seriously - I want sweat to run down my temples and my sinuses to clear - spicy".
They really must stop playing with my emotions. It's just so very disappointing.
God help you if you are a restaurant-going vegetarian and don't like mushrooms.
I get that there are many of you out there - meat-eaters and vegetarians alike - that are big fans of the mushroom. I happen to not be one of you. That's alright though. This is not a post debating the merits of the ill-textured little fungus. It's about how, as a vegetarian, I'm constantly subjected to them as my "meat alternative" by so many restaurants - particularly the nicer ones.
My fellow vegetarians and vegans will probably all be familiar with what I'm saying. However, they may not find it to be a problem, for they may adore mushrooms. That said, who couldn't use a little variety? How about some options? How many times have I gone to a nice restaurant only to discover that they only offer one vegetarian dish - Portabella Ravioli. This is especially disappointing to me, as I find the portabella to be the most offensive of the shrooms.
Last night's dinner was a perfect illustration of the great overuse of mushrooms. Wanting to choose a nice place to have a dinner date and also try something new, Brian and I chose to go to Touche here in Springfield. We chose this partly for the atmosphere and also because we were told they had a separate menu featuring their vegetarian options. The place was beautiful and the atmosphere was right-on - off to a good start. The menus come and as I begin to peruse my options, I start to notice a disturbing trend. Out of maybe ten or twelve vegetarian options in the menu, about 5 were mushroom based and mentioned mushrooms in the name of the dish. I will give it to them, at least they had that many different dishes to choose from - mushrooms or not. The food came, and it was pretty good. But I couldn't help but notice the small pile of mushrooms that appeared on my husband's plate from a vegetarian dish that was NOT one of the aforementioned mushroom-based dishes. Apparently, you're getting them one way or another.
I find that I encounter this problem mainly at finer dining restaurants. In general, eating out has become much easier for us vegetarians than it was 10 or 15 years ago. I would like to think that trained chefs of nicer restaurants could be a little more creative than relying on one ingredient on which to base their meals.
Dear chefs,
We beg you, can we please move beyond the portabella burgers, the mushroom risottos, and the portabella raviolis? It would be so nice to enjoy a nice evening out at your fabulous restaurant and actually find something to eat as well. Just don't make it vegetable lasagne; we are tired of that too.
Sincerely,
Mushroom-hating Vegetarians of the World
I am often asked why I am vegetarian.
So considering this is more or less a blog about vegetarian cooking, I thought it would be a good idea to write a post answering that question.
Probably the most obvious reason, and the greatest determining factor, is I was raised as a vegetarian. My parents stopped eating meat (including fish) before I came along. I'm pretty sure they made that decision mainly because they believed it to be a healthier lifestyle. I grew up eating healthy, balanced, vegetarian meals at home. Of course, from time to time I became curious about trying different meats, but I was never very impressed. I just can't handle the texture and it's also a bit of a mental thing as well. I've never in my life eaten a hamburger or a steak; nor do I have any desire to try them.
Even if I hadn't grown up vegetarian, there would have been certain foods I wouldn't have eaten anyway due to my spiritual beliefs such as pork, shellfish, catfish, etc based on Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. So my decision to stay vegetarian is in part a spiritual decision as well. I should clarify that I do not think it is morally wrong to eat meat and I absolutely don't judge anyone that does. It's about choosing what I think it best for my life based on the things I've learned and my personal convictions.
I never had to make the decision to become vegetarian and therefore never had to give up anything I was used to eating or enjoyed. I have a ton of respect for those who grew up eating meat and for whatever reason decided to stop. I know for some that is very difficult. I am not very good at giving things up, so I applaud those who succeed!
If I had grown up eating meat, it's impossible for me to say whether or not I would be vegetarian now. However, I think the odds are pretty good that I would eventually become one. I am very concerned about the meat industry today and what meat may contain that could be very harmful to us. I'm also pretty horrified at the treatment and disrespect that the animals receive in many facilities. I just can't bear to watch those awful videos.
I think you can be perfectly healthy if you eat meat responsibly; I also think it's becoming harder and harder to do so. On the other hand, you can be very unhealthy as a vegetarian. After all, donuts are meat-free! It's all about balance and making good choices no matter which way you go.
